Of sporting legends
You get football players who are all mercenary like, always trying to get more money and making headlines for all the wrong reasons. And then you get players like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
To be honest, I always felt my affection for Solskjaer isn't as high as it should be. He's every bit the best team player you can get, never a complaint from him, and he just goes about doing his thing and puts a smile on my face.
I remember ages ago when I still played CM, I used Solskjaer as Sir Alex did, as a supersub. I remember once I even sold him to Newcastle, and he returned to haunt by scoring a brace in a 4-0 win. Somehow, for all his skills, he never got the chance to establish himself as a 1st team player. The closest he got I think was when he was paired with Van Nistelrooy, but he got himself injured then. I think I always felt like he was a nearly man, always on the fringes, called upon to conjure a goal out of nowhere to save the day.
But I grew to admire him. His finishing was deadly, he had the composure and skill that was required of a real striker. He could score tap ins and spectacular goals as well, and could hit a good cross when he was played in right midfield for a time being.
One can accuse me of being misty-eyed, but it's hard to believe that Solskjaer has followed me in my support of Man Utd for so long. He was signed at the start of the 1996 season, along with Karel Pokorsky and Jordi Cruyff. All I remember of the 2 of them was a last minute equaliser from Cruyff against Derby in 99. And look where the 2 of them are now in the history of Man Utd.
As for Solskjaer, there are so many moments that will stick in my mind. 4 goals against a very hapless forest, that flick of the boot which capped off that magical night in Barcelona, a brace against Newcastle the start of this year, which were his first goals at Old Trafford since his injury, his cross for Giggs to equalise against Arsenal which was pivotal in the 2002/03 title race, his excellence on the right flank in the 5-3 win against Newcastle which was memorable for other things like Shearer's crazy freekick and Ruud's hattrick, the opener against Newcastle at St Jame's in the same season where he broke the offside trap to beat Given from an impossible angle, to equalise and provide the platform for a 6-2 thrashing, his brace against Ipswich which helped ease a painful defeat the week before, many, many more incidents that I can't recall offhand.
I read an article, which posed a question, who will be the legends of our time? Who will be the players that you will tell your sons about, and while doing so you'll inevitably stare into the distance as the happy memories flood back? Who will thses players be, the ones that will live on forever in our memory, whom we will speak of 20 years to come?
I'm sure for many a Man Utd fan, Solskjaer will be one of them. He'll never be as revered as Eric Cantona, simple because he was always the everydayman in red, quietly doing his job, and he always did it well.
You are my Solskjaer, my only Solskjaer,
You made me happy, when skies are grey.
Even though Shearer, was much more dearer,
please don't take my Solskjaer away
2OLEgend
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Ebb and flow
It's just one of those I don't really want to blog weeks again. Things slowed down to a crawl the last week, what with the singapore uni students starting school, and the overseas people busy with their own preparations, didn't spend a lot of time out. Spent the week waiting for my accoms letter to come, which up to now hasn't, got fed up, called the accoms office line, which was engaged for about 9 tries, on my 10th try it finally got through only to be 7th in line to be answered. The waiting took about half an hour, before I finally spoke to the officer who told me my hall. And thus, I'll be in the same hall as Nick and ongbak. 3 musketeers indeed.
Last fri was the king's gathering, I missed the bus stop for national library and came late, quite pissed with myself. Listened, networked with some of my course mates, one of them was a girl who was from the same JC as I was and was in the choir, thus she knew my brother, and taught at my sister's school for a while this year so she knows my sister as well. It's one of those oh-singapore-is-very-small moments.
Had dinner at manhattan fish market at andrew's request later, after which was rush hour 3. Then, 3 of us went to have some drinks at balcony. I kind of regret having that gin tonic, it killed my system totally, leaving me zombified for the next day, which was the legal forum.
I skipped the morning portion as I was shagged out, got driven to supreme court as it was pouring. Met BK there, listened to the moot court, some parts could have been in Greek for all I know, such was the lack of my knowledge. And BK didn't help, he would turn to me and go "Oh yah that's why blah blah blah" which I knew nuts about what he was talking about. But it was informative, shall work towards to be able to moot as confidently as Al was.
