Jose and John
Of cos these days, the only thing at the top of the footballing world is the dismissal of Jose Mourinho from Chelsea. I guess even though all of us realised there was some tension, nobody expected it to end so quickly. I mean, here was a man who had won Chelsea their first title in about 50 years, and the only thing he was rewarded with was the ire of the board and an eventual "mutual termination", although I hardly thing it was that.Perhaps on paper it was, but I am pretty sure immense pressure was put on him.
The world of football is realli so fickle, hardly anything pleases anybody anymore.I am realli sad for Martin Jol as well, who has to contend with Daniel Levy. Today was reading soccernet and it said that Jol still believes that he has Levy's support. Who is he kidding? Wasn't Levy the one who gave Mourinho's agent 5 calls after hearing news of the portugese leaving Chelsea. I guess this all reminds me of one quote i read before. It went, "
there are only two types of managers, those who are sacked, and those who are about to be sacked". Sad sia seriously.
Will miss mourinho, for everything that I hated about him, there was also a grudging respect from all opposition fans, for what he had done.
On another note, I realli believe, after reading today's straits times, that Terry is not fit to become English Captain. I have always contended this, because he is rude on the pitch, and always trying to have his way with the referee. He acts like a superstar on the pitch, and never puts up his hands when things go wrong. Of cos this was further justified by reports that he did nothing to protect Jose, and had a falling out with him in the days leading up to the sacking sad. That guy is not realli captain material for sure.
And lastly, I dunno what the heck is wrong with the SSC, well ok, FAS also. But surprise, surprise, the national stadium will be re-opened
one last time for the palestine match. This whole thing is turning into a farce. Just close the god damn thing and start work already. One wonders how long it has been since they first announced the plan for the sports hub, yet till now nothing has been done. Those passing around there will know wat I mean. Its realli sad. I love it when Gerard D mentions, that Singapore has all the hardware but no software. Its sad, how we have the most brilliant minds that money can buy, but for the moment we will always be that nerdy boy at the front of class, who tops the class but no one wants to choose for soccer in PE. Oh well, I guess considering things in entirety, there are a lot of worse things that can happen and for that I am grateful.
Out.
What A Shame
Hey all, I think for once I can safely say that I am finding it really hard to cope with schoolwork, although I am really trying my best to squeeze out of this one I must say. I guess with the practicum in mind, it really is hard to get everything in order, and I hate to have to trouble Mr Tan and all for the stuff I need from them.
Anyways, Man U eked out another 1-0 win, their thrid on a trot, thanks to a brilliant header by Vidic. However, its obvious Man U is really toothless in front of goal, and it will only be a matter of time before they are found out and exploited by Chelsea, Poola dn Arsenal. Also, I am realli damn fed up with Nani, who is proving that he is absolutely useless. Same to anderson, who was not even on the bench. I mean, I guess if we look at his stats, one goal and two assists from the three games he has played is not bad, but if one were to look objectively one would realise he is realli off the pace, suspect crossing, and no way as daring as ronaldo. Which goes on to my 2nd point, why the heck Ronaldo is still taking free kicks. Firstly, he looks like he is gonna score everytime he lines up for it, but in the end, he smacks it against the wall. Unbelievable. reminds me of a certain someone closer to home who also has the same airs, but the same end result. Shan't say lar, but well the likes of mini will know.
On the other hand, Singapore Women's Soccer is realli on the way to the graveyard already lar. Basically the team appealed to go SEA games cos they werent selected. ANd they were gonna go to the AFF championship to PROVE to the selection committee that they were up to it. Well, long story short, Singapore lost all, scored only one, conceeded a lot, first team knocked out,and lost to a team less than 3 monts old (Laos). What can I say? And the coach's comments were the best. After the 8-0 loss to Thailand, he mentioned that "
My players din follow my instructions to keep the score down". Talk about positive thinking. Anyways, yeah i guess thanks to that we are all at square one, even with the so called imports from China, of whose quality is seriously suspect, we cannot even muster a decent fightback. Its seriously an embarassment. I guess I dont wanna be the one to just talk and not make a difference, but I just think its not my time yet, I guess will have to make a difference with the ppl I noe best, the VJSG.
But other than dat, I would just like to say dat its not really anybody's fault in particular, but rather everybody's fault. I just hope for myself, that when the time is right, I can make a difference. Also, I realli respect the women's soccer fraternity, all the players, the coaches (of whom many are equally passionate and a lot more able than me). And the dept. over at FAS, it realli is not easy, i just hope for all our efforts, it will come to something someday.
Dats all for now.
Out.
