Second Place

Can I just take this opportunity to say "Damn Clint Dempsey!"? His brace totally ruined Chelsea's New Year celebrations. In the West London derby at Craven Cottage yesterday, Fulham took a shock 9th minute lead through Dempsey, but cue Frank the savior whose brace restored our lead. However, a lapse in concentration allowed Dempsey to equalise in the dying minutes, and all we saw were 2 wasted points sliding down Fulham Road.

Liverpool have pulled 3 points clear off the top as they thrashed Newcastle 5-1. Actually, if not for the absolutely outstanding Shay Given, it could easily have been 8-0 or something like that by the end of the first half. Not surprisingly, Given rushed away after the game, clearly annoyed at his great work gone to waste and reports have surfaced that he's finally ready to quit Tyneside. Yesterday was his 459th game for Newcastle, and supporters will only bid a fond farewell to Given if he does leave in the January transfer window. He's been more than loyal to the Magpies, and a player of his calibre should indeed be playing for a top European club. With a whole host of clubs including Arsenal said to be interested and Newcastle quite obviously embroiled in this season's 12-club relegation dogfight, I won't be surprised to see Given bid adieu come January or July next year.

Enter another young goalie apparently on the radar of a plethora of clubs come January. Tottenham and reportedly Arsenal are ready to bid £3 and £5 million pounds respectively for Man Utd's 3rd choice goalie Ben Foster. With Edwin vdS signing on for another season and having to compete with Kusczcak (sp?) for the no. 1 jersey on the rare occasions vdS is rested, playing time for Ben has been tough to come. He's aiming to break into the England team for WC 2010 and without regular playing time, he can never hope to dislodge David James as the England's no.1. He's only played twice this whole campaign: against Celtic in the UCL and Rovers in the Carling Cup quarters. I've seen him play twice: against Derby last year and against Spurs for Watford the previous year. He's got load of fans clamouring for him to take over the no.1 next season and I've seen enough to say: Move On. He's 25, rotting on the sidelines and if he doesn't watch out, he's going to stagnate. Going to Spurs, Villa or whatever club is interested would do him a world of good. A goalie of his ability should be playing regular first team football. SAF obviously is reluctant to let him go, but he's the one making Foster wait! It's a pity vdS signed the new contract because he's been really shaky in goal this season, and next season would be just right for Ben and Tomasz to compete for the no.1 jersey. However, Ben has gotten impatient and I don't blame him. Apparently he's going to hand in a transfer request eventhough United are offering him a new contract. If he goes to Spurs or Arsenal, he can get regular playing time because both Almunia and Gomes are mediocre keepers, Foster should easily usurp them. Gomes's comedy capers have decreased but Harry still wants to bring in Foster to provide cover and competition for liability Gomes. So if Foster's smart, he'll leave in January permanently or on loan. No one said you have to be United's no.1 to be England's no.1.

BPL Results:-

Chelsea 2 Fulham 2
Liverpool 5 Newcastle 1
Arsenal 1 Pompey 0
Everton 3 Sunderland 0
WBA 2 Spurs 0

Oh and Benoit Assou-Ekotto got suspended in the first half so looks like Bale will be playing in the New Year! Provided he doesn't leave in that ridiculous swap deal for Downing.

Have Yourself a Merry Christmas

The Christmas tree at home

From L to R: Aunty Kam Yean, lamb, me, Mummy and Daddy with the birthday cake at Lemon Garden.

Outside with the real gingerbread wall


At Dome KLCC

Do not order their banana milkshake...for RM 15++ it sucks.

Cheers! :)

I know it's already Boxing Day but Merry X'Mas everyone :)

My Christmas was extremely low-key...I slept in the afternoon due to a massive headache. This is the last time I'm going to SMS with Pei Chen until 2 am in the morning!

Religious symbolism of The Twelve Days of Christmas (The 12 Days of Christmas)

1 True Love refers to God

2 Turtle Doves refers to the Old and New Testaments

3 French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues

4 Calling Birds refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists

5 Golden Rings refers to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace.

6 Geese A-laying refers to the six days of creation

7 Swans A-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments

8 Maids A-milking refers to the eight beatitudes

9 Ladies Dancing refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit

10 Lords A-leaping refers to the ten commandments

11 Pipers Piping refers to the eleven faithful apostles

12 Drummers Drumming refers to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

Wow I had no idea that such symbolism existed behind the lyrics to one of my favourite songs.

