After 2 matches of the EPL, ManUsa are at the top of the table with 2 emphatic wins, a 5-1 demolition of Foolham and 3-0 away win against Choketon. With Chelsea losing to Middlesboredom let us just give the EPL trophy to ManUsa.
Coz that is what their fans are saying. They have come out of the blocks and lets forget the other 36 matches plus champs league, mickey mouse cup and FArCup matches they have to play. Just give them the trophy.
After all they won today without Roo-Roo and Paul Scold (suspended) so they are showing the world their quality as true EPL champs aren't they??? Players like John O'Shea and Darren Fletcher have grown so much that they are scoring goals now.
So after 2 matches, the fans are going nuts....and they should be, their team has done well and as sitting on top of the EPL.
yeah........ :-P
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Friday, August 18, 2006
The Kuyt lands at Anfield
It has been reported that Liverpool has signed Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt from Feyenoord for a sum anywhere between 9m and 11m pounds. He adds to the stable of players as LFC carries on with the Rafalution.Currently he is undergoing a medical and has to agree to personal terms and funnily enough he says he pushed back a number of other offers to play with 'pool - sure that is what they all say!!
While he is not a big name striker like $hev$henko or Ruud Van Nestlinginrealmadrid, we have a player who has scored at least 20 goals in the past 4 Dutch seasons and also helps to create a number of goals for team mates.
This is seriously the type of player Rafa Benitez likes - hard working on the pitch and plays for the team.
After the dissapintment of Fernando Morientes, I am a little reserving to explain he is one of the last pieces we need to claim the premiership. It will take him some time to adapt to the EPL but I hope it is a lot quicker and he starts doing good things sooner.DK also can play on the right and as a striker so that is good with the rotation policy clubs employ to fit in with the various competitions they play in.
DK also can play on the right and as a striker so that is good with the rotation policy clubs employ to fit in with the various competitions they play in.Of course now we can look forward to a number of articles considering his name sounds like "KITE" such as my attempt and we have to give him a nick name as well. I cannot help thinking of the movie character "Dirk Diggler" from the movie Boogie Nights. Lets hope DK makes like DD when he meets our opponents in the EPL and well you can guess the rest......
Thursday, August 17, 2006
5 Things that I did NOT like about Malaysia
I thought a good way to cover the holiday was to p the locals there and list the things I did not like. but do not get your sarongs in too many knots. i will have a list of things I did like and I reckon it will longer. Anyway, the thrashing begins.........
1. TRAFFIC - look I am a traffic engineer so my life is spent dealing with traffic, but the way people drive there. GEEZ!!! There is no such thing as courtesy and the aim appears to be cutting in and out but not giving way to any other motorists. I can not drive in KL. I would be stopping and starting and giving way to much. But I may have brought some of those habits back here. I seem to be cutting lanes a lot these days - although i do indicate!
2. ITS GETTING HOT IN HERE - Actually the weather was a lot kinder this time around that last time due to the rains. But when the sun shone and broke through the haze/mist/clouds, MAN did I feel the heat. But thank god there are air conditioners, thank the gods alright!!
3. Did I mention the traffic!
4. The Mexican Restaurant on Heritage Row - we went there for dinner for my mum-in-law's anniversary of her 21st birthday and there were about 4 tables occupied. We ordered food and some tequila's. i had 3 shots and was still sober. After an hour our food did not come. Really bad I say - someone must have been in the kitchen reading the recipe book on how to make Fajita's!
5. PARIS HILTON @ No 2 of your charts - what is wrong with you people. How can this blonde, non-talented BIMBO hoochie have her song at number 2. Be ashamed, be very ashamed, hold your heads for this to occur. Seriously, what is wrong with the listeners in your country. She has no talent in anything except for certain types of activities in certain type of movies. All she does is do nothing!! and you have her at number 2 in your musical charts.
Look that really is the biggest thing that p'ed me off...and the number of times they play it on the radio!!
Shame Malaysia SHAME
1. TRAFFIC - look I am a traffic engineer so my life is spent dealing with traffic, but the way people drive there. GEEZ!!! There is no such thing as courtesy and the aim appears to be cutting in and out but not giving way to any other motorists. I can not drive in KL. I would be stopping and starting and giving way to much. But I may have brought some of those habits back here. I seem to be cutting lanes a lot these days - although i do indicate!
