Boston Snaps

To view some of the pix I've shot so far like the one below, go to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12384386@N02/
Comments are welcome!
Junction at Coolidge Corner.

Freedom...or not?

I sit here alone at my friend Tuang Liang's lovely apt at Cambridge, as I have for the last 5 days. The family's gone on a 10-day road trip to Canada and I've got the whole apt to myself! I can think of all the wonderful things about this circumstance. I am entirely alone here, with no one to account to. I can do whatever I like, whenever I like, with basically no responsibilities to fulfill. Well, I mean we all have some responsibilities or other at every point of our lives, but I can choose to ignore them momentarily with no consequences!

Is this freedom? ... or not? I'm just wondering... I suppose I should enjoy this period of transition before my classes begin next week. Thereafter it'll be rather busy I guess. This week, I can just be a tourist, and it's a good chance to see Boston properly, something I could not do the first few days of my arrival as I had to do the necessities like open bank accounts, set up a mobile no, check out the school and of course, hunt for an apt.

Then I think of my family back home. Can I really enjoy this 'freedom' knowing that my daughter is back home missing me? Or that between Yen and my mum, they share the demanding job of looking after Meg 24/7? Or that I've left our home in a big mess and Yen has to spend the remaining days of his leave clearing up after me? These thought processes go through my head every day, and even if the answer to the questions is YES, a part of me says NO! I can't really enjoy - although I will try to, as this is a rare situation I'm in - when I'm a little apprehensive about school, about doing well, about finding a suitable subject to photograph, about setting up a cosy home before Yen and Meg arrive, about trying not to spend too much money so we'll have enough for later, etc etc, etc. As you can see, I'm somewhat a worrier...thus the bald spot! I think one of the conditions that people who are alone experience is the conversations inside one's head. One can't control it. I have decided that I will make it a point to direct all these negative worrying thoughts towards photographing Boston, to get into the shooting frame of mind again. I feel I've lost some of my guts to shoot people face on over the years. I just flipped though Alex Webb's new book "Istanbul: City Of A Hundred Names" and it's a great book. His coloured compositions are simply beautiful. They're not contrived but almost perfect, and that's the beauty of street photography, where, if you manage to marry the two, you've got a winner. I must try to push myself in that direction, firstly to overcome my timidness when shooting people. I need to take this year to develop my photography cos this is probably the last chance for me to do so full-time. We'll see what happens. I shot a miserable 3 pix today...one of which is this one...

STRESSED!!!

I discovered this horror of horrors about two weeks ago when my hairdresser alerted me to it while cutting my hair. She was a bit alarmed to find a rather large bald spot just above my right ear. The bald spot, slightly bigger than the size of a 50-cent coin was gaping at her and was as bald as a baby's bottom! I was alarmed but not overly so, as this isn't the first time it's happened. I notice I get these bald spots whenever I'm kinda stressed and the weeks leading up to my trip were stressful, between work and preparing myself for the trip. I first got 'em spots about a month after my wedding way back when. All the stress from the planning took its toll and the hole was abt the size of a 20-cent coin then. This however, takes the cake and is the largest ever!
My mum rubbed a hair revitaliser lotion onto it a few days before I left, and I'm pleased to say the hair's started growing again! I haven't been very diligent in applying the lotion myself though. Anyone out there who faces the same problem, let me know and I'll give you the name of the lotion I used. It's not cheap! I don't want to advertise its brand here...
"Out, damned spot! out, I say!"

My First Clam Chowder and Lobster Lunch

I told myself that I would try a different New England Clam Chowder - one of my all time fav soups - at least once a week. However, since it's rather fattening and I'm trying to keep my cholesterol down, I've relegated it to once in two weeks.
Here's my first taste of clam chowder since I arrived, from Boston Clam Chowda and a lobster roll, which had a small portion of lobster meat. The meal combo meal cost $9.99 but I upgraded the soup to a large which cost another 1.00 and also had a lemonade at 1.50. All in USD of course.
So the grand total was $13.11 for lunch! Aiyoh so expensive!!! I want my S$2.50 chicken rice! FYI, a Burger King combo meal - burger, fries and drink - costs $7.30. Basically, it costs almost the same as in Singapore, only the currency is in USD. I can only see one possible advantage from all this...that I MIGHT lose some weight cos I'm such a miser where spending money on food for myself is concerned. Gotta save up for the family's arrival...

