Friday, June 30, 2006 , 3:55 PM

Currently hooked on this late night TV series on Ch 5 "Commander-in-Chief". It's such an awesome show! It's about the life of a first-time female president of the United States, how she juggles between affairs of the state, politics, back-stabbing and sabotaging by her mostly male colleagues, family and love. LOL. It's pretty amusing to see her husband being the 'First Lady' of USA. You guys, gotta catch this, may look boring for first-timers but it'll get to you after some time.

Wooh~ really feel like ice-skating lately.

Just discovered there's an ice-skating club in NTU. Hmm will go check out the details, maybe I'll go sign up for it! =]



Wednesday, June 28, 2006 , 10:34 AM

On Brazil vs Ghana:

*screams like a freakin banshee*

Boy oh boy oh boy! Ronaldo broke Gerd Muller's all-time record as the most prolific scorer within the first 5 minutes of the game! That was his 15th goal on the World Cup stage. I'm so darned proud of him, he did more than just bounce back from injuries and receiving shiat from the critics. Now, even his EX-critics want a piece of him! Take that all of you buggers! Hah he's back with a vengeance, so watch out! Kaka deserved much credit too for his spot-on pass that found Ronaldo, the No. 9 then did those dazzling stepovers and scored his record-breaking goal.

Next up on the list to score: Adriano. Hah this fella was at the right place at the right time, that was such a brilliant by World Cup veteran Cafu! Happy for Adriano cuz you could just tell how much he wanted to bang in a goal.

At the 84th minute, Ze Roberto literally walked the ball into the net! What a night of football! Brazilian fans are lusting for more, more, MORE! Argentina, do step aside. The world cup's going home to Brazil! Dida should be applauded as well, he fended off many worthy Ghanian attacks and kept the scoreline 3-0. : )

Happy for France sad for Spain, Spain did their best but it just wasn't good enough(once again). But it'll be a good game for Zidane who'll be ending his international carreer after this World Cup. : (
I respect Zidane for his amazing flair combining technique, class, style and creativity at football, his mesmerizing displays could have put even Ronaldinho to shame( when Zidane was at his best), man Zidane isn't called 'Zizou' for nothing! Hah 'Zizou' means wizard, soccer wizard.



Tuesday, June 27, 2006 , 11:03 AM


Presenting to you, Cutie Pie Shaun! : )




, 10:16 AM

On Italy vs Australia:

Watched the Italy vs Australia match, was pretty boring for me. If Spain's labelled the under-performers, then Italy's the let-downs. Italy didn't impress me much yesterday, they played like an entangled mess of spaghetti.

Hence, most of the time I was distracted by the oh-so-clean and blemish-free soccer pitch of the Fritz-Walter-Stadion. Ahh see the benefits of using synthetic grass? Expensive but low maintenance. Poor Aussies they really didn't deserve to get kicked out so soon, they should last like a couple of rounds then make a glorious exit home. Given away that costly penalty kick just seconds before the final whistle. Otherwise, they'd have made it to official 30 mins extra time. By then, it'll be Aussies' flag waving in the stadium skies instead of YUCKY Italy.

Totti looked so different with short hair, can't get used to his clean look. LOL. Prefer his long, shaggy do though, pretty alphamale. I like~ LOL. His penalty kick was good but not great, I mean penalty kicks aren't the most respectable way to score goals, right?

On Mum & Dad:

Mum & Dad's all lovey-dovey all of a sudden, hey it's beginning to get on my nerves. They are 40+ for God's sakes, give us a break, or take it to somewhere private( in our house, it's pretty much impossible). LOL. To hell with mid-life crisis. Now, WE'RE suffering from their mid-life-lovesick crisis. They asked me if we wanna join them on an outing to HarborFront, and there's me picturing them together holding hands and stuff, and it's a definite NAH-UH! LOL. Over my dead body. Haha. I can't understand why we think it's sweet and you go awwww when you see OTHER middle-aged(old) couples doing this, and when it's ya mum and dad, you go YUCK? LOL. Enlighten me people!

For now, I'm happy that my mum and dad's still so much in love, I mean with high divorce rates being the trend now, I'm really glad. At least, if they do( touchwood) enter mid-life crisis, they'll have each other. ; )

On Yellow Cards & Commentators:

I know you're prolly wondering why didn't I tie this in with the World Cup section, but I didn't want the paragraphs to get too chunky. I wanna cut them down into bite-sized portions. Ain't I sweet, readers? LOL. *yuck* moving on...

There're so many yellow and subsequently red cards issued this year, FIFA might as well pass down a decree that teams are to play 9-a-side football in the Quarter-finals onwards. I think this year's World Cup will prolly enter the record books with 'most no. of cards slapped on players'.

Hate the refs( if they issue cards on my fav teams) this year but I absolutely ADORE the commentators this year! Remember how commentators in the past? How they seem to mumble in BBC english, merely telling you which player passed the ball to which player, and give you some boring stats about the players? Fast forward into the 21st century, and you have your interactive commentators! Boy, do they make soccer matches more interesting and fun to watch for first-timers. For old-school soccer fans, it simply adds a dash of flava~ They're funny and witty, PLUS! They give you some snippets of gossip about players here and there. I like~ Heh.

On Maple:

Call me a late-bloomer or simply call me slow. I'm beginning to be hooked on Maple just when everyone's fizzling out on Maple. Hah, oh well btw I usually play on Bootes or Aquila. : ) PM me, ask for my nick if you intend to offer me some free mesos or even better coupons! LOL. Otherwise, other PMs will not be entertained. : )

Maple is a whole new virtual world by itself, the characters and monsters are so cute, even when they're being bashed up! How cool is that? And there's even marriages and match-making sessions on maple, aren't they weird? Whoever came up with this idea?? LOL. And the NPC's names are pretty quirky too, there's Mr. Moneybags, Cai Shen Ye, Tang San Zang and fellas. LOL.

In the meantime, spread love and laughter around peeps!



Sunday, June 25, 2006 , 11:15 AM

Weee it was my very first time attending a full wedding! You know, the full works, from the church wedding in the morning right up to the wedding dinner at night.