2. ITS GETTING HOT IN HERE - Actually the weather was a lot kinder this time around that last time due to the rains. But when the sun shone and broke through the haze/mist/clouds, MAN did I feel the heat. But thank god there are air conditioners, thank the gods alright!!
3. Did I mention the traffic!
4. The Mexican Restaurant on Heritage Row - we went there for dinner for my mum-in-law's anniversary of her 21st birthday and there were about 4 tables occupied. We ordered food and some tequila's. i had 3 shots and was still sober. After an hour our food did not come. Really bad I say - someone must have been in the kitchen reading the recipe book on how to make Fajita's!
5. PARIS HILTON @ No 2 of your charts - what is wrong with you people. How can this blonde, non-talented BIMBO hoochie have her song at number 2. Be ashamed, be very ashamed, hold your heads for this to occur. Seriously, what is wrong with the listeners in your country. She has no talent in anything except for certain types of activities in certain type of movies. All she does is do nothing!! and you have her at number 2 in your musical charts.
Look that really is the biggest thing that p'ed me off...and the number of times they play it on the radio!!
Shame Malaysia SHAME
Thursday football talk
I have not had time to write about the trip to Malaysia out I wanted to quickly talk about the overnight internationals and the upcoming EPL season.
First thing is that Australia has qualified for the Asia Cup next year which will be held in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and MALAYSIA. The game was pretty poor as they were made up of a group of young guys who play in our national competition the A-League. From the standard of passing I see why they play here and not in Europe. It was average but come the Asia cup, we should get the regulars in.
Which bring me to hoping they get grouped with Singapore or Malaysia (more so the latter) as it is likely that their games will be played in the land of my birth. Then I can start a football odyssey and go to their matches. It shall be great fun to partake and catch up with all. Now I have to convince Metria to come along. She can visit her friends and I can happily watch football. Steven – you should come as well!
Steven is my beloved cousin, a fellow Liverpudlian supporter (a great bloke then!!) and an Englishmen. His national team destroyed the Greeks via a 4 goal whooping. But beware of Greeks conceding goals. Actually not much should be read into the game as it was a friendly. See they are grouped with Russia who are managed for my nominee for “Australian” of the Year Guus Hiddink. And they better be careful, they may be in for a rude surprise!
Still the team looked a lot better with the new set up. Defoe as a striker was ordinary. But Stevie on the right worked well and Lampard played good in central midfield with Owen Hargraves as the holding player. There was more cohesiveness on the pitch and the first half was really good. Too bad they show this form 6 weeks too late and not when it counted. Oh well….
Lastly, I am looking forward to the start of the EPL season. Finally footy is back and we can look forward to weekends staying up late and watching matches. Sadly there is no fun as I expect Chelsea to win it all followed by LFC, then a gap to a combination of Arsenal, ManUre, Newcastle and Spurs.
But again Chelsea can not be considered a big club, we know the reason why the have won so much yet they have not managed to win a cup apart from the Mickey Mouse one – same as MU. All that money has ruined the game and of Roman leaves I hope the club falls coz they are not real, they are fakes and deserve all the supporters who have joined them after jumping off the MU bandwagon!
First thing is that Australia has qualified for the Asia Cup next year which will be held in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and MALAYSIA. The game was pretty poor as they were made up of a group of young guys who play in our national competition the A-League. From the standard of passing I see why they play here and not in Europe. It was average but come the Asia cup, we should get the regulars in.
Which bring me to hoping they get grouped with Singapore or Malaysia (more so the latter) as it is likely that their games will be played in the land of my birth. Then I can start a football odyssey and go to their matches. It shall be great fun to partake and catch up with all. Now I have to convince Metria to come along. She can visit her friends and I can happily watch football. Steven – you should come as well!
Steven is my beloved cousin, a fellow Liverpudlian supporter (a great bloke then!!) and an Englishmen. His national team destroyed the Greeks via a 4 goal whooping. But beware of Greeks conceding goals. Actually not much should be read into the game as it was a friendly. See they are grouped with Russia who are managed for my nominee for “Australian” of the Year Guus Hiddink. And they better be careful, they may be in for a rude surprise!
Still the team looked a lot better with the new set up. Defoe as a striker was ordinary. But Stevie on the right worked well and Lampard played good in central midfield with Owen Hargraves as the holding player. There was more cohesiveness on the pitch and the first half was really good. Too bad they show this form 6 weeks too late and not when it counted. Oh well….
