time waits for no man memories fade... limbs go weary... still i run the race the race to be with you... my Savior and my Lord
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Tuesday, May 31, 2005
10:23 PM
had BB camp from yesterday morning till today.... Although the duration of the camp was relatively short, it seemed an eternity, what with the last minute planning and impromptu programs...was quite a stressful time, and really depended on His grace to guide me through... during the 1st day, we played mostly teambuilding games, which, of course when you play it with primary school boys, ends up with each team having reality-tv series kinda drama. All the fights and quarrels and alliances against each other...sheesh...but thankfully, they managed to work better together towards the end...unlike e adults on tv :P it was quite a pity that i had to stop the games when the Boys got too rowdy...had to cancel half the games..and they were meant to be e most fun ones! but ah well....at least it's for their own good...kids need to be more disciplined to face life ahead with more grace. Tough love exemplified. By night time i was really zonked out...was the only officer left to look after the kids and i jus seriously did not want to do anything...it's impossible to keep up with those kids' energy levels! Still, managed to get in a game of captain's ball after a horribly botched attempt to teach them touch rugby~ Even those this was a 'camp', being primary school kids, they were only allowed to sleep in the hall, not in tents...so guess e next best thing was to pitch a bashaa in the hall! which we did, and yup, e kids just went for it jus for e novelty's sake..even tho it must've been burning hot inside the tentage... Gosh..by the time it was lights-out, i was a virtual zombie...cld've just fallen asleep str8 away.. but yet, i still had to stay up and wait till most of the Boys were asleep..which didn't happen till ard 1am~! arghh!! lights-out was at 11pm! Well, here's a tip to anyone who wants to get a kid to stop running abt and go to sleep: confiscate his spectacles...man, it worked like a charm! think those kids can't see anything w/o their glasses..hmmm......possible new disciplinary measure? haha....a new torture to add to my reportoire..muahaha This morning, we went to Bukit Batok Nature Reserve for some treasure/scavenger hunt thingy...dunno how many more times we can pull this ol' trick again cos this is like e 2nd time we've done it... Stiil, guessed it was fun for the Boys to be able to read a map and go to checkpoints. The reserve is a pretty gd place for that kinda thing since the paths are well-designated and quite far apart, meaning it's virtually impossible to get lost... Back in sch, we let them have a chance to do some outdoor cooking...simple mess tin + instant noodle combo...well...guess it wasn't so simple.. Through an amazing cock-up, we only had ONE lighter for both the BB and GB...i ended up being the "fireman", meaning i was cooking my fingers(i.e. lighting up fires) so that they cld cook their lunch. An interesting question by one of my Boys after the whole cooking thing: "Why does instant noodles taste so much better when you cook it here than at home?" Not being exactly a culinary expert, i cld only offer a few possible reasons: 1) it's the hard work that makes it taste bettter (deprivation theory) 2) it's the hard work that makes it taste better (salt from sweat dripping into mess tin theory) 3) MSG flavours are enhanced when you mix more than one person's saliva in a pot 4) we drugged the food well...still open for discusion i guess...