Went to Da Yi Ma's house in the morning, trust me it was a disaster zone in there. Everyone was scrambling about, doing their hair and makeup, and Karen Jie( the star!) was in there doing her make-up since early morning. She looked so beautiful in her wedding gown! Her pictures looked like something out of a Wedding magazine. LOL. No kidding. And she looks really, really blissful and gorgeous in every pic. Everyone is really happy for her! :D

Before Karen Jie went to the church wedding, someone had to throw rice over her and she'd to be escorted by Da Yi Ma with a red umbrella, I think it's for good luck? Hmm I shall go find out.

The church wedding was a lil...boring? Haha. There were lotsa speeches/prayers by the priest, and lotsa songs/hymns as well. And we gotta stand and sit, stand and sit throughout the whole proceedings. Hmm it was pretty novel for me I guess. LOL. Dang! I must sound real sua ku now. Hah. But to see Karen Jie walk down the aisle with Ah Gong, it felt so...oh-my-god-I-can't-describe-it kinda feeling, happiness, touched all at once. It was really special. It really was. The songs/hymns were pretty nice but the prayers by the priest were a lil draggy? Haha maybe it's just that I'm not accustomed to this. It was really hilarious when some of us sat down and then the priest goes in that serene voice of his "You're requested to remain standing for...."

The wedding car was da bomb! The color theme was blue and white, some Eurasian custom, so the car was decorated with blue and white feathers according to a particular pattern/design, it looks really, really stunning! And many people were looking at the car, I mean how often do you see a blue-white decorated wedding car? It's usually the boring pinks. whites, or yellows. God, it was special! Haha. And the bridesmaids( Von and Karen Jie's friend) were also dressed in blue-white tube dresses. Everything was so matching!

After the church wedding, we buzzed off to Da Yi Ma's house for the tea ceremony. And the best man were carrying in the HUMONGOUS roasted pig, it was the 'HUGE-est' roasted pig I'd ever seen im me life! Man, there were lotsa firsts for me yesterday. LOL. And the hired professional photographer was really friendly too, he even offered us tips on how to pick a digi-cam cuz Jamie Jie wanted to get one and she asked him what kinda cams she should get. LOL. So now we know what how megapixels work and what they mean, AND most importantly what brands to buy and not to buy. Shall not state here though, lol I wun want any companies to come a knocking at my door with their legal letters against me. So if anybody wanna know please do PM me. ; )

Pheet. Went home to change for the wedding dinner at night. Haha before that we had to rush off to buy my heels and some other accessories. Talk about last minute shopping! Phew finally got heels then rushed home to bathe and stuff. LOL. And all of you should prolly know I'm not adept at the art of making up and hmmm neither is my mum, cuz all of us are au naturale. LOL. So it was pretty crazy, fumbling in the make up bag and just applied whatever's available. And weee~ off we go. And there's one thing I'm very certain about: Heels aren't meant for daily wear. I didn't really walk in heels, more like waddling? Aargh how do some ladies actually dance in them??? I'm a handicap in heels. : (

Gan die drove us there and alas we were stuck in a very 'timely' jam, it was Saturday and it seems like the entire Sporean population were heading for town. Finally beat the traffic jam and somehow made it to the Asian Civilization Museum. Everyone looked as stunning as the view outside, there was like this unspoken color theme among cousins: Black and white. LOL. And to Kenneth & Co. my necklace don't look like garlic! They looked like shells! Shells! Haha.

Isn't it so darned cool to hold your wedding dinner in the Asian Civilaztion Museum? With an awesome view of the Singapore River . Ahh it was so romantic. LOL. The place is really stunning! And the decor in the dining area and the buffet area in the balcony area was so awesome! After being floored by the decor and everthing architectural, I zipped right to the buffet area. LOL. Hey, I'm not called Melissa for nothing. Food's still my ultimate fav! Haha. But I guess nobody really cares about how the good the food was when the atmosphere is oh-so-right.

Woohoo~ Gan Die offered me a beer to gimme a much needed boost of courage to walk around in heels. In no time, I was slowly learning how to balance and move in them, woohoo~ I'm getting it! But I'll gladly grab my sneakers anytime. The pink colored champagne tasted really good, we didn't know the name of the champagne so we went up to the waiter serving drinks and asked for the 'pink champagne', lol after that Jamie Jie enlightened us and told us it was called 'Baby champagne'. Cute name for a cute drink. LOL. Very suitable for ladies. Ahh~~ chocs and champagne, decadence!

Everyone sorta mingled around, laughing, drinking, taking pictures, toasting and giving speeches to the blissful couple. LOL. And the photographer went around taking pic . There was this one goofy pic of us with Karen Jie and we had to look like we were worshipping her as some goddess...it was so freaking hilarious I hope i can get those pics! Haha. And there was this uber cute boy, mixed blood so you can just imagine how cute he is( btw he's also the ring-bearer)! His name's Shaun! So cute! He looks like a mini hobbit with soft brown curls for hair. Haha you'd just wanna kidnap him!

Woohoo~ After pics, after pics, after pics, and drinks, after drinks, after drinks...we headed home for a good night's rest : ) Haha and champagne's really the ultimate drink for celebrations, cuz it just makes you smile and gives you this warm, fuzzy feeling in ya stomach. LOL. Too bad we didn't get to eat the wedding cake, it was air-flown all the way from Australia, one of Landon's uncle Simon( I think) brought the cake all the way from Australia specially for the wedding. The champagne from Cedar Creek was also air flown. LOL. See the benefits of having so many Australian relatives?

Woohoo and the wedding door gifts for guests are really cool, it looks like loop earrings with lil beaded stars hanging on it, and it serves a purpose too, you hook these lil fellas on ya wine glasses so you dun hafta fuzz over who's whose. These are called wine identity charms, 'used when you have friends over and you don;t want to have to mix uo your glasses, let your mates choose which color they like and just hook it onto the glass stem and viola, you never hafta ask, "Is this mine or yours" ever again'. Pretty neat huh?

Woots. Shall try to get some pics from the wedding dinner. :) tata folks!



