All I want for Christmas

is an O2 XDA II Mini!! Actually I have been scouring around for a "smartphone" / "PDA phone" / or whatever you would call it to replace my semi functional Motorola phone that I am currently using. I was actually looking around for a 2nd hand or even a brand new Sony Ericsson P800 (yes, you heard me, p800, not the p900, not the 910 and not the 910i, but the p800 ), as it would seem to be within my measly budget, but then I had the mis-fortune of playing around with a friend's P910, and, sad to say, the P800 just never ever felt the same again, although, I still do prefer the look and feel of the P800 as compared to the P900 series. That's just a matter of preference I guess.

Then, one of those days, while browsing through the lowyat.net forums, i came across a posting mentioning the O2 XDA mini (or the iMate JAM for some).There is an extremely extensive review and comparo of it on HowardForums. Darn, it just looks so darn good, it hurts! The size, so they say, is just nice, and from the pictures of it being compared to other phones and other items, i would tend to agree with them. It's around the same size as an Apple iPod (another one which I would want for Christmas as well ). Size ( and price, obviously ) has always been the stumbling block for me to get a PDA phone considering the fact that i prefer my phones small-ish and easily transportable without leaving a huge bulge in the pocket, or having to wear one of those belt clip-on things (I have nothing against people who do, don't get me wrong, but I just wont wear one of those. Personal preference again). Now, with this, it looks to be just the acceptable size to bring around. A slick PDA with *almost* all the functions you would ever need, except for the Wifi capabilities. However, you could add on later a Wifi SD module if you were to desperately need Wifi, but that would defeat the purpose of getting one of these as they would affect the sleekiness (?) of the phone.

The price being quoted around in the forums are in the range of 2500 to 3000 ringgit, which is pretty reasonable for what you get. OK, now, all I need is 3000 ringgit. Oh yeah. I don't have that do I? Can't use my credit card since I think I owe the banks enough money already. Darn. So, let me see who i can call who can loan me some money. Where's my Motorola again? Sigh.

* picture courtesy of HowardForums

Allez Morientes!

Well, I guess I am going through another one of those phases where I just don't have much else to do, hence the uncharacteristically regular updating of this blog. My one regular reader (yes, you know who you are) would also notice the change of the background colour as well. Anyhow, It seems that Liverpool has just made a 3.5 mill pound bid for Morientes. 3.5 mill. Now I wonder what on earth were they thinking coming up with that figure in the first place. I mean, come on. Do you actually think Real would have accepted that amount of money for one of the top strikers in the Champions League last season? But I guess, that's one of the differences between Houllier and Benitez, where Houllier would pay over the odd prices for unproven players (Heskey, Diouf, Diao, Cheryou), whereas Rafa would try and pay cheap for proven quality ( I think 11 million for Alonso is a STEAL considering the fact that he was priced in excess of 20 million pounds the year before! ). Anyway, I do sincerely hope that we do get el Morro. Absolute top quality player, although its a shame he can't play for us in the Champs League. Also, there's news that Carlsberg would finally be pulling out of their sponsorship with us. Now that's interesting news. I am wondering who would take over from them.

Extreme Makeover

Wow! It's three days in a row I have managed to post something on here! Absolutely amazing. Actually, I have spent the last 2 whole minutes studying my blogging behavioural pattern for the past year, and I can safely say that the that the frequency of my blog entries is inversely proportional with the amount of work that I have multiplied by the inverse of the laziness factor coefficient. OK. Yes. I am sick and I admit that I am on high drugs (prescribed) now and just waiting for my eyes to close.

Anyway, has anyone actually watched the TV show "Extreme Makeover" on, erm, don't actually remember which channel it was on last night. I actually caught it for the first time yesterday and actually I found it a bit disturbing that the show promotes the notion that you can be happy if you can make yourself look better. Now, I have no qualms about dressing yourself up in a different way, cutting your hair differently, or anything like that, but the fact that they went through cosmetic surgery. Now, I just feel that there's just something wrong with that, but I guess if thats what it takes to make them happy, then, as long as their happy, it's all good.

p/s - I must say that the girl actually turned out to be pretty decent at the end, if you know what I mean. ;)

3 - 1 to the 'pool

Posting for two days in a row?!! What's happening to me? Whats happening to this world?! Darn. Anyway, was going through my DVD collection just now and decided to watch Team America World Police again and i just could not stop laughing my ass off. It is one sick movie. One fecking funny sick movie though. Theres this really hilarious / sick (whichever way you wanna see it) scene where they make the puppet make lurve to one another in various positions that wouldn't look out of place in a hard core porno flick. ( Not that I would know what would look in place in a hard core porno flick anyway. Seriously ). I could not stop laughing going through the entire movie, although this time, I stopped before the end to catch the Liverpool match on ESPN.

Anyway, just finished watching the 3 - 1 win over the Magpies. Decent game where Gerrard and Alonso completely dominated the middle of the field. Now this is more like it. 442 formation with two proper strikers playing up front. Let me be the first to thank Titus "defender of the year" Bramble for a finish messers Alan Shearer would have been proud of. Confidently taken goal by Mellor passing the ball into the net and a super cool finish by Baros, set up by an exquisite through ball by the improving Kewell. Too bad Baros couldn't get his audacious over head kick on target, else the goal of the season competition would have been over already.

Although, one thing i did notice from the game was how Garcia seems to squander oh so many goal-den opportunities, it's not funny anymore. Like blasting the ball from 5 yards out 1 minute into the game, or the one on ones he had, or the few times he was free on the right and just could not deliver a telling pass. I guess he is still rusty since he just came back from injury, so i'd still give him the benefit of the doubt. For now.

Good game lads. Keep it up. Team America. F*ck Yeah!

You'll never walk alone

Mouth Watering

That's all i can say about the picture above, erm, i mean the Champions League draw. Jose "da man" Mourinho ( I have a new found respect for this man, considering the character he is and also the quotes that gives out. Some of them are just truly classic. I mean, there is just no hating this borderline arrogant ultra confident bloke ) gets his wish for a Barcelona game, Real Madrid gets a game against The 'ol Lady Juve, and Manchester United get AC Milan. This is what the Champions League should be about! Great matchups against quality teams. Also, Liverpool gets a rematch against Bayer Leverkusen. Man, cant wait until Feb. Now, I shall take out my magical crystal ball and predict the outcomes of these matches, starting, of course, with..

Liverpool - Bayer Leverkusen - Liverpool win. Probably a hint a bias here, but who cares.
Chelsea - Barcelona - Tough one. Fancy both teams. But Mourinho just gets the edge here.
ManYoo - AC Milan - Sorry Devils. Two players. Shevchenko. Kaka. Really really can't see you guys beating them.
PSV - Monaco - Quite difficult choice as well, but I'd go for Monaco
Bayern - Arsenal - I think the diving Arses could get through this one
Porto - Inter - Has to be Inter. Adriano it seems, is attracting a LOT of praise for his super human performances. Also attracting Mourinho and Madrid as well.
Werder Bremen - Lyon - Don't know much about these two teams, but i'll probably just say that Lyon will go through since i've heard of them more :P

Oh yeah, and it seems the rumour mill has been going nuts lately of which Striker Rafa will be getting for Christmas. For now, the list stands as Morientes (my personal choice, although he would be cup tied for Champs League which is a major downside), Anelka (would be a good signing, but i just can't accept the prima donna / sulking / wanker-ish behaviour he gets into ), Fowler (!! Damn surprised to read about this. Even came out in ESPN. Could "God" really be coming back. Lack of fitness. Lack of pace. Lack of goals. But I can just see it happening. He comes back to Anfield and revives his career by blasting us to the top of the league. I know I know. In my dreams ), and also a few other Spanish strikers, like Fernando Torres ( highly unlikely. Too pricy I would think ), and that other Spanish basterd who said he wouldn't want to come to Liverpool since he doesn't like the Beatles! What the f**k?!!

Anyway, gotta be going. Laters.

P/S Sashi - Actually I have a few pictures of Sharapova from Vogue magazine, but I dont think I'll put them on here since the aren't particularly "tastefully" done.

Here's a quickie

Just an update. Yes, to whoever that does care, I am still alive and kicking. So, you don't have to worry anymore. All's well here. Ha Ha.

Been busy with work, that I even dont have time to surf my football news site, let alone update this blog. All I know is Liverpool's been playing good football, but havent been getting the results these past 2 games.

Arsenal and Olympiakos games were brilliant. Haven't been shouting like a mad man and jumping around the house in the wee hours of the morning like that for ages, only to be brought back down to earth by the blue noses. Ah well. At least life is more exciting now.

Has anyone heard the Dave Brubeck Quartet before? I came across the CD "Timeout" last week and it has just not left my CD tray. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

OK, gotta go.

Happy Deepa-Raya

To all my Muslim friends out there, I would like to wish all of you "Selamat Hari Raya" and "Maaf Zahir dan Batin". Saya menyusun sepuluh jari meminta kemaafan atas kesilapan yang sengaja atau tidak sengaja sepanjang persahabatan kita hingga kini.

Also, to everyone celebrating Deepavali, a happy belated Deepavali to you too.

Hope all of you have a great holiday. To those that are driving back to their kampungs, have a safe journey. I can't wait to get to my Kampung and meet up with my family and, obviously, also all the Raya food that comes with the celebration at this time of the year. Lemangs, Ketupats and an extra 5 kilos of weight being put on, here I come!