My grandfather's birthday was at night, was very glad to be able to see all my relatives before I leave. They gave me some advice, and before we set off my family took a family photograph, which has become my wallpaper already.
When the week finally came, I continued my random meet ups/farewells with friends who don't fall under any groups, in between just nua-ing at home and doing not much. I have a beef with the bank I opened an account with, they were so efficient that they made me wait for a damn short while only!
Friday was in army market with Nick, bought loads of ziploc bags between the 2 of us. 1 good habit I picked up from the army. The auntie from the shop I usually buy from asked us whether we were enlisting soon, we didn't hesitate to correct her and tell her we're on the other end of the spectrum.
Mahjong at nick's place followed, with many cries of "abandon ship!" and "oh you mean we're playing 2 points to win not 3?" and exaggerated actions of pulling out guns and pointing them at the other person's temple. In the end, as we were playing for dinner, Adrian being the big loser of 7 bucks paid about 30 bucks (so he claims) worth of food at chomp chomp, which we devoured quickly as we were all famished.
VCD night at adrian's place turned out to be rather funny, thanks to andrew's powerful driving and jokes about wombats hanging from monkey bars. 4 of us played mahjong while 3 of them watched before sunrise, played a bit of citadel (which i must admit is fun) and after supper we watched protege before I conked out.
Ok, 2 weeks left now. 2 weeks left to do what I want to do before I head off.
I've decided that, if I ever face any difficulty next time, give me some time to kaobeh about it, but once the steam has been let off, remind me that the problem still exists and I still have to deal with it. Complaining and griping about the problem won't help it one bit, but at least you let off the steam, thus allowing you the presence of mind to handle it properly.
In other words, just whack.
It's just one of those I don't really want to blog weeks again. Things slowed down to a crawl the last week, what with the singapore uni students starting school, and the overseas people busy with their own preparations, didn't spend a lot of time out. Spent the week waiting for my accoms letter to come, which up to now hasn't, got fed up, called the accoms office line, which was engaged for about 9 tries, on my 10th try it finally got through only to be 7th in line to be answered. The waiting took about half an hour, before I finally spoke to the officer who told me my hall. And thus, I'll be in the same hall as Nick and ongbak. 3 musketeers indeed.
Last fri was the king's gathering, I missed the bus stop for national library and came late, quite pissed with myself. Listened, networked with some of my course mates, one of them was a girl who was from the same JC as I was and was in the choir, thus she knew my brother, and taught at my sister's school for a while this year so she knows my sister as well. It's one of those oh-singapore-is-very-small moments.
Had dinner at manhattan fish market at andrew's request later, after which was rush hour 3. Then, 3 of us went to have some drinks at balcony. I kind of regret having that gin tonic, it killed my system totally, leaving me zombified for the next day, which was the legal forum.
I skipped the morning portion as I was shagged out, got driven to supreme court as it was pouring. Met BK there, listened to the moot court, some parts could have been in Greek for all I know, such was the lack of my knowledge. And BK didn't help, he would turn to me and go "Oh yah that's why blah blah blah" which I knew nuts about what he was talking about. But it was informative, shall work towards to be able to moot as confidently as Al was.
My grandfather's birthday was at night, was very glad to be able to see all my relatives before I leave. They gave me some advice, and before we set off my family took a family photograph, which has become my wallpaper already.
When the week finally came, I continued my random meet ups/farewells with friends who don't fall under any groups, in between just nua-ing at home and doing not much. I have a beef with the bank I opened an account with, they were so efficient that they made me wait for a damn short while only!
Friday was in army market with Nick, bought loads of ziploc bags between the 2 of us. 1 good habit I picked up from the army. The auntie from the shop I usually buy from asked us whether we were enlisting soon, we didn't hesitate to correct her and tell her we're on the other end of the spectrum.
Mahjong at nick's place followed, with many cries of "abandon ship!" and "oh you mean we're playing 2 points to win not 3?" and exaggerated actions of pulling out guns and pointing them at the other person's temple. In the end, as we were playing for dinner, Adrian being the big loser of 7 bucks paid about 30 bucks (so he claims) worth of food at chomp chomp, which we devoured quickly as we were all famished.
