i didnt wanna give up so easily partly due to readin e many recent stories of inspiring n great Olympians in e media's lead-in to Beijing '08.
long distance multiple record-holder Paula Radcliffe just had a fractured thigh bone n is 35. doctors told her it's impossible to recover in time. she's training overtime now to not just compete, but to win next month. swimmer Eric Shanteau recently discovered he has testicular cancer but is still going to beijing, postponing surgery til after e Games. 78 days before her competition date, Silken Laumann saw her leg sliced apart in a rowing accident. after five operations n with a heavily strapped leg, she rowed to a bronze medal at Barcelona '92. dusk had arrived. e winner returned two hours ago n was about to receive his medal. then John Stephen Akhwari limped into e stadium at Mexico '68. he was last in e marathon event, he had bandages on his leg n a bruised shoulder from a fall, but he still finished e punishing test.
their bodies had let em or are letting em down, but they refused to be stopped. they reached for something within em tt differentiates em from e ordinary. e repetitive shots of inspiration put me in such a mental locomotive. but i dont know. it was not to be.
i had surrendered to circumstances yesterday. as a team we decided this year's dream is over. only e happening of a major miracle could change it. e sort unexplainable by science. i needed to heal instantly overnight from a rather grim situation. but something inside me, ive to admit, still held out for tt. i didnt know what's gonna save me, but e saved usually do not know right? couple tt with a strange gut belief in e supernatural. then i saw mingqi's sms tt she had prayed in e middle of e night at her elaborate altar of a house in a formal ritual. she believed too, saying a strange feeling came to her too.
it was terribly uncomfortable getting into bed n sleeping, but i woke up suddenly at some ghostly hours, with my foot feeling light. i ripped off my ankle guard n used e nearby ice-pack. it was suddenly so airy n utopic. was it happening? did they intend for me to miss e final training, even run up to e competition thinking im done? then give me back my chance? at tt moment i seriously felt there could be fairies working overtime constructing my ankle n foot, with deities standing around my bed lookin on, wise n smiling. i got a little mental, i must admit. those readin this please dont report me to buangkok or what.
coz then scepticism kicked in. or to fulfil e irony of it all, should actually call it realism. i thot, maybe it's my painkillers that are working. i took em some time before sleep, n there were no effects. yet.
i felt a hard n aching foot when i woke up just now. doesn feel good at all. but tt's also how u feel when u recover. i sat up, n settled my feet on e ground, before pushing myself up.
sorry, no miracle, not today. when e foot trembled, i know nothing much has changed.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
and a dream ends.
e date was march 15. my first formal training to compete in e National Lion Dance Championships this year. i was 21 then, in e sport for more than 4 years. we thot, "why not?". if we procrastinate more, we may just be too old for it already. n i seriously thot we're technically ready to compete on e biggest stage.
i was e drummer, originally. but by e next training, i was converted to 狮尾 to better suit competition requirements. no problem at all. i like to think i can take on different challenges. moreover, i was trained from my earliest days as a 狮尾.
it is now 4 months n 11 days later. tmr was to be e big day. my zone qualifier for a shot at e finals at ngee ann city. but for all e hard work n sacrifices, it's over before even e first sound of e drum.
we were supposed to have a final run yesterday. but on thursday my sole felt extremely uncomfortable. it's been niggling me for weeks, often at trainings. it's an old injury, i believe hurt twice before, first by a bad landing, then an accident when a bench dropped on tt foot. but e full extent just came back without warning. so i told myself, rest it well, if i cant rehearse one last time, just chiong on sunday itself. giving up never once came across.
indeed, like a miracle, thru my attentive massaging of healing cream, icing e area, n just stayin stationary, on friday morning things were lookin up. but i knew i better not risk it, so i chose not to train a final time. i followed along to watch em, tho, to give em moral support. tt trip out of my comfort zone aggravated my foot a little, n e pain once again became throbbing.
like how many people around me had advised, n since i decided against going out on competition eve, which included e temple trip, i should at least pray at home. friday night, things returned to original n when home, in e dark, i kneeled, with tt excruciating pain, infront of my 观音菩萨's altar. i prayed i'll recover by sunday, if not 100% at least good enough to compete, tt we've all come a long way n this is not fair, tt im only 36 hours away n ur my only hope.
most of my teammates travelled to 四马路's 观音庙 today. im sure they prayed for my well-being. but also for e competition. so i had to recover. sheila told me she'll pray for me too, n i trust she will. if e elements are punking me now, at least im trying to get e gods onto my side.
n when i woke up today, my biggest nightmare happened. or rather, i wouldnt even have dreamt of it. e toe area felt quite e same, but out of nowhere, theres now a sharp pain in my ankle n i cannot almost move it anymore. before this, i could still force myself to compete with a pain in my sole n toe. but without my ankle, i can do nothing. i cant 坐头360, i cant climb e steps, i cant leap across e 'valley'. this being my left ankle, i also would not be able to execute e three 单脚.
how did my body fail me so badly. each time im battered down i come back stronger n go for more. this time, i think even e divine could do nothing. or is it intended? tt was my first thot. for all e calls for intervention, i actually received something worse tt outright denies me. is it fate, is it written? it seems like i wasnt answered, but could this be e answer? at tt moment i felt so spiritual. maybe i really shouldnt be competing.
i had resisted seeing a doc coz i know they'll prevent me from competing or wrap up my foot dramatically. then i realised today i need to get an MC in e scenario i really cant recover. it cant get us a postponement, but we'll get an honorary withdrawal. if we just disappear without explanation, we'll receive a 3-year ban from any lion dance activity. so how did an old injury return with a worse swell? how did something totally different pop up n so intense? apparently they could be linked. e GP reckons a possible stress fracture accumulated over time. i'll know after an x-ray.
e whole team came all e way down from west coast to my clinic in hougang. i hated myself for bringing em down, but they reassured me my body's e most important thing, tt we can always compete next year. it was encouraging. e superstitious jiajun even said this could all be a sign, to prevent me from competing, maybe something bad might happen, tt im being protected by higher entities. shannon related tt when 黄师父 heard e news, he shot back to e day we 点睛 for our new competition lion, when we dropped e two 大吉 n 大利 attachments from e lion's crown, an ominous n unlucky sign, tt he already felt uneasy. benwei n vincent just kept insisting tt my foot's staying with me rest of my life, competition's only this time, n i should think carefully.
am i disappointed. i would be lying if i said no. i wanted to get this done, a milestone in my life, be able to say ive competed in e nationals. i trained so hard n for so long. some days when there were only me, jiajun n adrian. or even on one occasion only e two 狮头狮尾. i can proudly say from e bottom of my heart i did put in alot. when i was struck with e recurrence, i still truly believed i would compete, altho i had only 3 days to recover. i thot, ive come this far, even if i limp i will still go out there n do it.
e team n other people who knew about it were worried for me, at e same time disappointed about how things have turned out. i wanna say im ok. i take it in my stride. im optimistic, but im not sure about what. coz when i think of it, i sink again. i wanna say sorry to my teammates. i dont know if u all know how much this opportunity means to me. tho we've ran into problems, n not everyone could commit on e same level, i would not have had this chance without each n every one of u. 黄师父, sorry n thank u as well. all u did was out of ur own generosity. i cant repay it.
n now im goin back to Hall IV FOC with a bandaged foot n on crutches. how our world is always characterised by such amazing revolutions. last year i had to retire from this very camp due to anaemia, which ive never suffered from previously, on Day 1. this time, im all ready to be part of it. n now this.
i was e drummer, originally. but by e next training, i was converted to 狮尾 to better suit competition requirements. no problem at all. i like to think i can take on different challenges. moreover, i was trained from my earliest days as a 狮尾.
it is now 4 months n 11 days later. tmr was to be e big day. my zone qualifier for a shot at e finals at ngee ann city. but for all e hard work n sacrifices, it's over before even e first sound of e drum.
we were supposed to have a final run yesterday. but on thursday my sole felt extremely uncomfortable. it's been niggling me for weeks, often at trainings. it's an old injury, i believe hurt twice before, first by a bad landing, then an accident when a bench dropped on tt foot. but e full extent just came back without warning. so i told myself, rest it well, if i cant rehearse one last time, just chiong on sunday itself. giving up never once came across.
indeed, like a miracle, thru my attentive massaging of healing cream, icing e area, n just stayin stationary, on friday morning things were lookin up. but i knew i better not risk it, so i chose not to train a final time. i followed along to watch em, tho, to give em moral support. tt trip out of my comfort zone aggravated my foot a little, n e pain once again became throbbing.
like how many people around me had advised, n since i decided against going out on competition eve, which included e temple trip, i should at least pray at home. friday night, things returned to original n when home, in e dark, i kneeled, with tt excruciating pain, infront of my 观音菩萨's altar. i prayed i'll recover by sunday, if not 100% at least good enough to compete, tt we've all come a long way n this is not fair, tt im only 36 hours away n ur my only hope.
most of my teammates travelled to 四马路's 观音庙 today. im sure they prayed for my well-being. but also for e competition. so i had to recover. sheila told me she'll pray for me too, n i trust she will. if e elements are punking me now, at least im trying to get e gods onto my side.
n when i woke up today, my biggest nightmare happened. or rather, i wouldnt even have dreamt of it. e toe area felt quite e same, but out of nowhere, theres now a sharp pain in my ankle n i cannot almost move it anymore. before this, i could still force myself to compete with a pain in my sole n toe. but without my ankle, i can do nothing. i cant 坐头360, i cant climb e steps, i cant leap across e 'valley'. this being my left ankle, i also would not be able to execute e three 单脚.
how did my body fail me so badly. each time im battered down i come back stronger n go for more. this time, i think even e divine could do nothing. or is it intended? tt was my first thot. for all e calls for intervention, i actually received something worse tt outright denies me. is it fate, is it written? it seems like i wasnt answered, but could this be e answer? at tt moment i felt so spiritual. maybe i really shouldnt be competing.
i had resisted seeing a doc coz i know they'll prevent me from competing or wrap up my foot dramatically. then i realised today i need to get an MC in e scenario i really cant recover. it cant get us a postponement, but we'll get an honorary withdrawal. if we just disappear without explanation, we'll receive a 3-year ban from any lion dance activity. so how did an old injury return with a worse swell? how did something totally different pop up n so intense? apparently they could be linked. e GP reckons a possible stress fracture accumulated over time. i'll know after an x-ray.
e whole team came all e way down from west coast to my clinic in hougang. i hated myself for bringing em down, but they reassured me my body's e most important thing, tt we can always compete next year. it was encouraging. e superstitious jiajun even said this could all be a sign, to prevent me from competing, maybe something bad might happen, tt im being protected by higher entities. shannon related tt when 黄师父 heard e news, he shot back to e day we 点睛 for our new competition lion, when we dropped e two 大吉 n 大利 attachments from e lion's crown, an ominous n unlucky sign, tt he already felt uneasy. benwei n vincent just kept insisting tt my foot's staying with me rest of my life, competition's only this time, n i should think carefully.
am i disappointed. i would be lying if i said no. i wanted to get this done, a milestone in my life, be able to say ive competed in e nationals. i trained so hard n for so long. some days when there were only me, jiajun n adrian. or even on one occasion only e two 狮头狮尾. i can proudly say from e bottom of my heart i did put in alot. when i was struck with e recurrence, i still truly believed i would compete, altho i had only 3 days to recover. i thot, ive come this far, even if i limp i will still go out there n do it.
e team n other people who knew about it were worried for me, at e same time disappointed about how things have turned out. i wanna say im ok. i take it in my stride. im optimistic, but im not sure about what. coz when i think of it, i sink again. i wanna say sorry to my teammates. i dont know if u all know how much this opportunity means to me. tho we've ran into problems, n not everyone could commit on e same level, i would not have had this chance without each n every one of u. 黄师父, sorry n thank u as well. all u did was out of ur own generosity. i cant repay it.
n now im goin back to Hall IV FOC with a bandaged foot n on crutches. how our world is always characterised by such amazing revolutions. last year i had to retire from this very camp due to anaemia, which ive never suffered from previously, on Day 1. this time, im all ready to be part of it. n now this.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
full circle
i was watching e taiwanese entertainment news daily 娱乐百分百 this afternoon. e episode's guest was 范玮琪. after belting out some of her trademarks, she did a cover of host 小鬼's single, 鬼混. of course it got him excited, coz it's his only solo song to date n he's more known as a host than a singer. artistes who feature on e show often does covers, usually versions of e other host 小猪罗志祥's chart-topping hits. it's an act of homage to e show n its faces - e hosts.
