I guess this would count as an obligatory post, with the last entry being exactly 1 week ago. So let's see what I can write about .... that's tough. Considering that I have skipped gym for the 2nd week in a row, after having so faithfully worked out to rediscover my lost physique from times past, you can probably realize how lethargic I am right now. As they say, easy come easy go .... so I figure it won't be that difficult getting back my fitness ... 2 weeks is all I need to get a gold standard for the IPPT which I suppose I shall have to take sooner rather than later.
Aniway, there is this festival called WOMAD this weekend, where arts, dances and music are basically the theme of the entire show. You know how I once thought WOMAD was a festival for all things women - women performances, jewellery bazaars ... and basically a lot of women of all ages. That set me thinking, then is there a festival specially for men too? Maybe there is some festival called MAD somewhere out there? But i figured naming the event MAD would be a mad idea in itself .... would it be for men only, crazy men and women, or simply maverick-wannabes? Now that I have finally grasped the idea that WOMAD does not stand for women dancing, I figured I might as well go check it out with a few friends tomorrow.... and at the same time, make OBB a resounding success for our returning Shengrong. The few of them know what I mean.
There is also this presentation by the SAMSU exco for the incoming freshmen at the University of Chicago GSB campus tomorrow. 30 plus freshmen this year .... what did we do last year to convince so many students to come to Chicago this year? For the record, UofC was recently ranked number 8 in the latest USNews undergraduate college rankings, which means that unless you're from Harvard, Princeton, MIT or Stanford, don't bother telling me you came from an oh-so-great undergrad college. Yes, NUS was nowhere to be found in the top 100, which logically means there are more than a 100 colleges worldwide with a better reputation and academic program that NUS. Yes, cheap thrill ... but what the heck?
So I am getting bored again, and I suppose this shall be the end of this entry. The next entry will be up when I next sign in to my blogger account. Duh!
This time, it's the Rugby C Division title as ACS(I) crushes RI 15-10.
Now, if only Leeds could win against Cardiff tomorrow too. And Chelsea to lose, get points deducted and then get relegated, swopping divisions with Leeds next season. Liverpool ain' that bad too .... hope they beat Sheffield United tomorrow, partly cos the Sheffield manager is just a thorn in Leeds' side (with all his moanings and complaints) -- an ass -- and cos Liverpool plays attractive football ... like Leeds United.
Wednesday just passed, but unlike last week, the Wednesday this week ain't a public holiday where I get to watch some 2 hr ceremonial parade.
So aniway, I just came back from dinner with a friend at Holland V. It's amazing how I choose to go there for dinner after work even though we practically go there for lunch every day ... except Saturday and Sunday. Take this afternoon as an example, we went to the coffee shop at 1st busstop. I chose to have char kway teow, but this being my self-declared healthy week, I refrained from eating those pork lard which adds so much to the overall taste. See my mental determination .... healthy week means no disgusting lard. Forget the char kway teow part, that doesnt figure into the healthy thing at all.
So after Crystal Jade La Mian and Xiao Long Bao tonite, I guess kuay chap is the only dish left before I can officially declare that I've sampled everything possible since I came back. This craving for la mian and xiao long bao came about since Monday as we were taking the shuttle bus back to Biopolis. As we passed by 2nd busstop, the Crystal Jade seemed to stare invitingly at me, as if imploring "Why havent you visited me?" Feeling guilty, I knew I wanted to go in there, but it seemed absurd going for a re-lunch at 130pm. Thus I made up my mind to go there for dinner sometime this week.
It always helps to have someone who can order dishes in Mandarin with you when you are in these Chinese restaurants. My directions to the waitress went something like this.
"Ehr ... wo men yao zhe ge ... ah, dui (correct) ... shi hao (No. 10)" (as I point at the menu ... no. 10 happened to be some vege appetizer which I absolutely had no idea what it was ... of course, it wasnt my idea ordering that dish ... let alone pronouncing it) "Hai you zhe ge .... liu shi shan hao (No. 63)" (That's some la mian .... which I deemed too complicated and unnecessary to pronounce) "Hai you ... xiao long bao" (now that's easy .... how difficult is it saying xiao long bao)
So the waitress repeated my order. Honestly I couldn't comprehend what she was saying, since she was reading out our ordered dishes in her funny Mandarin accent. Lucky HT understood, sparing us any embarrassment. After dinner tho, she had to go back to work ... not bad to come out and have a nice dinner b4 cooping herself back at the office once again.