Friday, June 23, 2006 , 11:03 AM




Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

RONALDO'S BACK!!! YES! YES! YES! HE'S BACK! HE'S BACK

Japan 1 - 4 Brazil

Tamada Keiji (34') Ronaldo (46)
Juninho (53')
Gilberto (59')
Ronaldo (81')

During the first half, Japan really showed us why they were the Asian Champions, as they created many goal chances, and gave the Brazilian fans many a scare. And eventually, Tamada scored the first goal to break the ice after a fine pass by Alex ( Brazilian turned Japanese). Over at the Japanese stand, fans were cheering and hugging one another. Do they actually think that Brazil won't strike back? Well, I guess that one goal was extraordinary in the fact that it was the first goal Brazil conceded. And Tamada will go home tonight, happy/consoled by the fact that he'd scored against football giants Brazil. Imagine how cool it'll be to tell your grandkids someday that you actually stumped the Brazilian defence and scored a goal against mighty Brazil( who may still be the football giants in future?)!

By the looks of the first half, I guess Japan wouldn't have lasted very long. They had to work extremely hard to restrict the Brazilian space, and hell yes they had to do a lot of running. It was physically demanding for them, especially with the Brazilians well-known for their deadly pace, and it was written all over the Jap players' faces. Finally at the 46th minute (1 min added to first half), Ronaldo finally emerged! He scored a glancing header right into the heart of goal! And he did his shake-one-finger thing, it's been sooooo long since I saw him do that. It must have been so emotional for him as well as for all Brazilian fans all over the world. Can you even imagine what that goal means to him? A striker who has been bearing all the rut by critics and even fans? And to score that equalising goal like that? Man, it was 3+ in the morning but I couldn't help but do a lil jig and screamed my lungs out! It was so F*$%ing AWESOME!

And I couldn't wait for the start of the 2nd half. Cuz with Brazil, it's funny whenever a player scores a goal, everybody in the rest of the squad will wanna have a stab at goal too, it's like that first goal awakes everybody in the squad and now everybody wanna score a goal or two. The 2nd half was beautiful, the Japanese for me were pretty much defeated, they were tired and deflated, but for Brazil, the match was just beginning in the 2nd half. The 2nd half was a beautiful moment in football, cuz Brazil finally awakens after rounds of tornament, this was the moment, they finally came back! That team that is so beautiful and yet dangerous to watch, that samba magic, that ginga rythm, that joga bonito that they play, like it or not, Brazil inspires everyone, every player every fan every human being who cares about football regardless of where you might come from. As the commentator said, in Brazil, they don't just score goals, they want to score beautiful goals. Haha and you can take that to the bank.

The 2nd goal came from Juninho, and it was a brilliant long range shot. At this point of time, Brazil was just enjoying what they did most, football. As Brazilian fans, we love Brazil not just because we can trust them to bring back goals, it's mainly cuz they're so fun to watch, the players are having fun on the pitch, and they play with smiles on their faces, to them, football wasn't just football, it was their very passion. And that makes Brazil oh-so-special. Did you see how Ronldinho smiled to Ronaldo when they did this brilliant partnership for another shot at goal? They showed us why football IS fun. For now, I'm just lapping up everything that Brazil delivers.

3rd goal came from Gilberto who shot low into the far corner. This 3rd goal really sealed the match, and I guess by now the Japanese players knew they were packing their bags.

At the closing moments of the match, Ronaldo struck again and shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net, Kawaguchi could never have beaten that one. Ronaldo was prolly sending a message to all his critics through that second goal, to shut up and basically tell them HE'S BACK!!!

Dang! Whoever misses that match should really kick themselves hard in the ass. LOL. I mean it. Especially so for Ronaldo fans. That first goal was his confidence booster, and that second goal was his record breaker. Ronaldo headed the equaliser to move past Pele as Brazil's leading scorer in FIFA World Cups. Then following a lovely one-two he made it 4-1 with deadly accuracy to draw level with Gerd Muller as the leading FIFA World Cup marksman of all time on 14. We can expect more goals from the this infamous hitman fellas! Fans enjoy, opponents beware!

Full time. Budweiser Man of the Match: Ronaldo (BRA). *big surprise*

With that, Brazil is now top of Group F and they cruised into Round of 16 along with ghana and Australia. : )

My ambition now is to be a FOOTBALL JOURNALIST. But I'll prolly suck at it cuz' I'm very biased. :p




For Brazil, it's all about having fun. : )



Wednesday, June 21, 2006 , 7:50 AM


I missed the England's match this early morning. : ( My sis called me up but I really had ZERO recollection of it happening. Omg, I've morphed into a deep, deep sleeper. Great. Now, I'll prolly hafta set 3 alarm clocks if I wanna nap before a match.

Sweden 2-2 England

Paraguay 2-0 T&T

Ecuador 0-3 Germany

Costa Rica 1-2 Poland


I watched the Ecuador vs Germany, but it was boring cuz this match was pretty much one-sided from the start. So, I went back to the room to play maple. Hmmm so far I still prefer Runescape, haha many maplers will prolly wanna bash me up when I said that. LOL. But it's prolly cuz I'm still a noob. Gotta level up!!!


Aargh! My Owen's injured AGAIN! That's it! Some Owen-hating bomoh must be controlling his voodoo doll!!! I'm just nuts. but my heart goes out to him, he must feel like the unluckiest person on earth right now. He must have wanted so much to prove himself and now this? Aargh...he had a good game previously even though he didn't actually score, he did create great set-ups! Sadly, limelight usually goes to the goalscorers. Pray, GET WELL SOON MICHAEL OWEN!!!


Good news though is: England and Germany now sits on top of their respective group tables. : )



4 Days to Karen Jie's wedding. : )





Monday, June 19, 2006 , 10:04 AM



Japan 0-0 Croatia

Brazil 2-0 Australia

France 1-1 S.Korea

On Japan vs Croatia:

To me it's a pretty boring match, classic type of match where there's the occasional chances of breaking the deadlock, but otherwise unhappening. For me, my man of the match is Japan's GK Kawaguchi cuz he made several brilliant saves( esp for that penalty!!! haven seen a good penalty save in a looooooooong time), otherwise the score could well have been 3-0 advantage to Croatia. And I thought Nakamura had a really good game. Nakata was great in that he tend to surprise opponents by firing goals be it long or short range. Hence, this scoreline doesn't really help matters for both camps. japan remains at the bottom with 1 point and Croatia ahead at third place based on goal difference. However, Japan's captain Miyamoto and Croatia's key player Kovac will miss the next round( key qualifying round) as they picked up their 2nd yellow cards. Japan will face Brazil, and Croatia vs Aussies in the next round. And please Mr Commentator, Kaji is 'Kah-Jee' not 'Kah-jai'! LOL.