VCD night at adrian's place turned out to be rather funny, thanks to andrew's powerful driving and jokes about wombats hanging from monkey bars. 4 of us played mahjong while 3 of them watched before sunrise, played a bit of citadel (which i must admit is fun) and after supper we watched protege before I conked out.
Ok, 2 weeks left now. 2 weeks left to do what I want to do before I head off.
I've decided that, if I ever face any difficulty next time, give me some time to kaobeh about it, but once the steam has been let off, remind me that the problem still exists and I still have to deal with it. Complaining and griping about the problem won't help it one bit, but at least you let off the steam, thus allowing you the presence of mind to handle it properly.
In other words, just whack.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Not everyday sunday
Sometimes I think that supporting a football team is like living with family. At different times in your life, you love, hate, support, lose confidence in but ultimately you never ever forsake them. On that note, it's far from happy days for me again, it seems like the dark days of studying for A levels are back. That was a time when I hoped football would help me relieve the stress of studying, but I got was just pain.
It's just one of those days where you dominate the game but a long range shot hits someone on the backside for the win. Sigh.
Sometimes I think that supporting a football team is like living with family. At different times in your life, you love, hate, support, lose confidence in but ultimately you never ever forsake them. On that note, it's far from happy days for me again, it seems like the dark days of studying for A levels are back. That was a time when I hoped football would help me relieve the stress of studying, but I got was just pain.
It's just one of those days where you dominate the game but a long range shot hits someone on the backside for the win. Sigh.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Daunting
So much for Singapore's much vaunted nightlife. The 3 of us went around boat quay to cannery and couldn't find a half decent place which met our needs. They weren't very high in the first place, we were just looking for a place which 1) was non-smoking 2) not too noisy 3) had the "right" crowd (interpret that in your own way). In the end we ended up in a zouk for older people type of place, where we had a few drinks before heading off to TCC to sit down and talk cock till 3am.
We discussed a lot of stuff, but I can't remember all in detail. The stuff that stuck in my mind was, one, one of my friends told me a story that he got on well with a girl he just met, but when they arranged to meet she stood him up at the last minute, and as a result he struck off all chances with her, saying that if she already agreed to meet him, she should honour it and not cancel last minute.
The other friend said you have no choice but to move up the priority ladder, after all they just got to know each other recently only. My 2 cents worth is that you just have the moral high ground, don't concede it.
I think the thing that I felt was very poignant was my friend telling me when you should tell a girl you like her. It boils down to the phrase, "What are you up to?". When she says this, or something of the like, it's time to tell her.
This is related to what we were discussing, as we agreed more or less, that at the start, it's important to not invest everything, as you do not know it'll reap the benefits. I believe that, one shouldn't become frustrated or stressed out about it, or change yourself radically. It is just too tiring to do so and one should take care of yourself, as no one else will.
We sure have come a long way.
So much for Singapore's much vaunted nightlife. The 3 of us went around boat quay to cannery and couldn't find a half decent place which met our needs. They weren't very high in the first place, we were just looking for a place which 1) was non-smoking 2) not too noisy 3) had the "right" crowd (interpret that in your own way). In the end we ended up in a zouk for older people type of place, where we had a few drinks before heading off to TCC to sit down and talk cock till 3am.
We discussed a lot of stuff, but I can't remember all in detail. The stuff that stuck in my mind was, one, one of my friends told me a story that he got on well with a girl he just met, but when they arranged to meet she stood him up at the last minute, and as a result he struck off all chances with her, saying that if she already agreed to meet him, she should honour it and not cancel last minute.
The other friend said you have no choice but to move up the priority ladder, after all they just got to know each other recently only. My 2 cents worth is that you just have the moral high ground, don't concede it.
I think the thing that I felt was very poignant was my friend telling me when you should tell a girl you like her. It boils down to the phrase, "What are you up to?". When she says this, or something of the like, it's time to tell her.
This is related to what we were discussing, as we agreed more or less, that at the start, it's important to not invest everything, as you do not know it'll reap the benefits. I believe that, one shouldn't become frustrated or stressed out about it, or change yourself radically. It is just too tiring to do so and one should take care of yourself, as no one else will.
We sure have come a long way.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Such wanderlust
It has been a hectic few days.
