Its August!

Oh my God. Time has just zipped by. I can't believe that it is already August. As I sit here to update the blog after an extremely long break, Sangeetha is grinding the ingredients to make Dosai to be eaten tomorrow hopefully. I have just gotten back from playing soccer/football after a long time.

So how has life been for us? Well, unfortunately I injured my ankle badly from playing football about a month back. After a week of swelling, my ankle returned to its usual size but my range of motion continued to suffer for another week while the pain to my bone (possibly a hairline fracture) persisted. In fact, one month on, the pain is still there. My activity levels have dropped quite a bit due to that as well as a surge in photography activity over the past month. I have been trying to actively promote myself as a wedding photographer and that means a lot of marketing, researching, reading etc. Hopefully that has come to fruition as I might have just booked my first wedding (albeit a small one). 

Sangeetha's parents came to visit us two weeks ago and only just left last Thursday. Surprisingly, they seemed to enjoy every bit of Darwin (maybe not so much with the food options). We brought them to Ubirr, Kakadu where we stayed a night at Kakadu Lodge. The following morning we headed to Yellow Rivers to see the sunrise. They also went for the mandatory Jumping Crocodile Cruise which they very much enjoyed although the thick Australian accent of the tour guide meant that it was more of a visual tour than an auditory one. They spent the rest of their days doing a fair bit of shopping at Casuarina Square although Sang and I were quite puzzled at this. 

Sunset at Ubirr

Morning at Yellow River

Mountain Biking Khaki No More

On a sad note, Gerard has decided to return back to Singapore for personal reasons that we can understand. I'll miss Gerard. When I came to Darwin, he seemed to make it a personal mission to help me settle in quickly. It was he who quickly showed me all the exercise options available and, true to form as a dietitian, all the good and tasty meal options available to us. We used to do a weekly lunch outing at Rapid Creek where we enjoyed some Japanese food. Gerard was also my online shopping partner. Most importantly, he was a good friend. One that I was blessed to be introduced to so quickly after moving to Darwin. In one of my initial posts, I had written about how my friends and family are the best of me. Gerard is one of those guys that easily fits into this list. As our lives part ways only after 7 months, I can only be thankful for having known him and wish him all the best in his future. On the bright side, at least I can still meet him when I return to Singapore.

John loving his gift

Me trying to look inconspicuous

On another good note, we were introduced to the lovely John and Kristal who just came back from their 6-month vacation in South America. We had a small birthday surprise at John's place organised by Kristal which was good fun as you can tell from the photos.

In two days, Sentill is coming to visit us. He will be staying on till Tuesday so that is something Sang and I are eagerly anticipating. How timely, that the English Premier League is also starting. So that means mayhem. We have a few things planned and another trip to Kakadu as well so you can bet that its going to be exciting.

In other news, I have sold a number of my photography equipment. I realised I had gotten addicted to collecting photography gear and my collection had grown to a point that I could not store them neatly in this 2-room apartment. Thankfully I wisened up and have decided to review what I need as a wedding photographer as well as a nature photographer. That means 4 cameras will now be reduced to just 2 cameras. Instead, I will collect images. I recently went to Paul Arnold's gallery in the city and was just stumped by what I saw. If you happen to stop by Darwin and you intend to get a gift for someone, I would say that his gallery is the best place to head to. I could spend hours sitting there and enjoying each and every photograph. I spoke to him once and his passion was just unfathomable. I guess his images speak for themselves.

Anyway's sorry for the long break. Oh! On saying that, I did something silly yesterday. I tried to throw my fancy new Sony Z5 Premium from the living room to the bedroom but it failed miserable and landed flat, screen down. Now it's broke. Sang did warn me but as with any awesome husband, I didn't listen to her. I am stuck to a minute iPhone 5 which has a text size that's designed for macro lenses. Ok then, end of my sad story. Gonna eat spinach and mushrooms for dinner to try and lose the added kilos that I have put on in July.

Cheers!