Once upon a time, people had the pleasure of inking their words out on pen and paper, or sent their love to someone abroad with a postcard. Dating even further back, those of the ancient times penned their stories on parchment with a quill.

Fast-forward to 2018, you are reading my thoughts via a brightly-lit screen on the verge of ruining your eyesight. 😀 And no, I didn’t write this. But clearly, I typed it.

It often dawned upon me that the novelty of personally dedicating a handwritten note or a card to a loved one has long dissipated with the times. Have we all forgotten the meaning or significance it carried? How far has technology brought us off the beaten track? 🙁

As a writer, I’ve always been propagating the importance of personal touch in every gift or gesture… and that can be achieved with your good ol’ friends – the pen and paper. In line with my personal conquest, I was glad that The Techy Hub & The Inkredibles invited me to their launch event, aptly named ‘Relive the Print’.

Read on to find out who I sent postcards to! 🙂

You know they say if you really wish hard enough, you'd get what you wish for?

Well… ever since I heard about on the SAMSUNG Galaxy Note II, I've always wanted to give it a thorough use to fully understand the functions and interactivity. 

My first time holding the all-new SAMSUNG Galaxy Note II!

A while back, I was invited to the launch of the SAMSUNG Galaxy Note II the moment it arrived in Malaysia.

It had a huge clear screen yet such a slim body & so high-tech but user-friendly at the same time!

I was enchanted by it! 

And yes, I finally had the pleasure of taking the time to play with one myself 

Guess what I enjoyed the most about the SAMSUNG Galaxy Note II? It's the… S PEN!

The S Pen is undoubtedly, one of its most unique selling points

This Note II is arguably the first amongst the pool of smartphones in the market to have a stylus 

Featuring the S Pen, SAMSUNG is running a contest to unleash everyone's creativity!

Wanna hear more? 

If you're the kind of person who thinks the pen is mightier than the sword, pick up your S Pen and start drawing/colouring/designing on the official SAMSUNG Be Creative page 

This is what you have to do :

If you don't have the SAMSUNG Galaxy Note II, fret not. You'll still get to play with it anyway!

Head to www.becreative.my and use your mouse to draw with the virtual S Pen instead 

I decided to help Adam C complete his drawing of a football jersey. Adam C, I CHOOSE YOUUUUUUU! 

httpv://youtu.be/US2IC5clSus

Watching this funny video by Adam C made me want to draw for him even more LOL

It wasn't easy! Required a certain amount of skill & precision as I was using a mouse instead of the S Pen

But after almost an hour, here's what I came up with for his jersey design.

BEFORE (empty jersey)

AFTER!! (My design)

What do you think!?!?!  Not bad, right? Haha. Oi it's not easy, okay! 

There were different colours, gradients, ink thickness & pen types in the S Pen to work with.

I had fun exploring! My design was so random, I know  Would you wear it?

Adam C said he would  Haha he'd better! I spent almost an hour of my time doing this 

Here's what you'll get if you win! 

Don't worry if your drawing ain't as good as Ernest Zacharevic's. Art is, after all, a very subjective thing 

Try it for yourself, it's fun! Well, I had lots of fun at least 

I haven't actually drawn something in ages, so this proved to be quite a challenge!

In both my hands are the SAMSUNG Galaxy Note II & the real S Pen

I've done it. Now, it's your turn! Put your creative flair to good use with the virtual S Pen

Who knows? You might just win  www.becreative.my *click*

One of the things that you'll never expect yourself to be dragged into.

To attempt artwork to earn yourself a free pizza dinner.

No, if you're wondering… I didn't paint that.

I once saw this picture of a 'le chat noir' (French translation: black cat) during one of my Christmas dinners with thefockers at a cosy European restaurant. It symbolizes a 19th century cabaret, or entertainment house in one of the districts in Paris.

Apparently, the image somewhat stuck in my head without me realizing it.. as you shall see.

The first thing that came to mind to sketch

The student union body decided to hold an art + dinner session one Tuesday evening.

We were given free canvases and acrylic paints to doodle to our hearts content and mingle over pizza.

The finished product

Not exactly a replica of Le Chat Noir but still, it was inspired by the former in an odd way.

When my mates asked me,"Why this picture?" I didn't even know what to respond with until I got back home and tried Googling cat images from France. Only THEN I realized where I adapted it from.

If anything else fails, it could also remind you of the Australian aboriginal flag.

Either way, it looks relatively, modestly fine… ya think? 😛 Most importantly, my humble artwork doesn't look too pre-school.

