International Trip 2: Vietnam

This is a continuation of the first overseas trip, which you can read here.

I would describe more about the UK and France trip, but it had been months and here we are, my second international trip since COVID-19. The UK/France trip was eventful, but to sum it up, I unwittingly did some dodgy actions. The pharmacist gave me two medicine boxes when I paid for one. I also did not clock in the bus ticket when I boarded (I only showed it to the driver).

Of course, upon realisation days later, I felt bad about it, so I gave away the extra medicine and threw the unusable bus ticket away. It turned out that they gave me a faulty ticket, so all’s well ends well, I suppose.

The UK/France trip was also my first time getting COVID. The irony was that I fraternised with the crowds and was completely safe until the return flight. I gave my original seat to another person so that she could be reunited with her old mother. As luck would have it, I sat next to an obnoxious bugger who took out his mask and coughed all over my cramped space. I constantly glared at him, hoping he would get the hint. He did not. In conclusion, he blessed me with a sore throat and brain fog from hell. Legend has it that I still have the brain fog. But the seven days of quarantine were the only peaceful days I could get in my human-infested life.

I digress, but here I was again, boarding the second international flight to Vietnam this time.
Disinfectant vapour sprayed out from the ceiling of the plane before the flight take-off. I wondered if there should be harmless, calming effects added to the spray so that people with my type of malfunctioning nerves could calm the fuck down in every take-off and landing. As the plane bounced up and down, I sneezed and coughed into my mask, hoping I did not get COVID for the second time.

My lunch added fuel to the fire, as the spicy nasi lemak sizzled down my throat. Two more hours to go, but I was getting restless. With the absence of my book and the lack of visual entertainment, I looked out of the emergency exit, constantly thinking, “With great seats come great responsibility.” Anyone who sat in the emergency exit row was instructed on what to do in case of an emergency.

My phone battery was draining as fast as my body’s, and I often wished that someone would invent an energy transfusion, just like blood. I would meet the requirements of being the first donee. In fact, I volunteer.

Years ago, when I first arrived in Hanoi, there was a heat wave of 40+ degrees. The second trip to Vietnam was at another location and during that time, it was another heat wave. I was counting all my unlucky stars, hoping this time I did not bring the heat wave along. Or worse, the extreme winter, as the place I would go this time was common to snow.

To my dismay, I could not recline the seats because of sitting in the emergency exit row. There were simply no buttons. In place of the buttons, there were decorative, almost flat bumps. There were thirty minutes left to the flight but I was already done for the day. The inner child kept asking if we were there yet.

Fast forward to days later, I DID bring the extreme winter with me. Oh, joy to the world, it fucking snows. I would like to give a shout-out to the pilot for the return flight. The landing was beautiful, and I did not even panic. Too bad I couldn’t remember the pilot’s name even though he announced it twice.

The first overseas trip after the pandemic (Part 1)

​To fly again signals a new beginning beyond the doom and gloom of the pandemic. A pandemic since years ago, a first for many. The jitters of taking the first step onto the plane since being cooped up had left many worried and wanting as they waited to board.

The hierarchy of men divided by the monetary system was still prevalent as I watched the snobs entered the first class. I secretly wanted to join the snobs too, minus the behaviour.

As we adjusted ourselves on the plane, the masks we adorned served as a subconscious reminder that the virus was not over. Intermittent turbulence fueled the fears of the courageous, knowing that it was a common occurrence.

Be that as it may, our comfort zones might not be where our happiness lies. For too long, we grounded our courage to pursue happiness.

The ground seemed like hours away as I stared into the black screen. The tight mask stifled my yawn as boredom seeped in. Boredom accompanied me as I stared at the screen across with images of Gaga and the same at the screen a few rows ahead. Different movie, same face. Did she put on weight for that role? I liked her as a singer, but I had never watched her movies.

I held on to my backpack as the paranoia from hearing Heathrow queues being long crept in. Wasting money on check-in was a pain as I ended up squishing everything into the hand-carry. The pain turned into relief as my fears came true. The queue was long as heck. Apparently, I arrived on the same day as some K-pop singer and all the fangirls were crowding the Arrival hall. I imagined the anxiety I would’ve felt if I saw a huge crowd waiting for me.

Someone asked me if I wanted to join them to see a celebrity. I considered for a second and decided that my sleep triumphed over some hotshot. Escaping the crazed fangirls, I left for my destination of the day; a bed to retire to.

Sneak peek of Part 2:

The queue to the toilet at The Louvre was comparable to the queue to see La Lady Mona Lisa.

Flower close-up shot that prevented me from contributing to stock websites.

Flower closeup

This is the close-up shot of an image I took in Japan. This is THE close-up shot I contributed to my first stock image website. I can’t remember the exact site as it was years ago. I think it was Adobe Stock.

So imagine after contributing two images, I would obviously feel proud that my photos are at the level to get accepted into stock websites. I searched for this exact flower image on the website to see the statistics and more.

As luck would have it, a few copies of the same images came up in the search. Some had more saturation, some with different edits, but they were all the same image. What are the odds of different people contributing the same photo and perspective?! The sinking feeling of having my photo used to resell remained persistent. You get paid for the number of downloads, but what if other photos take away the downloads from your own? Is this legal? Did I waive any rights under the T&C?!