On Brazil vs Australia:

I died many times alone watching this match. My heart stopped many times when the Socceroos taunted the VERY leaky Brazilian defence. Even from a Brazilian fan, all of us know that the only thing Brazil's worth all the hype is mainly it's strikeforce, but even that has fallen apart based on yesterday's match. It was heartbreaking for me to watch, to see Ronaldo struggle his way around usually 3 or 4 Aussie defenders to launch his goals, that's usually way off course or deflected. I hate to say this but Ronaldo's a shadow of his past. Strikers are one of the most injury proned positions in football, and their shelf life really depends largely on their match fitness. Owen and Ronaldo can go drown their sorrows together cuz their situation is pretty much the same. Ronaldo knows he can't do what he does best in the past, and he didn't hide that frustration and disappointment. *sobs* By 2nd half, if I were Zico( coach), I'd wanna tear my clothes apart change into jersey and bang in goals. Dang. This match is so darned similar to that England match where they played like shit, but miraculously managed to grab 2 very precious late goals to save their a**es.

FINALLY!!! At the 49th minute, Ronaldo did a series of sidesteps and squared in to Adriano who struck the ball into goal!!!!!!! 1-0 to Brazil!!! Man I actually screamed BRAZIIIIIIIIILLLLLLL!!!!! And the second goal came from this player Fred, he just subbed in and shortly after he bagged a goal! A 2nd goal to me was pretty unlikely then, but Fred( funny name very un-footballer) he knew how to stand at the right place at the right time! Woohoo~ and I ran around the living room yelling Brazil. -.-" Ronaldo was subbed by Robinho, and I think this decision was good for all of us, including Ronaldo.

Did this while waiting fer rain to stop. Guess a chinese saying.

Aussies did really well against the FIFA world ranked no. 1 Brazil. But they're really physical, and their multiple man marking system just didn't go well with me, or any other Brazilian fan. Cuz whenever a Brazilian player gets the ball, there'll be 2 or 3 or even 4 aussies (depending on player reputation) closing down on you and nip the ball away. Yeah yeah good defending but they didn't win the ball based on skill but based on numbers. Aargh! But Viduka and Emerton really stood out in the Australian camp.

My man of the match: Dida (Brazil)

He made uncountable saves otherwise the scoreline could have been 2-2. He looks like the only Brazilian player to really give his all last night.

Gentleman of the match: Cafu (Brazil)

He actually shook hands with the ref after being 'awarded' a yellow card. Man he can be a PR officer when he retires! I think this quality makes him a great captain. Whatta gentleman. Oh and he playes 4 consecutive World Cups! Amazing or what!?!

Unhappy man of the match: Harry Kewell (AUS)
After the final whistle was blown, Kewell came waving a defiant finger at the ref, must be contesting one of his decisions. But I can empathise with him, cuz Aussies had a good game and the 2 goals must be devastating for them.

Conclusion: Watch out for the next matches Brazil vs Japan and Australia vs Croatia. Will be helluva match. And Brazil please recharge on ya ginga/samba magic!!! Where's joga bonito!?!






Why must it rain whenever we wanna go swimming? Let's hope the rain stops soon! : )
Went to town yesterday with my sis and mum to get clothes for the wedding dinner (my cousin's wedding) which is this coming Saturday. I hope everyone has a blast then! Haha. After walking the entire stretch of Orchard (I guess my legs will disown me pretty soon), from Taka to Tangs to Far East then all the way back to Taka then Centrepoint. I finally got clothes from m)phosis and the price is pretty reasonable. Sis got a top from m)phosis too. Sugoi! I lied to my cousin that I got a cheongsam haha and I hope she's not readin this! Haha. Mum got a top only when we were back at Northpoint, a brown top with very unique cutting. Haha and we were more than agreeable with the price. : )

Shopping can be a real workout I tell you, try working your way around the Sunday GSS crowd at Orchard and ya'll know what I mean. It's like some rugby practice. Haha. Saw Von, Jamie and Ron chatted a lil then went on shopping cua they're heading for Bugis and we just went there so... Yup. That wraps up my Sunday. ahhh tired but rewarding. : ) I have a love-hate relationship with shopping. Haha and Ah Shing's so cool la went to pub to watch Soccer, bourbon coke and peanuts PLUS soccer= Sheer heaven. LOL.

Cool. So now there's thunder to go with the rain. Just great. I wanna swim!!!







Sunday, June 18, 2006 , 8:56 AM

Before I even start on my post today, I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to HUIMIN a.k.a islenska for my new yoyo-themed blogskin!!! It totally rocks! It's gonna stay for a very, very, very, very long time guys! : )

Portugal 2-0 Iran

Czech Rep 0-2 Ghana

Italy 1-1 USA

On Portugal vs Iran:

Portugal is the 6th team to have made it into the round of 16, with goals coming in at 2nd half, by Deco and C.Ronaldo. For me, I think the biggest contribution came from Deco, and thanks to him, Portugal can finally advance into the next stage in 40 years! 40 years! And Deco's goal just came in the right time to make the first breakthrough, Portugal has created many chance right from the start and it was pretty much time for someone to do the job, and who else but world-class Deco? C.Ronaldo's 2nd goal came from a penalty after Luis Figo was fouled by Iran's Gol-something something. Overall, Iranians fought hard to hold Portugal until Deco's first goal came in, it kinda knocked their spirit off course a lil.

He's my man Deco! This looks like a fun**** pic don't ya think? Oh well. : )


On Czech vs Ghana:

Less than 90 seconds into the game, and Ghana's Gyan scored a goal! It's the fastest goal in Germany 06'. Haha but Turkey's still holds the fastest goal record. Poor Cech, he's prolly still looking for his family in the spectator crowd when Gyan came running into the penalty box and struck a lethal blow. Czech Rep really struggled against an attacking Ghana after they were left with 10 men. It certainly wasn't Czech's best tornament so far. With Czech key hitmen Koller and Baros injured, their attacking force was more than halved. Plus, Koller's sub was also injured, and that leaves very lil depth in the Czech Rep's striking force. I guess Czec Rep's gonna make an early exit this tornament. I'm happy for Ghana as they made the first win for the African continent.

