Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Old photos

I have a love-hate relationship with old photos.

Some old photos I love.

Some old photos I hate.

I love those old photos that remind me of a time when I was young and innocent. Haha. But seriously, they take me back to those happy moments in my life which have silently slipped away through the gaps in my memory, crowded out by the onslaught of today's information. I like to be reminded of my past, as it tells me a lot about who I am now. It is a good thing to remember the past. Many times in the Old Testament, the LORD God commanded the Israelites to remember what He had done for them, lest they become proud of their own effort.

But I hate those old photos that remind me of a time which I would rather forget. Perhaps "hate" is too strong a word, but at least it grabs your attention. I remember the days when ultra large spectacles were in fashion. I cringe when I see photos of myself wearing those spectacles with lenses as large as scuba diving masks. What were people thinking back then?! Some old photos bring back memories of embarrassing or painful moments that I'd rather leave in the trash bin of history. But can memories be erased just like that? Surely we grow through both the good and bad times. In fact, the "bad" times teach us more memorable lessons.

Here are some old photos that I love.

I wanted to be a rock star or a boxing promoter (Don King)

Cute huh?

Paternal grandmother

Maternal grandmother

My affinity for Toyota started young

Doing the waterfall thing with mom and dad

Perhaps I should have been an architect or engineer...

or a pilot...?

Yes, I should have been a pilot :P

Clueless and the Beach Boy

Out on a limb at the Singapore Botanic Gardens

Horse ride in Fraser's Hill

Jungle boy at Taman Negara

Cats have featured prominently in my life. This one in Temerloh, Pahang.

Another cat in Miri, Sarawak. I love cats, but the feeling is not always mutual. :P

On the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, June 1987

Wrynose Pass, Lake District, England, June 1987

Warwick Castle

Heidelberg, Germany

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. Deuteronomy 8:17-18

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"-... Ecclesiastes 12:1

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

You were such an adorable-looking baby! I love the first picture :)

I too have old pictures of myself wearing those ugly large spectacles. I've told friends I won't do the photo slide presentation thing at my wedding coz I looked like such a nerdy kid in those glasses... but my bro unintentionally sabo-ed me when he included some of those photos in HIS slide presentation! Coz we don't have many pictures of either of us alone. Most of our childhood pictures are taken together since there were only two of us, and, well, we tended to be together most of the time (having no other choice :P).

Two months ago, my mom sent all my stuff to me from our house in Sitiawan, and I was thumbing through my old photo albums. Nostalgia indeed.

Anonymous said...

love the jungle boy photo. its a great photo.
ur childhood looks fun with all the travelling and pondering on "what do i wanna be when i grow up?"

CHARIS said...

Loved the superman..er superboy...er superbaby picture :) Can we please see some ugly pictures with the huge black rimmed glasses?

Anonymous said...

how clever – no bigspecs pics of yourself – but no qualms about having plenty of bigspecs pics of mom/dad/sis :)

u were so cute then - what happened along the way? ( kidding )

***
but yeah, going down memorylane does serve as reminder of how BLESSED we were/are ( not everyone is blessed with a rich happy secure childhood ), of His faithfulness, of how far He has brought us, of how unnecessary it is to worry about the future, of how secure we are in Him, of romans 8:28, philippians 1:6 … lest we forget

but also of course, what follows from there :) - luke 12:48b“From everyone who has been given much, much more will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked”

colin said...

Awwwww.... :)

lina said...

Hmm... very interesting. I love looking at old photos. They remind me of those baby care-free days when all I had to do is to cry whenever I need anything... food, kisses, tummy rubs etc..

BTW, you didn't look like you wanted to be a pilot... you looked so lost and frightened in the 2 photos =D

Thank you for the tour into your childhood (part) =)

ee said...

i'm sorry i laughed at your pictures with the big BIG glasses... hehehehe... go on, put it on your blog... i liked those pictures, really!

HL said...

ireneq: Haha. Thanks. Nostalgia is nice.

littleblackdress: I think I pondered a bit too much.

charis: Huge black rimmed glasses were before my time la.

anon#1: OK, lemme think about posting bigspecs pics of myself.

NaCl: Same to you.

lina: I liked planes, like most boys do.

ee: Wait a few years, maybe the big specs will come back in fashion.

JC said...

oh my.. so cute! I got friends who got the 'courage' to put their old photos up in the blog... I'm not so brave still :p so.. I salute!

Sue said...

so adorable! reminds me of all my old photos in my mom's cabinet! so nostalgic... btw, u still have that blur look from young! haha... cheers...

HL said...

Old photos from really long ago childhood days are OK. Kids can be forgiven for looking dorky. It's those not-so-old photos from later teenage days that are incriminating. Heheh.

lina said...

hahaha... I am feeling so naughty. One of your old school mates have one of your photos with the big frame specs =)) hehe... I will ask him for it =P

I promise I won't show anyone else... scouts' honour =)

HL said...

OK, I'm fine. I've already been tagged in some incriminating pics on other people's Facebook.