Merry Christmas

First of all, I’d like to wish everyone who stumbles upon this blog post a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Hope you all had a fantastic time catching up with family, friends, and maybe some much needed sleep!!

24th-25th December 2010

Christmas this year has been pretty awesome. Mum and Dad were in New Zealand for the first time in about 4-5 years, so being able to celebrate with them was great!! We even put up the old Christmas tree too!! Been ages since we did that. Got each other presents, wrapped them up and put them under the tree haha. Had a nice dinner at home on Christmas Eve with Dad, Mum, Dill and Steph (Jenny worked so had to come late hehe), then exchanged gifts.

From Bobo, I received my newest toy, the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM prime lens!! The thing is fast, quiet, accurate, and best of all, the depth of field you can achieve with them is UNCANNY!! Thanks so much babe!!

From Dill and Steph, I got Mario Party 8 for the Wii. Tried it last night with Dill, Steph and Jenny, and I must say, the game is quite fun!! Thanks, guys!!

And finally from Mum and Dad, both Dill and I got a new Nintendo Wii from them. Not just any Wii though, it’s the limited edition 25th Anniversary Super Mario Wii in (Ferrari) Red!! Thanks, Mum!! Thanks, Dad!!

Jenny and I were out shopping with Mum and Dad at Sylvia Park a couple of weeks back, when we stumbled upon a set of 8 pots and pans made of stone and made in Germany. We could tell this was what the folks have been looking for, and the price was pretty good too, so we got them that for Christmas

All in all, this was a very enjoyable Christmas for me. Haven’t really gotten into the Christmas spirit like this year in many years now, so it was a nice change!!

26th December 2010

Boxing Day. It was also Dad’s birthday, so we (me, Dill, Steph, Jenny, Mum) all took him to the Manurewa Botanical Gardens for photos and lunch at Miko Cafe (situated inside the Gardens). The day was fantastic. Perfect weather (started raining hardout on the 27th, so we considered ourselves extremely fortunate haha), and perfect company. Couple that with my new 35mm L prime lens + my trusty Canon EOS 40D, and you have a perfect day ahead of you! Lunch was great. However it was a pity to find out they no longer serve the fish and chips as a regular menu item anymore…

In the evening, we took him to karaoke at Mini Karaoke in the city We all knew how much he loves singing, so we decided to treat him to that!! Jenny’s treat. Thanks again, boo! Afterwards, it was back to our place for some Wii Sports!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!! We all hope you had a fantastic day!! We thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with you!!

Olajuwon

Sunday, 3rd October, 2010… After a thoroughly enjoyable late brunch at The Coffee Club in Sylvia Park, this (below) happens LOL

@Sylvia Park Footlocker store:

Me: “Hey they’ve got Olajuwon’s!!” (referring to an NBA Swingman jersey)

Bobo: “Do you need a large one?”

LOL.

The Yankees and Phillies are both in the post-season (which starts tomorrow). Re-match of 2009′s World Series in the works, anyone? Although I have a feeling the Phils will get their revenge this time around.

Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt are a more solid trio than, say, Sabathia, Pettitte, Burnett (that’s if he even gets a nod…) Provided Hamels doesn’t have another meltdown and pitch like he has been pitching of late

Acuvue It Is!!

Had my final visit to the optometrist this past Sunday, and it seems we have a winner in the “Which Contacts Are The Most Suitable For Nathan” sweepstakes!! Both the optometrist (James) and I decided that the Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism two-weekly contact lenses were the most suitable for me; him saying that in terms of comfort and dryness to my eyes, there’s nothing better than the Acuvues with current technology. I wholeheartedly agree!! I’ve worn them for five days now, and I have nothing to say but praise. Goodbye irritating/gritty feeling, so long dry eyes!! I’m loving contacts more and more each day!!

Ordered two boxes (one for each eye) from OPSM for $90 each, coming to a total of $180. Looks like I’ll give Contacts2Go a try once these run out. They have some pretty competitive prices. Around $66 for one box. I like!! Will need to pick up the two boxes from Sylvia Park once they give me a call; hopefully by Thursday, as it’s Good Friday on Friday, which means all the shops are closed. Seems like only a few days ago it was Good Friday last year!! Time sure flies!!

New “Eyes”

I realise it’s been over month again since my last post. What’s happened since then? Well, I had my 24th birthday on the 12th March 2010, and just finished off the first of two sets of intern training days (which I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED, BTW! Managed to learn heaps of new things while having fun through role-playing, and getting to catch up with some uni mates was great). My birthday fell on a working Friday, so I spent the day working as usual, but managed to go out for some ice cream at “Casa de Gelato” in Ponsonby with Jenny Snickers ice cream for me, Ferrero Rocher (sp?) for her

The following Sunday was where the actual festivities occurred. Dill and Steph kindly shouted me, Jenny and mum to Nickie’s in Newmarket. ‘Twas a very enjoyable dinner, and I thoroughly enjoyed the company! Thanks, guys!