Throughout the whole camp, i just came to realise something. Kids don't mind doing anything so long as it's disguised as a game or seems like a novelty. Perfect specimens for the dark side of marketing you would think. Just wondered why are they as enthu for a silly little impromptu games that we arrange for them as a well-thought out and planned game? Something that another Boy said that i shall remember for some time to come; When asked what was the most fun part of the camp, he answered, "chasing you around lor, sir, why can't we do more things like that?" Perhaps i shd explain..after all the various games during the day, i had a short debrief with them...then, 1 thing led to another and suddenly the whole bunch of 15 Boys were chasing me, trying to tickle me! sheesh..it's times like this that i really wished i wasn't so ticklish.. anyways...it was really e kinda kodak moment man...although it cld be pretty much likened to a herd of velociraptors(Boys) ripping a brontosaurus(me) apart...totally impromptu, no planning, just enjoying each other's company...*sob*
Well...my summary for the camp...alot of trials and tribulations, i.e. sick officers (i'm one right now), last minute planning, a marathon for me from the start of the camp all the way to e end, lack of sleep, pimple outbreak, irritating colleague attempting to destroy the sanctity of my leave day, losing my head at some of the Boys, facing 100s of questions per minute, gosh, i'm missing it already.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
10:56 PM
finally~! went to sentosa today! but, aiyah..didn't get much sun...it was really sunny when we got there ard 11am...but by 1pm the skies threatened to open up...so guess must thank Him for holding up the skies~ e cloudy whether made for a nice cooling afternoon to chill, play weird YF games , enjoy each other's companies, and of course, to worship Him... Had a real fun time today...gonna make it harder for me to move on from YF cos i still feel so much attachment to them..but what the heck..shall enjoy it while it lasts~ BB camp tmr...hardly prepared...gonna depend on God' grace...hope it goes well... :P
Thursday, May 26, 2005
11:32 AM
what a night at Istanbul... in front of the sea of red, drama and tragedy alike was played out on the grass patch by 22 men chasing after a ball. the final conclusion, after 2 extended periods and the lottery of a penalty shootout, the men in the red of Liverpool colors triumphed against a star-studded AC Milan team. Wow...what a ride! watched the match at vincent's house...played our favourite "shooto" b4 the match...was all set for a tense, dour match...how wrong i was... honestly speaking, i had tried not to have any expectations for liverpool cos i didn't want to get disappointed once again. Just getting into the finals was quite a fine achievement already, considering their injury woes, squad size and the general quality of the squad. Against a Milan team with star players in virtually every position, i was hard-pressed to believe that the Reds would do the job, especially given their form in the EPL. I'd figured that, given Liverpool's strategy of only employing one striker, the only way they wld have a chance in this game was to defend all the way and hope for a lucky goal... So you can imagine how i felt when Maldini opened the scoring seconds into the game...gosh... they really had their work cut out then.. by the end of the 1st half, i was already prepared to go home. vincent had even predicted that the final score may be 5-0, given his analysis of the soccer odds. he's pretty accurate btw, has a whole theory abt how every game in the EPL is fixed and predictable..but this was, as he admitted later, a "clean" game. It was really fortunate the vincent persuaded me to stay for the second half..if i'd watched it at home, i'd probably have gone to bed cos i had work today.. man...i wld have kicked myself if i really did that... Liverpool looked like a totally different side during the 2nd half...dare i say it was the best i've ever seen them play this season? Gerard was getting stuck in, winning the tackles, leading by example...Carragher and Hyypia were rock-solid in the heart of the Pool defence..Alonso was playing the intelligent game..spraying passes, creating space, luis garcia was showing off his reportoire of tricks, keeping Stam and Nesta on their toes, even Traore abandoned his jester role and started playing football, clearing the ball off the line and containing Shevchenko.. in the space of 6 minutes, these courageous men created Champions League history by cancelling a 3 goal deficit against the 2003 winners.. Gerard opened the scoring with a majestic towering header into the top corner...a world-class strike leaving the unfortunate Dida with no chance at all..Pool were back in with a shout...the captain leading the way, galvanising his comrades to get up and at 'em.. Next, smicer, playing in his last match for the Reds, put all his injury and form frustrations behind him to lash home a daisy-cutter from the edge of the box through a sea of legs, sneaking in at the far post past the unsighted keeper....game on. The liverpool onslaught ensued with an intricate build-up involving Garcia, Baros and Gerard, leading to Gattuso bundling Stevie-G