It was Derby Day today and I had a blast!! I arrived in Melbourne last night and Gia Min & I stayed up till 2am preparing for today! I made my famous jello shots while Gia shoved her hands in a loaf of bread and stuffed it with whiskey, disguised in a plastic ice lemon tea bottle. Before I arrived, she had also “re-packaged” red wine to look like mineral water. Needless to say, we successfully sneaked a lot of alcohol and had a blast, despite the scorching sun! My sun-kissed skin is glowing and I’m excited about my tan, except for the 2 sun-burnt patches on my legs!

My friends have warned me about the weather here and how there can be 4 seasons in a day. Should I say “lucky me!” ? I experienced it today! The morning till midday started out very warm and we were all sweating underneath our prissy dresses. By 3pm, cool winds started moving in, and finally, we had some relief from the heat! It got pretty chilly by dinnertime and we were freezing our b**ts off as we hurried to the car! After dinner, it poured!

It was an awesome experience at Derby Day and a fantastic start to my trip in Melbourne!

Here’s a pic of us, early on in the morning, when everyone was still looking fresh and feeling chirpy! (The sun got pretty unbearable by noon!)

Melbourne here I come! I’m almost all packed and ready to go! I’ll be in Melbourne for work and play and I’m looking forward to some r&r although I also plan to catch up on some work! One goal I’ve set for myself is to take travel photos. The assignment photos from FIFOTO 101 has inspired me to take more photos for my own pleasure and what better opportunity than this trip!

The feedback we’ve been getting from our inaugural FIFOTO 101 class has been very positive. During our graduation party, Chris & Anderson came up with a tag line for FIFOTO 101 – “More than photography”, which I think, truly captures the essence of the course. And I cannot let on why it is more than photography coz that will just spoil the fun & surprise – you will just have to trust us on this one! (Or, you can speak with any of our new graduates and they will tell you why!)

Due to the many requests and interest for this class, we are now open for registration for next year’s class! Seats are limited so sign up early!

I love being back in Penang, it’s Foodfest everytime! More like Durianfest this time round! Mom tempted me with 3 durians awaiting my arrival and I had it as soon as I got home, for “tea”. This trip back to Penang is a short one, but it’s mainly to celebrate my mom’s birthday (early, coz her birthday actually falls on the day I fly off to Melbourne!) and to drop Bam-Bam off for babysitting! I’m so totally looking forward to my Melbourne trip, especially the upcoming Derby Day which will be my first ever experience!! Gia Min & Wanda have both gotten me so hyped up about it! These girls are super planners, super organized and coordinated!!!

It was Amri’s birthday bash last Saturday and needless to say, a fashionably fabulous one! Held at Hakka Replublic, the theme to this year’s Fashion Fabulosity party was Park Princess and Hip Hop Boys and the best thing about these parties is that EVERYONE dressed to theme! (which is quite a novelty for our local Malaysian culture!) The music was thumpin’ with DJ Goldfish & Jiman in da house, and as fashionistas rolled in in their Laboutins, the night got better, and better and better!

Happy Birthday to the ever-so-fabulous AMRI RAHIM!!! We love you!

Photowall by Jason

Event by Steve

Photos from my party cam!

Isn’t Khoon Hooi so adorable? By the way, for all you brides out there… he makes fantastic gowns!!

Birthday boy is GLOWIN’

Today was our last class for FIFOTO 101 and we were all very pleasantly surprise when Anderson walked into class today with a tray of SUSHI from Sango!!! It was super yummy and we finished more than half of it even before class started!

THANK YOU ANDERSON for the lovely gesture!!!

(By the way, Sango is his new Japanese restaurant located at the Crystal Crown Hotel in PJ. I’ve been there once and the yakitori selection is amazing! Plus… cherry blossom ice cream!!!!)

After class, we handed the fresh grads their certificates and then… crazy booth portraits!!!

We ran out of Mango ones, which are a hit with everyone!

We have to ration these gummy/sweets with Ernest…

Ernest, the wannabe porn photographer

We headed to Twentyone to celebrate!

(I don’t usually take photos “for fun” but I’m so inspired by their work I thought I’d make an exception!)

All of us had a lot of fun, getting to know each other and sharing our photography stories. It’s really great to see how everyone gets along so well and so effortlessly! It’s been a fun and exciting month for me, as you raise the bar each week on the assignment photos! Again, I’m truly blown away by your creativity and technical improvements over the last couple of weeks! I’m so proud of all of you!! But more importantly, we’ve made new friends and I’d like to thank y’all for your undying support to FIFOTO!