Wednesday, November 26, 2008

15minutes of joy...

Set my alarm for 3.30am to watch a "Live" Champions League match.

Only got up at 20mins before end of the match.

Still I turned on the computer and click on my favourite "watch-football-for-free-so-don't-have-to-pay-those-bloodsuckas" channel.

A quick and sublime free kick on the 86th minute by newly (deservedly too?) appointed Captain Cesc Fabregas up the field picked out an advancing Nicklas Bendtnar to score the only goal that takes Arsenal to the top of Group G.


I didn't see how the match was 75minutes before this, but am damn glad I still climbed outta bed to watch 15 minutes of football...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Parle vous Francais??

Been I while since I flew to Paris, so it was a pleasant change from my usual schedule.

Taking a long walk from Arc de Triomphe to the boardwalk of Champs Elysees in the crisp chilly air was nice. Unfortunately my batteries in the camera died on me, even the one in my mobile phone, so photos are limited at the moment.

Had a nice meal of mussels in a pot, and even learnt a new handy way to enjoy the meal, without the cutlery. The conversation flowed, peppered with a lot of general knowledge from the seniors. Lunch was a long one, naturally, but it felt like a breeze.

We parted company after a nice cuppa. I continued my trek along Champ Elysees, marveling at the manicured trees along the boulevard. The leaves have turned golden brown, and stalls were being built for the coming Christmas.

Made a few turns before arriving at the Eiffel Tower, a giant behemoth of steel amidst the concrete monuments that dot the city. It goes that night shots of the Tower are no longer allowed, if you make a profit from the sale of the image. Had a cancer stick at the park bench before making my way to the nearest Metro station. Turned back to have a lingering look at it before disappearing underground.

Paris definitely cannot be covered in a short stay. For now though, this will have to do.

Monday, November 10, 2008

吃不大。。。

Spent an evening with the nice people from CBB.



The prawn fishing was fun to watch, although from what I read on their plurks they all cannot out-fish the uncles across them. Practise makes perfect, I say. Vandalin, who was strumming some tunes when I got there, brought a nice bottle of Muscat wine which went quite well with the grilled prawns


.



Next time must bring martell and sliced ginger to steam the prawns...

Then it was off to AMK for a proper dinner. We helped ourselves in opening up our own tables near stacks of beer crates. I must say I did a good job of clearing the dirty dishes left behind--occupational hazard. Such a big S11 with so few cleaners, they must be tired and hassled the whole night.

The air was so warm that I had to pop into a nearby 7-11 in the midst of dinner just to cool down.

After a satisfying meal we decided to go to the AMK Hub to enjoy free air-conditioning. I wondered aloud if residents at AMK don't like to watch weekend TV, cuz the area was teeming with people!

So what did a group with a combined age of 200+ do? We went to the arcade. Mind you, this is not a place where they have LAN games and all that. It's back to Daytona Racing, Time Crisis, Basketball Hoops, and the groups favourite, Bishi Bashii.


Cow already had a pre-paid card with him, so he kindly tapped in for many of the games we played. 大坏人 also went to get himself one, and attempted to set a new record for fastest fingering (his own words). The accolade of Arcade Lian went to this young lady codenamed 1121. She could do it with both eyes closed, if she chose to, really...

It got pretty late, and the loud ringing and flashing lights were getting to some of us. We went on our separate ways, and hope that there'll be another eating/drinking/gaming session soon...

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Hush, you naysayers...

Nobody gave us a chance. Even a fan in the entertainment line was not too kind when talking about us.

The papers? Well, they would do anything to sell a few extra copies, by appealing to the lowest common denominator. So called "local football analyst" spouting bullshite nonsense in the afternoon paper, while the rest gave a more even tempered view.

Interestingly, a friend observed that there were less followers in their club colours than ours. Guess it goes a long way in distinguishing between the pride of a staunch faithful and one who chose to go with the blinking masses.

All huddled in our home ground, with wings flying and beer flowing, we chanted the club's tune over and over and over again. Every move met with either gasps or cheers, every decision met with derision from us.

In the end, we came out tops and laughing. Many did not want to leave, hoping the 90-odd minutes will be replayed over and over again.

This was a night for the faithful, for the believers, for the Gooners...


Arsenal 2 Man United 1

Let's see what they have to write about us on Sunday...


Tuesday, November 04, 2008

The games Wii play...

I've owned gaming consoles and portables before.

I remembered when I first set my eye on the Playstation(1st Gen). It was such a gleaming new toy that I didn't stop playing it for hours on end, most times into the early mornings right before work. I learnt the rules of American Football on it, understood the scoring system of Baseball with it, got interested in Golf because of it.

Then they had to come up with newer and faster machines. And games that confounded the tiny, lateral brain of mine. Final Fantasy was a series of games that I never mastered. I think strategies and plots are not my forte. I suck even worse at driving games, which reinforces the wise decision not to learn to drive, evar!

The gaming bug bit me again not long later, when I got my hands on a PSP. Great. Here's one I can carry along for work, and it saves my music and photos too! No need to zhng at all, I already have difficulty getting to the last level of the racing game that came with it, let alone play more the 3 games at any one time.

I left it alone for a while, passing it to friends who cleared all the levels and won new characters in the games for me. They win liao lo...

A gameboy micro I gave away as a present a while back found its way back to me, and I am having trouble bringing Mario back home everytime!

I fawned over the PS3...not only for it's gaming functions, but it's aillity to play blu-ray; the champagne of entertainment these days. Still, I thought it required a lotta solitary patience when it came to conquering the games that they put out.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...

My Wii

Most people, including gaming idiots like me, can just straight pick it up and play.

And play we shall...