Random thoughts

In Saturday's Straits Times there was a special feature on the specialized schools for talented students in Singapore. The Singapore Sports School for promising young athletes, NUS High for the science and maths inclined and the upcoming Singapore Arts School catered for those talented in Arts were the schools in spotlight. The secondary and pre-u education system nowadays is really very different from what we went through only a few years.

There are so much alternatives now other than the mainstream 'O' levels exams followed by either JC or Poly. Students now can choose to go to one of those specialized schools if they have the talents. Many top schools offer integrated programs which enable students to have more time to explore into different subjects in depth instead of wasting time preparing for exams. Not interested in 'A' levels? There's IB too.

I believe that setting up Singapore Sports School is the right decision as sports is one of the few things that can bring the whole country together. However our international success is few and far between and many of these medals are actually brought back by the imported talents. There are many countries with considerably less financial power which consistently outperform us in the sporting arena. While talent pool may be limited, countries such as Trinidad and Tobago (pop. 1.3 million) have proved it to us that it is still possible for small nations to compete with the rest.

There is always an element of risk for all the students at Singapore Sports School. Despite all the professional preparation and training, there's no guarantee that everyone will end up being good enough to represent Singapore. The students must be mentally strong enough to take on any obstacles that stand in their quests for sporting glory. Hopefully by having the sports school we can produce the next generation of athletes who can compete with the best of the world and bring back our first Olympics medal since 1962.

I read the report on NUS High with intrigue. The students are really motivated and have a high capacity of learning. I will never fit in such a competitive environment. Many of the students there have high IQ and some are already aceing their A levels maths exams at 14. While new challenges in NUS High allow them to continue their passion for learning, I wonder how well will they adapt to the society later. There are so much more to life beside all the figures and numbers.

Schools with integrated programmes and specialized schools are fighting over the best brains and sporting talents in Singapore. Being independent these schools are able to provide better facilities and study environment for its students. The other schools are seen to be less attractive and thus less able to attract the better students. Unfortunately VS now belongs to this group of schools.

The situation seemed to be so bad that the ex-principal Mr Ang even suggested making the school co-ed. The idea, despite its good intent, was obviously not well-received and both students and alumnus reacted strongly. The issue was hotly debated and many came up with constructive suggestions. While I understand the need to improve the school's fortunes, there's no need to compromise the traditions. Fortunately the idea was dropped and hopefully it won't be mentioned again.

My VS days was the most fun and memorable time of my life so far. I haven't met any VS boys who don't feel anything for the school. The school spirit is immense and can't be experienced elsewhere. I didn't go to VJC so I have no idea what is it like being there but none of my friends who studied there said anything positive about its school spirit. VS helps shaped my character and if I were to choose again I would have no regrets going back there.

I admit that my batch had a hand in bringing about the decline in academic standards. The reputation that the previous batches had built up is hardly maintained by us. When we were just sec 1, we were all in awe with our seniors who played hard and worked hard at the same time. Somehow we took the playing part too seriously and neglected the working part. The school culture of last minute work will never bring us good academic results.

However we did continue the Victorian spirit. Most of us still care about the school and continue to identify with it. It's really satisfying to see VS boys going down to support their schoolmates and the school during competitions. Let's hope that the subsequent batches of students can help maintain the school spirit and get the school to where it belongs - among the elites.

Victoria in Singapore
There are other schools we know
Victoria is something more
The school that watched us grow

For here we've learnt and striven too
And played the sportsman's game
Victoria we give to you
The honour that you claim

Victoria thy sons are we
And we will not forget
Victoria thy triumph sees
And victories we share yet

For others came before and went
And carried to the world
Victoria's fame and our intent to
Keep her flag unfurled

Once a Victorian, Always a Victorian.

NUS v NTU v SMU

Thursday was an activities-filled day. Started early in the morning with Kok Wai jio-ing me and Ho Teck to Kbox. This session once again proved that I will never make it as a singer and maybe it's time for me to stop testing other people's earbuds. Off-key, off-beat, off-whatever... The only consolation was that I wasn't alone because there is Ho Teck.

