ruud awakening

After weeks of being sidelined, Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy became the solo hero for his Red Devils side by scoring the only goal in his comeback game this morning (EPL face-off versus West Ham).

The good news is, the win put us 5 points clear of closest opponent, Liverpool. That, and we've got a game in hand.

The better news is, the win put us just 9 points behind current leaders Chelsea. And, we have one game in hand.

The gap's narrowing. Keep the faith, people. Gotta keep the faith.

GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!

~*~

On a more sombre note…

Roman Abramovich's persistence in trying to add Milan's Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea's payroll seems to have paid off, with reports suggesting that the Ukraine striker will sign for the Stamford Bridge club this summer.

Chelsea's owner has been courting Shevchenko for three years but had been turned down three times. However, the Russian billionaire appears to have made it fourth time lucky, with Shevchenko agreeing in principle to a four-year contract worth in excess of £110,000 a week.

Personal terms have apparently been agreed with the player and Chelsea have been assured that he is prepared to put in a transfer request to Milan.

The San Siro club value him at £35m but Chelsea would appear to be content—and wealthy enough—to afford such a fee, even on top of nearly £23m in wages which they would have to pay the player for his services over those four years. However, the £10m-rated Argentinian Hernán Crespo could go the other way in part exchange. -- The Guardian

How dare they! MY Andriy!!!

Sigh. If this is true, I sure hope that Chelsea will meet AC Milan next season, and the Blues will get their asses whopped… by Hernán Crespo, no less.

Hah.
HaH!
HAH!!!

my once true love

I've always had a soft spot for rhythmic gymnastics.

How could I not, since I myself meddled in the sport for three years of my life. Unfortunately, due to the "sexy" nature of it all, I made the painful choice to quit when I was 12.

Let me tell you that not a day goes by that I don't wonder how different my life would be should I have chosen to fight on. Don't get me wrong, I do not regret my decision. I mean, some of the fondest memories I have are ones from when I was in secondary school, ones that would not have been created should I have kept the tight training schedule I had in my upper-primary years.

It's just that, how can I not stop to ponder over this ever so often when most of my friends whom I used to train with under the guidance of Ms Petrina Low went on to become this country's top gymnasts!

You've got that right. My alma mater, Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN for short), produced quite a number of legendary talents. Farrah Hani Imran. Farah Zelinah Kemal. And even Durratun Nashihin Rosli.

Yes, the same Durratun who dazzled her way on the dancefloor to become the darling of our Commonwealth Games 2006 contingent. The same Durratun who amassed a whopping four silvers, making herself the Malaysian athlete bringing back the most number of medals for our country.

Watching her strut her stuff on the idiot box, I must say how amazed I am at how far the sport has gone in this country. Full of pride and amazement, I am.

And for you people who reckon "playing around with a hoola-hoop, bouncing a ball, and twirling a ribbon is hardly a serious sport," well, reckon again. Consider the countless hours of training per week (try juggling a six-hour daily sweating session with studies), the endless injuries, the lack of life outside the gym...Oh, not to mention, the truly unforgiving diet to stay as stick-thin as possible but still have the energy and stamina to do all of the above!

Also, here's something for you to ponder over: for the four silvers that she's brought back from OZ, Durratun has pocketed over RM130,000! You see, under the National Sports Council (NSC) incentive programme, an individual gold is worth RM80,000, a silver RM40,000 and a bronze RM20,000. As for a team of no more than 5 people, the prize money will be split between the members.

If you don't call a RM130K cash incentive serious, I don't know what is.

Durratun Nashihin Rosli, I salute thee. Thank you for highlighting Malaysia on the world map of rhythmic gymnastics.

hooligans of the western world unite?

Hmm, perhaps the 150-person-capacity temp prison (more info in my previous post) might not create too big a dent after all.

How can it, when you've got idiots in the thousands with the kind of stone-age mindset as exhibited below?

A chilling warning from fascists

ROME: The World Cup in Germany is set to become a battleground between fascists and Muslims, an Italian member of a new European neo-Nazi movement warned on Tuesday.

In a statement published by Italian daily Repubblica, the member of AS Roma's notorious ultras hooligan group claims neo-Nazis across Europe met in Braunau in Austria to plan attacks against supporters from Islamic countries during the World Cup in Germany from June 9 to July 9.

“We are united. For the first time we are talking and planning together, with the English, the Germans, the Dutch, the Spanish, everyone with the same objective. At the World Cup there will be a massacre,” said the Italian ultra.