National day was spent nua-ing at home, waking up at only 1130H and playing winning eleven for the whole afternoon, before going to watch the parade. Came to the conclusion that a lot of saikang went into the conducting of the parade.
Friday, played board games at Minds cafe with the fencers and watched the jay chou vanity project, err I mean movie thereafter. Played some game that required you to guess the sound of the phrase, which led to many laughs. The movie was surprisingly good, the 2 most prominent females were very attractive as well. The outlandish twist was debated very vigorously by Andrew thereafter, which of course drew a few guffaws. Went out to have supper with Nick at the thomson road prata at 11, got stopped at a roadblock on the way there. Met 4 people I knew at the place.
Saturday I wore my formal best to attend my MO's wedding. It was a simple ceremony, had a chuckle when the priest translated "pauper" as "porter" and called my doctor a professor. Met up with many of my men there, glad to know they're still fighting the good fight in the Organisation.
Couldn't stay long though, as I had to attend the UK pre-departure session. Went there, swooped for all the freebies, networked with the LSE people and looked out of place somewhat in my very formal attire. Went home and rested, jim and nick came over to watch football.
Sunday was parental side lunch, sought advice from 2 cousins who are studying in london as well. Had tea with ben and edwin, and the former told me how to be a match steward.
Monday had a very enjoyable time with Nick as we trekked from labrodor park to kent ridge park to science park II to hwa par villa, taking 92 photos on the way and discovering weird sights, like a mountain biking stunt platform in the middle of nowhere, trying to infiltrate a science park building with a supposed card security system, a boardwalk which you can overlook a nursery of sorts and a model of a tank in kent ridge park. Great cheap healthy fun.
Tuesday started with me driving my siblings to school so I can end up in RJ to certify my certs, which the person signed without even looking at my originals. Came home and slept for 2 hours, then saw an emo message from jim asking people out for lunch, which 5 of us responded. Decided to watch 881 after that, loved it for the Hokkien flavour, but some parts are very draggy though.
Just some reflections on what happened over the last few days
1) I detest long and draggy meetings
2) I am still wary about attending weddings
3) I love going on nature trails, but I need someone who will push me to go
4) I prefer photos of nature than of people
5) I am further strengthened in my belief that the process of wooing a girl isn't supposed to make you sian or unhappy
6) Guys do go a bit off when girls touch their hands
7) Packing is already a very irritating process, but "shadow" packing (my term for "packing" things when you're still using them) is worse
8) Being too emo is not healthy
9) Nua-ing is an activity that feels so good when you're doing it but you'll most definately rue the wasted time in the future
10) I am quite ready
Blogging, the short sharp and sweet way.
It has been a hectic few days.
National day was spent nua-ing at home, waking up at only 1130H and playing winning eleven for the whole afternoon, before going to watch the parade. Came to the conclusion that a lot of saikang went into the conducting of the parade.
Friday, played board games at Minds cafe with the fencers and watched the jay chou vanity project, err I mean movie thereafter. Played some game that required you to guess the sound of the phrase, which led to many laughs. The movie was surprisingly good, the 2 most prominent females were very attractive as well. The outlandish twist was debated very vigorously by Andrew thereafter, which of course drew a few guffaws. Went out to have supper with Nick at the thomson road prata at 11, got stopped at a roadblock on the way there. Met 4 people I knew at the place.
Saturday I wore my formal best to attend my MO's wedding. It was a simple ceremony, had a chuckle when the priest translated "pauper" as "porter" and called my doctor a professor. Met up with many of my men there, glad to know they're still fighting the good fight in the Organisation.
Couldn't stay long though, as I had to attend the UK pre-departure session. Went there, swooped for all the freebies, networked with the LSE people and looked out of place somewhat in my very formal attire. Went home and rested, jim and nick came over to watch football.
Sunday was parental side lunch, sought advice from 2 cousins who are studying in london as well. Had tea with ben and edwin, and the former told me how to be a match steward.
Monday had a very enjoyable time with Nick as we trekked from labrodor park to kent ridge park to science park II to hwa par villa, taking 92 photos on the way and discovering weird sights, like a mountain biking stunt platform in the middle of nowhere, trying to infiltrate a science park building with a supposed card security system, a boardwalk which you can overlook a nursery of sorts and a model of a tank in kent ridge park. Great cheap healthy fun.
