You are a XPIT

You are a XPIT--Expressive Practical Intellectual Taker. This makes you a Manager.

You are cool, thoughtful and intelligent. Your approach and your sense of humor are under-the-radar, your charm is undeniable. You keep everything under control. You have distinctive vocal mannerisms. You may not have much interest in approaching strangers, but when you do, you are successful.

You will probably end up with someone beautiful, fascinating and off-balance. While your partner may steal the limelight, it's you that keeps things running smoothly and provides stability in your relationship. If you are with someone as contemplative and hard-headed as you, you can have a tough time.

Your greatest asset is that you tackle conflict as it rises -- you don't ignore it and let it brew. If you have a partner that *does* let it brew, it will make you crazy! You can find yourself fighting for two -- trying to anticipate your partner's needs and draw their feelings out -- which is exhausting and, well, not your job.

You would never cheat. You would make an excellent spouse. When your spouse's friends met you, they would think, "Crap, why couldn't I get that one?"

Of the 222398 people who have taken this quiz, 6.2 % are this type.


Interesting...hehehe...now is that good or bad? Check it out, quite amusing....

Who's Your Inner European?

Your Inner European is Russian!

Mysterious and exotic. You've got a great balance of danger and allure.

Who's Your Inner European?

I knew there was a bloody communist living in me.......

Da! Vodka it is then!! Brrr......

Soccernet's Employee-of-the-month

I was reading Jan’s blog the other day and she was musing on how the soccernet commentators have an interesting sense of humor. It really is quite true. Perhaps they just don’t get sufficiently entertained by the match they’re providing a commentary on. Here are excerpts from the FA Cup semi between United and Newcastle:

6th min: The United players are incensed with the referee’s decision. Replays show that Taylor did stick out a leg, but Ronaldo dived over the challenge and there was definitely no contact. Ronaldo should hang his head in shame. He doesn’t however; he continues to strut around the field like a peacock on heat. (a peacock on heat?!! This guy is horny…..)

20th min: Van Nistelrooy has been going through a torrid time since returning from injury, but it was a great finish from the Dutchman. Understandably, he looked delighted; I haven’t seen him that happy since he won £20 on the National Lottery. (Lame joke, but he tried.)

27th min: Television cameras pick out Sir Bobby Robson in the crowd. He’s sat next to former Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool legend Paul Walsh. Why they couldn’t follow the match via my Soccernet commentary, I’m not sure. (Now he sounds like Sheikh Haikel when he was still with Perfect 10)

37th min: United have completely out-played Newcastle in this first half. It’s women against girls out there. (Now this bugger doesn’t know what he’s talking abt)

38th min: FACT ME HARD: Manchester United have yet to concede a goal in this year’s FA Cup. (erm, “Fact me hard”?! Frankly, sounds like he’s been surfing a lot of porn sites recently…..definitely horny….)

47th min: Souness smiles as he eats an apple on the Newcastle bench. I wonder what he has up his sleeve. His arm, probably. What a ridiculous question. (*faint*)

80th min: What an incredible second half it’s been. I’ve been kept on my toes from the very first minute. Thankfully, I’m good enough to have kept up with the action; other commentators may sadly have faded away. (Now, this guy has a humongous ego…..)

81st min: What a final we’re going to get in Cardiff next month; United v Arsenal, with both clubs playing for their only chance of a trophy. If you can’t get to the game, why not follow the action with me, here at Soccernet? It’ll be great fun, I promise. (He really loves his job. Fat slob sitting on a chair hardly perspiring a drop, earning easy money)

87th min: The game is very tamely reaching its inevitable conclusion. Ferguson seems to have thrown away his chewing gum. I hope he put it in a bin, and didn’t merely toss it to the floor. I hate it when people do that. Do you know how difficult it is to get chewing gum off your clothes? I do. (Hahaha! The fella must be running out of things to say abt the match. At least he spices up the commentary to make up for the reader not getting to watch the match live. And how he manages to get chewing gum which pple toss on the floor onto his shirt is beyond me)

Can we show Injuries the Red Card pls?

Arggh!! This semester has been so incredibly injury filled for me. I’ve been sooo restrained from putting out my best so often. I’ve frequently been playing for Nemesis while carrying injuries, and even been totally out-of-action (sat out 2 matches this season, a 1st ever statistic that one!). Every time I return from an injury, I last like a few days before I’m out with another one. Someone must’ve really hated me enough to cast some jinx-spell on me. #&^$#$@!!