Once I got back home, and was listening to the radio, I decided to sms in to try to win 1 of 7 pairs of tickets they were giving out for some mini-concert this Friday. Alas, after sending in my sms, I went to get the newspapers from my parents' room and saw that there was wrestling on tv. Forgetting that the deejay was gonna announce the contest winners immediately after the song had ended, I went ahead to watch wrestling. Only after had I returned to my room did I remember that I had participated in the contest. Damn! Now I will never know whether I did indeed win those tickets for Friday. Is my memory just getting worse with maturation (not age)?
If you don't wanna read anything else about Leeds or soccer in general, then this post isn't for you. But in this instance, I don't really care whether anybody wants to read this .. I just want to post this, cos it makes me boiling mad, yet pleasantly relieved at the end. Yes, Chelsea is tapping up another Leeds United youngster.
If you've been reading the boring Straits Times, you've probably realized that Chelsea have once again tried to illegally tap up a 10-yr old youngster currently on the books of Leeds ... this after Leeds have reported them to the FA for blatantly (yes, whoever uses the word "allegedly" is obviously a moron) poaching 3 16-yr olds from Leeds.
But, the Straits Times, being a moron newspaper as it is, and the editors obviously being pro-Chelsea, have only glanced through the facts, without giving any conclusions: 1) Chelsea have been implicated in another poaching scandal 2) Leeds have conducted their own internal investigation
So, for the complete story, the Straits Times is obviously not the place to read. Instead, British tabloids and our own site right here provide unbiased facts on what really happened. I have highlighted the important points. Read on, and Chelsea be damned. I used to hate Man Utd to the core, but now I believe that Chelsea has jumped to the top of every Leeds fan's hate list.
LEEDS UNITED are poised to plunge Chelsea into another tapping up scandal — this time over a 10-year-old wonderkid.
The Elland Road club have already called on soccer chiefs to investigate the way Chelsea lured two 16-year-olds, Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo, from Leeds.
But the News of the World can reveal that Leeds are also concerned about a 10-year-old on their books, Lewie Coyle — and allegations by his father, Chris, that Chelsea tried to entice him to move his family to London.
At the centre of the poaching storm is Leeds' former assistant academy director Gary Worthington, who now works for Chelsea.
He is already being investigated for the role he played in encouraging Woods and Taiwo to Stamford Bridge — and is now accused of meeting Coyle's father in a motorway service station to try to persuade him to move his family down south.
Chelsea strongly deny the allegation with a spokesman last night insisting: "There is no truth in the allegations whatsoever.
"There was no meeting between the father and Gary Worthington.
"And Chelsea is not interested in and has not approached any other player at Leeds.
"Everyone is aware of current dispute between Chelsea and Leeds over the other young players. And this is an entirely separate issue."
Leeds, whose chairman Ken Bates was already furious over claims that Chelsea poached Woods and Taiwo, are now ready to demand an investigation into the Coyle allegation.
A spokesman last night confirmed they will hold their own internal probe immediately: "We are extremely concerned about the matter involving one of our academy players, particularly against the backdrop of the current allegations made against the same club involving other players.
"On completion of our inquiry we will take the appropriate action."
The rules about poaching schoolchildren from football clubs are very strict and any club breaching them could face hefty fines — or even a points deductions.
Rule N89 states: "No club shall induce, or attempt to induce, a player to become registered as a student by that club by offering him, or any person connected with him, either directly or indirectly, a benefit or payment, whether in cash or in kind."
Rule N86 adds: "A club shall not, either directly or indirectly, make any approach to, or communicate with, a student registered by another club at its football academy or centre of excellence."
And Rule N39(1) lays down strict geographical restrictions on where clubs can find youngsters from, stating: "A trial may be offered, or given by a club, to anyone in age groups under nine to under 12 inclusive who has his permament residence within one hour's travelling time of the club's football academy or centre of excellence."
Coyle's father claims Chelsea disregarded this regulation by offering inducements to ditch Leeds and move his entire family from Hull to London, so he would be within the 90-minute radius Chelsea require to sign him legitimately.
Coyle senior insists he was offered £10,000 ‘in readies' — and the promise of a new kitchen — just for his son to attend a one-week trial at Chelsea. And Coyle claims he was left under no illusions that if his son was signed up there would be substantial financial rewards.
Coyle said: "About two months ago I got a call from Gary Worthington to speak to me.
"I met Gary at Hartshead Moor service station on the M62.
"It's not far from the Leeds' Thorpe Arch training ground, where the academy is. After a while Gary said to me: "Would you be prepared to allow Lewie to come down to London with Chelsea? "He told me he could get Lewie ‘sorted out' and I could get ‘sorted out, too'.
"The implication was clear. That if we moved down we would be found somewhere to live and looked after financially.
"But first of all the people at Chelsea had to see him, so the idea was to go down for a week. And just for going down for one week I could have 10 grand in readies, plus a new kitchen in our house. That was just for going down for one week."