Tuesday started with me driving my siblings to school so I can end up in RJ to certify my certs, which the person signed without even looking at my originals. Came home and slept for 2 hours, then saw an emo message from jim asking people out for lunch, which 5 of us responded. Decided to watch 881 after that, loved it for the Hokkien flavour, but some parts are very draggy though.
Just some reflections on what happened over the last few days
1) I detest long and draggy meetings
2) I am still wary about attending weddings
3) I love going on nature trails, but I need someone who will push me to go
4) I prefer photos of nature than of people
5) I am further strengthened in my belief that the process of wooing a girl isn't supposed to make you sian or unhappy
6) Guys do go a bit off when girls touch their hands
7) Packing is already a very irritating process, but "shadow" packing (my term for "packing" things when you're still using them) is worse
8) Being too emo is not healthy
9) Nua-ing is an activity that feels so good when you're doing it but you'll most definately rue the wasted time in the future
10) I am quite ready
Blogging, the short sharp and sweet way.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
High Fidelity
I am officially a Nick Hornby convert. After reading his Fever Pitch, I go on to High Fidelity which really deserves a chance to be used a literature text for the modern world. His observations of human behaviour is really spot-on, and more so when it comes to the male species. I couldn't help reread some paragraphs as I would have the feeling like "Yeah! I feel exactly like this at times, but I never knew how to describe it!"
Many parts of the book were just so insightful, but I only remember some parts that stuck in my mind. Here's one part, lifted from the book, about how a male bares his soul.
"It feels, even to me, like I'm being intimate: I speak quietly, slowly, thoughtfully, I express regret, I say nice things about Laura (his ex-girlfriend), I hint at a deep ocean of melancholy just below the surface."
Really hit it right on the head, if you ask me.
I am officially a Nick Hornby convert. After reading his Fever Pitch, I go on to High Fidelity which really deserves a chance to be used a literature text for the modern world. His observations of human behaviour is really spot-on, and more so when it comes to the male species. I couldn't help reread some paragraphs as I would have the feeling like "Yeah! I feel exactly like this at times, but I never knew how to describe it!"
Many parts of the book were just so insightful, but I only remember some parts that stuck in my mind. Here's one part, lifted from the book, about how a male bares his soul.
"It feels, even to me, like I'm being intimate: I speak quietly, slowly, thoughtfully, I express regret, I say nice things about Laura (his ex-girlfriend), I hint at a deep ocean of melancholy just below the surface."
Really hit it right on the head, if you ask me.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
On the side of me
By Corrinne May
I'm not the easiest person to love
I'm often the one who lets things go unresolved
Yet you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
Yet you choose to be on the side of me
on the side of me
I'm not too proud of some things
I've done in my life
The skeletons in my closet
Are too big for me to hide
Yet you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
Blessed Charity
You're on the side of me
on the side of me
Everyone needs a friend to hold
when it's cold outside
and there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
all alone I cried
there was no place to go
I remember when nobody cared
but you
I'm not the easiest person to love
But you, you've opened your heart to show me what I'm worth
'Cause you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
What a mystery
You're on the side of me
on the side of me
Everyone needs a friend to hold
when it's cold outside
and there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
all alone I cried
there was no place to go
I remember when nobody cared
I remember when nobody cared
Nobody cared
But you
Yeah you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
This is a beautiful song. The part I bolded is the part that has been stuck in my head for the last few days. Perfect song for those quiet nights.
By Corrinne May
I'm not the easiest person to love
I'm often the one who lets things go unresolved
Yet you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
Yet you choose to be on the side of me
on the side of me
I'm not too proud of some things
I've done in my life
The skeletons in my closet
Are too big for me to hide
Yet you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
Blessed Charity
You're on the side of me
on the side of me
Everyone needs a friend to hold
when it's cold outside
and there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
all alone I cried
there was no place to go
I remember when nobody cared
but you
I'm not the easiest person to love
But you, you've opened your heart to show me what I'm worth
'Cause you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
What a mystery
You're on the side of me
on the side of me
Everyone needs a friend to hold
when it's cold outside
and there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
all alone I cried
there was no place to go
I remember when nobody cared
I remember when nobody cared
Nobody cared
But you
Yeah you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
This is a beautiful song. The part I bolded is the part that has been stuck in my head for the last few days. Perfect song for those quiet nights.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Poisonous substances
What do Corrinne May songs and Love Actually the movie have in common? They are poisonous. Not poisonous in the traditional sense, but they are poisonous to your emotional state of mind. Imagine listening to Corrinne May's emo songs all alone in your dorm room on a wintry night, or watching Love Actually on a lonely Christmas. You'll be at best be very emo, at worst you're preparing the rope to hang yourself with.
