frustration.

wednesday barely halfway through the week and i'm already so frustrated. i mean. work was supposed to be quite relaxed this week (and it is) but i don't like to busy myself doing somebody else's work. worse still. i was supposed to advise and help out. not take over and do the whole fucking thing by myself. and what does the other party do? "oh. like that ah?" and walks off without lifting a finger to help. well. the thing's still not done simply because i've run into problems yet someone doesn't want to help. so be it. i'll give it to him. he's leaving soon anyway. tolerating a few more days won't do me any harm except cause me to want to lose my temper..

in other news. what's the point of sending people for a 3-day course when the actual course runs for 3 months? i don't see any point in those 3 days even though it's supposed to do a world of good especially since it's in some ways related to your work...

Ole.

tuesday well. it's the soccer news of the day. solskjaer has retired and after a fantastic career with manchester united, he stays on as a coach. in any case, it only serves to make the lack of strikers a more obvious problem. with or without saha/rooney, man utd clearly lacks the bite to score as and when they want. the win over tottenham wasn't the prettiest but a win nonetheless. win ugly. that's how you win championships.

anyhows. today was a real long day. started to clear my stuff (with the intent to take half a day off) before it hit me that i wouldn't have that luxury, not for this week anyway. was then tasked to prepare some maps. took me forever. started before lunch, worked till nearly 6.30pm before i decided that i should just continue tomorrow.

am temporarily mute due to a huge ulcer on my tongue. can't eat properly without tearing nor can i even drink water because it bites. solution? salt. lots of it. cringe, curse and swear but i think it's getting better. hah!

oh. 7th month has just started and though i don't believe in any of those, i think i learnt a lot (and fun too) whilst helping the guys prepare the offerings and such. pretty rare to see people around my age (ok ok. plus/minus 10 years) practice such things anymore. whatever it is, believe in them or not, some things are better left as they are without criticism or comment. racial and religious acceptance. not tolerance. acceptance.

so to end off, a poignant article about solskjaer:

18 April, 1998. An injury-beleaguered United were limping towards the finishing line of another hard-fought title race with Arsenal. By this point, while still mathematically well in the hunt to retain the trophy, the Reds were down to the bare bones and the Gunners had built up an unstoppable momentum.

Ole was thrown into the action against Newcastle with the score locked at 1-1. United were laying siege to the Magpies' goal, but just couldn't get a vital winner. With a minute remaining, such was United's commitment to attack, that one cleared corner left Magpies midfielder Rob Lee with a free run on goal from inside his own half.

Having only been on the field 10 minutes, Ole used his freshness to sprint after Lee in a nail-biting race. Should United concede, that would be the season over. The gap continued to narrow until Lee got to the edge of the United area, when Ole flung himself into an awful challenge and was, quite rightly, sent off.

In ensuring the foul was outside the box, however, he had prevented an almost certain goal and a potential penalty. In recognition, he was handed a standing ovation by the Old Trafford crowd.

It's not the proudest moment of Ole's career, I'd imagine, and he was carpeted by Sir Alex for his lack of sportsmanship after the game, but it was a deliberate self-sacrifice which laid bare his worth as a player and a man.

death cab for cutie

sunday had a pretty quiet weekend. stayed home all of saturday. think i slept in an awkward position because i woke up with a strained right arm and my chest muscles hurt everytime i inhale. woke up early today (surprisingly) and bummed around before lunch. jason whipped up fried prawn noodles and boy was it good.

headed out to eslite near 101 to grab a couple of things. realised then that i've been using too much of my visa whenever i go shopping. damn. need to curb. in any case, bought 2 cds today. one of which was playing in the store and i thought it was pretty good. alternative rock at its finest. it served also to prove my theory right - that most good bands are hardly known. set off walking around the store in circles before i made my way to the counter and asked about the cd. and since the sales girl said that the one they were playing was the last one, i took it. so ladies and gents, let me introduce to you "death cab for cutie". grab hold of an album if you can, am currently listening to "the photo album". pretty damn good (or message me on msn and i can send you some. hah!). anyway, check them out here.