over. Penalty. Up stepped the spanish maestro, Xabi Alonso to take the penalty. The defining moment the will echo in history..... The ball went to the far right corner of the goal but Dida does superbly to block it. Yet, it was Liverpool's night..the ball falls to Alonso and he blasts the ball into the net. 3-3. The crowd goes wild, the Liverpool anthem You'll Never Walk Alone fills the turkish midnight air...Liverpool have done it! But there's still plenty of time left. the game was still on. By this time, Milan had regained their sense of urgency and were pressing the Red's defence repeatedly...Cisse's on but he cuts a lonely figure up front as Pool dig in.. Heroics from the defenders and Dudek, giving meaning to "the ball hits the Pole" (he's from poland, if you don't get it) manage to keep the score level. Extra-time. Having to chase from behind had taken much out of Pool...players were cramping..Carragher in particular soldiered on despite very visible exhaustion as well as cramps... The ball continues to hit the Pole, and in a moment that could have been seen as a sign as to the outcome of the game, Shevchenko, European Player of the Year, world-class striker, Milan's main man, contrived to smash the ball against Dudek from less than a metre out. The ball could have gone anywhere, Pool's journey could have ended there and no one wld've blamed them...but they had a destiny to fulfill and it was not to end there. The ball ricocheted off the keeper, over the bar for a corner. The players, crowd and audience all over the world heaved a huge sigh of relief. Given the circumstances, it was clear that Pool were playing for a shoot-out...they were already running on empty..They managed to hold on and after a bruising physical encounter, the Cup was to be decided on a contest of mental stength and luck. Penalty kicks. The outcome of the contest was eventually decided by a familiar scene during normal time in the game...Dudek denying Shevchenko once again...... The crowd went wild, red was to be the colour of the night. The italians, cannot believe it. 3 goals to the good at the break, dominance of possession throughout the whole game and yet, there they were...the "losers" of the night... To Milan's credit, they'd deserved to win based on their ability and potential...but as it's been shown in recent times...it is not neccessarily the best teams that win nowadays...it's the team with the greatest spirit and courage. Just ask Greece and Porto. That, imho, is the beauty of the game....For Liverpool fans, how much more sweeter can this result be? Subject to continual frustrations through the years, tagged with the underachiever's bane, inconsistent to the point that being inconsistent is the only thing that Liverpool was consistent in; glorious one moment, hearbreaking the next....and yet, here we are, able to proclaim Liverpool as being one of the few clubs to have won nearly everything there is to win within the past 5 years, save for the Premiership. This day belongs to Liverpool fans around the world...not a day to spite ur Man-U friends/rivals but a day to celebrate....to celebrate the faith and the emotions you have vested in supporting the Pride of Merseyside....and no matter whether it be the Spanish Armada of Alonso, Garcia, Morientes and Benitez or the Scouser Boys, Gerard and Carragher...we can expect much great things to come. To the beautiful game, and to worthy Champs of Europe, Hail Liverpool!
Monday, May 23, 2005
11:59 PM
today has been a special day for simon.
no.1. Simon the soccer player/jester managed to twist his ankle by tripping over the ball while playing court soccer.
no.2 Simon the tuition teacher/pocket money earner has been greatly blessed by God to be given a 5-day per week tuition assignment at Jurong with free dinner included.
no.3 Simon the sad man that he is, watched Star Wars Episode III all alone.
Yup...eventful day...shall just comment on point no.3...i'd always wondered how could ppl go and watch movies alone? that's like damn sad lah...but right now, after trying it out for myself for the 1st time.....well...it ain't exactly sad...since i managed to accomplish my task of watching the movie(note denial and rationalisation process in motion) and i did not need to waste time waiting for anyone or having to arrange this and that (sad isn't it? sigh..)...
Well, something i'd learnt in school sprang to my mind during this experience. It was during my Consumer Behavior class that my Prof, an american, used a research study done on movie-goers in the states to state a point. To cut the long story short, basicially the research showed that movie-goers did not go to the cinemas for the movie but for the social opportunity it presents. Move-goers would just chit chat and interact before the movie, go in and stone at the screen, then come out and comment on the movie or chit chat abt anything else. It was the interaction part that was of true value to them, not the show itself. Guess i can relate to that...i love to discuss movies after the show...a gd time for me to act smart and show off the things i consider to be wisdom...so in one word, i can summarise this new experience: empty. not good, not bad, but just empty. as in robot-like. pay money watch movie go home. hope i dun have to do it again.
