Warning: Gripe Ahead.

For the first time today, I couldn't laugh in office. Today was Shitty Day, a manifestation of all the Accumulated Nonsense and triggered by a catalyst known as The-10-Hour-Stakeout.

Most of the angst has been disappated, thanks to an hour-long political discussion/argument/quarrel with my father, who, for his secondary-school-education-only, knows more than enough to carry on an argument with me. He's the ONLY person who can tahan arguing with me. Most people get tired and just leave me and my silly ways to be.

But yes, The-10-Hour-Stakeout was perfectly alright, a tad bit boring, but sitting around doing nothing isn't exactly rocket science.













Auntie above runs the Teck Ghee Pau stall next to the HQ. I have tried almost everything in the shop. I asked her if she was following the CSJ lawsuit.

"Follow? How to follow? I work till 5, go home still must cook and wash clothes and clean house. So tired. Where got time to sit down and watch news?"

Today was the first time though, that I saw Chee's wife. She was really very plesant and nice, made small talk as she sent her kids off to school. The pink schoolbag in the 4th picture belongs to her kids.

I had to make a few decisions today, regarding when to take or not take pictures. The standard rule seems to be, take first and think later.

I'm not really sure where I stand on this. I mean... what is news? I want to talk about ethics and etc, but I know I'd end up sounding like I'm speaking from some moral high ground.

Sigh. I'm never going to get a job with this kinda save-the-world attitude.

"Why didn't Jess come back with the pic!????? She was right there!!!!"
"Oh, she thought it was against her ethics."
"WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?"

All this begins the spiral down the slippery slope of subjectivity. What is news, what is ethics yadayadayada. All I can say is, I do my work in such a way whereby I can sleep soundly at night.

I walked to the carpark to look at Chee's car. Sitting in the front seat was a small plastic bag with a bunch of newly-purchased children's clothes. His wife attaches a Hello Kitty umbrella to the pram when she left with her kids. His youngest son has a cold, and runny nose. His daughter, has hair that's jet-black. All 3 kids waved at me and smiled happily, before racing up the stairs into the HQ.

His wife, speaking to me after I reassured her I was not planning on taking her picture anymore, smiled at me sadly and said, "You guys are alwasy here. I feel like I've no privacy anymore."

The problem with starting with documentary photograhy - I don't like taking pics of people who doesn't want their pictures taken. At the very least, there has to be mutual understanding - even if you don't want your photo taken, you have to understand WHY I'm doing it.

I've missed so many shots, because I wave and smile and introduce myself before I raise my camera to snap. It feels foolish, because I don't think its the right way of doing it, but I can't bring myself to snap away at will without at least first making eye contact and attempting a smile. This desire fades though, when I'm not the only photog there.



Aiyah. Dunno lah.