Wednesday, January 27, 2010

LG Korea travelogue!


Nope, this is not the start of the travelogue yet. This is just a short summary of this korea trip! I'm going to do this travelogue in a different way this time.

There is a total of 2470 photos from my camera, Beatrice's DSLR, Shawn's camera and the official LG camera! 2470 leh! Even if i filter to the max, I think each day will have like maybe 50 photos? Imagine i have to edit 50 photos, then think of what to write, the whole process for 1 post will take like 2 weeks?

Let's do some Maths here:
1 day = 50 photos
4 days = 50 x 4 = 200 photos

1 post = 2 weeks to do
5 post including prelude = 2 weeks x 5 = >1 month
Can you wait more than 1 month to read my Korea post? It will be long overdue!

Thus the perfect solution would be TO BLOG EVERYDAY! Yes, that's what i'm going to do! (Did i hear someone cheer?) I was thinking instead of 1 time edit all the photos (Damn tiring!), i shall edit a few photos a day and blog about it! Sooner or later, i will finish the whole travelogue. All i have to do is compile it!

All hail the genius! MUAHAHA

Alright, give me some time to look through all 2470 photos, and i will start blogging about exciting Korea soon! Meanwhile, here's 10 facts about this trip :D

14th January 2010 is the day we depart from SG to Korea!

2 is the no. of times i took the plane in this trip. This is also my first time flying. First time fly to Korea le! Woohoo! Snowing somemore leh! AHAHAHA

3 am is average time i sleep everyday in Korea. Technically it's 2am in Singapore time. Korea timing is 1 hour ahead of us!

400 is the amount of Sing dollars i changed to Korean Won. It's equivalent to 320000 Won. (Sounds alot but it's not -__-)

5 is the average no. of hours i sleep everyday in Korea.

6 is the no. of days i skipped school for this trip.

7 is the no. of countries that participated in this LG korea workshop

816 is the no. of photos i took for this Korea trip.

9 pm is the time we arrive back in SG on the last day.

10 out of 10 is my level of happiness to be able to go Korea!

Realised the facts are from 1 to 10? I have to crack my brain just to think of things that is related to the numbers leh! Lastly...

Special thanks to LG for making this trip possible! The LG GW 620 (also known as LG Eve) will be out in Singapore on the 30th of January! Do keep a lookout for it!
Do follow me on twitter (if you haven't!) @ twitter.com/andystorm for my latest updates about the Korea travelogue! :D

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Getting the PERFECT Camera Story.

I prepared this post AGES ago, but did not manage to finish it because there is no ending. Now that it's over. I can finally blog out the whole drama mama! *excited*

Having a good camera is a MUST for a blogger, who wants to go to your blog and be greeted by a a page full of lousy blurry photos? Definitely not me.

*******************

Here's my story...

Just before my Malacca trip last year, my camera died on me. Since i wanted to blog out a travelogue for the trip, i have no choice but to get another camera. There were 2 options, #1: Borrow from someone AND #2: Get a new camera.

I decided to go for Option #2: Get a new camera. Thus i dig up all my assets, and headed to the IT show to source for a cheap but good camera.

The crowd at the IT show was crazy. Nevertheless, i decided to brave the crowd and look for my camera that fits my description.

This is the camera that I have chosen. Cost a few hundred bucks (about $300+ i think...) Thought the design was rather simple and nice. The quality of the photo with flash was reasonable (Note the - with flash) So i decided to buy it straight away at the fair - That was when i know that i've made a wrong choice :(

After i brought the camera home, I tested out a few shots, and guess what? ALL the shots turned out blurry. Blurry until even photoshop cannot help. I swear even my Samsung Omnia 5mp camera can do better without flash! Wthhhhhhh.

So without a doubt, i posted an advert on hardwarezone on the very same night, hoping that someone would buy it from me so that i can get another camera. I was praying real hard that night, and luckily someone bought it. Transaction was done the next morning. (I got a feeling the buyer regretted buying the camera from me!)

IT fair was then over, so i decided to try my luck and get another camera online from Hardwarezone. After looking though all the cameras on sale there, I decided to contact the seller for this camera:

The Sony Cybershot DSC T5. I won't say it's a good camera, but i won't say it's bad either. But it's much much better than the Olympus! Although it's just 5.1 Mega pixel camera, the photo quality is not bad. Still must photoshop.

