Last Wednesday, however, I decided to live the dream and get myself that Globe Bantam in mint and it arrived five days later.

Everyone, meet my first cruiser board, Pepper.

To be honest, I wouldn’t have picked up a board if most of my friends didn’t have one already. I’m not particularly fond of doing sporting activities on the streets except when I did roller blading briefly when I was 8 years old. I did do ice skating for four years after that but even then it felt safer to fall on ice than on the streets—I know right, go figure.

Anyway, it seemed impossible to pick up riding on a board whenever I tried one of my friend’s. Okay, I admit I was only trying half-heartedly. But I can’t even skate-scoot properly and that came with a handle bar! Though ever since that dream of me boarding I thought it was high time I got on one for real. I have been missing surfing like mad and was super nostalgic about being stoked. Now I know why most surfers are skaters and vise versa because the feeling is almost the same. Nothing beats the feeling of conquering that board and getting on it.

Leading up to this, I actually spent months watching girls longboard and got sold to the idea of trying it out, at least sometime down the road. I just wasn’t expecting to try it out so soon. I think having my own board really pushed me into it and I fell in love with it, quite literally too. Now I think I’m going to have to skate instead of walk. As my friend Trisha puts it, “Walking is so overrated!”

Speaking of living the dream, I joined Let the Sea Set You Free, a global search contest that lets 3 lucky girls live the dream of a Roxy girl. If you think I’ve got the spirit of a Roxy girl, be sure to vote for me daily. Muchas gracias!

Favorite Lomo Cameras: Lubitel 2, Yashica

Favorite effect produced by Lomo cameras: The amazing light leaks that sneak up on some photos and produce the most beautiful colors

Favorite film to use: Fuji Provia 100, Lomography Redscale XR 50-200, Lomography color negative 800ISO

Favorite photos taken with a Lomo camera

How long have you been doing Lomography?
Over 4 years now. I started on 25th December 2008.

What got you started in Lomography?
My sister was the one who introduced me to it. She was on a website and saw some cool looking photographs that had been tagged as “lomo”. She had no idea what it was so she started to do a bit of research. That afternoon when I got home she said “OMG I found this coolest thing ever! I have to show you. You’re going to love it”. We spent ages looking through all the amazing photos on the lomography website as she explained the whole concept of this analogue photography. We did some more research and found some lomo shops in Bangkok. We decided to start off with the Diana deluxe Set. We got this for Christmas in 2008 and my love for analogue photography started from there. My sister and I got a few more cameras over the next few months after that, including an LCA, Action Sampler and Color Splash Camera.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2009 when my life really changed. My family and I went on a big holiday to Europe. We went around croatia and and Italy. Our last stop was Rome. At this time my sister and I were obsessed with vintage things and especially small weekend markets selling old treasures. My sister did some research to find a weekend market in Rome only 20 minutes from our hotel. My dad wasn’t too keen about going to this market because we barely knew our way around the city and the address was in italian so we didn’t really have any idea where it was. Finally we convinced our parents to go and minutes later we were in a taxi with our fingers crossed that we’d find it. After an hour of walking around the market I found an old man selling antiques from his car boot. There was a rug on the floor with two cameras on it. My eyes immediately went to the Lubitel 2, which I could easily recognize because I’d had my eye on the Lubitel 166U for months. However, I never considered buying the Lubitel 166U because it was too expensive. I picked up the camera and asked the man “does this work? what film does it take? How much?”. He didn’t speak any english and could only reply with “20 Euro, 20 euro”. I was shocked at how cheap it was and knew I couldn’t leave without it. It was like a dream come true. Since then that Lubitel 2 has been everything to me. The chances of us going to that market that day were very low. I am a very strong believer in fate. It was fate that got us to that market and that one man’s stall out of hundreds. I owe it all to my sister though. I don’t think I would have found this lomo world without her.

Why do you Lomo?
There are so many reasons! I lomo for the unexpected effects and colors that the cameras create. I lomo to capture life in a brighter and more beautiful form. However the main reason I lomo is happiness. My Lubitel 2 brings me so much happiness. It feels like it has super powers. When I’m having a bad week or bad day, I grab my camera and forget about everything that was bothering me and just focus on the view finder in front of my eyes. It’s like looking into a wonderland. There is nothing worse than the suspense of waiting for the film to get developed but then there’s nothing better than that moment when you look at your photos for the first time. It’s hard to describe the emotions that run through me when I’m using my Lubitel or how much it means to me. That little camera has contributed to and captured some of the best days of my life. Days that I will never forget. I can’t imagine my life without it now.