Updates
Hey all, its been a while now, and yes just a few things to say to update on stuff. First of which was a big thank you to those who actually remembered me on Teacher's Day. As I always mentioned, teacher's day is a big deal to me, cos I don't realli want to be remembered so much as a coach but more as a teacher, and I want to believe that I have taught something to those under me. But yes, this year's one was an extra special one for me, firstly thanks to the msgs by Cel and Miss Yadav, hahaha of all people, sometimes things come from the most unexpected sources. Nevertheless I have locked their msgs, and will look upon them from time to time for inspiration. Also, to the four of you who actually turned up at my tuition place, to give me the shirt, I was realli so stunned I didnt realli noe how to react. But thank you, to me these moments, though few and far between, make me realise why I do the things I do. Thanx Nat, KR, PQ and Lorena. I will
never forget it. Hope I can get the pic up soon though, keep forgetting to take a pic of it.
Also, things have been rather busy and I have been realli stressed thinking bout the five kids taking their PSLE this year. Although not realli consequential in the bigger picture, I feel your first major exam kinda sets the tone for the coming years, so I do hope that all of them work hard and do well. Sometimes I feel realli bad looking at how hard they are slogging and how tired they look, but I know that there is no point short changing them cos things are not gonna get any easier in the future. So Claire, Jack, Ikhwan, Rafie and Amira all the best k, although I will be real sad to have to say goodbye in less than a month's time. Somehow after 4 years, it realli is hard to say goodbye and to move on.
Beyond dat, things have been normal, just a bit rushed trying to do term paper and fill up applications and stuff like that. Its still a long way off from open house so I'm grateful I still have time to breathe.
Oh yes, and one last thing. The other day, we had to do the make up fitness tests at Tampines Stadium, and wat a big surprise as the Canadian Women's World Cup Team turned up at the stadium to train! It seems that they were here for the past week to train and acclimatise. It was brilliant seeing them in training and learning. Even managed to chat with the team manager who graciously allowed us to kick the ball around. But beyond dat it was realli thrilling to see professionals in practice, and seeing Christine Sinclair (2006 NCAA WOmen Athlete of the Year/ 70+ goals in 100 games), whom the manager called (though slightly biasedly) the current best striker in the world. Can u imagine? At Tampines Stadium? Wow.
Ok man, dats all for now, extra classes for this month are gonna be interesting but I like our class so its gonna be fun. Cheers.
Oh yes and one more thing, Rugby World Cup this Saturday, go France, go All Blacks! And Womens's World Cup starting on Monday (10/9), cmon USA! And thanx for the collar pins Canada!
Out.
Trek 88: Mission Accomplished
Alright ppl, finally I have the time on a lazy saturday to do up my entry on our trek 88, which began on the 8th of Aug and ended on the 9th. Basically a one day trek which allowed us to go as far as our legs would take us around Singapore. Although I wished I could have gone more westwards and eastwards, I knew that I realli pushed myself to the max and could not have done anymore than I could.
Anyways, as I mentioned in my earlier post, this was something we had planned in 2003, but only decided to do now in 2007. I had been working out consistently for about 1 1/2 months before this trek, especially working my core muscles to ensure that I would have enough strength. Sufian was kinda outta shape, which was the reason why he wanted to do this anyways. Ok enough chatter let me bring you through the whole process.
The above was us at the starting point, East Coast Carpark G, near the sailing centre, and as you can see we were in realli high spirits, wide smiles, looking fresh. I did not manage to sleep much, having watched the Departed the night before till 3am, and then having training the next day in the morn. But at this time I was still feeling ok, no regrets as yet. Time: 1830hrs
Our first stop, 2 hours later at the National Stadium. We were ahead of schedule, cos we were planning to stop at ECP Carpark A, so we were confident that we could meet the time. I insisted on pushing hard early on, cos I knew when fatigue set in, we were gonna be in for a lot of delays later on. We took about a 20min break here. Also, we made sure that we only answered calls/SMS during breaks so as to ensure we stayed focused.
In the background, through my lousy-ass camera, you can roughly make out the Esplanade. It felt kinda weird walking with that hat and a standard issue field pack, but it was something Sufian realli wanted so I entertained him lar, its fun to look quite pro at times, and nobody realli stared at us.
Next rest was at Harbourfront MRT, time was about 2245hrs. Here the crowd was starting to thin out as it was getting late, and we were definitely on schedule and no longer ahead of time.
Our first main stop, of which we rested about 1hr, this was NUS Business School. where I downed my Rendang Chicken, plenty of bread and drink wherelse sufian didnt realli eat much, which would come back to haunt him later on. But yeah this was a good rest, though there were a lot of people around preparing floats and what have you, for Rag day I think, haha both of us are so past that freshie mode.
This was along Clementi Road, after NUS, by this time it was already past midnight, and we began to have realli bad aches, for both of us it was mainly behind the knee area, and the bag, realli felt like a ton, Sufian was having it real bad though and he slowed down to a crawl, cos of his toes and his groin. Sadly, this was to be the end of his adventure as he had to stop along Woodlands Rd. I had to make a realli tough decision as to whether to carry on, but in the end, I decided that it was too far too stop and I decided that I had to carry on alone. What followed were the worst few hours of the whole trek.