In the afternoon we returned to play at our homeground again. Not all the usual people turned up but there were enough to form 3 teams. My team seemed to be the strongest with Shahid and Sufiyan together but we couldn't break Kendrick's team's winning run. However once we beat them we became unstoppable. It was really fun but this might be one of our last few sessions together before school starts and we will all be busy.

We played pool after dinner. I'm getting less and less accurate. There were occasions where I missed super simple shots. Wai San was right in saying that we are jack-of-all-trades and there's not a single sports we really excel in. It can't be helped since talent is given and can't be nurtured. Practicing does help but it's hard to improve beyond a certain level. Not everything in the world is fair so I guess we just have to accept the fact.

I reached home only at 11 and missed the results show. So Emilee was out and less deserving contestants got to stay behind. So in the end Idol was just a popularity/money game. Next week's one should be nice because the contestants will be singing British bands' songs. I should be back home from Biz Camp by then.

Jiesheng added me into a 10 party conference on msn. The primary reason was that he wanted to invite us to his birthday party 2 Sundays from now. However the conference shifted its focus to Chi Ho very soon. He changed his display pic to a photo with him hugging his gf. That bloody bastard was taunting us. So got gf big fuck is it?

Kendrick got the ball rolling and started to kp Chi Ho. Of course I don't want to miss out of the fun and chipped in as well. Kendrick went off soon after and was replaced by Junjie aka Red Glove. Jiesheng was contended to watch the war of words unfold in front of him.

For an insult to be effective, it must be aimed at the most vulnerable spots. Putin knows that and his swipe at Dick Cheney was a fine example of a good insult. We all know that harping on Chi Ho being a Hongkie always work. The worst thing he can do is only pointing his middle finger at you. Junjie was dragged in too and teased for being the Red Glove. This was really a far cry from his days of being president of anti-social club in VJC (according to the VJ people).

Chi Ho couldn't locate my weak point so he could only take potshots at me being at SMU. Soon the initial good natured ribbling escalated into full battle between the representatives of the 3 different universities. The conversation was too graphic and unsuitable to be put up here. It seemed that Chi Ho is resentful that he isn't in SMU. He is just jealous that I get to study in down town with all the new facilities and pretty SMU girls.

Parting shot to Yip Chi Ho: You are very LAME.

CIP

SMU requires its students to complete 80 hrs of community service before they can graduate and I'm no exception. During the matriculation, there were a few activities that we could sign up for. As usual I was very blur and didn't know which one to go for but the beach party was appealing because it allowed the participants to fulfill the 80 hours requirement. I put my name down for it and one other activity which I couldn't remember.

Day 1 Get-to-know-your-group + Learn-to-draw-with-sand

I arranged to meet Zonghan before the briefing as he was going to bring the indemnity form for me. My brother was telling me that the indemnity forms are like the toilet papers for SMU because they are used to cover its ass. These indemnity forms are getting on my nerves. Imagine having to ask your parents to sign that for every single activity.

Meanwhile I was surprised to see Zhiwei at the briefing. It had been quite sometime since we last met and it was great to catch up with him again. After the briefing, we were allocated to our groups. Neither Zonghan nor Zhiwei was in the same group as me and I knew no one from mine. The facilitators showed up after the briefing and brought us on a short tour around the school. We attempted some icebreaker games and the foundation of the wall between the girls and the guys was laid then. Maybe it was just awkward for all of us.

We went to PS for lunch and our 2 facilitators gave us the first hint how they maintain their figures. Their food were barely touched. When questioned Serene said that she had 3 breakfasts earlier. So we know that it's okay to have many meals as long as you eat very little each time. The more-meals-less-portion diet is the regime that nutritionist always recommends and I believe it works. However the amount of food wasted just made me think about all the starving people around the world.

We were taught how to do the sand painting after our lunch. It wasn't difficult and our group was very efficient. We finished our trial painting and completed the discussion about our next day's schedule within a short time. While we had more time to interact with one another the wall between the sexes seemed to get higher. The guys were really flabbergasted how the girls could keep on talking about the World Cup. Jen and Sulyn chatted like they were long-lost sisters. The rest (especially me) just wanted to be spared the misery of doing nothing and the dismissal time to come quickly.