Sleigh Ride

Just hear those sleigh bells jingle-ing

Ring ting tingle-ing too

Come on, it's lovely weather

For a sleigh ride together with you

Outside the snow is falling

And friends are calling "Yoo Hoo"

Come on, it's lovely weather

For a sleigh ride together with you

Giddy-yap giddy-yap giddy-yap

Let's go

Let's look at the show

We're riding in a wonderland of snow

Giddy-yap giddy-yap giddy-yap it's grand

Just holding your hand

We're gliding along with the song

Of a wintry fairy land

Our cheeks are nice and rosy

And comfy cozy are we

We're snuggled up together like two

Birds of a feather would be

Let's take the road before us

And sing a chorus or two

Come on, it's lovely weather

For a sleigh ride together with you

There's a birthday party at the home of Farmer Gray

It'll be the perfect ending of a perfect day

We'll be singing the songs we love to sing without a single stop

At the fireplace while we watch the chestnuts pop

Pop! Pop! Pop!

There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy

When they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie

It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives

These wonderful things are the things

We remember all through our lives

(Repeat)

Shades of Depression

Doesn't take Einstein no II to guess I'm not in the best of moods. Maybe it's the lack of chocolate and Hanepoote juice in my system.

Top 8 reasons why life sucks right now:-

1. I failed parking. How stupid can that get? Slope was miraculously perfect, and then I had to go and push the panic button when I saw all those JPJ guys around the parking lots. Everything was going so well, I got the right hand side of the slope, a new car, and was assigned to parking lot no 1. And then I had to go and blow it. Langgar 2 tiang, malunya saya! Tak tahu mana untuk letak muka. Next time I'm so checking the mirror. If it's not 8 1/2 poles, DO NOT REVERSE. Thank God I passed road, 17/20. I guess the JPJ guy was kinda fed up already. I was, too. After I failed the slope thing, I had to wait 4 HOURS for the ujian jalan-raya stupid slowpokes.

2. I screwed up the Unit 4 mock today. I had no idea how to do half the objective questions, First time, I must admit. Shows I have a lot more studying to do.

3. I got chosen for the NS 3RD BATCH FOR GOD'S SAKE.

4. Chelsea drew 0-0 with blooming Everton. As a Chelsea fan, this is unacceptable because Liverpool will be top for Christmas now. This is the second time in a row we have spurned the gilt-edged chance to go top.

5. I'm having a cold. Insignificant, yes. But a cold makes anyone feel moody.

6. Facebook has gone awry for the time being.

7. It's roughly 30 more minutes to Christmas Eve and I don't feel the slightest bit Christmassy. So this is Christmas anyone?

8. 2 more weeks to the start of the A-Levels Jan 2009 exams.

No pics for now from Daddy's 47th birthday dinner at Shangri-La, too lazy to install the new IXUS Program in the com.

Home Again :)

Omg I'm so happy everyone's home safe and sound. I hate to admit this but I really missed them like crazy..even the lamb seems to be extra nice and half as annoying as usual! And as a bonus they brought home loads of choccies!! Cadbury's Half-Deck (I have a feeling the lamb picked it out for me specially, cheers!), caramello, fruit and nut as well as Hershey's. Oh God just what I need...more glucose in the house hehe.

Draw

How in the blue blazes could we draw against stinky West Ham United??? Now we've failed to capitalise on all the other Big 4 drawing and remain stuck on 2nd place behind Liverpool. Sad to say, Stamford Bridge is no longer the fortress it once was. Far from it.

As Ebenezer Scrooge would say: Bah humbug!

Marathon

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun.

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancing and prancing in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air.

What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh

Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jingling feet

That's the jingle bell,
That's the jingle bell,
That's the jingle bell rock.

Oh I'm so immensely guilty...yesterday I watched BPL football for a marathon 4 hours! So shocking, when instead I should be studying ECONS. Yes. Today I will study. I repeat, I will study and not watch Chelsea v West Ham (live from Stamford Bridge at 11 pm tonight!). I hope. Maybe I should hide the remote.

