Sunday, October 12, 2008

My best soccer match so far....

Day shot of the artificial field from my hall.
Night Shot (Notice the "thing" at the centre of this pic?)
to the left of this picture is the jetty with the BBQ pits, and where the rocky bay is.

After 1-2 months of slacking, i decided to make a point to wake up early and EXERCISE!

And i have chosen to play soccer because my Korean Roommate(Kang) is also a football fanatic, but sadly, he is a Red Devil...

This fine sunday morning, i pull Kang out of bed at 8am and drag him down to our school's artificial soccer pitch. It is very convenient as we have the elevator and the field is within a stone's throw.

We rented two soccer balls using our Student cards and practised some dribbling, crossing, passing and shooting. Kang injured his ankle one month ago and it was a recovery training for him. There were a few joggers in the early morning and they gave us some weird stares. ( i don't know why.)

After a while, the artificial soccer pitch was populated by a group of Hong Kong working adults. (They looked too old to be undergrads). We then decided to take our leave when one uncle wearing a England jersey stopped us and invited the both of us to play with them, 11-a-side soccer.

Wow! I was thrilled by the invitation, but Kang was injured so he sat by the side to watch us play.

I told him i wanted to play full back, so he assigned me to play at the left back. I hopei will not to make the same mistake as Ashley Cole did. Lol.

The game went very smoothly, the uncles want me to bring the ball forward whenever i have the ball. I feel that playing wing back is quite shagged, as i do not have stamina to do so many runs.
I guessed the opposition spotted my flaw and kept attacking my flang. I was beaten by the best uncle of the game(Ah Tat) twice, as he played one-two passes with another liverpool uncle. His cross were perfectly received by an Arsenal fan, and he puts the opposition 1-nil up.
White 0-1 Red.

On ya, the two teams were divided by the colour of their. It is red vs white.
The opposition were mainly wearing Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool jerseys while my team' uncles were mainly wearing the white England Jersey. As for me, since i wore a white singlet, so i was with the white team.

The uncles gave me many chances to perform, but i guess i didn't mean thier expectations. My runs on the flangs were intercepted by Ah Tat easily. My style is to kick the ball forward and sprint after it, but since Ah Tat has better stamina, and bigger body built, he wins all the ball.

In the middle of the game, our team captain wants me to stay front, Left wing, instead of left wing back. I did as what i was told, and the effect was immediate. After receiving a pass from mid-field, i lob the ball in for "Gao Loh"(mean tall guy), and he sliced the ball into the net.
White1-1Red.

Towards the end of the game, i was panting like crazy. My throat was very dry and i kept coughing. Seeing my situation, the uncles still pass the ball to me and wants me to bring up. I am seriously dying, but they don't play HALF TIME, so i have to suffer till the end. I don't want to faint, so whenever i receive the ball, i will just aim it at Gao Loh at "pump" the ball forward all the way to him, i won't run anymore!
We won a corner, and the corner was taken nicely. The ball was headed out of the opposition penalty box. One of our team mate tried to cross the ball in towards me, but instead of reaching my head. It went into the net.
We won the game miraculously....

I thanked them for inviting me to play this game. The artificial field was good, the weather was good, the players were professional. It's my best game ever.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Some Update on Hong Kong Trip: Dan the explorer



As promised, i will write something about my Hong Kong Trip and not about soccer again...haha!
Yesterday was a fun day for me, as i managed to cover many parts of Hong Kong and did many things within 6 hours.
Things i need to do:
1) Buy Hard-disk for Ling li(dear) (TOP PRIORITY!)
2) Explore the Kwan Tung/Ngau Tau Kok Area
3) Buy a pair of running shorts
4) Top up Peoples's phonecard
5) Top up Octopus MTR card for myself and for my aunt
6) Have a good dinner!
The other exchange students were either at Japan or at Ocean Park celebrating Haloween. I didn't join them partly because my Aunt will be coming over today at 3pm and so i need to walk the ground so that i can be a good tour guide later. Another reason is that I AM BROKE! Spend SGD$3K within the first 45 days of my Hong Kong Exchange! Arghhhhh!! Many thoughts came to me, should i go to the Jockey Club to bet on some soccer matches?
Anyway, all thanks to Zhixiang(Exchange Student from SMU) who is kind enough to lend me HKD$1500 (Approx SGD$283) to survive for the next few days, as the money that Chin Fung transferred me hasn't arrived yet as Tuesday is a public holiday (Chung Yeung Festival).
I met Zhixiang near the atrium and he taught me a new way to get to Mongkok, that is to take the Shuttle bus at 6.10pm... We reached Prince Edward Station at around 6.45pm due to traffic jam and we parted as i decided to go to Sham Shui Po instead to get a hard disk for Ling li.