范玮琪 is an established, popular mandarin singer famed for her clear n clean vocals. covering a relatively newer artiste's song in his presence was a proud n touching moment for e lad. by e time she finished, her stronger abilities had made a good marketing of e single. but co-host 小猪, who is e senior of 小鬼 n has always strived to look e better of e two n put him down, quipped in his immediate line tt "this cover is actually better than e original!"
小鬼, a hardworking n unassuming youngster, was visibly hurt by e comment.
then i recalled so uncannily n in such ironic fashion. when shannon n vincent commented afew weeks back tt i actually can sing a song better than e original, tt song was 爱转角. n it's a hit number by none other than award-winning singer 小猪. tt idiotic n brash co-host.
karma. dont do unto others as you would not have others do unto u.
范玮琪 is an established, popular mandarin singer famed for her clear n clean vocals. covering a relatively newer artiste's song in his presence was a proud n touching moment for e lad. by e time she finished, her stronger abilities had made a good marketing of e single. but co-host 小猪, who is e senior of 小鬼 n has always strived to look e better of e two n put him down, quipped in his immediate line tt "this cover is actually better than e original!"
小鬼, a hardworking n unassuming youngster, was visibly hurt by e comment.
then i recalled so uncannily n in such ironic fashion. when shannon n vincent commented afew weeks back tt i actually can sing a song better than e original, tt song was 爱转角. n it's a hit number by none other than award-winning singer 小猪. tt idiotic n brash co-host.
karma. dont do unto others as you would not have others do unto u.
Friday, July 18, 2008
i like motion pictures
2001's A Beautiful Mind, adapted from a Pulitzer Prize-nominated book of e same title, starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany and Ed Harris. it was nominated for eight Oscars and won four, includin Best Picture, and Best Director for Ron Howard.
e film is inspired by real events in e life of e gifted mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. most well-known for his equilibrium theory, Nash made breakthroughs while strugglin w schizophrenia all through his life, which threatened destroy e beautiful mind. his theories were eventually recognised, influenced global trade negotiations, national labour relations, and evolutionary biology, earning him a 1994 Nobel Prize for Economics.
Crowe was as usual excellent in this outing, portraying a reclusive, awkward n schizo man. as e title character, n without a female lead, it can be argued tt he carried e film to a Best Picture. Bettany is e other guy who caught my eye. u sldnt find anyone else better for his role as a literature student. he could switch between frivolity n intensity seamlessly, n his charm is everywhere. it was more bewilderin to understand how Connelly won an Oscar for this. i felt she did not stand out in e few scenes she had, n was always second-best. Harris always looked e same to me in whichever film he stars in, n tt is not good.
let's relive some of e best lines from this film.
Nash's amazing theory tt debunked e great economist Adam Smith tt total self-interest is not good for e collective:
"if we all go for the blonde and block each other, not a single one of us is going to get her. so then we go for her friends, but they will all give us the cold shoulder because no on likes to be second choice. but what if none of us goes for the blonde? we won't get in each other's way and we won't insult the other girls. it's the only way to win. it's the only way we all get laid."
(Alicia de Larde is Nash's wife. they married in 1957. this scene was during dating.)
Alicia: how big is the universe?
Nash: infinite.
Alicia: how do you know?
Nash: I know because all the data indicates it's infinite.
Alicia: but it hasn't been proven yet. how do you know for sure?
Nash: I don't, I just believe it.
Alicia: it's the same with love, I guess.
speaking at the Nobel awards ceremony:
"I've always believed in numbers. in the equations and logics that lead to reason... I've made the most important discovery of my life. it is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reason can be found. perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind. but it is a better gift to discover a beautiful heart."
e film is inspired by real events in e life of e gifted mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. most well-known for his equilibrium theory, Nash made breakthroughs while strugglin w schizophrenia all through his life, which threatened destroy e beautiful mind. his theories were eventually recognised, influenced global trade negotiations, national labour relations, and evolutionary biology, earning him a 1994 Nobel Prize for Economics.
Crowe was as usual excellent in this outing, portraying a reclusive, awkward n schizo man. as e title character, n without a female lead, it can be argued tt he carried e film to a Best Picture. Bettany is e other guy who caught my eye. u sldnt find anyone else better for his role as a literature student. he could switch between frivolity n intensity seamlessly, n his charm is everywhere. it was more bewilderin to understand how Connelly won an Oscar for this. i felt she did not stand out in e few scenes she had, n was always second-best. Harris always looked e same to me in whichever film he stars in, n tt is not good.
let's relive some of e best lines from this film.
Nash's amazing theory tt debunked e great economist Adam Smith tt total self-interest is not good for e collective:
"if we all go for the blonde and block each other, not a single one of us is going to get her. so then we go for her friends, but they will all give us the cold shoulder because no on likes to be second choice. but what if none of us goes for the blonde? we won't get in each other's way and we won't insult the other girls. it's the only way to win. it's the only way we all get laid."
(Alicia de Larde is Nash's wife. they married in 1957. this scene was during dating.)
Alicia: how big is the universe?
Nash: infinite.
Alicia: how do you know?
Nash: I know because all the data indicates it's infinite.
Alicia: but it hasn't been proven yet. how do you know for sure?
Nash: I don't, I just believe it.
Alicia: it's the same with love, I guess.
speaking at the Nobel awards ceremony:
"I've always believed in numbers. in the equations and logics that lead to reason... I've made the most important discovery of my life. it is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reason can be found. perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind. but it is a better gift to discover a beautiful heart."
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Secret Affair: the aftermath
i wanna cap off this awesome ntuwkwscifoc2008 with a blog entry. but it was so much i dont know how to organise or structure it. so i figured i'll just give a lazy point-form list.
1.
i guess i'll have to start with Linguine, my beloved OG. really, there's just so much to talk about. to summarise e main emotion i felt through n after e camp, is pity i didnt have enough time with u guys n couldnt know u all better. i would have loved to stay with e OGLs n e freshies through e camp, but as u all should know by now i was involved in a whole lot of other stuff. very much like shixiong was last year, as AGL to my Mee Tai Mak. but he made a difference to our OG, so tt was what i wished for this year, tt even tho i had to be away much, i could still be a significant presence in e OG. i hope i was.
i think it's too much to ask for e freshies to understand, coz ive been thru it n it's not tt crystal to freshies e roles of e main comm, CI club, n other seniors not all e time with e OGs. i know most of e time only e OGLs left a stronger impression on e impressionable young minds. by now u should know of my involvement in Initiation, FN, n HC. for e first, i was stationed somewhere (this shall stay a mystery) so i could not accompany u guys all e way, esp at e location after e lorry ride. but i tried my best to protect Linguine from e horrible tekan by other seniors, so i think i did something. u all could have met alot worse shit. haha.
n also just a sidenote here. to tt someone (among a few) whom i cared for tt Initiation night while u were blindfolded n shivering, i did feel a tinge of disappointment after we broke camp on friday, because u never once did come up to me with a bare minimum "thank u". then next morning i realised i havent read e card Linguine did for me, then i saw u had expressed ur gratitude in e card. n i felt comforted. ok maybe ur not a very vocal person.
for FN alone, i had to miss 水天 with all of u. pity. i know it must have been damn fun. i actually dropped by raffles marina in cheryl's car so i could see how u guys were, n appeared at e Meepok Man movie screening as well while other ghosts were busy dressing up outside. haha.
lastly, my last-minute increased involvement in HC did a damage too. because of our OGLs' role in HC, me n mad were supposed to step up n take over e OG at times. but turned out i had a starring role in e whole affair n to successfully pull it off i had to either be away or give a straight face at times. sorry to those of u who appeared beside me but i wasnt friendly. it was part of everything.
n lastly i guess not staying with e OG at Hall 13 played a part too. because Hall 13 is at e northern tip of NTU n my hall is at e southern tip, please understand. haha. i had to go back hall at times, n usually late at night i couldnt walk u all back (altho i did on thursday night can!). urgh. i even missed e filming shixiong did of our OG for e final FOC video coz im e assigned one to look after all ur belongings.
anw. just to reiterate. e sentosa night's talk i had with a bunch of u was real n i meant everything i said, of course except e last HC part. so stop wondering if tt was a whole load of bull. so, true to tt, i think it's a pity i couldnt talk with everyone. some of u were knocked out e moment u hit ur sleeping bags. i personally felt tt session was e one moment i really felt i was with e OG. im sorry to those who were there, coz by tt night i still didnt know who u guys were so i dont remember anyone except huiling, pedro, sabrina n jiahui. it was supposed to be a small group but it just got bigger n bigger, im touched.
oh yes n another revelation. for e sentosa game, Battlefield, e plan to build a sandcastle tt way was in fact coz i was informed our OG would be ganged by e other three intentionally, part of e HC plot. so to prevent us from dying a terrible death, i decided to teach u guys e sandcastle my OG last year built, which was also ganged by e other three OGs but survived til e end.
oh well. i hope i left my mark in Linguine n all of u will remember me as part of ur rite of passage. coz i volunteered to be AGL (i was approached to be OGL but i had my reasons to decline it) for this noble reason. haha. stay together. at least for e opening weeks of school. u guys made e right choice of coming for FOC. everyone who didnt always tell me tt. but even as e months pass n new cliques form, no one takes away what Linguine gave u. trust me on tt. u saw 2007's Mee Tai Mak n Mee Pok at this year's camp. we dont hang out as a clique anymore, but we're still great buds.
to individual freshies.
sufiyan, grace, pedro, zhiyuan, candy, ur attitude n spirit were vital to e OG. thanks for helping bring up e x-factor within Linguine.
joanne, ur quite everyone's favourite at this FOC huh. haha. not just were u handpicked to be sonic e hedgehog, ur face appeared in so many photos n videos!
jiahui n sheryl, i think u twins had/have alot of potential within e OG. rah-rah on.
tiffany, tho u joined late, e seniors never had to worry about ur assimilation. ur outgoing nature n pleasing demeanour ensured u became an important part of e OG too.
nice talking to derrick, yanling, jayne, wanqing, huiling, felicia, maxie, radiah, jeslynn, jianyue, kiahui, sabrina, hanisah, xinyi, kiki.
sze ee, eldon, kimberly, ur quite e iceberg huh. haha. talk more to me when school opens leh.
ok n lastly i save it for yimei n xinyi, my two fave st nicks girls. u two like to form ur own small clique n stand alone right. haha. maybe tt's why i clicked best with u guys lah. coz im e same. im e default loner in wkwsci (yea right). but credit to u two, u contributed alot to e OG. u never hesitated to join back with e rest every time i nudged u two. Fusili has their twin towers, i think u two make tougher twin towers.
2.
i became so crazy... once again. trust me, esp freshies, im not usually like tt. im e quiet one, in fact. what u saw at FOC of me is exactly result of what i told some of u. if u choose to come for camp, u have to play n be up for it. no point making tt decision but being introverted thru e camp. like i said, u gotta be buey paiseh. n i think i left many of u with tt impression of me. bleh.
3.