I started this semester with an ankle injury sustained from the end of the December vacation (and I’m not even counting the neck strain that bugged me thru the vacation and January!). That kept me limping for a few days, but by the end of 2 weeks I was back to full fitness. Days after that, a stubborn viral cough took a great liking to me. It loved me so much it raised my temperature to as much as 39 degrees during the night for a stretch of a week. The stupid cough reduced me to a pretty immobile player during the IHG Hockey competition. That was quite depressing as I’d been in great shape all of last semester and had big plans for the IHG.

I recovered a week after IHG and got through another 2 weeks before I found myself sucked into a freak accident which shattered my spectacles. I missed the match the day after that thanks to scratches on my cornea from the shattered glass that got into my right eye. The weekend after that I returned to play and was doing great for the next few matches. I got abt a month of matches under my belt, hitting top form, and then, totally out of the blue, I found myself nursing a torn calf muscle. When I first felt the pain, I thought it was an ordinary muscle strain and treated it as I wld any muscle strain. I massaged it and stretched it. Lo and behold, the pain multiplied geometrically the next cupla days. I knew right then it was a muscle tear, and a delayed check with the doc at UHWC confirmed my suspicion. 2 weeks of resting brought less than 50% recovery, and I missed the q-final match. I started the s-final match at 75%, but I pulled thru it without aggravating the condition (thank god!).

Now, just when my left calf is almost completely healed, I went and got my right ankle a real bad sprain while playing soccer. I lasted like 20 mins and then my night of action was all over. Its ridiculous! I know I’m not that fragile, its just that I keep getting involved in injury-inducing instances. Sigh……. What does it take to remain injury-free? Do I need to hire a bomoh to cast a protection spell on me?

To Snuff or Stoke the Passion?

I've been thinking about my brother's fooling around with death for some time now. Jai asking me abt him while we were chatting on msn yday only served to revive those thoughts. The incident from a cupla weeks back doesn't help either.

My brother, Afzal, is a fire-fighter with the Singapore Civil Defence Force; and a pretty good one at that. Or so he says. He has this passion for the fire-fighting profession that he discovered from within himself during his basic training at the Jalan Bahar camp and subsequently the Academy. He's told me before that he's in it not just coz he likes doing it, but also coz it pays well. Understandable, the higher the risk, the higher the returns. I know he likes the job, but I can't help feel this immensely uncomfortable feeling within me.

A fortnight ago, there was a tanker blast at Lim Chu Kang. He was activated to go for that call. When they got there, there was oil all over the road and the grass patches along the road. Tanker was in a drain. They couldn't use water for fear that the oil would then float and worsen the fire they were trying desperately to put out. They used foam instead, which is slower in retarding the flames, but unlikely to allow any reignition. As they managed to get closer to the tanker, they found the driver still trapped inside. They attempted to get the man out of the vehicle. When they were within metres of him, a second explosion from within the tanker engulfed the driver and the 2 nearest fire-fighters. One died on the spot from severe burns, and the second was brought to NUH for severe burns and smoke inhalation. He passed away a day later. The 3rd fire-fighter, my bro, escaped with bruises on his knee as he was thrown back by the force of the blast.

The immediate next mrn after that incident, he called me saying that he was coming to NUH to visit a friend and could meet me for lunch. I agreed and met him at the Science canteen. It was then that he told me all this. I just felt my blood turning cold when I thought of what could have been if Afzal had been a few metres nearer.

The 2 fire-fighters who'd lost their lives were NS boys. Teenagers....young punks....who had so much left of life to see, feel and enjoy. They weren't even chaps for whom fire-fighting was a career. WHY? What agony the families that lost these boys must be going thru? I'm feeling so sick of hearing abt NS boys losing life and limb. I came across so many during my time in the Police Force.

I struggle with quite a dilemma now because I'm proud of my bro for being a Fire-fighter, and I would rather encourage him in his passion than convince him to lead a boring life. I know what it feels like when pple tell you to drop what you are doing because its too "risky & dangerous". My folks told me that too when I was in the Special Ops. Then again, I don't want to lose him at any cost. Despite all our differences, fights and misunderstandings, he is still my brother. If trouble was my middle name, it seems to be his first name! He just can't seem to stay out of it. I pray for his safety now more than ever before.

Guess what? Billy just isn't done for the night yet. He takes his international interaction to the next step and goes for his counterpart from across the causeway. That's Jiexiao, who shares de best male dancer pedestal with Willy Hambali. Jiexiao is my other immediate neighbour in hall and another good friend. He's an awesome athlete as well; he wasn't made varsity biathlon captain for nothing.