Day 2 Excursion + Prep for presentation

I was welcomed by a familiar face at Bugis MRT station. It turned out that Joel was meeting Julian and Weimin. They were going to Sim Lim together to help Julian get his new computer. Minyang and Elvin would be meeting them there. Only Julian could summon so many people to help him. I was quite happy to see them but the next time I see these guys we will be in green again. Haizz...

Our group made our way to the Waterloo Street where the Chinese and Hindu temples are side by side. We were lucky as we chanced upon an Indian lady buying flowers from the Chinese vendor; something which we were looking for. After that we went to Sultan Mosque at Kampung Glam. There was also this kind guy which talked to us about the Tongkat Ali tree at the Malay Heritage Centre. We went for our lunch at Bugis and the other guys in the group managed to squeeze in a round of dota after it.

We had the entire afternoon to prepare our presentation. Our facilitators were misinformed that everyone had to participate in the presentation so we decided to come out with a poem. The girls edited the draft the guys came up with and the end product was surprisingly pleasant. We were allocated our parts for the big show the next day and I was rather thankful that I need not present the poem.

My group was overwhelming Easties and 10 out of the 12 of us took the East line home. It was at the train station when I realised that Yingying stayed in the same condominium as me. However we had never seen each other before. Maybe it's time to start using the facilities my father has been paying for.

Day 3 Presentation Day

I could see that the other groups put in much more effort than we did. Group 1 even dressed up in the ethnic costumes. Maybe we should have been more serious during the preparation. We went through the rehearsals before the actual thing and I can't seem to remember my lines. Another person with the same problem was Justin who kept saying the wrong words despite having the poem right in front of him.

We were the fifth group to present and it turned out that the poem was our saving grace. Our presentation didn't have anything spectacular but the rendition of the poem was flawless. Thanks to Justin, James, Kenneth and Amelia for delivering it spectacularly. I think the 2 ladies from career services were impressed by it.

We were given a sneak preview of the sand paintings during the presentations. 3 of the designs were particularly impressive; namely the wedding couple, the mask and the merlion. The people behind these works were really talented.

After the redundant trip to Republic Polytechnic I was dead tired. I wonder what will happen to me when school starts.

Day 4 Sand Painting

We started work on our masterpieces at 10. My group was really special because we were given 3 pieces of acrylic sheets instead of the 2. Yanlong who's studying in RP came to find me and Zhiwei. Another Attila gathering.

We were split into 2 groups; one would work on our initial design and the other would write out our poem in sand. I was in the latter and after we were done with the piece we went to help the other group. We finished rather early and I went around to look at the other group's designs. The wedding couple was good on paper but not really eye-catching using sand. The mask wasn't as good on paper but it was really amazing when it was completed.

We were supposed to sell the sand paintings to raise funds for the organisation we were working for but it seemed that only the mask was good enough to attract a bid. Serene seemed to be quite down because our paintings were among the ugliest. However Justin managed to cheer her up by pointing out the Singa piece. We could only hope that someone out there was smart enough to appreciate our art pieces and bid for them on Saturday.

Day 5 Bridge Day

We were informed that one other piece was bidded for but expectedly it wasn't ours. There wasn't much public who came for the event and we just spent our time waiting for dismissal time and playing cards. We started to play bridge and some of the girls went to try out the mahjong at the booths.

It had been quite sometime since I played bridge. I really like the days when the level 3 guys (me, Gabriel, Peter , Jon, Teng Leng, Heng, Toh) would play bridge and kp about encik at the same time. While playing I realised that our 2 facilitators were very competitive and would come up with all sorts of stunts to win. It was very amusing. The guys retaliated back but somehow the facilitators always managed to win. We had to stop after both Alphonsus and Serene were arrowed to pose for the Tamil newspaper.

After the lunch we played Indian Poker and Sabo 99 and Alphonsus was the only unlucky person made to do a forfeit. We discussed about having a gathering and the tentative plan is having supper on the 4th at 85. In the end the whole event ended without our paintings being sold. It was expected but I don't think anyone would feel good about it.

Poem

Singapore

The guys with our 2 pretty facilitators. ( I expect a good appraisal...)