Went for Corrinne May's concert last night, at NUS, with SR Barny and JM. We must have been quite a sight, 4 guys going to a concert together. Was very enamoured with her songs, her lyrics paint very vivid imageries and were struck a cord with me so much that I bought the CD. I haven't bought a music CD in ages, just for the record.
Barny was such a groupie, whooping at every song and claimed that Corrine May's husband was the "competition". After the concert, she had a signing session, and Barny practically ran out of the concert hall and ended up being 6th in the line to get his CDs and other stuff autographed. I managed to help him get my CD signed, and when it was SR's turn we took a group photo with her. There was a really long queue for her to autograph, but she was very obliging and nice. Really take my hat off her.
Was having a lot of fun in the fencing chalet from Wed to Fri. For starters, everyone save for adrian and I were late to meet at the appointed time, and we blew budget buying a lot of stuff that in hindsight, was quite unnecessary. The chalet reminded me of a FIBUA village, as it was quite old, but it was nice nevertheless. We rented bicycles, played mahjong and went out for supper at bedok, before watching a very lame movie Heartbreakers starring the gravity defying jennifer love hewitt, after which we turned in at 6 am in the morning.
The next day we wandered around trying to find something to do in first Tampines mall, then white sands then downtown east, failing which, we returned to the chalet and cycled around, checking out the scenery of the changi area, before we returned and prepared the BBQ. I tried to do the fire, but wasn't successful, and adrian took over while I fed twigs to the flame.
We over ordered food, so we had plenty of leftovers, so some of us took it back home or hall. By then, I inhaled too much BBQ fumes and felt so dehydrated and my voice started to become very raspy. I downed a lot of water and went to nap for a while while the rest played burn out. Woke up at 4, played a bit of Big 2, the rest went for breakfast while I stayed behind and played jaga. Packed up and cleared out by 1030, and I dragged my exhausted body home via andrew's car and then a cab.
30 odd days and counting. From now on, all activities I'll be doing will fall into only 2 categories, 1) settling anything London related 2) settling anything outstanding in Singapore. As Nick says, isn't that like everything?
What do Corrinne May songs and Love Actually the movie have in common? They are poisonous. Not poisonous in the traditional sense, but they are poisonous to your emotional state of mind. Imagine listening to Corrinne May's emo songs all alone in your dorm room on a wintry night, or watching Love Actually on a lonely Christmas. You'll be at best be very emo, at worst you're preparing the rope to hang yourself with.
Went for Corrinne May's concert last night, at NUS, with SR Barny and JM. We must have been quite a sight, 4 guys going to a concert together. Was very enamoured with her songs, her lyrics paint very vivid imageries and were struck a cord with me so much that I bought the CD. I haven't bought a music CD in ages, just for the record.
Barny was such a groupie, whooping at every song and claimed that Corrine May's husband was the "competition". After the concert, she had a signing session, and Barny practically ran out of the concert hall and ended up being 6th in the line to get his CDs and other stuff autographed. I managed to help him get my CD signed, and when it was SR's turn we took a group photo with her. There was a really long queue for her to autograph, but she was very obliging and nice. Really take my hat off her.
Was having a lot of fun in the fencing chalet from Wed to Fri. For starters, everyone save for adrian and I were late to meet at the appointed time, and we blew budget buying a lot of stuff that in hindsight, was quite unnecessary. The chalet reminded me of a FIBUA village, as it was quite old, but it was nice nevertheless. We rented bicycles, played mahjong and went out for supper at bedok, before watching a very lame movie Heartbreakers starring the gravity defying jennifer love hewitt, after which we turned in at 6 am in the morning.