As for the show....well..i guess it shows just how commercialised the franchise is...true star wars fans are sure to whine until (inevitably i feel) the next series of star wars movies come out. The plot was really superficial and really, i feel, it's the result of them trying to squeeze in the formulaic [main character stuck in the middle/whining to his girl/still stuck in the middle/gets lotsa psycho-ing from both sides/more whining and romance/makes a choice/totally changes his character in a short span of time] elements together with the actual facts that is supposed to link to the main franchise. Oh well...i guess to say that a prequel is predictable is self-defeating...
wow...look at the time...it's sleeping time~! Zzzzzz
Saturday, May 14, 2005
10:38 PM
had a match against faith methodist church today....we lost 2-5... we had quite a youthful line-up this time round...peter invited his friends, so for the 1st time ever, we had a full bench of subs! which is really what we needed..thank God for that... as to how e match went...well we took some time to gel with each other and so we concede 3 goals in quick succession in the 1st half...but we did manage to string a few passes together and make it a pretty decent team...our opposition were mainly midde-aged guys but they had played with each other for nearly ten years! (asked them after the match :) ) and most of them were quite fit...wow...if we'd faced them in their prime we'd have been slaughtered...anyhow, we managed to pull a goal back to make it 1-3 at half-time... the presence of the subs really showed as, for once, we were able to maintain and even increase our tempo in the 2nd half...still, we conceded a fantastic goal early in the second half...the opposition got a corner and it was partially cleared...the ball only fell to the right, somewhere just outside the penalty box...their sweeper just ran up and volleyed the ball into the top left corner..simply unstoppable...then we conceded a fluke lobbed goal..our keeper was one of peter's friends and he was very good! made a few vital saves..somemore he lives in the flats just opposite our pitch..haha....looks like we'll be seeing more of him... later, we managed to pull one more back through a strike by louis (ORPC guy), who beat the keeper at his near post with a close range shot... although we lost, the result didn't really reflect our performance in the second half...really encouraged and oh so happy to have played in this match man! we were passing the ball around, running for each other, reading their play....it's like just the spark you feel when everyone is able to fit together and work as a team...wow..this kinda experience ah, it's just so rare......i just felt so shiok, so happy after being able to play the beautiful game...the result really didn't matter at all! guess that the reason why i was so disappointed with previous matches was cos we were just playing long balls...this time round, we actually played intelligent football...guess e result is secondary to the beautiful game after all :)..like what daniel said in his prayer before the match..soccer is really God's wonderful gift to us..for those of u guys who don't understand what i mean...u have my sympathies :)
Sunday, May 08, 2005
9:30 PM
sigh...as it turned out...ONCE AGAIN, i'm not able to go to e beach..is God trying to tell me something? hmmmm... but at least i wasn't too disappointed...didn't mind spending the time just resting at home and reading my comics! oh yeah! i love jurong library man...lots and lots of comics to read...if not the english type, there' s the always the chinese comics too....recently been reading this comic: Yu Yu Bai Shu....not too sure if ya'all heard of it...was quite hot during my pri sch days...nearly rivalled Dragon Ball Z but guess this comic ended quite abruptly at book 18. Quite an interesting read....the starting chapters were the usual weak guy with great potential getting the sh** kicked out of him, then he grows stronger, some gr8 teacher recognises his potential and trains him, then he becomes damn powerful and beats the sh** out of the previously mentioned sh**-kickers. The cycle continues a few times in varied ways and the hero gets ALOT of sh** kicked out of him/her but he never dies! and the bad guy dies thru his own stupidity. Morality of this, kids? Stupid people deserve to die. So don't be. Anyhow, the interesting thing about YuYuBaiShu is that it evolves into a more adult theme in the later issues, dwelving into philosophy of justice, good and evil. Quite a decent attempt to challenge stereotypes, which i'm of course a sucker for. :P .The fight scenes are still cool of course, and when i first read it when i was acutally young, it probably didn't make too much sense to me, it was just the violence that appealed to my carnal desires..haha... Reflecting on that, it gets me thinking about how so many of our fairytales have hidden meanings to it. Did you know that Alice in Wonderland was a satire of the political situation during the Cold War? and that Little Red Riding Hood, in its initial incarnation, was a story told as a shocking reminder of the consequences of adultery? Not too sure if i remember correctly, but, yeah, that's something interesting to chew on. After reading the Da Vinci Code novel, it kinda gets me wondering how the Bible actually came about, its history and the process of selection. It was something i questioned during today's Bible study class..i mean, it's not that i question the sovereignty of the Bible, but just feel that, as Christians, we all should have at least some background knowledge of the Bible. Not so much to prove its reliability, but it's better to not be ignorant and have your faith swayed when people argue against the origins of the Bible... okie..so much for that...