Group V with its masterpieces

Holidays Plan

The school hasn't even started yet and Ho Teck is already asking if anyone is interested in going to Korea during the school holidays. Well I had been there long before Korean dramas like Winter Sonata invaded Singapore and revisiting Seoul wasn't my top travelling priority. I went there during its freezing winter and if I were to go again I will definitely choose to go in Spring or Autumn. A one week trip is likely to set me back at least 2k, something which I can't really afford.

I'm thinking of an overland trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok via Phnom Penh and Sieam Reap. Many travellers had done this route and it seems that there's little danger (maybe only minor annonyances). There are many places which interest me along the way but due to time and budget constraints I reckon 2 weeks will be enough for me to take in most of the sights.

What is there to see? There's plenty. There are Reunification Palace and Cu Chi Tunnels in or near Saigon respectively, both historically important places during the Vietnam War. Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing fields in Phnom Penh will remind us about the horror Cambodia had been through. The majestic Angkor Wat near Siem Reap will definitely be the highlight of the entire trip. Bangkok needs no introduction since almost everyone seems to have been there (except for me I think).

Cost-wise I don't think it will be very expensive as Vietnam and Cambodia are among the cheapest countries to travel in. Thailand may be slightly more expensive but prices are still low compared to Singapore. 30 sgd a night room should be fairly decent and there are even cheaper alternatives around. Food is cheap along the way but the local exotic taste may not suit everyone's stomach. I'm never a shopper but there should be cheap and unique stuff worth buying in these places.

Among the 3 budget airlines based in Singapore only Tiger Airways flies to HCMC. The fare for the December period isn't available yet but if booked at a right time an one way fare will probably be in the region of 120-150 sgd. Jetstar flies to both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap; an alternative if I decide to skip Bangkok. All 3 budget carriers fly the Bangkok-Singapore route. 100 sgd will probably get me an air ticket home and some change in the pocket.

I cannot estimate the exact cost because of the fluctuating air ticket prices but 1k should be the approximate amount required. So anyone interested? Drog me a tag and we can discuss about it.

Cancer spreads

It's been more than a week since the last entry. It wasn't so much that I was busy but more of my computer going bonkers.

It began with a virus on 2 Thursdays ago. My msn was sending out messages to all the contacts to share pictures which I had never taken with them. After discovering that, the most logical thing to do was to get help and Mr Chong Shyh Hao stepped in. He managed to run the anti-virus program but the internet connection shut down after restarting the computer.

What exactly was the problem? If he didn't know, I definitely had no idea too. He called up Starhub but they deduced it was a hardware problem. So Mr Chong Shyh Hao suggested to format the whole c:\ drive. I agreed with him that it's time to do it. I went down to Sim Lim to get a 320 gb external hard drive to back up our files. That cost me 249 bucks. Mr Chong Shyh Hao said that he would share the cost with me but I haven't seen any money yet and I'm not going to see him till 2007.

So we backed up whatever stuff we wanted and formated the computer. I didn't know what happened exactly but he couldn't complete the OS installation. My monitor went blank and just display the message no video input. So it was another problem to fix before the previous one can be solved. Very frustrating but I could do nothing about it. Mr Chong Shyh Hao suspected that it might be the video card that cause the screen to go blank. So before he left, he told me to work on that.

I tried to get a video card from my friends over the week. Qinyao had decided to shift to NUS and wasn't free to pass it to me. Wai San's card was not compatible (according to him) so I didn't bother to travel to his house. Anyway I was tied up with the SMU cip stuff as well and didn't have much time to do anything about the computer. In the end I raised the white flag and let my father took it to the repairman.

Well it turned out that the motherboard was the thing that was spoilt. So this explained how the cancer spreads from the sound to the internet connection and then finally the video ouput. The repair charges turned out to be quite hefty but at least the computer was fixed. Just like what Shahid said, I shouldn't attempt to solve all the problems by myself as there are more qualified people around. I'm just so glad that I can blog this piece now.