The next day we wandered around trying to find something to do in first Tampines mall, then white sands then downtown east, failing which, we returned to the chalet and cycled around, checking out the scenery of the changi area, before we returned and prepared the BBQ. I tried to do the fire, but wasn't successful, and adrian took over while I fed twigs to the flame.
We over ordered food, so we had plenty of leftovers, so some of us took it back home or hall. By then, I inhaled too much BBQ fumes and felt so dehydrated and my voice started to become very raspy. I downed a lot of water and went to nap for a while while the rest played burn out. Woke up at 4, played a bit of Big 2, the rest went for breakfast while I stayed behind and played jaga. Packed up and cleared out by 1030, and I dragged my exhausted body home via andrew's car and then a cab.
30 odd days and counting. From now on, all activities I'll be doing will fall into only 2 categories, 1) settling anything London related 2) settling anything outstanding in Singapore. As Nick says, isn't that like everything?
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Once upon a time
Once upon a time, there was this boy who was doing his BMT (Basic Military Training) in Pulau Tekong. The boy had failed his SOC (Standard Obstacle Course) 3 times, failing to scale the vertical rope all 3 times. Thus, the boy was rather relieved to hear that his OC (Officer Commanding) tell his whole company that there would be no more SOC retests.
The boy was really looking forward to his block leave, which will last for a week after his POP (Passing Out Parade) which was on wednesday. The boy was then enamoured with the girl. The boy wanted to spend some time with the girl during his block leave. The boy then remembered that the girl's favourite food was sushi, so the boy decided to buy sushi from the nearby supermart, then go to the girl's workplace on the friday, as the girl would be going overseas the week after, and have lunch with the girl.
However, 2 hours before his POP, the boy's PC (Platoon Commander) gathered all the SOC failures and announced that they would be booking in on thursday night and doing a retest on friday morning.
The boy of course was disappointed that a monkey wrench had been thrown into his plans, but the boy decided to bring forward his plan to thursday then.
POP over, the boy went home and rested and woke up the next day and set his plan into action. The boy bought sushi from the supermart near his home, including 2 pairs of wooden disposable chopsticks which cost 10 cents each, and proceeded to the girl's workplace, which was a public hospital.
The boy took the MRT there. When the boy reached the MRT station closest to the girl's workplace, the boy glanced at his watch and realised that lunch time was almost over. The boy then decided to take a cab to the workplace to save time.
Once there, the boy made a beeline for the department the girl was working in. When the boy got there, the boy stopped outside, feeling very nervous. Finally summoning all his courage, the boy went into the department.
The boy didn't see the girl in there. The boy then approached the girl's colleagues and asked where the girl was.
The girl's colleague just simply replied, "Oh, she's on leave today, said she was going for a scholarship interview."
The boy was crushed. The boy went out, and called the girl on her mobile phone. The girl answered.
"Hey, you're having a scholarship interview is it?"
"Yup, it's my turn now! Talk to you later, bye!"
And with that, the girl hung up.
Dumbly, the boy realising he had made a futile trip, decided to head home. The boy, on his way home, realised that there was a free shuttle bus from the MRT station to the hospital, and took it to head home. The boy lamented the cost of the cab when he realised the existence of the shuttle bus service.
Outside his home, the boy, thoroughly dejected, decided to have the sushi for lunch. In his distracted sadness, the boy bit hard on his left cheek, causing him to have an ulcer for a few days.
The boy finished his meal and went home. Soon, it was time for the boy to return to camp.
The boy never felt so lousy waiting for the bus to the ferry terminal at the interchange. There were only a few others with him, and the boy wasn't in his most talkative moods. When the boy reached Pulau Tekong, he quickly settled down and went to sleep, not before taking a few minutes to contemplate what turned out to be a rather disastrous day.
The next day, after breakfast, the boy went for his SOC retest. This time, the boy aced the test with no difficulty at all, clocking in at 9.30 minutes. The boy had even managed to scale the vertical rope for the first time. When the boy did his final rundown to the finish line, his mind was just filled with the disappointment the boy felt yesterday, and it was like a fuel that pushed the boy to run a bit faster and push himself harder, almost so as to get rid of the disappointment the boy felt.
