Hockey at The Olympics!

Truth to be told, I was quite apathetic about the whole Olympics 2012. Passed a comment to a friend who was going to London if he should help me get some memorabilia from the Games, that thought the logo looks weird, the mascot looks ugly. Didn't catch the opening, and literally didn't follow any games at all. Yes, even when Feng Tianwei won the bronze medal in table tennis (on the whole foreign sports talent import thing...I have my take on that; let's not go there) and the whole Singapore was abuzz and stuck to the TV watching the live coverage.

What eventually drew me were the hockey matches on Youtube. Whole 70 minutes of action available at the touch of the finger! Simply gratifying (and cause for some nights with less than enough sleep).

First, there is the pitch - psychedelic blue (someone referred the shade as "smurf blue") with equally psychedelic pink sides (yes, inspired by the London 2012 logo colours. Really). Jarring on the eyes at first sight but kind of grows on you after a while. Especially when the ball, now yellow, is more easily spotted on the pitch on the small laptop screen.

And there was the exciting hockey actions from the different continents, from which Netherlands eventually emerged the winner.

But still, I much prefer watching the Argentinians, who exhibited such flair with the stick and ball, and string passes to make the game look so graceful and easy.

I heard one commentator noted that you can't miss Aymar on the pitch due to her "giselle like movements". 'Nuff said. Too bad her team couldn't hold up against the fastidious Dutch to hold a gold medal on her birthday.

My fan moment for Sanchez Muccio was when she tip the ball over the defender's stick, skip over the same stick, bring her stick down to connect with the ball in mid-air and bringing the ball home into the goalpost.  And that was on top of seeing see her bring the ball down the left on the fly whenever she got the break...every defender's nightmare but real exciting to watch.

And then there were the horrific accidents - GB's captain Kate Walsh's fracture jaw and NZ player Katie Glynn's accidental hit on the head. Horror stories for defenders going in with the reverse stick or the wrong side and real painful just watching them on the internet. But what were truly amazing -

Walsh came back 2 games later, after her jaw surgery and played the rest of the Olympic matches (and that means all the way through the pool matches, semi-finals, and the 3-4th place playoff. Full 70 mins match, no less) with the stirrup look-a-like mask holding her chin up...

while Glynn bounced back to the same game almost straight after she bandaged her head up within the 20 minutes she was off the pitch. 

Some may call it crazy, but one can only imagine the regret if both of them decide to sit out for the rest of the Olympics. What a beautiful game. 

I guess some may  wonder, what is the whole fuss to be made every four years about, when nations come together and pitch against each other to be better, faster, stronger. But when you see these athletes, you think about what they would have gone through in the last four years to come to this point,  putting themselves further under physical, mental and emotional stress under these two weeks, you can't help but marvel at the human spirit manifested at such meets, and bring different meaning and inspiration for different people.

Me thinks, the London Olympics' slogan - "Inspire A Generation", is most apt. Maybe I should get the Wenlock after all...

Ramblings on a hot day

Walking out nowadays was akin to walking into a sauna.

I was beading sweats in between home-bus stop-bus-MRT-office (during which I was muttering some made-up-on-the-spot mantra to ignore the thick muggy air, which I swear was swirling like hot soup around me as I wade through). Though the air conditioning in the bus and office provide literally a breath of (cool) fresh air, I can only wonder how many times I can alternate between the two extreme  temperatures before my body finally crumble from the freeze-thaw (or stew?) action.

xxxxx

今天午餐时间去探了队友 莲。

莲星期天打乙组联赛的时候，被对手的棍打裂了牙齿上排的两棵门牙，打歪了下排的三棵牙。奇妙的是被棍打到的时候，尽然没觉得痛，只感觉到撞击力，还继续打了十分钟，才舔到血发现到不对劲，换了下来给看了下，才发现到原来事态严重。连被哪个王八蛋球员打的都不知道。

过后去了急症室，过后连续两天复诊，取出其中一颗牙的神经，还要再等一个月后才能种牙。

我看她，口齿不清，麻醉药退后辛苦的喝着粥，心里不尽一阵酸。自己同天被鲁莽又耍小手段的对手打着头肿起来的那个胞还在隐隐作痛。想起硬朗的外公就是因为撞伤头而过世的，心有余悸。

在莲家吃午饭时，筠 感慨说了，我们反应慢了，在场上没法对粗莽的对手反应过来保护自己。加上体力身体不能负荷运动量，膝盖腰际拉伤的拉伤，浮肿的浮肿。一班小球员也娇贵的很，不能说讲，都不象以前我们小时候了。

就罢了吧，明年可能就别打了吧我们。

不尽有点伤感，还不知道为了什么。可能是生命的这一章就这样告一段落了吗？


xxxxx

Note to self - I will bring out a fan to at least move the air a little around me. I really can't stand beading sweats in office wear. Or maybe, I should be trading the attire for something else.