Notice to Alex Ferguson

sunday

Dear Sir Alex,

I have just watched Manchester United drop 7 points in your first 3 games of the season. I have to say, disappointing doesn't quite hit the mark. Unfortunately, pathetic is more fitting.

See, when you have a midfield as creative and as strong as yours, there really shouldn't be any problems breaking down even the stingiest of defenses. Reading worked well as a unit and deserved that point but Manchester City? There were misplaced passes, mistimed tackles and ineffective long balls played throughout the game!

With a midfield consisting of Giggs, Scholes, Carrick, Hargreaves and Nani, it's hard to accept that they lost out to a midfield of Elano, Geovanni, Hamman, Petrov and Johnson. Granted, United dominated possession, had lots of shots (off target mostly) and were caught against the run of play. But it's not about the quantity of possession - it's the quality that counts.

Tevez looked out of the game, missing what can be deemed simple chances for him. With Rooney out and your unwillingness to play Anderson (which would allow perhaps Nani or Giggs to play as a make-shift striker), I dare say Man Utd is in a striker crisis.

I am willing to bet (FairBet or Bet365 for you?) that you're regretting selling both Alan Smith and Giuseppe Rossi this past month. I don't see how Frazier Campbell or Fabien Brandy (and even less so Dong Fangzhou) can even make the step up to the first team - definitely not this season.

I can see why you sold Alan Smith, and personally, being a fan of Alan Smith, I can agree with why you sold him. Giuseppe Rossi? That I cannot. He has proven himself in Italy as well as the few games he played for the first team (not forgetting Newcastle United). His pace, exceptional ball control and dribbling makes him a good candidate to partner Rooney and even Tevez. But that's all over now. They're both gone and you have to work with what you have and live with your decisions.

So where does this leave us Sir Alex? 2 points from 3 games and Tottenham up next week. With them starting to find their form, I'm ashamed to say that I can't see Man Utd winning. And oh, I figure I don't have to tell you that the league is not Football Manager 2007 where you can restart a game from scratch.. Or do I?

Manchester United v Tottenham will be another test of your managerial skills - see if United can recover from this derby lost and win 3 points against a supposed "pretender" team.

With Best Regards,
Jason.

sepat.

sunday morning woke up to vibrating windows and howling winds. wasn't as bad as i imagined it to be but then again i haven't really been caught in a typhoon like this.. the heavy rains were intermittent, depending on the clouds that passed by. but the rains.. totally incessant.

was cooped up at home with everyone else so we had to quite a fair bit of self-entertaining. ended up playing cs and c&c for practically the whole day and watching taiwanese news. oh wait. taiwanese comedy i mean.

i've never seen so many stupid reporters in one country and on multiple news channels before in my life. picture this:

1. in the midst of close to 200km/h wind and rain, a female reporter attempts to make a report but gets blown off her feet instead and eventually has to grab hold of a concrete structure just to prevent herself from losing her footing.


2. a male reporter, stands in the middle of everything, wearing a cheap and flimsy poncho and files a report. at the same time, trying to maintain his footing, using one hand to hold the mic and the other to pull the already torn poncho off his face.

just 2 of many news reports on tv today. and as a side-note: all these happened 'live'. so imagine the laughter and the number of insults we threw at the tv because of all these. beyond vulgar. hah.

comedy news. really. and i hate to watch taiwanese news because it's "news". their news programs are more like gossip news and so full of shit that even the taiwanese themselves are sick of it. apparently a survey was done by one of the english newspapers a couple of months a go found that taiwanese people are getting quite bored and plain irritated by the "news" - simply because they're so politically inclined and so full of crap. perhaps it's one way which shows how this country as a whole, is self-centered, caring only for themselves and how they are viewed in this world that they don't care about anything else. which is sad considering the potential this country has to progress and really make a mark for itself. but hey. i'm not taiwanese. i don't give a shit. hah!

alright. off to bed. -_-

lock down.

friday whole place is in a sort of lock down now. there's a super typhoon headed our way and with winds up to 220km/h, i doubt anyone of us are going to take our chances and go out. in any case, today was pretty hectic, preparing for the typhoon, sending lots of mails and reports and the very unenviable task of packing 1511 (yes i counted) files all by myself.