But then it's still quite lousy la. When i go for blogger events, i bring this Sony camera along, but i don't want to take it out, cos i think i will be disappointed by the quality thus i rather wait for people to send me the photos...

That is when i tell myself, I NEED A NEW CAMERA.

*********************

What i really want in a camera is #1: The photos MUST turn out clear. #2: It MUST be compact, easy to bring ard. It's that simple but i dunno why most camera can't fulfill these 2 requirements. Is there like a camera that WON'T produce a blur shot?

Finally after a few months, I narrow down my option to these 2 cameras:

Lumix Lx3. I was totally sold when i saw the chio super duper ultra clear photos on Xiaxue's blog. The colours were damn vibrant and nice. Plus she claimed that no photoshop was done on those photos. The vintage design and the pop up flash was a plus factor! However, the price is really expensive, it was about avg $700.

Canon S90. The newest addition to the Canon camera. Compact but powerful camera. It also has a pop up flash! The photos turn out damn clear too. Another thing i like about this camera is the control ring! It allows you to control some functions such as the ISO, the focus like a DSLR. Not cheap too. It's around $680.

Since i'm going to Korea, i decided to dedicate the whole of my pay just to buy a good camera so that i can take really clear shots during the trip! Headed down to the famous Sim lim square to checkout deals for both the Lx3 and the S90.

Cheapest for the Lx3? $680. Cheapest for the S90? $680. Can't decide between the two. Another problem is that my pay is less than $680 and i can't afford to get any of it (unless my advert fee decided to come early, which is quite impossible.)

In the end, this is the camera that i bought:

AHAHAHHAHAHAHA! JOKING LA! This is not my definition of compact ok! This is a bulky DSLR can! But it comes a really nice red colour leh. Ok, nevermind. Continue!

While deciding which camera to buy, either the Lx3 or the S90, I was also thinking how to gather enough money... ($680 leh! Not a small sum of money ok!)

I really wanted the Lx3 at that time because in my eyes, it's like the perfect camera. It's a semi pro, it has the cool pop up flash, the photo quality is awesome, it's compact and the list goes on... UNTIL i saw another camera.

Sony H20. Compact? Yes. Pop up flash? Yes. Good photo quality? Yes. Price? $549. It was like a ray from heaven - the perfect alternative. *aura shines*

I went to the Sony concept store to test out the camera and it was EXACTLY what i wanted. Plus it's so much cheaper than the Lx3 or S90. 131 bucks difference!

Once again, i headed to Sim lim Square on my payday and focus on asking deals for the Sony H20. This is when the drama begins...
I always read on the newspaper about those scams in Sim lim square but never pay much attention to it and finally i get to experience it myself.

I went to enquire store by store for the price of H20, and highest was $559 (even more expensive than the official Sony store!), lowest was $498.20.

Then i went into this store. (Damn! I should have take notice of the store no. to warn you guys!) The price they gave me was $530, but just when i was about to leave the store. The guy said, "Ok la, $410." I was shocked. HOW CAN THEY LOWER DOWN THE PRICE BY SO MUCH? It was from $530 to $410.

Obviously I got suspicious. Other stores quote much higher price. I was still thinking about the $410, so i decided to ask the other shop owners.

They explained that the whole thing is a gimmick to make you stay in the store, and then they will start introducing other cameras which is so-called "better" or they will introduce add-ons to the camera you want.

Refusing to believe what others say, I went back to the $410 store and ask to buy the H20 at $410 straightaway. True enough, he started adding GST to the price, giving me a discount for an additional battery, and it all adds up to $____ (Can't believe i forgot the amount. So anti climax -__-)

No matter how persistent the uncle was, all i wanted is to just buy the camera at $410. Nothing else. He gave up persuading in the end and made a phone call to check whether there is stock for the Sony H20 camera.

Conclusion. NO STOCK. Get the story? If you did not succumb to their persuasion, they WILL NOT sell it to you, giving you the excuse that there IS NO STOCK. I can 99% confirm that the phone call to "check stock" is FAKE.

End of story.