Eric Koh (aka Muthusamy, coz he's the only Chinese you're likely to meet with a natural Indian accent) and Nicole. This pic was just too good I cldn't resist putting it up. Eric, my good friend, is a great guy with a very humble and helpful nature. He is one of THE characters of RH, and his laughter is legendary in hall, simply becoz you can hear it from miles away and know for sure it was this man from Kuantan. If Hemz was an elf in her previous birth, this guy was the King of them all. His armoury of pranks knows no end. As for Nicole, well, that smile alone speaks a million words. I'll miss watching her dance performances too, she's got the talent to match the looks.

At the end of DnD, some very strange behaviour patterns of certain individuals left the No.7 Man quite confused. That's Moritz, our German/French Werelama, and Billy, involved in some serious inter-cultural interaction :P

Clare, Hemz, moi, Jac, Nicole, and Vincent. Clare is the successor to Jac's throne in the sporting field. A natural all rounder, Clare is also like a little sis to me. For someone who started playing hockey in RH, she's incredible. Jiale and me have on several occasions mused about how Clare would've been a national player now if only she'd taken up the sport at secondary school or JC at least. Nicole is without doubt the one who raises the highest temperatures in RH, and a wonderful friend too. Vincent, our stick insect from ze land of ze Eiffel Tower, often leaves us wondering when he's high on liquor and when he's not, coz he dishes out the most amusing nonsense half the time he opens his mouth.

Thuthu and me. Jackie is one helluva tough nut and an awesome character. A great friend, she's the only female biker in RH. Jackie is a sports legend in RH, there's hardly any sport that she hasn't played for the hall. A fellow final year, Jac is having a swell time at the DnD, as you can tell from the brilliant smile she's dished out here.

Boy Wonder and me. A lame attempt at the Devil's Advocate pose, but nvm...... Chin Ling, little bro of my good buddy from floorball, Chin Hooi. I donnoe why, but I've always felt protective over him like he was my little bro as well, maybe its coz of my friendship with Chin Hooi. This punk is the future of RH Hockey, and I hope he'll make good use of whatever I've taught him. A very humble and well liked chap in hall. No wonder Klang girls take a liking to him :P

Hemz and me at DnD, March 19th. Hemz is my best friend in hall. A little sister to me, she's a wonderful gem of a person. Whatever you do, never underestimate her penchant for mischief. This joker must've been an elf in her previous birth :P

The First Ones. This picture effectively encompasses the people I got to know first in RH, and this picture wasn't even planned to be so; we just randomly gathered and took the pic. I only realised this fact now...haha...From Left, Daniel Lee, Erin, Jiale, me, Hemz, and Yuren. Its also very rare to get a group pic in RH where the M'sians are a minority :P Haha, only Daniel!

Group picture of people from 2 tables

Ok, after that last mini-chronicle, I'm in a mood for pictures now...hehe...here's my good buddy from Scotland, Anil George Matthew. He lives next door to me in hall, and he's in NUS as a 1-yr exchange student. This is us at the RH Dinner and Dance on the 19th of March. This bugger supports Chelski!! Argh!!!

Enter the Bomoh

I came in virtually knowing no one at all in RH, save for Jiale (Korean Pornstar); Daniel, Daniel Kwok (Lord of the Fishes); Vanessa (aka Letchumi, aka Hemz); and a certain someone that I used to know. It was going to be one hell of a task fitting into this community which was already well-structured into its own cliques and habitual ways. To me, its been nothing short of a miracle that I managed to assimilate into this wonderful homely community.

It was a challenge that after much thought, I chose to face head-on. It cld've gone either way..... as in May 2004, I found myself having to make a choice between the classy accomodation I was already guaranteed of at Kuok Foundation, or to take the plunge into the unknown RH where unwanted sights could torment me and present me with much misery. I guess I'd have done pretty well in my studies if I'd stayed at Kuok :P Haha, but I wanted more...a stage to perform on, an arena to compete in, a social atmosphere to give and take in.....and RH gave me all that and more. This is one decision I'd never regret. Roll over and die I was not going to. Quitter I was not. So, fortunately, I found enough within myself to rise to the challenge and create a name for myself.

Hehe...and now there aren't many who don't know the Bomoh, thanks to RHForum, Sam bellowing "Bomoh!" across the comm hall, and Eric doing likewise from the hardcourt when its time for soccer.....hahaha...right now, I can't recall how on earth I came up with that nick for myself in the RHForum, but there it is....sigh...and there are worse ones too, but I'm safe from those weird nicknames so long as I stay clear of Mira and Neeti :P Their creativity can really go wild!