A Letter of Apology

Dear Igor and Djimi,

I am writing this to you as I genuinely would like to apologize and admit that I was wrong for writing the two of you off at the start of the season. I would be very grateful if you were to forgive me for all the times that i have ranted for the two of you to be "Shipped off the next day" or the times when i have referred to you as animals, such as a donkey or a monkey or other types of mamals.

I have now come to realize that under proper guidance, Djimi, you seem to have evolved into a pretty solid left back. In the game against the Spaniards during the week, you have shown that you are able to actually defend properly and keep a winger in your back pocket. You have definitely managed to cut down on your costly mistakes, and you have managed to make good use of your gangly long legs, especially with all those stupendous last ditch tackles against Deportivo, although I do have to admit I still do get minor heart attacks when you do attempt those tackles in the penalty area. However, I do think my faith in you would increase with more solid performances like that.

As for you, Igor, I now fully realize that, although I did mention it before, that if you were to play in your proper position as a central midfield player and not as a centerback, as you showed also against the Spaniards, that you are actually a decent central midfielder and someone who I would not mind having come in for the likes of Gerrard, Alonso or Hammann. Although I do agree that you were a tad bit overhyped when you first arrived, with all the hoo haa about you being the "Croation Zidane" (enough with the sniggers there!!), but I would think that if you were actually playing in your proper position all this while, and not a central defender, or a right winger, or even as a striker, I am sure you would have realized your potential much earlier. Your performance against Deportivo reminded me of one of your first games for us a few years back, or was it your debut, where you were paired with Stevie G in the center of midfield against the Manc, and we actually played them off the park. It was great to see us control the game in the first half and you and Hammann were actually dictating the play together.

This, for what I can see, is the change that Rafa Benitez is actually trying to make to the team as a whole. He is actually giving all the players a decent chance and also, more importantly, giving them a chance to play roles that they are comfortable with, and not try and fit square pegs into round holes as what Houllier was attempting to do. Rafa has come in and instead of just throwing out the so called dross and start a new, he has actually come in and try and see what he can make out of what he already has. We are definitely moving in the right direction and although I have mentioned it so many times before, it feels good watching us play nowadays.

So, lads, keep up the good work, and here's to more improvement in the coming months.

You'll Never Walk Alone

p/s As for you, Salif Diao, you have still not been able to convince me that you deserve to be wearing the red jersey, and until you do, you are still on my "f*ck off please" list.

I've Fallen In Love Again.....

I got my hands on the Renee Olstead self titled album over the weekend and I must say that all the hype that I've been reading about her is totally justified! She sounds absolutely stupendous! An unbelievably good and absolutely amazing album. She dishes out the Jazz covers with such maturity in her voice, it's unbelievably hard to imagine that she recorded this album when she was the tender age of fourteen! Yes, fourteen. Most the songs are delivered in such a laid back tempo that just makes you feel like you're floating away. It's hard to imagine that this is the little girl acting in "Still Standing" that used to be showing over on Astro a few months back.

My particular favourites on the album are the duet "Breaking up is hard to do", "Taking a chance on love", "A love that will last" and "Sunday kind of love". However, it has to be pointed out that all the tracks on the album are rendered pretty nicely. That being said, I do prefer Jamie Cullum's rendition of "What a difference a day makes", although her version is more, erm, laid back.

OK, so I guess this album will be sitting in my CD tray for a while now, and will be put right next to the Norah Jones and Joss Stone albums.

Am currently listening to the album now. Feeling floaty, and dreamy. *Sigh*



Pix courtesy of reneeolstead.com

Out For The Rest Of The Season

Man, I really feel bad for Djibril Cisse. Trying to make his mark in the Premiership and still trying to find his feet and prve himself, and THIS ( warning, u need a strong stomach to see this picture) happens to him. Such bad luck. The Ewood park curse strikes again.Talking about the game, however, there are a few points that i noticed while i was watching the match last night.

1) Kewell is now definitely playing based on past reputation. When he came on last night, it was so obvious that he was off the pace, and that just distrupted the teams chemistry. Before he came on we were pounding on the Blackburn defence. After he came on, we just seemed to lose it.

2) We seemed to lose our concentration once Cisse went off. I think they were all concerned about Ciise and couldn't concentrate on the game. The reaction by Garcia once Baros told him the extent of the injury just showed how genuinely concerned he was.

3) Salif Diao must be an absolute superstar on the training field as I still do not see how he can even deserve a place on the bench. When he came on last night, he seemed just plain crap.

4) Josemi seems to look dodgier and dodgier by every game. The opposition seems to have found out that he isn't really blessed with that much pace. He was at fault for, both goals that we conceeded last night. The first one was him expecting Emerton to be offside, and the second when he couldn't just react faster and boot the ball into row Z, although Hyppia too should have done that in the first place.

Anyway, here's hoping to a speedy recovery to Ciise. I feel really really bad for him, but these things just happen in football. Now, I am definitely sure we will be getting a striker this January.

You'll Never Walk Alone, Cisse

World's Largest Penis

... is made of paper

"Nick Robinson was celebrating the launch of his new book, Adult Origami, in London.

The 10ft 7in penis was constructed by Tower Bridge and in the shadow of London's Gherkin skyscraper.

Nick spent 33 minutes 15 seconds struggling with a huge sheet of paper as he worked on folding the giant phallus.

He then transported the penis to City Hall to amuse passers-by and officials watching from the uppermost balcony."

I know. This must be the most idiotic feat i've heard before. Well, probably not the most idiotic, but quite close. Sad.

Courtesy of Ananova, fine suppliers of quality news.

Best News I've Heard Today

It's been a slow slow day today, but what do you know? Salif Diao might be leaving! Why yes son, please just f*ck off. Please. Best news I've heard in ages. Yes, you really made my day today and I sincerely hope you do eventually leave in January. Actually I am a bit shocked too that there are actually teams interested in signing him, so it would seem!

On another piece of transfer rumour monggerring nugget, it seem that Morientes thinks that Liverpool would be a great option! . Now that is a player of quality that i would not mind seeing coming to Anfield. However, I do have my doubts about this link considering the fact that Morientes would definitely cost a huge amount of hard cash for us to get Real Madrid to let him leave and I just do not see where the money would be coming from. Still hoping, however.

Lost in Translation

Am bored, got tons of work to do for tomorrow, and what did i do for the past 2 hours? Why, watch "Lost in Translation" on my laptop, of course! Darn you procrastination! Anyway, I wouldn't say Lost in Translation would be the best ever movie that i have ever seen before in my life, but i do think that it is quite an interesting movie, although at the end of it I did sort of have the feeling of "What the hell, so what, is that it?!!". Anyway, i just HAVE to add that i thought Scarlett Johanson looked quite cute throughout the movie. :D *Sigh*. It was interesting to see how life as a foreigner in Japan can be and how lonely it could be being there by yourself. The question of when will Bill Murray actually screw Scarlett Johansson did cross my mind a couple of times as well, although the thought of Bill Murray, erm... let's not go there. But at the end of it, I guess the moral of the story would be that you can find friendship anywhere and in any situations, and from whatever experiences that you go through, its the friendships and relationships that you make that count, and would be what you bring with you into the future and remember. Well, that's what I think.

Like my life in my former workplace. Its not the projects, or the reports, or the systems that I have worked on that I cherish the most from it, but for me, what I would take with me and remember from it all would be the good people (let me emphasize the *good* here) that I've worked with. I would remember more fondly the times we spent together working, or the 2am night shifts where we were working our asses off and with shit loads of work to do but still could find time to monkey around and get everyone laughing just to make sure that the environment is more lively, or even the times that we spent at the mamak at 11pm after we finished work.

Thinking of Scarlett Johansson now... *sigh*

I don't want your history, I don't want that stuff
I want you to shut your mouth, That would be enough
I don't care if you've been here before, You don't understand
Tonight I feel above the law, I'm coming into land
I want your love and I want it now

I know, I'm sad! OK back to work :P

Lucky Devils

Why were they lucky? Well, from last nights game, several reasons actually. One, Rio *could* have been sent off for a professional foul. Second, they *could* have conceeded a penalty. Third, Ruud *could* have been sent off for what I would say an X rated challenge on Ashley Cole (I know, i know, i hate that diving bastard as well, although i do admit he is a superb left back, but that doesn't warrant dishing that sort of challenges to him... erm.. maybe, come to think about it again... nah.. still not.. ha ha ha). Fourth, the penalty they scored was EXTREMELY touch and go. It was not a clear cut decision at all.

However, saying all that, I have to take my hat off to Sir Alex, since his rough house tactics did provide him with a win, and ended the Gooner's unbeaten run. He probably just told his boys to kick the living daylights out of the Arsenal players, although I have a feeling they did probably target Reyes in particular considering the treatment he was getting last night.

Oh well, all in all, it was an entertaining game. Too bad no one got sent off nor were there any extended fist action on the field, although there were rumours of some "afters" after the game though. The Premiership race has been thrown open again. Lets see how the Gooners react to this setback. Also, people are saying that with this result, Manyoo are still in the race. If thats the case, then Liverpool, one point behind and with a game in hand could also be considered "still in the race"? No?

Blimey, what a performance!

I was pretty much worried at around the fifteenth minute of the first half. We should have been 10 goals up by that time but for the wasteful nature on the night of Messers Milan and Djibril. Flashback to around a year ago, and we would see ourselves putting our foot off the gas after 15 minutes of absolute domination and gradually letting Charlton back into the game and by the second half it would have been anybody's game. Come the 89th minute, Charlton would score via a freakish goal that bobbled of the knee of some Charlton player from a corner and trickle oh so slowly into the net. I would have then shouted obscene profanities and start referring to players and managers by animals such as donkeys and monkeys.