i shall not rant about how pissed off i was for various reasons, but in short - i don't like people who run their mouths and not lift a finger to help. but that's all over now. so i'll just shut up and do what i need to do because it seems that voicing out unhappiness is a taboo and people don't take it too well. so yeah.

then again, the whole week has been nothing but pure frustration and pent up anger. and this typhoon isn't helping. the saving grace for this week thus far was a little surprise i got from yingzhao. didn't expect it and it was definitely a pleasant surprise. heh. thanks! now. let's plan our aussie road trip. hahaha..

ok. that's it for now. back to the pre-typhoon "party". hah.

words.

tuesday morning
mesmerizing
attractive
reliable
irresistible
lovable
youthful
natural

spontaneous
empathetic
entertaining

thanks for making my day that whole lot more wonderful than it already was.

and how can i forget?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM! :) love from taiwan. haha! see you october!

ladies in the army.

sunday morning was having a chat with a girl i met in the army. she's still in SISPEC (remember that place anyone?) and is already in ASLC (ie. advanced section leader course. for the infantry vocation..).

during the 20-odd minutes that we were talking, i realised that she isn't the typical kind of girl that you'd expect to sign on. even less so as an infantry section leader. she didn't exactly say why she wanted to sign on but however i look at it, i have nothing but pure respect for her. to make a decision as bold as this, to be one among the minority (yet a growing number). well, let's just say it takes a lot of guts. perhaps to a certain extent, i look at her in awe.

i've seen my fair share of girls signing on in the armed forces, most of whom i've met, wanted to quit after going through BMT. but contracts being contracts, with their hefty penalties, they go on to fulfill their minimum term of service before they resign. it's such a shame really. but avril. avril's different. she's full of enthusiasm and from what i've seen and heard, sets her apart from her peers. so. avril yean. i wish you nothing but the very best in your career. with pride we lead.

floorball. it's back.

saturday morning i hate injuries. i hate falling sick and i hate being physically unfit. yet i have to be realistic with myself. after the injuries that have piled up because of ice hockey, floorball and eventually NS, i can't expect myself to be able to clock 8min 40sec for 2.4 anymore. not with damaged ligaments. my days of running 10 klicks under 50 minutes are long gone for sure but allow me to indulge in some self-consolation when i say i feel good still to be able to do it in 1hr 15min. i'm pissed that i can't do 15 or more chin ups. i feel slow. and weak. damn.

self-consolation. i can still do 64 situps in a minute! hah. anyway. i think i'll be putting myself on a strength and endurance building regime. time to get back some fitness and hopefully play some floorball when i get back in december. looks like i'm being welcomed back into Skools with open arms (for now at least) for training and games. so. that's all good. can't let them down with sub-par fitness and playing skills now.

floorball. time to get back that passion.

national day. national pride.

thursday

we, the citizens of Singapore
pledge ourselves as one united people
regardless of race, language or religion
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity
and progress for our nation

---

i am a specialist of the Singapore Armed Forces
with pride i lead
i excel in my field,
ensure the discipline of my men,
and their mission readiness
i overcome adversity with my fighting spirit
i will defend Singapore, with my life

revive that passion.

tuesday morning the on going divisions 2 and 3 back home is making me itchy. i feel like playing a good game of floorball but that ain't going to happen since i'm in taiwan. which brings to mind another question: if i were to play again in singapore, with whom would it be with? as it is. i doubt i'll be playing for skools. so it's down to squirrels again where i first started out but then there would be the complication of "loyalty" having grown in the game because of skools. then there's the option of joining arland, playing for blacks. which again, brings the loyalty question because blacks are from sim and i'm from ngee ann. weird. so i guess i'm stuck in a limbo aren't i?

anyhows. battling tonsillitis again. the bodyaches and fever are taking it's toll. doesn't help that i've had a very hectic two weeks. this week is going to be another and i can't wait for our few esteemed "guests" to leave before things go back to normal. and the weather here's starting to be a real bitch. typhoons galore. that's all i have to say. oh well. cheerios. off to bed again. -_-