Gong Xi Fa Cai! Hansel, back in Toronto.

It has been one week since our return to Toronto. During this time, Hansel and Jamie are adjusting back to the Winter cold. Took the opportunity to dust off my camera (and the Pentax Super Takumar 50mm F1.4) and capture some pictures of Hansel  at 11 months of age.

Singapore Food

In the short time I was in Singapore, I savored some of my favorite (and affordable) local dishes. Here is a sampling.

On Vacation :)

I am off to Singapore from Dec 14 till Jan 13, 2012. All packed and ready to go see the family. Expect pictures of Singapore in the coming posts.

Hansel at 8 months

Hansel is a playful boy and has learnt to crawl recently. At 8 months, he is definitely an attention seeker. Also, he smiles and  laughs readily when teased. Pictures courtesy of Kangwei which I cropped and enhanced with AnalogColor.

Capital of Canada, Ottawa

Drove up to Mont Tremblant via Montreal over the weekend. Came back via Ottawa on the return. A long drive but nevertheless quite a bit of photo opportunities.

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After Tremblant, Quebec

Drove up to Mont Tremblant via Montreal over the weekend. Came back via Ottawa on the return. A long drive but nevertheless quite a bit of photo opportunities.

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Around Tremblant, Quebec

Drove up to Mont Tremblant via Montreal over the weekend. Came back via Ottawa on the return. A long drive but nevertheless quite a bit of photo opportunities.

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Mont Tremblant, Quebec

Drove up to Mont Tremblant via Montreal over the weekend. Came back via Ottawa on the return. A long drive but nevertheless quite a bit of photo opportunities.

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Jean-Talon Market, Montreal

Drove up to Mont Tremblant via Montreal over the weekend. Came back via Ottawa on the return. A long drive but nevertheless quite a bit of photo opportunities.

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Chinatown, Montreal

Drove up to Mont Tremblant via Montreal over the weekend. Came back via Ottawa on the return. A long drive but nevertheless quite a bit of photo opportunities.

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Bombardier Open House

Bombardier is a manufacturer of a large range of regional and business aircraft including the Learjet range. Bombardier also supplies shorter range aircrafts to commercial carriers such as Air Canada and Westjet. I took this opportunity to try the Contax Carl Zeiss Planar T* 85mm F1.4, as seen in most of the shots here.Wide angle shots were made using the Canon 17-40mm F4.

Christie Antique Show

Today I joined Nick and Rowe in an antique show over at Dundas ON – about an hour’s drive south-west of Toronto. This is a large scale annual event where collectors gather to hunt for bargains. Most of these items were priced sky high. Glass marbles going for $300, tiny porcelain figurines going for $150… Nevertheless, I returned with my largest single post of pictures. Enjoy!

Hansel sitting up

Hansel is learning to sit and has since learnt how to turn over both ways. Bring him to a new place and he looks around curiously. He smiles more readily to people he is familiar with. Here is a collage of Hansel’s pictures taken over the past week. Photos by Jamie using the amazing, do-it-all Apple iPhone.

Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm F/1.7 T*

I had some initial issues with getting the Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm F/1.7 T* to focus. I guess the main issue is that this being a manual focus lens, one must have really sharp eyes. I am already convinced what this excellent lens is capable of — amazing colors and sharpness even at 100% crop. Fine-tuned the adapter recently and here are some test shots taken today at F2.8. Pictures straight from camera, with no post-processing nor sharpening.

Unionville in Summer

Unionville is an old heritage township in the city of Markham, just north of Toronto. Nested within a largely upper-class residential area is a quaint street (Main St.) that spots a stretch of cafes, art galleries and boutique shops. Nicholas and Rowe joined in this interesting photo day-trip. Pictures here taken through the Carl Zeiss 50mm F1.7 manual focus lens.

Hansel in Singapore

Hansel and Jamie are in Singapore for a visit. Thanks to technology, Jamie sends pictures of Hansel to me everyday so I can see how he is doing. Here is a collage of Hansel’s pictures taken this month. Photos by Jamie using the amazing, do-it-all Apple iPhone.

Baseball

Went to my first baseball game at Rogers Centre where the Toronto Blue Jays won against the visiting Oakland Athletics. Not bad considering I got to see a “Grand Slam” and even a near-brawl.