Linguine. we're damn strong can. haha. i said this to afew of u, but ive never seen an OG so dominant in games at any camps. orientation games are designed to require different skills, tt's why all OGs should be rather equal. but we totally ran away on e first day! we were well into triple-digit in score while e rest were double. what's more, i was abit down on e first day coz our OG abit too quiet n lacking initiative. so it was harder to believe how good we were at games. well, guys, ignore e final results, it's not about winning. u know u took something irreplaceable away from this camp.
i think e seniors might not have reflected to u guys, but we're damn proud of e Starry Starry Night skit lah. partly due to me being from 2007's Best Skit, when i saw u all rehearsing at ADM in e afternoon, i had a feeling Linguine's gonna win it. dont worry about having no progressive plot or not following e theme of e camp, e other OGs are just boring. mine last year was total aimless n we made e whole hall split. ur skit was awesome.
n i have to be buey paiseh abt this. we have e prettiest OG this FOC lah (i mean our girls only, Linguine guys). some of e male seniors in e other OGs almost wanted to transfer to Linguine. haha.
4.
a vow made last year, tt e Mee Tai Mak people would reunite in e same OG this year, could not be fulfilled due to certain reasons. so i joined e OGL team of wenxu n jacq, one didnt go last year, e other was formerly of Mee Kia, so was my fellow AGL mad. a fresh start i suppose. i did go attend seniors camp with e two OGLs n we were then in e same Red Bull OG too. but when i met e three of em for our pre-camp meetings i realised we dont really know each other well. n we had to strike up a chemistry. it was a now-or-never thing. if we couldnt gel, how could we gel our freshies. n most importantly we had to look like we're besties so e camp would look good to e freshies.
now tt FOC is over, i can surely say we definitely are closer.
Linguine's cheers are damn cool right. e four of us thot of it all man. n for me personally i even had to fight Fusili for former Mee Tai Mak's cheers. if u wanna know why Linguine (or at least e four of us) is so good at cheering, tt's coz, as seen at e pre-camp briefing, we were e only OG practising our cheers loud loud.
thanks mad, for being e fellow AGL, for making e effort to gel us four seniors, for showing enthusiasm when most of us were tired, for being e quieter complement to me whom e freshies could confide in.
thanks jacq, for an irresistable energy, for being always so cute n funny, for tt dry sense of humour, for shouldering massive responsibility thru e camp.
thanks wenxu, for e leadership, for e ceaseless stamina, for always doing e thankless jobs, for going against ur usual self n becoming dumb when required.
5.
of course, it would be criminal to focus on just e four of us. Linguine would not be as awesome without e SAs. thank u for agreeing to join us after we asked u, or coming to join us on ur own. we were still worried we wouldnt have enough SAs! in e end we had e most of e four OGs, after i checked with e rest. haha.
a shout out to super-senior marcus (u guys were lucky to have him), shixiong (having e CI club president around definitely had its perks), philip (e man of wkwsci), cheryl ong, clement (a prominent n relaxing figure who helped e OGLs n AGLs greatly), bernie (one of e most rah-rah freshies last year, glad she agreed to join us), zijie (Chronicle photo editor n FOC publicity head as our photographer, what more to ask for), yiling, huimin, danielle.
n e mysterious amanda mok who's originally our first SA but couldnt make it in e end. freshies, did u spot her cameo during FN?
6.
after a year of studies n all our own lives n into our own small cliques, it's always amazing at this sort of camps when people come together, to relive e past or to know each other better, where lines are not drawn.
from seniors camp, as part of e FN team, i got to know kristle better. she's not just e smart ah lian sia. under pressure to deliver at these two camps she has done well to make things happen, as e able assistant to jeanette. she's damn funny n super 讲义气. her driving me n my stuff around this FOC was priceless.
n symbiotic with her as e other senior who had no OG for e larger part of e camp was my Mee Tai Mak buddy, titus. we all know after last year's FOC we never got into e same clique. but im glad we're still buddies. he's a brudder who will always be there for me man.
n of course, there's my senorita melissa. one of e people i was damn proud of as my OG mate. i was lookin forward to another camp with her. im still so glad she made it as an OGL, tho not being very close to e FOC people before this. just a pity i could not fulfill e one-year plan to be in her OG. still, we hung out abit here n there n i think being from different OGs actually struck up good energies within e whole camp.
part of seniors camp's Red Bull, were amos n pamy, better known together as pamos. never got to know em super well, esp since they're from Mee Pok. but since e last weeks of sem 2, i found em such swell individuals. it brought over to seniors camp n FOC n i must say they're really people worth knowing lah. amos is not very expressive but is good company. pamy has totally changed my impression of her since sem 1, when most MTM-ers thot she's stuck-up. no she's nowhere near tt. pamy is sucha sweet girl whom everyone rightly loved at this FOC.
e oft-misunderstood cameron showed me this FOC he can be a good worker. his clique, esp sara-jean, has constantly reminded me tt below his apathetic n rebellious shell, lies a true friend who will always deliver. i never questioned e fact tt he's alot deeper than what most people know, because he has impressed me when we talked. but he still seemed overly individualistic at times. this time, i had many good opportunities to work n interact with him, n i slowly got to know him better. cameron can be very real n sincere, n once he includes u in his circle of trust, he'll treat u like a brudder. when he got down to work with his OG, he was wholehearted. he's opinionated, n with him around, things will always improve.
cheryl chan became unusually friendlier than she had been e whole year knowing me. i guess it's love tt changed her. haha.
all in all. this was about e seniors coming together. love it.
7.
ok, let's be honest here, how many of u wernt exactly pleased with e FOC comm before this. CI club had its issues with em, e OGLs had their issues with em, n some seniors were not happy with either money matters or how seniors camp went. but FOC will always succeed because it's FOC. people want it to succeed. n very much FOC comm deserves e most credit. they might have stepped on many toes, but e effort could not be doubted n without em we wouldnt have a camp. n thru e two camps, were chances to know e FOC comm better. i know i did.
i got to know cheryl ong way before this vacation, possibly because of my undying support for FOC n their comm. i gave em canvassing lobangs, i tried my best to appear at their canvassing events, i discussed w her who to find as OGL, i gave my support thru e entire seniors camp tho i wasnt an OGL or subcommer.
then there is ruiqi, e loud, funny n happy girl u'll always see around SCI. i knew her from being classmates, but we only talked abit. but because of FOC, n esp due to HC, we became better buddies.
QQ is another one. we're only acquainted before all this, but interactions at seniors camp n then FOC brought us to another level. i found out she's actually quite a capable girl when work is required. CI club? haha.
jinyong, ive talked to, but never really knew before actual FOC. he was e kind of person, u wanna know better, but never seem to cross paths with. but ive heard alot of positive things about him. this FOC i would say we both took e initiative to open up more to each other, n he came across as a good worker who will be there for u if ur in his circle of trust. dependable lad who brings e right energies.
her job as financial controller is crazy, we all know, but siti never fails to joke n play when necessary. i think she's been a good ambassador of FOC comm who networks well with non-comm people.
of course, e three MTM-ers who made e comm. jeanette, thad n james. except for jeanette, whom ive still been in touch with thru e year, e others have gone on their separate ways after FOC 2007. but every time i see em around school, they still offer tt same friendship from a year ago. im just glad we had e chance to hang out again this FOC. they were definitely much warmer than at seniors camp. whenever i talk to thad n james, i feel like we've known each other for so long. hope e brotherhood lasts!
n e few whom i didnt know before these two camps: keax, jasmine, zijie, christine. i realised u guys are great individuals too n im gonna cherish e new found friendships. jasmine n christine are so funny. zijie is super friendly n unassuming. keax is just loud n bubbly. haha.
8.
pity e whole CI club couldnt be there. e traditional club introduction on e first day was missing quite afew of us. but 老大 still made us look good lah, i feel. he's so charismatic u know. he also led e wee kim wee cheer he invented out of thin air, scrapping e tongue-twisting CS cheer. n thanks for e once-again praise n publicity for ISG 2007. n wth's with "actually my preferred person for e next club president is in this LT now".
still, i felt e club had a good presence n representation at this FOC. it was important. we have to let e FOC comm know that FOC is a part of club activities, tt we'll support it, n CI club n FOC comm is a two-way rship. a shout out to OGL lyon, AGLs sara-jean, kenneth, melvin, SAs shixiong, philip n lastly e effort by zak to show up.
for e man himself, i really wanna thank him for everything at this camp. no gayness though. he was e best spokesman we can have for CI club. although he had so little air-time, im very sure all e freshies now know him well n in e process e club. thanks for joining Linguine too, when i recruited u. n then trying to pull e whole bunch of seniors to join us, including marcus. n thanks for slogging to produce tt final FOC video. even without a voice most of e camp, u still tried to rah-rah e school n talk to juniors. zai.
9.
i became so involved in HC in e end. n to think i only knew e *censored* e night before. being thrust into a key OG within this HC, n as an AGL i had to take up this responsibility. linking up e key characters, be e mode of communication, standing in for jacq at times, partner wenxu when she's missing, create e commotion in place of my OGLs etc.
if e freshies wanna know what i did within this whole *censored*, here it is.
- remember e first NTU game? making e connection between jacq n jason at e rooftop. an impromptu decision was made to sudden-death e game w a senior-vs-senior, n as Ravioli picked jason, i picked jacq, for obvious reasons. so without being planned, all e seniors present started teasing em. unfortunately e blur ruiqi was totally unmoved by e scenes.
- staring at n being pissed with ruiqi, yet laughin with her e next moment, is damn weird. haha.
- e sentosa night's talk. original intention was HC, coz i was told e OG needed to be fed gossip n e OGLs wernt e best people to do it. but truthfully, it was a good talk n true to CS FOC tradition, we always talk on sentosa night. nothing fake about tt.
- where did jacq go? haha. remember i kicked up a small fuss Day 2 morning coz jacq disappeared with jason for a beach stroll? in front of e whole Linguine. then i "called" her, which was in fact *censored* n there was no one on e other end of e line. then i walked all e way down to e beach to find her n jason, we stood there awhile, *censored* like we were talking, then i walked back.
- Amazing Race. ooh la la all e gossip. whatever u heard me talking about e whole day was intentional.
- e climax. began with us being late for tiong bahru, onto e bus, back in SCI, n e *censored*. last minute then they told me im involved in breaking up e *censored*.
- this has nothing to do with me, but it has seemingly become a tradition. e random table tt contains marcus which u guys sat in n listened n interviewed. e catch: e marcus table is always crap only.
10.
one year on, n i cant forget u guys. i believe for those of us who turned up this time round, it was e memories of Mee Tai Mak and I Heard A Rumour that led to it. we were e honorary Best OG, delivered e sterling Best Skit, n was e unanimous enemy of e people, simply because we're so damn good.
altho we see each other all e time in school, we've our own cliques, n nothing beats coming together again for tt same thing tt united us a year ago. i know we didnt exactly have alot of time this camp to hang out, but it was great nonetheless to be together.
for thad, jeanette, james n melissa who signed on to contribute for The Secret Affair, we deeply thank u. i know it was Mee Tai Mak tt drove u guys.
i remember i was asking elicia months before this to come for FOC already. eventually, she did turn up, after thad n i sms-ed her separately, to help mavis n waisze with their sentosa game station. crazily enthu n loud girl lah (did i mention everyone hated Mee Tai Mak last year n she was one of e reasons?). before she appeared, melissa n i were already fighting to take her. n when she showed up at e sapphire pavilion, so many seniors shouted out to her n ran over! haha. i rushed over to drag her to join me, so did Fusili's MTM-ers. how heartwarming.
i will never ever, for as long as i live, forget e cheer fight we had with Mee Pok on Day 2 at sentosa. it was stuff of dreams, really. i never thot we would have e chance to come together again. but miraculously, so many MTM-ers turned up tt afternoon. we got together, talked n reminisced, then decided to cheer abit. then i remembered my teasing of kristle missing her Mee Pok OG, so i continued again with our MTM-ers in her face. haha tt forced her to go gather her MP-ers, n e rest was history. n u thot they're e enthu OG? we seriously outnumbered em. haha. for tt cheer fight alone i lost my voice again.
a shout out to e MTM-ers tt afternoon. melissa, jeanette, james, thad, sara-jean, yiling, cheryl chan, titus, meisee, mavis, waisze, elicia, shixiong n cheryl ong. oh yes n ah lian, yiting, was in e crowd as e fake freshie unable to join us. haha.
