My Digital World

This week, I took my first oral of this quarter. The teacher of that course (Integrated Circuit Technology) was my mentor when I entered to this university. The nightmare started when the oral started. I was totally lost of what I wanted to say and I mixed up with all the things together. Was it because I did not study hard? Or is it because I did not understand the material? Learning all the small details by heart is not my favor. I have to study for weeks before any message is saved in my limited memory I have. I prefer to give explanations of how things work in a proper way.

Anyway, the oral was over. And I need to come back to re-take. Next time, which will be after my last exam, I will pass because nothing is impossible if you really work hard for it. Although I fail for that oral, I have learned a very important thing from it: the way how I should face to such an exam!

This Monday, my next oral is waiting for me. Surprisely I study for that course very quickly! I am done within a day. Maybe because it is an oral in which you have to explain how things work. Or maybe I have learned from the 'wise' lesson of my previous oral. The very bad thing is, is that I notice that my third exam is at Thursday which is too short after my second oral. I was shocked when I checked the exam schedule. In a rush I read the material of the exam of Thursday. Also, with a big surprise, I finish that within one night! Now, the task is to learn the a,b,c,d by heart for the exam of Thursday: a = apple, b = boy, c...

During the weekend, I also try to book tickets to tour Europe with the sister of Henry and her friends. I am really looking forward to it after having so many exams. I am also very glad to get know of more Singaporean. We plan to go to Turin, Milan, Barcelona, Paris, Holland, Berlin, Prague and Vienna. I hope I can shoot well during the trip since I wanna have visit from my friends from Singapore too.

Talking about visit from Singapore, I meet THL (Mr. Tan) from Singapore. I am very glad to see him and to shoot with him and chit-chat about everything. Although we mainly talk about taking pics. :P I met THL at Sunday-morning in Amsterdam Central station. First we went to have some dim sum. After filling our belly, I bring him to Zaanse Schans. Thanks to Airin and Bou I get useful information of how to get there. However I finally go there at my own way: just ask the busdriver and he told how I should travel:P

Before we took the bus to Schaanse Schans, we took some pics inside the church which is located nearby the station.


Amsterdam - inside a church

Oh, I forget to show a picture of THL himself. I snap a shot when he is checking his shot :P

Mr. Tan - a man who loves his wife very much!

Arriving in Schaanse Schans, we shoot IR/B&W pics because the weather at that day is very bad: very cloudy.

Zaanse Schans - B&W


Zaanse Schans - IR, basic played with Nikon Capture NX to get the IR effect


Zaanse Schans - IR, slightly more retouch in Nikon Capture NX

After visiting Zaanse Schans, we move to Rotterdam, the place where I live. THL was very tired of his previous trip in Europe. So, he tried to take a nap while we are on our way to my room.

One thing that characterises THL is the true love he has for his wife. From the 10 minutes talk, there is 3 minutes about his wife. :P Although he does not mention any private things about her. I can see how much he loves his wife and how much he misses her when he is in oversea. I personally think that people of nowadays do not know how to cherish their other part. Finding a person who really loves you is very, very and very rare. I think, that his wife is one of the very happiest woman in this world.

There is one thing I observe from THL. He is a bit scared of the food he does not know. I ask him to try "haring" (a typical Dutch fish, which you should eat without cooking). Since he does not know what it is and since because it is not cooked, he says no. But luckily, Holland has one more typical to try. That is the "stampot". It is a papatoes mix with vegatable and with typical sausage. When we arrive in Rotterdam, I cook that for him since you cannot eat that outside.

After having food, we move to shoot nightshots. Here are the series:

Nightshot of Erasmusbrug


Erasmusbrug from another perspective


Cubic house in Rotterdam Blaak


Nearby Rotterdam Blaak

Some of you may notice that the pics are not sharp. That is because the misty and cloudy weather we all day have. It rains also when we are finished with shooting. We took a cab back to my room.

The next day, I show him Delft. Also the weather is not nice! It is still misty and cloudy. THL tells me how I can shoot HDR. HDR would be better than normal 'shooting'. So I try that and here are the shots:

My first try of HDR


Pics still turn out bad!


As you can see, there is no sky!


My last try, then I give up.

After shooting I bring THL to my university. He did a short interview with my friend, Jimmy. At the canteen I bought some typical Dutch snacks for THL. He likes "kroket" very much :P Well, after the lunch, I bring him to the airport where he meets with his colleagues.

Next week, two exams are waiting for me. It is also my and my brother's birthday! Today, my cousin, Lee-Joo made a cake for us. My mother still does not show anything to me :P But my brother already receives a big gift of my mom already, which is the return ticket to Singapore. My mother and two brothers will go to Singapore and Malaysia next week too. While everyone is enjoying, I ahve to fight against the papers.