The Fried Rice Incident

1999, Parap Village Apartment, Darwin Australia

The team decided that in the midst of all the actions at the Arafura Games, we shall have a picnic outing at a lake park (can't remember where exactly) to release some steam. And to prepare for the picnic, everybody had to prepare something for the potluck.

The whole team occupied a total of 3 double-storied townhouses and the officials at an apartment within the same compound. Being mainly Singaporean girls, most of us were probably best at our studies or career, but were clueless about cooking. Amongst the 3 houses, there were only about 2 girls who knew how to cook. And just happened that they were in the two other houses other than mine. What tough luck, especially when each house was supposed to prepare their own meals throughout the whole 2 weeks in Darwin (anyway we survived... surprisingly).

As my house was cracking our heads on what to prepare for the potluck, we decided that the easiest thing to do was fried rice. We were quite sure that whatever Home Economics taught us in school were still applicable, and come on...fried rice seemed easy enough.

So there we were, cooking the rice and then were all ready to start frying. Conccurrently, we took turns to shower so that we could make it in time for the team to move off (nobody dared to be late..as that would subject us to ridicule and the "team fine". That is another story altogether).

So there, was the wok with the rice and all the necessary ingredients..eggs and such. Someone started first. And then the person took off to shower. The next person took over. And then another person took over when the bathroom freed up, so that the second person could go shower. Of course the first person didn't want to go near the wok again cos she just showered. So the fourth person took over when it was the turn of the third person to use the bathroom.

Seemed smooth enough. And the fried rice looked quite good actually. And then it was time for the team to meet. So we quickly packed the rice, met with the rest of the team, with their own delicacies, and headed off to the lake park.

What all these persons forgot to tell one another was....all of them thought the fried rice looked quite plain, and added salt or soya sauce to the fried rice during their turn at the stove.

Naturally nobody touched the fried rice at the outing.

But everybody had fun nonetheless :D

That was the year when we won the gold at Arafura Games despite all odds, beyond everybody's, even our own expectations, against the stronger teams in Northern Territory under Coach Zhang.

xxxxx

Nearing 13 years on, and we could still remember the fried rice incident, as we were talking about our friends and their lives nowadays, which inadvertently could had been shaped by certain events then . And so many things that happened during that trip, including the break-in into one of the other townhouses, the highlight of weekend markets across the Parap apartments, the tears, pains, sorrows, laughters and exhilarations.

Sometimes I do wonder how my life would turn out if I hadn't gone through that stage of my life. Not that our sense of self or identity were still tied what had happened during those years of our lives, I think we have moved past that. But undeniably, our moral values, principles and outlooks in life would have followed a different course if not for those experiences we had in our lives. The bodily pains, the heartaches from ridicules from the coaches, the ever balancing acts of juggling studies and work..but we still forged ahead without hesitation. And that made us a bit unsympathetic sometimes towards people with very narrow views of life, and our criticality on seemingly trivial matters.

But probably its time to realise that in a way, we were privileged to have gone through those experiences as a team and learning how to live with 20 other persons for extended periods of time. And what life long friends those times have given us.

If given a choice going back in time, I would still choose the same path without a doubt.

Count starts now...

1. Bruise on the left elbow from lifted ball (and the referee blew against me. Wtf...)

2. Bruise on left knee from lifted ball (cant remember when it happened though)

3. Bruised left thumb and middle finger from a clip from somebody's stick

4. Split right big toenail (Probably due to the design of the turf shoes, bad fit so the toe got pushed against the front too much. Means have to change turf shoes or suffer 3months of split/bruise toenail.. Argh. I'm never buying Nike turf shoes again.)