11.
i wonder. n im troubled. why am i e perennial second-best. Mee Tai Mak tried all it could, sweat n bled, n still finished second, albeit controversially. this year, most of e MTM-ers were with Fusili, who uncannily lost most of what it competed in n thoroughly didnt exactly have e fighting spirit their seniors had in abundance. n for my Linguine, whom i told repeatedly tt im super competitive, we definitely looked like we're gonna win big this time as we ran away into a huge lead from e first day. but e Mee Pok-inspired Penne caught up n they emerged victorious n stole my Best Skit crown too. so perennially a second-best, my fate is. it gets tiring u know, being second again, while e same faces celebrated once more.
12.
to all who contributed to FN's blah-blah Penthouse, whatever its original name was, good job! i think from seniors camp til now, we seriously deserve credit. then, e seniors who trialed e routes wernt frightened by previous routes, so we pledged to give em a good one. n we succeeded. most of em reflected tt our route, supposedly e mildest coz it was held on e familiar fifth floor of SCI, turned out to be e fiercest in terms of scare factor. we made some cry, n made some guys jump. so we had a reputation to protect for actual FOC.
altho, with my experience in both runs, i would say this time wasnt as good due to change in personnel, at times softening our impact for distraught freshies, n having to handle bigger groups, we still earned some accolades lah. NBS n EEE routes could not earn e sort of reviews we did, n i believe it's not about e eeriness of e route, but e ghosts n e stunts pulled. apparently many freshies thot ours was e worst! other freshies observed tt many who did our route broke down here. im sorry for em, but im proud of our achievements.
good job, amos, sheila, danielle, jin, jinyong, keax, ruiqi, siti, ros, bernie, philip, stanley, zhihui, angela, melvin, cheryl chan. e butcher n his kitchen is e awesome. rock on!
anw. im quite surprised no one within e whole huge FN team did any sort of ritual before conducting FN. esp since this time involved alot of Chinese funeral material, like paper money, joss sticks, altar candles, obituaries n paper offerings. i hope my n shixiong's little something as respect to e netherworld helped.
13.
how do u keep coming back. haha. e super-senior marcus once again made his appearance. he is year 6, way into his working career, flying high with mediacorp n just wrote upcoming comedy First Class. but he keeps appearing in SCI.
ive seen him at some random CS events like Academy Awards. shixiong hinted to e camp n esp Linguine right from e start that a "spiritual figure" of SCI will be appearing soon, someone loved by everyone n who can make u laugh non-stop. what a shining testimonial! but we didnt expect him to be sucha big part of this camp. he appeared while e camp was checking into Hall 13 for accommodation, n tagged along from Initiation onwards! wow, committed lah. he even did e whole Amazing Race with us n gamely played along with HC.
i guess this place really means alot to him, from talking to him n judging from his blog posts. formerly of CI club too, he's been involved in all FOCs since his own. who better to offer advice at such events. i heard he even authored n compiled a manual on how to run FOC! Linguine, we're all proud to have marcus in our OG isnt it! n so, like every year, marcus is loved by everyone. shixiong's final FOC video even gave him a cameo tribute right at e end. i remember while into his anus theory, i realised he's e only one in e whole Starry Starry Night hall who had a chair n was sitting on a chair, unlike e floor-warming us.
14.
now i know why e CS tradition of Animal Blindfold Game is so fun for seniors.
15.
actually Initiation was fun. tho tiring, almost playing out like FN. some seniors had hated e idea during seniors camp. it was something associated more with hall camps. when i spoke to marcus about it, he reflected he's not one who supports e idea. but thru this experience, i guess if it's conducted in e right way, it should be fine. gotta explain e rationale, gotta take good care of e freshies, n not go too far. still, i heard a significant number hated it. hmm.
anw. many seniors, esp e AGLs, are still baffled n abit unhappy why we wernt told we're running Initiation. we had no clue what to do at our stations man.
n what a pity i didnt see e storm drain segment. i couldnt follow Linguine there coz i was stuck in SCI.
16.
thanks for all e citings/references, esp e two OGs, including joanne, who reenacted e FN Butcher during Starry Starry Night skits; getting advice from me on how to do song-song-dao-jurong; how to speak hokkien; how to act beng; even recognising my voice (blindfolded) durin Initiation when u wernt from my OG.
17.
dammit i still got cheers n games i haven taught Linguine.
18.
pity 滚滚 was missin at Starry Starry Night! man, FOC comm, u should have done better there. he's another spiritual figure of CS. or rather, his song performance. but yes i loved e final cheer-every-cheer moment, doing e wee kim wee cheer n Ecstacy cheer all together. n finally a 3-cheer for me, n e sweet appreciation card from e OG. thank u.
19.
now is e hard part again. where are all e photos n videos. ha.
p.s. ok i think i broke my record for longest post ever.
1.
i guess i'll have to start with Linguine, my beloved OG. really, there's just so much to talk about. to summarise e main emotion i felt through n after e camp, is pity i didnt have enough time with u guys n couldnt know u all better. i would have loved to stay with e OGLs n e freshies through e camp, but as u all should know by now i was involved in a whole lot of other stuff. very much like shixiong was last year, as AGL to my Mee Tai Mak. but he made a difference to our OG, so tt was what i wished for this year, tt even tho i had to be away much, i could still be a significant presence in e OG. i hope i was.
i think it's too much to ask for e freshies to understand, coz ive been thru it n it's not tt crystal to freshies e roles of e main comm, CI club, n other seniors not all e time with e OGs. i know most of e time only e OGLs left a stronger impression on e impressionable young minds. by now u should know of my involvement in Initiation, FN, n HC. for e first, i was stationed somewhere (this shall stay a mystery) so i could not accompany u guys all e way, esp at e location after e lorry ride. but i tried my best to protect Linguine from e horrible tekan by other seniors, so i think i did something. u all could have met alot worse shit. haha.
n also just a sidenote here. to tt someone (among a few) whom i cared for tt Initiation night while u were blindfolded n shivering, i did feel a tinge of disappointment after we broke camp on friday, because u never once did come up to me with a bare minimum "thank u". then next morning i realised i havent read e card Linguine did for me, then i saw u had expressed ur gratitude in e card. n i felt comforted. ok maybe ur not a very vocal person.
for FN alone, i had to miss 水天 with all of u. pity. i know it must have been damn fun. i actually dropped by raffles marina in cheryl's car so i could see how u guys were, n appeared at e Meepok Man movie screening as well while other ghosts were busy dressing up outside. haha.
lastly, my last-minute increased involvement in HC did a damage too. because of our OGLs' role in HC, me n mad were supposed to step up n take over e OG at times. but turned out i had a starring role in e whole affair n to successfully pull it off i had to either be away or give a straight face at times. sorry to those of u who appeared beside me but i wasnt friendly. it was part of everything.
n lastly i guess not staying with e OG at Hall 13 played a part too. because Hall 13 is at e northern tip of NTU n my hall is at e southern tip, please understand. haha. i had to go back hall at times, n usually late at night i couldnt walk u all back (altho i did on thursday night can!). urgh. i even missed e filming shixiong did of our OG for e final FOC video coz im e assigned one to look after all ur belongings.
anw. just to reiterate. e sentosa night's talk i had with a bunch of u was real n i meant everything i said, of course except e last HC part. so stop wondering if tt was a whole load of bull. so, true to tt, i think it's a pity i couldnt talk with everyone. some of u were knocked out e moment u hit ur sleeping bags. i personally felt tt session was e one moment i really felt i was with e OG. im sorry to those who were there, coz by tt night i still didnt know who u guys were so i dont remember anyone except huiling, pedro, sabrina n jiahui. it was supposed to be a small group but it just got bigger n bigger, im touched.
oh yes n another revelation. for e sentosa game, Battlefield, e plan to build a sandcastle tt way was in fact coz i was informed our OG would be ganged by e other three intentionally, part of e HC plot. so to prevent us from dying a terrible death, i decided to teach u guys e sandcastle my OG last year built, which was also ganged by e other three OGs but survived til e end.
oh well. i hope i left my mark in Linguine n all of u will remember me as part of ur rite of passage. coz i volunteered to be AGL (i was approached to be OGL but i had my reasons to decline it) for this noble reason. haha. stay together. at least for e opening weeks of school. u guys made e right choice of coming for FOC. everyone who didnt always tell me tt. but even as e months pass n new cliques form, no one takes away what Linguine gave u. trust me on tt. u saw 2007's Mee Tai Mak n Mee Pok at this year's camp. we dont hang out as a clique anymore, but we're still great buds.
to individual freshies.
sufiyan, grace, pedro, zhiyuan, candy, ur attitude n spirit were vital to e OG. thanks for helping bring up e x-factor within Linguine.
joanne, ur quite everyone's favourite at this FOC huh. haha. not just were u handpicked to be sonic e hedgehog, ur face appeared in so many photos n videos!
jiahui n sheryl, i think u twins had/have alot of potential within e OG. rah-rah on.
tiffany, tho u joined late, e seniors never had to worry about ur assimilation. ur outgoing nature n pleasing demeanour ensured u became an important part of e OG too.
nice talking to derrick, yanling, jayne, wanqing, huiling, felicia, maxie, radiah, jeslynn, jianyue, kiahui, sabrina, hanisah, xinyi, kiki.
sze ee, eldon, kimberly, ur quite e iceberg huh. haha. talk more to me when school opens leh.
ok n lastly i save it for yimei n xinyi, my two fave st nicks girls. u two like to form ur own small clique n stand alone right. haha. maybe tt's why i clicked best with u guys lah. coz im e same. im e default loner in wkwsci (yea right). but credit to u two, u contributed alot to e OG. u never hesitated to join back with e rest every time i nudged u two. Fusili has their twin towers, i think u two make tougher twin towers.
2.
i became so crazy... once again. trust me, esp freshies, im not usually like tt. im e quiet one, in fact. what u saw at FOC of me is exactly result of what i told some of u. if u choose to come for camp, u have to play n be up for it. no point making tt decision but being introverted thru e camp. like i said, u gotta be buey paiseh. n i think i left many of u with tt impression of me. bleh.
3.
Linguine. we're damn strong can. haha. i said this to afew of u, but ive never seen an OG so dominant in games at any camps. orientation games are designed to require different skills, tt's why all OGs should be rather equal. but we totally ran away on e first day! we were well into triple-digit in score while e rest were double. what's more, i was abit down on e first day coz our OG abit too quiet n lacking initiative. so it was harder to believe how good we were at games. well, guys, ignore e final results, it's not about winning. u know u took something irreplaceable away from this camp.
i think e seniors might not have reflected to u guys, but we're damn proud of e Starry Starry Night skit lah. partly due to me being from 2007's Best Skit, when i saw u all rehearsing at ADM in e afternoon, i had a feeling Linguine's gonna win it. dont worry about having no progressive plot or not following e theme of e camp, e other OGs are just boring. mine last year was total aimless n we made e whole hall split. ur skit was awesome.
n i have to be buey paiseh abt this. we have e prettiest OG this FOC lah (i mean our girls only, Linguine guys). some of e male seniors in e other OGs almost wanted to transfer to Linguine. haha.
