Friday, May 20, 2005
10:16 PM
whoa its been a while since i've blogged hasnt it..haha so much to talk about..but i shall only concentrate on talking about the most important event of the week..STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH WHOOOO..ok if you havent caught it yet just leave this page ok..dont spoil your fun hahaa..
caught it with chris+vick+faith last night..THANK YOU AGAIN VICTORIA WOON hahaha..for the nice buffet dinner and the free popcorn and drink (oh and the cute yoda lego keychain too!)..but all these paled in comparison to STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH WHOOOOO..from like the start of the movie i was already going whoooo..superb space battle scene omg..the dramatic fall of the jedi when the clone army turned against them omgomg..5 lightsaber battles omgomgomg..yoda being so cool and yet so cute when scampering through tunnels hahaa..R2-D2 being so cool and taking on two droids and burning their butts hahaha..the stupid droid leader of the droid army that could cough hahaha..oooh the cool chase scene when obiwan was riding the funny creature and chasing droid thingy..emperor palpatine being the ultimate mindgamer and loser when his face gets disfigured with a permanent centre parting at the top hahaha..i realise none of this is in order but who cares man..haha..and then..the focus of the movie..anakin succumbing to the temptations and fears of the darkside..rah..then saving palpatine from being killed rahhh..and then wiping out the jedi and younglings in the jedi academy..RAH..and then killing padme..RAHHHHH..and of course being stupid and getting himself burnt by lava..toot..super show man SUPER..ok much due to my biasness as a star wars freak but WHO CARES..hahaha..I WANNA WATCH AGAIN!! TWICE MORE AT LEAST!!! whoooooo...
Thursday, May 12, 2005
9:59 PM
haha ive been wanting to this for a long time but havent really gotten down to doing it..well here it is anyway..my experience with ac soccer..
a tribute to acjc Soccer 2004/05
the beginning of a new koncept of football:
the 2nd week of january last year..40 odd players gathered for trials..13 of us were selected..terence eric me syed jeremy kevin darren adam ian steve esdy lemin and vinod..
since day one of training it was a whole new experience..an upgrade for me to say the least..from the playing everyday in the acsi basketball court to proper training with a coach..football was not only just about having fun anymore..it was about discipline..being serious during every training session..knowing that you were part of the elite soccer players of the school handpicked by the coach..there were standards to be met..heh..discipline was always an issue..i remember how i was punished and publicly humiliated within the first week of training when i was talking to my xcountry friend and missed my turn during traingle drills..coach made me change to my track shoes and run one round with the cross team..heh..and it soon became known that the pe departmant didnt like us..harvy would say "this field belongs to the ruggers dont destroy it"..lawrence ang just seemed to be on the lookout for us all the time..and gurmz..i wont forget the time he made joses do pushups on the field cos we got on the field early..soccer wasnt just a game anymore..it had become a responsibility..an identity..and we had to live up to expectations and standards..
the birth of a new team of havok:
hahhaa this sounds like its going to be one long serious essay doesnt it..well lets take a break from the seriousness..so..back to the 13 of us j1s..we came from different schools..u had nanhua, sji, ghim moh, barker, beatty, jurong, ri and acsi..compared to the rugby team, you'd say that it would be hard for us to achieve unity quickly..considering how the ruggers were playing together since sec 1..but what happened within the space of a month was incredible..every wednesday..before trainings..all of us would gather at the cafe and just slack around, telling jokes and all..hahaha from the lamest jokes like "why cant billy walk..cos billy's a bicycle" to some RATHER witty ones like "why cant billy walk..cos he's too tired(two tyred)" hahahha..esdy syed and jeremy soon established themselves as the clowns of the team..but more importantly, it was the simple act of joking around that brought us together..we established a common understanding..and without realizing it..mutual respect..no one was more superior than the other..we were all just a bunch of jokers :)
the reality of the red, blue and gold:
so as time progressed..the truth settled in that we were all competing for the coveted 20 spots to wear the ac colours and bring glory to the school..every set A, B and C, every circle and triangle drill, every two sided game was a test..a contributing factor to whether your name would be called out or not in march when the final squad would be named..and when i looked at the quality present in the squad..especially the j2s..it realised it was gonna be a tough task indeed..well i gotta thank god..cos when i think back now..to how i wanted to trial as a midfielder initially but ended up being pushed to defence cos there were too many mids at that time..that seemed like a minor change but it ultimately shaped my future with the soccer team..being captain and all..i never played in any other position apart from defence since then..and given the abundant talent in midfield..joses shaohui shaun sandeep and all..i would have had much lesser chances to play during trainings..not that it was easy to get a place in defence..but i soon realised that it was definitely the position for me..
