Just back from the doctor's. Throat's swollen. And pretty bad too, by the look on Doc's face. "YOU'RE IN DEEP SHIT!" seemed to be his message. Well, it should be bad, its kept me awake two nights already. And caused me to miss out on football today. Drats. So wanna play. Anyway, Doc Tay's business seems pretty bad. No one around today. No bawling babies, nor grumpy old ladies. Just the cold white walls with the posters screaming health warnings to the sky. He seemed pretty bored too. Wasn't in a hurry for me to leave; in fact he found time to ask about school, football, and how I'm doing. Usually, he only has time for one of those. LOL. Been my family doctor for over a decade. Great guy. Still remember those stories he told us about his exploits as a youngster; on the rugby team for RI, running through constructions sites just to get home earlier etc. Well due for retirement now, as he has been for years. Will be sad to see him go. Yea.
i heard the crickets at 4:54 pm
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"Death Note" yesterday. "The Prestige" today. Both films deal with obsession, but thats about where the similarity ends. While "Death Note" offered a refreshing take on its subject matter, the acting was more often than not weak, and the CGI character Ryuk, the God of Death, looked a little awkward when interacting with objects and other "real" characters. Some parts of the plot were down-right implausible, and the film would have been better had the script been more carefully thought through. The plot, on the other hand, was the most appealing factor of "The Prestige". Built up at a steady, albeit a little confusing, pace, the Nolan brothers structured the film just like an actual magic trick. The pledge, the turn, and the prestige. Acting was superb too. Especially Christian Bale. An Oscar nomination perhaps? Brilliant. Best film this year aside from "V For Vendetta". Absolutely brilliant.
i heard the crickets at 8:59 pm
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2-0! WOO~HOO! Back on top, and all thanks to the brilliant victory against the Old Enemy too! Liverpool simply stood no chance. Their overly-cautious approach to this massive game lost them the midfield battle from the very beginning. Scholes and Carrick were able to stamp their authority on the game, even with Gerrard, Alonso and Sissoko in the 'Pool centre. Fletcher and Giggs were simply sublime down the wing, and Utd's best moves resulted when at least one of them was involved. Total domination of an insipid Liverpool. Absolute shiok-ness. Now any real hope of 'Pool making a run at the title are all but extinguished. And we had to be the ones to do it. HA! Talk about humiliation. Bolton's up next, and we'll have to get our heads down for it. Still another 29 games and 7 months to the end. We'll see.
i heard the crickets at 5:57 pm
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Alright. My computer's FINALLY up and running again. YAY! Don't really get what's better about it though. It's been a little cranky. Perhaps a rebuke to me for sending it to that God-forsaken place with the zombiefied idiots, for 4 excruciating days. Stupid PC Clinic. Its been in there thrice already since the school year started, and I'm worried about its condition. Getting a new one's gonna cost a bomb.
Would have preferred not to send it there in the first place lah, especially since I got ripped off the first time. Stupid me. ANYWAY, circumstances dictated otherwise. It couldn't get started at all, with that irritating black screen with the irritating words in irritating white flickering in my face. And as you all (may not) know, I have this great respect for old sayings, so it comes as no (small) surprise that my very first reaction used one of those, namely: "WALAO, CHEAT MY FEELINGS AGAIN!"
But the important thing is that its back home again. Under my great (destructive) care.
School's starting again on Monday. Timetable's been largely merciful to me. Whether the subjects will be is another question altogether. Hai.
i heard the crickets at 11:29 pm
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Just back from the Stomp website (www.stomp.com.sg), and its damn cool lah. Its been around for months, but only decided to check it out today. Hai. Caveman. Lol. Helluva lot of stuff there. Blogs, polls, forums, articles. All about interesting topics too. Check the Ms. ITE poll under Talk-Back. Man... F8 is damn chio. Just made my day. HAHA.
Another entertaining Saturday of football. Victory over Wigan keeps us top, and although the scoreline (3-1) suggests it was pretty easy, it was anything but. Wigan were the better side in the first half, and put United to the sword. Fortunately, the tide turned in the second half, with Giggs's return to the side from injury. Red simply took over. Watch out for Rooney; he's getting back into form. Oh yea~
More games on tonight. Now deliberating over whether to watch the Primera Liga's Celta Vigo-Valencia game, or the English Premiership's Newcastle-Bolton one. Heh.
i heard the crickets at 6:04 pm
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"Talladega Nights". Stupid show. Wasted my money.
On the bright side of course, was simply being out. AH~! Fresh air. Shiok! (Ok, so fresh doesn't quite describe the air quality these couple of weeks. But you get the idea.) Dinner at Surf N' Turf. A little on the high side, especially since I've blown more money than I should have these hols. Hai. My bank account figures are starting to make for depressing reading.
Anyway, back to the point on poor air quality. A bit of effort please people! Put more pressure on those slow-pokes. We need to do something about this. This whole thing's a farce. Non-intervention among ASEAN states used to be great. But times have changed my friends. Time to use some good ol' push and shove to finally resolve this shit.
i heard the crickets at 5:49 pm
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Hai. We lost. Singapore lost. 2-4. Coupled with China's win over Palestine, this all just means we're out of the running for next year's Asian Cup. Hai. What a waste. And to think the campaign started off so promisingly.
The team didn't close down the Iraqi attackers, and the marking was shoddy. It just doesn't make any sense to give the opposition the time and space to shoot, especially when its a talented side like Iraq (no sniggering here; the Iraqis finished 4th in the last Olympics in 2004). The Iraqis took their chances, and bamboozled our defence.