4.
a vow made last year, tt e Mee Tai Mak people would reunite in e same OG this year, could not be fulfilled due to certain reasons. so i joined e OGL team of wenxu n jacq, one didnt go last year, e other was formerly of Mee Kia, so was my fellow AGL mad. a fresh start i suppose. i did go attend seniors camp with e two OGLs n we were then in e same Red Bull OG too. but when i met e three of em for our pre-camp meetings i realised we dont really know each other well. n we had to strike up a chemistry. it was a now-or-never thing. if we couldnt gel, how could we gel our freshies. n most importantly we had to look like we're besties so e camp would look good to e freshies.
now tt FOC is over, i can surely say we definitely are closer.
Linguine's cheers are damn cool right. e four of us thot of it all man. n for me personally i even had to fight Fusili for former Mee Tai Mak's cheers. if u wanna know why Linguine (or at least e four of us) is so good at cheering, tt's coz, as seen at e pre-camp briefing, we were e only OG practising our cheers loud loud.
thanks mad, for being e fellow AGL, for making e effort to gel us four seniors, for showing enthusiasm when most of us were tired, for being e quieter complement to me whom e freshies could confide in.
thanks jacq, for an irresistable energy, for being always so cute n funny, for tt dry sense of humour, for shouldering massive responsibility thru e camp.
thanks wenxu, for e leadership, for e ceaseless stamina, for always doing e thankless jobs, for going against ur usual self n becoming dumb when required.
5.
of course, it would be criminal to focus on just e four of us. Linguine would not be as awesome without e SAs. thank u for agreeing to join us after we asked u, or coming to join us on ur own. we were still worried we wouldnt have enough SAs! in e end we had e most of e four OGs, after i checked with e rest. haha.
a shout out to super-senior marcus (u guys were lucky to have him), shixiong (having e CI club president around definitely had its perks), philip (e man of wkwsci), cheryl ong, clement (a prominent n relaxing figure who helped e OGLs n AGLs greatly), bernie (one of e most rah-rah freshies last year, glad she agreed to join us), zijie (Chronicle photo editor n FOC publicity head as our photographer, what more to ask for), yiling, huimin, danielle.
n e mysterious amanda mok who's originally our first SA but couldnt make it in e end. freshies, did u spot her cameo during FN?
6.
after a year of studies n all our own lives n into our own small cliques, it's always amazing at this sort of camps when people come together, to relive e past or to know each other better, where lines are not drawn.
from seniors camp, as part of e FN team, i got to know kristle better. she's not just e smart ah lian sia. under pressure to deliver at these two camps she has done well to make things happen, as e able assistant to jeanette. she's damn funny n super 讲义气. her driving me n my stuff around this FOC was priceless.
n symbiotic with her as e other senior who had no OG for e larger part of e camp was my Mee Tai Mak buddy, titus. we all know after last year's FOC we never got into e same clique. but im glad we're still buddies. he's a brudder who will always be there for me man.
n of course, there's my senorita melissa. one of e people i was damn proud of as my OG mate. i was lookin forward to another camp with her. im still so glad she made it as an OGL, tho not being very close to e FOC people before this. just a pity i could not fulfill e one-year plan to be in her OG. still, we hung out abit here n there n i think being from different OGs actually struck up good energies within e whole camp.
part of seniors camp's Red Bull, were amos n pamy, better known together as pamos. never got to know em super well, esp since they're from Mee Pok. but since e last weeks of sem 2, i found em such swell individuals. it brought over to seniors camp n FOC n i must say they're really people worth knowing lah. amos is not very expressive but is good company. pamy has totally changed my impression of her since sem 1, when most MTM-ers thot she's stuck-up. no she's nowhere near tt. pamy is sucha sweet girl whom everyone rightly loved at this FOC.
e oft-misunderstood cameron showed me this FOC he can be a good worker. his clique, esp sara-jean, has constantly reminded me tt below his apathetic n rebellious shell, lies a true friend who will always deliver. i never questioned e fact tt he's alot deeper than what most people know, because he has impressed me when we talked. but he still seemed overly individualistic at times. this time, i had many good opportunities to work n interact with him, n i slowly got to know him better. cameron can be very real n sincere, n once he includes u in his circle of trust, he'll treat u like a brudder. when he got down to work with his OG, he was wholehearted. he's opinionated, n with him around, things will always improve.
cheryl chan became unusually friendlier than she had been e whole year knowing me. i guess it's love tt changed her. haha.
all in all. this was about e seniors coming together. love it.
7.
ok, let's be honest here, how many of u wernt exactly pleased with e FOC comm before this. CI club had its issues with em, e OGLs had their issues with em, n some seniors were not happy with either money matters or how seniors camp went. but FOC will always succeed because it's FOC. people want it to succeed. n very much FOC comm deserves e most credit. they might have stepped on many toes, but e effort could not be doubted n without em we wouldnt have a camp. n thru e two camps, were chances to know e FOC comm better. i know i did.
i got to know cheryl ong way before this vacation, possibly because of my undying support for FOC n their comm. i gave em canvassing lobangs, i tried my best to appear at their canvassing events, i discussed w her who to find as OGL, i gave my support thru e entire seniors camp tho i wasnt an OGL or subcommer.
then there is ruiqi, e loud, funny n happy girl u'll always see around SCI. i knew her from being classmates, but we only talked abit. but because of FOC, n esp due to HC, we became better buddies.
QQ is another one. we're only acquainted before all this, but interactions at seniors camp n then FOC brought us to another level. i found out she's actually quite a capable girl when work is required. CI club? haha.
jinyong, ive talked to, but never really knew before actual FOC. he was e kind of person, u wanna know better, but never seem to cross paths with. but ive heard alot of positive things about him. this FOC i would say we both took e initiative to open up more to each other, n he came across as a good worker who will be there for u if ur in his circle of trust. dependable lad who brings e right energies.
her job as financial controller is crazy, we all know, but siti never fails to joke n play when necessary. i think she's been a good ambassador of FOC comm who networks well with non-comm people.
of course, e three MTM-ers who made e comm. jeanette, thad n james. except for jeanette, whom ive still been in touch with thru e year, e others have gone on their separate ways after FOC 2007. but every time i see em around school, they still offer tt same friendship from a year ago. im just glad we had e chance to hang out again this FOC. they were definitely much warmer than at seniors camp. whenever i talk to thad n james, i feel like we've known each other for so long. hope e brotherhood lasts!
n e few whom i didnt know before these two camps: keax, jasmine, zijie, christine. i realised u guys are great individuals too n im gonna cherish e new found friendships. jasmine n christine are so funny. zijie is super friendly n unassuming. keax is just loud n bubbly. haha.
8.
pity e whole CI club couldnt be there. e traditional club introduction on e first day was missing quite afew of us. but 老大 still made us look good lah, i feel. he's so charismatic u know. he also led e wee kim wee cheer he invented out of thin air, scrapping e tongue-twisting CS cheer. n thanks for e once-again praise n publicity for ISG 2007. n wth's with "actually my preferred person for e next club president is in this LT now".
still, i felt e club had a good presence n representation at this FOC. it was important. we have to let e FOC comm know that FOC is a part of club activities, tt we'll support it, n CI club n FOC comm is a two-way rship. a shout out to OGL lyon, AGLs sara-jean, kenneth, melvin, SAs shixiong, philip n lastly e effort by zak to show up.
for e man himself, i really wanna thank him for everything at this camp. no gayness though. he was e best spokesman we can have for CI club. although he had so little air-time, im very sure all e freshies now know him well n in e process e club. thanks for joining Linguine too, when i recruited u. n then trying to pull e whole bunch of seniors to join us, including marcus. n thanks for slogging to produce tt final FOC video. even without a voice most of e camp, u still tried to rah-rah e school n talk to juniors. zai.
9.
i became so involved in HC in e end. n to think i only knew e *censored* e night before. being thrust into a key OG within this HC, n as an AGL i had to take up this responsibility. linking up e key characters, be e mode of communication, standing in for jacq at times, partner wenxu when she's missing, create e commotion in place of my OGLs etc.
if e freshies wanna know what i did within this whole *censored*, here it is.
- remember e first NTU game? making e connection between jacq n jason at e rooftop. an impromptu decision was made to sudden-death e game w a senior-vs-senior, n as Ravioli picked jason, i picked jacq, for obvious reasons. so without being planned, all e seniors present started teasing em. unfortunately e blur ruiqi was totally unmoved by e scenes.
- staring at n being pissed with ruiqi, yet laughin with her e next moment, is damn weird. haha.
- e sentosa night's talk. original intention was HC, coz i was told e OG needed to be fed gossip n e OGLs wernt e best people to do it. but truthfully, it was a good talk n true to CS FOC tradition, we always talk on sentosa night. nothing fake about tt.
- where did jacq go? haha. remember i kicked up a small fuss Day 2 morning coz jacq disappeared with jason for a beach stroll? in front of e whole Linguine. then i "called" her, which was in fact *censored* n there was no one on e other end of e line. then i walked all e way down to e beach to find her n jason, we stood there awhile, *censored* like we were talking, then i walked back.
- Amazing Race. ooh la la all e gossip. whatever u heard me talking about e whole day was intentional.
- e climax. began with us being late for tiong bahru, onto e bus, back in SCI, n e *censored*. last minute then they told me im involved in breaking up e *censored*.
- this has nothing to do with me, but it has seemingly become a tradition. e random table tt contains marcus which u guys sat in n listened n interviewed. e catch: e marcus table is always crap only.
10.
one year on, n i cant forget u guys. i believe for those of us who turned up this time round, it was e memories of Mee Tai Mak and I Heard A Rumour that led to it. we were e honorary Best OG, delivered e sterling Best Skit, n was e unanimous enemy of e people, simply because we're so damn good.
altho we see each other all e time in school, we've our own cliques, n nothing beats coming together again for tt same thing tt united us a year ago. i know we didnt exactly have alot of time this camp to hang out, but it was great nonetheless to be together.
for thad, jeanette, james n melissa who signed on to contribute for The Secret Affair, we deeply thank u. i know it was Mee Tai Mak tt drove u guys.
i remember i was asking elicia months before this to come for FOC already. eventually, she did turn up, after thad n i sms-ed her separately, to help mavis n waisze with their sentosa game station. crazily enthu n loud girl lah (did i mention everyone hated Mee Tai Mak last year n she was one of e reasons?). before she appeared, melissa n i were already fighting to take her. n when she showed up at e sapphire pavilion, so many seniors shouted out to her n ran over! haha. i rushed over to drag her to join me, so did Fusili's MTM-ers. how heartwarming.
i will never ever, for as long as i live, forget e cheer fight we had with Mee Pok on Day 2 at sentosa. it was stuff of dreams, really. i never thot we would have e chance to come together again. but miraculously, so many MTM-ers turned up tt afternoon. we got together, talked n reminisced, then decided to cheer abit. then i remembered my teasing of kristle missing her Mee Pok OG, so i continued again with our MTM-ers in her face. haha tt forced her to go gather her MP-ers, n e rest was history. n u thot they're e enthu OG? we seriously outnumbered em. haha. for tt cheer fight alone i lost my voice again.
a shout out to e MTM-ers tt afternoon. melissa, jeanette, james, thad, sara-jean, yiling, cheryl chan, titus, meisee, mavis, waisze, elicia, shixiong n cheryl ong. oh yes n ah lian, yiting, was in e crowd as e fake freshie unable to join us. haha.
11.
i wonder. n im troubled. why am i e perennial second-best. Mee Tai Mak tried all it could, sweat n bled, n still finished second, albeit controversially. this year, most of e MTM-ers were with Fusili, who uncannily lost most of what it competed in n thoroughly didnt exactly have e fighting spirit their seniors had in abundance. n for my Linguine, whom i told repeatedly tt im super competitive, we definitely looked like we're gonna win big this time as we ran away into a huge lead from e first day. but e Mee Pok-inspired Penne caught up n they emerged victorious n stole my Best Skit crown too. so perennially a second-best, my fate is. it gets tiring u know, being second again, while e same faces celebrated once more.