5. Sore glute and hamstring after peeling off the compression tights (life-savers they are, for a bum like me who hadn't been training enough for the intensity)

Overall, 2 games down and 10 more games to go...still a good start to the season I think :)

27 Mar 12 - I just found another bruise on my shin..how did it get there??

联赛前传

“比赛追球的时候，量力就好。追不到， 就别追了。我们也不年轻了，伤到真的很难好”

喝咖啡的时候，JZ 好言相劝。

我想，几年前的我们，也不会想到有这么一天，我们会这样认老。如果说，只是本地联赛，又不是国际比赛，不用这样拼命。 那，我们当年死都不让老队员退下，还记得有几次，F 还是带伤吃了止痛药上场的。

夭寿啊。

今年还真的没训练到，拉伤的可能性真的很高。

有时候，也还不知道为了什么。

(图：当年国队每个人用Mel的模子订做的钩球坠子，和最近在马尔代夫潜水之旅时购买的海星坠子。两爱就挂在一起了。）

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。

Last game of the season

For me, that is.

With the game today, we are going to have a shot to win the league. But since I have to fly off next week, I will miss the finals. From the underdog to being placed at least top two, it has been quite a ride.

Hmm.

I was quite glad that I finally can give the back some rest and get to solve the problem somewhat first. The surgery that a relative had to take after nagging back pain which graduated to a full scale numbness kinda spooked me.

At the same time, I was wondering why the dispassionate feeling. Oh well, it has been at least 14 years of the same league. Will there be a 15th? Donno.

Let me get my back sorted out first.

Our local talents..

For those who read Sunday Times, you would probably have read about some of the local music talents who got noticed internationally from the self-made music videos on youtube.

One of them, Inch Chua's segment got her mentioning about free download of her music as she believes that music is to be shared freely (ok, this was quoted from memory and straitstimes website is giving me the craps..so I can't find the article online, so this was what I thought she mentioned).

That somehow runs contrary to how the music industry is gunning for more IP protection.

Anyhow, curious, I went to check out her website and downloaded (it's free!) (ok i better stop before I sound like some super cheapo).

I like the arrangements of some of her songs, like from The Bedroom EP, "Find, Fix and Save" and from the other Peace Love and Mistletoe EP, :"Home Alone with John Williams". Not as sultry like Zee Avi, but nice and refreshing, like something you would listen to when you are day dreaming...

But I still cannot figure out her statement - how is she going to earn her keeps for her creativity efforts when she is distributing her music freely?? OK maybe I gotto read up a bit more on wth is creative commons..this is a concept that is still elusive to me.

xxx

btw my backs and legs feel like they are breaking at the joints from the game just now, and I think my knees are swollen..so it's probably no heels for the next few days! :(

Hockey season is here! (again!)

Technically speaking, it started like last week, the last weekend of March, but our first game was today.

Well, today AND tomorrow. Back to back games for the first weekend. In fact, we are gonna have 3 weekends with 6 back to back games (which means I will have 3 very miserable Mondays - think I have to forewarn my colleagues a bit before they do something that gets their heads bitten off unintentionally.)

New pitch, new team. 12 years playing (i think..or was it 13? I lost track) the league. Sometimes you wonder why you still get excited when season starts.

At least we are off to a good start. 4-2 is a good score but I was more relieved that the "new" team can work out on the pitch.

I wonder if I can still walk properly tomorrow though.. sigh.

It is a safe game..usually.

Friendly today. With the league starting in 2 weeks' time better turn up and do a few runs to find out how much tackles it take to wind me out (as it turns out..not a lot).

But anyway it was quite a good game, guess the team just need more time to gel. This year is a bit of a mish mash since we have a few "new" players - we have the new-old ones who I have been playing together since so many years ago in another capacity, the old-new who have been with the team with the Under 21 side, and the new-new, basically people I have never played with ever.

Only thing is...I better start thinking of how to avoid getting carded this year..not with the kind of irritating @&*^&$# ang mohs opponent who thinks it's a free for all game. Ok, I don't want to whine..but now there's a nasty bruise on my palm and like a mirror image, on the back on my hand from that bloody f&%$ing tackle when that bloody ang... player came in with her stick when I clearly got the ball.

If I hadn't been so low energy, hell know no fury like an angry woman with a stick. .

Hockey can be such a bitchy games at times.

Beep!

Level 7-9..

Level 7-10..

*du-du-du* Start of Level 8

Level 8-1..

I wonder if I'll still be alive by then.

THE ANNUAL BEEP TEST IS HERE!!!! ARGHHH!!