Buffalo, New York

With a couple of friends in 2 cars, I took a road trip across the border to Buffalo, New York. Albeit a short trip, it was fun and cheery being with good company. We wrapped up the day with 7o pieces of buffalo wings, but of course.

U2 360° Tour in Toronto!

We were at the U2 360° Tour 2 nights ago on July 11th. This was a birthday treat for Jamie. Both Jamie and I are fans of U2, so being able to watch them perform “live” was quite amazing; though they were stylishly late for 2 hours. The band “Interpol” was the crowd warmer before the show. Check out the massive stage in the pictures below. Click [ HERE ] for a video clip – guess the song.

Daily dose of humor

Hansel provides the family everyday entertainment with his daily dose of humor and gummy smiles. Here are some pictures.

Summer fun

Summer is a wonderful time. A celebration of family, friendship, food and fun. We enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner at Uncle Wong’s beautiful home. We had lots of fun catching up with friends. Looking forward to more summer days like this.

Toronto Botanic Gardens

The skies cleared for a very sunny 23 degrees Celsius Sunday. Took my in-laws, who are in town for a few weeks, out to the Toronto Botanic Garden to catch a bit of sun and some pictures.

Looking up

Hansel is gradually building strength in his neck area. This allows him to tilt his head up and look around as in the pictures here.

Contented after feeding and "meditating"

3rd month visit to the pediatric clinic

Showing off his belly

Little things

I decided to take a series of things we see and use in the daily care of Hansel. These pictures will be a fond reminder of this time for us in the future.

Favorite airplane music mobile

The tub.

Pacifiers don't work on Hansel, nevertheless here is his first.

Night lamp with a mug of hot water for warming his bottled milk.

Hansel making a face!

Laughter

Hansel loves to smile and at times breaks into a laugh. Haha… Always a joy to look at.

Happy Mother’s Day

Today we celebrated Mother’s Day simply with a cake. Jamie now qualifies! Here are some pictures taken tonight.

8 weeks old

At 8 weeks old (or 1 month corrected), Hansel can be fussy at times, refusing to sleep after feeding. Often, he struggles to keep his eyes open, curiously peering around though he is sleepy. Enjoy this series taken in recent days at 8 weeks.

The Zoolander Magnum

Hansel strikes a “Magnum” look – for those of you familiar with the Zoolander movie. Hansel makes this face often, much to our amusement.

Good Friday Weekend

This Good Friday long weekend was a nice one. We brought Hansel to Church on Friday and to Costco on Saturday – His first weekend outdoors. Travelling light,  all pictures here taken with the Canon IXUS 100IS and Ricoh GRD.

The Many Expressions of Hansel

Hansel never ceases to amuse us with his many expressions. He is most awake in the evenings after feeding, here is a series taken this evening.

Miami Retro Chic

The Miami Art Deco District is the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures built between 1923 and 1943. I took a 30min spin around the area and here are some pictures.

Miami Vice

I am in Miami for a 3 day training. Great weather at 30 degrees Celsius. Took a boat ride around the islands and captured some pictures. Traveling light, hence all pictures taken with the Ricoh GRD II 28mm f2.4 single focus prime lens. In this set, all pictures taken in 1:1 square format frames.

Feeding and Sleeping

Hansel is feeding well so far but he still has more to grow. As you can see, most of his clothes are still baggy. Here are some pictures taken over the past week.

Welcome home, Hansel.

Hansel came home on Saturday afternoon, March 12. While Hansel adapts to the new home environment, we too are making anticipated changes to our routine as best as we can. I have taken ill and on medication, hoping to get well fast. These are the only pictures I could muster at this time, more to come.

No more tubes!

A milestone today as Hansel graduates from feeding through the tube and over to the bottle. I can imagine it is a relief for him as having a tube down one’s nose with a big sticky tape on cheek is no fun. He downs a small bottle of milk quickly, not bad for a first attempt at bottle feeding.

Coaching from the nurse.

Big stretch... just before tube removed.

Parents are in town

Parents flew in last week to be with us and help out with the baby and home moving. Would be tough without their assistance with so many things happening all at once. Some pictures here (most photos taken with my Dad’s Nikon Coolpix).

Time with Hansel – Daily Visits to the Nursery

Jamie and I make daily trips to St Michaels Hospital to catch the 3 hourly feeding sessions for interaction time with Hansel. We have the opportunity to take his temperature, change diapers, hold and feed him. Leaving the hospital without Hansel is not a good feeling. We can’t wait to bring him home.