The distance from Prince Edward Station to Sham Shui Po takes about 10-15minutes. I need to pass by the three streets, Nam Cheong, Wong Chuk and Cheong Sha Wan. When i reached there, i was happy to see Apliu Street which is a night market selling Computer accessories. However, since i sucks at speaking Cantonese and i didn't do my research on the prices of the computer parts, i didn't buy anything there. At Apliu Street, i chance upon a minimart and went in to buy some drinks. Guess what i've found! IndoMee Mi Goreng!! Haha, my all-time favourite and it is only selling at HKD8.80 which is around SGD$1.70. I bought another packet for Chorng Shin as i know he likes it too.






Then Chorng Shin(Singaporean doing Post-grad in HKUST) called me to have dinner, and he will reached Mongkok in 20 minutes. I hurried to Golden Complex where the cheapest Computer Accessories & Electronics are sold in Hong Kong. I bought the 250GB My Passport Harddisk and a Casing for dear and rush to the Sham Shui Po MTR Station. (Mission 1 Accomplished)










I met Chorng Shin at Mongkok and we went to the same old restaurant to have our dinner. We had two dishes and chatted about some unhappy things at HKUST. The dinner cost about HKD$60 per person (SGD$11.30) and it is already considered cheap in Hong Kong.(Mission 6 accomplished)









Then we parted ways as i need to top up my Prepaid Peoples' sim card. This is my 3rd time topping up HKD$300 (approx SGD 56.60) to my sim card as i talked to Ling li every single day (I am not grumbling, serious!)




After that, i took a long walk to Temple Street to check out the hotel i booked for Ling li, Jiajue and Kiamin(Jiajue's Gf). The hotel name is called Dorsett Seaview, but i don't think there is any seaview from the hotel as it is surrounded by many tall buildings. Or maybe there is (but only at the highest level). It is just beside a temple and along Temple Street, a very popular street among tourist. The stalls in Temple Street sell stuffs like clothes, toys, adult toys(temple street have many bars and AV stores), mirrors, camping equipments, keychains, posters etc. PLEASE BARGAIN WITH THEM AND USE THE WALK OFF TECHNIQUE.
It works!
I tried this method to buy a running shorts, the uncle told me it is very good, very cheap, only HKD39. I told him it is too expensive and tried to walk off. He then tell me HKD30 last price. I don't believe there is any final price, so i walk off, in the end he sell the shorts to me at HKD20(SGD3.70), while grumbling that he is making a loss. Mission 3 Accomplish)




The main reason i am buying another pair of shorts although i already have 4 is because i hope to run every alternate days or if possible every morning to lose weight. Hong Kong Food is too tempting, couldn't resist the temptation so i kept eating and eating till i am super fat now.
It is around 10pm when i bought the shorts. I remembered it because Ling li called me to spot check at that time, to see if i got kidnapped or not.


Not to waste any more time, i took the MTR (Similar to MRT) to Kwan Tung (where APM-the super huge shopping mall) is. I recce around the area to search for nice places/restaurant to bring my Aunties to and chance upon NEWAY Karaoke and a DBS bank! They are at Kwan Tung Street, which means we have another option for karaoKe!




Linda Chung


Have went to NEWAY at Mongkok twice, they have computer in the karaoke room, where you can serve the internet, MSN etc. The karaoke charges are slightly cheaper than Singapore's as their prices do not have +++, (thier prices are nett price. ***Another interesting fact is Hong Kong Cabs do not have Midnight Charges***
Using the map Mapbook Chorng Shin lend me, i recce my way to Newton Place Hotel, where my Aunties will be staying. The hotel is in How Ming Street, right in the heart of the industrial area, but the plus point is that it is facing the harbour, good seaview!



I recce my way to the Ngau Tau Kok and timed myself walking at my Aunties' speed. It took me around 10-12minutes to reach the station where i saw the Restaurant Chorng Shin recommended me. I asked for a "Card pin" which means namecard of the restaurant and head back to Choi Hung Station just in time to board the 12.10am minibus back HKUST!


where my aunt's hotel is.



It's 11.55pm...
Home sweet home!









































Tuesday, October 7, 2008

So far so good for Big Phil !!!


Well done Big Phil, the results are clear...

I feel that Anelka, Ashley Cole, Mikel are at their best now...
I saw the game against Aston Villa on Sopcast.




Mikel has matured alot, from the youngster who is not red card shy to the next Makelele. Of course, we cannot compare Makelele and him, he is much taller and younger than Makelele.

