10 signs that you're a Football Addict

1) You can recall the last 20 matches you fav team played... in correct sequence and with corresponding scorelines

2) You mark football fixtures on your calendar 2 months in advance and try to schedule other activities around it

3) You check match kick-off times before committing to any weekend plans

4) Anytime is a good time to talk about football

5) Anyone is a good person to talk to about football

6) Asking me if I'm waking up to watch 3 am weekday matches seems a silly question. If they're playing, I'm watching

7) You check football news online >3 times a day and get annoyed when there are no new updates

8) The word "year" is replaced with "season" in your vocabulary

9) You like Fridays because The Star has an extra Football pull-out

and lastly, dedicated to my friends out there...

10) Your friends shake their heads in disbelief and start betting when your sudden interest in football will end


Disclaimer: Written by a footie newbie based on her experiences last season. If you start to show any of these signs... get help fast!!!

Soap Opera - Live!

Greetings from Yankee-land. I travelled alone to Oregon this round. Got in yesterday past midnight, picked up my car at the airport and drove to the hotel. Had a pretty good trip but am now awake at 3am in the morning with jetlag syndrome. So thought I would blog about an incident that happened at a restaurant today.

I went out to a Thai restaurant for my first dinner. Ordered my fav green curry and was happily tucking in. There were only a few other ppl dining. Half-way during my meal, an American couple came in and sat at the table behind me.

I could hear them talking quite clearly. At first, I didn't pay much attention as I was too busy stuffing my face. Then later I pricked up my ears when I heard the woman speaking about dining alone because I wondered if she was refering to me. She was talking about how she hated eating alone, and describing a traumatic past incident when she had been forced to eat alone. The conversation went on something like this:

Woman: Have you had to eat alone before?
Man: Yeah, lots of times.
Woman: I don't like eating alone
Man: When we are married, we can always have dinner together and you won't have to eat alone. We are soul-mates, which means we are 2 people who really understand and know each other well
Woman: Do you really mean that?
Man: Yes
Woman: Oh, I love you
Man: I love you too

At that point, I wondered whether I was really in a restaurant or had accidentally stumbled onto a soap opera movie set. It's a good thing I had my back to them so my facial expressions was hidden. But I couldn't resist doing a few wretching and gagging sounds once I was out in the car park :)

But this post is not all fun and games. Here's my 2-cent worth of thoughts to ponder...
1) American culture is prone to the melodramatic. Is this real or are ppl imagining the ideal life on a TV set?
2) Fear of being alone is not a reason to be with someone
3) I have a phobia of NCP ppl (my self-coined acronym for "Needy Clingy ppl")

About Fengel

The character Fengel is a dragon from a storybook. Fengel, or just “Fangs” to friends, was my online nickname which might be familiar to those who knew me 10 years back.

Fengel is not an evil dragon. The infamous Smaug just gave dragons around the world a bad name. Most dragons, like this one, just like to be left in peace and quiet.

As a typical dragon who lives in a cavern, Fengel spends most of it’s days dozing on a huge pile of treasure. There’s not much else to do in Fengel’s life, other than guarding it’s treasure, and incinerating any would-be-thieves to ashes. They didn't make shopping malls large enough to accommodate dragons back in those days.

To spice up a dull day, some more enterprising visitors to Fengel’s Lair may challenge it to a riddling game. If they win, they get to take a gold coin. And if they lose, they just have to go away and leave Fengel in peace. Not a bad deal at all.

Unfortunately, some adventurers just can’t leave their thieving ways alone, so Fengel has no choice but to teach these wicked villains a lesson. Maybe something in the order of…umm… breathing fire at them…and tossing them over the cliff edge!

Photography a hobby?

Do I really enjoy photography? A few years back, I would have answered a resounding YES! But nowadays, the answer is not so straight forward. Feeling a obsessive, compulsive need to snap the perfect photo is not really a good life style.

Since when did a hobby turn into a burden? Maybe it happened when I upgraded my camera from a compact to a larger prosumer model. Photography became not just a psychological burden, but a physical burden around my neck as well.

In my trip to Germany last year, I made 4 trips to the same Church over 2 days. The photos looked fine when I initially took it. But after leaving the Church and reviewing them outside, they were obviously underexposed. It was the dim indoor lighting that tricked them into looking different on the LCD.