12.
to all who contributed to FN's blah-blah Penthouse, whatever its original name was, good job! i think from seniors camp til now, we seriously deserve credit. then, e seniors who trialed e routes wernt frightened by previous routes, so we pledged to give em a good one. n we succeeded. most of em reflected tt our route, supposedly e mildest coz it was held on e familiar fifth floor of SCI, turned out to be e fiercest in terms of scare factor. we made some cry, n made some guys jump. so we had a reputation to protect for actual FOC.
altho, with my experience in both runs, i would say this time wasnt as good due to change in personnel, at times softening our impact for distraught freshies, n having to handle bigger groups, we still earned some accolades lah. NBS n EEE routes could not earn e sort of reviews we did, n i believe it's not about e eeriness of e route, but e ghosts n e stunts pulled. apparently many freshies thot ours was e worst! other freshies observed tt many who did our route broke down here. im sorry for em, but im proud of our achievements.
good job, amos, sheila, danielle, jin, jinyong, keax, ruiqi, siti, ros, bernie, philip, stanley, zhihui, angela, melvin, cheryl chan. e butcher n his kitchen is e awesome. rock on!
anw. im quite surprised no one within e whole huge FN team did any sort of ritual before conducting FN. esp since this time involved alot of Chinese funeral material, like paper money, joss sticks, altar candles, obituaries n paper offerings. i hope my n shixiong's little something as respect to e netherworld helped.
13.
how do u keep coming back. haha. e super-senior marcus once again made his appearance. he is year 6, way into his working career, flying high with mediacorp n just wrote upcoming comedy First Class. but he keeps appearing in SCI.
ive seen him at some random CS events like Academy Awards. shixiong hinted to e camp n esp Linguine right from e start that a "spiritual figure" of SCI will be appearing soon, someone loved by everyone n who can make u laugh non-stop. what a shining testimonial! but we didnt expect him to be sucha big part of this camp. he appeared while e camp was checking into Hall 13 for accommodation, n tagged along from Initiation onwards! wow, committed lah. he even did e whole Amazing Race with us n gamely played along with HC.
i guess this place really means alot to him, from talking to him n judging from his blog posts. formerly of CI club too, he's been involved in all FOCs since his own. who better to offer advice at such events. i heard he even authored n compiled a manual on how to run FOC! Linguine, we're all proud to have marcus in our OG isnt it! n so, like every year, marcus is loved by everyone. shixiong's final FOC video even gave him a cameo tribute right at e end. i remember while into his anus theory, i realised he's e only one in e whole Starry Starry Night hall who had a chair n was sitting on a chair, unlike e floor-warming us.
14.
now i know why e CS tradition of Animal Blindfold Game is so fun for seniors.
15.
actually Initiation was fun. tho tiring, almost playing out like FN. some seniors had hated e idea during seniors camp. it was something associated more with hall camps. when i spoke to marcus about it, he reflected he's not one who supports e idea. but thru this experience, i guess if it's conducted in e right way, it should be fine. gotta explain e rationale, gotta take good care of e freshies, n not go too far. still, i heard a significant number hated it. hmm.
anw. many seniors, esp e AGLs, are still baffled n abit unhappy why we wernt told we're running Initiation. we had no clue what to do at our stations man.
n what a pity i didnt see e storm drain segment. i couldnt follow Linguine there coz i was stuck in SCI.
16.
thanks for all e citings/references, esp e two OGs, including joanne, who reenacted e FN Butcher during Starry Starry Night skits; getting advice from me on how to do song-song-dao-jurong; how to speak hokkien; how to act beng; even recognising my voice (blindfolded) durin Initiation when u wernt from my OG.
17.
dammit i still got cheers n games i haven taught Linguine.
18.
pity 滚滚 was missin at Starry Starry Night! man, FOC comm, u should have done better there. he's another spiritual figure of CS. or rather, his song performance. but yes i loved e final cheer-every-cheer moment, doing e wee kim wee cheer n Ecstacy cheer all together. n finally a 3-cheer for me, n e sweet appreciation card from e OG. thank u.
19.
now is e hard part again. where are all e photos n videos. ha.
p.s. ok i think i broke my record for longest post ever.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
my zone qualifier
2008年第十四届义安城全国(东区)舞狮锦标赛
东区–加基武吉民众联络所
East zone - Kaki Bukit CC
1 珑权体育协会
2 日兴醒狮健身院 *
3 沙岡万山福德祠醒狮团
4 北源小学
5 静山民众俱乐部龙狮团 *
6 孺廊小学龙狮团
7 德明政府中学童军醒狮团
8 友诺士民众俱乐部龙狮团 *
9 关善坛龙狮学院 *
10 裕华民众俱乐部龙狮团
11 少林得英堂国术健身社
12 新洋龙狮运动坊
(27/7 1230pm)
13 西海岸民众联络所文化艺术团
14 清德龙狮学院
15 灵应龙狮院
16 新城龙狮学院 *
17 南大龙狮团
18 义安理工龙狮团
19 裕鸿龙狮武术院 *
20 群立小学龙狮团
21 德乐小学醒狮团
22 河谷林居民委员会
23 义峰体育会 *
24 统一龙狮学院 *
(* denotes super strong troupes)
four teams will go through to e finals at Ngee Ann City.
东区–加基武吉民众联络所
East zone - Kaki Bukit CC
1 珑权体育协会
2 日兴醒狮健身院 *
3 沙岡万山福德祠醒狮团
4 北源小学
5 静山民众俱乐部龙狮团 *
6 孺廊小学龙狮团
7 德明政府中学童军醒狮团
8 友诺士民众俱乐部龙狮团 *
9 关善坛龙狮学院 *
10 裕华民众俱乐部龙狮团
11 少林得英堂国术健身社
12 新洋龙狮运动坊
(27/7 1230pm)
13 西海岸民众联络所文化艺术团
14 清德龙狮学院
15 灵应龙狮院
16 新城龙狮学院 *
17 南大龙狮团
18 义安理工龙狮团
19 裕鸿龙狮武术院 *
20 群立小学龙狮团
21 德乐小学醒狮团
22 河谷林居民委员会
23 义峰体育会 *
24 统一龙狮学院 *
(* denotes super strong troupes)
four teams will go through to e finals at Ngee Ann City.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
The AGLs
Posted by behindthebasics
hello!
on behalf of both wenxu and myself,
OUR AGLS!!!!
thiampeng and madeline!
but no one calls them that.
feel free to call them tehping and mad.
everyone does!
SEE YOU GUYS ON MONDAY!
cheers!
VVIP,
jac. =).
-above content ripped from ntuwkwscifoc2008's blog, foc2008.wordpress.com-
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
how La Furia Roja did it
finally, e massive footballing country i grew up knowin as e perennial chokers/underachievers n to me e next best team (after holland) to have not won a World Cup now has something new to show for their huge reputation. after e 1964 European Championships home win, spain has landed its second major title in 44 years n in its history.
i gave my vote to spain to win in e final against germany, with e only factor pullin me in e other direction being germany's doggedness as a tournament team tt never gives up. like how i had believed they would definitely remove portugal n turkey. but ultimately, e matadors prevailed with their brand of attackin adventurous football over german might, which is good for all football fans.
germany went from being a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 as e tournament progressed, to better utilise e wing threats of Lukas Podolski n Bastian Schweinsteiger, to allow Michael Ballack a free role, n to remove e misfiring Mario Gomez. in e other corner, e standard 4-4-2 of spain was forced to alter into a 4-5-1 for e final as top scorer David Villa was injured. problematic for spain? not really. e momentum n groove was with em n it would be hard to repress it. even with a lone striker in Fernando Torres, he would definitely be too big a headache for e unstable german defence, especially e weak link, Per Mertesacker. e german midfield's shape n talents are good n can beat other teams on any day, but it already looked shabby even before we kicked off against a slick spanish engine room. this midfield was mobile n creative, while e germans were rigid n lacked ideas, basing itself more on a trio of individual talents. maybe a blessing in disguise for e spanish when Cesc Fabregas had to be drafted in, making up an excellent midfield force. if Ballack was shackled by e turks, prospects didnt look good for him here. germany has Philip Lahm, but spain has Sergio Ramos too.
player of e tournament Xavi starts from deep, but is highly dangerous when he does his radar passing near e opponents' goal. David Silva n Andres Iniesta, though not full wingers, could interchange when things didnt look good. in e final, as e quick Lahm was doing a good job preventin Silva from playin his usual dribblin game, Iniesta came over n took over e role. e Barca starlet is irresistible n plays such a direct game Lahm was put on e backfoot. in all e drama happening in midfield, germany still had to contend with a certain Fabregas. it was indeed no easy feat. it was simply fate n fitting tt spain scored just one goal, one tt magnificently reflected how e match would n eventually turned out. a typical Torres' poacher goal. latching onto a quick pass with amazing change of pace, he makes clowns out of defenders n uses his superior stride n pace to unleash a shot. n he did all these to e quick fullback Lahm, of all people. made us think how e hell do we actually stop this striker.
from my followin n as usual petty analysis of e tournament, ive broken down how they managed to do it, in a tournament with such stiff opposition in talented squads like holland n portugal.
let me start from within. e spain squad came into e tournament boasting a very talented outfit. but it always does n there were other such teams as well. e key difference was, spain clicked as a team, individuals peaked, n they lasted all e way, without letting ghosts haunt em. one of e reasons how they could do so was due to a very young, new n adventurous team. e livewire Andres Iniesta, lynchpin Marcos Senna n young supremo Fabregas, all key players, only debuted in 2006. another two first teamers, Ramos n Villa, debuted a year earlier. ur lookin at a team refreshed from previous ghosts n raring to go. even captain Iker Casillas is only 27, but has played for a good decade already. e best proof of a resurgent spain is e dug-deep victory over world champions italy in e quarter-final, a team spain has not beaten in a competitive match since 1922.
spain had e shortest team at this tournament, which is definitely something worth highlightin in a european football game tt considers size n power relevant. while short, this team had no lack of guts. they were daring n took on opponents without worries, what a sight it has been for spectators. these short players are none other than outstanding footballers like Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, Fabregas, Villa n Puyol. all short, but famous for being big on heart. for e very fact tt they take e game to e opponents, spain was also e top scoring country this tournament. what better way to boost ur confidence than scoring n scoring. in addition to e 4-1 thrashing of a poor russia on opening day, they swept e rejuvenated one 3-0 in e semi-final, a scoreline tt made critics sit up. it was a side tt had silenced e orange tide in e previous round, an orange tide tt had made fools out of italy n france in e Group of Death.
it is not to say spain was awesome n monstrous all e way. luck, as always, played its part. of e 16 finalists for euro 2008, spain was actually seeded last in pot 3. of course, if it had fallen into e last pot, it would have effectively drawn 3 group stage teams ranked higher than itself. but although they were seeded last in e third pot, they were still in this pot, meaning it would be ranked third in its eventual group. n how lucky can u get. e pot 1 team came in e form of defending champions greece, which was definitely not going to repeat its feat four years ago having slid horribly in form. pot 2, which boasted italy n croatia, gave spain sweden, a team traditionally inferior to e former. maybe having no pressure of being favourites helped too. spain, being seeded 12th, was even behind romania.
of course, like all major tournaments have played out, for a team to win, there are usually giants who fall unexpectedly. we almost can never see all e top teams in a tournament perform to their peak. tt would be too hard to win isnt it. spain was undefeated, hence it was one of e few teams tt actually lasted e tournament n lived up to expectations. germany did not enter this edition on good form n with a talented squad, but we never write e germans off, n they delivered once again. but powerhouses france n italy didnt show up, portugal had no way past e german machine, n holland became e disappointment of e tournament.