Lastly, I am looking forward to the start of the EPL season. Finally footy is back and we can look forward to weekends staying up late and watching matches. Sadly there is no fun as I expect Chelsea to win it all followed by LFC, then a gap to a combination of Arsenal, ManUre, Newcastle and Spurs.
But again Chelsea can not be considered a big club, we know the reason why the have won so much yet they have not managed to win a cup apart from the Mickey Mouse one – same as MU. All that money has ruined the game and of Roman leaves I hope the club falls coz they are not real, they are fakes and deserve all the supporters who have joined them after jumping off the MU bandwagon!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
A sad ending to the trip
A sad event occurred last night as we were returned home. My nani/grandmother (my mum's mother) passed away. She left this world at about 9pm last night (11pm here in Melbourne) and I found out about it this morning.
It only took a few moments for the memories of her to engulf me and this wave of emotion overcame me. My thoughts are primarly of the first 6/7 years of life, when she used to look after me, my cousins and my brother and sister. The memories from ym childhood are centrered around spending times with my cousins but during the working week I remember my nani used to look after us.
Although sad that her long life has come to an end, I feel happy that she passed away last night while my mum and aunts were around. She was due to return to her nursing home today and to pass away there would have been terrible and unfair.
Last night she was blessed, she was with her some of her family, her daughters who came down from Australia (my mum) and England (my aunt of course). If my mum and Aunt were not there she would have been at the nursing home.
The last 2 weeks she has been surrounded by her daugthers and some of her grandchildren, and although she may not have been able to see us or communicate with us, I hope she could FEEL us! Feel her family were around and that she was loved. I think that she sensed/knew that she would be returning to the nursing home today and would be alone. When she left this world, she left knowing her family was with her. That feels right and kind and correct in a way.
I knew when I left my Aunt's house that this would be the last time I would see her alive. But to have this happen after 24 hours is a shock.
So rest in peace Naniji. You leave the world with 5 daughters, 3 sons, 15 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren and growing!
It only took a few moments for the memories of her to engulf me and this wave of emotion overcame me. My thoughts are primarly of the first 6/7 years of life, when she used to look after me, my cousins and my brother and sister. The memories from ym childhood are centrered around spending times with my cousins but during the working week I remember my nani used to look after us.
Although sad that her long life has come to an end, I feel happy that she passed away last night while my mum and aunts were around. She was due to return to her nursing home today and to pass away there would have been terrible and unfair.
Last night she was blessed, she was with her some of her family, her daughters who came down from Australia (my mum) and England (my aunt of course). If my mum and Aunt were not there she would have been at the nursing home.
The last 2 weeks she has been surrounded by her daugthers and some of her grandchildren, and although she may not have been able to see us or communicate with us, I hope she could FEEL us! Feel her family were around and that she was loved. I think that she sensed/knew that she would be returning to the nursing home today and would be alone. When she left this world, she left knowing her family was with her. That feels right and kind and correct in a way.
I knew when I left my Aunt's house that this would be the last time I would see her alive. But to have this happen after 24 hours is a shock.
So rest in peace Naniji. You leave the world with 5 daughters, 3 sons, 15 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren and growing!
Monday, August 07, 2006
A mini holiday withing the holiday
Metria and I are off to Batu Pahat in a few minutes. It is just an overnight stay so we can visit my cousin and her recently birthed twin daughters. They are apparerently gorgeous and why not, they come from the same gene pool as me :-)
Batu Pahat is about 2-3 hours from KL so we can see some sceneray on the way.
Should be good few days away from thew hustle and bustle of the KL metropolis!
Batu Pahat is about 2-3 hours from KL so we can see some sceneray on the way.
Should be good few days away from thew hustle and bustle of the KL metropolis!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Its sad sometimes
My Nani, my mum's mother is well into her 80's. I do not know her exact age because he date of birth was not recorded. So we kind of know what age she is.
My image of her is of a loving grandmother who would always be of her holding my head while kissing my cheeks. It is a wonderful memory that I hope to keep forever. As a child I remember her vividly as she would look after me, my sister and cousin when our parents were at work.