JB Excursion

Yesterday I went on an excursion to JB (again). Unlike the last time where we had a party of 10, this time there would only be 4 of us. We were supposed to meet at 1045 but in the end we left Woodlands Intechange at 1140. Wai San was made to wait the longest as Chiang was late as usual.

After breezing through the customs we followed our usual routine of walking to City Square. After making this kind of trip so many times, we knew where to go and what to do. The first thing was of course lunch and we made a point to try different places each time we visit.

Our lunch was at Food Junction since I read that the claypot rice was not bad. It turned out to be so-so but the good thing was that it wasn't expensive. After that we went to the cinema ticketing booth. We should have made the trip on Thursday for the opening of Pirates of Carribbean but I couldn't make it. In the end we settled for the 1545 showtime for Superman Returns.

The main purpose of this trip for Wai San and Chiang was to highlight their hair and we went to the Reds Hair Saloon. I got my haircut there as well. Chiang wanted his hair highlighted a la Beckham while Wai San wanted something not too striking just in case something went wrong. In the end Chiang's new highlighted hair turned out to be too light for his liking and he knew that his mom will nag him when he returned home.

Wai San's new hair colour wasn't very discernible unless under bright lights and both his and Chiang's hair were barely cut despite paying 20 bucks for it. Chiang spent an additional 20 on treatment which really improved (he felt) the quality of his hair. I think that the amount of money we spent there is quite worth is as we have to pay a lot more for the same things over in Singapore.

The air-con in the theatre was super strong and we were freezing throughout the 2.5 hrs. Superman Returns was rather boring and Lois Lane was the only redeeming point. I like the other superheroes' movie like Spiderman and Batman much better; probably because I do not have as much background infomation on Superman.

We went to shop around before dinner. I got a shirt for 27 rm, about 13 sgd which I think was quite reasonable. Dinner was at Kenny Rogers where all 4 of us ate the quarter chicken meal. The meal was quite enjoyable and inexpensive too. We didn't realize how fast time flew during our trip and it was almost 8 when we finished our dinner.

Our last stop for the day was the supermarket at Komtar where Shahid bought some foodstuff home. We reached the customs at around 9.10pm and there was no hassle on both sides. I managed to reach home at 10.30pm which was very early compared to midnight the last time.

This excursion once again confirmed my observation. I think that I risk a lot by saying it out here but I need to get it off my chest. I hadn't seen one very pretty girl in Malaysia on so many trips there. Compared to Singapore it seems that Malaysia is really like a barren desert.

You may think that I only go to JB but I had made trips to KL as well. My conclusion is that all the pretty Malaysian girls are either hiding in some ulu kampongs somewhere or are actresses in Singapore or Hong Kong. (ie Florence Tan, Jessica Liu, Lee Xin Jie, etc) Maybe Chi Ho doesn't agree with me but that's his bloody problem.

Another Incident

I like to take bus 69 at around 0830 which is usually filled with Temasek Polytechnic students going to school. The main reason is beacuse I get to enjoy some eye candies during that short 10 minutes journey.

On my way home just now, as I could take the other bus services, I decided not to join the long queue for 69 at the interchange but chose to wait at the side instead. In the end 2 bus 69 came and I got to board the 2nd one. I was the last few to got on the bus together with an old ah-ma who is probably about 70 years old.

All the seats were taken already, including those supposedly reserved for elderly folks and pregnant ladies. I expected someone to give up a seat for the ah-ma (especially those on the reserved green seats) but no one in the first half of the bus did.

I was quite angry at the sight. Most of the people who were sitting down were obviously TP students on their way to school. I was wondering if I would do a HK bus uncle by making the person in the reserved green seat to vacate it for the old ah-ma. In the end I didn't need to as a Malay girl in tudung (probably a TP student too) gave up her seat near the exit door to the ah-ma.

Is it really that difficult to stand on a short 15 min bus ride for a 18 year old? It seems that the young people nowadays are very selfish. Maybe it's time to rethink what has went wrong in our civics education.

Analysis

I've read Chiang's entry and I agree with him on the mistakes we made.

Here are some of my other observaitions

1. Where is the fitness?

We got to admit that the opponents were fitter than us. They ran into space when they had possession and closed us down fast when they lost it. Maybe we could start to work on our fitness by running a few clicks everyday.