On Italy vs USA:

Need I say more? This was pure theatrics. A 10 men Italy against a 9 men USA. A total of 3 red cards given out by the ref! 3 in a single match! LOL. Dang this year players hafta look out for an extra fault-finding ref. The result gives Italy 1 point, topping the table of Group E. USA will meet Ghana in the next stage. And boy, De Rossi's gonna have a bloody hard time from Italy's coach today. All in all, I guess the drama involved in this match kinda overshadowed the football, but I thought the American GK did a pretty darned good job. : )

Moving away from football( I'm gonna haf the World Cup hangover pretty soon)...

Weee~ Will be going to town to get some clothes for my cousin's wedding. LOL. The dress code is now smart casual I guess. Went swimming yesterday with my sis, so many people in the pool, I thought the water felt a lil slimy so it felt pretty much like we were wading in an oil spill. We didn't really swim, more like we meandered our way around people, and more people. Haha. But there was this family, they brought their baby along and he/she sat on this lil float, so cute!!! YAY! And I did my side splash, my sis was too shy to do it. LOL. I'd wanted to swim a lil more but my sis wanna go home early. In the shower room, I realized I'd actually forgotten to bring my Brazil( minus the zil), and I stood in the shower room shouting for my sis, she was prolly busy drying her hair someplace else, so I changed into my swimming costume( top) and stepped outside. I'm such an ass! How can I forget something like this!?! So, I'd to dry my swimmin costume at the hands dryer, man it was so embarrassing! Aargh before I go swimming next time, I'd gotta do a checklist first.




Saturday, June 17, 2006 , 11:50 AM

Argentina 6-0 Serbia & Montenegro

Nederlands 2-1 Ivory Coast

Mexico 0-0 Angola


On Argentina vs Serbia & Montenegro:

Based on yesterday's match, Argentina is sending out a message to the world: The attacking Argentina is back. And it's stronger and more aggressive than ever before. If Argentina were to keep up their performance, I'd shudder to think of the consequences should Brazil match up against them in the later part of the tornament.

It was goals galore for Argentina as they literally trampled all over the S&B side. Argentina are serious contenders in this world cup. Poor Milosevic, him alone just wasn't enough. I loved the way Argentina played last night, they played around with the ball outside S&B's penalty area and catch the S&B's defenders off guard and ram in goals. Their passing was so freaking accurate and their set-ups were just phenomenal, they were unstoppable. Hey I bet Maradona had had a blast yesterday night watching from the spectator's stand. I loved Cambiasso's and Messi's goal the most, out of 6 goals. Can you even imagine??? There were in total 24 bloody Arg passes outside S&B's penalty area when Cambiasso blasted in that 2nd goal, it was one of the most amazing set-up I'd ever seen. And it makes me wonder if the S&B defenders still haven't recovered from jet lag. Were they sleeping??? They actually allowed 24 freaking passes without one single interception! LOL. If I were an S&B player, I'd prolly wanna feign injury after the 4th goal. It must have been humiliating for them.

And Messi's goal was so darned classy! He's my fav Argentine player AND he's only 18 yrs old! The youngest Argentine player to ever play in the World Cup. Heck and I think he hasn't even reached his maximum potential. Just look at him in Barcelona! And I just realised yesterday that Maradona has named Messi his successor. What an honour for an 18 yr old!

I really hope Brazil watched this match, and be inspired and play up to expectations. Really dun wanna see Brazil being labelled the 'underperformers' this year. So GO BRASIL GO! I'd love to see Brazil match up against Argentina in the finals.

p/s: I bet the commentator is a die-hard Argentine fan.

Need I say more?

Some cute Argentine fans

The match was so awesome I bet no one noticed MARADONA!

Ahh Cambiasso! Whatta goal!


On Nederlands vs Ivory Coast:

This match was a classic tug-of-war. And Nederlands were prolly luckier yesterday. Robben was yellow carded for simulation better known as diving! It was wrong judgement by the ref! He's so strict man, he gives out yellow cards like candies to children. Aargh, and it's only group stages now. Referees are the ultimate ENEMY this year so players out there, better watch out. Drogba did pretty well yesterday night, and it was a very very close fight!

Dang yesterday's matches were AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! It doesn't matter who you are rooting for, as long as you are a fan of football, you'd had a blast watching yesterday's matches. Man oh man this is one of the best World Cups I'd seen so far. The last tornament was the year of the underdogs, S.Korea making into the semis and stuff, Senegal beating France. Haha but this year these major countries are back! And back in style! So Brazil what re ya waiting for? Get out there and show us ya samba flair!




Friday, June 16, 2006 , 11:51 AM

On England vs Trinidad & Tobago

It was a nerve-wrecking match yesterday man. England created so many awesome chances at goal, but ended up with a poor finishing. Rooney was rested in the 1st half but at the rate England is going, I guess a Rooney comeback is pretty much inevitable. There was great set-up by the England players, but T&T played really really well for its FIRST ever world cup. They knew it was gonna be tough to come up against a team as good as England( with Rooney it's great), but they really make full potential of every ball possession. And heck, they played like seasoned veterans in the world cup. Outstanding football.

Michael Owen didn't play that badly in my opinion, he orchestrated several goal set-ups and stuff, Becks did well in keeping the flow throughout the field. I guess Owen and Ronaldo( Brazil) share the same predicament, they haven't really recovered full match fitness and sharpness...yet. Give him some time to oil those rusty bearings and he'll shine. However, with Rooney's comeback I'm afraid he'll be 2nd choice striker?

In the first half and 30 mins into 2nd half, I just think that Crouch was a lil too tall to my liking, whenever he wanna head or bicycle-kick, the ball towards goal, it hits his long legs or head a lil too prematurely and tends to overshot. And that created so many darned misses. And Lampard kept sending the ball too high over the goal post. Aargh. First half no goal? Thrilling. 20 minutes into 2nd half still no goal? Nerve-wrecking. 30 minutes into 2nd half still no goal!?! Houston we have a problem. LOL. If I had the bad habit of chewing my nails, I would have 0 nails left after the entire match.

