Ow, Olympics Fever!

Was reading my usual dosage of Channelnewsasia (personally voted as the best online source for Singapore news), when I stumbled upon an article announcing the start of Singapore 2010 Youth Olympics logo design! Wow, exciting~ Though Singapore didn't really quite have what it takes to take on World Cup 2010, at least we have our fair share of joy at being the FIRST Youth Olympics host! Who knows, maybe one day, the little red dot might even host the "real deal"!

Anyhow while I was tinkering with small fuzzy ideas running through my head about how a good 2010 logo might be like, I thought a little research about past Olympics logos might gives some fresh inspirations. Hence I googled, and guess what? Found some pretty interesting articles on London 2012 Olympics logo, which I bet most of us didn't know. Links as such : link #1, link #2

Gees, wouldn't trade for a job at the British Olympic board anytime soon..

kelvin : 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) + 1R (Regret?)

Monday, thankfully without the blues. Spent the whole day at the construction site, running through timelines, reaffirming the construction department's (工程部) objectives to the main contractors about our stance on rushing deadlines to meet the year-end aims as well as our focus on quality control. With only about 3 more months (Aug, Sept, Oct) before winter, we have a behemoth task ahead, since the main pipes (clean water 自来水, dirty water 排水, gas 煤气, electricity 电力, heating 热力) are still not executed yet. Gotta rush designs, rush tenders, rush the construction teams in. On the bright side, at least with these past weeks focusing on the construction side, I'm starting to see more bonds within the department.

Had a thought yesterday (Sunday) when I was browsing through a magazine at Starbucks while waiting for Jac to do her nails. Saw this article about recycling bags and how it is so "chic" to be eco-friendly and nature-embracing. Apparently even famous designers are lending their hands to the "oh so environmentally cool" designs.





















Anyhow, the thought that flashed through me was "Okay, yeah its great that people nowadays are becoming so environmentally conscience and stuff and that even everywhere here is charging like RMB0.20 for a plastic bag! I now have a spare eco-bag in one of pocket of my backpack which I carry around everyday, and I can hardly even find a single plastic bag at home! This eco-thingie is really bringing it on here in China, much more so than in Singapore!" Then it dawned on me on how am I going to throw my rubbish in my bin if I hadn't had a plastic bag to tie it up! Paperbag? Nope, leakages. Then what? No much options left on the table, I suppose. Maybe we ought to have a mini-incinerator in the kitchen or something. I think maybe I still need a plastic bag afterall..

kelvin : Bells-A-Ringing...

Yesterday and today marked another step forward in our lives together. Yes, the much anticipated (or to some, dreadful) wedding photos! Much of Saturday was spent on interior shootings, in all we spent about 7 hours, switching between 5 outfits. (See Jac's post below) In fact, most of my time was spent on the couch, battling on my PSP while the makeup artists doodle all over Jackie's face. Trust me, yes it was that long, I managed to complete the Bomberman game for goodness' sake!

The whole package set us back about RMB6,800+ (about S$1,300), with a couple of standard albums, frames, 48 photos to keep and an additional free casual shoot, known as a 写真. It's cheap considering the average package in Singapore would cost about $2.5k to $4k. The China studio was pretty neat as well, 5 storeys in all, with us settling nicely on the top VIP floor. (Note : Singapore studios are pretty pathetic in this aspect) Staff are patient, friendly and the cameramen (from Taiwan) are pretty pro in the staff they do, or at least their cameras looks pro! Haha..

Anyhow today we did a single interior shot and the rest of it on an outdoor studio. They actually made a mockup 1:1 scale of castle backdrops, Greece-like whitewashed buildings, cute shopping malls, etc etc in a huge warehouse! Quite amazing and we're pretty sure the backdrop would look spectacular in our photos. One complaint though : it's freaking hot in there, which made the whole freeze-and-smile-and-act-like-we're-totally-enjoying-it process a little more painful. Today, I finally understand the emotions of actors/models when they do outdoor shooting. Nah, I don't think we're ready for it anytime soon!

On the bright side, this part is done and dealt with, and hopefully next Thursday we could go back and start picking photos. We'd made a pact not to feel too emotional about the photos and to stick to picking ONLY 48 photos, without any additions! Additions would cost about RMB70 each, which would add up to quite a lot without much self-control in place. Would definately compare Singapore photo-shoot experience with this (not placing a lot of faith personally) and see which will come up tops!



















The legendary 周Sir directing Jac's posture to perfection!



















I look gorgeous with my big red ball! Hey where's the other one???



















Us and da crew in perfect harmony. 1,2,3... SCREAM!



















Us on the way for our outdoor shots.




















The outdoor shooting crew, with the mockup set as the background.