Why We Lomo was a project I started in 2009 to feature the many faces that Lomography has managed to capture. Its home was a now-defunct creative blog but has since found its new home here. Be sure to check back every fortnight on Tuesdays for a new featured profile.  Know a Lomography enthusiast?  Email me at hello[at]nikipaniki.com.

I haven’t seen any place where food is so revered as it is here in Singapore. So it’s only fitting that this city lends a backdrop to the 16th World Gourmet Summit 2012. This 11-day food fiesta offers a smorgasbord of delights to include Michelin-starred chefs to internationally acclaimed vintners (aka wine makers).

This year’s theme, A Heritage Of Flavours, pays homage to a tradition of tastes from across the globe and celebrates contemporary culinary methods and techniques. Not only will we get schooled in food, we’ll also learn more about Singapore’s own heritage with events being hosted at top heritage sites like the historical Alkaff Mansion, Bukit Timah Fire Station, Hotel Fort Canning and the National Museum of Singapore. Participating international chefs will also present—aside from featuring contemporary cuisine—their culture’s traditional recipes but refreshed with a modern twist.

Citibank Gastronomic Jam Sessions

This year’s WGS welcomes a new addition to an already-packed line-up and we think the more the merrier. The Citibank Gastronomic Jam Sessions is a two-day event that will feature back–to-back demonstrations of culinary techniques and trends by visiting masterchefs alongside local chefs.

“This year, the World Gourmet Summit continues to add exciting elements to its programme. With the introduction of the Citibank Gastronomic Jam Sessions, the Summit will be scoring another first in combining culinary education with entertainment. We expect to see overwhelming response not just from Singapore and the region, but also from around the world,” adds Jacquelyn Tan Business Director and Head of Credit Payment Products, Citibank Singapore

Chef Ensemble

Headlining the cast of culinary luminaries is British celebrity chef Marco Pierre White. As Knorr brand ambassador and the celebrity chef of this year’s gastronomic extravaganza he will be delighting us with his creations via two events.

Where to catch him
Marco Pierre White Celebrity Chef Dinner, 27 April at Grand Hyatt Singapore
World Gourmet Summit Charity Dinner, 25 April at Resorts World Sentosa

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Special guest chef Anatoly Komm has revitalized Russian cuisine by putting the country on the world culinary map through his combination of traditional Russian flavors and his unique molecular culinary methods. In 2011, his Moscow restaurant, VARVARY, earned a position in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Where to catch him
Indoguna Gala Dinner featuring Anatoly Komm, 28 April at Resorts World Sentosa

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Lauded as the rising star in the European culinary scene, Danish special guest chef Ronny Emborg was named “Chef of the Year” in 2007, at just 24. Acclaimed for his avant-garde and individualistic approach to molecular and nouvelle cuisines, his restaurant, AOC in Copenhagen, earned its first Michelin-star in 2010, within a year of its opening.

Where to catch him
Intimate Singapore Experience with Ronny Emborg, 26 April at Bukit Timah Fire Station.

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Plus a whole lot more culinary greats!

• Bruno Ménard, special guest chef with three-Michelin-stars(France)
• Albert Tse with one-Michelin-star of China Blue, Conrad Tokyo (Japan)
• Dani García with two-Michelin-star of Calima Restaurant (Marbella, Spain)
• Daniel Jordá, renowned baker and proprietor of La Trinidad:Panes Creativos (Barcelona, Spain)
• David Zhang of Xihe Yayuan restaurant (Beijing, China)
• Fergus Henderson with one-Michelin-star of St. JOHN Bar and Restaurant (London, United Kingdom)
• Ian Curley of The European (Melbourne, Australia)
• Michel Sarran with two-Michelin-star of Michel Sarran Restaurant (Toulouse, France)
• Paco Roncero with two-Michelin-star of La Terraza del Casino (Madrid, Spain)
• Pietro D’Agostino with one-Michelin-star of LA CAPINERA RISTORANTE (Taormina, Italy)
• Pedro Miguel Schiaffino of Restaurante & Bar Malabar (Lima, Peru) – listed in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
• Vikas Khanna with one-Michelin-star of Vikas Khanna Hospitality Group (New York, United States)

Where to catch them
Check out the WGS 2012 Events Calendar

Wine Masterclasses

Of course, what is food without wine to complement it. The World Gourmet Summit 2012 wine masterclasses will be conducted by international winemakers while the vintner dinners will be presented by local chefs alongside the masterchefs. So get your swirling down pat as you taste exquisite vintages from the finest wineries: Champagne Penet-Chardonnet (Champagne, France); Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aîné (Rhone, France); Penfolds (Magill, South Australia); Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia and Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto (Tuscany, Italy); Viña Almaviva (Puente Alto, Chile) and Weingut Johanninger (Rheinhessen, Germany).