It was a beautiful church. So ancient and grand. I was overwhelmed by emotion when I first stepped in. I really wanted to capture it looking as beautiful as it was. To do anything less would not have done the place justice.

So I went back again…and yet again… each time showing a bit of improvement, but still not exactly what I wanted. Each time, I spent like 30 mins to an hour just experimenting with different camera settings, maneuvering from one angle to another, and waiting patiently for other tourists to move out of the way… just so that I could snap that perfect photo. I was traveling alone so I had the luxury of catering to my whims. No travel companion would have been so tolerant.

At one point, my poor mini-tripod kicked off a leg and collapsed in protest. No matter. We persevered and somehow managed to screw back the missing screw without using a screwdriver. And we eventually got the photos we wanted.

I’m really proud of those photos now. And I value them a lot more than all my other photos because it has my blood and sweat all over it. But was I being too obsessive? Maybe.

So do I still want to take photos? Yes. I just need to remind myself to do things in moderation. And remember that I own the camera, not the other way round. Then I should be fine.

Football Season begins again

The 2007/08 English Premier League season kicked off this weekend. Finally, after 3 months of football withdrawal symptoms, I could get my weekly footie fix again. When season ended last May, I wondered how I would survive. But the time passed quickly enough. After the first few weekends, I hardly missed it at all.

Instead of surfing online footie news twice a day, I started going several days before checking out the latest gossip. I even started forgetting to read the newspapers. Previously, the first thing I did when I got back from work every day was to grab the newspapers and flip to the Sports section.

People always find it hard to believe that I’m a footie fan. Most thought I’m just in it for the cute players. Well, I must admit some players are really cutie-pies. But that’s not the real reason.

I like the excitement and drama of football. You never know what is going to happen. So many nail biting moments, so much disappointment, and so much ecstasy. I guess I’m just an intensity junkie. When Man Utd beat AS Roma 7-1 in the Champions League last season, I daresay I had a grin on my face for the entire day. But when Man Utd lost the FA Cup final...sigh... do not talk to me...

Watched the Community Shield match last weekend and laughed maniacally whenever Van der Sar saved a Chelsea penalty. Laughed extra hard when Lampard missed his. Found myself hopping around and cheering when the players went up to take the trophy. Ahh…let the good times begin again!

Speed Dating

It all came about one normal day when I was having a normal lunch with a friend. Over the lunch chit-chat, my friend had the bright idea of trying Speed Dating which was apparently the latest “in thing”.

At first, I was skeptical. Like… do they really have this sort of thing in Penang? Of course they do, my friend assured me. When I’m next online, just go to Google and type “speed dating in Penang”. OK, that sounded simple enough.

So that’s how I ended up, one Sat night, sitting in a fancy restaurant, with a whole bunch of other single or pretending-to-be-single folks. The ground rules was for ladies to remain seated and the guys to rotate around whenever the bell went *ding*. We were each given a fact sheet listing some basic info about our dates and a score sheet to mark whether we would like to meet the person again. Just like on TV.

Date 1: We took our places according to the pre-assigned tables. And then the facilitator proclaimed the magic words to begin. It reminded me of a scene from Roman times, when Caesar would stand up in the colosseum and say…. “Let the Games begin”. Then the lions came in to eat the poor bastard.

With that, my date suddenly sat up and a most attentive and interested expression replaced the previously bored and vacant look on his face. Wow, how artificial can you get?

We chatted about this and that. He turned out to be a Liverpool fan and we started talking about the Man U vs Liverpool game last season when O’ Shea scored the last minute winner. Woo… that’s one game the Scousers would like to forget.

*ding*

Conclusion: Hmm… not sure. Let’s put a “?” for now until we see what the rest of the guys are like.

Date 2: This was by far the longest date because we were having the main course and the facilitator didn’t want to disrupt our meal by ringing the bell. Luckily, we got along quite well and even got around to exchanging fact sheets so that I could see what the other ladies were like. And he could read about the other guys. Checking out the competition ya know.

During the course of conversation, I’m sure I heard him say “Intel sponsored me…” I immediately echoed “WHO sponsors you?”. He repeated but substituted the word “Intel” with “my company”. Hmm…hmm…hmm… I have a bad feeling about this. Must remember to look him up in the company phone book.

Conclusion: Hmm… not sure. Let’s put a “?” for now until we see what the rest of the guys are like.