the rock of the team:
and speaking of defence..im gonna miss every moment of being a defender..the shiok feeling of rising above everyone to head the ball clear..sliding in for a challenge and seeing your opponent fall while you win the ball..making a last ditch tackle to foil a striker when hes in the clear..and most importantly..commanding the team from the back..thats the best part of being a centre back i tell you..and as coach put it..when you're a defender..you're ultimately the backbone of the team..dang how i miss that..
the debut:
so it wasnt long before i got my first taste of playing for ac..a friendly match against queenstown sec..i still remember that game vividly..how the pitch was super waterlogged and had all sorts of creatures like frogs in it..i started as a rightback (and how interesting considering that its my final position this year) and didnt have the most fantastic of games..cleared a ball off the line but had a shaky game in the end..vinod and lemin were the other j1s who played..and terence too who came on as a sub and made a super save..it ended 0-0..and i didnt get to complete my debut after being taken off in the 2nd half..it wasnt exactly a morale boosting start for me..i sorta realized that i had a long way to go if i wanted to make the team..
the first family vacation:
haha i'd wanna talk about everything in detail but that'd be nuts..fast forward a little to the march hols and the singapore orchid country club (socc) training camp..prior to that we had a handful of friendlies against older opposition and were uniting very well as a team..but the socc camp further strengthened the bonds..haha all the havok that we caused..playing pool..me syed and esdy going to the golf course to take photos one night..toothpaste galore on the last night..eating fried rice for dinner every night..and once again..coming up with jokes aplenty..this time even the j2s got involved.."which soccer player processes info the slowest..lilian thuram (two RAM)" "who killed bane..kevin kilbane" and the ultimate one from esdy.."who let the dogs out? didi hamann cos it sounds like baha men" yes esdy..i can never forget that one..but once again..it was proof that laughter and jokes never fail to bring about unity :) and the moment i'll remember..coach saying after one of the meetings.."i wanna see the 4 captains..and zach and lemin" and soon i found out that lemin and i were more or less gonna be 2 of the future captains..man i dunno how happy i was then..yet it also meant that i had more expectations to live up to..and then that night we all got our nice asics jerseys! my very first school soccer jersey :) #34..and on the 2nd last night of the camp we played against a police team..i came on as a sub and set up our goal..the match was taped..and i still remember the exhilaration of watchin myself playing soccer on tv for the first time :) the final day came..we took pics and dragged our luggage out of socc..i gave it some thought and realised that there was no other team i'd rather be with :)
the broken fellowship:
then came the period of uncertainty..well it already began before the camp..the release of the o level results..vinod and i knew we had to appeal if we wanted to stay in ac..i did..but he didnt..he started training with the jj team and didnt join us at socc..then came the release of the posting results..i was posted to jj..and to tell the truth..even with all the reassurance from mr how and pat sum..i was still freaked out for the two days in jj..and the one thing that i remember telling myself.."if i dont make it back to ac..i wont join the soccer team here" that simply bore testimony to how much i was attached to ac soccer..oh and it wasnt only me and vinod..esdy got posted to nyjc and was trying to get back in as well..chances seemed real slim then..
