Friends or Foes?

Post big match photo:



That's me on the left and kh on the right. Wonder if either of us would have been in the mood to pose if the match didn't end in a draw...

Match was too tense, not much chances for either team. So we settled it out on this:



Scores after 3 games: Liverfool 1 Man U 1, Liverfool 0 Man U 7, Liverfool 0 Man U 7.

Happiness achieved! Until next time...

Coffee anyone?

Just goes to show how some people won't think twice about downing such amounts of sugar-laden caffeine in one go...

Be With Me: Afterthought

Yet another pathetic attempt to resuscitate movie reviewing. Perhaps an afterthought would be more appropriate. So here goes.



Be With Me is essentially a quiet film with minimal dialogue and action, but yet radiates a certain degree of power and influence on the audience throughout the course of the show. Three short stories are interwoven around a real-life docu-drama featuring the indomitable Theresa Chan, who although blind and deaf, displays more strength and hope than any of the other characters in the movie.

Did the film make me cry, as it supposedly did to many critics around the world? No it didn't. So you mean the show wasn't touching for me? Wrong. Do we have to cry when something touches the heart? Many times what goes on inside the heart does not translate to what comes out from the eyes. My emotions were stirred and I felt my heart clench at various moments when the characters suffered through the quiet desperation they went through.

It was an enjoyable movie, though the ambience and overall darkness of the film may suggest otherwise. I felt most amazed at what Theresa Chan was capable of accomplishing despite her most unfortunate disabilities. Not just the physical aspects, where she showed us her astonishing ability to take care of herself, but also the mental and spiritual aspects of her life, where she is so strong in the mind and the faith in her God. It would be so easy to blame the heavens and let go of life but yet she displays a remarkable determination to make the fullest out of her existence. Her situation puts the other characters' plights in the shade and render our own complaints with everything around us irrelevant.

Be With Me not just provides a silent inspiration to audiences, it also showcases the many facets of local life rarely experienced in a busy world where everything revolves around us at breakneck speed. Take a time out and allow yourself to sit through an hour and a half of peaceful contemplation with what is it that really matters most in our lives.

Derby Disappointment

What a horrible week of soccer. Both my beloved teams crashed. First it was England's demise against world ranked 116 Northern Ireland (think Singapore's ranking's somewhere there too... that says a lot man). Then came the main event on Saturday... the Manchester derby. I've been looking forward to it so much and was hoping for United to deliver a thrashing to City to cure my English hangover. Man U scored 1st and I thought perhaps, yes, my wish was coming true. But horrors, overly elaborate and passive play from the complacent devils allowed the blues to equalise. And they almost delivered a last minute sucker punch if not for a magnificent save by Van der Sar on Andy Cole's superb effort. Could this be the start to more frustration for Man U fans, like how last season's emptiness felt? That's how I'm feeling inside now: frustrated emptiness.

The Adventures of QB

Date: Thur 31 Aug 05

Time: 1630 hrs

Place: Bugis

Event: Last minute decision to visit QB for a quickie haircut

It's always a gamble going into QB for a haircut. For those of you not in the know, QB has outlets spread islandwide and many of the outlets actually go by the name EC now. You put 10 bucks in a ticketing machine, get the tic, sit down and await your turn. It's like a barber shop with mainly auntie hairdressers instead of mat rock cutters. You're promised a 10 minute cut and given a free comb at the end of the session (or ordeal).

There's no guarantee of quality of course, since you get a different dresser every time you visit. And I'll have to bank on luck since a cheapo like me would never pay 20 - 40 bucks for a permanent hairdresser at a designer salon. "Cut layer, no need too short lah" is the instruction I dish out to any cutter I get. The past few times have thrown up several permutations of my hair, but often just a really short version of my original uninspiring haircut. So my expectation of the end-result is basically look a bit dumber at the expense of feeling much cooler and lighter.

Which was a surprise that I found myself liking my new hairdo this time round!

Result:














Comments I got:

The GF: "So cuuuute, gu ci gu ci..."

NIE friend: "Wah lao eh, so short, like grass!"

Another NIE friend: "Did you change your parting?"

Yet another NIE friend: "Finally, you look more like a man! Now we'll let you join us for lunch!"

Well, at least I look a little bit more modern with this cut. Will probably show the next cutter this photo for "guidance", ha!