20+ minutes into 2nd half, Rooney started pacing the sidelines with Lennon, and I loved the way te commentator introduced Rooney, he said" Rooney is pacing OMNIOUSLY along the sidelines". Haha makes him sound like a dangerous beast of sorts. He warmed up in the 1st half too but I guess that was a lil scare tactic on Sven's part. Finally, after missing 47 days, Rooney makes a comeback! Owen is subbed by Rooney amidst thunderous applause by Eng's fans( imagine how he must haf felt? The poor fella) and Carragher's subbed by Lennon( Tottenham Hotspurs winger). I felt that Sven should haf subbed Crouch( but he finally scored the 83rd min), and kept Carragher. But oh well, I guess it worked cuz England bounced back with late goals by Peter Crouch(unlikely goal, ironically it was his height that got him tt goal) 83rd minute and Stevie( Liverpool's Stevie Wonder!) at 91st min. LOL. It was an amazing match! But please don't make us wait that long in the next few matches lads! Haha.

Hence, full time it was England 2-0 T&T. England has officially secured theit place in the round of 16 after this victory. Poor T&T they defended and taunted England so bravely and it comes to nought, and even ended up with broken hearts and a bagful of yellow cards. That's football for you : )


The 'Latecomers': Rooney & Stevie!

For now, I can't wait for another England match. Brazil when are u gonna shine again?

Woohoo~~~ Bu-ko( 5A champion at World Yo-Yo Contest 2005) and Taka(2005 World Yo-Yo contest champion [AP] freestyle ) will be judging at this year's SYYC! AND..they'll be at several Toys 'R' Us outlets island-wide!!! I wanna catch them in action!!! Yabai!!!! Haha.



Wednesday, June 14, 2006 , 1:20 PM

Got antenna, and we were in a finding frequency frenzy. Alas, found the Indonesian channel SCTV! It was sheer joy man I tell you. But the images are a bit distorted, there're these vertical lines cutting across, like a kueh lapis. And most of the times the words were 'dancing'. Heck. I guess it's better than nothing. Haha at least I got to watch the S.Korea vs Togo and Brazil vs Croatia match. Shiokaroo~~ Will keep trying to look for better frequency. Peiyu's SCTV is perfect, so it's like watching Ch5 or Ch8! Envy envy!

Went Bugis with Ru&Co, the curry bento at Corokkechan was superb. Then again, we were prolly just hungry. Yu asked if I wanted to go watch the World Cup at her place, haha but decided not to cuz we wanted to try out the new antenna at home. My mum is pretty against the idea of me watching outside, cuz she thinks there may be riots/fights, especially among the rowdy ah peks. LOL. Talk about stereotyping. Anyways, bought a top from 77th Street, pretty punkish, I like.

In the meantime, my TV has only: Channel U, ChannelnewsAsia, SCTV. I know. Pathetic huh? LOL. Shingyeen's gonna get her antenna today I think, good luck bud! Haha but must be really patient. Hmm no worries though, cuz you live on the 10th floor so reception should be perfect. Envy! Haha remember it's SCTV, cuz TV1/2/3 don't show all matches, for SCTV it's an entire channel dedicated to World Cup. They even have World Cup themed gameshows when there're no matches. All in Bahasa Indonesia of course, haha but it's pretty interesting to watch. If you receive SCTV must tell me k? Haha.

On Brazil vs Croatia:

As Ru said, their jersey really resembles the F1 flag man. Haha. Brazil has a FIFA world ranking at no. 1 and Croatia no. 23, hence I didn't expect this match to be a goals galore. Brazil won 1-0 against Croatia. To me, it was a safe scoreline, nothing too flashy, a lil underperformance really. It was a pity that the Croatian captain got sent off. Croatia's defence did really great, and they were really causing some trouble at the penalty box. Luckily for Brazil, most of the shots by the Croatian strikers were aimed directly at Dida( Brazil's GK) and not the back of the net. Kaka got the winning goal that sealed the game. What was interesting was that Cafu( Brazilian captain) has played his 4th consecutive Worl Cup, isn't that a remarkable feat? Over the span of 16 years! Man whata whopper! And there's so much hype over Ronaldo being overweight, he's NOT fat just stout. Look at Maradona, he isn't exactly slender then. Overall, I was just glad that Brazil won. It was a narrow win for me. LOL.


And I guess Ronaldo's gonna need all the matches he can play to get back his sharpness. Give him some credit, he's faced so many major injuries that threatened his sporting carreer and everytime critics declare that Ronald's not gonna bounce back, he comes back with new surprises. Phew. For now, I'm just thankful for Kaka's 44th minute goal! : )



The man with tt winning smile AND GOAL! Man of the Match.



Cafu(4th World Cup) with Kaka!





Haha I expect more amazing stuff from this man Ronaldinho!




And from this guy too...Ronaldo! The 98' Golden Ball winner.


Lastly, I wanna complain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How is it that Indonesia a country that is financially weaker than us can afford to have live telecasts of ALL LIVE MATCHES? And Singapore a country that is world class this and that doesn't have that? Restricting this privilege to cable viewers only totally sucks! Hmph. To hell with pay-per-view! : (




Sunday, June 11, 2006 , 10:18 PM

Went to Taka on Friday to watch F.A.S.T. challenge as well as shows. LOL. YoHans so darned cool it's like aargh!!! Dang! Haha. Reached there around... ... ...umm I forgot what time but we managed to catch the 4pm show. It was at the Taka basement square, there were so many kids there learning tricks and stuff. Everyone was having fun. Looking at them play can be so inspiring sometimes, the passion in their eyes, clear and unyielding, daring to ask and make mistakes. Makes me wonder why as we grow older, we sometimes become more insecure and protective of ourselves, letting our ego get in the way. More often than not as a result of this insecurity, we can't fulfil the potental in each and every one of us. Hmm as weird as Wacko Jacko might be, I agree all of us should be like Peter Pan, not letting the child in us be erroded by reality. Haha. Bottomline is, release the child in you, and you'd prolly be amazed by the amazing things you can do.

To see YoHans on stage doing his thing, it's simply mindblowing. By the way, he's broken his own Guiness World Record of 52 tricks in a minute, he can do 59 tricks now!!! Haha. YoHans waved to me on stage and asked me something but I couldn't catch what he was saying cuz I was prolly starstruck or something and I thought he was talkin to someone else, so I looked around, but he kept pointing at me so when I finally 'woke' up I waved back at him. It was so freaking embarrassing! Haha. But it was pretty funny. Then he attempted 59 tricks per minute and he autographed tt yoyo, and there was this segment where he gave it out to one lucky audience. I'm quite 'old' so I didn't raise my hands, give the kids a chance to keep that precious yoyo. Haha but a lady got it in the end and she gave it to her son, lol her son (8-10yr old) was so touched/happy! LOL.

