day 341 | february 9, 2010 | a play of light

new model today. was supposed to stop over FRIM to do a little bit of scouting, but belatedly realized that the hanging walkway is only open in the mornings. after a little bit of rescheduling, decided to indulge the roo for some sunset swim and photography by the pool. we were joined by roo's close friend K, who was a novice to my camera. beautiful doe brown eyes, plus reactive expressions to roo and his mommy, plus wonderful light streaming in, and i had my sunset test shoot right there. =)

day 340 | january 30, 2010 | sor vorapin, stumbling into muay thai

as soon as i hit khao san in bangkok, the first thing i did was to buy a fun map. that is, a map that identifies all the cool second-hand bookstores, fortune tellers, boutique clothes and bags, cozy brunch and snack places, most famous vegan and vegetarian hang-outs, parks which are great for people-watching and impromptu aerobics, cool clubs and busy bars, as well as other interesting things to do around bangkok. 


muay thai was on my top 5, but i procrastinated until the last possible minute, before i signed on and subjected myself to the physical challenge. while i considered myself active, i've always been acutely aware of my physical weakness. clumsy and accident-prone, i felt like i was giving myself over to the muay thai class as a living, breathing red-faced (flowery shirt) punching bag. plus, i had a light headache from last night's drinking. boxing training was not really one of my brightest ideas. 


the coaches were all smiley and supportive though, albeit eyeing my floral shirt derisively. they asked me a couple of times if i had a boxing shirt, but as it was my last day in bangkok, it was also the last clean shirt in my bag. why i left it for last, i will never know. in between measured looks, they would ask me where i am from, and i'd answer them instantaneously with "philippines." despite living overseas, my heart remains filipino, and proudly so. the coaches smile at me in recognition, and excitedly mention "pacquiao!" that's it. with one word, their expectation of what i can and cannot do has increased tenfold. lol.


after the preliminary warm-ups which basically comprised of 15 minutes of jumping rope, i already wanted to puke. the coach was binding my hand with the cloth when he looked me dead in the eye, and told me in a grave tone that muay thai is all about power. he repeated the word "power" as if sheer repetition could inject me with some of it. i felt my knees buckle as i watched the rest of the class, all muscle and sweat, enter the ring with me, all gloved and ready to receive some fairly tough training. 


quickly excusing myself to the toilet, i puked out my nerves, and washed my face, taking some calming breaths and reciting some "power" and "you are damn crazy" mantra. what in the world was i doing here. i think my courage returned when the coach knocked on the toilet door and passed me a proper boxing shirt. black, and loose, and androgynous. that simple gesture reminded me that the coaches were willing to make it work for me -- the least i could do was to give it a chance. 

i stepped out and sweated and ached through the shadow boxing, the pad work, the bag work, the sparring and the not-as-easy-as-it-seems cool-down. i was probably the slowest and weakest in the group, but i came away feeling very proud of myself even as i have fairly dark bruises on my legs, very achy arms and thighs, and feet that stank of ten other people's floor-dribbled sweat. i made it. =) and as i look back at all the angsting and the self-deprecation, it made me realize that it wasn't so hard after all. 


sometimes, we are our biggest enemy. don't ever let yourself stop you from doing something you think you cannot do. you never really know until you try it. 


i look damn silly, but i think i can somewhat kick your ass! =)

sor vorapin muay thai,  13 Trok Kasap, Jakkapong Rd. Panakorn, BKK Thailand 10200 Tel : 02 - 282 - 3551

day 339 | february 5, 2010 | ohana

it's the little everyday things that add up to a life. playtime with the roo, giddy laughter, and being together as a family -- the moments i live for. 