The test had ended at 9 am, and the boy hoped that perhaps, if they were left off early enough, he could still make it for another chance at having a sushi lunch with the girl. But, the fastcraft back to mainland was perpetually crowded and its frequency of trips were greatly reduced, so as a result the boy only got home at 12, and resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to make it for lunch hour.
The boy never told the girl that he went to look for her on that day.
The boy now knows that, what happened then, was probably a sign by the powers that be that they were not meant to be together.
The boy has moved on since then.
Once upon a time, there was this boy who was doing his BMT (Basic Military Training) in Pulau Tekong. The boy had failed his SOC (Standard Obstacle Course) 3 times, failing to scale the vertical rope all 3 times. Thus, the boy was rather relieved to hear that his OC (Officer Commanding) tell his whole company that there would be no more SOC retests.
The boy was really looking forward to his block leave, which will last for a week after his POP (Passing Out Parade) which was on wednesday. The boy was then enamoured with the girl. The boy wanted to spend some time with the girl during his block leave. The boy then remembered that the girl's favourite food was sushi, so the boy decided to buy sushi from the nearby supermart, then go to the girl's workplace on the friday, as the girl would be going overseas the week after, and have lunch with the girl.
However, 2 hours before his POP, the boy's PC (Platoon Commander) gathered all the SOC failures and announced that they would be booking in on thursday night and doing a retest on friday morning.
The boy of course was disappointed that a monkey wrench had been thrown into his plans, but the boy decided to bring forward his plan to thursday then.
POP over, the boy went home and rested and woke up the next day and set his plan into action. The boy bought sushi from the supermart near his home, including 2 pairs of wooden disposable chopsticks which cost 10 cents each, and proceeded to the girl's workplace, which was a public hospital.
The boy took the MRT there. When the boy reached the MRT station closest to the girl's workplace, the boy glanced at his watch and realised that lunch time was almost over. The boy then decided to take a cab to the workplace to save time.
Once there, the boy made a beeline for the department the girl was working in. When the boy got there, the boy stopped outside, feeling very nervous. Finally summoning all his courage, the boy went into the department.
The boy didn't see the girl in there. The boy then approached the girl's colleagues and asked where the girl was.
The girl's colleague just simply replied, "Oh, she's on leave today, said she was going for a scholarship interview."
The boy was crushed. The boy went out, and called the girl on her mobile phone. The girl answered.
"Hey, you're having a scholarship interview is it?"
"Yup, it's my turn now! Talk to you later, bye!"
And with that, the girl hung up.
Dumbly, the boy realising he had made a futile trip, decided to head home. The boy, on his way home, realised that there was a free shuttle bus from the MRT station to the hospital, and took it to head home. The boy lamented the cost of the cab when he realised the existence of the shuttle bus service.
Outside his home, the boy, thoroughly dejected, decided to have the sushi for lunch. In his distracted sadness, the boy bit hard on his left cheek, causing him to have an ulcer for a few days.
The boy finished his meal and went home. Soon, it was time for the boy to return to camp.
The boy never felt so lousy waiting for the bus to the ferry terminal at the interchange. There were only a few others with him, and the boy wasn't in his most talkative moods. When the boy reached Pulau Tekong, he quickly settled down and went to sleep, not before taking a few minutes to contemplate what turned out to be a rather disastrous day.
The next day, after breakfast, the boy went for his SOC retest. This time, the boy aced the test with no difficulty at all, clocking in at 9.30 minutes. The boy had even managed to scale the vertical rope for the first time. When the boy did his final rundown to the finish line, his mind was just filled with the disappointment the boy felt yesterday, and it was like a fuel that pushed the boy to run a bit faster and push himself harder, almost so as to get rid of the disappointment the boy felt.
The test had ended at 9 am, and the boy hoped that perhaps, if they were left off early enough, he could still make it for another chance at having a sushi lunch with the girl. But, the fastcraft back to mainland was perpetually crowded and its frequency of trips were greatly reduced, so as a result the boy only got home at 12, and resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to make it for lunch hour.
The boy never told the girl that he went to look for her on that day.
The boy now knows that, what happened then, was probably a sign by the powers that be that they were not meant to be together.
The boy has moved on since then.
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