The last time I saw her was about 5 or 6 years ago, until recently. The last few years have not been kind to her as her memory is fading and the happiness I use to see has disappeared. Earlier this week, I saw her at my Aunt's place where she is being looked after by my mum and her sisters for a couple of weeks.
When I looked into her eyes I could tell she did not know where she was or what she was feeling. I felt like she was somewhere and she was not really happy. Her memories must be gone and that is truly sad for her. She raised 3 sone and 5 daughters and in turn their children. She had a tough life and her marriage was not the best. But she knew that love would do wonders.
Yet the greatest thing she did was love her grandchildren.
I remember when she stayed with us in Perth for sometime, everytime we came home from school or with ourt friends she would give us a hug and kiss of on the cheeks a lot. Sometimes 2, 3, 4, 5 times. She was always happy to see us. A person feels wonderful when they are greeted like that.
When I look back on those times, I feel sad that she has now come back to this state where she can not recognise where she is and who she is with.
Life is like that sometimes.
My image of her is of a loving grandmother who would always be of her holding my head while kissing my cheeks. It is a wonderful memory that I hope to keep forever. As a child I remember her vividly as she would look after me, my sister and cousin when our parents were at work.
The last time I saw her was about 5 or 6 years ago, until recently. The last few years have not been kind to her as her memory is fading and the happiness I use to see has disappeared. Earlier this week, I saw her at my Aunt's place where she is being looked after by my mum and her sisters for a couple of weeks.
When I looked into her eyes I could tell she did not know where she was or what she was feeling. I felt like she was somewhere and she was not really happy. Her memories must be gone and that is truly sad for her. She raised 3 sone and 5 daughters and in turn their children. She had a tough life and her marriage was not the best. But she knew that love would do wonders.
Yet the greatest thing she did was love her grandchildren.
I remember when she stayed with us in Perth for sometime, everytime we came home from school or with ourt friends she would give us a hug and kiss of on the cheeks a lot. Sometimes 2, 3, 4, 5 times. She was always happy to see us. A person feels wonderful when they are greeted like that.
When I look back on those times, I feel sad that she has now come back to this state where she can not recognise where she is and who she is with.
Life is like that sometimes.
When on Holidays one must relax, even at the cost of putting a few family members off!
So far, so good. No stomach problems and the heat is not taking its toll. Sure this place is slightly warmer and muggier than Melbourne but it has been nice. My team around me have been diligent in what food I eat, so touch wood all will be well and I get back in one piece. I have been relaxing quite a bit, reading books, watching TV and DVD's so I have come down to a level where I feel quite relaxed.
Yet I feel a bit bad because I have been here a week and have seen only a few relatives. My family is rather large and I have a lot of uncles and aunties here as a result of the large families my parents came from (this begs the question about the contraceptive, or lack thereof, in the old days or were my grandparents just rabbits!)
Still I love coming from a large family because this means family functions are always fun! A lot of my cousins have their own kids and so I am an uncle to a few offspring - the big, bald uncle from Melbourne!! And they are all so adorable and most are scared of me!!
But the conundrum when visiting Malaysia is to make the time to see them all. I would love to do that, but in undertaking such a task, it could result in increased stress levels with all the driving around. Not to mention, it would mean Metria would have to follow and therefore abandon her friends in some instances. There was already a case that just occurred today at lunch.
We went out to meet a friend for lunch and just as we were entering I bumped into a cousin who was going to lunch with her friend. So a group of 3 became 5 and I was trying to chat with my cousin while not appearing too rude to Metria's friend. I trend to balance the conversation between the both parties while not taking the focus for Metria and mate to talk. Tough!
Now we have less that a week before we hit Melbourne and I only have 3/4 days to see my family. Some tentative plans have been made and hopefully we can see as many of the family as possible. It is somewhat important as this is the first time I meet the family after the marriage but I hope they understand that if I do not meet them it is because I do not like them.
I enjoy spending time with my uncles and aunties but I really want to catch up with my cousins. Because we, the younger generation, will carry the family name forward and my family tree has always been very close, and I hope to achieve a similar bond with them. These days with the open lines of communication it is easy to stay in touch even if they are 8000km's away. Sure the day to day, physical communication is not there but as family the bond can be expressed somewhat through msn, blogs and email.
I hope my family feels the same way.
Yet I feel a bit bad because I have been here a week and have seen only a few relatives. My family is rather large and I have a lot of uncles and aunties here as a result of the large families my parents came from (this begs the question about the contraceptive, or lack thereof, in the old days or were my grandparents just rabbits!)