*gulp*

First game for 2010

Seeing the lack of people going down to training and we are going to have some new players from other club, ZA decided that instead of hoping people will turn up for training, we might as well just play friendly and do with what we have, or rather what we lack of.

That's how I picked up my hockey stick after more than half a year of hiatus. Playing at 2pm is madness..with the swaltering heat that has been hitting Singapore for the past week. And having no match fitness is not joke. I didn't even run much as how a game is likely going to be. Bleh.

After the game, we decided we wanted to go to an aircon place and lose some of that heat, and eventually landed up at Marbel Slab Creamery at Cluny House. Ice cream! So much for putting back whatever was expended. Although after that I realised that the ice-cream there was exorbitantly expensive...

And that was where we heard how things were at the nat'l team. I don't recall having gone through so much politicking and during my time, everybody was pretty much getting along with everybody else (minus the character clash).

It seemed like we kinda took for granted how things were run - more systematically,clear leadership, and very much self-initiated. I don't recall any rude remarks were tolerated, which never happened anyway. Any comments had to be positively constructed, for the purpose to make things better, rather than sarcastic remarks for the sake of putting the other person else down. In fact, that kinda shaped how I think a team should communicate to one another, which was why I hated it if I hear anybody now harp on other people's mistakes but don't offer any solution or assistance, which I think is a waste of anybody's bloody time. Of course, that was also why those years of playing with the team left so many good memories. I dont think I would have enjoyed the times as much if there was someone who kept passing caustic remarks and putting people down.

It had been valuable memories and life skills that will never leave anybody; too bad the current team don't experience that kind of camaraderie.

Finale for the JWC 2009

Oh..and Germany won the Junior World Cup 2009.

Saw the Malaysia event posters on the way back to SG, and the bus I was on passed by the exit from the highway to the stadium. I was like"argh....if only...".

I would like Ned to win though...

And SG beat the Yankees. Real good!

What bad planning.

Went to watch the Aussie played the Germans at the Sengkang at 7pm. It was worth the $2.50 and the long drive home after the good match. The Aussies were skillful over the ball while the Germans were tencious; Both team really strived for the full game; it was an exciting match that saw both teams tying at 1-1, down to the last 69th min, giving away 1 penalty corner each within the last min which could likely turn the outcome in the other direction, but not converting either one eventually. Depending on goal difference, the Aussies will either meet Netherlands or India in the next round, both very good matches no matter how.

But that is not going to be the bulk of today's entry. I am so going to bitch about the bad planning and lack of common sense.

By the time my car reached the vicinity of Sengkang, the snake of cars parking illegal around the stadium was horrendous. In the end I still had to park about 5 mins walk away along the roadside. And this is only the prelim round. Wait till the semis on the 20 Jun.

I was already late, and the Aussie game would have started 5 mins ago. As I walking from the car towards the stadium, I could hear the announcement from Pitch 2, that Netherlands won India by 3-2 and the crowd was going mad cheering (that could be the reasons of the number of cars there..the Dutch turn out was overwhelming the last weekend).

I walked past the tables that served as the gantry with a few of the kids wearing the "CREW" t-shirt chitchatting. They were supposed to be checking tickets and doing bag check. But as I mentioned, they had done away with the ticket system and they no longer do bag checks. I wonder what they hell they were standing there for. Then I noticed a small crowd gathering in front of the stairs leading to pitch 1.

"Sorry the stand is full. We cant allow people in. There are no more seats inside" a guy wearing a "Security" vest and another woman wearing the "Crew" t-shirt were saying. They were bombarded by the audiences coming from the other pitch after the Ned vs Ind ended and wanted some action before the NZ vs SG game.

Called a friend who was already inside. " Got seats leh." he said. But the gatekeepers had firmly refused entry. Ok lor..even my helpline cant help much. So it was watching the game from the other side of the pitch behind the fencing, while waiting for another friend to come. And as I stood at the other side of the fence and looked over to the stand - ok, cant really see..those red spots at the far end seemed to look like the unoccupied plastic foldable chairs. And there were at least a handful. Oh well. Nay mind..maybe half time can try again.

Friend came and we were peering at the action through the metal fencing and mesh netting. A guy who were sharing our side of the fence said that he had tried to get the free tickets from the ticket booth, but they said no more tickets. (of course..they are not using them anymore..)