The forwards didn't do any better than their colleagues. Woeful finishing and lack of penetration. Anaemic display. Khairul Amri's freekick was nice though. A bit more practice and he could be our secret weapon.
Anyway, I'm just feeling damn sian about "The Departed" being rated at M18. Hai. Loved the original, "Infernal Affairs". And I didn't even see it at the cinema. I think I would have just died then and there and gone to film heaven if I did. HAHA. Martin Scorsese film la this one. So should be a cracker. Damn. I wanna see it!
i heard the crickets at 11:41 am
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The recent outbreak of norovirus in schools here has brought up what I believe to be a key concern among many Singaporeans: What happens to pupils who are much too ill to take part in examinations? Especially when it comes to nation-wide examinations like PSLE or 'O' Levels. What are the procedures in place to ensure that students with valid reasons are not short-changed?
Despite the assurances of the ministry that pupils affected would be scored in a fair manner, many students who were clearly sick and in no state to attempt the papers still turned up for them. It may simply be kiasu-ism at play, but the concerns of students and parents alike are valid. How exactly are the students scored? What constitutes fair scoring? The ministry has not revealed its formula for calculating scores in such cases to the public. Questions still rankle. Would the ministry take into account the CCA records of the student? Or simply use academic scores? Would achievements outside of academic and co-curricular activites be considered?
Granted, that this is the first time that a disease outbreak has occured in the same period as national examinations. But surely the ministry should have anticipated something of this nature to crop up, especially in this post-SARS climate. The health of the students should come first, not the examinations. Making the intricacies of the scoring system public, and putting it through the rigours of public scrutiny can only strengthen the public's faith in the ministry.
i heard the crickets at 5:59 pm
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Argh. "Little Britain"'s ending. Eternal damnation. Final two episodes only! Argh!
i heard the crickets at 6:14 pm
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Loved Friday. Helped Jaime out with her project with the stupid, unworkable solutions. Went cycling at ECP with her and Jen. Makan at that fantastic western food place with them, Leonard and Meiling. Meiling spent a good part of 30 minutes insisting we go to some dessert shop in Bugis. So we did. It wasn't that good. ISN'T good. Too sweet. Protest all you want lah. Not nice.
Must meet up again lah. Miss all the shiokness.
CCA yesterday. Cannot put names. Just in case the high-and-mighty council that governs the school comes snooping around. Ya. In case. Anyway, it was fun. Lotsa fun. Nice little gestures on the part of the seniors. Final selection coming up. Ohwell. We'll see how it goes.
i heard the crickets at 12:30 pm
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Its like every other day. You do your thing, with your music blasting away in the background (or if you prefer, blasting away at your eardrums). Nothing seems all too different about this day. You complain about the lack of money to buy what you want. You grumble about schoolwork. You whine about your chores. Suddenly, you stop. The song thats playing is a different one. Its a familiar song. Its THAT song. The only song that transports you to a different time, a different place. The only song that can evoke such strong emotions.
You recall a different you. Someone you might not even recognise. Events have changed you. People have changed you. You are no longer the same. And yet, something from so long ago still affects you as much as before. Almost as if nothing's changed. Almost as if you're still that same you. You feel the exact same way you did all so long ago. Your spine tingles. The hairs on your back stand. You recall the incident. Your first kiss. Your first dance. Getting rejected. That break-up. Whichever it was, you can't shake it off. It just keeps coming back to you, whether you like it or not.
The song comes to an end. You breathe again.
You wonder why this song, and only this song evokes such strong emotions. You think back. Then it hits you. This song, yes, this very song, was the one that you were listening to, before, during or after the incident. Perhaps during your first dance. Perhaps on the radio, as you were on your way home, after a break-up. Perhaps... Whatever it was, you realise that you'll never forget this song, and never forget why you forget to breathe, everytime you hear it.
....
If you're looking for a purpose in this post, you can stop now. I wrote this on a whim, a whim inspired by a certain song...
i heard the crickets at 5:31 pm
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Read somewhere that Singapore's very own Stefan Tsang is the world's best U16 triple jumper. And 9th best in the U18 category. Brilliant. About the best piece of news from local sports in a helluva long time. Serves as a reminder that Singapore is more than capable of producing young champions in sport who can more than hold their own on the world stage. Reflects a future that burns bright, real bright. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Good things come in pairs they say. So they do. The win over Newcastle last night, coupled with Liverpool and Chelsea's little stumbles leave us sitting pretty atop the table. Where we belong. We struggled for much of the first half; Newcastle's stifling five man midfield made sure of that. But once Solskjaer opened the scoring, there was to be no stopping the red juggernaut. Ronaldo was in especially inspired form, with United's best moves going through him. He was unlucky not to score though, hitting the post thrice. Far and away the man-of-the-match. Good win, but not the sort of game that decides titles, unlike the games we've dropped so far. Dire need to improve in central midfield, especially against teams that enjoyed more possession than that toothless Newcastle side. Still a long way to go in the season, but I'll be enjoying staying top of the perch over this two week international break. :D
i heard the crickets at 5:34 pm
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Alright. Back from class chalet. It was fun, save the splitting headache on the second day.
Went for the S2006 BBQ organised by the school. Also to celebrate Hong Jia's birthday. Wasn't nice to have avoided the main group. But we didn't know anyone really, and didn't like some of them anyway. Talking on the beach and at Mac was more interesting, to be honest.
Itching for football. Haven't played a game in ages. And yes, I recognise my post is disjointed today. Ain't in the right mood. Hai.
i heard the crickets at 12:15 pm
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