Sheep happens.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

post no. 99

Hey people, this is number 99. One more to a hundred, but it will not be.

Well, at least until the 17th of November.

This is my last post before the 'O' levels. I am letting go of the computer, for it has taken too much of my time already. Its about time I got serious with myself for a while.

Good luck with everything and all the best.

P.S. Anything just msg me or call me. +6596123117, do not bother e-mailing unless you intend for me to read it only after the 'O' levels.

Bye.

Don't forget, put your heart into whatever you do.

Anyway, who wants to come for National Day dinner? On National Day itself. I assure you, it'll be the best place to watch the fireworks other than in the National Stadium itself. It's only a few streets away from the stadium. Best thing is, free food.

So msg asap me if you want to come. I'll arrange with you.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

i'm 16?

Let me start this post off to thank everyone who has in one way or another wished me a happy birthday. To tell the truth, it was quite a lousy day, but never mind.

I feel loved; thanks to those who actually showed me that bit of concern. I even got one present! Well, well. I am grateful for it. Thanks Yuan Hong and Henry. Thank you so much.

I feel unloved; I tend to jump to conclusions, so let's hope it is purely due to the fact that they had a memory lapse. Maybe not. Whatever.

Thanks again to those who said happy birthday, or even left a message. Very much appreciated.

Monday, July 17, 2006

the day before my birthday

It's sad.

Tsunami the day before my birthday, only can hope for minimal damage and casualties.

Hope tomorrow will be a better day.

P.S. happy birthday to those born on 17 july

Thursday, July 13, 2006

FIFA World Cup 2006

This is an assignment, and therefore readers should pardon me for the lack of colloquial language.

Instead of writing only about the final, I shall write about some events throughout Germany 2006, one of the more controversial versions of the tournament.

The tournament had started on a high note, with the first goal of the tournament scored only after a mere six minutes into the competition between Germany and Costa Rica. It came as a pleasant surprise for the Germans; a relatively unknown player in the international footballing community, Phillip Lahm, had struck with such brilliance rarely seen in the competition.

To me, the goal had also come as a pleasant surprise. Not only was I so privileged to see the spark of brilliance by Phillip Lahm, I was also encouraged at the same time.

I am utterly convinced that few had expected Phillip Lahm to perform, much less score. He was, after all, a defender that had not been all too convincing in his career. Nevertheless, he went against all odds and manufactured a beautiful goal that immediately silenced his critics. I believe that we all have something to learn from him.

To work hard is one aspect of it, but another factor leading to his success was the sedulity with which he had strived to achieve his goals. I strongly believe that as long as we work hard and persevere, all our efforts would be greatly rewarded, no doubt about it.

Another player to learn from is Zinedine Zidane, not only from his merits, but also from his faults. Zidane, having come out of retirement to again take the role of a captain, had led the French side to the final. He had played a pivotal role in the French midfield and even scored a few decisive goals. He was the heart of the French team, albeit one who headbutts. His rashness in action had costed his side the Cup.

Many said that Zidane had done it because Materazzi had said something offensive, but have a look at the situation then. It was late in the game, both sides were tied in a deadlock and the last thing your team needed was a sending off. If you had been a responsible and thinking captain, you would have warned everyone in your team not to get a sending off; if you had common sense, you would never had let yourself get sent off.

Actions speak louder than words, and Zidane's actions had indeed spoken much. When he audaciously lofted the ball off the goalpost and into the goal past Buffon, he showed a calmness of mind. When Zidane headed the ball to force a save out of Buffon, he showed that he had not lost his flair and composure. When Zidane headbutted Materazzi, all I could see was a madman on the loose. His departure from the field had instantly destroyed the French's morale, which eventually led to their defeat. Not a fitting farewell for one of the "footballing greats", but at least he left with a blast. This incident changed my whole opinion of Zidane. I have watched him play since France 98, and he was such an inspirational figure then. We cannot lose our cool, even in times of crisis, for it would not be of any help to the situation.