Still I love coming from a large family because this means family functions are always fun! A lot of my cousins have their own kids and so I am an uncle to a few offspring - the big, bald uncle from Melbourne!! And they are all so adorable and most are scared of me!!
But the conundrum when visiting Malaysia is to make the time to see them all. I would love to do that, but in undertaking such a task, it could result in increased stress levels with all the driving around. Not to mention, it would mean Metria would have to follow and therefore abandon her friends in some instances. There was already a case that just occurred today at lunch.
We went out to meet a friend for lunch and just as we were entering I bumped into a cousin who was going to lunch with her friend. So a group of 3 became 5 and I was trying to chat with my cousin while not appearing too rude to Metria's friend. I trend to balance the conversation between the both parties while not taking the focus for Metria and mate to talk. Tough!
Now we have less that a week before we hit Melbourne and I only have 3/4 days to see my family. Some tentative plans have been made and hopefully we can see as many of the family as possible. It is somewhat important as this is the first time I meet the family after the marriage but I hope they understand that if I do not meet them it is because I do not like them.
I enjoy spending time with my uncles and aunties but I really want to catch up with my cousins. Because we, the younger generation, will carry the family name forward and my family tree has always been very close, and I hope to achieve a similar bond with them. These days with the open lines of communication it is easy to stay in touch even if they are 8000km's away. Sure the day to day, physical communication is not there but as family the bond can be expressed somewhat through msn, blogs and email.
I hope my family feels the same way.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Sometimes if it good to be away and see what is happening to get a better perspective on things. Being away from the land down under I keep abreast of the news and what is happening.
The biggish story is that the latest winner of Big Brother - Australia - is over and this Zoolander clone Jamie won it. Look he seems like a nice guy but he talks and does dumb things. But being harmless helps, he did not really harm or hurt anyone and is well known for the size of his...ahem...Well his down under. See is BB, they show everything and people have seen the comings and goings there.
The other scary thing is noting that the price of bananas there are something like $16 per kilo!!! So while here I am going to whack as much gorang pisang as I can!
Lastly, my football boys kanaed a 3-0 loss over the weekend! See I leave and the team starts falling apart!!
Apart from all this and that, our holiday has been rambling along at a nice speed. My only worry/issue here is how to spread my love to the family! Too many cousins, aunties and uncles to see but that is why I love coming here. The main problem is that everyone works and the weekend is the best time. But those slots get filled up a lot! I have seen more of Metria's family which is different but I enjoy it as they are now my new extended family - and lord knows my family keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Plus I have to visit the pasa malam and pick up football jerseys. We need new toilet seat covers and hence the new ManU jersey will suffice!! Plus I want to get some DVD's so I can watch and waste time when I am home.
The only downside is I feel the inkling to savour some of the KL nightlife. So maybe this Friday night we head over to my cousin's pub in Hartamas (shameless plug alert - BOJANGLES) and groove the evening away!!
The biggish story is that the latest winner of Big Brother - Australia - is over and this Zoolander clone Jamie won it. Look he seems like a nice guy but he talks and does dumb things. But being harmless helps, he did not really harm or hurt anyone and is well known for the size of his...ahem...Well his down under. See is BB, they show everything and people have seen the comings and goings there.
The other scary thing is noting that the price of bananas there are something like $16 per kilo!!! So while here I am going to whack as much gorang pisang as I can!
Lastly, my football boys kanaed a 3-0 loss over the weekend! See I leave and the team starts falling apart!!
Apart from all this and that, our holiday has been rambling along at a nice speed. My only worry/issue here is how to spread my love to the family! Too many cousins, aunties and uncles to see but that is why I love coming here. The main problem is that everyone works and the weekend is the best time. But those slots get filled up a lot! I have seen more of Metria's family which is different but I enjoy it as they are now my new extended family - and lord knows my family keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Plus I have to visit the pasa malam and pick up football jerseys. We need new toilet seat covers and hence the new ManU jersey will suffice!! Plus I want to get some DVD's so I can watch and waste time when I am home.
The only downside is I feel the inkling to savour some of the KL nightlife. So maybe this Friday night we head over to my cousin's pub in Hartamas (shameless plug alert - BOJANGLES) and groove the evening away!!
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