Brunei Darussalam National Day Run 2013

Some years back my daughter Jewel ran her first long distance event — a 6 km run starting from and finishing at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in the Brunei capital, an event she was neither trained nor had much preparation for other than the occasional school practice. Back then I wasn’t very much involved with her running as I am today in her athletic training and competition. Cut a long story short, she completed the event and was among the top 30-something students out of what appeared to be a large number of participants from all schools in the country.

Last Sunday, Jewel participated in her second run this time a kilometer shorter which was held right in our home town, Seria. The difference this time she has had eleven months of athletic coaching, having earned several medals in 400m, 200m and 4x100m events, she’s in way better shape than she ever was. The transformation from the weak, migraine-prone asthmatic little girl to the determined athlete she is today, is nothing short of amazing. She is 13, and finished 5th in the Under 17 category.

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July 25, 2011: Overcoming all odds to triumph: Jewel’s first 400m event.
Feb 23, 2009: Growing Up With Asthma and Allergies

Jewel stretching before her 5 km run.

All images: Canon PowerShot G11

The View From My Kitchen Balcony

My kitchen balcony has all the elements of good feng shui. How do I know this? Quite simply, the term feng shui literally translates as “wind-water” in English and in that respect, the balcony gets plenty of wind, and rain water, sometimes both :). I’m an early riser, a habit that has followed me since school days and on more than a few occasions I had been blessed with picturesque sunrises especially when you factor in addition of the seasonal flock of white egrets flying in formation over my house.

Pay attention to where the sun is at the bottom of the picture in between the roofs and you’ll see where the following photo was photographed. I donated this framed and mounted piece to help raise money for the earthquake victims of Haiti and Chile.

Photographing Muffins & Co. at The Souq

“The Souq provides a perfect opportunity for any entrepreneur to start and own a retail business. Since a majority of the renovation costs have been covered and prepared in the Souq, business owners just need to spend on a very minimal set up cost. The Souq provides its tenants with ready-to-move-in shop units equipped with all the necessities from power supply, individual airconditioning, phone line and up-to-the-business signage. Tenants will only need to set up proper display units or furniture and a very low renovation cost if necessary, then bring in the products and their shop is ready for operation.” — The Brunei Times

A photography assignment at Muffins & Co. took me to Level One of the Airport Mall where it’s located at the Main Street Unit right next door to The Souq’s management office. Muffins & Co. is owned by the same team behind established bakery, Mr Baker’s Bakershop at Batu Besurat and Mr Baker’s Cafe at Gadong Central.

Very first order of the afternoon — selecting a face for Muffins & Co. — positioning and lighting Jong wasn’t the easiest and straightforward of task considering the space constraint and constant battle with tungsten bias ambient lighting, with the shadow behind subject intentionally left untouched.

10 varieties of freshly baked muffins from the kitchen of Mr Baker’s Bakeshop were brought here for the shoot and for the lucky few to sample. Check out Muffins & Co. on Facebook