First I watched the early kick-off at 8.45 pm Arsenal v Boro which finished 1-1 at the Riverside in what was a lacklustre performance from the Londoners particularly in the second half which only sparked to life in the dying minutes of the game. The goals came in the first half, and apart from that there was nothing noteworthy of the game. The fun began with the 2 games kicking-off at 11 pm, the very intriguing match at Anfield which saw BPL leaders Liverpool take on surprise package Hull and the other match at the City of Manchester Stadium where Man City were hosting an injury-plagued Everton. Albeit tuning in to the Man City match first(to see a certain Joe Hart!), the news that Hull had taken a shock 2 goal lead at Anfield saw me scrambling for the remote control. A scrappy McShane header and a Jamie Carragher own goal had given the Tigers the double advantage, but Captain Fantastic aka Steven Gerrard scored two marvellous goals within 8 minutes to salvage a point for the Reds. A highly entertaining game, compared to the humdrum one at the COMS but nonetheless I spent the next hour routinely alternating between the two. I just missed that last-minute Tim Cahill header at 90+2 which saw Everton steal all three points at the death. Remarkable, considering that Everton were playing with no recognised striker, (all injured) so Cahill and Fellaini had to be pushed up front in a makeshift line-up. As usual, he punched the corner flag hehe.

I half wanted to watch Spurs v Man Utd at 1.00 am but I decided that was probably pushing it...

Chance for Chelsea to go top tonight when we take on Gianfranco Zola at the Bridge seeing as Liverpool dropped more points yet again at home. Depleted by injuries as usual, I don't think that will stop the poor Hammers from a thrashing tonight though. Am backing Lampsy to score against his old club and make poor Zola's homecoming a miserable one.

BPL Results:-

Arsenal 1 Boro 1
Sunderland 4 WBA 0
Man Utd 0 Spurs 0
Liverpool 2 Hull 2
Aston Villa 4 Bolton 2
Wigan 3 Rovers 0
Man City 0 Everton 1

Tonight:-

Chelsea v West Ham
Newcastle v Portsmouth

The Highs, the Lows and the In-Betweens

Highs:-

1. I did all three perfectly today: slope, parking and 3 pointer. Exam next Monday, all systems are go. Uncle Chua didn't use the emergency brake today so this is surely a sign from God that I'm ready AT LAST.

2. (Mock) Exams over for the moment. Can laze around for a while and recuperate in time for January.

3. A for Stats and Chem mocks.

4. Oh yes I think I forgot to mention that we (Chelea of course!) scraped into the knockout rounds by the skin of our teeth after super sub Didier Drogba smashed home the winning goal. Who cares if we're second...wheeee! We're through! Ok lame.

In-Between:-

1. Parents and lamb in Chiangmai for the weekend. Can't decide if this is good or bad. Good because I suddenly have a lot of spare and TV time, bad because I miss them buckets.

2. Diploma exam OVER. Good because I don't have to practice the same old songs again and again, bad because I don't know if I'll make it. 75 marks per 100 to PASS! That's INSANE. Doesn't help that the stupid YoungChang piano they gave us was horrendously light to the touch, a pp sounds like ff. And the resonance and echoes due to the hollows walls made it a miserable day. I think I did myself justice on everything except the third piece. My heart was beating so fast I just blundered my way through it and made slips and trips everywhere. Please, please don't fail because of that....I hate the prelude, I'll die if I have to play it again. Not to mention that I'll probably be broke having to fork out RM 800+ to resit the exam again if I fail.

The Lows:-

1. How on earth can the Econs exam be cancelled AGAIN? From Thursday shifted to Monday, then today I got an SMS saying it's cancelled again because no venue. Wtf much? I'm so texting Ms. Kimmie to ask whether she'll allow me and Fei Ni to sit for it anyway on the 23rd. Manakan tahu mungkin 23rd also cancelled...I will seriously go ballistic if she does. If she's doing this just because she's lazy to mark our papers....