My first clam chowder US$13.11 lunch from the food court at Prudential Center.

Bubble Trouble

A term coined by Yen, who shot these lovely pictures...He bought a bubble dispensing machine for Meg and she was bugging him to let her play with it. It's a pity I'm not there to play with her...

Meg's Two Front Teeth

First off, she's got a gap between her two upper front teeth. A search on the internet reveals that it's called a diastema, which means a space or a gap in orthodontic terms. She's also got a fissilingual tongue, which means it's forked at the tip. Imagine a 'W' at the tip of her tongue. Thanks to Cat who searched the net for this condition and found this weird word. I just did another check and this is how Answers.com defined it: A forked tongue is a tongue split into two distinct ends at the tip. This is a feature common to many species of reptiles!!!!
Ok back to the teeth. When she was 2 plus (maybe 3) she developed stains on her 2 front top and bottom teeth. Brushing didn't get rid of it, and the doc said it was food stains. We urged her to let the dentist clean it for her but she was too afraid, so we set a target for her: She would have to do it when she turned 4. We set some targets for her a few months before her birthdays, for example, we said no more using the pacifier and diapers when she turned 2, no drinking from the milk bottle when she turned 3. Things like that. So far, it's worked, although the diaper thing took a while longer to implement. So when she turned 4 in end July, we reminded her that she was to clean her teeth. My mum just went to her dentist for treatment and brought Meg for her cleaning session. Here are the beautiful results...

I've Finally Found 'The One'

I could probably write several tales about my apartment hunting experiences. After trudging down many streets under the intolerable heat, I've finally found an apartment I think we could turn into a cosy home. After looking at 21 different apartments, I feel that He has guided me to this one, after several setbacks and misses. The agent who showed me the place was very nice and seemed pretty sincere. Young girl, JoBeth who just graduated from Berklee College of Music last year. Parents were born Philippines but she in Houston, Texas. Here's a sneak peek at our new apt, that's if everything goes smoothly and the landlord excepts my application, and if the apt has already been deleaded.

White door to the left is the main entrance, door to the right leads to the kitchen. Centre door is the closet.
Another view of the living room. Opening in the middle leads to the bedroom on the left, and bathroom on the right.
The unit is on the first floor, and overlooks the carpark. However privacy is retained as it's not on ground level and it's set back a little, from the main road, so it won't be too noisy.
The kitchen is updated, with a new gas stove with oven, and new tap fixtures and cabinets. The dishwasher isn't so new though, but we probably won't be using it. It's also big enough for a small dining table at the right corner. It's what is known here as "EIK" (Eat-in-kitchen).
The bedroom is a pretty decent size too.
Exterior view of the building, which is in the development known as St Paul Gardens. Our unit is the one marked.

First Light, First days

First light at dawn in this view outside the window of the condo living room. The chimney is that of a chemical plant constantly spewing smoke.
This is the highlight of my daily 'T' rides. I've read that one of the most scenic views of Boston can be seen from the red line of the 'T' between Charles MGH (Massachusetts General Hospital) and Kendall stations, where the train actually crosses the Charles river, exactly this view you see. I will walk the Longfellow bridge one of these days to catch the dozens of small sail boats which dot the river (you can vaguely make out in the background), as sailors try to take full advantage of the good weather before it gets too cold to sail. But judging by today's awful temperature of 31°C, that's probably not going to happen anytime soon!
The famous CITGO sign at Kenmore Sq and the Prudential Center on the right. The iconic 18x18 metre sign is a landmark on Beacon st, near one end of Commonwealth Ave.
This is the exterior facade of an apt building along Comm Ave, and it's an example of the interesting styles of architecture found in the city. There are tonnes of quaint brick buildings all over town, and these are older structures but full of character. I will post a pix when I get a decent one.
The Ray and Maria Stata Center at MIT for Computer, Information, and Intelligence Sciences designed by who else but Frank Gehry. No wonder I was drawn to it!