That was then. This is now. For the rest of the match, what happened just shows how far we have gone in the short time so far that we've been under the guidance of Rafa Benitez. Never once did we look like we didn't have control of the game, although i do admit we take our foot slightly off the throttle for 2 to 3 minutes of the first half, if i can vaguely remember. We kept our shape, kept our cool and more importantly, kept on attacking them.

Come the 56th minute, cometh the man. Risse belted a scorcher of a shot into the bottom lefthand side corner from the edge of the box which left Kiely grasping into thin air. I would refrain myself into calling this a "trademark Riise effort" as it has been a LONG while since he has been scoring these sort of goals, and you can only call it a trademark effort if he can consistently score like, in my honest opinion that is.

So, we're one nil up, cue the defensive substitution, hoofing the ball up to the forwards, and the agony of waiting for the final whistle while we keep on getting hammered by the opposition. Oops! We aren't in the Houllier era anymore are we now? So what happened was more posession football, and taking the game to Charlton and not letting them settle to create any chances. So, cue another candidate of goal of the week by non other than the new crowd favourite, Luis Garcia, scoring an absolute peach of a goal from probably 25 yards or so. Cue me jumping like a maniac at the mamak, and strangers giving me the look thinking "What the f*cks wrong with you mate?!"

Think all they want. I am happy with the performance. True, we might have not won the premiership yet. True, we might have not scored 10 or more goals in the game. True also, that we might have wasted countless opportunities to actually make it 10 goals or more. We might have only been playing friggin Charlton Athletic who aren't really the definition of Premiership big guns are they? But goddammit, we are definitely heading in the right direction and I love the way we play now (at home so far that is), and i love the feeling that I get at the end of the match where I am looking forward to the next match to be shown. I was telling my friends during the game before we scored, that even if we had drawn nil nil, i still would have been happy for the performance that the players served today. We are finally playing proper football and I can't complain.

I noticed during the game that once Cisse moved to play from the right wing, he looked much much more menacing there with his pace running at defenders and creating chances. It is interesting to note that Henry plays almost exactly like that for Arsenal, although on the left side of the pitch. I would like to see Cisse to keep trying that as it actually does look to have massive potential.

One thing did annoy me tremendously today though. Why was Igor not on the bench today and why on earth was that waste of space, sorry excuse of a Senegalese international doing there instead? Oh well. You can't win them all can you?

You'll Never Walk Alone

Koptalk News is free again

Just a few quick mentions here. Found out that Dunc (the editor of Koptalk) has decided to make Koptalk News free again. Ha ha ha, knowing what a cheap bastard I am, this is certainly great news since this is one great place to get all the juicy news from Anfield, although it is highly recommended to take any of his transfer rumours with a tablespoon of salt.

Also, I have decided to change my commenting engine back to Haloscan since i just can't stand the need to log in everytime i need to add a comment. So, happy commenting y'all.

Another quick note as well, i still can't seem to get that beat from Vanilla Ice out of my head, thanks to this post by Sashi, reminding me of those days gone by. Darn.. Dum.. Dumm Dum Dum.. Oh well.

Oh yeah.. will be putting up another entry for my thoughts on the Liverpool game last night soon as well.

Good Analogy

A very interesting analogy of why Arsenal are not quite "performing" in Europe that I found on football365 this morning.

"To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy, Arsenal just can't get it up when it comes to European football. The irony of it all!

They're like a massively hung beast of a man who gets the jitters when it really matters. What makes it worse is that the much uglier, weedier, less endowed and altogether much less likeable bloke from West London who seems to have no trouble scoring on the big night.

Still, at least there's a spark of excitement with Arsenal, unlike the big mouthy lad from up North, who keeps on going on about the fit bird he shagged in Barcelona years ago as if it makes up for the fact that he's got absolutely nothing ever since, culminating in a night of complete and utter impotence in Prague!

Will O'Doherty"

Ha ha ha... I just laughed at the way he just decided to take a cheap shot at 'em laddies from up North :P

Happy Belated 1st Anniversary

Dear Blog,

I know this is a bit late, but happy belated first birthday. My, how fast time has past since the my first post on the 3rd of October 2003, suitably entitled "This is my first post". You have been a very loyal servant to me, taking in all my rants and random rambling. My, how much you have changed since the days where you were still using a standard blogger template and serving out text only entries from yours truly. Now, you serve out a healthy variety of hot women with every post and wear a customized template. So, in commemorating your one full year of loyal service to me, with great pleasure, i present to you a new template for you to wear for your everyday tasks of serving out my entries to the average daily hits of 6 visitors a day. I hope you really like it. Also, I have realized that i have been neglecting you these past few months and i haven't been feeding you with new and fresh entries for you to serve out to our one regular reader, yes that's you Sashi, and also not forgetting fresh pictures of hot women as well, but i just have to admit that the workload has been really getting to me lately. So, for that, i present you with a shot of Monica Bellucci from the Matrix series attached with the entry. I hope you enjoy that as well. OK, fyingbananasinkualalumpur, hope to see you soon again. Here's to another year of serving out my entries to the public.

You'll Never Walk Alone,
BrainDead Malaysian

Brain dead and in need of sleep

Sigh. What a day. Wake up early for the Olympiakos Liverpool match, and had to go through 90 minutes of absolutely mind numbing football. And to add to that, we lost. What an absolutely sucky result. And to add to that, Machester United won! Six Two! And Rooney scored a hattrick on his DEBUT! Was REALLY not looking forward to going to work today.

Imagine this. I turn on my Yahoo Messenger in the office in Invisible mode (I put it to go automatically to invisi-mode for these sort of situations.. oh yeah, and also so to hide away from some people, but that slight problem has been solved with the new Yahoo's stealth settings and all). The moment Yahoo is up, i get probably a DOZEN offline messages from those human beings supporting that team from Manchester asking stuff like "Are you there?", or "Are you hiding there? Come out come out wherever you are?!!". What the...?!! After an hour or so, i decide to get online and all hell breaks lose. Sigh.

Oh yeah. And don't get me started on the SMSes that i've received today. Luckily my phone can store close to a hundred SMSes although i am pretty sure it was almost full today.

And you know what? I was working hard the whole day to finish my work early today so that I can go home and sleep, and wouldn't you know it, a whole load of work on my desk at precisely 530pm that needs to be sorted out by tomorrow morning. Thank god for a double shot cafe latte. Oh yes. And Charlize Theron as well. Oh well, back to work then son.

Listening to Joss Stone now, really good. Haven't heard her latest album though, but the Soul Sessions CD is perpetually sitting in my CD tray since god knows when already.

Everything But The Girl

Just absolutely bored currently and decided to play my good 'ol "Everything But The Girl - Walking Wounded" CD. It's been ages since i listened to them. Sure brings back some good old memories. (Yeah yeah, i KNOW it's hasn't been THAT long :P)

Anyway, I was at my friendly neighbourhood CD store the other day and while I was minding my own business checking out the "Jazz" section of the place and along came across the "sales rep", noticing I the type of CDs i was browsing through, decided to shove a CD by Katie Melua into my face.

"Aaaa... Ini CD aaa.. manyak bagus ooo... kalau u suka it Norah Jones punya... ini you sure suka punya" (Translated into : This is a very good album. I am sure you would enjoy it if you like songs from the likes of Norah Jones)

With the CD right in front of me, and me thinking "Oh why not, I need to listen to something new, and she doesn't look too bad innit? "

Anyway, I guess the fella does know what he was talking about. After coming home and putting the CD into my laptop while I did my work, I found out that she does have a certain relaxing and soothing feeling to it, although some of her songs do have that borderline "elevator music" feel to it as well. It's somewhat like Norah Jones in a way that is "Light and Easy". Pretty OK i guess to listen to while not actually listening to it. Does that make any sense? Probably not. Ha ha



Photos courtesy of umc

I'm back!! And i have a new job!!

Hahey, havent updated this blog in ages. Just to update on what's been happening in the life of the braindead malaysian this past month or so.

First and foremost, I've finally quit my job. Although I was actually planning on taking a month or two off to just get myself some good 'ol R&R, but within a week or so of my resignation, i received a phone call from someone i was working with before, offering me a job. Considering it was a very tempting offer, i decided to take it, even with the requirement that I join them as soon as possible. SO, there went my one month vacation. Sheesh. I am such a workaholic. Good thing is, at my new place, i dont feel so stagnant anymore. I feel refreshed. I feel as though I am learning again. I get to move around a lot. I go and talk to people most of the time. RUn presentations. That means i dont have that much time to sit infront of my PC and surf the net and update my blog (yes... THAT'S my excuse.. HA HA), which is, in a way, good, since I do concentrate more on my work and feel so much more motivated nowadays. I guess this feeling must naturally come with change. Now, come to think of it, how come I didn't do this much earlier? Why did I subject myself to the excruciating feeling of being so demotivated and lifeless that I was just so not in the mood to work every day and just spent most of the day just surfing the net, and only reacting to what happens at work, instead of being more proactive. I guess its just the feeling of being in the comfort zone that was holding me back. The comfort of having a routine lifestyle (which wasn't really that healthy nor was it balanced) or just the feeling of "superiority" that I had at the job, where, being one of the more "senior" consultants, the sense of "power" that I had was just something that I probably felt difficult to let go. I know its crazy, but I guess thats what I thought. Oh well. Enough about that now. I have moved on to a very "young" company and I am the most junior person there is, which is an absolute change from what I am used to. I know that it's going to be difficult and challenging, but I am just happy that I feel like I look forward to going to work again, and that I am actually learning something totally new now, and also that I find that the hours of the day just flies by so quickly that by the time I get a chance to sit down and check my mail, its already 630pm and it's time to go home. That's also another advantage I see from my new job, which is the fact that I am very busy during the day, but at around 630-7pm, I can actually pack my bags and head for home. Much much better than the 8am to 11pm hours I was going through before this, because although I was working very long hours, if I were to compress the actual work that I used to do, I could probably get everything done within half a day, but the rest of the day was spent waiting for people to sort out their own shit first. At least now, for my time in the office, i spend most of it actually doing work, and I can go home early (ish) and wonder what to do for the rest of the night.

