Recent tidbits

2008 October 09th | Category: Cameras, Food, Misc, iPhone 3G

I’ve been rather busy with work-related stuff recently hence didn’t write much. Not that I write all that much anyway. Snooped around my iPhone 3G and realised that I actually have photos of all kinds. Some I wanted to write about, others I just took cuz I had nothing better to do. Might as well not waste them so I’ll post them all in this entry.

I will no longer bother brightening, cropping, etc., mobile phone photos because the iPhone 3G’s camera is just too crap, no amount of touching up could improve them. Anyway…

Moleskine notepads
I’ve been using Moleskines for quite a while now. It has been the choice of notebook amongst artists for… forever. Moleskine is the heir of the legendary notebook used for the past two centuries by great artists and thinkers, including Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and Bruce Chatwin. The finish on the Moleskine notebook oozes quality, feels great in the hand and to write on - all while looking goooooooooood. The downside is, each notebook costs ¥2,730 (by the way, the cover is not made from leather - it is oil cloth over cardboard). Once you’re done with one book, it’s time to fork out another ¥2,700 for a new one. I would love for Moleskine to make a binder/organiser style version where it is just the cover (and back) so owners can purchase only the page refills.

Kurara is rather small for a Holland Lop breed (October 8, 2008)
One side of me likes it that he is small, while the other side doesn’t. Likes: he will always look cute and small. Dislike: he can still get behind and under shelves, tables, refrigerator etc., where all the electric cables are hidden. He has already sabotaged my speaker cable and scanner power cable. I’m not talking about a tiny nibble on the cable, I’m talking about the cable being chewed in half! Despite these natural bunny behaviours, Kurara is still a really gorgeous and mellow bunny.

My Hot Toys - The Dark Knight - Original costume Batman (1/6th) arrived (October 8, 2008)
This Dark Knight original costume Batman came out in August in Japan but was pre-sold out. Retail price here is ¥22,000 but I had to get mine off some dude on Yahoo Auction (he has a dozen of them) for ¥27,000 over the weekend. Not too bad of a price hike I guess BUT I called Hot Toys in Hong Kong (where the company is based) last night and found out these figures sell for only HK$950. That is like ¥12,300! Could get 2 figures including shipping for that price and still have a bit of cash remaining. But I guess it is always problematic to hassle a friend from HK to get and send me them (they were sold out anyway). Oh well. Waiting for the rest of the list to arrive. The texture and finish of the box is fabulous! Cannot bring myself to open the thing!

Dinner with M (October 7, 2008)
M - she is witty, absolutely gorgeous, super cute, very fashionable, very sexy, a lot of fun to be with, a model, an entrepreneur, has loads of cameras, loads of video game consoles, loads of mobile phones, loads of toys, you name it. Checkout the figure of herself. Oh, and since my buddy Tony loves my self portraits, there’s another one below (mwahahahaha)…

Odaiba (October 4, 2008)
I’ve always loved Odaiba. I usually come here to de-stress. Not the best of places to do this since it’s all built up and has lots of shoppers but still, it’s an island (artificial), lots of open space, nice breeze, etc. And, not-so-hard to get to (which is important since I don’t have a car nor a lot of time these days).

Quiet Kurara (October 4, 2008)
There are times when the little fella requires a bit of love. Other times, running rampant all over!

Chinese lunch (October 3, 2008)
In Hyaku Sai chinese restaurant for lunch. Cost: ¥1,000.

Good morning, Kurara (October 3, 2008)
The little guy’s morning greeting - a cute stare saying, “please don’t lock me up in the cage”.

Jagamama potato chips (October 2, 2008)
I’m a sucker for potato chips which is why I try all new ones. This Jagamama is only so-so. It is just too thick for my liking and I don’t dig the texture.

Italian lunch (October 1, 2008)
A good Italian restaurant over the road from the office. Lunch costs ¥1050 which includes bread, pasta or pizza, dessert, and tea/coffee. That pasta (pic) is all I ever get from this place - fettucini in cream sauce and some kinda minced sausage. The Chick? That’s the Amamika chick, J.

Soba shop (October 1, 2008)
Dinner at a soba shop in Shibuya after work. Cold soba and sliced duck with rice. Cost: ¥1,900.

Tonteki (September 30, 2008)
Blogged about this a while back but lost the entry after some server dudes moved stuff around forgetting to backup my stuff. This place specialises in grilled pork chops and is near Shibuya station, a place I go to take the train home after work. Yeah man, juicey pork chops. What you see below costs only ¥1,000.

Family restaurant (September 29, 2008)
Dinner at Jonathans family restaurant near my train station after work. Curry pork udon (rice set) and some boiled veggy thingy that was as bland as some of the English food I grew up eating. Cost: approx. ¥2,300.

Business networking at TGI Fridays (September 27, 2008)
Not the best of places to meet to talk about business but hey, this place does burgers and beer (which is why it isn’t the best place)! That is my aging but more-than-sufficient mobile: Apple PowerBook G4 1.5GHz. It is still in ‘pristine’ condition, as with all-things-belonging-to-eddiewong. Didn’t get to take pics of the food - the guys were like a pack of hungry wolves!

Hakkaido izakaya (September 26, 2008)
Dinner in Shibuya after work. This izakaya serves quite a bit of seafood dishes. Well, the name suggests it all: Hokkaido - north of Japan, well known for its long leg crabs, the city is snow covered during winter, etc. The food below set me back close to ¥5,000.

Nikon D90 launch (September 20, 2008)
Personally, I’m waiting for a Nikon D300 update, the D400, which should hit us in Dec 2009 (it was 2 yrs from D200 to D300, and D80 to D90). The full-frame Nikon D700 would be nice too but it is way out of my league and budget.