After the 4pm show, walked around ate Takopachi and ice cream at Gelatino it was so yummylicious I'm still dreamin about it. Haha. Then we went for the 7pm show, and he did his 59 tricks per minute again. And this time he gave his record-breaking autographed yoyo to a lucky audience. This time I raised my hand high in the air cuz I really wanted it. LOL. I'm so sorry to the kids! And YoHans actually picked me!!! LOL. I thought all I had to do was take the yoyo and tat's it cuz the previous lady just took the yoyo. When he pointed at me I kinda hesitated cuz it's kinda intimidating there were so many people! So when I went up there he told me I gotta come on stage to get it if I wanted it! And I had to help him with a trick. I had to stand in the middle and there was this uber long yo string looped around my shoulder and hand and YoHans will let it go around the circuit it's like a roller coaster. I was so nervous!!! But I trust YoHans. Haha. And thankfully the trick was a success! Haha Nichy's really friendly.

Phew. I got the yoyo at long last! LOL. So now I got another collector's yoyo! Yabai!

Woohoo! I forgot to take his picture! : ( Hmmm...

After that we went to see Mickey's Yo-Stick at United Square, but there wasn't many people cuz all the kids were at the square watching this Kiki thing. Haha I went there to show support. And Hakim( he's from Jamaica) taught me tricks, Mickey taught me this trick called Yabai. Haha and it was really yabai! But I was a lil shy in front of Mickey la, cuz he's still my idol after all, can be a lil intimidating. Haha.

And today( Sunday 11th June) we went for the Yo-Stick workshop. Haha. Mich din wanna go in actually, cuz she felt awkward there were many kids there, haha with their parents. And I stood there persuading her, until Mickey, Hakim and co came along. Haha in the end I succeeded in dragging her inside! LOL. Thank God for my stubborness cuz the workshop was pretty fun! The kids were so freaking cute! And there was this lil boy, so chatty! But I din ask for his name. Haha another lil boy taught me a trick of his. It was just so fun and relaxing! Mickey and Hakim are so pro! Thanks for the lessons sinsehs! Haha.

Woohoo it was a pretty awesome day today! : ) Hmmm it'll be quite some time I'll get to see Mickey perform yoyo tricks since he'll be going to judge at MYYC, hmmm maybe I'll get to see his awesome tricks next yr?

At the end of it, I got Mickey and Hakim to autograph my Yo-Stick the kids too! Haha then I asked this boy abt the wristband and he helped me ask the guy whether it's free or not and he told me" It's free!" Aargh I'm like a cheapo! Haha. But he's so cute so never mind. Haha.

Happy! : )

Now I'll be waiting to watch my first Brazil match in the World Cup!



Thursday, June 08, 2006 , 10:46 AM

HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY MICH! : )



, 9:35 AM

Yes it's official. It's only 1 more day to the long awaited World Cup!!! LOL. Aargh but Channel 5's gonna telecast selected matches. Wonder why we gotta pay so much television money. : (

Oh well, it's better than nothing I guess. Haha. Anyways, I've set Channel 1( the Malaysian network) just in case. : )

I got a new toy! It's called a Yo-Stick. It's literally this tube thing attached to an extendable and sorta elastic string, played somewhat like a yoyo. Yup. Even signed up for the workshop at Bishan CC! LOL. Conducted by Mickey! I signed up cuz I'm really curious what kinda tricks a Yo-Stick can come up with. Hmm in case you guys still don't get what a Yo-Stick looks like, here's a pic of it:






Haha I bought a blue Yo-Stick. When it plays, it'll actually be lighted! Can you imagine playing one of these when you go clubbing? The lights are so freaking cool! Haha.

That day when I went down to Bishan CC to pay for my workshop, the friendly aunty there actually thought I was Primary 6! She'd wanted to ask me to sign up for this camp catering to 7-12 year-olds, until she saw my IC. Haha. Am I flattered or insulted? Hmm. Kinda both, do I actually look that young to you?? LOL. I missed out on the F.A.S.T. challenge cuz of work, so hopefully, if I do master the Yo-Stick I can take part in the Yo-Stick Competition come Aug-Sept. For the 14 and above category, the champion will get $900 and a trophy, 1st runner up will get $300 I think and so on. Haha. $_$

Woohoo. Life is really relaxing right now, but to ease of my guilt of slacking at home while my folks slog it off at work, I help to do some household chores. Well, at least I try to do some. Hmm so far I can sweep, sweep and still sweep some floor. Haha. I guess I'll have lots to learn about such stuff. Went back to visit my friends yesterday, haha and I got a pressie from Yi Lin! Thanks girl, I liked the note hell lots! Haha. It was her last day yesterday. So there'll be one more slacker in the league. The League of the Extraordinary Slackers. So, that makes it LES. We are LES! God. That was lame...ok moving on--->

As I was saving, life's good right now. The pace is relaxing, and I get to do stuff that I like. Will be going down to Taka this Friday to catch the F.A.S.T. Challenge head-to-head challenge. Hmm this time I must get Steve Brown, YoHans, Ben's autograph and pictures taken( with ME!!!). Haha I hope I won't freak out then. : ) To see em on TV and then see em in the flesh it's like WOAH! Ye know? Haha. Oh wells, wish me luck, if I do chicken out at the very end, at least I got to watch them perform! Haha.

Have you watched the latest Adidas TV commercial? It's so darned cool! There're 2 boys( from some South American country. Brazil I guess?) and they're having this mini soccer game and they get to choose players, ANY players. So BoyA singles out players like Zidane, Beckham, Kaka. And BoyB was so hilarious, he actually chooses Franz Beckenbauer! F.Y.I Beckenbauer is a German soccer legend( he's history), born in 1945! And Oliver Kahn goes "Beckenbauer?" Lmao. You gotta go watch it!

Oh and now it seems everyone is wearing world-cup themed Tees, with Brazil/England/France/Italia/Argentina/Nippon/Germany emblazoned across their chests. Man oh man, when did countries become a brand/fashion statement? LOL. See, the World Cup actually does bring in lotsa consumer $...so can Channel 5 like telecast more matches in future( 4 more years to next World Cup)??

LOL. I wonder when we'll ever get to wear Singapore for World Cup matches.