Will we become the Spanish Arsenal?

It would now seem most likely that Liverpool will be losing our own Mickey Owen to the "Galacticos". Although he would be sorely missed, considering he has been our top goal getter for the past 5 seasons or so, I would still wish him all the best as he has been a good servant to the club. However, I still think that he is making a wrong move considering the fact that Real already have a first choice pairing up front of Raul and Ronaldo, and also Morientes (who, sad to say will not be on his way here since he has already played in Europe yesterday, those bast*rds). So i guess it would seem pretty difficult for him to stake a claim for a starting eleven spot, much like what Macca found out a few years back.

Anyway, with (actually if) the departure of Owen to Madrid, we have already been linked to three Spanish midfielders to come over and join us, namely Xabi Alonso from Real Sociedad, supposedly the Spanish Gerrard as they say, Antiono Nunez, a right winger as part of the Owen deal as a part exchange, and also Luis Garcia, a right winger from Barcelona who once played under Rafa at Tenerife.

All in all, they all look pretty reasonable signings as we are looking pretty darn thin in the midfield area, so it would seem Rafa does indeed realize that. However, it is also quite worrying the fact that at the start of the season, *if* all of these players do sign for us, we would have a total of 4 Spanish players, who have never played in the Premiership before, most likely starting for us. Now, don't get me wrong, I trust Rafa's judgement on players, and he probably has had plenty of time to judge these players playing in La Liga. However, it is worrying that I just cannot think of ANY player from La Liga who has come to the Premiership and actually made a huge impact. Anyone? Arsenal did wonders bringing in French players to the Premiership ( a feat Houllier tried, but failed ), so can we expect more of the same by Rafa with his Spanish "Armada" or will it prove to be more Houllieresque?

Liverpool's happenings

It was a really good weekend, considering the fact that for once I managed to not get myself into the office and spent some quality time reacquainting myself with my bed, duvet covers and two pillows. Amidst some hoo hah from my sister and her friends in the areas of Akademi Fantasia where Mas got voted out and also Astro doing a "quick" one by getting Linda reinstated into the competition, there were actually several news items relating to Liverpool that particularly caught my eye.

The first would be the, some would say, shocking revelation that Rafa had accepted an offer of a measly 3 million quid to let Spurs speak to Super Dan in view of letting him go to play for the Spurs. Now, we all know what happened to that piece of transfer activity, once all the comments being splurt out, questioning Rafa and also asking "Who is going to score for us against Manchester United then?" I admit I was indeed puzzled myself hearing this, considering the midfield area is where we seem to be in short supply of able bodies (a category which Salif Diao does NOT fall under). Why would he be selling off one of our more creative players when we are desperately short of them? (OK, the fact that Danny Murphy is being labelled as one of our more creative players just serves to show how very desperate we are in that area). Would this mean that he would be giving more chances to our youngsters like Welsh and Potter? Those are two very young players and chucking them straight to the deep end would not be one of the wisest courses of action, unless Rafa sees something in the youngsters that us mere mortals don't. Another blatantly obvious question would be to question who Rafa has in line? Does Rafa have some magic card up his sleeve? A signing that would leave us "at the edge of our seats"?

Which brings us to all the transfer speculation that has been running around the planet. Liverpool have been linked to the MOST number of midfielders this summer. Trust me. I have lost count. Xabi Alonso, Tomas Rosicky, Scott Parker, Damien Duff (why of course we would want a left sided winger when the position that's vacant is in right midfield !! :P), Simon Davies, Owen Hargreaves, Garcia what's his name (from Barcelona), heck even Tomas freaking bluenose Gravesen was linked to us a few days back. I do however admit that all this speculation and rumours i do somewhat look forward to reading everyday since some of them are pretty juicy and keep me entertained for hours during the day. Say so and so a player is linked to us, then I would spent countless hours searching the net for more information to verify this news, and also, that doesn't take into account the countless hours spent figuring out what sort of formation should be played to accomodate this new player. It seems now though, that it is pretty clear that Rafa is looking to sign Xabi Alonso, a central midfield player, who i guess will be played as a partner for Gerrard in the center of midfield, and hence demoting Hamann to a more bit part role. Either that, or he could play alongside Biscan in the center of midfield and put Gerrard on the right wing, and hence sorting out our right midfield problems. Biscan as a potential first teamer? Who would have thought? Me, a few months ago wouldn't have believed myself saying that, but after some decent pre-season games he does look like a good prospect in the center of midfield, the position where he was originally playing. But then again, as what some would say, and myself as well, it's only pre-season. Cheryou and Smicer looked like world beaters during pre-season last year, so that shows how reliable performances during pre-season are as gauges to actual form in the Premiership.

One last piece of news, would be the never ending saga of the Michael Owen contract. Oh my god. Would you please just sign the god damned thing and get on with it? Yes, I want Owen to stay, but from the way that I see it, his heart isn't really 110% into Liverpool now. Could it be that now he isn't guaranteed his customary starting eleven spot anymore? Would it mean he would now have to WORK to actually deserve his place in the starting line up? Does the idea of playing for Real Madrid actually come as an enticing proposition for him? I have said this so many times before, but to regain some amount of respect that he used to have from the supporters, well actually from me, don't know about the rest, he should actually come out and say exactly whether he wants to leave or whether he wants to stay. I will respect his decision no matter what as I have already come to the conclusion that there is just no more loyalty in the football world anymore. I came to that after learning about how Gerrard actually contemplated moving to Chelsea and had to be persuaded by friends and family (and supporters, if you believe some of the death threat rumours) to stay at Anfield where a few weeks before that he was openly admitting that he was Red true and true and the red of Liverpool was flowing through his veins, yada yada yada.. I do still have a lot of respect for him though, and i do support him as the captain of the club and I would still jump around like a monkey when he scores another screamer into the top corner against Manchester United, but those events just changed my perception of him slightly and also my perception of loyalty among footballers. I'm sure that there still are loyal footballers plying their trade out there, but they would not be the majority anymore. Back to Michael Owen. I think that whether he plays or not tonight / tomorrow morning would give us a better idea as to whether he would be moving or not since if he does play, that would leave him cup tied, and hence declining his attractiveness to most, if not all, of the clubs that are actually interested in him.

So, at the end of the day, am I still looking forward to the new season? Hell yeah I am. Who wouldn't be? Any respectable person who calls himself a football fan would be looking forward to the start of the season no matter what happens during the summer. In Liverpool's case, there are plenty of reasons to feel optimistic. Rafa is one of them, since as a new coach, all the players would give their extra bit to impress him at the start of the season as everyone starts off with a clean slate. Also, I am quietly optimistic that Rafa will bring some much needed change to the tactics and make us more organized, much in the mould of his team at Valencia, and also get us playing more attractive, attacking football. Another reason would be Djibril Cisse. I have not seen him play before, so just the opportunity to see what he has to offer is just enticing enough to actually count down to this Saturday. Probably there are other reasons as well, however one other reason that I would want to add in would be Igor Biscan. Why you would ask? Well, because everyone loves an underdog, and in Igor Biscan, we have the ultimate underdog. Ridiculed for the whole of last season by everyone, including yours truly, when he was played out of position as a central defender, he has shown what he can do as a central midfielder during pre-season and from the reviews that I have been reading, it is a valid cause for optimism. Igor Biscan winning the ball in midfield, then side stepping two defenders before unleashing a thunderbolt of a shot into the top corner of the goal? Who knows? It might just happen? If not, we can still look forward to spending hours at the mamak stalls having intelectually stimulating discussions on how much of a Donkey he is anyway. Bring on the season!

This entry can also be found at Chit Chat Bola [idlanzakaria.com]

Transformers ROCK!!

Was going through Sashi's blog entry and comments about the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles and it quickly reminded me of my child hood years and the cartoons that i used to watch, and the most outstanding memory of cartoons that i can remember would be Transformers the Movie which is THE definitive cartoon movie of my childhood years. Scenes of Optimus Prime dying, which i would readily admit (at that time) almost brought me to tears, then passing over the matrix to Ultra Magnus (was that his name) only for it to accidentally fall and get caught by Hot Rod. Also the scene where Hot Rod harnesses the power of the matrix to transform himself (a Transformer transforming himself??!!) into Rodimus Prime. I can still remember myself trying to immitate the sound of the transformers transforming when i was playing with my Autobots. *Sigh* those were the days. Waking up on Saturday mornings to spend hours in front of the TV getting my weekly Saturday cartoon fix, or even those dodgy Malay dubbed Japanese action serials on weekdays at 5pm.

Transformers... More than meets the eye.

* Britney courtesy of usemycomputer

The Ginger One Quits

After 66 caps, Paul Scholes has decided to call it quits [football365], and put an end to his international career. Actually I am just shocked to hear this news, considering he is only 29 years old and probably has a least 2-3 years more of service left in him.

However, in my opinion, Scholes has always failed to deliver when it came to the international stage. I mean, no doubt, he is a pretty good player and is one of the players that Ferguson would put on his starting lineup whenever possible, but he has just never brought over his club from whenever he plays for England. Some say that the quality of players that he plays with for England are just not of the same quality as what he is used to for Manchester United, while others say that he has never been able to play his "prefered" role for England.