I did not bother to research more on this, but the possibility that it could happen dithers me from any further contribution from then on.

So, I continued to work with my photography website instead (which I have revamped a bit).

What are your thoughts on this?

Blogdle

If you enjoy blogging, chances are you’ll enjoy this word game that has taken us by storm!

Yes, you probably guessed it, Wordle!

Wordle by Wardle

Originated from a Wales developer, Wardle, it is now bought over by the New York Times (hence the US spelling).

You’ll need to guess a 5-letter word in six tries.

Too simple for you? Try this version: Quordle. It’s four times the difficulty with four games at a go! You have nine tries for this one.

Still too easy? Then try this 11-letter version.

In the meantime, you can also improve your geography with this version: Worldle.

Bonus: Here’s a Harry Potter version!

Have fun!

Christ, the Risen

Bearing the sins of all men,
The treacherous deeds of thoughts, mouth and pen,
Your glory filled the Earth,
Yet blinded, people question your worth,
Not understanding the hand behind the science,
This world lacking in conscience,
Worshipped your creation,
And stamped on you who had Risen,
Even your followers used your name in vain,
Your loved ones adding more to your pain,
Yet they ask, why not me? why always me?
Me, me, me, that’s all they see,
And yet we wonder, the signs of dust and everything dying away,
Shows we are far away from the way,
Of the one who has raised,
All creations that lived.

The Irrational Dictator

You said up to you,
but lose your cool,
How is this up to me?
When your logic is off to all who can see?
Chaos after chaos you stir,
Trouble and trauma we concur,
Dictate our living is your hobby,
Your false reputation all you lobby,
Help, why are most blinded?
My love to you, I now rescinded.
Lost I am, lost are you,
My beloved who took me for a fool.
No more I said,
Independence, we now made.

Kingfisher, ICL surgery and Independence Day Updates

Happy Independence Day, Malaysia! Gracing this blog with a Kingfisher photo that I took with my Fujifilm XT-30 camera.

I took this shot while I was still recovering from ICL – my first photo since the op. My vision is unfortunately still blurry and not as sharp as it was before the surgery. It has been over a month, hopefully it wouldn’t continue for too long without full recovery.

This year has been full of bad news, so I would like to share a photo of this cute magnificent bird. I also decided to share this photo because the red, white and blue colours reminded me of Malaysia’s flag.

For those wondering what ICL is, it is a surgery similar to LASIK, but with newer tech and is non-invasive. It is called Implantable Contact Lens. The operation is generally safe but recovery rate depends on the individual. I did both eyes at the same time.

That’s it for now, enjoy your day 🙂

Found my spirit animals in Melbourne

Throwback to 2013 when I went on a road trip in Melbourne. I missed the beautiful nature and lovely air there!

Right now, it’s haze season in Malaysia, courtesy of Indonesia.

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Total number of hotspots recorded by ASEAN Specialized Metrological Center (ASMC):

Kalimantan (474), Sumatera (387) vs Malaysia (7).

Been sneezing almost everyday 🙂

The Herd Mentality (In the Art Industry)

It’s not just the art industry that falls into the trap of the ‘Herd Mentality’, it’s basically what plagues Mankind. We are more sheep than shepherd. Fear has a strong hold in our lives whether we deny it or not. People are afraid to explore because of the fear of the unknown or perceived failures. Yes, some of you may argue that it has been tried and tested, which is why we remain in the comfort zone. But only by going against the social norms and comfort zones do breakthroughs happen. Often, common issues get dismissed and overlooked.

In the art industry, we have what we call the ‘Popular Vote’. This may seem normal but in its essence, it is encouraging the herd mentality. Say for example, would you vote for something that you like (e.g. a favourite character) over something that is better in art execution and originality?  To expand on this, let’s say both are your favourite characters. One looks more realistic but is copied from a reference and has sloppy colours. The other is not as realistic but is created from scratch with nice colours. Most people tend to go for the more realistic one. This is a classic trap of ‘Style Over Substance’. This is why ‘hot air’ continues to exist and fool many. The ‘eye candy’ without any substance.

Many artists face this dilemma of drawing something original over copying a popular reference in order to get recognition by the hoi polloi, the majority with no artistic background. I may or may not be broaching a taboo subject but this is a brutal industry. Even people with artistic background can fall into the trap of voting their favourite. However, it’s not unusual to see a disagreement between the art critics and the general masses.

So how do we resolve this? Observe and learn, resist the ancestors of Man’s instincts of fight or flight. It may be useful in the past but not in this case. In this day and age, thinking things through are often more rewarding.

Have a sheep:

Archaeopteryx Hybrid (1hr 31mins Sketch) WIP

This is a continuation of the sketch from this post: 16mins Sketch

After further brainstorming, I decided to change the gender, age and species to a clumsy female youngling. I wanted a challenge. Neither acknowledged by humans nor Archaeopteryx, it has to learn how to live in the dangerous world.

I guess this falls into the survival genre.

It is not easy combining two species that have anatomies from both extreme ends. The way the human joints bend are the exact opposite of how the Archaeopteryx’s joints work in various areas.

More to come…