new website is up but not released to all yet

my new website is actually up and running but i'm only intending to seriously launch it after i complete the portfolio with my japan's wedding shoot and a pre-wedding that i will be doing (o yeah, everything just fell into place)

I love it, and many people loved it too, it's exactly how i envision it to be. :)

What happens when my photographer gets pregnant?

Interestingly and somewhat understandable, my couples have been asking me this questions. while some are perfectly nonchalant about it and just go"I'm sure you can handle it well", others are a little concerned.

let me share some stories here (a little bit on the horror side), i have stand in for photographers (men, since there's so little women pg around) who had
1. fractured their legs - therefore had to transferred all assignments 3 months from date of injury
2.fell really ill on day of shoot
3.injured their back

i would say with every photographer there is a chance of course, that he/she cannot make it for your wedding day. the most important thing is that 1. he/she produces work you really like 2. he/she has very good backup plans which you are happy with

so a pregnant photographer should have no impact on your wedding day, just as there are pregnant make up artist, hotel manager, chef. and just to share, one of the world's greatest photographer just had a baby and shooting all the way to her birth. (i'm not even intending to be that adventurous)

btw, i'm not pregnant yet. we are not even working on that now as Dyl's really stressed up over some work issues.

guess i gotta just relax and have fun in japan first!

highlight of the day

i want to share a little highlight of my day.

even since i left JLP, i have not started any form of advertisement. naturally, i am expecting no business, since i am taking a break to re-organise my business thoughts.

but along the way, i started harbouring thoughts like maybe nothing good will come out of this etc. (Sorry God, how could i doubt you?) but amazingly, right when i was getting a little grumpy on working on the new website etc, one couple called me from the states to discuss about engaging me for their wedding day.

wow.

actually, God has been really good, eg, even before i start any form of advertisement and when my website was at its bare minimal, i have closed quite a few assignments.

I cannot imagine my life once I advertise and traffic starts swarming in - with my motto of shooting only 2 per month, I believe my months will get packed up fast. (FYI, usual photographer shoot 4-6 weddings per month but i believe in quality time for the family and my health)

God is great.

a child against all odds

yesterday, an amazing friend called me to encourage me. I shoot her wedding a while ago and she and her husband are 2 of the most loving people i know - Anthony & Yvonne.

She was sharing with me her story of fighting fibriods and basically, she was facing reduced chances of conception, yet, just shortly after that news, she is now expecting.

i am happy to know that God has done such amazing work in their life and that she remembers me and is there to encourage me.

i was sharing with her that the trouble now is that i don't know many friends who truly understand our situation. yes, there are very supportive friends but they do not understand childbirth, marriage, mopping floors, starting business. so with time, we have all drift apart.

the only women i know who knows how trying to conceiev was, are the ladies i meet in my belly dancing classes. all of them have children in school already.

definitely because i married at a very young age and these are just not life stages my friends go through now.

i hope you understand that i am not saying that i do not appreciate you as a friend but that our common grounds are disappearing now but one day, when you are going through that phase, i will be there for you. (",)

new inspiration needed

i'm in a stage where i feel fatigue and tired all the time, i need new inspiration and something gotta change. i don't know what but i will explore that. maybe need to pack up a nice work area.

i love packing, it is so therapeutic.

ok, i am getting nervous at the thought of having a baby soon (nope, the 2 lines haven't appeared in any pregnancy kit) but i am nervous.

kinda the feeling of a storm approaching (ok, it's not that bad, all veteran parents tell me) but the idea of a crying baby in the house scare both of us.

haha.

tax nightmare

being self-employed is really fun, until the day you have to declare tax. the amount of work going on in all the calculations of expenses and profits etc. is scary. i am so confused.

if this is your first year reporting tax as self-employed too, look here.

have fun!

if you are a mother-to-be and self-employed, note that the government pay your maternity leave for 2 months capped at $10,000. look here

but unfortunately, the monthly income is based on the latest iras statement and even if your monthly income has increased in the new year, you are going to be paid the previous yr amt.

26 days countdown

26 days more to my japan trip.

can't wait to be in the midst of busy tokyo again. :)