Funny though that he decided to retire quite early. Could it possibly be that he has had enough of all the criticism that has been thrown his way, or could it be that he has realized that with Gerrard and Lampard being the most likely choices for central midfield, his chances of playing in his preferred central midfield role limited, or could it really be as what he said, that he would want to concentrate more on his club football?

All in all, he has now opened up the possibilities in the England midfield, where Sven (how long will he be there?) does not have to mix and match anymore to cater for his (arguably) best 4 midfield players, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes. Will this mean more pitch time for Joe Cole? Or would this mean more pitch time of my personal favoured combo of Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge on the left hand side? Time will only tell.

One of those word lists thingy

OK, i am bored. Waiting for some people to come back and have a discussion with them, but they aren't anywhere in sight. I got this in my inbox, and thought to myself, oh well, why not. Here goes.

Write the first thing that comes into ur mind when u take the first glance of 'words' that are listed below...

Coffee - Steaming hot, freshly brewed, without sugar, no creamer... i need one of those NOW. Wouldn't mind a nice cold kopi-o ais as well.

Vanilla - Ice cream. Like the one you put on the brownies at rasta, or the one they put on your waffles at A&W, or a nice vanilla ice cream cone from McDonalds

Pink - I have a pink shirt that i had tailor made. Thought I'd be a bit daring and different. At the end of the day, I think me and pink shirts just don't mix, so i am back to my drab white, light blue tops and grey or black slacks colour combinations at work.

Josh hartnett - Who the f*ck is he / she? Is he the fella from Pearl Harbour? Oh my god, that movie just brings back bad BAD memories. Sitting a whole 3 hours plus having to watch through THAT melodramatic dross. At least Kate Beckinsale was hot.

Popcorn - Movies. Cinema. Which reminds me, i haven't been to the cinema in ages. Haven't watched I, robot and King Arthur yet. Did you know that pawagam is actually "Panggung Wayang Gambar" in short? Again, interesting, but useless information.

Summer - We dont have summers in Malaysia. However, summer was the time I looked forward to the most when I was in London, especially those time spent walking through and just hanging around Hyde Park watching the "sites" in my shorts and t-shirts. I miss that.

Moon - Werewolf, when it's full, that is.

Memories - Funny, the first thing that comes to mind for this is the musical CATS which i watched in London and also at Istana Budaya when it came to KL. One of the better musicals that I've been to.

Sushi - Saisaki, a place which I sadly have not been to in a while. I remember the days when i used to go there and just perpetually camp myself in front of the sashimi stall. Sashimi.. mmm..

Sorry - Seem's to be the hardest word? The song by Elton John. Blue as well.

Enemy - Everyone's got them. It's just a matter of how you handle them.

Dog - Lassie!! Lassie!!

Country - Malaysia

Cameras - I've been meaning to get a digital camera for a while already, but haven't gotten around to actually going around and, how shall we say it, "survey-ing" the shops.

Liars - Liar liar pants on fire. I try my best not to lie. Seriously.

Sean Paul - F*cking annoying. Can't stand listening to him mumbling out his stuff. Not my cup of tea.

WWF - The first thing that came to mind was wrestling. All that phony play acting and drama. I used to watch a lot of Hulk Hogan during my younger years. I just can't be bothered with it anymore nowadays. "WWF" also reminds me of a panda, from the World Wildlife Federation logo.

Jealousy - A trait that one of my ex-es had in abundance. Would prefer not to have it in future relationships. One question that girls ALWAYS like to ask is, "Would you be jealous if (insert action that would normally bring up some feelings of jealousy in a normal person, eg, started to go out with this guy "friend" of mine who tries to be nice in front of me but in actual fact the first thing on his mind is to get in my pants?)".

Bed - Sleep, which I wouldn't mind getting some now.

LOTR - The best trilogy I've watched in the cinema EVER, better than the Matrix trilogy and the Star Wars trilogy (Episodes 4,5 and 6, not the dross that we've been getting in Episodes 1 and 2)

aloha - Don't know why, but the first thing that comes to mind here is Jasmine Trias from American Idol fame. I know. Sounds dodgy. I am scared myself.

March - A month of the year which I don't seem to remember what I did through out it this year. It's been a relatively uneventful year so far.

Friendster - I have an account. Probably have like around 30 friends in my list and haven't checked there for a few months already. Some people on them are just plain sad, since they go around getting as many people added to their list as possible just for bragging rights. Sad.

Movies - Love 'Em. Especially watching them in cinemas. Malaysia make crap ones though, but I am sort of looking forward to watching Puteri Gunung Ledang. It has been hyped up so much that I have a funny feeling that it might just tank. I hope not.

Chocolate - Reese's peanut butter pieces.

Car - Need a new one. Have been driving mine for a while already and the thing seems to be falling apart. Just over the weekend, my front left signal light fell off out of the blue. Good 'ol Malaysian quality.

Raves - Not much of a rave fan. During my "hey days", used to hang out more at the R&B-ish sort of joints. Now, come to think of it, I still have no idea why on earth I spent so much time (and money) at those places. Sigh. I was one confused little boy then. No regrets though, since I did have a lot of fun there with my friends, and I have some of the best memories from that period of my life (and also some of the most gruesome ones as well).

Ok, actually there are probably around 20 more words in the list, but I just could not be bothered to write more, and some of them are just so darn lame as well. So i'll just stop here for now.

Are You Living In Your Own World?

Yeah, i know it's been a relatively no-work-ish sort of day in the office, judging by the amount of entries i made today here. Been reading Izham Omar's blog [8tv.com] and came across this interesting piece. Although he posted it a few weeks back, i just wanted to post it on here as well.

"Are You Katak Bawah Tempurung? (Are You Living In Your Own World?)

Are you katak bawah tempurung? Do you ever wonder why some people don't think the same way as you do? Do you ever wonder why everyone else in the world is strange, and you're not?

Are you katak bawah tempurung? Do you think you're the next Mariah Carey and get shell-shocked when suddenly Paul Moss, Roslan Aziz and Fauziah Latiff says you can't sing at all? Are you actually surprised they think that way?

Are you katak bawah tempurung? Do you think people in other countries should think like you do and have the same values as you do? And if they don't then you should invade their country, turn it upside down and tell them how to run it?

Are you katak bawah tempurung? Are you not finished yet with that great novel or script? Are you thinking that your work of art needs a few more touches still and please won't everyone just leave you alone because you're a genius?

Are you katak bawah tempurung? When you walk around your neighbourhood, do you know all the names of the people you meet? Do you care about who they are and how they feel and what's been going in their lives?

Are you katak bawah tempurung? Do you think you know a lot about something and feel compelled to tell people how to do something even if they didn't request your help? And when you communicate with them, they have only very short answers for you and you never even ask yourself why?

Are you katak bawah tempurung? Do you think that you should be respected and revered just because you've been around the longest? Do you pay little attention the little guy who is just starting out because "he doesn't know shit?"

Are you katak bawah tempurung?

Maybe I am katak bawah tempurung " - Ahmad Izham Omar, 8TV

I must admit, i do sometimes fall into some of the categories above, and i have met a lot of people that fall under most of them above as well. I guess the people that i come across the most are the ones that fall under the last one, where the more senior person would not want to listen to the new guy as he assumes that he "doesn't know shit". Working with several different clients, i have seen MANY corporate cultures where when you first join in, you are labelled as someone who knows jack shit, and should just shut the f*ck up and do what you are told. It is quite difficult going up to senior client staff at the start of a project and getting them to listen to what you have to say, especially when proposing something even remotely different or new.

Actually I am pretty glad that i am working in a firm where most of the people do not have that sort of mind set, where *most* of the higher management are open to suggestions from the people below them during a project. I guess it's just a company culture and the sort of people that we recruit.

ps, i have absolutely no idea who the chick in the picture above is

Foreign Strippers Must Submit Photo

Heard this on the radio when i was on the way to work, and someone forwarded to me the link as well. Dont really know whether it is true, but oh my GOD, who on earth would come up with such a thing.

Quote from the article, "Immigration officers are having to pore through naked pictures of hundreds of exotic dancers to keep imposters out of Canada."

OK, how on earth would they be able to keep "imposters" out of their country by looking through naked pictures of them "on the job". But of course, they wouldn't want people disguising themselves as strippers trying to sneak into Canada, would they? Yessir, no non-legit strippers allowed in Canada, please!

Reds batter Glasgow giants

Seems that the pre season games are getting better and better. After beating Wrexham, the Reds trashed [liverpoolfc.tv] the Glasgow giants in the states.

I know it's still just pre-season games, and I know I shouldn't get too excited, and i know that Smicer and Cheryou looked like world class players in the pre-season games when they first arrived, but it doesn't hurt to feel optimistic for the new season. From the reports, it looks as if Rafa has us playing a good passing game, and also some of the players seem to be raising their game as well, like Biscan. I mean, it HAS to be good if even Henchoz himself starts scoring, but then again, as they all say, its JUST the pre season games. Good to see Cisse start scoring as well.

Also, read that Neil Lennon has written us off [soccernet] for the Premiership this year. Very "interesting" comments from him considering the fact that his team were just walloped by the team he oh so confidently has just written off. Again, it's just pre-season, but then again, Neil Lennon, i give you the one fingered salute.

Rafa's first signing

Its been confirmed. Josemi, or Jose Miguel Gonzalez Rey, will be the first signing by Rafa this season.