return of the jedi:
hahahaha i just had to type that..star wars in a week whooo..ok back to soccer..yes..ac soccer > starwars..ownage..haha..so my appeal was successful..and thank god for that :) and mr how and mr sum and ahem gurmit..so the journey continued :) so we lost esdy and vinod..two players whom i daresay would have easily been in the final 20 this year..but with their loss came the arrival of players who would soon become indispensible members of the team..edwin murali enghao james hwa adrian dhinesh adha..those were the ones who started training with us when the term started..and there were still many more to come :)
the chosen ones, the war:
the final 20 was selected..tim shenling terence mark nick naidu andy majun nas me joses shaohui shaun sandeep yuanzhang adam lemin james xiayue jiaming..i'll summarize the tournament..beat hc 1-0, cj 2-0 and drew with mj 0-0 in the first round, lost to yj 1-3, sa 0-1 in a game that we should come out of with at least a point, but we went out with a bang with a 3-2 win in our last match against MI..i came on for 30mins and had a rather memorable competitive debut :) nevertheless..2 rounds of football was still disappointing for our standards..and it was then that wee-little-j1-me realised that we would no longer be having the j2s training and playing for us..from that moment onwards..responsibility of the team was fully upon the shoulders of us then-j1s..and it seemed a daunting task..i looked at the j2s and then at our year..and realized the gulf in talent and quality..we were good no doubt bout that..and had improved tremendously but yeah it was like being thrown into a new world suddenly and having to build everything from scratch..so it was the dawn of a new beginning that day at sa.....
a new hope:
STAR WARS YET AGAIN..hahahaa..but that truly encapsulates what we had in the new members of the squad that had just joined..animesh ian (making his return) zouli chong-u darryl brendan dimas nap..once again..unity had to be fostered..and i knew i had the responsibility of ensuring that..murali and majun were soon named as the other two captains..captain havok and captain gung respectively :) and when i led the new team in doing the samba for the first time..i felt an overwhelming sense of pride and belonging..wahh..and i'll miss doing the samba..seriously..training was the norm..we started focussing on individual areas like passing..but it could get pretty boring and draggy..esp without the hype of matches..all of us couldnt wait till the toopid promos were over..but the bonds were being strengthened..between new and old..
the badge, the armband:
so i was named captain..during a quick meeting at the bleachers during recess one day..and lemin was the official vicecap..i didnt get my badge till after ccaab of course..and my armband till this year..but the weight of the team was on my shoulders all the same since the end of the season last year..for me it meant alot of things..from the superficial like smsing them (at least 100 a month durin the hols) and leading warmups, to the emotional, like having heart to heart talks whether about footie or life, and the spiritual: keeping the team in constant prayer and leading them in intercession before every game..and of course..on the pitch..being the voice of the team and the encourager..and i want to say this now..the only reason why im proud of wearing the captain's badge and the armband is: the team that i serve :) if you guys werent who you were..i'd just leave the badge at home everyday or pawn it to some coolgang person who'd wear it to look good..seriously..its you guys who make me look good when i wear that badge :)
happy hols:
so our december holidays were basically soccer soccer soccer..friendly matches fortnightly..and trainings 3 times a week..we were really gelling as a collective whole and you could see the mass improvement that everyone had gone through..super encouraging..then came mid december when the post o level guys came down to trial for 2005..some that would eventually join us..like hiren shen charles amos asri joseph anthony yongkai short-benja bobby arvin and maybe a couple more..and ebi too of course..they integrated well into the team..and at the end of the year i was feeling really really confident :)
the test:
you've noticed how much i've been emphasising the importance of unity within the team..well..at the start of the new year that unity revealed itself in a very emotional encounter..coach suddenly announced that he would be holding a session of trials and he would be selecting 30 players from both the current batch and the trialists, and that he'd be selecting the final squad of 20 from these 30..so thats what he did..he cut like 10 j2s? and replaced them with j1s who 1. only went thru one session of trials 2. couldnt even do the basic drills properly..well what followed that was a mass flurry of mixed emotions..after coach left..there was swearing..tears..anger..bewilderment..and what i saw before me was a team in dire straits...it was like..everything that we had worked so hard to achieve was just disappearing..going poof..i mean..how could anyone have hope in playing and all after such a thing happened..then something cool happened..some of us sat down..to console one of the j2s whom coach rejected..and i started praying and everyone just started crying..god's love was clearly linking all of us then :) that was the best indication of unity u could get..and thank god i managed to settle the team issue with mr how and coach the next day and the team was eventually restored to its happy state :) unity at its best man..havok
whoa so many memories and i havent even started on my kl trip yet hahaa..i'll stop here for now cos some important people need sleep :p part two coming to a theatre near you!