i still remember many media analysin e shift in traditional tactics seen at this tournament. out goes 4-4-2, in comes 4-2-3-1. e proposition of this 4-2-3-1 is exciting. two, n not just one, destroyers. attacking fullbacks. a triumvirate of offensive weapons, behind a capable lone striker. e media proposed this as holland n portugal were exciting e senses in e opening stages. e triumvirate is e key to killing off opponents. holland had Robin van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart n e magical Wesley Sneijder. they even had Arjen Robben in reserve. portugal boasted Deco, Simao n e hotshot Cristiano Ronaldo. but ultimately, this formation was exposed as e two giants were eliminated. it depended too much on e triumvirate to play opponents silly. it was great marketing of e sport, but this triumvirate usually works only against weaker opponents. once it's shackled, e team is gone. germany closed down portugal, while an off-day in e dutch camp includin striker Ruud van Nistelrooy gave russia a famous victory. yes germany changed to tt formation later too but e same fate happened to em in e final. it wont be easy replacing e tried-n-tested n well-balanced 4-4-2, which spain also used to perfection. one anchorman was enough in Senna, Xavi n his two sergeants Iniesta n Silva roamed. most importantly, would u prefer a lone van Nistelrooy, Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose, or a twin threat of Torres n Villa?
moving on from spain, there were afew other topics for focus this tournament. italy n france were crap, tt was as simple as it was. e world champions seemed to be missing e superstars needed for any team to win. france is seriously a declining force. e new generation is not comin in quick enough. e two tournament favourites, holland n portugal, disappointed. holland promised so much, being touted by most to blitz e competition n lift its second crown after outclassin italy n france in e Group of Death. even in a meaningless third group match against a hot-blooded romania, e dutch reserves tore em apart. e foursome of van Persie, Sneijder, van der Vaart n Robben looked unstoppable. unfortunately e whole team didnt show up against e underdogs of russia n a script already written was torn up. portugal simply does not need more elaboration. they have become e new chokers.
kudos to russia, turkey n croatia. they deserve mention everywhere in fact. i remember blasting e russians after their defeat to spain, calling em easily one of e worst teams this tournament. at e back of my head, i did notice they had a certain Guus Hiddink on their bench. n he did it again, bringin another country further than expectations. e return of e awesome Andrei Arshavin from suspension, n e up-gear of e rest of e team, helped em win over e neutrals. turkey simply bulldozed a path out of seemingly nothing. in total e turks only led their matches for less than 10mins, but made e semi-finals. they scored late goals against switzerland, czech republic, croatia n germany, but in e last it just wasnt good enough. still, ive never seen such impossible spirit. 22 of e 23 played, due to injuries n suspensions. they lost only thru a late goal to germany while playin w a bare squad of 14 players. i thought korea 2002 was crazy.
e story of e european leagues' top scorers was another something tt caught many's attention. not because how good they were or how they were competing for scoring honours, but because of e no-show. e crazy 42-goal cristiano ronaldo put only one into e net this tournament. top scorers from Serie A n La Liga, Alessandro Del Piero n Dani Guiza, were substitutes for their countries. at least Guiza scored twice as a sub. e other juventus star, Serie A runner-up golden boot David Trezeguet was totally left out of e french squad. well but most of us wouldnt think it was his form, we definitely blame Raymond Domenech more. lastly, from e Bundesliga, top scorer Toni tried n tried but it just wouldnt go in once. another bayern star, klose, did his part for germany but was not his usual clinical tournament self like before. mario gomez, who came with a good league reputation, totally flunked.
i gave my vote to spain to win in e final against germany, with e only factor pullin me in e other direction being germany's doggedness as a tournament team tt never gives up. like how i had believed they would definitely remove portugal n turkey. but ultimately, e matadors prevailed with their brand of attackin adventurous football over german might, which is good for all football fans.
germany went from being a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 as e tournament progressed, to better utilise e wing threats of Lukas Podolski n Bastian Schweinsteiger, to allow Michael Ballack a free role, n to remove e misfiring Mario Gomez. in e other corner, e standard 4-4-2 of spain was forced to alter into a 4-5-1 for e final as top scorer David Villa was injured. problematic for spain? not really. e momentum n groove was with em n it would be hard to repress it. even with a lone striker in Fernando Torres, he would definitely be too big a headache for e unstable german defence, especially e weak link, Per Mertesacker. e german midfield's shape n talents are good n can beat other teams on any day, but it already looked shabby even before we kicked off against a slick spanish engine room. this midfield was mobile n creative, while e germans were rigid n lacked ideas, basing itself more on a trio of individual talents. maybe a blessing in disguise for e spanish when Cesc Fabregas had to be drafted in, making up an excellent midfield force. if Ballack was shackled by e turks, prospects didnt look good for him here. germany has Philip Lahm, but spain has Sergio Ramos too.
player of e tournament Xavi starts from deep, but is highly dangerous when he does his radar passing near e opponents' goal. David Silva n Andres Iniesta, though not full wingers, could interchange when things didnt look good. in e final, as e quick Lahm was doing a good job preventin Silva from playin his usual dribblin game, Iniesta came over n took over e role. e Barca starlet is irresistible n plays such a direct game Lahm was put on e backfoot. in all e drama happening in midfield, germany still had to contend with a certain Fabregas. it was indeed no easy feat. it was simply fate n fitting tt spain scored just one goal, one tt magnificently reflected how e match would n eventually turned out. a typical Torres' poacher goal. latching onto a quick pass with amazing change of pace, he makes clowns out of defenders n uses his superior stride n pace to unleash a shot. n he did all these to e quick fullback Lahm, of all people. made us think how e hell do we actually stop this striker.
from my followin n as usual petty analysis of e tournament, ive broken down how they managed to do it, in a tournament with such stiff opposition in talented squads like holland n portugal.
let me start from within. e spain squad came into e tournament boasting a very talented outfit. but it always does n there were other such teams as well. e key difference was, spain clicked as a team, individuals peaked, n they lasted all e way, without letting ghosts haunt em. one of e reasons how they could do so was due to a very young, new n adventurous team. e livewire Andres Iniesta, lynchpin Marcos Senna n young supremo Fabregas, all key players, only debuted in 2006. another two first teamers, Ramos n Villa, debuted a year earlier. ur lookin at a team refreshed from previous ghosts n raring to go. even captain Iker Casillas is only 27, but has played for a good decade already. e best proof of a resurgent spain is e dug-deep victory over world champions italy in e quarter-final, a team spain has not beaten in a competitive match since 1922.
spain had e shortest team at this tournament, which is definitely something worth highlightin in a european football game tt considers size n power relevant. while short, this team had no lack of guts. they were daring n took on opponents without worries, what a sight it has been for spectators. these short players are none other than outstanding footballers like Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, Fabregas, Villa n Puyol. all short, but famous for being big on heart. for e very fact tt they take e game to e opponents, spain was also e top scoring country this tournament. what better way to boost ur confidence than scoring n scoring. in addition to e 4-1 thrashing of a poor russia on opening day, they swept e rejuvenated one 3-0 in e semi-final, a scoreline tt made critics sit up. it was a side tt had silenced e orange tide in e previous round, an orange tide tt had made fools out of italy n france in e Group of Death.
it is not to say spain was awesome n monstrous all e way. luck, as always, played its part. of e 16 finalists for euro 2008, spain was actually seeded last in pot 3. of course, if it had fallen into e last pot, it would have effectively drawn 3 group stage teams ranked higher than itself. but although they were seeded last in e third pot, they were still in this pot, meaning it would be ranked third in its eventual group. n how lucky can u get. e pot 1 team came in e form of defending champions greece, which was definitely not going to repeat its feat four years ago having slid horribly in form. pot 2, which boasted italy n croatia, gave spain sweden, a team traditionally inferior to e former. maybe having no pressure of being favourites helped too. spain, being seeded 12th, was even behind romania.
of course, like all major tournaments have played out, for a team to win, there are usually giants who fall unexpectedly. we almost can never see all e top teams in a tournament perform to their peak. tt would be too hard to win isnt it. spain was undefeated, hence it was one of e few teams tt actually lasted e tournament n lived up to expectations. germany did not enter this edition on good form n with a talented squad, but we never write e germans off, n they delivered once again. but powerhouses france n italy didnt show up, portugal had no way past e german machine, n holland became e disappointment of e tournament.
i still remember many media analysin e shift in traditional tactics seen at this tournament. out goes 4-4-2, in comes 4-2-3-1. e proposition of this 4-2-3-1 is exciting. two, n not just one, destroyers. attacking fullbacks. a triumvirate of offensive weapons, behind a capable lone striker. e media proposed this as holland n portugal were exciting e senses in e opening stages. e triumvirate is e key to killing off opponents. holland had Robin van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart n e magical Wesley Sneijder. they even had Arjen Robben in reserve. portugal boasted Deco, Simao n e hotshot Cristiano Ronaldo. but ultimately, this formation was exposed as e two giants were eliminated. it depended too much on e triumvirate to play opponents silly. it was great marketing of e sport, but this triumvirate usually works only against weaker opponents. once it's shackled, e team is gone. germany closed down portugal, while an off-day in e dutch camp includin striker Ruud van Nistelrooy gave russia a famous victory. yes germany changed to tt formation later too but e same fate happened to em in e final. it wont be easy replacing e tried-n-tested n well-balanced 4-4-2, which spain also used to perfection. one anchorman was enough in Senna, Xavi n his two sergeants Iniesta n Silva roamed. most importantly, would u prefer a lone van Nistelrooy, Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose, or a twin threat of Torres n Villa?
moving on from spain, there were afew other topics for focus this tournament. italy n france were crap, tt was as simple as it was. e world champions seemed to be missing e superstars needed for any team to win. france is seriously a declining force. e new generation is not comin in quick enough. e two tournament favourites, holland n portugal, disappointed. holland promised so much, being touted by most to blitz e competition n lift its second crown after outclassin italy n france in e Group of Death. even in a meaningless third group match against a hot-blooded romania, e dutch reserves tore em apart. e foursome of van Persie, Sneijder, van der Vaart n Robben looked unstoppable. unfortunately e whole team didnt show up against e underdogs of russia n a script already written was torn up. portugal simply does not need more elaboration. they have become e new chokers.
kudos to russia, turkey n croatia. they deserve mention everywhere in fact. i remember blasting e russians after their defeat to spain, calling em easily one of e worst teams this tournament. at e back of my head, i did notice they had a certain Guus Hiddink on their bench. n he did it again, bringin another country further than expectations. e return of e awesome Andrei Arshavin from suspension, n e up-gear of e rest of e team, helped em win over e neutrals. turkey simply bulldozed a path out of seemingly nothing. in total e turks only led their matches for less than 10mins, but made e semi-finals. they scored late goals against switzerland, czech republic, croatia n germany, but in e last it just wasnt good enough. still, ive never seen such impossible spirit. 22 of e 23 played, due to injuries n suspensions. they lost only thru a late goal to germany while playin w a bare squad of 14 players. i thought korea 2002 was crazy.
e story of e european leagues' top scorers was another something tt caught many's attention. not because how good they were or how they were competing for scoring honours, but because of e no-show. e crazy 42-goal cristiano ronaldo put only one into e net this tournament. top scorers from Serie A n La Liga, Alessandro Del Piero n Dani Guiza, were substitutes for their countries. at least Guiza scored twice as a sub. e other juventus star, Serie A runner-up golden boot David Trezeguet was totally left out of e french squad. well but most of us wouldnt think it was his form, we definitely blame Raymond Domenech more. lastly, from e Bundesliga, top scorer Toni tried n tried but it just wouldnt go in once. another bayern star, klose, did his part for germany but was not his usual clinical tournament self like before. mario gomez, who came with a good league reputation, totally flunked.
only thing good out of evan almighty
"it is an opportunity... when people pray for patience, u think God gives em patience? ...He gives em e opportunity to try to be patient... if u pray for courage, does God give u courage or e opportunity to be courageous? if someone prays for the family to be closer, u think God gives em warm, fuzzy feelings? ...or does God give em e opportunities to love each other...?"
i'm not a Christian. but this was awesome.