Haha, there was this BBC sports writer I think, who commented that Sporean fans are one of the most punishing critics on their local footballers. I mean, you can't really blame us can you? We've been brought up being exposed to the EPL, La Liga, Italian Serie A, so I guess we'll compare the two more or less. So I guess the World Cup will be a great chance for our players to watch and learn. Haha but no matter what I'll always root for you guys, but currently with the World Cup on, I'll be rooting full-time for BRAZIL!!! Haha, Ronaldinho and gang dazzle us with ya Ginga magic!!! *_*



Saturday, June 03, 2006 , 10:41 AM

My last day at UOB. Got many presents from friends and colleagues, Thank You so much...really. I'll miss each and every one of you. Haha why the melancholy? I'll drop you guys a visit!


Haha enjoyed shopping around with Lychee yesterday night before I went home from work, went to this shop "Song", and the clothes there were like dirt cheap! I got this red hooded jacket from an American brand for only $10! Yeah you heard me right! And Abercrombie&Fitch tees for $5!!! LOL. They're the originals it's just that they are rejected goods, due to wrong tagging of size and stuff, but they're still more than wearable!!! LOL. Thank my lucky stars and of cuz Lychee! I nearly bought a hooded jacket from Q'way for $79.90!!! : )

Hmmm BBQ? Haha. See you on Wednesday!!!



Thursday, June 01, 2006 , 8:23 PM

Took half day leave on Wednesday. Left work at about 3pm, shopped around for farewell gifts then headed to Kallang to wait for Peiru. Haha Shirley pulled out of the soccer match at the last minute. Met at 5pm and had dinner at MacDs. LOL. We were spotting potential people who're going to watch the Causeway Challenge like us. I really regret my decision to wear that FREE Tiger Cup T-shirt, it was so bright red and so 'ulu'. Aargh. Ru wore pink and didn't inform me about her change in color choice! Haha. It was kinda embarrassing in the office cuz many of my colleagues were reading my Tee and go" What does 'Behind every lion is a Tiger' mean?" LOL.

So it's the two of us going to the national stadium to catch Singapore Lions in action again. Haha and we chose to walk to the stadium yet AGAIN. I think we went there too early, so there were only a few people walking with us. There was this group of malay guys who were crossing the road by climbing over those metal dividers, haha and one of them was stuck cuz of heavy traffic. Reached there like 10mins later, there were lesser people compared to the Tiger Cup, and nobody was selling Singapore headbands this year. Peiru had to dispose her plastic water bottle cuz it was a potential weapon( imagine that!). So both of us stood there gulping water from our bottles. WhenI was finishing nearly half of my water bottle, one of the staff there told me my SP orientation bottle is allowed! Shucks. Now we need to get a toilet!

Went around looking for a toilet, lol we did find toilets, but let's just say that the odor in there is less than appealing. There was this acidic and soury stench in there, and I guess our bladders got the message to close the 'floodgates' until the match was over.

Yay! We got in FREE OF CHARGE! But the view was just superb. Why would people wanna buy Grandstand tix? In no time, the crowd was flooding in, but no Msian fan was in sight. By kick off, the stadium was 1/4 filled, which is pretty good for a local tournament and a friendly match at that. LOL. The Msians wore yellow jerseys so Peiru said they look like Goreng Pisangs. LOL.

The entire match was just hilarious! Many of our local fans were yelling at OUR players taunting them scolding them and whatnot, lol no wonder people say that Sporean fans are very punishing towards our own soccer players. But to be fair, the new young Lions (most of the Tiger Cup squad weren't present cept for Aide Ishkandar, Noh Alam Shah and Lionel Lewis) played really badly, their passing was horrible, they had no speed against the more aggressive Msians, and they kept playing it back when they had a good chance to score. It was so frustrating to watch. And most of the time we were yelling" Go! Go! GO! GO! Just shoot don't pass back!" Haha. I bet they were on reverse gear or something. They missed so many chances! There were several brilliant set-ups but we kept playing back. Hais remind me of the negative football Liverpool USED to play. Our young Lions played like they were intimidated by the Msians.

LOL. So we finally got to a goaless draw. And many local fans were leaving the stadium (disappointed and frustrated) when the final whistle was blown, but then the commentator told us there would be a penalty shootout to decide the winner. Haha. And everybody rushed back in again. So one by one players stepped up to take the penalty, and Singapore finally won 5-4! It was so freaking close! But I have to say we didn't really deserve the win. But hey, Msia is not much better, most of their players were diving and falling all over the place, the medics were called in like more than 10 times? 3 of our goals were disallowed.

Haha. But the atmosphere there was really good, when all of us were jeering and stuff. The mascot was kinda skinny this year. And they actually flashed the wrong name on the big screen, it was supposed to be "Tiger FC Causeway Challenge" but it became "Selangor Sultan Cup" during the penalty shootout! LOL. For God's sakes! No wonder World Cup 2010 was scrapped! It'll prolly take a miracle for me to see Singapore in the World Cup in this lifetime! Either that or we can attract more foreign talent into the squad. Becks, Gerrard, Owen care to come over here for a tryout?

After the match, we were sticky and sweaty all over! It was simply YUCKs! Haha and we had to trek back to where we came from. It's amazing how we always manage to walk back in the dark! LOL. Overall, it was still fun fun fun. Hmmm and I think Spore played badly on purpose, that way our opponents will belittle us and we can thrash them in the following tournament! What a strategy!



This picture is just brilliant ! It makes the stadium looks packed to the brim when it's in fact only like 1/4 filled?






This picture above is pretty awesome too cuz it makes us look like we have the upperhand when in fact the Msians were playing much better than us.

Though I'm a lil disappointed in the newly unveiled Spore squad based on yesterday's match alone I'll still support Singapore football! I'm proud of you guys no matter what! I guess with a new squad, it'll take some time to get used to the feel of each other's strength, playing style and stuff. As fans, time, patience and our encouragement/criticsims are our only gifts to you guys!

Thursday:

Today's my 2nd last day in UOB. I gotta go prepare my farewell gifts for my colleagues and friends! AND SY's card! Haha. She'll be in for a shock! : )

I wonder what they'll be getting for me?

Hmm. Haha Yi Lin and I treat our clique to a farewell treat at LJS. LOL a pity Lychee and Ziqin didn'tcome for lunch!


Haha. Tata for now! Laters~