I was pleasantly surprised to receive a short note from a stranger in my inbox. A Flickr user from Germany, and this is what he said:

Hello, my name is Markus and I currently redesign my personal weblog "Klasse Kaffee" (which is german and means "Great Coffee") and I'm looking for an photo with coffee beans or something similar. I found your photo (http://flickr.com/photos/migin/65798586/) on flickr.com. My questions is, if it is possbile that I can use this picture for my new layout? Regards Markus

First thing that came to my mind... Kewl! Didn't really think much of that shot until today. At least my coffee addiction has paid off in some small way. Thanks Markus, your note has put more buzz in me than a whole pot Java. :o)

I was asked to do a photoshoot to feature the coffee roasting process. It's going to adorn the walls of a new cafe, to be opened soon in Damai. First time I was asked to do a commercial shoot ... my first, ahem, client. If you happen to be in town, do drop by Damai Point... near the Blue Knight cafe. You might just see a little photo exhibition of sorts by yours truly. :o) You can view my photo set on flickr, it's called Caffeination.

I know, I know. Mel's changed his blog again. Well, at least this keeps me writing. Even so, I don't really know if that is a such good thing, as hardly anyone reads my stuff anyway. And I hardly read other peoples stuff too. Tsk tsk. Well, in case you don't know, I also made some changes to my home page. Check it out here : http://migin.net.

Today is Jeremiah's birthday, and he had a birthday party at his house. Lucky 13. By the time I got there, the boys were settled around the PS2, bashing the life out of each other. Ah, to be juvenile again. I quickly got down to taking candid photos, which unfortunately, is not what Aunty Lorna needed. So after stuffing my face with party food, I headed back upstairs, where the yahoos were. Took me a while to organize the motley crew on the staircase for a group photograph. My talents do not seem to lie in organized portraits. Squeezed off 20 shots. Reviewed them. Not really the shots I was after. Before I could do anything more, the boys dispersed into their respective stations. I suck at this. Sigh.

Earlier today, a few of the DC leaders worked on a paper christmas tree. It was hard work, and I'm thankful for the likes of Kelvin, Golden, Joseph, Edbert and Angela. While they worked down in Glory Hall, I was stuck upstairs working on the puppet script. So far, not much progress. And I need to start voice recording by this week. Pressure is building up.

Miah, in case you're reading this, Happy Birthday man. Lucky 13 - dude, you da man!