Presents-wise, Dill got me “Batman” (the 1989 Tim Burton one, that is) and “The Last Samurai” on Bluray, Steph got me a nice t-shirt, and Jenny got me a limited edition Gran Turismo PSP-3000 Thanks so much, Bobo!

My 24th birthday present from my parents was contact lenses. Now that may not sound like much for most people, but I’ve been bugging them for contacts ever since I started wearing glasses way back in first year uni (2004). I headed off to Sylvia Park for some information-digging. Three shops were available there; OPSM, SpecSavers, and another one whose name has just slipped my mind lol… All three stores had the same $200 deal (which includes a full eye checkup, trials for different types of contact lenses until the most suitable one is found, and up to 4 or 5 consultations). I opted to go to OPSM, as the optometrist on duty (James) actually knew what he was talking about.

It’s been nearly two weeks since putting on my first pair of contacts (14th March 2010 marked the first time haha), and all I can say is WHY DID I NOT GET THEM EARLIER?! I’ve tried three different brands/types so far. The first pair were some Acuvue Oasys contacts (not sure which ones exactly), the second pair were thicker and the company/brand has completely slipped my mind (I think they were made by Ciba Vision?), and the third pair are once again Johnson & Johnson Acuvue Oasys, but this time, specifically the ones for astigmatism (which I suffer from). The first pair were pretty good, although they dried out my eyes a bit. Nor did they correct my astigmatism (no wonder my vision blurred out whenever I was reading fine text or a computer screen!). The Ciba Vision pair were less drying than the first, but they were significantly thicker than both the Acuvues, so you could definitely feel them more in your eyes; astigmatism was fixed somewhat more than the first. My eyes also took a while to adjust to them, and they stung for a few minutes when first put in. The astigmatism-correcting Acuvues I went to pickup on Thursday night after work, and have been wearing them since then. They are by far the most comfortable, AND they don’t seem to dry out my eyes at all. I wore them for around 14 hours today, and only just before I took them out did my right eye feel a bit raw/dry, which was almost certainly due to me dozing off on my bed with Jenny after dinner

Will be going back to OPSM for another routine checkup tomorrow (28th March 2010) around 1:30pm, and will definitely be sounding my support for the “Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism” ones!! Will hopefully be getting another pair of Ray-Ban aviators as well; the RB3025′s

Desiring the “Desire” :)

The HTC Bravo (now officially renamed the “Desire”) was officially announced by HTC at the 2010 MWC in Barcelona, Spain yesterday. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much anticipation over a cellular phone before. EVER. From what I’ve seen/read, I’m almost certain I will go out and get a Desire once it’s released (some sources say 29th March, some say April).

The leaked HTC road map pretty much nailed the Desire’s specs on the head, save for a few discrepancies. It will indeed have the same 3.7″ AMOLED screen as the Nexus One (also built by HTC), have an optical trackpad instead of the trackball the Nexus One had, and come with a 5.0 megapixel camera. I’ll have to admit, ever since the Desire was unofficially announced, I had been searching high and low to find out just how much RAM it would pack. Before the official announcement at MWC 2010, some sources stated 512MB RAM (the same as the Nexus One, therefore, GOOD!), while other sources stated it would only pack 256MB RAM (BOO!). I’m happy to announce that the official HTC Desire website here, states the Desire will pack 576MB RAM (even more than the Nexus One! BIG, BIG YAY!); making me want this “super”phone that much more! XD

However, there doesn’t seem to be any word regarding its HD video recording abilities (which was mentioned on the road map), but no matter. Everything else about the phone is perfect!

The other Android-powered HTC phone that was announced, the HTC Legend (successor to the Hero) was also quite nice.

So far, the phone looks amazing, and I really cannot wait for it to be released

In other news from my life, Valentine’s Day was this past Sunday. Spent a terrific day with my girlfriend, Jenny. We had lunch dinner (:P) at Umi at Sylvia Park, then caught “Valentine’s Day” at the Extreme Screen at Hoyts (also at Sylvia LOL). I was a bit skeptical when seeing the trailers, as I was expecting the movie to implode, considering how many big-time Hollywood stars they managed to pack in. I’m glad to say I was pleasantly surprised. It was full of laughs, and was done very well. Taylor Swift takes the cake by far for the best performance in the film. Boy, the girl can sing AND act! What next?!

All in all, V-Day was a terrific day, and I’d like to say Happy Valentine’s Day to all, especially to my darling, Jenny!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!