Went for YF bible study for the 1st time in months! haha...and the first time joining the new group...man...i was really the oldest person in the whole room! and by a few years at that! damien! where were you when i needed you?! haha..kidding lah :P but anyhow, serena led bible study...think she really did a great job...remember that she was so quiet a few years back...she's really grown..PTL man! but, aiyah, as i am always with kids, i tend to be overbearing and think that i know better....talked so much that i was like taking over the session...i'd thought that they were gg abit off track and tried to intervene by sharing what i felt abt the lesson, only to find out that serena had already prepared the very same things that i said...sorry gal! :( but the group was pretty cool, alan, caleb, clement, serena and myself. Think the move to split the bible study groups according the age groups was a real good one. More interaction and appropiate level of intellectual stimulation. :)
hmmm...the end of a weekend...on to the next week ahead...dunno how long i can keep up the 2 job cycle man...will try the best i can...too bad i dun have money..haha...nvm..shall work hard! jia you! :)
Friday, May 06, 2005
10:49 PM
gosh~! Thank God it's e weekend!
what a week it has been~! waking up at 7am, starting my intern work at 9am at shaw towers..ends at 6pm or later...then i have to rush to e building beside funan I.T mall by 6.45pm where i start my second job...some data entry job for the Department of Statistics of Singapore...ending at 10.15pm... by the time i reach home, it's already 11pm at least....a bath and short rest later, it's lights out for me and the cycle repeats itself.... well...it's been hectic but it's certainly not been boring/dull/sucky cos my internship is so nice! Working at Mattel now, i get to see toys everyday! haha...just today i was assigned to go the Metro in Paragon to do some merchandising of the stock....1st time in many many years that i've hung around a toys store for so long..really recapturing the childhood days man...and gosh...e toys now! so fanciful and innovative! not to mention expensive..haha... but i'm especially attracted to the toddler toys..Mattel carries the Fisher Price brand and this brand has several tie-ins with Barney and Sesame Street...so i get to see alot of products with that purple dino and ELMO! haha...elmo is so darn cute...can't help imitating its voice every time i play ard with one of the toys... well...as it is...Barbie is Mattel's no.1 selling brand...goes to show that gals stay e same...haha...neutral comment there...doesn't mean anything :P. but it's really nice to know that girls are the sex who aren't so fickle...ok, so not that neutral a stand here..ah well... so, most of the time i'm dealing with Barbie products, so i see alot of pinkish, blondish stuff the whole day no matter what i do, be it drawing up a poster for the toy store, doing some admin work for the boss and all... hmm...you guys must be wondering...whats a manly, macho guy like simon dealing with Barbie dolls? OK, i guess ya'all aren't probably thinking exactly that, but anyways its just a disclaimer just in case anyone wonders why i know so much abt those dolls...
must really thank God for this internship...my supervisor, jonathan, has been super nice and patient with eric(my sch mate doing e internship together) and me...he also let us do alot of hands on stuff and really trusts us with it...really learning alot man... :)
as for the data entry job...well...it's like how it sounds like...BORING...but hey..e money's not bad..for a job that entails switching most parts of your brain on and gg into robot mode..haha..
well...e only really down point of my week has been my grades for my past term....my appeal for corporate reporting failed...seems like i did very badly for my finals...dunno why i'm so bothered about this...guess that i had expected alot more than the grade i got...was really very confident...goes to show that higher expectations, lower satisfaction.. still..feel that i've let myself, my parents and God down....want to let go...still trying hard.....pray for me... looking back at my sch life...i really wish i could turn back the clock and put in much more effort in the 1st few terms instead of chasing skirts...guess i needed hard lessons to get the message from God...
ah well....must be forward moving as Paul says...look towards the rest of my life! do the best i can for the rest of my days for the glory of God! :)
supposed to go sentosa tmr...have said many times that i'd be gg but all the past plans have come to naught...so....if God holds the weather tmr...hopefully i'd be able to join ashley and gang at the beaches..feeding my office-containted body some sun and feeling the soothing waves...I DESERVE THE BREAK! haha...