Before Worthington left Leeds to join Chelsea, he agreed not to ‘poach' any players from the Leeds academy for five years.
His role in the Woods and Taiwo case is already under investigation by Leeds and it will also be part of an FA inquiry.
(Our Straits Times reported only till here .... too pissed off that Chelsea are in fact gonna fail in their approach. Read on......)
But Chelsea remain adamant he had no contact at all with Coyle, and refute all allegations that he tried to lure the Leeds youngster to Stamford Bridge. Young Lewie certainly didn't make the move down south and his 43-year-old father explained: "There was no way I was going to uproot my family.
"We wouldn't want to live down in London for all the tea in China. My son lives and dies for Leeds.
" My priority for him is to be happy and if he doesn't make it, so be it.
"It's down to him but as far as I am concerned the family comes first, not football."
"Lewie just loves coming to train and play with Leeds.
"I drive him to the training ground two or three times a week. I do what's best for him.
"I'm not looking to make money from him."
Conclusion: Screw Chelsea .... there are people out there who value passion and loyalty and common sense more than money and cheats and losers. When Chelsea plays against Man Utd this season, I will certainly be rooting for Man Utd.
With great power comes great responsibility ... however this is a balance Chelsea sadly cannot strike.
I've been back in Singapore for more than a month now, and although I am glad to be back, I understand why life back home is always more mundane and boring than life overseas. Not that I am complaining .... no need to eat self-cooked "food", no need to pay monthly rent and charges, no extreme bitter cold weather, and a lot of other "no" stuff ... the list goes on. So I suppose now's a good moment to recount some stuff I've done since I come back ... stuff which I suppose I could call exciting, stuff which I never got the chance to do in the Chicago that often.
1) I've only managed to make it to 1 lunch appointment on time since I started work. Today was another prime example ... an hr late, but I suppose better late than never rite? Yes, Leeds is slowly getting back to the top. And mind you, it's not like I walk slowly, or deliberately chat online till I lose the notion of time. Yes, I am busy at work. I suppose this contradicts what Kim said the last time I was late for dinner: "Yong Chun is late ... but aiya, he cannot be at work lah. Dunno where he is?"
2) People have commented my singing has progressed from Division 3 standard to mid-Divison 1. Yea, this is roughly where Leeds are right now. I think my singing talent is still latent .... like an unpolished diamond, like Man Utd's finances, like Moses Lim's tummy -- just waiting to explode! Next time, prepared to be awe-struck by a Champion's League-quality voice ... I just need the right songs.
3) I have been faithfully sitting by the radio late at night this week, hoping to win a pair of tickets to watch Wilber Pan's mini-concert next week. I still remember the first concert I went to was Wilber's Double Play concert in Singapore ..... I know girls go watch to see him, but hey, I go to listen to him. If I wanna see him, I might as well go look at a mirror rite?
4) After years of watching the NDP, I am still fascinated and enthralled by the performance. I absolutely loved the march-past and military drills, and the Red Lion parachuters. And this year's song sounds pretty catchy too .... and the singer sounds pretty catchable too! But the show segment -- the dancing and performances -- was a bore. Maybe introducing Mark Lee to emcee that segment could have injected some much needed vibrance and excitement. But, this is our last NDP at the National Stadium .... I still remember my involvement in 2001, while with 46 SAR in the army. Back then they did not have the SMS ticketing system, so it was still the heng sui queue up to collect tickets system. My company was in charge of ticket distribution at Geylang Badminton Hall .... not only did I supervise my men distributing tickets, but I was also involved in crowd control. And some woman made this experience all the more memorable: "Eh how come you all like that ah? I queue up so long still cannot get tickets!" Being in my army uniform, I could only reply "Sorry ma'am, but there were many more people b4 you ... and the tickets have all been given out". If only I were in civilian clothes, my reply would have been closer to this: "KNN, you cannot get tickets my problem ah. You come so late, then cannot get tickets, now blame me. Wah lao .... next time come earlier and shut up now lah." But I couldn't. Then on 9 August itself, we were doing funpack distribution to everyone who passed through the gates. Yes .... this was the only NDP I have been involved in, but that's good enough.
5) I wanna go watch the fireworks this Saturday at Marina .... I heard it's being put up by some Italian team. Hopefully, the Italian soccer team can go up and out together with the fireworks ... serves them right for defeating Germany at the WC. Trying to round up some of my JC class people ... but response has been slow .... some thing's never change.