LIKE STAR WARS WHOOOOOO!
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
1:19 AM
in memory of leon 
1:01 AM
the only low point of today..and a very low point too..was the announcement of leon's death..indeed i'll always remember him for being a big guy with a big heart and a big smile..only knew him by face till ccaab..and it was then that i found out what a great guy he was..always willing to offer help..always encouraging..president of the first aid society..he showed a spirit of perseverance during the camp..never giving up during tough trying situations..he had the qualities worthy of a great leader..and he'll be missed by acjc..
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
11:44 PM
HAPPY DAY!
im happy for the hockey girls :) who went out with a bang today :) 3-0 vs tpjc..everyone played super well in my opinion..haha firstly to star striker #11 xueying, WELL DONE :) u deserved no less than that goal for your great performances since the first match, and for all that you've put into hockey and the team..im proud of u :) sweet goal it was too..and with a few minutes left on the clock too..and next to #13 rachel yap..two goal hero whoo! must have got the killer instinct from darius ehh hahaha..#8 nartz #17 waimay #18 vic, the midfield stronghold thats been superb throughout the tournament..whether it be making your opponents smell your tracks or just shutting them out..havok..(i just realised i havent used that word for a long time) hahaha..and really well done to everyone in the team..u girls marmaladed :)
2nd reason to be happy today..THANK YOU TO VICTORIA WOON FOR BEING STRONG IN THE FORCE AND CAPABLE OF GETTING PREMIER TIX FOR REVENGE OF THE SITH..AND INVITING ME ALONG WHOO..shiok shiok shiok cant wait..each trailer i watch is just hyping me up more..lightsaber duels aplenty whooo...
ive got ns checkup at 10 in the morning..blahh..comtemplating if i should sleep now or watch the man u chelsea match..hmm..
chances are i'll see you somewhere in my dreams tonight
Sunday, May 08, 2005
9:11 PM
happy mummys day! :)
i miraculously managed to drag myself out of bed this morning..weather was so good for sleeping..haha..got to church pretty early..everyone was to dress in ethnic costumes today for iforgotwhatreason..oh promoting missions i think..hahaha and there was this booth promoting jap culture with this boy whose face was painted white..reminded me of 1. the no life statue wannabe guy whos at the lido underpass 2. ju-on hahaha..ok im pretty mean..
anyway..caught house of wax with mike+jon..it was pretty good..and gory..heh but better than those substandard hollywood horror flicks like boogeyman any day..paris hilton was hot! till she got speared through the head by the psycho waxman..hahaha..the cinema replica part was pretty freaky..cos when i happened to look arnd the cinema, mike jon n i seemed like the only living people haha..anyway..back to the gore! this girl's finger got cut off by a plier..n a guy got his flesh ripped off his face when he was a wax figure..eee..but yeah i give it a 3.5/5 haha..cant wait for star wars man..i have half the mind to pon skool on the opening day hehe..
went home after that and planted my mother's day gift on the table before going out again to meet my family..haha i spent the whole day appearing ignorant about the fact that it was mothers day to fool my mum into thinking that i was an insensitive spoilt ungrateful toot..haha paid off well..she was pretty happy when she saw my present and let me use the com immediately hahaha :)
haha oh i suddenly remembered somethin that vick said ytd.."eh some people have asked me "how come zach and chris are like total opposites and yet they're still best friends" hahaha well i guess its all about mutual respect (haha i predict that if chris sees this he'll be thinking of saying :" NO ONE CARES ABOUT U LA SHIT", but then he'll realize that if he types that on my tagboard it would show that i understand him alot and that'll look gay) hahahaha in the end it just goes to show that u dont need to have the same kind of personality of whatevernot to have a close relationship with someone..all you need is some willingness and mutual trust..oh and i remember this saying about how two totally different people benefit alot from their relationship with each other cos they can learn alot more from each other..haha so anw thank you christopher chong ee ming for simply being irreplacable..aww..haha ok off to do e1 hopefully
in the end..you're the only one i want..