Anelka is back to his good form... Although it is almost impossible for me to ask for the Anelka that starred in the Gunners (Arsenal) 1997/1998 double-winning campaign which led the 23 millions pound move to Real Madrid.

Ashley Cole and Bosingwa, both of them are the driving force from the wing, that gave Chelsea the extra dimension to attack!

Ballack, Lampard, Joe Cole are in tip-top form as usual....
Though Terry not coordinating well with Cech and Branislav Ivanovic...
Credits to Chelsea rock-solid defence, not conceding any goals for the past few matches without Carvalho and Alex.

The only disappointment for me will be Drogba and starlet Franco Di Santo...
Drogba having injuries after injuries, hasn't been at his best form.

Franco Di Santo from Argentina was given many chances in front of the goal, but all his shots were way off.
Everyone has high expectations of him, comparing him to Lionel Messi.

I really hope some youngsters will shine in the Chelsea Camp, like how Theo Walcott shine in Arsenal, how Rodrigo Possebon got his name on the papers, and not to mention Honduras's Wilson Palacios at Wigan now.

International Break now..... Haizzz, no Chelsea matches till 18th of October.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Facebook

I guess it is easier to upload my photos on Facebook!
Check out the picture there!
danthetrueblueman@hotmail.com

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Internet Access only on the 3rd day...

It feels so good surfing the internet in the comfort of my own room.
Going for Orientation now.
Hong Kong's Urban Chinese Heritage Tour.
Will post my photos tonight.

Oh ya, by the way, my Hong Kong number is (+852) 68510517

Friday, August 22, 2008

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)


This will be the place where i will be in the next few months.
Photos were taken by a senior who is currently a research at HKUST.
These photos will be a motivate me to exercise more often, especially since Hong Kong is a food paradise.
Notice that HKUST has the nice seaview? that`s because it is located at the boundaries of HK.

Hong Kong Typhoon in August last year

I will be leaving for Hong Kong this coming 26th August, 8.30am flight.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Chelsea first win of the season

Anelka found his form after scoring 4 goals against AC Milan!



He is Scolari, not a crazy Chelsea supporter from the crowd

Chelsea 4-0 Portsmouth
Against the likes of Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe and former Chelsea player Glen Johnson,
Chelsea did what Man Utd failed to do at the Charity Shield.

Goal Scorers: Joe Cole, Nicolas Anelka, Frank Lampard (Penalty) and Deco.

Deco really reminds me of the Chelsea Legend, Gianfranco Zola!!!
He had a fantastic debut goal and he got himself the Man of the Match title.
Good job for a start.

Scolari(see picture) also reminds me of an Ex-Chelsea Boss, noneother than Jose Mourinho,
the way they despair and celebrate are the same. cool!

Lastly, the final whistle of the Man Utd Vs Newcastle match has been blown.
Full Time Score: 1-1, Man Utd is at the 10th Position.

Let`s hope Scolari and his value-added blues can win back when they lost last season.




Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Teachers are like Guardsmen...Over-work, Under-paid.

School term is starting, i am supposed to be happy, as i will have the opportunity to teach in ****** Secondary School and teaching is the job i want since young.
However, the email i received today startled me. I am totally shocked...
Big Boss has given me a big belated birthday present. I received my teaching schedule at ****** Secondary School this coming July 01 til July 24. My working hours will be from 7.15am till 5pm every school day.

I am given a project to do, titled: Making Maths Easy, whereby i need to observe Secondary 2 students during maths classes for a week, come up with a survey, come up with solutions to solve the problem of sec 2 students' dis-interest in mathematics.

I will also have numerous meetings with thier Maths HOD, Maths Department, VP and P.

Haizzz....Life is not going to be easy for me during this period.

So for those who are still thinking of jumping into the same wagon as me, think twice!
There is a price to pay for that Golden Rice Bowl!

Oh yah, did i mention that we will not be paid for these 3 and a half weeks school attachement?
It is a no-pay 8-5 job, cool right...

Monday, June 9, 2008

Kung Fu Panda!!!!

Wow! when i first saw the Kung Fu Panda advertisement at the bus stop, i thought it was just another Kung Fu animation....But i was wrong, this animated film about a Panda who dreams about being a Kung Fu Master having his dream come true was simply hilarious!!! And i guess that was the reason why it kicked Sex and the city out of the top spot of the US box office. I went to the new E!Hub @ downtown east with my girlfriend as we always wanted to check out the cinema...Well, we were very satisfied, the couple-seats were very spacious, and we have more than enough legroom...there are also those side table(like those in our LT) for us to put our food.

Movie Rating: 4.5/5 for an animation
Cinema: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5 - Too many chalet go-ers, and kids, i even heard one of them ask his mummy, why Jackie Chan haven't come out? LOL...