the day the pros learn from the amateurs

The day was full, what with my sister's graduation ceremony and all. I got home at about 7.00 p.m, ate a bit, and off I go with my 3 brothers (in case anyone is wondering if this is some kind of cliche where the writer used 'brothers' to signify very close friends, well, these are my siblings). It was to be a night where a bunch of amateurs take on, as Shebby had put it; the might of Malaysia. If there ever was an overstatement. The might of Malaysia.

The atmosphere was tremendous. 50, 000+ people were in Bukit Jalil, most of which were behind the amateurs that is MyTeam. Our Team (ok, that one was a cliche). The entertainers were there; Sheila Majid, Gerhana Ska Cinta and even Mawi ensured that this memorable night were never short of music genres.

And what a night it was. The only letdown for me was that a bunch of school kids (primary schoolers, I think) sat in front of us. And they were supporting Malaysia. Oh the ever-so-innocent kids with their love for the national team and oh I so hate to be the corruptor of young minds but scream for MyTeam I must (for the sake of my conscience, I kept telling myself that it was the FAM team and that both teams were Malaysian).

As usual, when the crowd weren't behind them, the FAM team won.

By now I think everyone knew the scoreline. And everyone is aware that the bulk of last night's FAM team was from FAM's various age-group teams. Still, the amateurs gave the makeshift national team quite a scare. The rojak team, not really match-fit (and for an international match, to boot) nearly made a few people ate their words. They went for every ball, even as their tired legs give way. They were different from our national team that we were so familiar with in the sense that they really tried. And for that, even as I risk complimenting a subculture of mediocrity, I give them credit.

Quote from a player: "lepas ni saya jadi orang biasa balik a.."

Last night his team played like heroes.

call me lucky forehead

I accompanied Jasim settling his credit card payments just now. While I waited for him doing whatever things people do to settle credit card payments, this Sikh guy walked over to me and presented a (worn-out) card. It says he does fortune-telling or something like that. Whoa. Ouija board, anyone? Although I think raising a hand signals 'no, thank you', which I did, this guy proceeded with his fortune telling anyhow.

"you have lucky forehead". dahi aku yang jendul ni dia kata 'lucky'? And anyway, I am currently sporting this serabut hairstyle where my forehead is hardly visible. Saves massive combing time (Arab cakap macam artis Indon.aku tak tau dia puji ke dia keji). Ada cahaya kot. HAHA

"funny face". I'm not really sure what he meant by this. "you'll live until age 82". Wow. 56 years to go huh? Gotta go get myself a hobby then. "you have 2 girls who love you that you don't know, so you don't love them". That explains why I'm still single at 26 I guess. Should've figured that one out. etc, etc.

Fortune telling Sikhs aside, knowing what's gonna happen (which I presume what fortune telling's all about) is not that fun is it..? As Forrest Gump put it; "Life's like a box of chocolates.."

hmmm. Layan nengok Forrest Gump best gak nih. Mamat CSI:NY tu jadik penangkap udang takde kaki.

this is a complete mix-up

I had oats for breakfast today, which supposedly 'helps reduce your cholesterol level' just for kicks. I'll be going to Zainul on the weekends anyway to replenish my lost cholesterol so what the heck (or maybe a kenduri. Either way, cholesterol'll be replenished. Way to go, nasi minyak!).

It's rather late to write about the Champion's League final, but it's my blog so I'll write anyway. If I learnt anything from that spectacle of a final, it's "if you're a professional footballer, bring your closest relative to the stadium when playing. Especially in big(ger) games." I mean just look at Giuly and Giuly jr. Firstly, I presume junior enjoyed himself big time. Secondly, look at the way senior played; determined, chasing for every ball, non-violent and devoid of play-acting (with respect to Giuly sr, I think he always played with honesty, passion and determination and I respect him a lot). I bet junior is really proud of his dad. Other professional footballers (not unlike Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba; who I believe aren't really model professionals when it comes to the question of 'playing dirty' but hey, I'm just human and am a Man U supporter) should really consider bringing their mothers (or better still, grandmothers) to the stadium when playing football. I believe this will cut down play-acting, diving in the penalty box and the sudden urgency to get violent and unsporting.

On an entirely different note, I got a hamstring injury playing cricket (I know this sounded ridiculous and stupid, but it did happen, in all honesty). Am recovering at a Rooney-esque rate, thanks partly to Kepul's protein drinks which made me nauseous every time I drank it. We lost every match. Boo hoo.

the gentlemen's game

I played my first official game of cricket today. Woohoo!! OK, maybe semi-official since it's a friendly and the umpires are members of both teams, but what the hell. I didn't do but one mistake, which I don't think is costly but I guess that emphasizes my amateur status. So I didn't do badly I reckon. To top that off, I took the opponent's star batsman off. To Gotham with you batsman! Hah!

Anyway, what's more important is I enjoyed the game. I think everyone did. And anyway, I think we need to improve our fitness. Here's a secret to all our opponents: UM cricket team's fitness SUCK! But really, no one needs to know UM's secret. We're not expected to win any of our matches at the Sukan Masum. Such low expectations spell good time!

So we'll enjoy ourselves. Big time. GAME ON!

out of the blue

Concerning hearts; although it is called 'winning one's heart', one should not face it like one would a game, and therefore one should never be a player.