For You Smudge

Those words were emblazoned on the t-shirts worn by the United players after they beat Wigan 4-0 in the Carling Cup final. For those who dont know what they mean, "For You Smudge" refers to Alan Smith, who broke his leg and dislocated his ankle while playing in the F.A.Cup against Liverpool. It was a real freakish injury which happen after he fell on his left leg while blocking a freekick. I'm pretty sure the first thing that crossed his mind after hearing his leg snap is "oh fuck, i wont be playing football for a while". You see, the thing that every sportsman fears is injury because it'll keep him/her from doing something that he/she loves for some time. However, not everyone understands the passion and love these sportsmen have for their sport. After i got injured, some people told me "hey, it's only a game" or "there are other games that you can play" or "dont need to play football anymore la". Of course i dont consider myself a sportsman but i love football as much as any footballer does. So, to these people, i would like to share with you something that Bill Shankly, arguably Liverpool's greatest manager, famously said,

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that".

I'm sure that anyone who's in love with the beautiful game would share the same sentiment. Anyway, I'm lucky to have family and friends who are supportive of my rehabilitation and who are also hoping to see me play football again. Thank you so much for the encouragement.

I read that Gabby Heinze could return to action before the end of the season and Smithy could be back early next season. Damn it, it takes longer to heal a reconstructed ligament than a broken leg. Sigh... but it's good news for United because we need players like Heinze, Smith, Rooney, who are real warriors on the pitch and who wouldn't think twice to shed blood and tears for the club. I think we also need a new manager because sometimes Ferguson's team selection is just mind boggling. A good example of it is the midfield that he chose for the match against Liverpool. The centre midfield of Richardson, Fletcher and Giggs (yeah, he played the 4-5-1 formation with Rooney and Ronaldo out wide) were completely overran by Sissoko and Hamann. That centre midfield made the average looking Sissoko look as world class as Roy Keane. They were that poor. Smith should have started in game in place of Richardson, who couldnt really tackle to save his life. At least he would have given the midfield some bite. United badly need a defensive midfielder to replace Roy Keane but it would be really difficult to find someone like him because there will ever be only one Keano.

In the newspapers today, there's a report saying that David Beckham cant do Brooklyn's math homework. He said what they are teaching in school nowadays are different from what he was taught. Examples of some national curriculum math questions for 7-year-olds are "Bet went to the shop at 11:45. She came back half an hour later. What time did she come back?" and "What is 12 divided by three?". So, this shows that you dont need an IQ of 120 be successful because as long as you have the natural talent and ability to cross a ball perfectly to your teammate and to score beautiful freekicks, you could earn more than 100,000 pounds per week. You cant teach a kid how to take freekicks like Becks. You cant teach a kid how to play basketball like Jordan. You cant teach a kid how to drive like Schumi. It's because they were born with the talent and ability to do the things they do. The only things that you can teach a kid are skills and techniques. So i guess you dont need to be really smart to succeed in this world. There are things that you are born with, things that you do better than anyone else. Find out what they are and make full use of them.

On another note, the Trinite prom will be on April 1st. There'll be one pondan-ish looking guy there and he's gonna sing a song about dreams, i think. I'm so looking forward to see who are my friends' dates because they are not telling me who their dates are, kononnya wanna make it a big surprise la. I guess it'll be interesting to know who's trying to tackle who. Wahahahaha. There's still no after-prom plans. Probably it's too soon to plan for anything or maybe everyone will be heading back home to complete their FYP report. Haha.

Anyway, i'm also looking forward to a futsal showdown between me and Prem at the end of this year. It'll be the IMU ladies futsal champion against the ex-weekend footballer. I used to beat her, in football that is, when we played one-on-one football in my piano teacher's garden. Damn, we used to have so much fun back then. Anyway, she somehow remembers some fictitious dream where she used to kick my ass when we played football against one another. I wonder how she came up with that story. So, this showdown is being held so that the records could be set straight again and so that the winner could have bragging rights over the loser. Being a nice guy, I have one advise for you, Prem - start training now! :)

Lastly, I'll end this post of mine by wishing Alan Smith a speedy recovery.

V-day

Since Valentine's day just passed a few days ago, i have a few simple question to ask everyone. Why is Valentine's day so special? Ok, you dont have to give me a lecture on why Claudius II forbid marriage or what Valentine did to be condemned to death. I've read the story in the newspapers on Tuesday. I mean, why do you need Valentine's day to remind you to love your partner? Why do you have to go the extra mile to show your affection, care, and love on this day? I think you should be kind and thoughtful everyday. You should be nice and sweet everyday. You should be caring and loving everyday. Would it be less romantic to to give a hundred roses on any other day? Does it mean you care and love her more if you give a hundred overpriced roses on Valentine's day? I just dont get the big hoo-hah about Valentine's day because the way i see it, it's just some Western commercialism tactic devised to get people to buy overpriced gifts and flowers for their partners on this day every year. Come on people, buying gifts and flowers on any day would surely give your loved ones a very pleasant surprise. I think that they'll cherish it more cause you have to admit it, people generally expect something during Valentine's day. That's how commercialised it has become. So my advise is hit them when they least expect it and see how you can make someone's day a much brighter one, but please dont blame me if it doesnt work out the way you wanted it.

Chinese New Year Blues

This CNY didnt get off on the right note. Had sore throat on the morning of CNY eve. It was a really bad illness to have when you are having bbq for reunion dinner. Anyway, i just hentam all the chicken wings, lamb (yummy!), and sausages. I was drinking honey with lime the whole night trying to get rid of the sore throat. Alas, (by the way, this is the correct way to use this word. hahaha) the stupid sore throat was still there on Sunday morning. The sore throat then progessed to a fever on this day. Then i managed to develop runny nose and a slight cough. 10 days later, i still have the runny nose. Idiot.

Anyway, i went out for the annual ang pow hunting expedition (APHE) on the third day with the gang. Went to Robin's place and played blackjack (or African-Americanjack) but lost all my money to Robin. Damn, the guy was on fire man. We went to Taman Asean on the fourth day for the continuation of our APHE. Gambled at Colin's place and i lost money again. Aaarghh! 2 days of gambling and no winnings to show for it. Maybe i should get my head shaven bald (or almost bald) to bring in some good luck. Apparently, it also projects a positive image. I think all enforcement officers should have almost bald hair cuts cause it'll project a positive image on them. Dont you all agree?

However, i managed to win back all my losses on the sixth day of CNY when we went to Audrey's place for a CNY party. Looks like i didnt need a hair cut after all. After the party, it was time to finish my industrial training report. It sure was a rushed job cause i had to hand it in on Monday. I would like to thank Choo for all the help he provided. *grinz*