Half time came and both of us went to the entrance again to try out luck. And there was a group of 15 people trying to get in.


"No, there are no more seats. " the "CREW" people said.

"But we looked from the other side of the pitch. There are seats!" "My friend called me from inside, he said got seats!" "But I got tickets!"(all of these were not said by me, though I would have gladly collaborated)

As the group parried with "the CREW", ang mohs were steaming out.

The Crowd : "Why can't we go in?There are people coming out"
The CREW : "We have to let people who walked out to toilet or get food come in again"

The Crowd: "I got tickets!"
the CREW: "People inside also have tickets" (I wonder if the idiot who said this was asking for it. I could have easily slapped reality in his face by saying that "No, your guys in front are not even checking. How can you be so sure?")

The Crowd: "But my friend said there are seats inside!"
the CREW: "Sorry we cant let you go in cos we havent receive any new instructions"

The Crowd: "Then get the instructions!"
one of the CREW : "I'm only a student!" (ooppss.not very professional)

And concurrently they are just letting ang mohs in from the other side of the barricade. Not even checking if they had previously walked out or whatever.

WTF??? You are already not checking tickets which led to this mayhem! And why defer so much to the ang mohs?

Eventually the Crowd managed to grab an ang moh wearing "The CREW" t-shirt, and was demanding for some actions. Eventually, about 5 mins after the second half started, the CREW finally decided to let the crowd in And THERE WERE MORE THAN ENOUGH SEATS! Gosh. Any idiots would have seen that just by doing a visual check and relay the message back to the gatekeeper in front. What kind of instructions do you need for that??

I wonder who is managing this event; I heard it was ESPN. Apparently, most of the Crew were kids from Republic Poly. One of the gatekeeer was a kid. The other one was clearly from ESPN. I can understand if the kids (obviously part timers) were inadequate to manage crowds, but then the key people should have taken charge. The whole process was clearly lacking in organisation and common sense.

• If you are not checking tickets there is no way to enforce exit and re-entry.
• If you dont have a re-entry system in place then people leave at their own risk of losing their seats. Why should it be your job to guard their seats for them?
• There are people who had made effort to book the tickets prior to the whole tournament or came down early to try for the tickets! Only to be fooled by your incredulous lack of planning and poor events management, being denied a chance to enter and seeing other people walking in and out freely without tickets.
• Basically since it has already become a free-for-all situation, be fair! Dont only let the ang mohs have their way!

It was a faboulous international event to be held in Singapore, especially in view of the upcoming series of youth sportings event that will put Singapore on the international sporting map. But with this level of sophistication of event management, it creates a really bad impression on the whole event and leave a bad aftertaste. And this is only one tournament. What about bigger events such as YOG?

Next week will be a trying week if THE CREW don't brush up their events management system in time.

Men's Junior World Cup

After getting all the stuff for the new pup (I became the sucker cos I have to go out - got the playpen, got the dog dish, got the dog food ), I rushed to ulu Seng Kang for the first day matches of the Mens' Junior Asia World Cup . This tournament is split between JB and Singapore, 2 pools are played in SG, and the other 2 in JB, while the finals are going to be played in JB.

JB has the interesting teams : KOR, MAS, PAK, ARG, while SG is hosting the games for : AUS, IND, NZL. Argentina was the reigning champs from 4 years ago. If only they are playing in SG. Wasted. The finals would be really interesting to watch; I am guessing Argentina, Australia or Netherlands. But travel to JB? (Anyway I should be diving that weekend too. Heh :D)

Seng Kang was..well...Seng Kang. It is darn (bloody!!!!!) far and would have never appear on my usual roadmaps. And to think that if the league is going to be played next year there, means adding to carbon emission every weekend. Gosh.

What was this thing about free tickets that you have to book in advance or queue for?! It was damn messy and the guys standing at the entrance checking tickets were flustered and seemed a bit overwhelmed. When by the end of the 1st game, people are actually streaming in without tickets. Like..huh? Then why you make people pre-book tickets or queue for them in the first place?

Anyway, the turn out was quite impressive, given the sign that there was long snakes of cars parking illegally along all the roads adjoining the stadium. Of course, supplemented by the Dutch who came to support the Netherlands playing against SG at 5.30pm at pitch 1. But then we decided to watch the Jap vs S Africa game on pitch 2 instead, which started at 5pm. But our seats were good in the sense that while watching the game on pitch 2, we can turn around and see the action on pitch 1 as well.