It is proudly hanging on my wall now *biggrin* The pizza was delicious too – which was, no doubt, the main reason why we attended this art session anyway 😛

As you fabulous peeps would've already known, I've been in Sydney for the Easter break

Took a million photos throughout the week -as usual,  I hope I won't take forever again to blog the whole thing!

Walked by the Queen Victoria Building early in the morning

Was supposed to wait for my cousins to meet me but couldn't seem to find them anywhere!

So I walked and walked the streets of Sydney… taking in all that this city has to offer.

It was huge and busy for such an early hour! I had to drag meself outta bed to even make my way to the city this morning.

T'was a slightly wet morning, with the pitter-patter of the drizzle from above

I've noticed how certain city centers like Melbourne, Singapore and Sydney has immense volume of pedestrians crossing every other street. Especially when the lights at the zebra crossing turns green, a human stampede will follow thereafter.

Unlike Kuala Lumpur back at home, where everyone pretty much cross the roads anytime they want LOL 😛

The city dwellers scurrying for shelter!

I soon got tired of roaming around aimlessly after taking pictures of random things and talking to random people.

So I retreated back to where I was supposed to meet my couzzies –

At the famous Town Hall steps! (it kinda looks like an ancient temple from this angle LOL)

Apparently, that's the common meeting place for everyone

So I waited for a bit and finally found them!

Couldn't recognize them at first. Bear in mind that I've not seen them in AGES. Like, really… in 16 years!

And they're already in their 30s while I'm still in my 20s. But we clicked instantly

Bernice & Kenneth are my eldest cousins btw (and I'm the youngest!)

They took me to where Uncle Shen and Auntie Julie were waiting for us.

As we walked, I couldn't help but to take more pictures of the sights I saw!

Ohhh lookie! It's the statue of Queen Victoria!

She was the longest serving monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the 17th century

Right behind her, I saw a tiny statue of a dog by a fountain.

And that's when I met Ivan. Yes, say hello to Ivan the talking dog.

Make a wish & throw a coin in the well after talking to him

When the couzzies told me that he was a talking dog, I scoffed and took it with a pinch of salt.

So I went right up to him and said, "HELLLLOOO" for no reason

but had a shock of my life when that solitary statue responded to my greeting

Hence, the expression.

So Ivan told me his name, introduced himself to me and

went on about something which I don't quite recall anymore.

What can I say? I was still flabbergasted with what hit me, as I didn't expect it at all.

So yeah, the poor dog went on talking to someone who wasn't exactly listening LOL

Guilty as charged But if you wanna listen to Ivan talk, he can be found along George Street

I soon found out that my uncle and aunt were waiting for us inside Queen Victoria Building.

Grrrr. I walked past that place agazillion times earlier just then; could've just gone inside!

Here I am again!

it was very, very pretty inside… and humongous too!

Lotsa boutiques, novelty shops, deli's and the like 😀 😀

I smell…. shopping!

Haha. No time for that now, for we're about to go sight-seeing immediately after meeting up. It's off to the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, The Rocks, Darling Habour, Chinatown and more!

More of that in the next blog-episode of this Sydney trip.

Oh but before I go, imma leave you with a fairly interesting (but offensive to some)

street art behind a STOP sign in the city.

And no, Christ, your penis won't be able to fit in the nail-hole of your palm unless you're well… diminutive in size.

Not that I would know, but hey, I'm just saying 😛

Hiya! 😀

As you know, I'm in Ozzieland now and I do tend to get lazy lugging my Nikon DSLR around! Imagine walking around so tired, sweaty and having an extra weight on your shoulders 🙁 I’ve been scouting around for something compact instead! Everyone needs some form of a back up 😉
 

Remember my tweet  a fortnight ago being all excited about a supercool gadget by Nikon?
 

Yup, so I've been toting around the new Nikon S1100pj for a month now and I must say, it is one swell piece of technology!

First of its kind. You bet! 😀

A projection thing-a-ma-jiggy all in the palm of your hand. I shall show you how awesome it is in a while.

But first! Lemme review some of the photo specs and features.

Here are some of the piccies I've taken with my new baby 😉 Ready?

Arguably the easiest mode in this camera, the Easy Auto Mode changes to the best adjustments to suit all types of settings. Perfect for camera newbies and/or lazy photographers 😛 Take a look!

I like how it's so bright and cheery

Test-shot with some of my gurls during lunch at Fika Swedish Restaurant & Cafe

This one's taken with flash mode on with my gurls YingZi & June

And this one is shot without the flash

I love how it brings out the best of natural lighting!