Sunday, May 01, 2005
10:49 PM
another loss...this time by the highest score yet....but i guess we have improved from previous games and the opponents were really quite strong...all young and fit..apparently all of them play for s-league clubs at some level..played at centre-back position e whole game..must say that it's the position i hate the most...i'm a person/player that always tend to make mistakes...so putting me at a position where a mistake almost always means you'll get punished for it isn't a very ideal situation...as it was...within a few minutes, we were down by 3 goals...courtesy of me pushing up the line all the time to try to catch the players offside...BAD mistake..cos the referree for this game hardly gave any offside decisions for either sides...my lack of speed compounded the prob...SIGH... well...it was an all BBPC backline...pete at left back, gabriel at right back, jon & me at centreback and pastor graham at gk.. don't remember too much about the match.... think we fell behind by 3 goals because of their long balls...like i said..it was all cos of the failed offside trap...think i'll play more conventional next time... but straight from the restart after the 3rd goal, we worked the ball all the way up to their penalty area...then i saw this big botak guy in orange (the color of our strip) receiving the ball, pushing the ball forward and rounding the keeper, then slotted the ball in...GOAL! goodness..it was GABRIEL! haha...my right back! what the heck was he doing there? wow~! but it was a really nice goal...well done man :) after that we scored a fluke...dun even bother to rememebr how it went in..but it was scored by one of the opposition players that was loaned to us cos we didn't have enough people.. 1st half score...2-3...quite respectable score... 2nd half and one more of our players arrived..andrew from orpc...quite a good centreback...thought that we'd be tighter at the back then... as it was...barely a few minutes in the 2nd half, we conceded another goal...from then on it was just a blur...we just kept being bombarded...kept conceding goals from then on...some one told me that the final score was 2-7...but i think it was more than that.. in between...got kicked in e face (once again), miskicked a few balls...etc etc... well...gotta give credit to the opponents..they were much better organised...had a coach and all...hmm..not really a good excuse to make so many mistakes.. but guess i gotta be forward lookin! no point in dwelling on my mistakes..looking forward to the next match! =D
oh yeah...after the match..went to sembawang park for the church bbq...was really quite damp then...a good change from the ridiculous heat from previous days but still...heard that the rest had been drenched earlier...oh well..showers of blessings then..haha e bbq was not good. by e time we arrived, most of the food was wiped out...only left cold noodles and really really chewy beef...really like chewing gum...my jaw was cramping by the time i was through with my 1st plate =( but the main point of the bbq was not the food but the fellowship! was great to hang out with the YF once again..although i seldom join them cos i gotta move on to my own age group, they're still my wonderful spiritual family...wouldn't change that for anything in the world :)
supposed to start my internship at mattel tmr...but it's May Day! so another day of slacking for me then...there's court soccer tmr so something to look forward to....
this hols is gonna be really hectic for me man....9-5pm internship at mattel, 6.45-10.15pm data entry job at department of statistics...saturday morn BB, sat noon tuition...sunday church...wow...really won't have much time for other things...but guess it's good...at least i'll be kept so busy i won't have much time to think of or to do stupid stuff..happy summer ahead then! :)
who am i?
People call me:Simon
i was born: Sept 1981
so i am: 24yrs old
mental torture @: SMU
spam me/msn @: simontkf@hotmail.com
liKes
God
True friends
freedom
tranquility
Soccer!
aspirations
heaven
tentmaker
2 kids - elder son and younger daughter
early retirement
happiness
ArChiVes
[+] March 2005
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[+] May 2005
[+] June 2005
[+] July 2005
[+] August 2005
[+] September 2005
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[+] January 2006