After having endured a 36-hour flight, the longest journey I've ever made to date, I was greeted by a friendly face, our friend Tuang Liang who kindly picked me up from Logon Airport at 0115hrs on the morning of Tuesday, Aug 22, to take me back to his luxurious condo at Kendall Square. He and his family have been very kind to offer their place while I look for an apt. I can't imagine having to rush to find an apt (a very tedious and taxing exercise) within a day or two to avoid having to stay in a hotel for too long, but that's precisely what I would've done, if not for his generosity.
My first impressions of Boston: It's a lovely city, with lots of culture and architecturally rich buildings, mostly old, but they've got very modern buildings too. The 'T' is old but efficient enough. It's the best way to travel in Boston, really. I've walked a lot in the past few days since I arrived on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday itself was spent familiarising myself with Boston University. BU has a sprawling campus which stretches at least a kilometer long. The 'T' has 3 stops which serve the Uni, BU east, central and west, so you get the idea how widely it spreads.
I walked by COM building, it has an antennae on its roof and is along Commonwealth Ave, on the opposite side of the main BU complex.
The above are some pix shot during my walks. I haven't been very productive in shooting. I'm looking more for apts than pretty sights. But now that I've managed to find a nice apt, I will spend the coming week being a tourist!

Almost There

I'm sitting here at Dulles Airport in Washington DC, and have been for the last 4 hrs after having missed my connecting flight to Boston. I had about an hour and a half to make the connection, and yet it wasn't enough. The line (word used in the US instead of queue)at the immigration hall was long and although it was moving slowly, that, with having to jostle with others in an overcrowded baggage collection area and then forming another line to submit the declaration form to the customs officer, made it impossible for me to make it on time. When I finally got through all that hassle, I went to the flight info board and my flight wasn't even listed on the screens anymore cos the plane had already taken off. The next flight's at 2145hrs, so I wld've been here at Dulles for 6 hrs. I just looked at screen again and it's been pushed again to 2230, so that makes it 7! Oh boy...I'm super sleepy at the moment, nodding off every now and then.
Thanks to my few friends who came to see me off at the airport and sacrificed their sleep in doing so. I didn't know they were coming and although I discouraged everyone from coming, I appreciate their presence and Ed, pls do send me the pix!
Saying goodbye to my family was sad, although there were no tears, I know Meg will miss me and vice versa. The poor girl refused to sleep the entire night right up to the time I left, but slept when she was on her way home in the cab at about 7am right up to 4pm!!
Here's a pix of my current view, well, the empty seats have filled up somewhat since I shot the pix. Thanks to Wuiliang for teaching me how to do a proper pano pix. It's going to come in very useful during my apt search tomorrow!
Til next time...



Just an update...It's now 2240 hrs monday evening in Dulles and the plane taking us to Boston hasn't even arrived yet. So the flight's been pushed back to 2345 hrs and I won't get into Boston until past 1am...air travel just isn't reliable anymore, in terms of schedules! I can't complain as I know there are others who suffer the same fate, having their flights delayed from somewhere else and having to stay overnight at the airport. It sucks!

A Gathering of Friends

We had a do at Gek's place last Saturday for Ginnie and Alfie's return to Singapore for a two-week visit. Gek, the gracious host brought lots of luxuries from her home like the iPod nano Bose speaker/player, and Italian Soda in delicious flavours! Plus the kids got to use her nice pool. Yeehwa also gave Meg a very sexy swimming costume (sunblock lotion included :)) and Meg got her first full blown escapade in the pool! As you can see, she and Yong Ee thoroughly enjoyed it. I was extremely impressed with Ning's breast stroke, after having taken up swimming lessons only 3-4 mths ago!
Yong Ee and Meg getting pally.
Still pals...
One for the album. I hope no one who's in the pix sees this post before I give them the photo!

Our Little One

Yen shot some really lovely pix of Meg a couple of days ago. Used lighting and all...We want to do really nice portraits of Meg
as she grows up, so she'll have nice photos to show on her wedding day slideshow. Heh!