Ghana, which was the only African country to enter the second round of the World Cup this year, had also surprised many. I personally hoped that they would have beaten Brazil, being a fan of underdogs, but I was disappointed. Nevertheless, the Ghanians showed the fighting spirit and relentlessly pounded the Brazilian defense. They were unlucky enough not to even score a goal, but their fighting spirit was indeed noteworthy.

Meanwhile, a team worth mentioning is the Australian team, a.k.a. Socceroos. They came , they fought, and they lost to the Italians; all because of a controversial decision by the referee to award a penalty for what appeared to be a dive. In fact, they were one of the more entertaining teams to watch.

The Socceroos had also gone against all odds, with critics predicting that they would not even make it past the first round of the tournament. They came back from a 1-0 deficit in only six minutes against the Japanese, qualified for the second round, and even reached the quarter finals. They very nearly got through to the semi-finals.

There are a few things we can learn from the Socceroos. Firstly, we have to learn how not to let ourselves be intimidated by big names. The Australians were pitted against footballing giants like Brazil and Italy. They never were intimidated. Closer to home, I can see the stark difference in the attitude of some of the people in the sports CCAs. Many of them just simply give up fighting when pitted against the so-called "better schools" like Raffles Institution. We must change this attitude. No matter what the outcome, if you put your heart and your soul in it, the game has already been won. Secondly, life can be unfair, which indeed is a fact faced by almost everyone in the world. Mostly due to the fact that when life is fair, you fail to take notice of it, only taking notice when life is not fair.

Another team worth mentioning, of course, is Italy. They are the controversial world champions, but they definitely deserve what they have got. Their defence had only conceded two goals in this World Cup, one from a penalty and the other an own goal. Fabio Cannavarro, their captain, did not even get booked in the whole tournament, despite him being involved in most of the Italians' defensive operations. To me, the true Golden Ball winner is Cannavarro, which I suspect would have won the award if the votes were cast only after the game. Cannavarro showed calmness and kept his cool all the time. Never in the tournament had he quarelled over the referee's decision, nor any player's foul play. He just kept doing what he had to do, and he did it exceptionally well.

Zidane and Cannavarro, captains of two rival countries, yet the difference in attitude was so stark. All I can say is that Man's worst enemy is the enemy from within. If we cannot get through our inner self, nothing significant can be accomplished.

If we do, we can work wonders. Yes, wonders. Although most probably we can never win the World Cup.

Monday, July 10, 2006

zizoukadapoo

Thursday, July 06, 2006

pokemon fever

I SWEAR THIS IS DAMN FUNNY.



enjoy



LOL

Monday, July 03, 2006

the week

Alright, you want update, here it is! As usual, I've been busy with stuff.

Now, now. Let's have a recapitulation of the past week, shall we? Monday to Thursday, prelims prelims prelims. How's that? Chuckles. Didn't even touch the computer for these four days, at least I have a bit of self-restraint.

Then came friday. The "Learning Journey Day" for my school. It was quite an interesting day, in fact, it was quite fun. We went to the Discovery Center, which actually wasn't too much fun. What was fun was being with the guys and just fooling around.

We started our so-called "learning journey" with a half-hour wait at the school plaza. That pretty much got me quite irritated. I wanted my air-conditioned bus, and I wanted it bad. The plaza was uber hot.

I couldn't stand it anymore, so I went to the toilet to get some fresh air. Yes, irony. I know. Anything was better than the plaza. Anyway, guess what I saw when I went back. My class was GONE.

<.<

>.>

>.<

"OI PUTERA."

I turned around and saw Gilbert there, together with the class. Phew.

So we boarded the bus and we were on our way. To Jurong. So far. We were assigned the same bus as 4-9, and I sat beside Ben Say. Later I decided to share with him the world of the so-called "obiang" music. He liked the crappy ones, he didn't like the classics. Well, it's okay. One day I'll find someone who appreciates my kind of music.

