And here we go, we've reached the finale of the year 2007. A really juicy period to go through, all 365 days of it. Here's a brief recap:
Final NUS semester / FYP / a breakup / Genting trip with family / last set of examinations at NUS / Genting trip with friends / Japan trip with friends / USA trip with mum, bro, Gerald / resumption of NSF service / graduation ceremony / Transformers craze / ORD lor! / engineer at Natsteel / birthday chalet celebration.
i'm all ready to usher in the new year!
Oh, had a 2.5 hour afternoon off from work today! They are not slave-masters after all! Erm, well, i think. :D
To the Esplanade for fireworks! Huat ah, 2008!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The Champions?
Manchester United.
Our affiliation goes back a long way.
Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin, Peter Schmeichel, Mark Hughes, Andrei Kanchelskis, Eric Cantona, Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Jaap Stam, David Beckham.
i can just picture the former Red Devils laughing last night, at the sheer stupidity of the present team.
if Hayden Mullins hadn't struck the crossbar; and with an inviting 2nd attempt, Mark Noble hadn't skied his shot at an empty Man Utd goal, West Ham could have gone 1-0 up within the 1st 10 minutes of play.
Well, credit to the Devils for shrugging off that early scare to launch a quick offensive as Ryan Giggs was released early on the left wing in the 14th minute. The Welsh wizard zipped along the flank and whipped in a low curling cross to the near post. The ball eluded Carlos Tevez but Cristiano Ronaldo was up to the task, heading the ball home from close range, giving Robert Green no chance.
Tomasz Kuszczak denied Nolberto Solano a spectacular goal as the Man Utd custodian beat the dipping shot over the bar just in time at 36 minutes. In the closing seconds of the 1st half, Ronaldo tried to light up the otherwise already boring gameplay by letting loose a scintillating shot that flashed past Green's near post and wrecked a camera by the touchlines. Ouch.
West Ham started the 2nd half with confidence and got into an attacking rhythm. Man Utd however, seemed to be enjoying the 1 goal lead. Foolish. Utterly foolish.
The turning point of the match came in the 68th minute. Ex-Man Utd defender Jonathan Spector mistimed a floating cross into the West Ham penalty area and handled the ball as he totally missed the header.
"Penalty!" roared the Man Utd crowd, jubilant of the opportunity to double the lead, with expert spot kick taker Ronaldo a likely prospect to increase his impressive double-digit goal tally.
Much to the horror of the crowd, fans all over the world watching on cable, and albeit Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo skewed his shot wide.
Dean Ashton was introduced almost immediately at 70 minutes to boost West Ham's attack after Man Utd's demoralising penalty miss.
7 minutes later, Noble turned from zero to hero as he provided the perfectly weighted corner for substitute Anton Ferdinand to drill a header home at the far post, his 1st in 2 years. Now why wasn't anyone covering the Man Utd far post? Even if Kuszczak had reacted late to the header, a defender stationed at the far post could have hacked the ball off the line. Rio Ferdinand wasn't particularly pleased.
Shaken awake, Man Utd tried to launch an offensive to salvage this game, to preserve their 100% EPL win record in December 2007 and to head into the New Year at the top of the table. Nani was thrown on at the expense of defensive midfielder Owen Hargreaves to bolster the strikeforce. Even attacking talents like Anderson, Ronaldo, Giggs and Louis Saha had to take a backseat as Man Utd failed to score again. Wayne Rooney was truly missed.
The nail in the coffin came in the 82nd minute, as Man Utd gave away yet another needless setpiece. The freekick was floated in deliciously and Matthew Upson was the hungrier of the lot, rising well above the entire defence to place a delicate header out of Kuszczak's reach and into the top corner. This time, absolutely no one was covering either posts.
That was Upson's 1st career goal for West Ham. Scorers against Man Utd always seemed to break some record or the other.
Tried as they might, Man Utd couldn't change the game in their favour as the game ended 1-2 in favour of the Hammers.
Chelsea survived Newcastle 2-1; Arsenal mustered a great comeback to finish 4-1 against Everton; Tottenham overpowered Reading 6-4.
Ditto.
Ferguson's decision to rest Rooney was acceptable. But having praised Park Ji Sung in the Sunderland game, he played Darren Fletcher in the midfield instead. The odd pairing caused Hargreaves to be confused the entire game. Park could have been utilized to run the West Ham midfield ragged as Hargreaves marshalled the area in front of the back 4. The presence of Fletcher just unsettled the whole team.
Not that Tevez had any contribution to the game either. Although he was running around the pitch all day long, he couldn't produce anything for his side. A total waste of his work rate.
And Ferguson should sell Wes Brown as soon as Tottenham come for him. it's like a heaven-sent to get a bummer off the payroll to a willing buyer.
Last season, West Ham punished Man Utd both home and away in the league. Looks like it's history repeating itself.
And no prizes for guessing which Ferdinand went home the happier brother.
Our affiliation goes back a long way.
Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin, Peter Schmeichel, Mark Hughes, Andrei Kanchelskis, Eric Cantona, Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Jaap Stam, David Beckham.
i can just picture the former Red Devils laughing last night, at the sheer stupidity of the present team.
if Hayden Mullins hadn't struck the crossbar; and with an inviting 2nd attempt, Mark Noble hadn't skied his shot at an empty Man Utd goal, West Ham could have gone 1-0 up within the 1st 10 minutes of play.
Well, credit to the Devils for shrugging off that early scare to launch a quick offensive as Ryan Giggs was released early on the left wing in the 14th minute. The Welsh wizard zipped along the flank and whipped in a low curling cross to the near post. The ball eluded Carlos Tevez but Cristiano Ronaldo was up to the task, heading the ball home from close range, giving Robert Green no chance.
Tomasz Kuszczak denied Nolberto Solano a spectacular goal as the Man Utd custodian beat the dipping shot over the bar just in time at 36 minutes. In the closing seconds of the 1st half, Ronaldo tried to light up the otherwise already boring gameplay by letting loose a scintillating shot that flashed past Green's near post and wrecked a camera by the touchlines. Ouch.
West Ham started the 2nd half with confidence and got into an attacking rhythm. Man Utd however, seemed to be enjoying the 1 goal lead. Foolish. Utterly foolish.
The turning point of the match came in the 68th minute. Ex-Man Utd defender Jonathan Spector mistimed a floating cross into the West Ham penalty area and handled the ball as he totally missed the header.
"Penalty!" roared the Man Utd crowd, jubilant of the opportunity to double the lead, with expert spot kick taker Ronaldo a likely prospect to increase his impressive double-digit goal tally.
Much to the horror of the crowd, fans all over the world watching on cable, and albeit Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo skewed his shot wide.
Dean Ashton was introduced almost immediately at 70 minutes to boost West Ham's attack after Man Utd's demoralising penalty miss.
7 minutes later, Noble turned from zero to hero as he provided the perfectly weighted corner for substitute Anton Ferdinand to drill a header home at the far post, his 1st in 2 years. Now why wasn't anyone covering the Man Utd far post? Even if Kuszczak had reacted late to the header, a defender stationed at the far post could have hacked the ball off the line. Rio Ferdinand wasn't particularly pleased.
Shaken awake, Man Utd tried to launch an offensive to salvage this game, to preserve their 100% EPL win record in December 2007 and to head into the New Year at the top of the table. Nani was thrown on at the expense of defensive midfielder Owen Hargreaves to bolster the strikeforce. Even attacking talents like Anderson, Ronaldo, Giggs and Louis Saha had to take a backseat as Man Utd failed to score again. Wayne Rooney was truly missed.
The nail in the coffin came in the 82nd minute, as Man Utd gave away yet another needless setpiece. The freekick was floated in deliciously and Matthew Upson was the hungrier of the lot, rising well above the entire defence to place a delicate header out of Kuszczak's reach and into the top corner. This time, absolutely no one was covering either posts.
That was Upson's 1st career goal for West Ham. Scorers against Man Utd always seemed to break some record or the other.
Tried as they might, Man Utd couldn't change the game in their favour as the game ended 1-2 in favour of the Hammers.
Chelsea survived Newcastle 2-1; Arsenal mustered a great comeback to finish 4-1 against Everton; Tottenham overpowered Reading 6-4.
Ditto.
Ferguson's decision to rest Rooney was acceptable. But having praised Park Ji Sung in the Sunderland game, he played Darren Fletcher in the midfield instead. The odd pairing caused Hargreaves to be confused the entire game. Park could have been utilized to run the West Ham midfield ragged as Hargreaves marshalled the area in front of the back 4. The presence of Fletcher just unsettled the whole team.
Not that Tevez had any contribution to the game either. Although he was running around the pitch all day long, he couldn't produce anything for his side. A total waste of his work rate.
And Ferguson should sell Wes Brown as soon as Tottenham come for him. it's like a heaven-sent to get a bummer off the payroll to a willing buyer.
Last season, West Ham punished Man Utd both home and away in the league. Looks like it's history repeating itself.
And no prizes for guessing which Ferdinand went home the happier brother.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Xmas Eve 2007
The 24th of December is special to me. Many will remember it as Christmas Eve, the eve of Christ's birth; the eve of the day where many many unexplained presents will fall into the chimney and into hung socks, ready to ripped open the next day.
If you have not already known, it is also my birthday lar. :D
1st up, i'll like to thank all those who made my birthday celebration a memorable one. it's a long time since i've had an actual celebration with family, close buddies and other friends. Kudos to the following people (in no particular order):
P/S: Thanks for the presents as well!