Despite taken in dark areas, the shadows casted by it all fall in the right places for a nice silhouette 🙂

Another feature I've put to test is the Smart Portrait Mode

This one detects faces, smiles or expressions pretty well

Smile as widely as you can! This smart baby of mine can recognize our Cheshire Cat grins LOL

But it can sometimes get rebellious/emo and decide not to detect my smile.

A rebel. Like owner like camera.

But the photo turned out pretty well! 😀

*grins widely*

Venessa and June had fun with the face detection mode too 😀

The next feature that I tried was Scene.

It boasts 17 different Scene selections to cater specifically to each different setting we want to take photos in

Just tap on the SCENE selection and take your pick

From left to right (in order)

Portrait | Landscape | Sports | Night Portrait |Party/Indoor

Beach | Snow | Sunset | Dusk/Dawn | Night Landscape

Close-Up | Food | Museum | Firework Show | Copy

I've put some of the Scene Selections to test!

These are my faves taken with the (food) mode I've played around with :

Delicious Mushroom Bruschetta from Dish Deli Cafe in Mont Kiara

Creamy Pumpkin Soup!

The very rubbery, icky and dry Chicken Thigh from that restaurant as well

Beef Steak medium done in Fika, Singapore

Swedish Meatballs also from Fika!

Salmon Mentai from Oh! Sushi in De Garden, Ipoh

Unagi Roll also from my sushi dinner

Lovely. I like how it macros up the food yet maintain its natural atmosphere of wherever food outlet you're in

Takes food photography to such an easier level for those budding photographers!

After dinner, I decided to take some pics of the interior of Dish Deli cafe.

All taken with the (party/indoor) mode.

Love the vibrancy!

Kelly and I at dinner. The colours are all pink and cheery!

With this mode, the flash doesn't completely bring the photo into a white-out overexposed shot

It's really nice how it captures how it exactly looks like in real life.

After dinner, we headed out for a walk. Another scene I've used was the (portrait) selection.

Makes portraiture so fun! 😀

Kelly and I couldn't stop taking picture-perfect portraits of ourselves up on the rooftop

Playing around with this new Nikon s1100pj made me wanna explore further.

I soon ventured out with Kelly to the other side of the upper levels of Solaris Mont Kiara to take in the scenic night atmosphere. Ideally, I used the (Night Landscape) mode to take this photo below.

It surely complemented the colored spotlights 🙂

We then decided to go for drinks and chillax our Thursday night away.

Here's when I chose a different scene selection, the (night portrait) mode. It's something like the (portrait) mode but gives a different effect. The former brings out all the source of lights within the frame and the latter focuses more on the main subject itself.

Love the exposure and the entire perfect picture.

Night portrait scene selection FTW!

With such decent pictures it can take, I was also impressed with the video mode too.

It shoots footages all in High Definition and just by one press of a button. Unlike other cameras, there's no need to go through the hassle of searching into the menu to pick out the video mode.

This works like a real video camera. One red button to start recording!

Here's just one still scene of my house foyer.

Last day of Chinese New Year already! 😀

 *DRUMROLL*

Now here's the best part of this new Nikon s1100pj. The extra kick why photo enthusiasts want it and flaunt it!

Uber cool ey? That's theboyfie Josh and I. But how did we get on the table?

Watch this awesome video advertisement to find out

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nrrl1shzhc&feature=related

Pretty nifty ey? One heck of a technology packed into a compact camera

So, best part is pretty obvious by now. It's the built-in projection feature.

Great for presentations or visuals! Also, I just hate to pass around my camera to random people whenever a group photograph is taken, for you'll never know whether it'll be returned rightfully to you.

That's actually how I lost my previous camera. 🙁 🙁 During my convocation, it never came back to me!

With this kick-ass feature, I bet you won't suffer the same fate as me.

Here's how you can show everyone the picture SAFELY in your own hands.

It may be small now, but it can be enlarged clearer to the size of an A4 paper

Oh and just so you know, I loved that video ad I embedded above. It's so expressive!

So, I've put together my own version of the video montage too, just for the fun of it! Imma video editing newbie at the moment so pardon the not-as-impressive-as-the-official-Nikon-video-advertisement-skills of mine. 😀

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXoZyP3N_ug

So, what dya think? I think it's a pretty good buy.

It's been almost a month with my new baby now and I'm having fun thus far! Still getting used to all the attention it rakes in by its awesome pictures and projection power.

Just the other night whilst back in Penang I showed some of the piccies I took in KL to my homies (there were 7 of us at the table) just by projecting the slideshow on the ceiling of the cafe! That way, everyone can see it at the same time.

Standing ovation please?

The s1100pj is yet another fine piece of Nikonian tech to salute to!