day 338 | february 3, 2010 | macau pre-wedding preview

quick picks from yesterday's shoot in macau. i'm back in venetian for a leisurely lunch, and some internet connectivity to catch up on emails and to-do's. i couldn't help but pick favorites from the sets yesterday. J and L are a super fun couple to work with -- flexible, obedient, game to go barefoot on cobblestones, and willing to shoot in the cold and under the drizzle. grin. i feel blessed whenever i find myself getting clients who i personally connect with; that is such a huge bonus. thanks J+L, for trusting me with your memories. best of luck with the contest! =) 

focusing on getting things right on camera, so my adjustments using "potatochop" are mostly creative plays. minimal adjustments on these. just a teaser, for now. more to come. =) 

day 337 | february 1, 2009 | sleeper sunrise

sunrise from the sleeper train i rode from chiangmai to bangkok. i have tons of things to update this blog with, but i'll be flying off once again tomorrow to macau for an overseas shoot. 

catch you all soon once i've got downtime. adventures on all fronts in my life right now. 2010 seems to be a lucky year -- though i don't want to conclude prematurely. perhaps to test this theory, i should bet on 4d and toto. grin. cheers!

day 336 | january 22, 2010 | new york pre-wedding

arguably the center of the world, new york is a dreamer's paradise. it's the urban dreamscape, it's the vibe and restless energy, it's the endless possibilities. 


2 slots under discussion. 1 slot still open.

day 335 | january 22, 2010 | san francisco pre-wedding

still packing up (for 3 people!). before i head off for a 4-country hop-on-hop-off adventure, let me leave you with some of my pre-wedding destinations this year. 

upon stepping onto its charming hills and bays, it's no longer a surprise why many songs have been written about its intrinsic romance. it's a place to fall in love with all over again. 


1 slot confirmed. 1 slot under discussion. 1 slot still open.

day 334 | january 17, 2010 | ipoh

tagged along with H to ipoh to scout around, while he was otherwise engaged in a meeting. packed roo into the car at 7:30am, and arrived at our ipoh brekky destination by 9:30am. thankfully, we were accompanied by the dashing mr. K. it's no surprise that the roo had fun; she almost always does. on wobbly legs, i was still semi-aching from our broga expedition. 


had the opportunity to meet up with Kev, a batch-mate from a workshop last year. he was really sweet and helpful in providing us more information about ipoh, which made me realize i will need to do a proper scout another time, without the roo. after all, we were only in ipoh for the morning. if not to scout, i'd definitely come back for more munchies. coffee and food were good.

day 333 | january 16, 2010 | bukit broga

invited the H for a supposedly easy climb up broga hill as a prelude to our plans of running regularly to get fit. i think i overestimated my capability, as i was panting and begging for rest stops even before we hit the midway point. it rubbed me the wrong way that H was steadily vertical (and joking around), while i was going horizontal on the dirt paths. =) i am yet again humbled by a hill. 


we left home at 8:30am and arrived at the broga trail parking area around 9:30am. with a relatively slow pace, we hit the peak after an hour of sun and sweat and songs. i say relatively slow, because some friends mentioned that it only takes 40 minutes to climb. 


chanced upon other photographers who were having their shoot on location, and surveyed their equipment, mentally culling what i needed to bring for a shoot of my own. i may have to start military style training where i run everyday carrying 15 kgs of equipment on my back. 


going up has always been physically straining on me, but going down is always scarier. on the way down, i realized how absolutely morbid most of the nursery rhymes are -- i mean seriously. "jack fell down and broke his crown, and jill came tumbling after..." "all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put humpty together again..." suffice it to say, nursery rhymes aren't really the ideal things to sing when you're unfit, and trying not to slip down an "easy" hill.  


will be coming back again, with full camera equipment in tow. H recommends i hire a donkey. eek! the view and photographic prospects make it worthwhile though. 

day 332 | december 5, 2009 | full house, jalan yap kwan seng

a mini-photoshoot in full house, featuring (take a guess) the roo! =) when we first visited the place, i thought the setup was quaint and pretty. lots of available light spilling in, and loving the little trinkets just lying around in an organized mess. i didn't find the food all that great, but we definitely did enjoy the location.