BPL this weekend:-

Spurs vs Man Utd
Chelsea vs West Ham
Arsenal vs Boro
Sunderland vs WBA
Man City vs Everton
Liverpool vs Hull

And He's Quit

I knew it the moment I woke up. Like a sixth sense or something. And sure enough when I opened the back page, there it was.

Roy Keane has quit Sunderland.

After 27 months, it's over.

It's not a big surprise. After that 4-1 thumping, Keano said he might not be the right man for the job.

He resigned via text message 4 days later, ending weeks of speculation about his refusal to sign a new contract which expires the end of next summer.

Chairman Nial Quinn apparently pleaded for 3 days for Keane not to leave but one Keano maked up his mind, there's no turning back. And Quinn should know that better than anyone.

There's so much I could write about this. About how Keane *lifted the club of it's knees* by making such an impact in his first season: From relegation contenders to CoCo-Cola 2006/2007 champions and automatic promotion, then Premier League survival in his second season and very first attempt, derby victory over Newcastle for the first time in 20+ years 6 weeks ago etc etc. He's done so much for the club. But he says that there has come a time where he feels he's taken the club as far as he can, and this is where he should leave it. With his head held high, he chose to walk away with his dignity and pride intact rather than face the humiliation of the sack.

There were so many rumours of how things turned ugly towards the end. Whisperings of how Ellis Short, the American millionaire who is a major stockholder began causing boardroom unrest by questioning Keane's refusal to sign a new contract and some of his summer signings; sources saying how celebrations erupted in the dressing room once news of his exit broke, of how he had lost half the dressing room eventually due to his uncompromising and alienating attitude. A string of defeats peaked with that humiliating 4-1 thumping at home, grumblings at his expensive flops, that incident against Northampton. All those indicators that suggested that Keane was heading towards the exit door anyway.

I shall refrain from saying anymore here. Steve Bruce said that he thinks his old pal Roy will be back, that his love for the game will bring him back; that football is a better place with his blunt honesty and refreshing integrity.

Yes, I hope so.

The only good thing I can think of is that he will be spared the anguish of a thrashing at the hands of his old mentor, SAF.

This weekend:-

Chelsea v Bolton
Man Utd v Sunderland

Crisis

RvP celebrating after scoring the winning goal. He even kissed Cesc!

No not me. Chelsea.

Yes, my beloved Blues crashed and burned again (I had a sinking feeling they would) as they sunk to a new low: a 2-1 defeat by Arsenal. Now instead of Arsenal's title hopes dissapearing into smoke, it looks like we're the ones in danger. Not the title challenge, but in general. *Van the man* scored 2 stunning goals (although the first one was offside) in 3 minutes to shock the Blues at Stamford Bridge. That means we have now taken only 1 point from a possible 9 from all our home clashes with the Big 4 so far. Not good. The next match is away to Bolton at the Reebok where we drew 1-1 on the last day of the season. One of our bogey teams I'm afraid. Liverpool drew with the Hammers last night but that was enough to leapfrog us into pole position. No worries, we'll gain it back soon enough.

Arsenal have a *horrible* habit of rising to the occasion when necessary. They did it against Man Utd when a Nasri double pinned back the Red Devils. Hmm, notice the similarity. And then they went on to lose 2-0 to Villa after that. That's not the stuff of title challengers but honestly, I don't know what to say. They continue to confound the pundits and their fans: somedays looking like they can tear the whole world apart and another falling to pieces at the Brittania. Unless Wenger learns to get some consistency with his young team, I don't see them beating out the likes of United and Chelsea to the title.

Another interesting match was the Manchester derby, which the Devils won thanks to Rooney's simple tap-in after Joe Hart spilled his save from Carrick's initial strike. It was the giant bear's 100th career league goal. After watching the highlights, I can say that my favourite part was towards the end. 1 minute left of stoppage time, and City were awarded a corner. Joe Hart came up after Mark Hughes gave him the green light, and Robinho took the corner (or was it SWP or Ireland?). Anyway, somehow van der Sar made a wonderful reflex save to deny City their equaliser. However, after he saved it the ball somehow flew up to midfield where it was collected by Giggs. Joe Hart was still up at the other goal, and he sprinted all the way back to his own goal! Rooney and Giggs played a one-two before Rooney fired a dipping strike goalward. Somehow, Joe Hart managed to get there in time and he madly punched it away just before the line. It was a terrific save, utterly top class. He also made a couple of other good saves. I thought he was great last year (save for that 6-0 thrashing by Chelsea), future England No. 2! No.1 is gonna be Ben Foster XD

