郑可为 － Plastic Mannequin Love

I like this song :)

Morcheeba - Gained the World

It's blessed to have friends with good taste..

During a dinner, my dinner companion stopped in a middle of conversation and told me the name of this band. I cant remember what song she pointed out though..hmm..

Not surprising, this is a Brit band. I wonder if there is any American music group that sounds anywhere under this genre of chill-trip-hop.

(feels a lil bit sad for the protagonist at the end..how similar it is that we are all awestruck by the seeming glamourous front of things, striving all we can to get there, and then realizing that it was all a sham in the first place)

Mel's Testimonial Match

Melanie Martens has always been the doyen of the national team, for as long as I can remember. When I was still fooling around in the B divisions, I can never forget the time when the Delta Sports Complex, packed to the brim, and everybody cheered...no, roared when the team she captained went on to win the SEA Games gold on home ground.

When I got to JC, stories about how good she was on the field, how commanding (and fierce!) my JC teammates who were already on the youth team by '95 would recount to me..to my awe and amazement.

In 1999, Mel's last (and my first) SEA Games in Brunei, she was still as commanding and brilliant on the field at 38. Having never really trained or played with her before, I still see her as a senior who is way above in a class of her own. And still awed like the teenager of 1995.

Now 12 years later, Mel, turning 50, was going to have the birthday bash that she had starting planning for 3 years back. Luck has it that she was walking around her school compound, and one of her knee gave way just like that. Torn ligament, probably a "souvenir" for all the years of hard knocking her knees took. With sheer determination and lots of physiotherapy sessions, she appeared on the field as if she was her old, albeit slightly injured self (hockey players always carry some sort of old injuries - age just amplifies them). Anybody not privy wouldn't have realised that she just had a knee operation less than 2 months back.

After the match was her birthday bash at St Mary's Church. Surrounded by family, teammates and friends, I see Mel as a personification of living for her passion to the fullest - braving injuries to every possible part for the game she loved, enjoying every fun moment with her friends/teammates off the pitch, loving her family, friends, colleagues and every part of her life...

I was still awed last night. But no longer as a teenager of 95, but as a person who see someone whose life, when she look back, can definitely say it was Simply The Best, the theme song for the 93 SEA Games team and the one which accompanied the montage put together by her closest team mate as a tribute of her wit, determination, courage and desire to be the very best that she could.

Wishing Mel many more great moments from this milestone onwards!

(I am totally regretting not taking any photographs yesterday..darn!)

张教练

Lahore, Pakistan, (when?? 1998?)

比赛的休息日。我们到了Lahore 的 - 应该是他们的国家公园。也应该是逛完了在等巴士来载我们会饭店。 张教练叫，“拍照！”

我们一班决定耍教练。 拍照之前，我们用英语串通好，"Ay later all of us turn around ok? ok huh.." "ok now..we pretend to run away..." 拍第一张照的时候，教练都没反应过来 （所以站的好端正 :D）最后两张好像是教练要我们把手压在他背上，好让他知道如果我们又耍把戏的话。

Lahore, Pakistan (sometime 98 or 99)

我是初级学院一年级的时候，被选上青年队。比一些同辈的青年队员迟两年到张教练的旗下训练。

King's Cup, Thailand 1997

教练的训导方式，从对中国球员的辱骂，杀伤力已经削减很多了。可是还得适应着。 Motivating players, giving encouragement...好像下场不用给教练骂就可有暗自偷笑了。哈哈！但是，教练的球场和对手分析，和对球员的了解是我这生中，没再见过了。

在教练的教导下，几年下来获益不浅。球路，比赛球场中攻和防的计略。 从97年到2000年，为了预备比赛，去过巴基斯坦，印度，澳洲，北京，泰国参加过各类的比赛，友谊赛，训练营，每一次都是满满的回忆。队友们都笑说，这些回忆可以讲上到我们五十岁，说起了还会哈哈大笑的。

Arafura，Darwin Australia 1999

一个从中国全职球员体制的教练， 他常说： 来新加坡，不只是练我们， 他也被磨练了 － 练他的脾气，耐心，来适应新加坡不同的体育制度。球员兼顾做工，读书，晚上来练球 - 工作应重要。碰上考试，小球员都没能来几个。钩球总会, 体育协会的要求和运作....

（SEA Games 1999，忘了scan...)

1995年到2000年。张教练在新加坡呆了五年。 教练2000年没被续约，会国了。 后来，带起北京女队到现在。 除了几个到了北京和他会面，有十年没见到他了。

为了Mel 的五十大寿的testimonial match, 张教练来新加坡了！星期三，张教练带过来新加坡的几位中国球员为他洗尘，昨晚，老队员和他碰面。今晚，轮到我们小队员请他吃饭了！（怎么说，张教练在的时候，我还是青年队上来的“小队员”好吗......)

当然，心里已有准备教练面容会苍老一些，但听到教练患糖尿病，和他临走说累，未免一阵心酸。

吃完饭，和张教练的合照

明天，张教练是来给Mel一个惊喜的。明天后待续。

Tomorrow...

(akan datang)

The great Beijing GuoAn Brawl

One of the big news that I miss while in Jakarta (other than the casino bus plying the heartlands) would be the Young Lions and Chinese GuoAn showdown on the pitch.

My friend was half kicking herself for not being in SG for the probably biggest highlight of the local soccer scene in a long while. While waiting for our turns at the salon for a good hairwash plus massage in downtown Jakarta, she was on the line making expensive overseas calls, giving out her press contacts when she could have been there for the scoop for herself.

For me, I was amused when I heard the news on the way to the airport (shit, I is evil I know. But there has nothing been so interesting since a long while in the Singapore sports scene!). How it took 5 mins, a long time in Brawl-ly-wood, to get both sides off the pitch. How the poor Young Lions manager was kicked by you-know-who while trying to break the fights in vain.

By the look of this video, I say the umpire totally failed in his duty to send off those thugish players before things got too ugly. Send one off to set an example, instead of letting temper rise. I was quite impressed though how fast the Beijing club send in their management to issue an apology.

But oh my..it still was interesting :p

Back!~

Long weekend in Jakarta.

Doing nothing much..except..

• lolling around the (friend's) house/pool,
• popping by "Gay-Yee" (that's how you pronounced G-I in Indon. Anyhow, GI stands for Grand Indonesia) 3 days in a row..to shop for groceries (day 1), nua-ing at Starbucks (day 2), and trying some civet-dung-of-a-coffee. (day 3). Why all 3 days?! Well, just because we can :p
• And watch DVD after DVD after DVD after DVD - Changeling, It's Complicated, The Sniper, Salt.

And just too soon, the long weekend is gone.

This coming weekend, going to meet someone who I have not seen since 10 years ago...会百感交集吗？

Been buzzzzyyyy...

Recently I bethink that work has a mysteriously way to multiply itself unknowingly..

First weekend trip to Malaysia for this year, and fighting to clear as much as possible before flying to Jakarta tomorrow for the long weekend.

To lazy days! :D