If you have not already known, it is also my birthday lar. :D
1st up, i'll like to thank all those who made my birthday celebration a memorable one. it's a long time since i've had an actual celebration with family, close buddies and other friends. Kudos to the following people (in no particular order):
- my family (dad, mum, bro, grandma, 3rd uncle, 3rd aunt, 2 cute cousins)
- gerald
- dawn
- daizhong
- marcus
- zhiheng
- jonathan tay
- jonathan ho
- desmond
- nicky
- alvin loh
- carolyn
- michelle
- ariel
- my bro's 2 friends
- lyon
- melvin & gf
- weiqiang
- jimmy
- kevin
- eugene
- weelong
- johan
- huiyang
- steven
P/S: Thanks for the presents as well!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Me and the Chipmunks
Me: "Hi, i reserved a copy of the Alvin and the Chipmunks soundtrack."
Female Cashier: "Okay. What is your name?"
Me: "Alvin."
*weird stare*
-.-
Of course, this is in tandem with the launch of the Chipmunks movie. Have you watched it yet?
If you haven't heard of the Chipmunks, you probably live in Mars or something. Well, the combination is just killer. Small, furry, cute, and they sing.
But don't expect too much either. The relatively more familiar 2nd cartoon series in 1983 (just a little history) didn't really boast of a fantastic storyline or cool animations. Well, i said it was in the '80s didn't i? Anyway, the idea of talking chipmunks in the family was such a kick back then.
So this big screen adaptation is just a nostalgic blast to the past, to reminisce about the joker Alvin, the intellectual Simon, and the sweety Theodore. The movie got a little boring midway, but the overall cute factor should pull it through just enough.
Who can ever forget the ear-piercing, tonsil-wrecking "ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!"
Well i can't. ;)
Female Cashier: "Okay. What is your name?"
Me: "Alvin."
*weird stare*
-.-
THE soundtrack
Of course, this is in tandem with the launch of the Chipmunks movie. Have you watched it yet?
THE movie
If you haven't heard of the Chipmunks, you probably live in Mars or something. Well, the combination is just killer. Small, furry, cute, and they sing.
But don't expect too much either. The relatively more familiar 2nd cartoon series in 1983 (just a little history) didn't really boast of a fantastic storyline or cool animations. Well, i said it was in the '80s didn't i? Anyway, the idea of talking chipmunks in the family was such a kick back then.
So this big screen adaptation is just a nostalgic blast to the past, to reminisce about the joker Alvin, the intellectual Simon, and the sweety Theodore. The movie got a little boring midway, but the overall cute factor should pull it through just enough.
Who can ever forget the ear-piercing, tonsil-wrecking "ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!"
Well i can't. ;)
2007
1983 - 1990
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
The Crying Heavens
The honeymoon period is over.
Can anticipate my workload piling for the next 2 months. My boss came to my desk this morning to finalise my induction programme by stating my responsibilities and work targets. Wee. Busy busy soon.
At least after 2.5 weeks, i finally have some sort of a grasp of what's going on in the office and the plant. But of course, still have to surf the learning curve as for now. Hope by the time projects start flying in, i'll be well-versed in the dealings of my work.
The TF Classics kid bailed on me again. Sigh. But at least he's willing to meet at my convenience to cover his guilt. Anyhow, that'll mean i'll have lots of transformers coming in this weekend. Wee!
And it rained the whole day today. Shiok for sleeping later. :D
Can anticipate my workload piling for the next 2 months. My boss came to my desk this morning to finalise my induction programme by stating my responsibilities and work targets. Wee. Busy busy soon.
At least after 2.5 weeks, i finally have some sort of a grasp of what's going on in the office and the plant. But of course, still have to surf the learning curve as for now. Hope by the time projects start flying in, i'll be well-versed in the dealings of my work.
The TF Classics kid bailed on me again. Sigh. But at least he's willing to meet at my convenience to cover his guilt. Anyhow, that'll mean i'll have lots of transformers coming in this weekend. Wee!
And it rained the whole day today. Shiok for sleeping later. :D
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Standard Chartered Marathon
i survived 10km!
Hadn't run in ages lar. The last time i ran was somewhere in end September and it was only 5km. i almost died then.
So it came as a complete surprise that i completed the 10km event without stopping. Though my timing of about 62minutes wasn't exactly anything to be proud of, i was comfortable to know that i almost did it under an hour. :)
On to the 21km half marathon next year. :D
Hadn't run in ages lar. The last time i ran was somewhere in end September and it was only 5km. i almost died then.
So it came as a complete surprise that i completed the 10km event without stopping. Though my timing of about 62minutes wasn't exactly anything to be proud of, i was comfortable to know that i almost did it under an hour. :)
On to the 21km half marathon next year. :D
Tag & Completion Medal
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Transformers Classics
i've something for the classics. Call it nostalgia. I've watched Transformers cartoons since a little boy and it's nice to see these big boys again. :D They are so pretty!
These are the following 9 robots that I have (or for some of them from Jetfire onwards, going to have). I predict more to come, though it may be a little hurting on my poor wallet.
Optimus PrimeThese are the following 9 robots that I have (or for some of them from Jetfire onwards, going to have). I predict more to come, though it may be a little hurting on my poor wallet.
Ultra Magnus
Jetfire
Bumblebee
Cliffjumper
Rodimus
Grimlock
Astrotrain
Starscream