I'm very indebted to Jiale for being the one who took me around in my first few days introducing me to the senior residents and helping me make the 1st few steps in my assimilation. I wld've felt very lost indeed if he had not taken the initiative to help me blend in. The ball continued rolling from there, and the rest is history.

The end is nigh.......

Raghuram came to my room today and went, "Man, you have sooo much stuff here".

I've heard that comment like a hundred times in the past 2 sems. Well, I've got one of the biggest rooms in RH, so I might as well make use of the space right?! I'm one for being prepared for every situation and being self-sufficient, so I pretty much have everything that I could possibly need while in hall. Anil says his room is bigger than mine. Not that it matters, but I say it only looks like that coz I've got way more stuff than him. But I like it this way, its totally cosy man! Thats why pple like to come to my room to watch movies and laze ard. Come to think of it, I think this room is way cosier than my room back at home :P Haha!
My dad had his own jibe at me.....he looked at the stuff I had and commented that I was comprehensively equipped to run my own home, and the only "item" missing was a wife.

But the problem is getting all this stuff back home in a month's time, when Uni life comes to an end for me. I reckon I better start shifting 'em little by little right now, or all this stuff is gonna clog my room back at home entirely if I shift them all at one go.

Hmmmm......speaking of Uni life coming to an end, thats less than a month away..... *shudder!* Its a pretty weird, nostalgic, bittersweet feeling. I could go on and on about the weird mixture of feelings..... but then I would never get to finish this blog & catch my precious sleep! As expected, there wld be those things that I wld miss, and those that I'd be glad not to have any memories whatsoever of. Its interesting how I feel so detached from a faculty community that I've been with for 4 whole years, whilst being so attached to a hall community that I've been with for barely a year. Somehow, I can't recall any pleasant or good memories, or friendships I'd want to treasure from my faculty. The extreme reverse applies for the year spent in Raffles Hall.

Team Nemesis 2-8 Swiss Club Red Flamingoes

well, Dennis ma man, you wrapped up my 4 yrs in NUS just the way you started it for me. By screwing me upside down for practically everything that goes wrong while I'm on the court. hahaha, but I'm cool abt it man, grown into it already, and I do have lots of respect for your tactical acumen. I guess you'll really miss me should I stop playing floorball, haha!

Dennis Lim, is my floorball coach, and has been the NUS mens' floorball team coach for the past 4+x years. If a mistake happens to be made while I'm on court, without a shadow of a doubt, through the eyes of Coach Lim, I must have played a critical role in it, so it's inevitably my fault. When he doesn't have his coaching hat on and barking from the sidelines during a match, Dennis is a great guy. Fun, friendly and very approachable.

Coming back to yesterday's match, well, it was the semi-final of the SFL 2005. We were up against the Swiss Club Red Flamingoes (SCRF), titans of the local floorball scene. Since their inception 2 1/2 yrs ago, they've been winning anything and everything that lay before them, and have yet to be defeated. We were neatly whipped 2-8. 1st period score was 2-3, 2nd period 0-1, and the 3rd 0-4.

I was on the court for 2 of the 8 goals, but that doesn't really matter, much of the cocking up must've been my fault anyway (right Dennis?). It didn't help that I was playing at 75% condition en route to recovery from a torn calf muscle. Sitting out our own 8-1 whipping of Skools Floorball last weekend in the q-final did me alot of good in being able to at least play in this one. The scoreline itself didn't do us justice as we were outplayed by spectacular individual skills rather than brilliant play-ups. Their conversion rate was simply awesome. They must've had like 15 shots on target out of which 8 went in. We got about the same number of shots out of which 2 went in. Yeah, speaks volumes doesn't it?

Sigh....in my 4 yrs in NUS, our season in the SFL has always ended at the semis. Hmm....well, I started off really excited about writing all this, but now I'm quite down about it being all over, and I'm dead tired as well. So I guess its time for me to evaporate from here and get some sleep.....*yawn*

The Opening Ceremony

hmm, finally, I've become one of them, the growing breed of bloggers...... If you can't beat 'em, join 'em I say :)
I never believed in maintaining a blogspot since the first time I heard abt it. Reason being, personal thoughts and opinions ought not to be put out for all to see and read; or so I felt. Then again, after some thought (alot of thought actually..hehe) I decided a blogspot was a convenient way to get opinions on SOME matters, as well as maintain a personal webpage whereby friends could drop by and see how I was doing :)
I had this blogspot registered and stuff a looong time ago, but I never got round to moving to the next step...posting a blog :P
So here, finally, and quite fittingly, my 1st blog is about one of my greatest passions in life...sports...a floorball match......