Hawaiian Rocket

Take a standard Cold Storage "First Choice" pineapple and ham pizza as a base. "Zeng" (modify) it with loads and loads of extra Mozarella Cheese and Wild Rocket, and you get your very own "Hawaiian Rocket" Pizza!

Botanical Gardens

While wifey was having her facial, I dropped by the Singapore Botanical Gardens (SBG) for an hour in the afternoon to do some shooting. It's been a while since I have gone out taking photos by myself. It was sunny and warm, good weather for photos and a tan ...



See the flickr photoset HERE.

Nikki's 2nd Birthday

Yesterday was Nikki's 2nd birthday party.

Took the opportunity to bring along the K10D and the 32MZ-3. This was the first time where I had so many kids to shoot. With all the screaming and running around, the K10D's autofocus was really out of breath and showed some of its weaknesses. The non P-TTL Metz running on "automatic" mode took some getting used to, and this was the first time that I am taking so many shots in this mode. Coupled with the high ceiling (difficult to bounce) and hyperactive subjects, this was a real challenge!

Looks like I really need that f1.4 lens and/or a P-TTL flash for those little rascals ...

Happy Birthday Nikki!



See the entire flickr photoset HERE.

Visit to Singapore National Eye Centre

Three months ago I went to the Polyclinic when a stubborn stye/chalazion on my eyelid refused to go away after many months. The reason for going there is because I needed a referral to the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) in case the stye/chalazion doesn't go away after medication.

Note: If you ever need to go to SNEC for any eye exam, get the referral through a Polyclinic as you will be charged subsidised rates.

The referral landed me an appointment only three months later (which was yesterday)!

The SNEC is located in Singapore General Hospital (SGH). Quite a sleek and modern place, and the staff there were quite friendly and efficient.

Anyway, I saw the doc after a short wait. The result was that my stye/chalazion was a small matter and I should not worry about it as it would go away on its own. However, the doc got more news for me. He told me that my IOP (intra-ocular pressure) was high and that my condition is known as OHT (ocular hypertension), which has a risk of leading to Glaucoma!

The doc on the clinic on the first level measured 30/21 (mm Hg) for both my eyes. Normal range is 10-21. Because of the high pressure, I was made to do several tests (requiring many types of eyedrops), including a test on my peripheral vision (which I passed with flying colours). Later, he referred me to a "super-specialist" on Glaucoma on the 3rd floor.

This "super-specialist" made another measurement of my IOP and he found it to be 26/21. Ok, slightly lower but still on the borderline of high. He explained that not everyone with OHT will get Glaucoma. There are many factors including high blood pressure and genetics etc. Anyway, I went through more tests including digital photography of my eye and some more scanning tests. No medication is required for now as there is no evidence that I am at high risk of having Glaucoma. Next appointment is in 2 weeks time where the doc will checkout the results of the tests and advise what is the next course of action.

Total time spent at SNEC is about 4+ hours. Total bill = SGD87, cos its subsidised.

Sunset @ Yew Tee

"Salted Egg" taken from my window at Yew Tee area. Cropped to remove some HDB buildings. Looks like the "fungussy" 70-210mm is going to be pretty useful, time to look for cheap lens cleaning services...

Grandma and Grandpa's Gift

Grandma and Grandpa presented this to us during the weekend. It's meant for Cayden's little ankle when he is out ...

Cous cous salad (Updated)

I have made a second attempt and added in more ingredients this time. Close up photo below:



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I was inspired by the "instant take-away" cous cous salad which I had at the Louvre last year in Paris. See here:

KooshLog: Paris - Day 2

Anyway, I finally had a chance to create my own ...



If you want to make some, here are the ingredients:
- Cooked and cooled cous cous (with salt and butter)
- Mixed vegetables
- Onions (diced)
- Raisins
- Italian Dressing (or other salad dressing ... up to you)

Other things which you can also put in:
- Tomatoes (diced)
- Lettuce (chopped/diced)
- Ham (diced)
- Bacon (bits)
- Black olives (pitted and diced)
- Green peppers (diced)
... basically anything you like!

After that, let it cool in the fridge. Once done, its a very refreshing snack, and can be kept for a couple of days.

Carrot Cake

Haven't cooked this dish at home for some time now. Have made an attempt recently, see the results ...



Cooking this is pretty simple, and so are the ingredients:
- Carrot Cake
- Egg
- Chai Po
- Chinese Parsley
- Vegetable Oil

Tastes close enough to what you can buy at the food courts, perhaps it would have tasted a bit better if I had a worn a straw hat while cooking it ... :-)

Logistics

The back order for my Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Macro was finally fulfilled. The item was shipped from the US a few days ago. The courier service is UPS.

The detail in the package tracking ability of logistics companies nowadays is amazing because you know exactly the progress and how far away the package is from its destination (Well, almost, and it would be really cool if they can somehow track your package via GPS in future). Anyway, as the package makes its way around the world, the updates you see everytime you refresh that tracking page adds to the feeling of anticipation.

Here is what I have this morning. Seems like the package has already arrived in Singapore ...