"how do we change e world? ...one Act of Random Kindness... 1 ARK"
i'm not a Christian. but this was awesome.
"how do we change e world? ...one Act of Random Kindness... 1 ARK"
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Euro 08 wrap-up
Team of the Tournament
GK Casillas (we'll have to take u; first goalie to lift e Henri Delaunay)
RB Sergio Ramos (stand-out wingback in a tournament of wingbacks who redefined e attackin defender; hard in e tackle, fierce on e offence)
CB Pepe (only true CB to make e team; was good at Real Madrid's winning season, was e star for Portugal this time; small stature belies his defending abilities, and like all Brazil-born defenders, can be a dangerous offensive weapon)
RCB Corluka (another impressive wingback, selected simply because he can be a CB as well and there are seriously no other CBs who stood out)
LB Lahm (minor blunders here and there cannot hide e fact this dwarf is world class; personally, hes e last person i want to come up against if im a winger; scored last-gasp winner in e semi-final, shut out Silva in e final)
RW Schweinsteiger (one of Germany's stars in recent years, incomprehensible why he didnt start e tournament; other than e sending-off, his mobility, tricks, and deadballs prove Germans are not bland)
CM Xavi (Player of Tournament, has to be first name on teamsheet; passing and playmaking supremo; made 84% passes against Germany, made 91% during e highly congested match with Sweden, amazing)
CM Sneijder (gets my nod ahead of Modric because he not just showed e world his real class, he also scored and played like hes a league above others)
LW Podolski (forward or winger, every time he gets e ball u feel something's gonna happen; a sure bet for scoring goals)
ST Villa (tournament Golden Boot has to feature, even though he fizzled out in latter stages; the Spanish frontline is so good because it makes things happen out of nothing; fearless and always harrying defenders)
ST Torres (his presence alone struck fear into markers; e chief architect, more than Villa; goals do not matter if u contributed as much as he did, and anyway he has a midfield who can score any day)
Reserves:
Buffon (ever-reliable)
Akinfeev (one for e future)
Grosso (Germany '06's star performer left out at start of tournament, but after he came on never lost his place again; one of e creative forces of a stale Italy)
van Bronckhorst (outperformed expectations of this traveller; actually looked refreshing)
Zhirkov (he doesn look pretty, he doesn play pretty, but u know ur lookin at a key player when half e time e camera's on him; horse-like stamina, was still gallopin in extra-time)
Servet Cetin (ok finally another CB who did well)
Sabri Sarioglu (supporting Turkey's many lost causes from e back)
Bosingwa (was an early stand-out wingback, but Portugal sucked)
Senna (should be in e first eleven, just unfortunate hes a defensive midfielder and we all love flair players; his importance to e Spanish conquest cannot be underestimated)
Modric (i love this player; one of two players i would definitely bring on, e other being Arshavin)
Iniesta (full of running and always an eye for goal, he and Xavi outshone their Barca teammates; e supreme template of e free-role midfielder)
Silva (blew hot and cold, but still consistent enough to star for Spain; effectively one-footed but sky-high confident; attacked much taller and bigger opponents endlessly)
Robben (his form is back, and that's scary, because this is a world class match-winner)
van Persie (another match-winner so adept at sneakin around stealthily; has unbelievable technique)
Arshavin (for that semi-final performance, u cant be in e first eleven, but boy were u a match-winner)
Hakan Yakin (only group-stage player to make it into this dream team, for still being that Swiss inspiration and scoring goals for a poor side)
Ballack (deserves respect for draggin Germany almost single-handedly to e final, but honestly many times it was his below-par performances that put them in those shit)
Mehmet Aurelio (gets a place for a lesson in "how to shackle Ballack")
Tuncay Sanli (midfield general of Turkey and one of their star performers)
Arda Turan (if u wanna know how Turkey play like that, he may be a good spokesman)
de Rossi (he may not be e playmaker Donadoni wants, but selecting him at least ensured u get both a destroyer and an attackin threat, so why not)
van der Vaart (last of e deadly Dutch triumvirate; doesn explode, but always dangerous)
Deco (no doubt e soul of Portugal, when he plays, they purr)
Srna (an ordinary player turned good; plays a simple game, but in e end made other more stunnin wingers read:Ronaldo look aimless)
Nihat Kahveci (first name to roll of ur tongue for Turkey, so he gets a place; scored one of tournament's best goals against Cech)
Semih Senturk (e man to bring on when things look crap; e new supersub)
Cassano (left out early, but became e star of an idea-less side; his creativity is refreshing among e many formula Italians)
van Nistelrooy (not an outstanding tournament, but e world-best centre forward's average game usually is good enough)
Mutu (as e star of Romania he deserves a place here, because his team fared well, without much credit, in e Group of Death; shouldered nation's hopes)
Pavlyuchenko (surprised many by handling e lone striker role so much better than other more illustrious names; this guy shoots for fun, from anywhere, so u can bet he'll score)
Olic (tireless; prime example of e Croat force)
Team of the Tournament (the one ur Sunday team would want to try playing)
Cech (how uncharacteristic; no one would have believed ur arguably e best in e world)
Nikopolidis (for being part of Greece '04)
Dellas (for being part of Greece '04; at least Charisteas scored a goal)
Abidal (terribly ineffective this time round)
Thuram (time u move on)
Jansen (clown of e tournament)
Mertesacker (mainstay all thru to final, but that doesn hide e fact tt hes just a big bunglin ogre)
Materazzi (still as bad; got dropped from the first eleven)
Paulo Ferreira (whoever believes hes a decent player needs to clean his glasses)
Cristiano Ronaldo (sorry, just not good enough from "e best player on e planet")
Malouda (u sure ur e man who lit up Germany '06?)
Vieira (gave him a place in e 23 and he cldnt be fit enough to play)
Anelka (ur just not international calibre)
Henry (ur prime's over, take it graciously)
Baros (still e man Czech Republic turns to, but huffed and puffed ineffectively with a nation's weight killing him)
Mario Gomez (big reputation, but made e goal look like a golf hole)
Toni (given e ultimate lone striker role and scored nil)
GK Casillas (we'll have to take u; first goalie to lift e Henri Delaunay)
RB Sergio Ramos (stand-out wingback in a tournament of wingbacks who redefined e attackin defender; hard in e tackle, fierce on e offence)
CB Pepe (only true CB to make e team; was good at Real Madrid's winning season, was e star for Portugal this time; small stature belies his defending abilities, and like all Brazil-born defenders, can be a dangerous offensive weapon)
RCB Corluka (another impressive wingback, selected simply because he can be a CB as well and there are seriously no other CBs who stood out)
LB Lahm (minor blunders here and there cannot hide e fact this dwarf is world class; personally, hes e last person i want to come up against if im a winger; scored last-gasp winner in e semi-final, shut out Silva in e final)
RW Schweinsteiger (one of Germany's stars in recent years, incomprehensible why he didnt start e tournament; other than e sending-off, his mobility, tricks, and deadballs prove Germans are not bland)
CM Xavi (Player of Tournament, has to be first name on teamsheet; passing and playmaking supremo; made 84% passes against Germany, made 91% during e highly congested match with Sweden, amazing)
CM Sneijder (gets my nod ahead of Modric because he not just showed e world his real class, he also scored and played like hes a league above others)
LW Podolski (forward or winger, every time he gets e ball u feel something's gonna happen; a sure bet for scoring goals)
ST Villa (tournament Golden Boot has to feature, even though he fizzled out in latter stages; the Spanish frontline is so good because it makes things happen out of nothing; fearless and always harrying defenders)
ST Torres (his presence alone struck fear into markers; e chief architect, more than Villa; goals do not matter if u contributed as much as he did, and anyway he has a midfield who can score any day)
Reserves:
Buffon (ever-reliable)
Akinfeev (one for e future)
Grosso (Germany '06's star performer left out at start of tournament, but after he came on never lost his place again; one of e creative forces of a stale Italy)
van Bronckhorst (outperformed expectations of this traveller; actually looked refreshing)
Zhirkov (he doesn look pretty, he doesn play pretty, but u know ur lookin at a key player when half e time e camera's on him; horse-like stamina, was still gallopin in extra-time)
Servet Cetin (ok finally another CB who did well)
Sabri Sarioglu (supporting Turkey's many lost causes from e back)
Bosingwa (was an early stand-out wingback, but Portugal sucked)
Senna (should be in e first eleven, just unfortunate hes a defensive midfielder and we all love flair players; his importance to e Spanish conquest cannot be underestimated)
Modric (i love this player; one of two players i would definitely bring on, e other being Arshavin)
Iniesta (full of running and always an eye for goal, he and Xavi outshone their Barca teammates; e supreme template of e free-role midfielder)
Silva (blew hot and cold, but still consistent enough to star for Spain; effectively one-footed but sky-high confident; attacked much taller and bigger opponents endlessly)
Robben (his form is back, and that's scary, because this is a world class match-winner)
van Persie (another match-winner so adept at sneakin around stealthily; has unbelievable technique)
Arshavin (for that semi-final performance, u cant be in e first eleven, but boy were u a match-winner)
Hakan Yakin (only group-stage player to make it into this dream team, for still being that Swiss inspiration and scoring goals for a poor side)
Ballack (deserves respect for draggin Germany almost single-handedly to e final, but honestly many times it was his below-par performances that put them in those shit)
Mehmet Aurelio (gets a place for a lesson in "how to shackle Ballack")
Tuncay Sanli (midfield general of Turkey and one of their star performers)
Arda Turan (if u wanna know how Turkey play like that, he may be a good spokesman)
de Rossi (he may not be e playmaker Donadoni wants, but selecting him at least ensured u get both a destroyer and an attackin threat, so why not)
van der Vaart (last of e deadly Dutch triumvirate; doesn explode, but always dangerous)
Deco (no doubt e soul of Portugal, when he plays, they purr)
Srna (an ordinary player turned good; plays a simple game, but in e end made other more stunnin wingers read:Ronaldo look aimless)
Nihat Kahveci (first name to roll of ur tongue for Turkey, so he gets a place; scored one of tournament's best goals against Cech)
Semih Senturk (e man to bring on when things look crap; e new supersub)
Cassano (left out early, but became e star of an idea-less side; his creativity is refreshing among e many formula Italians)
van Nistelrooy (not an outstanding tournament, but e world-best centre forward's average game usually is good enough)
Mutu (as e star of Romania he deserves a place here, because his team fared well, without much credit, in e Group of Death; shouldered nation's hopes)
Pavlyuchenko (surprised many by handling e lone striker role so much better than other more illustrious names; this guy shoots for fun, from anywhere, so u can bet he'll score)
Olic (tireless; prime example of e Croat force)
Team of the Tournament (the one ur Sunday team would want to try playing)
Cech (how uncharacteristic; no one would have believed ur arguably e best in e world)
Nikopolidis (for being part of Greece '04)
Dellas (for being part of Greece '04; at least Charisteas scored a goal)
Abidal (terribly ineffective this time round)
Thuram (time u move on)
Jansen (clown of e tournament)
Mertesacker (mainstay all thru to final, but that doesn hide e fact tt hes just a big bunglin ogre)
Materazzi (still as bad; got dropped from the first eleven)
Paulo Ferreira (whoever believes hes a decent player needs to clean his glasses)
Cristiano Ronaldo (sorry, just not good enough from "e best player on e planet")
Malouda (u sure ur e man who lit up Germany '06?)
Vieira (gave him a place in e 23 and he cldnt be fit enough to play)
Anelka (ur just not international calibre)
Henry (ur prime's over, take it graciously)
Baros (still e man Czech Republic turns to, but huffed and puffed ineffectively with a nation's weight killing him)
Mario Gomez (big reputation, but made e goal look like a golf hole)
Toni (given e ultimate lone striker role and scored nil)
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