First of all, it was past midnight, and I was alone except for the stray vehicle every now and then. There were no flats and all, it was basically just trees, so yeah I will be lying if I were to say I was not scared. Secondly, it rained realli badly, and my poncho tore, so I could not go very far. So the combination of rain and loneliness and of course the silence realli began to mess with my head, and I was so tempted to give up. But I kept telling myself that this was to be the turning point for me. I was sure that if I could tahan this part the rest would be fine.
Finally light came, at around 0645, and I was waiting outside Mandai Rd, cos I realli didnt dare to go in that strecth of road in the middle of the night. If you can see behind me, that grey thing is actually the KTM railway. It was cool, almost felt as if I was in Malaysia, and I was happy that I still managed a smile. Although as you can see, 12 hours on I was still wearing the same shirt, so it was high time to change.
The beautiful Upper Seletar Reservoir which lies on one side of Mandai Rd, rumor has it that there are crocs here, but anyways the serenity and all was just worth it lar, at this point I was glad I didnt give up.
Ok and this is Mandai Rd, or rather a small part of it, at around 830am, as you can see it was realli long and lonely, undulating, with dense undergrowth on the sides. No vehicles even at this time of the day. So I felt happy with my decision to wait till light before entering. Yah lar I admit I'm quite the scaredy cat!
Afte Mandai Rd, it was down Sembawang Rd, Upper Thomson and finally I reached Ang Mo Kio, where I stumbled on Xiang and Lorena's beloved Alma Mater, St Nick's. This was my second long break, and I managed a one minute nap, before a bus that came along horned me thinking I was gonna board. I ate some field ration thing here and could not even finish half of it cos just felt funny to me. Time: 112ohrs
From here onwards, it was realli about cutting through the estates, and here I was at Serangoon, at 1330hrs. although I was dead tired, I knew that I was near the end already. sorry bout the pic though, trying to take pics of yourself was not very easy, basically here I was trying to take a pic of myself writing in the journal I brought.
Ok this is underneath Eunos MRT at 1620hrs, ok I know the bottle on the left looks like pee, but it realli is not, it was my green tea and on the right 100plus, this was all I had left for the remaining two hours, but was fine realli.By this time I was so close, but Eunos never felt so far from ECP.
Of course, I had to make a pit stop outside my second home, VJC. Although by now, it was realli hard to summon even half a smile. And yes, that hat looks realli weird now.
Finally, I had reached ECP! It was a beautiful day, and it was about 1730hours when I entered ECP near Mandarin Gardens. By this time I had proudly changed into my VJC Jersey, although still wearing the cap in honour of my fallen comrade.
Still walking and I was just trying to focus on my breathing to get my mind off, it realli felt so god damn far.
Here, I caught site of my end point, which is where the two pavements meet in the pic, where the person in the cap is standing. haha no "congratulations" banner or anything, and I realli looked out of place with all the families around. On second thoughts, the pic is actually quite nice with the little girl on her training bike in front.
I finally did it. Total time taken was 23hrs 48 min, which is quite blur in the above pic.
A very relieved me at the end point, although I was dead tired, I was realli very happy that I managed to finish this, even though it was alone but I felt good that I didnt give up.
Trek 88: Mission Accomplised.Below is a list of the timings and stops I took:
Start Time: 1830hrs, 8th August (ECP Carpark G)
1st Rest: National Stadium - 2027hrs
2nd Rest: Harbourfront MRT - 2245hrs
3rd Rest: NUS - 0035hrs
4th Rest: Shell Station Along Upper Bukit Timah - 0315hrs
5th Rest: Oppo. Assumption English Secondary - 0436hrs
6th Rest: Bus Stop after Yew Tee Flyover - 0600hrs (first stop alone)
7th Rest: Opposite Mandai Rd Entrance - 0700hrs
8th Rest: Bus Stop LP 199 Mandai Rd - 0820hrs
9th Rest: Sembawang Rd - 0940hrs
10th Rest: Outside St. Nicks - 1120hrs
11th Rest: Outside St Peter's Church, Serangoon - 1330hrs
12th Rest: Hougang St. 22, near Yuying Secondary - 1445hrs
13th Rest: Eunos MRT - 1620hrs
14th Rest: ECP Underpass near Mandarin Gardens - 1730hrs
End time: 1818hrs, 9th August
The ones in bold were my long rests, wherelse the other rests ranged from between 10-20 mins depending on how I felt.
All in all, I think that the trek realli proved to me how much I could push myself if I realli wanted to. I know this sounds cheesy, but as I was walking I kept thinking about Terry Fox, and he walked thousands of miles with one working leg and cancer in his lungs, and I asked myself why I could not do so much less with so much more. Although the next few days recovering were realli tough, I think Trek 88 was a good experience, and now its time for me to think of a new challenge. Sorry for the late update though.
Out.