2. Where is the technique?

Some of our players took 3-5 touches to control the ball. Many of us dwelled on the ball too long and gave away possession in dangerous area. This is one area our team really needs improvement on.

3. Not vocal at all

This is pointed out by Shicai. He complained that we were not vocal enough during the game and didn't ask the ball. There should be more running into space and shouting for the ball. Well I think its probably due to our lack of fitness as some of us can barely catch our breath already.

4. Inequality in playing time

Some of the subs travelled all the way but played less than 30 minutes in total. Maybe next time we should work out something that will ensure everyone got a reasonable amount of time to show what's he capable of.

That's the end of the post match analysis.

Montfort Alumni v Kolam Ayer Legends Match Report

Most of us met up at Hougang Interchange at 4pm and made our way to the pitch. We were given a last minute boast from Harish, who despite his heavy commitment travelled all the way there to play the first half for us. Beside Harish, Wee Siang's girlfriend was another surprise inclusion to our travelling contingent and we understood that she had to be around in order to bring the best out of him.

We decided to employ the formation we discussed over the last few days with minimal personnel changes. Harish took over Ho Teck at the heart of the defence and I stood in at the right wing for Shicai because he had no boots. Qinyao was kind enough to give up his starting place to the extremely motivated Wee Siang. Meanwhile our opponents only had 12 men in total and were missing several of their regular players. So basically we were playing their makeshift team and the match would be an indicator of our footballing abilities.

First Half

It was a rather even first half where both teams had their chances. The Montfort Alumni were finding their feet in the initial stages and we had a couple of decent half-chances. We had a ball cleared off the line by their defenders and their keeper made an incredible save after Wee Siang had the whole goal mouth to tap the ball in. On the other end, Jeremy produced the save of the match where he went down fast to palm away a hard and low shot which bounced awkwardly on the hard ground. Later on Wee Siang was put clean through by Ziyong but despite his brilliant first touch his nerves got over him and he wasn't able to fire us into the lead. Sufiyan had a long range effort saved by the goalie and it pretty much summed up our first half attacking efforts.

Half-Time

We were rather encouraged by the first-half scoreline and we highlighted some of our opponents' dangermen. No 13 was particularly impressive in his DM role and we had to keep an eye for him in the 2nd half. It was almost impossible to dispossess him and his distribution was excellent. Harish had to rush off for his appointment and the solid defensive pairing between him and Hanquan had to be broken up. Kok Wai was shifted back to the centre and Wai San would be the right back. Qinyao came off the bench for Wee Siang and Shicai was our right wing for the 2nd half.

2nd Half

Our defence seemed less assured without Harish and we had quite a number of nervy moments in the beginning of second half. Finally our resistance broke and we conceded the goal due to a lapse of concentration. Their right back no 6 intercepted one of our weak passes and came forward. We didn't close him down fast enough and he launched a hard shot into the far left corner of Jeremy's post. The team was stunned by it and our morale became really down. We tried to fight back but our attacks seemed to hit into a brick wall. Meanwhile Jeremy made an uncharacteristic mistake by allowing our opposition striker to get in between him and his defender. Luckily the ball bounced just wide of the post and we survived to lay siege on the opponents' goal in the last 10 minutes. All eleven men were in the opposition half during the last corner but somehow Jeremy miscued our last shot. So we lost 1-0, a markedly improved result compared to our last match.

Epilogue

I had to admit that both sides were guilty of unsavoury moments during the match. We didn't play particularly fair but they were no angels either. There were a few shouting matches around but luckily in the end clear heads prevailed. This is our 3rd consecutive defeats and Ziyong suggested that we can put stars on our jerseys for number of matches lost. No one loved the Montfort right back but we agreed that little got past him during the game. For me, No 13 was their Man-of-the-Match for his overall contribution throughout the game. While Jeremy was his usual dominant self apart from that lapse of concentration, my vote for our Player of the Day goes to Kendrick whose work rate and determination kept us in the game right till the end.

It wasn't a pretty match to watch but I felt that we had given our best today. While we had still quite a lot of areas to improve, our spirit can never be faulted. We just had to put the defeat behind us. We will win someday, hopefully in our next match.