Saturday, May 07, 2005
6:42 PM
yesterday was a pretty fun day for a school day..mainly cos there was little lessons involved..haha..we were excused at 1230 to go watch the squash finals..and being the oh so very responsible asst class rep i am..i managed to get everyone to go..just look at the attendance list! hahahaha..yes..stayed only to watch the first part of it tho..when we were in the lead..left to rush down to ccab with eunice to watch the girls hockey match against jj..thx to mr mark lee for letting me off hahaha..
me: sir can my friend n i go and watch the hockey girls instead
mark lee: whyyy
me: uhh..i like hockey
m.l.:riiiight..u going to see who
me: uhhh
m.l.:aiya i know who la
me: oh isit!
m.l.:yes yes go la go la
i see! very uhh understanding of him haha..but i would have escaped nonetheless anw :p lawrence ang was busy running arnd catching ponners and when he was chasing this grp of pple eunice and i ran in the other direction and poof a cab appeared for us..haha we just didnt wanna waste time explaining to ang tho we had a clear conscience :p so anyway..we got to ccab a little late..both sides were playing really well..jj still had a slim chance of making it thru..our girls still played with fire and passion so it was a very close game..tho ac had the better of the chances..the goal finally came in the 2nd half when nartz converted a penalty..it was really great watching them celebrate :) they hung on to the slim lead..and were no less than ecstatic when the final whistle was blown..congrats to the girls :) you all deserved no less :)
went for cell after that..really good time of fellowship :) cell alone makes fridays great :) went to slack at hawns place and ended up falling asleep by the pool till 12 and my mum gave me a bad scolding hahaha..and shes gonna screw me up if she comes home now and sees me on the com so i should go off now BYE
Thursday, May 05, 2005
10:39 PM
and finally i can say this..you're not worth a thought about anymore
9:10 PM
1-0 is officially my most hated scoreline.
went to watch the girls hockey team play ytd against pj..do or die match for them..sounded pretty familiar..the first half seemed pretty close fought..end to end action..then pj got a short corner..and well..scored..ac fought back immediately..and scored too from a short corner but screw the rules bout not being able to score high shots from short corners..esp when it was a damn good finish..rahh so they went into the 2nd half a goal down..another familiar scenario yet again..credit to the girls..they totally dominated the 2nd half..so much that pj got nowhere close to their goal..you could tell who was hungrier for the win..the pj goal was just being pelted with shots..but the goal never came..just like how we never celebrated the equaliser against hwa chong..and the feeling of watching it from the stands..that really sucks..and just watching them leave, dejected..damn i knew how that felt like..
and now im reminded of how we had our last team talk..how i made the last prayer and started crying..and how i felt shortchanged..yes thats the word..and the feeling of a premature ending..honestly..its something you'll only understand when you feel it..like you've let everyone down..
but whenever u feel that way..and heres to the hockey girls..look at the results of the hard work all of you put in: a whole team crying together..unity..something that beats silverware any day.. and a team giving their all on the pitch for each other and for god's glory..passion..that feels better than celebrating a win..and the memories..dont put them aside..for both the hockey and soccer team..all the trainings..the overseas tour..the jokes..everything..it was worth every bit of sweat put in..and just look at the team's improvement since day 1..thats something worth being proud about knowing that you were part of it..dont try and erase those memories..whenever u see a ball..or your jersey..just think back..and smile..cos god was so good to let you be part of it :)