Seriously, i do not know what to make of this news. I've never seen him play before, nor have i ever heard of him as well. Even my checks with my trusty CM0304 database revealed that he is, according to CM, an average defender, although these are the same people who rated Diouf so highly, he was the player of the season for Liverpool in 2004, which somehow hints to the lack of their credibility.

Anyhow, reading from the descriptions of him online, he seems like a tough tackling defender, one bad-ass mofo, hopefully NOT in the mould of Danny Mills, able to play in central defence, but mainly deployed as a right back. I trust Rafa since he probably has been seing this fella play in the Spanish league the whole of last year, so I guess, bring on the season and i'd wanna see how this fella adapts to the premiership.

Seems like Collocini is on his way as well, which would mean that the defence would then be sorted out. Now, if only those rumours of Joaquim are true as well. Pretty much doubt it though, but one can still dream. Ha ha ha.

Sisqo gets his debut

It's been a slow few days so far in terms of updating my blog. Haven't really had much of a chance being all busy and all, and haven't really been keeping up to date with what's been happening around.

What i do know is that Liverpool played their first pre-season friendly yesterday, giving Sisqo his first start (albeit a friendly start) in a red jersey, well actually they were wearing the fugly new yellow away one. Absolutely hideous. Good to hear that he had a decent game, and LeTallec scored a brace, and also Rafa giving the young ones a chance to impress while he rested our Euro-Stars.

Amazingly though, it seems Biscan had a pretty good game in the center of midfield, so good that Rafa actually commented that he was impressed and he would "like to see more of him in that position". OH MY GOD.

Yeah, yeah, yeah you tell me, that under a new manager, we should give everyone a second chance to prove themselves. Well, at least Diouf was no where in sight, and not even on the subs bench.

Can't wait for the season to start!!

Confusing Times

Somehow for the past few days, I just haven't had the.. inspiration, shall we say, to write anything here. It could either be that there is absolutely nothing happening lately that I feel like writing about, or I have just been so swamped with work that I just haven't had the chance to notice what ever has been happening around me. I think it's more because of the fact that I have been busy, exceptionally, working until the wee hours of the night every day. I am starting to think that it's getting really frightening that the last week just flew by so fast that i have absolutely no recollection of anything happening other than me sitting here in the office in front of my laptop.

I think i have arrived at a crossroads in my life. I feel like i am in desperate need of a change. I am getting bored with my work. I feel very demotivated, and I have a feeling it's been starting to affect the quality of the work that I deliver. Some people would say that i just don't give a damn anymore, but in actual fact i really do. Half of me just says quit your job now, while the other half of me says that I should go through with it until the very end and finish what I started.

Actually I have two choices now.

First would be to choose the path of the selfish bastard and just resign right now. I think i will be much happier. There would definitely be a lot of opportunities out there for me to explore and the earlier i get myself out of this mess, the better. However, the down side to this would be the fact that i would admit that i have given up on something that i have been working hard for the past year or so, and also i would feel that i am abandoning my project team members when they need me the most, especially since we are going through one of the most critical times of the project. I have spoken to some people about this and their advice to me is just not to care, since it is a big company and they will surely find a replacement for me eventually and the fact that it is such a big company, and all the "higher level" people don't really care about the team members as long as the project is delivered, i shouldn't really give a damn. But the actual fact is, i do give a damn and i do care, and that's where the problem lies.

The second option would be to stay on until the end, and finish off what i started. I keep everyone happy, except probably for me. I feel like i am in a rut already, and i don't think i can see myself doing what i am doing now in the long term, and I am also starting to lose interest. It also doesn't help, the fact that the project seems to be crumbling and no matter how hard we try, it just does not seem to help matters at all, if not make it even worse. I am demotivated and devoid of the "passion" to work, and deliver my best, like when i first started working 4 years ago.

So that's my dilemma. Should i be a selfish bastard, or should I just try and keep everyone else happy. It's very confusing and i think it's just time i had a change in my life. Sigh, these are the times when i miss my ex. I used to be able to talk to her about this and she would be at least be able to give some sort of clarity. Sigh. I need to call up my mates and go out tonight.

Later.

Malaysian Idol and Akademi Fantasia

Was a really really dull weekend for me. Nothing much happened, and, me being the "anak mithali" that i am, spent Saturday and Sunday night going out for dinner with my parents at Hartamas and Bangsar. Spent most of the daytime veged out in front of the idiot box surfing through the various channels on Astro without anything keeping me interested for more than an hour or so.

However, i did manage to catch both Akademi Fantasia (AF) on Saturday (blame it on the lack of live football on a Saturday night) and Malaysian Idol (MI) on Sunday noon on good 'ol TV3. One thing that i noticed immediately is the absolute GULF in the talent on show between these two "karaoke" competitions. I mean, MOST of the girls on AF just could NOT hold a tune to save their lives, except for the one that came from Johor, god forbid i remember her name, who supposedly was to be "surprised" by the appearance of the big boned one from last year's AF fame. The guys were waaaaay much better singers and also waaaaay much better performing. But comparing the talent on show on AF with the one's on MI the next day, i would say that probably 80% of the AF hopefuls would not stand a CHANCE against most of the people that were eliminated in the second round. I mean, MI has it's own hits and misses, but i mean, the AF 12 are supposed to be the ones who were picked from an audition of THOUSANDS!! I mean, from the thousands that came to audition for AF, is the 12 that they picked THE BEST that they could come up with?

I actually, am more impressed with the MI contestants, and it is actually good that they show it from the auditions itself so we can actually get entertained with the lengths that some people actually go to during the auditions. I remember watching it last Sunday (yes yes, i did sort of follow American Idol before, so i thought, might as well give us Malaysians a try), and i could remember watching ONE OF THE WORST and HIDEOUS and GROSS and UNSIGHTLY scenes i have seen on local television. You know, the one where the slightly overwight guy (?) giving his impression of Kylie Minogue and "Spinning Around", with the ULTRA-SHORT YELLOW SHORTS AS WELL. OH... MY... GOD... is only what i could say. I mean, i think it's absolutely HOT what Kylie did, and the year when she came out with that video, i admitted that sometimes, shorts can be even hotter than mini skirts. BUT OH.. MY.. GOD.. That fella has just spoilt that sweet memory of mine. Tainted forever. Actually i am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he actually lost a bet, or he is bound to receive HUGE AMOUNTS OF PLAIN HARD CASH to such an obscene national television showing, and if that is indeed the case, good on him. But still, absolutely gruesome.

Another one i remember from yesterday's show was the small kid, who i must say, did impress me during the first round auditions. I actually was looking forward to seeing how he would fare since we could be uncovering our own "hedgehog haired-one" (well, without the hedgehod hair). Sad to say, he turned out to be absolutely tone deaf. Sorry boy, if you can't sing in tune, much like me, i don't think you would have a chance being the first Malaysian Idol. Maybe he can go home and get some "tone practice" (is there even such a thing?) and come back next year?

I never fails to amaze me how people can just go out there in front of the camera and a panel of three "judges" and just audition without any supporting music. It must take a lot of balls just to be there. However, it also never fails to amaze me how some people can be so utterly deluded that they have a voice of the next "Mariah Carey" when it is plain bleedingly obvious that it's much closer to William Hung. Oh well, at least it provides the rest of us with some much needed entertainment on an otherwise dull Sunday afternoon. (Can't get 8tv at home)

Later.

It's worrying...

Signs that I am spending too much time in the office.

Last night, when i reached home, i took out my office door tag and was wondering and i was standing in the front door wondering for a second or two that i could not find any place to swipe it.

Secondly, nowadays at home, whenever i try to make a phone call out from the house phone, i always accidentally press "9" first. It's like it's becoming second nature to me already.

This is getting very very worrying.

Oh... My... God...

Oh my god. What a weekend for the underdogs. Firstly, on Saturday night, i was flicking through the channels randomly while i was waiting for my friends to decide where we should hang out that night, when i stumbled upon the Wimbledon's womens final. All i can say is, Maria Sharapova is HOT! My god! And she can even play tennis, unlike some other Russian womens tennis player who would be better off appearing on some "Enrique" watshisname music video. To think that she's only 17 years old and was only ranked 15th seed, to go all the way to the final and defeat the defending champion, one half of the Williams sisters, Serena? I must admit though that i was definitely biased when it came to who i was supporting for THIS tenning match.

Another "oh my god" moment came early this morning, when Carasteas ( is that how you spell it? ) headed in the winning goal for the Greeks to put them into history as one of the most unlikelist winners of the Euro Championships. This is even much more astounding compared to the Danes 12 years back, because at least then, the Danes had Schmeichel and the Laudrup brothers who were footballing stars already before the championships. Who did the Greeks have this time? Stelios Giannakopolous from good ol Bolton Wanderers, and Ex-Leicester City reject, Zagorakis (Even more astounding that he received the man of the match award!!).

All in all, congratulations to the Greeks for their astounding win over the Portuguese. It shows that you dont' need to have star players to win football tournaments. All you need is a team that works together as a team and also a tactic that complements the bunch of players that you have. In Greek's case, defend for your lives and hit the opposition on the break / counter attack / headed goal from a corner (pick one of the above).

Also congratulations to Maria Sharapova on her tremendous feat of winning Wimbledon. Now, THIS gives me a reason to start following womens tennis again, which ceased a few years back when Hingis decided to call it quits. It's the tennis skill i tell you.. the tennis skils...

From my inbox: Dilbert Quotes

Dilbert's Best Quotes. ps and Sophie Marceau is HOT.

1. I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow is not looking good either.

2. I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.

3. Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it.

4. Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.