Totally frustrated after spending almost 30 minutes in the store and in the end realised it's a scam. Wait till you hear the next drama.
Concluding that Sim lim Square is an evil place, the next place i went was town. The stretch between Plaza Sing and Somerset. There's a lot of camera stores there. I went back to the shop where they quoted me $450.

Obviously the person can't remember me, so i pretend to ask him the price of the H20, and guess what he quoted? He took out the official Sony catalog and show me the official price of $549, PRETENDED to give me discount, and ta-dah! $500 -__- (My eyeball almost rolled all the way to the back)

I told him forget it, i will get it from the another side instead which is selling the camera at only $450 (I was trying to bluff him since he quoted $450 before.) He fall for the trick and quoted $450 BUT the price is without GST. I used the same trick and finally he succumb and sell it to us at $450 with GST.

Then he tried the "Sim lim square trick" by offering screen protector. 8 bucks. I refused, so he lowered down to 6 bucks. I agreed.

Then he tried to sell the camera pouch at 28 bucks. I refused, so he lowered to $15, i refused and moved my butt signaling to leave the store, and he said, "Ok la, $10" -__- I did not get it anyway.

So i left the store happily with a new camera with a screen protector at $456.

Shall end this super duper ultra long post with 2 chio photos of my new Sony H20 camera! Taken by my old Sony 5.1mp camera, enhanced with photoshop :D


Wait. How can i end a post without myself! Soooooo not my style!

Me & My Sony H20. The end.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

SCDF as a Career Choice!

[Advertorial]

At different stages of your life, there is this question that you will always encounter.

Since you were a little boy/ girl, your parents will ask you, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" When you start primary school, teachers will ask you, "What is your ambition?" When in poly, you ask yourself, "What do i want to be after i graduate?" It all ends up on this word - Career.

SCDF as a career choice? SCDF mainly consist of 3 vocations. Fire & Rescue Specialists, Paramedics & Senior Officers. Do i have the qualities to be a fire fighter?

Trying to put out the imaginary fire. Checkout my determined face. MUAHAHA! I could train to be a good fire fighter! Fire fighting sounds really cool but then...

I kinda have a phobia of height. Zzz

Rescue doesn't sound like my cup of Milo (i don't drink tea) thus i guess if i were to pursue a career in SCDF, being a paramedic would be a wise choice.

(Had a hard time looking for my past Saint john photos!)

After all, i did have a bit of "medical" background! I'm from Saint John in secondary school! Staff sergeant ok! Don't play play. Saint John has equipped me with the basic first aid skills such as CPR etc, plus my interest in first aid. I guess i make a good paramedic and can save people's lives!
If you are interested in pursuing a career in SCDF, do checkout
http://pea.to/scdf1 to find out more about SCDF's recruitment! Good luck! :D

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Looking back at Year 2009!

I'm supposed to do this on 31st December 2009 as a year end post. Basically just to summarize 2009! But i was at Vivo counting down! Super lots of people! Lucky i did a lame scheduled post to wish you guys HAPPY NEW YEAR! Got read anot???

So now, i'm going to do a REAL year end post + i gonna cheat abit but changing the date to 1st of Jan! AHAHAHHAHA Basically what i'm going to do is look through my blog archives and pick out the highlights + add a few things on my own! :D

January!

Out of sudden, decided to design and print my own Blogger namecard! Spent like a few hours doing designs and designs, asking readers to choose between 2 designs cos i can't decide on which one to choose! The above is the final design :D

February!

It's either February is a boring month or i did not blog about something exciting. The only "highlight" i can find would be being invited to the prestigious LG Prada event where I get to meet bloggers from M'sia & Hong Kong! Can you spot them?

P.s: Did an interview with Razor TV during the event too! Don't want to embed cos it's abit Ris low-ish + the camera man zoomed until can see my pores lor!

March!

Ok. This is getting boring. I realised my life is quite mundane. One of the highlights in March would be i accepted an advert from Watsons which allows me to go on a shopping spree at any of their outlet! (Of course, there is a limit -__-) Had a fun time shopping! How i wish more adverts like this will come knocking my door! :D

April!