Date 3: With the 3rd date underway, things were starting to get a bit dreary. I was thinking that they should allow us a “time-out card”. Meaning that if we didn’t feel like talking, then we can just flash the card, sit in silence and eat our food in peace. Without offense to anyone. After all, what’s the point of pretending to be interested in talking, and racking our brains to make all kinds of boring, small talk… when you know and I know that we’re both just waiting for the bell to ring.

I was seated right opposite the facilitator’s table with a good view of the bell. So I found myself staring at it, maybe figuring that if I willed it hard enough, the little bell would get off the table and ring of it’s own accord. I’ve always fancied myself having an innate quality of “mind over matter”. Probably from reading too many “Grey Star” adventure books when I was little. Or too many Luke Skywalker Jedi movies. So far, the force has not been strong with me.

*ding*

Date 4: This turned out to be a guy I had met before, a couple of years back at a party. I did not recognize him until my friend reminded me who he was. He was the guy who had gotten drunk and tried to hit on her friend, which resulted in irritating her so much, she moved off to another table.

OK, drunken + hamsap behavior = immediate disqualification.

When we started talking, I mentioned that I'd met him at that party. He seemed taken aback and repeated a few times that he had been very drunk that night. Mercifully, this date was the shortest. For some unknown reason, the facilitator rang the bell very quickly and it was time to move on. No worries, he assured me that he will be able to contact me through my friend.

Ya, right. As soon as his back was safely turned, I flipped over my score sheet and marked a big “X” in the NO box. With that important bit of business out of the way, I patiently awaited my next date

Date 5: This guy was the weirdest of the lot. His manner was like a guy looking over a horse on auction. He held his fact sheet in one hand and kept peering at it the whole time. He would peer at it, read one fact aloud about me, then look up at me to confirm it.

Eg:
Horse master: So, you are 157 cm tall
Me: Err… ya..

And so on, and so forth. At one point, I was wondering whether he would reach over, open my mouth and start examining my teeth.

*ding*

Conclusion: Quite a nice guy actually….. if I were a horse.

Date 6: Unfortunately, I could not recall anything at all about this date. I was feeling a bit tired and bored by this time. I think it must shown on my face too because the facilitator came over to talk to me during an interval and said that I looked bored. OOPS!! Must work harder on the poker face.

*ding*

And it’s all over folks! Time to say sayonara. The facilitator came around to collect our score sheets. I ended up marking the 1st and 2nd guys. Kiasuism demands that I have to mark somebody. It was an interesting experience. Probably be the first and last time for me though. But then again, who knows.

Truly nice people

Recently, I bumped into a friend whom I haven't seen in a while. He is a truly nice person. These are a certain kind of people who, to me, are in a special category of their own. They are really hard to find. I can count the number that I know on one hand.

What sets them apart from others is how they can give with a truly sincere heart, without expecting anything in return. They have a childlike aura about them. There’s no scheming and hidden agendas which is sadly all too common nowadays.

They never seem to say nasty things about anyone or bear grudges towards others. Even when they are forced to say something less than complimentary, it’s with regret and as minimal details as possible.

I wonder how they could not get angry when people wrong them. Perhaps it’s because they have a different perception in life. What I may perceive as someone taking advantage or manipulating me, they may perceive as helping a friend and shrug it off as a “small matter only”.

Sometimes I wonder whether they really are so forgiving or just really good at hiding their feelings. It’s just hard for me to understand. Well, that’s probably because I’m not a truly nice person.

Here’s to all the truly nice people out there. I wish I could also be like you.

A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care

I have been wanting to start a blog for some time. No, actually it was more a thought about wanting to start a blog. The thought was buried somewhere in my bag of good intentions... squished somewhere between the "I want to work out regularly", "I want to eat faster" and "I want to eat green veggies".

Well, everyone knows that beginnings are the hardest part. So from here on, my blogging will be smooth sailing all the way and I will write new posts as easy as consuming chocs. Ya... fat chance. Hmm... anyone wanna bet with me? But word of caution, I usually win my bets ;) Talking about bets, one of my friends (you know who you are) once betted that my footie interest would not survive >3 months.

But fear not! This will not be a footie blog... as I do not want to encourage hate mail and flames to yours truly :P This blog will be... "free-style" (meaning I have totally no idea at the moment). Anyway, let's just enjoy it for the time being.

"A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct" -- from the Manual of Muad'Dib, Dune