Hansel in the Nursery

Hansel is currently kept at the Nursery aka NICU. As you can see, he is all hooked up to monitors, an IV drip to his left hand and a feeding tube up his nose. I am not comfortable seeing him like this and I am sure he feels uncomfortable as well. Jamie and I are making frequent trips to visit him and catch the 3 hourly feeding times for some interaction. More pictures to come.

Hansel, my son.

Hansel arrived 5 and half weeks early, at 34+ weeks. How that happened was truly dramatic. Nevertheless, all is well. Though I am truly tired having not slept in days, I am eager to share some pictures of Hansel, my son. Jamie did a wonderful job delivering Hansel. More pictures to come.

After the Snowstorm.

On February 1st, a major weather system brought about snow storms across eastern US and Canada. Toronto was not spared and approximately 20-30cm of snow was dumped overnight with winds gusting at 60km/h. Continue reading

Our Reunion Dinner

The Lunar New Year – a huge event on the Chinese calendar.  On the eve of the New Year, families gather to enjoy a time of togetherness over a meal – the reunion dinner. Continue reading

Lomo Series: “The SAS Office”


I am starting a lomography series beginning with my workplace (SAS Toronto office) as subject. With lomography, resolution is secondary. Character is key. For this purpose, the pictures in the Lomo Series are shot with the Ricoh GRDigital camera.

Visiting Friend from Singapore

Chinese New Year Goodies ~ Courtesy of Kenneth Goh

Our friend (and my former colleague at SAS) Kenneth Goh was in town for work.  It was great meeting Kenneth over dinner, with lots of catching up about what’s been happening on both sides. Continue reading

Feels like -30°C

It was a frigid Sunday morning. Temperatures dipped to -20°C or -30°C if you factor in wind chill. Continue reading

Winter Wonderland

An overnight sprinkling of snow had us treading through ankle deep snow along the pavements yesterday. Continue reading

Blizzard. Snow. Slush.

Quite a bit of snow fell last weekend, especially on Saturday. Continue reading

Chinese Food

Ah yes… Chinese food. Continue reading

Our First Car

After much delay, we finally bought our first car. This is an Infiniti G35X. Continue reading

Happy Halloween

The spirit of Halloween is in the air. Continue reading…

Thanksgiving at Mont Tremblant & Montreal

This year, Thanksgiving was a time of friendship and adventure.  Continue reading…

Brownie Outdoors – Scarborough Cliffs @ Bluffer’s Park

After his 2nd vaccination shot at 3 months of age, Brownie can now step outdoors. Continue reading…

Brownie

It has never occurred to me that I will have a pet dog again. Over the years, I have had brief keeps of dogs (a Jack Russell named Sparky being the last). Well, I decided to get a dog for Jamie and myself, and so I ordered a puppy online (mail order dog). Continue reading…

Toronto Singapore Film Festival 2010

An annual event, the Toronto Singapore Film Festival was held on July 16-17 this year. Continue reading…

Fiona & Nicholas

Our new found friends in Toronto, Fiona & Nicholas held an engagement celebration yesterday night.  Continue reading…

Shops and Slopes @ Tremblant

I did my first Luge run down a mile long track (not visible but the slopes are on the left of picture). Continue reading…

La Forge @ Tremblant

Tonight I dine at La Forge, a fine restaurant at Tremblant. Continue reading…

Mont Tremblant… Très Bien

I am at Mont Tremblant in Quebec for a 3 day conference. Continue reading…

WWE Pile Driver

We were at the Niagara Falls over the weekend (10 – 12 July 2010) and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Continue reading…

Taking It Easy

One of the most beatiful spots of Niagara is not the Falls (Clifton Hill area) itself, instead it is a clustor of towns a little north called “Niagara on the Lake”. Continue reading…

High Five

 

Some wrestling celebrity palm prints adorn the concrete of walls outside of the WWE shop at Clifton Hill.  Jamie leaves an impression with hers.

Little Brows of Frown

Families with kids from 90 years to 9 days old can be seen on the streets of the Niagara Falls area.  Continue reading…

Niagara Night Lights

The Clifton Hill area of the Niagara Falls comes to life after dusk really. Continue reading…