The World Gourmet Summit 2012 is organised by À La Carte Productions (a subsidiary of Peter Knipp Holdings Pte Ltd), proudly presented by Citibank and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). The World Gourmet Summit will be held from 23 April to 3 May 2012.

Favorite Lomo Cameras: Canon EOS 66, any instamatic camera, Vivitar UWS

Favorite effect produced by Lomo cameras: grain, light leaks, and vignette

Favorite film to use: Centuria, Fuji Provia, Fuji Sensia

Favorite photos taken with a Lomo camera

How long have you been doing Lomography?
It didn’t really start out as lomography per se. In high school around ‘02, before I was introduced to Lomo cameras, I was given an analog Canon EOS 66 SLR. It was a gift from my parents, and at first I didn’t know shit about anything—the settings and all—but I read a lot and found people who were also into photography and learned from them.

My sister bought an Actionsampler in ‘05 and I found it very cool. I got a couple of Lomo and other kinds of film cameras (Supersampler, Holga, Pop 9, Fisheye, Vivitar UWS) after that, but after a few years of carrying them around, they started to give up on me, so I started to borrow lots of different film cameras from friends and bought cheap disposable or instamatic ones. There was a point where I was so close to licking an LC-A camera outside a shop window—I couldn’t afford it, so I bought a disposable underwater Kodak camera instead. After that, I accepted the fact that the LC-A was too expensive for me, but the disposable ones are just as equally awesome.

What got you started in Lomography?
I can’t draw, so I opted for taking pictures instead, because I figured using my eyes would give me better tidings. Asking for an analog camera was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I got into Lomography in college because the Actionsampler I borrowed from my sister gave me my first ever published work in the university’s literary folio. It was a photo of my friend Nikki running on a small airport runway in the province. It looked kind of cool. I never stopped taking photos after that.

Why do you Lomo?
I guess it’s the accidental mess, the grain, the vignettes, the kind of honest feeling film photos evoke. I take lots of digital photos, and I love my digital cameras, but no digital photo can ever give off that look and feel of honest, simple charm. I make zines; I’m into the punk, grunge, riot grrrl movements, and it’s that kind of messed-up/raw kind of style I’ve always really been into—but I experiment a lot, so I can’t really give a clear-cut definition of my “style.”

Commercial shoots that require perfection, cleanliness, and all those enforced spotless stuff are fine, but I can’t really ever consider them fully mine, because photos that are too clean and flawless kind of make me feel weird, and I always feel the need to imagine it having some dirt—like, if it were a person that looks prim and proper, someone wearing well-ironed clothes and has long, beautiful hair, I’d probably “fix” her by punching her in the face and throwing in some confetti, just for fun.

Why We Lomo was a project I started in 2009 to feature the many faces that Lomography has managed to capture. Its home was a now-defunct creative blog but has since found its new home here. Be sure to check back every fortnight on Tuesdays for a new featured profile.  Know a Lomography enthusiast?  Email me at hello[at]nikipaniki.com.

Anyway, I stumbled on Linds Redding’s piece called A Short Lesson in Perspective on The SF Egotist and couldn’t help but share it here. If you’re going to read one thing this Sunday morning with your hot cup of joe, let it be this.

Photo from LindsRedding.com

This was the con. Convincing myself that there was nowhere I’d rather be was just a coping mechanism. I can see that now. It wasn’t really important. Or of any consequence at all really. How could it be. We were just shifting product. Our product, and the clients. Just meeting the quota. Feeding the beast as I called it on my more cynical days.

So was it worth it?

Well of course not. It turns out it was just advertising. There was no higher calling. No ultimate prize. Just a lot of faded, yellowing newsprint, and old video cassettes in an obsolete format I can’t even play any more even if I was interested. Oh yes, and a lot of framed certificates and little gold statuettes. A shit-load of empty Prozac boxes, wine bottles, a lot of grey hair and a tumor of indeterminate dimensions.