2020 forced us all indoors and for a social creature like myself, it was HARD. Working from home everyday wasn't something I was ever accustomed to. With my global colleagues working from home, virtual meetings became the norm. The number of Zoom meetings increased and they came fast and furious. With a non existent social life, outside the home, the assumption was that you can start work earlier, end later and have more calls throughout the day. That was life!
A couple of straight months of calls at the crack of dawn, followed by back to back virtual meetings with hardly any breaks until the end of the day, my body and mood took a hit. I had a stiff back and neck. I was unhappy and experienced the signs and symptoms of burnout. In the past, when I came close, I would book a vacation overseas and take off to relax and recharge. Now, that was and still is non-existent.
To maintain my sanity, I started taking walks to the Pasir Ris park and on several occasions, I noticed photographers staring at the rain trees in the parking area. I was curious but I resisted approaching them. Day after day, I would see a group gathered under the same tree. I finally built up the courage to approach the photographers and ask them what they were looking at. That was back in October 2020.
The friendly photographers showed me a picture of the buffy fish owl, they affectionately named 'One-Eye Jack' (if you look at the picture below, you can see the difference between his left and right eye). From the moment I saw that picture of Jack, I was mesmerized. I needed my own picture of Jack. With only my mobile phone with me, all I could capture was an extremely small shadow and extremely blur image of him. I needed more. I needed a better picture. I needed to go back again!
And that was how my new found obsession turned into a new hobby and a new adventure! My passion for animals and photography (which had mainly been travel photography) was reignited. With no overseas travel in sight, I decided that it was time to try something new. After all, I needed a form of relaxation to keep me sane in this stressful 'new normal' working environment.
So in Nov 2020, I removed my 10yr old Canon 7D with the 70-200mm lens from the dry cabinet and darted to the park, in the evening, in search of Jack. Unfortunately for me, my timing was off. Jack decided to change trees and I couldn't spot him. My eyes were not tuned the way they are now so spotting an owl high up in the tree was almost an impossible feat!
I had to come back, I needed to get a nice picture of Jack and the obsession continued, day after day. I noticed that my daily trips to locate Jack started to improve my mood. I was looking forward to heading out of the house, I was smiling again and that's how I kept my sanity!
And my new adventure began. I don't know where the destination will be but I'm certain the journey will be a memorable and life changing one.
P.S. I dedicate my first blog to Alan Ho, my partner of 12yrs, for encouraging me to follow my dreams and to setup this website to document my journey, share my story and motivate me to carry on in this adventure.
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