#82 Treasure, trash — same thing

“Are we dumpster diving… and is it kinda fun?”

I asked this a couple weeks ago when we went to our local tip. As waste recycle centres go, I’d say ours is actually a pretty good one.

It has so many different sections for every imaginable item that I’m usually looking pretty lost trying to figure out where I need to go whilst carrying the most random things we’re getting rid of, until one of the workers shouts something me and usually I can’t tell what they’re saying so I just nod until they start pointing me in the right direction (because I’m still looking lost).

We also have this one container where you can go in and leave items that are still good to go to a new home: maybe an old lamp or a sun lounger you no longer use, or literally anything else. Last time, we left some unopened DIY tools there.

Not really thinking much, we went to the container to leave some of our stuff but it must’ve been just the right time: it was bursting with things others had left.

First thing that caught our eye was the massive amount of cigarette cards. I had no idea it was a thing, but we found bags, boxes, and massive albums filled with them. Baseball and football players, celebrities, historical figures, animals, and all sorts. They look kinda like this:

Clearly, an avid collector had likely passed away and their family or friends didn’t know what to do with such gigantic collection and decided to leave it for someone else to figure out.

Now, if we’d had all the time in the world (and we were savvy enough), we’d definitely take them in and look through, searching for some possible gems. But alas we didn’t have the time and dedication so we decided to leave them. It’s such a shame, hopefully someone did pick it up.

Next, we spotted some 4kg and 5kg dumbbells (sold them on FB marketplace), I also picked up a couple of books, and much to my excitement—there were a few 1000-piece jigsaws that I gladly took home.

These were from Wasgij (Jigsaw) brand, which can be pretty tough to complete because the reference image is the ‘before’ and you have to figure out the ‘after’. Here’s one I did before our dumpster haul:

It’s equal amounts of fun and annoying because often times all you can do is focus on certain colours or patterns and try figure out how that bit of the puzzle comes together in the ‘after.’

Speaking of jigsaws, I actually put together a Notion page (of course I did) to keep track of the ones I do. I dug out some photos I had sent of my finished puzzles to my other half + a few I had sold on Vinted, to retroactively add them in.

I might not keep any of the jigsaws I complete (I always either pass them onto a friend or sell on Vinted—and I definitely don’t want to end up with boxes and boxes of jigsaws), but it’s nice to look back at the ones I did complete.

What am I going to do with this data? Absolutely nothing other than just look at it from time to time.

So, all in all—we had a great dumpster haul, who would’ve thought. But these past two weeks, I’ve not done much of my jigsaws. Work has taken a lot of my energy, some last-minute deadlines got me working late.

But we did have a lovely break over the weekend. A friend got us (I say ‘us’—I’m only tagging along as the plus-one) a helicopter ride which we finally managed to book in. We had it scheduled for September but they cancelled because of a storm. It all worked out for the best, because the new date we had it booked in was SO beautiful, warm, sunny, and zero-clouds-in-the-sky.

Couldn’t have asked for a better day to fly around. (the security team told us to watch our hands and not mess with the door because it can open quite easily so I was holding onto my phone for dear life because WHAT IF I accidentally open it??)

I’ve never flown in a helicopter before—only in a teeny (3-5 seater) plane, and the views are definitely more enjoyable in a helicopter because you’re a little slower, the windows are huge, and I guess you can be a little lower, too.

It’s actually really weird when you look down. Everything looks like tiny monopoly pieces; almost like none of these houses, cars, and vans are real. The perspective of things really messes with your head.

Another thing that messed with my head was this citrus fruit we found in a shop over the weekend. How is that not a teeny pumpkin??

But to finish off these past few busy weeks, I completed editing some of my self portraits I did with a blackberry bush branch. That bush is actually pretty invasive and has gigantic thorns, so each year we have to keep it in check with shears, otherwise it hangs over our car and catches your hair and clothes every time you walk past.

With my camera propped up on a pile of books, my phone in one hand (acting as a remote shutter release and focus check), and holding this sharp, thorny thing in the other hand, I tried my best to get a few shots without stabbing myself.

I’ve got a new-found love for closeups recently. Really textured, contrasting closeups. I think the more AI work I see, the more I want to go back to working with imperfections (like my front tooth with a corner missing because I fell in an empty pool when I was a kid and broke it), human pores, wrinkles, and crevices.

Someone commented under this pic on my Instagram with ‘Somewhere between Man Ray and his muse Lee Miller’,

(if you haven’t seen these photographers’ work, I highly recommend you check it out),

and if that’s the comparison I receive, I’m happy with just that one person looking at my work. Today, it’s sooo easy to just fall prey to losing yourself to the algorithm: creating and sharing things that you believe the algorithmic gods will approve of, while losing more and more of yourself in the process. Chasing likes and trends that don’t fill your soul because you realise you’re just being performative, instead of creating or sharing something that is unashamedly, unapologetically you. Whether Instagram likes it or not.

Projects like these make me fall in love with photography all over again. When I have an idea that I mull over, and actually set some time aside for it to give it a go, instead of rushing it, and I actually work through it in my head—magic happens.

Same as with every newsletter I send you, here’s my reminder to you: Don’t be stingy. Give yourself time, just 30mins will do, and forget about work. Experiment, create something, be playful—even if that goes against everything you think you are in your professional life. Trust me, even engineers and solutions architects need a creative release.

That’s all from me this week—if you enjoyed this newsletter issue and haven’t subscribed yet, you can click the button below. I’d love to have you here! Hopefully, catch you next week.✨