One of my proudest moment! I edited my blogskin single-handed! Spend like alot alot of hours staring at those weird codes, photoshopping, animating my banner etc! So damn happy when i finally launched it and received good comments :D

On the very same month, my Nuffnang cheque came! So happy when i saw it on my table! I was planning for a Malacca trip with my friends (secretly!) and i need cash to fund the trip! So i decided to cash out and put the money into good use :D

Ta-dah! Emptied my bank account and use my Nuffnang $ to fund this Malacca trip! It was actually a school trip but then it was canceled last minute but we decided to go anyway! (I did not tell my parents it was canceled!) We only had a short period of time to book the hotel, the coach and everything! Super fun and exciting! :D

May!


May was boring. I wonder what i was doing at that time. Got invited to Nuffnang Private screening of Star trek with the other top bloggers in Singapore! There is like Peggy, Winnie, Xiaxue, Esther, Jessica, Jayden etc. The show is damn nice! :D

Oh ya! Remember le! Had my very first outdoor photoshoot at Changi! I realised i haven't blog about it yet! Photos all edited nice nice le, but keep forgetting to blog! So many nice photos to show you guys, maybe i shall blog about it soon :D

June!

Won myself 300 bucks for my "Do Singaporean dress badly post?" Was really proud of that post because i put in soooo much effort for it leh! Although didn't win the first prize (which was like 500 bucks!) I was still happy with my 300 bucks!

In June, i also participated in the Singapore First Blogger flashmob organized by Nuffnang! The "Silent dance" Ok la, didn't really do the "dance" cos everything was too sudden and messy. Oh wells. Everyone had a fun time! That's all for June :D

July!

Can't remember doing anything special for July. So i'm just going to share a blog post that i did during that month! It's like one of my "highlight" post! It's my "Growing up" post whereby i dig up all my old photos from young till now and i blogged about it! Everyone should do something like that for keepsake :D

August!

Won a free phone through a blogging contest! The HTC magic! After i won the phone, the HTC PR team contacted me if i'm comfortable appearing on the papers as they want pitch the story to the papers! But i forgot what happened after that!

September!

September, i was bored, can't think of anything to blog so randomly came up with 10 things about myself! It was one of my most popular post with 84 comments! Had a fun time sharing things about myself! Bet you guys enjoy reading it too!

Went for a blog event, and was given 2 pairs of coach tickets to KL or Malacca, sponsored by Konsortium! So since it was holiday period, i decided to last minute-ly grab my mum and head to malacca! Had only about 1 week to book the tickets, hotel and everything! 2nd time going to malacca in a year! Woohoo! :D

October!

Was looking for my Birthday post, and can't believe i didn't blog about it at all! Lucky can find back the photos! Last year (2008) also! OMG, so sorry to all the people that make my 19th and 20th birthday a memorable one! My 20th birthday was celebrated with my BFFs, Nurul and Yah See! They really put in a lot of effort!

October was also the highly anticipated Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards! It's glam like those Mediacorp Star Awards (except the celebrities were different!) Everyone was like getting ready for this event! Thanks Nuffnang once again for the invitation, had a krunnch time doing the pringles and uniquely singapore post!

November!

November was really boring. Wrote a post about the places i want to go around the world! Can't remember what i did in that month although it's only 2 months back. FML. So i'm gonna skip November and go on to December! AHAHAHAHHA

December!

Got an invitation to join the LG GW620 Blogger review contest. Winning prize was a FULLY sponsored trip to Korea! Guess what? I'm one of the 3 lucky bloggers that will be heading to Korea next week! Will be skipping few days of school for it. It's is like -5 degree there now! Super cold! Gonna take the plane for the first time!

Spend my Christmas this year with a bunch of Bloggers! Love the gift exchange sessions! I think my gift was the most unique lor! I prepared a fake letter saying the recipient won a month's worth of banner on my blog (worth $50) and wrapped an empty box! But the actual present was with me all along! AHAHAHAHHA

Nuffnang Year end party at K suite! There were like Singing contest, Pool, PS3, Food and drinks! Had a great night there and was voted president for the latest Nuffnang committee, the Glitterati +! Thanks to those who voted! *muacks*

Phew! Basically summarized the whole year in such a long long post! Had to look through my archive month by month and pick out the highlights! I still think i missed out some important things that happened lor. Nevermind... Alright! That's all :D