“We will all be in Germany and there will be Turks, Algerians and Tunisians. The Turks, we can't stand them. In our country (Italy) there are not many, but in Germany, there are many of those guys there. They are Islamic terrorists.

“We will attack them. They are all enemies that need to be eliminated, just like the police." -- AFP

Sigh. It's depressing what the world has come to, innit.

go to jail. go directly to jail. do not pass go, do not collect $200.

If you're thinking of putting your hooliganism caps on at this year's World Cup Finals, think again as you might find yourself being chucked away behind bars!

Cells a la those found in Hamburg’s main police station are currently being built in the German city. The makeshift prison, with a capacity of up to 150 prisoners, costs circa a whopping US$4.5 million!

A law has also been passed that will see footie imbecils being detained in the said jail for up to two weeks.

Super.

rampageous reds

Liverpool hammered Birmingham with a jaw-dropping 7-0 scoreline this morning.

And it wasn't just some random game, people. We're talking about an FA cup quarter-final berth here, for goodness sakes!

It's total madness, I tell you. How the hell did Birm give away a freekick, and let Sami Hyypia—Liverpool's centre-back—head one home after only 54 seconds of game?

As if that's not mistery enough, the guys in blue allowed their goal deficit to double just over three minutes later.

And the rest, as they say, is history. One that's complete with an own goal at that.

For serious, were the Birm defenders even present at all? SEVEN-effing-ZERO surely doesn't suggest so, innit.

I'd kill myself if I were the manager, I kid you not. That is, if someone else doesn't beat me to it.

"Indeed, such was the misery of this thumping defeat that come the end Steve Bruce and not the Birmingham defence was most in need of protection. The Birmingham manager, sheltered by a significant police presence for virtually the entire second half, suffered the ignominy of an irate fan running in his direction before the interval. The supporter was belatedly stopped in his tracks though Liverpool most certainly were not." -- http://football.guardian.co.uk/

u, but still

I went to watch The Pink Panther on Saturday night. Gotta say that Steve Martin is so funny it ain't funny! (hehe) Adored Jean Reno as well, but thought that Kevin Kline and especially Beyoncé could've done a little better.

Anyways, time for my gripe for the day ;Þ First and foremost, I just do not understand how some people can be so selfish as to keep on chitachattering throughout the movie. Yeah, yeah, this ain't anything new, but still. I mean, come on, how does one have complete disregard for other people's feelings? The whole point of splurging that RM10 or so is for us to enjoy the drama on the screen, not your real-life dramas! If you wanna do as you please, e.g. talk on your phone, hey, then allow me to do as I please, e.g. kick your behind so hard you'll be cursing and punching your own lips for misbehaving.

But you know what's worse than people stealing the limelight from the movie cast? Little people doing it. For serious, I have major issues with children who keep on talking, no, whining, to their mommies all throughout the show.

Children of the damned: Where is Pink Panther?

Mother of the damned: Pink Panther is the diamond ring... there, look, do you see it?

5 minutes later.

Children of the damned: Mommy, where's Pink Panther?

Mother of the damned: Pink Panther is the diamond ring, honey.

Children of the damned: Where? I don't see it, mommy.

Mother of the damned: You will see it later, okay?

3 minutes later.

Children of the damned: Mommy, where's Pink Panther?

2 minutes later.

Children of the damned: Mommy, where's Pink Panther?

Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther? Mommy, where's Pink Panther?

Arghhh! If you don't shut your big mouth I'mma stuff the goddamn Pink Panther up your... arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Granted, the movie's rated "U," but it was a 9.35pm show, for crying out loud! Shouldn't your bloody little midget be asleep? Yes, I have no right to tell you how to raise your kid. But have some consideration for others lah, please! If you know that your kid is an annoying little twit who won't bloody shut his mouth, my advice is you keep him at home unless you don't treasure his life!

I am so gonna be considered mean after this post. But trust you me, I'm really not. Unless you do stupid things that would bring out the bitchiness in me.

Hey, it's a defense mechanism, alright!

quote of the day

"Last season they saw the quarter-final on TV

and now we must do the same."

-- Jose Mourinho on his team Chelsea's exit out of Europe at the feet of Barcelona

sour portuguese grape

Chelsea got booted out of the Champion's League by Barcelona this morning.

Even then, the former's manager, famous for his super-size arrogance, still insists that Chelsea is the better team. The Portuguese, who lifted the most rooted-for footballing trophy in Europe with Porto two years ago, insists that while Barça is a great team, they haven't managed to beat Chelsea when the latter had a full 11-man squad.