5. Needing someone is like needing a parachute. If he isn't there the first time, chances are you won't be needing him again.

6. I DON'T HAVE AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM, YOU HAVE A PERCEPTION PROBLEM.

7. Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky, and I thought to myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"

8. My reality cheque bounced.

9. On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.

10. I don't suffer from stress. I am a carrier.

11. You are slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter.

12. Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

13. Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.

14. Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

15. A pat on the back is only a few inches from a kick in the butt.

16. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

17. After any salary raise, you will have less money at the end of the month than you did before.

18. The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.

19. You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard.

20. Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.

21. If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done.

22. When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried.

23. Following the rules will not get the job done.

24. When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?"

25. Only the mediocre are at their best all the time.

26. There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.

27. Bring ideas in and entertain them royally, for one of them may be the king.

28. If at first you don't succeed...... skydiving isn't for you.

29. Life is a waste of time; time is a waste of life, so get wasted all of the time and have the time of your life.

30. When everything is coming your way...... you're in the wrong lane.

Greece Lightning

Note to self, never write off a team that plays defensive minded tactics, EVER. It looks like history might be repeating itself again, as in Euro 92 (was it 92, i am not sure), where the Danes came from total obscurity of being called in to play to make up the numbers, and went all the way to win the tournament, playing mind numbingly defensive football all the way. Actually, I can see it happening again. The Greeks are a very organized bunch of players and defensively sound as well. They marked Koller and Baros completely out of the game last night, and once Nedved left the game limping, I had a funny feeling in my mind that the "not thought about" might just happen. None of the players that night had a particularly outstanding game, and i can barely remember any Greek player who actually stood out last night, either due to none of them actually had an outstanding game, or all of them looked and sounded the same to me considering the fact that the only Greek players i know are Stelios from Bolton and Theo Zagorakis from Leicester City.

Am still in a state of shock and as far as i can remember, time stood still for me for a whole 5 minutes after the Greeks scored the winning goal as my whole body went numb and i just kept on staring into the screen. Either that or i was just too sleepy at that time and my brain was giving an ultra vespa-esque reaction to the fact that the Greeks had scored the goal at the precise time when the Czechs would not have any time to reply. It was a "semi-golden" silver goal. Instant elimination. There goes my "revised" dream final of Czech v Portugal. I can see the game already, Portugal constantly hammering the Greeks defense while the Greeks try and hit the Portuguese on the break. Still am not sure who to support in the finals.

Who knows, that might just work. Ask the Danes. Expect the unexpected. Predict the unpredictable. It might just happen. I am blurr. Where's my coffee?!!

NOOoooooooo!!!

Portugal are in the finals

The host nation of Euro 2004 have made it to the finals of a major international football tournament for the first time, despatching the Oranje's in the semifinals early this morning. Without a shadow of a doubt, the Portuguese team were the much better side of the night although i got a bit irritated with the referree since i thought he gave a LOT of the 50-50 decisions in favour of the hosts. All in all, i was impressed by Figo, who i rate as the man of the match, and i think he had a point to prove after being substituted in the England match. The dutch were pretty disappointing though, and the only shot on target they had (i am not counting the goal since it was an own goal) was the one that was ruled offside, and i was pretty disappointed with Makaay and Van der Vaart who both did fark all when they came on.

At the end of the day, it was a fair result, and the better "football playing" team went through.

I liked the quote by the commentator when the Dutch got their one goal back and he said something like "Now, let's see whether the Oranje's still have some juice in them". THAT got me wide awake with laughter in the morning.

Am still wondering whether Nuno Maniche's "goal of the tournament-elect" was actually meant to be a shot on goal, or was it more of a "Gronkjaer-esque effort" since i didnt really see the goal in real time as the camera was showing a replay when the goal actually happened!

Still wondering how i am still surviving being up and working during the day today. On the other hand, it could just be the 3 cans of Coca Cola Light i just downed.

COME ON YOU CZECHS!! A Czech - Portugal final, now the thought of that makes one salivate. If that indeed happens, it will most likely be a high scoring final. No more of that 1 - 0 defensive football crap.

Penalties for dummies

Ha ha ha ha ha... Brilliant

He is staying

Finally, Gerrard comes out clean and states that he is staying. Having read various websites and blogs regarding this news, I must say that the general feeling is that of relief rather than excitement. It is absolutely good news to me, and although i did at a point of time had my doubts that he might be on the way, fair play to him for actually coming out and saying that he DID in fact consider leaving at one point, and i don't blame him for that. The main important fact is, he is staying and i believe him when he says that he is 100% committed to the club. Thats all that matters. Now, Owen, when are YOU going to come out and say THAT?!

Quote:
"The last three of four weeks have been really confusing for me.

"I have been involved in a big tournament and that's the reason I have been really quiet about my future.

"I have not really been happy with the progress the club has made the last two years as I have often told the media. For the first time in my career I thought about the possibility of leaving Liverpool for another club. But after Euro 2004 and sitting down with my family, having a fourth meeting with Rick and spending time with my agent, I am staying on at Liverpool.

"I am 100% committed to the club. I've gone with a decision that's been in my heart. I love the club, I love the supporters and that's what it boiled down to at the end of the day."

Courtesy of koptalk.org

Come on you Czechs!!!

Absolutely good game by the Czechs to dispose of the Danes and set up an encounter with the Greeks. Furthermore, two excellently taken goals by Baros to propel him to the top of the goal scoring charts as well. Now if only i had put in the bet for him at the beginning of the tournament. They were giving him 50-1 odds would you believe it. Now only if he could replicate this sort of form for us next season, I would be one of the happiest people. He did come out and say that he was contemplating leaving Livepool in the summer, and rightly so as I wouldn't blame him, but he is now willing to give us another chance, and I honestly do hope that he is given a fair crack of the whip to prove himself.

One more week to go before i can start to get some *continous* decent sleep again. At least i get some "rest" from the early mornings for a couple of days. Need to start coming into office in a non-comatized state of mind again.

Working on a Sunday Again

Damn, i need a new job. Good news is, France are out of Euro 2004 and Holland are thru to the semi finals. That news kinda sweetens the blow of the England loss to Portugal a few days back, especially the news of the kicking out of those arrogant French basterds. Serves them right. I think they need a major overhaul of their coaching staff and also they need to phase out some of their more senior players, as although they have been tremendous, world class servants to their national team, it's about time for the likes of Desailly, Lizarazu and company to let some of the younger players give it a crack. It must be a worry to the Spurs fans though, seeing their new incoming coach not able to hack it with some of the best players in the world. It only makes you think, if he can't get a team with the likes of Zidane, Henry, Pires and co to play proper football, i shudder to think of the possiblity of him with the Spurs players.

I have decided that i shall support the Czech Republic now, since from the games that I have seen them play, I must admit they play a more entertaining brand of football. If only Baros and Smicer played like that with Liverpool. Maybe with a new manager they would? Who knows? Come on you Czechs!!!!

End of the road for England

First and foremost, what the fark were they thinking playing like that?! I mean, for the first 83 minutes after Owen scored, did they expect to just sit down and let the Portuguese players hammer them to death? Did they actually think the tactic that ultimately backfired against the French could have been successful against Portugal? What the fark was Eriksson thinking making England play like that, like a bunch of sissies afraid to play mano-e-mano against the big bullies, so they just defend defend and defend. I am just still so damned pissed off.

Beckham should be banned against taking any more penalty kicks for England, period, and it also didn't help his cause the fact that he had an absolute crap of a game. Not enough involvement in the game and his so called dead ball skills, well, were non-existent either.

David James should be shot dead, or at least should never EVER be within a miles radius away from the England number one jersey ever again. EVER. He lacks confidence, lacks authority in the box and, well, just was a bundle of nerves throughout the match. I just could not bear to watch anytime a cross or a set piece was played, as i just feared the worst.

Scholes was another piece of shit that just didn't bother to turn up and play on the day. He should not have started and contributed absolutely nothing to the England team when he was on, and rightly substituted in the second half, although i am still so very shocked that Eriksson actually brought in Phil Neville on for him, (of all people?!) when there were the likes of Dyer or Cole who could have been brought in instead.

Lampard seemed to be playing for the Portugal team as his every pass was directed to one of them, and even Gerrard was having an absolute stinker of a game. Owen, on the other hand had a decent-ish game, scoring by poaching with the deftest of touches in the 3rd minute and then continued to look "relatively" bright and sharp and always seemed to be happy chasing lost causes.

The defence, i would say got a 8/10 for pure defending but a 0/10 marks in the areas of "keeping the ball", and "passing to your team mate". All four of them were pretty decent defensively, but absolutely shocking otherwise.

At the end of the day, i guess Portugal did deserve to win, as the team that actually *tried* to play football in the first place. The game also showed how absolutely bad the England squad is when it comes to strength in depth. I mean, once Rooney got injured, they didn't have anyone else to put in other than Vassell, and for the midfield, if one of them isn't performing particularly well, who can they bring in ? Bloody Phil Neville, that's who. And that just shows how pathetic the squad is. Other than the first eleven, there is absolutely nobody to take over if anyone gets injured or is out of form.

On a side note, I thought it was absolutely hilarious seeing how Eriksson reacted to the first Portugal goal. Not such a cool Swede after-all huh? Well serves you right for your lame excuse of a tactic that even puts the Italians to shame in terms of sitting on a 1-nil lead.

I feel so utterly disappointed and I have been in a perpetual state of depression throughout the day. It also doesn't help the fact that i only got two hours of sleep last night. Bollocks. Later.

Come on Ingerlund....