Bus ride, bus ride. Soon we found ourselves in the Discovery Center. I think the first part of the program was the best part. It was "Shackleton's Antartic Adventure". If you don't know about Sir Ernest Shackleton, it's understandable. I never heard of him before watching that awesome show. Well, in short, he was on an expedition to Antartica together with his crew. Like, obviously. Nonetheless, behind this simple line, lay a story of human endurance that had never been seen before. Sir Ernest Shackleton was a hero, no doubt. The story of his expedition was one of the best I have ever heard in my entire life. A truly spectacular display of sedulousity worthy of exaltation.

Next came the Army talk. Well, I have nothing to say. The guy was funny, yes indeed. Curiously, he has this thing with China jokes. Well, I don't remember much of the talk.

Next came the food sampling. Sounds good? They let us have a taste of army rations, which actually was quite good. I'd be lucky if I ever go to a war with that kind of food. Too bad, no army for me. Thank goodness. Because the biscuits were one heck of a tough job to eat. Can't imagine living on that.

Next came lunch. Smart people like me went for the front. True enough, we benefited much from it. We finished our food first, while the noobs were still queueing. We were the first to set foot on the carpets of the exhibition hall.

It was nothing much actually. It was obviously meant for primary school children. The most fun part was actually "Little George" and the quiz thing. I still cannot believe that I pressed the wrong button. The whatever association is in charge of helping youths in need, NOT BUILDING ROADS. My error costed us the high score. Never mind. It was uber funny though. The laugh we got from it was worth tons more than the high score.

Anyway, the Discovery Center canteen sells awesome sandwiches for a meagre $1. Go try it someday.

Next came the low of the trip. The SAFTI bus tour. Well, it was boring, no doubt. What kept us going was the unceasing conversations among ourselves.

I wonder who in the right mind would go to the SAFTI library. It's miles away from civilisation.

Then it was the bus ride back to school. Some class took a whole bus to themselves and we had to stuff ourselves on another bus. Standing up. What saved it was listening to my mp3 and singing with Leon Gaw. He simply loved the classics. Lovely.

Before we knew it, the bus was already in school. Guess what, we went to watch Superman! It was a fair movie, but lacking in action. It certainly does not deserve the 5 stars. I'd rather watch him fight supernatural enemies, but a bald criminal? Bleh.

I don't know, but the day just went by like that. Or was there a soccer match at night?

The next day was the Homecoming day. Nothing much to it, actually. Spent $5 on machine bat and $5 on drinks. Period. The rest of it was boredom. Except when I was playing ball with the primary school people. I was "coach" for the afternoon. Didn't feel too bad, but it is tiring to be a coach.

One observation, the fat guys get the girls. Maybe I should gain some weight.

I was late for tuition too.

After that? I don't remember a thing.

Then it was a Sunday. Chen Li Presbyterian's 72nd anniversary. The combined service was pretty much drawn out. Sitting at the front row wasn't too bad. I could hear every mistake in the choir. Laughs.

After the service was the free lunch. The food was alright. I did not eat much though, refusing to queue and waiting for the leftovers. The best dishes were gone by the time I went for the food, so were the utensils. Thank goodness I found a stray spoon. A clean one, of course.

Then I walked around and stuff, and went to Ben's church for "Shout Your Fame" a.k.a. "SYF". Well, it was good entertainment, and I still can't shake it off that the Candice girl looks exactly like Irene. Maybe its the Aussie thing. Poor Ben, he didn't get the top 3 spots, which was dominated by the girls. I still expect a treat though. Carl Jr's? I'll be waiting for it.

Well, something struck me yesterday during SYF. Well, I shall not write about it here. Religion is quite a sensitive topic. You want to find out? Look for my diary. Buried somewhere underneath my books. I can't find it.

To end it off,

I'm the love song kind of guy.