"For me the critical point was the result at Stamford Bridge. We were playing with 10 players for most of the first leg [when Barça defeated Chelsea 2-1]. I have not seen two games with 11v11 and we have not seen Barcelona win against us when we have had 11 players." -- Jose Mourinho (from soccernet.com)

Aiyoyo, Mourinho. Nobody—be it fans or foes—can negate Chelsea's greatness. Nor can anyone deny that you're one of the best managers in the world.

But what would indeed bring you closer to godly (as you have so openly proclaim yourself to be) is a display of gracefulness in defeat.

Besides, one is immediately deemed uncool the moment one screams out that one is cool, innit.

stripes are a girl's best friend

This is so spot on, me reckons.

You Are Boyish Sexy

You're the kind of girl who gets along with all the boys. Whether it's holding your own in a game of football...Or kicking some major butt while playing Xbox. You hang with the guys easily, while still keeping your girly sexiness.

Take the "What Kind of Sexy Are You?" quiz

touchy touché

I have this colleague at work, let's just call him Uncle.

Uncle is one of those dear, fatherly kinds. Everyone likes him, everyone respects him, everyone enjoys his company.

Everyone, including me.

That is, except for one thing which I feel downright uncomfortable about.

Uncle likes to touch. No, not in an OTG (orang tua gatal) manner, but let's just say that he's overly warm and friendly. You know, whenever he greets you, he'll put his hand on your shoulder or squeeze your upper arm, that kind of stuff.

Thing is, I am one who despises coming in contact with those whom I don't deem close to me. Especially not in an office, where professionalism should be the order of the day.

I know he means no harm, that his touches are clean and innocent. But still. Why must there be any touching at all?

And the thing that bugs me the most is: I am a Muslim.

So is he.

In fact, he's very knowledgable in religious matters. He prays five times a day without fail, performs the Haj yearly, the works. Granted, he's not an extremist, but it doesn't take a radical Muslim (nor a person with Islamic beliefs for that matter) to respect another's personal comfort zone, innit.

I'd hate to offend Uncle, but I know I gotta say something somehow. Any suggestions on how I can tackle this issue gracefully?

through fat and thin

Confession: I am an avid listener of ERA.

A lot of my mates—most of whom are Malays whose first language is English—will give me a LOOK whenever I admit this this. With a wrinkly wince, they'll blurt out that they just can't understand why.

Well.

I am Malay.

I love Malay and Indo music.

And I am an ardent supporter of the local music scene.

So, why not ERA?

Anyways, I'm getting carried away from the whole point of this entry here. Calm down, o' mighty angst. Booyakasha!

Now where was I? Oh, right. I listen to ERA. And from time to time, I'll hear excerpts of advice from Dato' Dr Fadhilah Kamsah. For those not in the know, this man is a highly regarded motivational figure whose speciality is anything and everything on marriage and wedded bliss.

Today's tip truly caught my attention. The Dato' started off with this reminder, especially dedicated to all husbands out there:

You chose to marry her; don't you ever forget that.

As such, hubbies should accept their wifeys as they are. Stop complaining about her size 34 waist, and about how it used to be a sweet, tight 24". I mean, what, did you seriously think that she was going to stay young and slender (and for that fact, free of wrinkles) forever? Wake up and grow up, please!

The best part of Dato' Dr Fadhilah Kamsah's advice?

"Awak-awak tu, pinggang awak tu ramping ke? Nak isteri yang cun melecun, tapi awak tu cun melecun ke?"

Ambik kau.

But while I agree completely with our Dato' Dr. Love, that's not to say that you should take things for granted. Many people are guilty of becoming complacent when they've been with their partners for a considerable amount of time. Some even have the mindset of "We're married already, so why should I go out of my way to impress him with my looks? If he truly loves me, he should accept me in any condition."

Yes, it's true that he should love you no matter what, but is there anything wrong with maintaining your beauty? Muslim wives are even encouraged to beautify themselves whenever they're around their hubbies. Think of it this way, if you practice this, not only will you earn big brownie points with your man, but you'll also score some pahala along the way. It's a win-win situation for us women, really!

I'm not saying that you should deprive yourself of epicurean pleasures. Notice that I used the term "maintaining your beauty" and not "maintaining your weight," so please don't starve yourself silly for your man because trust me, it ain't worth it.

As for the men, the next time you wanna grumble about your queen's seemingly rounder behind and/or thicker love handles, look in the mirror first lah, brader. If instead of a six pack you see one "prosperous" pack, then perhaps tis best that you just bite your tongue ;Þ

wise words

"Love should be free of all prejudices

—including matters of the weight."

-- yours sincerely ;)