Need to stay up to watch the match tonight and boy, is it going to be a cracker of a game! Here's to a three-nil win over Portugal, with goals from Rooney, Owen and Gerrard.

Three Lions On the Shirt!!!

Ha ha.. "Ze Germanz" are OUT

Best news i have heard / read today. It would have been a major shame if the Germans had gone through at the expense of the Oranjes, considering the absolute dross the Germans have been serving us. At the end of the day, the team that actually plays flowing attacking football made it through, which SHOULD be the way it is. Can't wait for the game tonight.

It's given me a bit more faith

Been reading this article from redandwhitekop.com and it has been given me some food for thought, and also made me think around all the media hype that Gerrard is moving to Chelsea. Main points from this is basically why the f*ck would Gerrard want to leave for Chelsea (other than the money that is) anyway? Because he was pissed off by not getting an "English" manager? Of course, then go off to Chelsea to work for Mourinho who is obviously British... NOT!! Was it because he wants to win more medals? Well Chelsea has been winning f*ck all as well lately and it is only in THEORY that they *might* do sort of good next season. Was it because he wants to play with better players? Well, Chelsea has indeed *tried* to buy the big names, but the matter of fact is, they have tried to sign Henry, Viera, Pires, Zidane, and, sadly for them, failed. Their latest signing so far, for 12 million squid i hear, is a Portuguese right back who costs as much as Djibril Cisse and also was the player who did THAT pass against Greece in the opening match of Euro 2004.

Basically, the fact is, Gerrard is playing for ,and captaining mind you, (arguably) the top British club of all time, a club that he has been a supporter since he his childhood years and he is idolized to bits by the loyal supporters of the club. I think it's absolutely bollocks what i have been reading in the papers / internet that it would be considered a dream move for him to move to Chelsea, as I would think that he is already living his dream captaining Liverpool. I have faith in his loyalty, which I admit,was a wee bit shaky before, and i don't think he will move yet and he will give Rafa at least a year or two of his services to see where one of the highest rated coaches in Europe is capable of bringing our team.

You'll Never Walk Alone.

England are in, Italians are out

Been busy, but i just must state that it was a good England game against the Croats and i am somewhat pleased to see the back of the whinging Italians. Good game on Tuesday morning for Rooney, Lampard and *shock and horror* Neville (Gary), and Gerrard looks as if he is improving by the game. Owen had a less than spectacular game but he was involved in three of the goals so, i guess that's not too bad. It is, though, a tad bit alarming seeing the rate of goals that England are conceeding, especially from set pieces.

Batteries recharged..

Just got back from a short holiday getaway in Bali with my family. Needed some time away from work and all to recharge my ailing batteries and just spend some time relaxing in on the beach, watching the waves of the crystal clear sea come and go, feeling the calm and soothing balinese wind blowing on your body while sipping fruit juice that comes in a huge nice ice cold glass with those small umbrellas coming out of it. Well, if only that happened, since i spent the most of the four days in Bali driving around in a van with my dad, looking for some terracotta stones and balinese wood carvings at some godforsaken places. Ah well, at least it was a very much needed break from the norm and i got myself away from my laptop for 4 WHOLE days (amazing isn't it?). Anyway, some major happenings that have been happening (football-wise) while i have been away.

Ingerlund 3 - Switzerland NIL
A score line to tell you the truth, England did not deserve at all since they only actually started to get some degree of control of the match once the Swiss were down to 10 men. A harsh sending off as well in my opinion to the Swiss right back. Owen made a superb assist to help Rooney become the youngest ever European Finals goalscorer (then Owen decided to just dissapear), then Rooney got credit for a goalkeeper's own goal, and then Gerrard finished off what some people call a "superb move" against a demoralized team which couldn't give a rat's arse any more by then. All in all, i am still overjoyed by the results, and it was a definitely, although not good enough, improvement from the dross they dished out against the French.

Areas for improvement for Ingerlund: Well, one, sad to say, maybe it would be time to give Owen some bench duty, since Vassell looked so much more threatening with the time he was on the pitch, but i guess, being the biased Liverpool supporter that i am, give him one more chance against the Croats. Secondly, dump tell Scholes that when he plays as a left midfielder, he should AT LEAST spend SOME time on the left hand side of the pitch. Either that, or bring in Owen Hargraves and play him in Gerrards position as a "quasi" holding midfielder, as *gasp* (i never knew i would be saying this) play Gerrard as a left midfielder. Yes, yes, yes, i know this is controversial but i do have my rationale for this, since for the first two games, Gerrard's game has been severely restricted as he has been given responsiblity to play in the, what we could say, "Hammann Role", which severely restricts him from getting the ball and running towards opposing defenders like he does in the premiership. I say, give that role to Hargraves, or at least try it out against the Croats, since he did a decent job against the Swiss when he came on, and let Gerrard roam the left hand flank like he did. I must say that Gerrard looked much more effective and threatening there. Ideally he would have taken the role that Lampard or Beckham is taking, but since Lampard is also having a decent tournament so far, and Beckham, well, let's not go there, and we do want Gerrard in a more advanced role, left midfield looks promising.

It's Benitez It Is
Well, we could see this coming, and it was just a matter of time. At last the whole shennanigans regarding the managerial position at Liverpool has at last been sorted out. Also, out goes Phil Thompson as well, and i can only guess that "Rafa" will bring with him his trusted assistant from Valencia. Now that this is all sorted out, he should get down to business and sort out some outstanding stuff like certain situations we have with Owen and Gerrard, more so Gerrard if you ask me. It is a tad bit unsettling, and my faith in his loyalty towards the club has indeed been shaken reading some of the articles stating phrases like "31 million quid", "130 pounds a week wages", "training ground bust up with Carragher", "Benitez flying to Portugal to convince Gerrard to stay" and also Parry publicly expressing his concerns over Gerrard. My opinion is that ONLY Chelsea would be his destination IF he were to leave, and the only reasons that I can see him leaving is that if Rafa is not able to convince him that what he plans to do with the club is acceptable to Gerrard. I am also worried that the fact that Gerrard was completely distraught (as reports would suggest) over the sacking of Houllier, who he holds high regards of. However, this situation will only get sorted out probably after Euro 2004, and if he does indeed leave, it would be a very sad day for me as I myself hold Gerrard in high regard, ESPECIALLY in the area of loyalty to the club, and I would like to think that as the captain of the club that he has been supporting since his childhood years, he would be proud to lead the team under a new management, into a new era of Liverpool Football Club, well, at least for another year to see where it is going under a new managament, and if it still doesn't work out, then by all means f*ck off. However, if he does leave to Chelsea this summer after Euro 2004, then i guess money does indeed talk much louder than.. pretty much everything else.

Signing off to get some rest before the Spain Portugal match, so that i am not in such a comatose state at work tomorrow.

They blew it

What a major cock up. Now I know how those Bayern Munich fans must have felt on THAT day. Leading 1-0 after 90 minutes with only 3 minutes of stoppage time, and what do you do? Why, you needlessly concede a freekick, and then the keeper position himself badly to perpetually *watch* the ball sail into the net, then make a superb defense splitting pass, only that it's to a player from the opposite team and its towards your goal, and that also doesn't take into account the fact that you missed a penalty to wrap up the game after 20 minutes time by taking a shot even my grandmother could have predicted.

OK, i think i shall cool down a bit now. I am sure that there will be many many finger pointing activities going around in the world of the England supporters right now, and rightly so. However for me, my finger will be pointing first towards the tactics that they were playing that night. To tell you the truth, from the way that they played, whatever Sven Goran Eriksson has been blabbering to the press about his "confidence" in the England team to match the French, is absolutely horse shit. From the way that he set out the English team to play, it was just so damn obvious that he was oh so scared of the French team, but playing with 8 defenders and Rooney and Owen. I mean, thats the sort of tactics teams like Malaysia would employ against the French team. Defend for your life, and if you're lucky, hit them on the break or through a set piece. I do agree that against a team like the French, ANY team should play with caution, but not to the extent of what the English were doing. It was just so obvious what they were doing.

I don't really feel like writing much about the game as I am still disillusioned by what happened. Truth be told, for me, i think a draw would have been a fair result since both sets of players didn't really show us what they could do. Players from the French side like Pires and Henry couldn't reproduce their form that they have consistently shown for Arsenal almost every week, while Zidane, although he made himself pretty busy and got involved in the middle of the park, couldn't offer much imagination to penetrate the eight man English wall. Players from the English side i guess didn't play any better as well, with Gerrard disciplined but quiet shielding the English back four, and had an OK game until he made the mistake he will never repeat in his life again, while el "Golden Balls" Kapitan other than his goal assisting free kick and "golden opportunity to wrap up the game" missing spot kick was virtually anonymous the rest of the game. (Now come to think of it even more, why on earth the much lesser known teams, like Greece the other night, never have any issues when it comes to penalty taking?!! ). Even Owen, i didn't notice that he was playing until he got substituted for Darius Vassell.

The bright side of it is, it can't get any worse than this right? OK, actually come to think of it, i CAN DEFINITELY be worse, but I guess against teams like Switzerland and Croatia, Eriksson would (and indeed SHOULD) dump the ultra negative tactics and let the players express themselves freely on the pitch. More of the same from the Iceland game PLEASE. Also, Rooney also showed glimpses of why he is so highly rated in the England camp. The highlight would of course be him running past the French defence and enticing Silvestre into conceeding a penalty.

OK enough of that. I think I will be sleeping early tonight, since I was absolutely struggling to stay awake in the office. Need.. sleep... Bed... Mmm... Now i can start to think of how cool it would be to be driving the new Merc SLR. Sweeeet...