Analysis of the match will be in the next entry.

Montfort Alumni v Kolam Ayer Legends Preview

Chiang had lined up another match for the Kolam Ayer Legends. We will be playing against our last opponent the Montfort Alumni on 8/7/06 1630 hrs @ Hougang Field. The previous encounter between the 2 sides ended in a lopsided victory of 7-2 to the home team and hopefully this time round we can witness a more even contest.

Team News

Montfort Alumni

I had some insider infomation about the condition of our opponents the Monfort Alumni. Their line-up will be largely unchanged from the last time we played them. 'More or less the same ppl' quoted by one of their players whose name shall be kept anonymous. I believe that they decide not to change a winning team and will continue employ their long ball assaults on us tomorrow.

Kolam Ayer Legends

Defence

We will be welcoming back our inspirational keeper Jeremy from a long injury layoff. Our defence will be boasted with the return of Hanquan and the conversion of Chiang into centre-back. Unfortunately our dependable Junjie isn't available for the clash tomorrow and Harish is carrying an injury which makes him doubtful to start. Either Ho Teck or Feijie will be expected to step in and they will definitely want to prove that they deserve a starting place in the next match.

Midfield

We were faced with the uncertainty of missing captain Kendrick for this crucial match initially. Luckily he got in contact with us this evening and confirmed his attendance tomorrow. Chi Ho was non-committal and it's likely that we will greatly miss his attacking instincts. However the reserves is strengthened by Wai San's recovery from injury and he is likely to see some action during the game.

Attack

This is the MOST exciting part. Finally Kolam Ayer Legends No 14 Wee Siang aka Henry is going to make his long-awaited debut for the team. It has undoubtedly raised the team's morale and no player has garnered as much anticipation since Rooney's recovery for World Cup. However I feel that Qinyao has a slight edge over him and will most likely start tomorrow.

Tactics

This is purely a fantasy on my part. I try to recall what happened in the last game and consulted several other players for their opinions. I came out with this formation and a probable line-up.

Very Probable Starting Line-up

It was very obvious that we were outnumbered all the time while defending in the last match. I feel that by playing 3 at the back will strengthen our defence considerably and reduce our opponents' chances. Having Ziyong at the back will result in balls being passed out instead of just cleared out and thus minimise the loss of possession. Hanquan can be the one challenging for headers and the other 2 will take care of any loose balls bobbling around in the defence.

Playing wingbacks can be dangerously if they cannot track back in time during counter attack. That's why Feijie and Kok Wai are deployed in their positions. Feijie is obviously very psyched up for the match and Kok Wai is one of the top runners in the side. If the team really come under intense pressure from the opponents, the wingbacks will have to curtail their attacking instincts and just concentrate on defending. However, if Jeremy and the defence prove to be too good, we can just forget about the wingbacks and convert them into attacking players.

Kendrick excels in every position he is put in. We really need a presence in the middle of the park; someone who scraps and fights for every loose ball and Kendrick fits the bill ideally. Shahid has much skills and tricks up his sleeve and will support the striker at every opportunity. The 2 midfielders must combine well and cut down on dwelling on the ball. Attack by the wings seems to be the most logical way as the opponents often crowd us out in the middle of the park. I must explain that why I chose to sacrifice one midfielder for a defender. Firstly we have only one Kendrick and even Chiang admitted that he was lost in the midfield in the last mtach. When the opposition launches long ball, the midfielders are often caught in no man's land. Hence I feel that this justify my decision.

Shicai and Sufiyan automatically pick themselves in the team. They have already shown us what they are capable of on the flanks and hope they can play to their fullest potential tomorrow. Qinyao will be our only striker as I feel that putting more strikers won't be effective as their defenders can easily crowd us out. He can drop deeper to link up with the midfielders and he must be lethal with any loose balls that come his way in the area tomorrow.

We also have a capable crew of reserves who can step up at any moment. The brothers can easily slot into any midfield roles and Wee Siang is our chief striker after Qinyao. Mustajab and me can be plugged anywhere on the field. The main reason why we have been crowded in both defence and attack is our lack of stamina. The 1st teamers have to give way to the subs to maintain the freshness of the legs throughout the match.