Another ugly crisis has also unfolded at Sunderland, where Roy Keane's job is on the line. After a horrendous thumping by Bolton at home, speculation is rife that Keane will walk out after a bad run of a solitary win in 7 games. Nial Quinn is keen to keep Sunderland playing PL football next season, and fans and Keane himself is questioning whether he is the right man for the job. Instead of signing an extension to his contract which expires this summer, Keane hinted that his 100th game in charge could have been his last. There are suggestions that his imposing persona has sapped player confidence and morale. In my opinion, it's ridiculous. Keane is exactly the type of manager Sunderland need: He's authoratative, commanding and charismatic. He's done miracles with them: Dragging them up from the foot of the League One table to eventual champions in his first season in charge, and finishing 15th last season. If Keane leaves, 2-1 chance they'll be relegated. They're rubbish without him. On a more personal note though, the club is going to lose popularity among the female fans online with the parting of ways with the hottest man at the club. Yeah, you guessed it, I'm a huge Keano fan.

It's difficult to pinpoint what went wrong at the club. Keane spent heavily in the summer, bringing in quality players such as the likes of Malbranque, Tainio, Ferdinand and most importantly, Cisse. The mood on Wearside was so buoyant there was even talk of challenging for European places this season. 15 games later, the mood has changed dramatically with talk of relegation, manager's exit and such. After reading loads of articles, I personally hope this is not the end of the *love-affair* between Keane and the Mackems. All clubs go through rough periods, and this just could be the making or the breaking of Keane. As a player, he was never a quitter and I just don't see him quitting now. Another interesting POV I read was that the presence of troublemakers such as Diouf and Chimbonda has unsettled the dressing room. Cue the pic of Diouf celebrating with the BOLTON players after the horrific loss. Is this the kind of players that Keane wants in his squad? The squad has improved talent-wise but someone pointed out that what Sunderland lack now is not quality, but character and mental resilience. Last year, Keane had a cohesive squad of Championship players. This season, he's got a bunch of Premiership sell-by-date troublemakers. Maybe that's harsh, but whatever it is Keane has got to stop the rot, and fast. But this weekend's trip away to Old Trafford, Keane's old alma mater is not going to make matters easier.

On a lighter note, I did a home Science experiment today.

1. Mg + orange juice (citric acid) → NOTHING. My orange juice was too dilute.

2. Mg (s)+ CH3COOH (aq) (apple cider vinegar)→ (CH3COOH)2Mg (aq) + H2 (g)

Hehe I had stolen the Magnesium ribbon from the Chem lab 2 weeks ago, along with a red and blue litmus paper. The second one was successful, there were quite a lot of bubbles. Reaction was extremely slow though, 30 minutes to go to completion! In the lab with HCl it was on average 1-2 minutes.

Lyrics to Can I Have This Dance :-

[Gabriella]

Take my hand, take a breath

Pull me close and take one step

Keep your eyes locked on mine,

And let the music be your guide.

[Troy, Gabriella]

Won't you promise me (now won't you promise me, that you'll never forget)

We'll keep dancing (to keep dancing) wherever we go next

(Chorus)

It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you

It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do

And with every step together, we just keep on getting better

So can I have this dance (can I have this dance)

Can I have this dance

[Troy]

Take my hand, I'll take the lead

And every turn will be safe with me

Don't be afraid, afraid to fall

You know I'll catch you threw it all

[Troy, Gabriella]

And you can't keep us apart (even a thousand miles, can't keep us apart)

Cause my heart is (cause my heart is) wherever you are

(Chorus)

[Gabriella And Troy]

Oh no mountains too high enough, oceans too wide

'Cause together or not, our dance won't stop

Let it rain, let it pourWhat we have is worth fighting for

You know I believe, that we were meant to be

(Chorus)

It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you (like you)

It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do (way we do)

And with every step together, we just keep on getting better

So can I have this dance (can I have this dance)

Can I have this dance

Can I have this dance

Can I have this dance...