It's amazing how ridiculous our Straits Times sports pages are. Yesterday was the opening day of the Coca Cola Championship season, and not a single article yesterday or today covered the Championship games. Instead the so-called sports editors chose to focus on old, out-dated stories such as Wayne Rooney's mandatory red card, Chelsea's despicable tapping up of Ashley Cole, Arsenal's reluctance to sell Reyes, Liverpool's deserved 5-0 drubbing, and Newcastle's lame-excuse striker shortage. I mean, who gives a damn about these stories .... do they put these in just to fill up their mandatory 5 page minimum of sports? Hello, not to say that these stories are crap, but the same stories about the same clubs make the headlines every day.
And yesterday was opening day of the Championships, with one of the big 5 of English soccer playing their opening game. Yes, I am talking about Leeds United, who ruled English soccer in the 70s and early 80s, before Liverpool surprisingly took over as the kings of England. Yes, people might scorn at the idea of Leeds reigning supreme before, but it's true .... league champions in 1968, 1973 and 1991; FA Cup winners in 1972 (beating Arsenal); UEFA Cup winners in 1968 and 1971; European Cup Winners Cup finalists in 1973, just to name a small number of Leeds' acheivements. You might be wondering where the European Cup (now called the Champions League) figures in Leeds' history. Well, in the season of 1975, Leeds defeated Barcelona to reach the European Cup finals, facing off against Bayern Munich. Leeds eventually lost 2-0, but neutrals alike agreed it was a game Leeds should have won, and not because Leeds played poorly, but because the referee was bribed by Bayern officials prior to the match. So here's a brief summary of what unfolded. Bayern scored early .... Leeds had 2 obvious penalty appeals wrongly turned down in the first half. Then after 67 minutes, Peter Lorimer's (Leeds all-time record goalscorer) thunderbolt hit the back of the Bayern net. The linesman ran back to the halfway line thinking it was a valid goal, but the French referee believed Billy Bremner (Leeds' greatest captain) - who was running back from an offside position had interfered with play. Quite how he was interfering with a 70mph shot is unclear. Bayern scored a 2nd goal to kill off the match. A large section of the Leeds fans in the ground were less than impressed, and proceeded to dismantle the Parc des Princes. Following UEFA investigations, the French referee was subsequently banned for life. Truly, if fair play had been observed, Leeds would have been champions of Europe in 1975!
So, on to the present, Leeds United (together with Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea make up the big 5) faced off against Norwich City yesterday at Elland Road (To Ell And Back!), watched by a crowd of 22,000 plus. The Straits Times can't be bothered to cover the game, but not to worry, there's always a section devoted to Leeds right here (Updated Leeds scores can always be found on the right side of this page). Leeds won 1-0, with David Healy converting a 41st minute penalty, after Eirik Bakke was fouled in the penalty area. Cool and confident, that's Leeds United! So, watch the goal below.
Something which perplexes me now and again. Do I have a face which reads "I can't speak Chinese"? Let's recount 2 incidents.
Scenario 1 While working in GIS last year, I realized most of the people in the lab speak Chinese to one another. No problem with that. The problem I have is that the moment I appear in the midst of a Chinese conversation, everyone suddenly switches to English .... even the people from China. C'mon, I know you people are trying to be considerate and obliging, but hey, it's not as if Chinese is to me, as Man Utd is to winning. I do have a certain bond with Chinese too .... unlike the distant relationship between Man Utd and victories .... so yeah, you people can speak Chinese to me too! So toward my last week of attachment, 2 of the China students in the lab actually said to me "Yuan lai ni hui jiang hua wen de ah". I mean ... ah-buh-then. I actually got A1 for O' Level Chinese ok? Realize everyone: ACS boys Actually Can Speak Chinese proper.
Scenario 2 I am in the midst of my 1 year attachment in IMCB. Again, people in the lab speak English to me. That's fine .... when the non-Chinese people talk to me. But what I find puzzling again is when the China post-docs start speaking English to me. The other day, when I went to talk to them in Chinese, subtly hinting that I would rather they speak Chinese to me, they remarked "Wo men yi wei ni bu hui jiang hua yu". Oh no .... wat must I do to convince others I am able to hold conversations in Chinese and English. Granted my Chinese writing sucks big big now, but I dun think that translates into verbal skills lah ah.
This aside, just came back from Settler's Cafe .... first group outing of the newly established ASOH (ASTAR Scholars On Holiday). I guess there are 2 different ways to pronounce it. 1) Ah-soh (as in elderly woman) 2)Asshole (as in ass-hole)
Ridiculous games make for good times. Moulding plasticines into figures of a fireplace and a unicorn ... simply shows we suck at art. After all, Arts n Crafts Suck. There's still a lot more hilarious stuff that went on ... innuendos of sex, and wedgies figuring heavily, but it's late, and tomorrow's not Saturday or Sunday, which means I should go shower and sleep soon