I think the formation will stand a chance against our opponents and hopefully it can be put to use tomorrow.

The above discussion is for reference only.

It's a small world after all.

A few days ago I received a sms from an unknown number, asking me whether I was free on Thursday evening. It turned out to be from Weijie, the assistant class rep from my 1st 3 month class. He was tasked by Chu Yuet to organise a gathering because she was going to Korea for the rest of the year. Although I hadn't been in close contact with most of them, I was invited as well.

I spent the 1st 3 months of my JC life at Temasek JC. It was quite an interesting experience. The school was full of history and my classmates were a great bunch of people. After I got my 'O' levels' results, I knew that I could stay if I wanted. However, there wasn't much to hold me back though. I never felt that I belong to there and the environment was rather depressing, especially after the class was arrowed for being rowdy and lazy (both true to a certain extent). Less than half of the class can stay in TJ and only 7 (or less?) remained in the same class in the end. Being from VS I wanted to get into VJC but sadly it wasn't meant to be.

I ended up in AJC and I had to admit that I have as much sense of belonging to it as to TJ. Most of my new classmates weren't nearly as fun as the ones from TJ but it would be another story altogether. However I don't regret leaving TJ at all and I would just treat my JC years as the phase of life that I had to go through.

We were supposed to meet at 6.30 pm at Bugis MRT. I was the last one to arrive at 6.50pm because the washroom at level B1 was unavailable and I had to go to the one much further. Alright it's an excuse but it's true. There were 5 of us altogether; Chu Yuet the main character who will be going off soon, Weijie the guy who informed me, Colin and Sharon who form the only couple from my 1st 3 months class and of course yours truly here.

While we were deciding where to eat, Sharon saw her sister with his boyfriend at the escalators. Singapore is very small indeed. Chu Yuet suggested that we ate sushi and we were fine since we insisted that she would be the one paying for it. While waiting to be seated, I dropped her a bombshell.

Actually I only knew that she is studying architecture a few weeks ago and I figured out that there might be a chance my brother would know her. I asked him whether he knew her and it happened that they will be going Korea as a group together. Chu Yuet was quite stunned to find out that her schoolmate was her ex-classmate's brother. She couldn't quite place us together and kept on insisting we aren't alike at all.

She wasn't able to overcome her inital shock quickly enough and began her gibberish. After she realised that she said something she shouldn't be saying, she started to find good things to say about him and wanted me not to tell on her. I'm not very sure whether those niceties are her heart-felt words but being his brother for more than 20 years, I definitely know more than she does. I didn't commit myself to her request so she can keep on guessing whether her earlier actions can go undetected.

Over dinner, Chu Yuet told us about what she would be doing internship at an architecture firm in Seoul in the first month and her pay would be approximately 500 sgd. Sharon chipped in with her internship story at Prudential where she received minimun pay but maximum grades. Then she carried on with the politics at her office where there is a female supervisor whose husband is her subordinate and he has to put up with the overbearing ways of his boss/wife. Chu Yuet was quick to draw parallel between the female supervisor and Sharon which of course drew instant rebuttal from Sharon. I'm not surprised that we are misled; Sharon is clearly more of a Type A person compared to Colin who always seems so cool and calm.

When the bill came, Chu Yuet went to pay up at the cashier's and then tried to get us to pay for our own share. Weijie and Sharon insisted that she would treat us this time round and we will return her the favour when she returns to Singapore. I thought it meant to be a prank and I just went along. On the way to MRT station, Chu Yuet tried to coax us into paying up, albeit unsuccessfully. We haggled at the control station and I could see that Colin was prepared to pay her. However Sharon got him to leave (so are we really misled?) and Chu Yuet was left behind rather bemused of her situation.

Weijie didn't pay up as well. It was quite funny to see Chu Yuet's reaction to the whole saga. However I can't afford not to pay her or else she might complain to my brother. Anyway I hope that she enjoys herself and everything goes smoothly for her during the time there.

By the way, Sharon's sister actually ate at the same restaurant as us. It's really a small world after all.