Scary game

Antonio Puerta, a Spanish international, died of a heart attack midway through a football game. He was just 22 years of age. It's scary to think that a player the same age as me and 10 times fitter can bid farewell just like that. It just proves that no one is spared from the clutches of death. We can only try to make the most of our existence on earth. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you are immortal and take each day for granted.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, 34, retired from the game after persistent knee problems. He struggled with injuries for the past 3 years before giving up. He has and will always be a crowd favourite. No United fan can ever forget what he gave to the Red Devils. I still think he's the coolest finisher I have ever seen. And what a smile he possesses. The baby-faced assassin, remembered fondly forever.

Musings

Recently, a friend told me that he's becoming afraid of getting too close to his friends. This is because he finds that the closer you get to someone, the more you will discover that person's faults and vice versa. There is always the fear that someday the friendship will disappear and it's better to keep the friendship the way it is and not try to get too close. It made me do quite a bit of thinking after hearing what he said. I believe that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Someone's strength can be his weakness, and someone's weakness can be his strength. It depends on the situation. Stubbornness and determination are the same character expressed in different situations. It is all a matter of accepting each individual and adapting their characters to each other. I always find that the surest way to test friendships is to work together as a team, especially with deadlines to meet. Everyone's shortcomings will be exposed through the course of working together and conflicts are inevitable. If, throughout these conflicts, you see the ugly side of your friends and still treasure them as friends, then the friendship will grow stronger. To me, at least, friends means forgive and forget. Sometimes, unknowingly, friends hurt one another. But I always think that so long as there's no intention to hurt each other purposely, there's nothing that can't be forgiven. The world will be a lonely place without friends.

Bad day at the office

Today is a bad day for me. We took part in the SMU professor's cup competition today. As usual, 2 teams were sent in, KACC and NSL. KACC did badly in this competition. We did not manage to qualify for the knock-out stages and we did not even manage to score a goal. There were several factors involved. They are not excuses, just things that contributed to our poor performance. We were outclassed by the opposition, there's no doubt about it but we could have done better if things went our way today. Firstly, we were not used to playing with the futsal ball with reduced bounce. It's more difficult to make passes and shots with the ball. Secondly, we were unlucky with the grouping as the teams were all pretty strong. Lastly, the biggest factor is that there were not enough people playing. We managed to play only one game with full strength and we played with one man down for the remaining matches. It was down to rigid rules and regulations and also my poor planning. It was exhausting playing with only 4 players and to make things worse, none of us were goalkeepers. We were, however, the crowd favourites as the spectators by the sides cheered for us. This is no consolation for me as I am pragmatic. I did not join the competition to win the crowd, my sole aim is to win matches. In contrast, NSL did a lot better than us, recording their first victory and playing well as a team. They showed more desire than us. It was a good showing from them though they did not manage to qualify. We learned something from every tournament that we play in. Some lessons are painful but hopefully, we will be able to recover from this setback and walk out a stronger team.

SOW'07

Overweight Astroboy

Freshies get stacked
While seniors relax

Too cute to handle

Freshman Inauguration Ceremony

The Man
This is not what I want for my birthday
Taking revenge
Senior girls

I finally got my photos yesterday. I think the photos tell the whole story, it was a whole lot of fun even though there were hiccups here and there. In the end, we did not manage to win the best OG award or the best banner award. We were the fastest team in the amazing food race though, in part because of our philosophy to win at all costs. Being a senior feels different as we are not allowed to take part in many games. It makes our participation a little more passive and I was indeed quite slack throughout the camp. It was just too bad that I chose Arthur, instead of Alvin (both of my seniors last year), to be my example. Even though I was missing for a few days, I was still around for the majority of the activities. I got to know a lot of new freshies which gives me an opportunity to sell away my old textbooks and also got to know my fellow seniors from Sylvester better. In a way, it feels like orientation part 2 for us since we were all from the same OG. I hope Astroboy will continue to meet up every now and then despite our studies because the fun should not stop with the end of orientation camp. Like I always write in cards, Have fun and see you around in Science.....Friends forever.....

Kuishin-bo-ing

Tuesday was Jiesheng's birthday and we went down to the Kuishin-bo outlet at Suntec City to celebrate. Actually, we were celebrating my birthday as well, although it's quite a belated one. But it's all right, as long as I get to celebrate with my friends. I went into Kuishin-bo a little late and was a bit overawed by the place. It was my first time there and I didn't know where and how to start eating. It's the same feeling I had when I stepped into Sakae Sushi for the first time recently as well. I don't know why I have not gone into these restaurants before, and they happen to be Japanese. After settling down for a while, and getting advice from the experienced ones, I knew what I had to arrow in on. The prime targets are the Alaskan king crabs lying in the cold seafood section. They are exotic and presumably the most expensive things around. Like any self-respecting Singaporean will do, we filled our plates with the crustaceans from halfway around the world. I have watched Discovery channel and they introduced Alaskan crab fishing as the most dangerous job in the world, with a high death rate. We couldn't possibly let those people die in vain. It was difficult initially trying to pry open the shells with scissors and it got frustrating. However, after a while, we got better at it and the crab legs were flying off the plates. I must have eaten 2 whole crabs personally. My cholesterol level must have been sky high that night. All of us were so full that we hardly wanted to respond to the stunts played by Kuishin-bo. They had this special period where they will introduce unique dishes in limited quantity. Many people will rush to queue up for them once they hear the irritating music being played. Dom-dom 1,2,3.....we are Kuishin-bo. It sounds so bad that I'm sure our uncle rendition of Grasshoppers sounded better. With a diet so heavy with Alaskan king crabs, we made a joke that our faeces will become Alaskan snow shit, looking like Mr Softee ice-cream. It's a funny sight to imagine, but unfortunately, even though the faeces were plenty, none of it looks like Mr Softee.

Field woes

I know I have not been blogging for a while but I'll need to upload my pictures first before I blog on my orientation camp experience. Meanwhile, I'll just talk about my favourite topic, football. I have been playing 11-a side field soccer on Sundays with my friend's cousin's team. We have been taking part in a league recently and it hasn't been smooth sailing. So far, we have been losing our matches and most of the teams are superior in fitness and technique. Most of the time, we are being pinned back in our own half and it's very demoralising to play defensive football most of the game. There is a big gap between defence and attack and our midfield cannot string passes together. I am playing as a midfielder in the team and I get frustrated for most of the game, mostly because for my inability to control the game. I find it difficult to adjust to playing on the field because a different set of skills are needed. There is a larger emphasis on physical attributes rather than technical ones. I also find myself lacking aggression on the pitch nowadays. I used to be a lot more aggressive when I was younger and maybe age has mellowed me down. Or maybe it is just because I'm getting so used to defeat that I've stopped trying to change the result. It's definitely not something I want to see in myself and so I've begun playing more aggressively as the games go by. However, I am not a dirty player and I will never be a dirty player so I do not foul anyone on purpose even though I have been advised to do so. There are so many areas I need to improve on and goalscoring is one of them even though I am the highest scoring midfielder. I do not know why I can't find the same composure I have in street soccer and I do get nervous in front of goal. I think it comes down to lack of playing time on the field. I hope I do get better as time goes by and even though it's only an amateur league, I will still want to do well. After all, it's not just a sport, it's a religion.