But Jap v S Africa game was boring, since both were more or less equal in skills and play, and the game drew at 1-1. The Sg vs Ned game seemed more interesting, in that Ned's passes and short corners were sharp, precise and powerful. Our boys didn't stand a chance I guess.

Oh well, there is always another chance to watch them.

The next game, NZ won Poland in pitch 2 (ooohh...NZ guys' acceleration was so fast! And their reverse shots! wah..)

The NZ Black Sticks. NZ's national sports image is so strong everytime with the black turnouts and fern symbols.

Picture from ESPN.com

After that, I went over to pitch 1 where Germany was playing the remaining 15 mins against Chile. hm...boring. Results here.

Ok, maybe next weekend. Sigh. Tues game of Aust vs Japan should be interesting, but Seng Kang is so far... I miss Delta already.

I am having brain freeze...

...icing my nose. Bridge to be exact.

The practical side of me is screaming, "C'mon! It's just a damn small bum!!Get over it already!"

The vain side retaliated, " You promised that you going to be the emcee for the weddng dinner this Friday lor..You want the people below the stage to wonder what was that black black thing on your nose is it.."

Practical side, " Wah lau..not your wedding also lor..why you worry.."

Vain side, "But...but..."

Conclusion is..I am still icing, so that tomorrow I am going to use the egg thingey. AGAIN. I just hope that there wont be much discolouration by the time work starts on Monday.

Hockey Season Starts!!

I'm glad that I survived the first game..

Now to check the bruise of that &^%$^* lifted ball which the &^%%&* umpire didn't blow for, although it was obviously that an infringement.

JAC Day 9 and Final Day

We won Pakistan 1-0. So that qualified us to the 5th/6th placing match against Malaysia this morning. So it was another day waking up at 5am plus for breakfast.

Malaysia got the 5th, and us the 6th. But somehow the girls seemed happier than the Malaysian winners after the match. Think the Malaysian team is dissappointed that they didn't manage to finish in a better placing for this tourney.

So it was back to the hotel, pack and check out of the hotel, giving us a good 2 hours for lunch before leaving the hotel for the stadium to watch the 3rd/4th placing match between Japan and India (No team meetings! Finally!). The girls had their last Seremban wish of eating at A&W again, and had their fill of rootbeer floats, coney dogs, curly fries, waffles...

We reached the stadium just in time for the start of the match. India won the game 3-1 as they converted their chances, whereas Japan had no luck in front of the goal. Maybe it was the weather. It was so *&^%$& humid that everybody was fanning themselves and dozing off at the grandstand. I was telling GM who was sitting next to me that perhaps this was why India won, cos the weather might have suited them to a T.

It was home sweet home when the game finished as we went back to the hotel for our coach. So began the journey home :)))

I never thought I'll be so happy to be in my room again.. after camping in a hotel room for the past 10 days.

JAC Day 8

First pitch training for this tourney. Yes. First pitch training on the 8th day since we set off from Singapore.

The good thing about the first team to use the pitch was that there's no one earlier than you and you have the luxury of warming up on the pitch directly. Only an hour's slot was allocated to us, 20 mins were spent passing and hitting to each other.


Anyway, it was a beautiful morning with cloudless sky. Which was the case for the rest of the day. Which means it was super hot by the time we got back to the hotel and when we walked out for lunch.






The girls have their video analysis in the afternoon followed by a briefing in the evening, before we had to go to the official hotel for the dinner hosted by Malaysian Hockey Federation. Music was blasting throughout the whole dinner together with cultural dance items, which made talking almost impossible other than to just the person sitting next to you. It was probably on purpose, as Juanma commented that he noticed that Asians dont like to talk while eating (hence the loud music so that people were not made to feel awkward while not talking), which was quite contraryto the European culture. Looking at the composition of the people at my table (managers and coaches from the different participating teams), it was probably a darn good idea too to mask the fact that conversations may not last beyond "how are you" and "how is the dinner" in halting and smish smack English.

Actually, on second thoughts..I would have rather attempted the halting conversation rather than having the music blasting non-stop for the full 2 hours. My brain felt a bit concussed now after being kept hitting by the high decible sound waves =.="

So..early day tomorrow against Pakistan, at 8.30am. Going to play on the second pitch which we had not trained on before.