Respect vs. Ego

Sometimes it is very easy to Let our own ego overcome our conscious seLf, or rather character. This thing caLLed "ego" is extremeLy dangerous when not managed properLy. It can be Like a voLcano, once erupt, the damage wiLL be done and many things may never be the same again.

To me it is not a big probLem. Of course I have my own moments of madness when I become enraged with things I beLieve is not right, but when the storm is over, I have my own AAR (after-action review) and then correct what shouLd be done.

For different peopLe, aLL things can be seen in more dimensions than one. In many cases, there is no right or wrong answer. Those are based on personaL perception. But sometimes, we need to Listen to the opinions of different peopLe to gauge whether our own perception is of enough factuaL accuracy to exist.

Then we come back to Letting Loose our own ego to accept something different, but it can be difficuLt depending on how egoistic one is.

I guess, after observing cLoseLy the behavior of many peopLe, I can concLude that ego and respect have an adverse reLationship.

The main reason for my post is in hope that more peopLe can be aware that ego has to be contained and respect goes a Long way to buiLding up good reLationships with aLL LeveLs of peopLe.

The Radio

There is no doubt that wherever you are, on the move, other than your mp3s that are upLoaded onto whatever media device you are using, Listening to a radio station is the onLy other aLternative you wiLL turn to for some entertainment for the ears.

I haven got many chances to tune in to the radio because of the army, but on rare weekday mornings Like this, I do.

On CLass 95, you have the FLying Dutchman and GLen Ong on the Morning Express and damn are they good entertainers.

There is this particuLar story (as toLd by GLen Ong), about a woman who got hit by a private pLane which crashed into her house in America. A reporter then went to interview the woman who is recovering from the inuries sustained. The reporter asked her how she feLt. And this woman said "It feLt Like I got hit by a pLane."

It was aLso astonishing to hear from this program that due to the stringent checks at the Causeway between Johor and Singapore, there are reportedLy more peopLe getting caught for smuggLing iLLegaL stuff Like imported cigarettes and even Chihuahua! The man who smuggLed the Chihuahua got fined a whopping SGD10000 for watever's sake.

So you see, I mean hear, the many interesting things these two men over the radio can entertain you with?

Why I am somehow seLLing the radio station is because of a separate incident that happened to me. With my music pLayer on, I was waLking somewhere aLong Bukit Timah Road and then came the nature's caLL (BIG one). I thought the caLL couLd be "postponed" tiL about an hour Later but was not to be. In the next few minutes it became an emergency. Furthermore it was drizzLing and I couLd not run or it wiLL make the whoLe thing much worst. So I waLked on, Listened to this radio station and it reLaxed my body to prevent the worst from happening. Then, in a distance I saw a petroL station. Taking my stride I waLked on and went to finish the unfinished business.

Thanks to CLass 95, they saved my ass.


doing big.

Soup Spoon

I am a Lover of soup, and any meaL that tops with it makes perfect.

Mom, on an extremeLy rare occassion for nut reason, prepared dinner before heading to work. The soup was simpLy fantastic, so much so I finished the pot dry. No kidding.

MeaL or not, she is the best, Like anyone eLse's own.

Fuck-ed Up

Just F.Y.I. if anyone of you dunnoe, the cLash of titans between Manchester United and LiverpooL ends 3-0 in favour of the former.

I dunnoe for you, but I caught the match at my neighbourhood coffeeshop. It was supposed to be a good match.

Was.

But one man spoiLt it aLL. One man, and no doubt he became Manchester United's 12th man on the pitch .. he is none other than the referee.

The referee, in any footbaLL match, shouLd act as a fair, unbiased officiaL for the sake of sportsmanship. ShouLd he faiL to honour equaLity for two sides, he faiLs to earn respect from the pLayers, and the miLLions of fans out there (and I mean true footbaLL fans Less those from the side the refereee favours).

This joker a.k.a. fuck-ed up keLong referee, he sent off a LiverpooL pLayer and ended the game from there. Either he must have wanted to make the 60,000 Manchester United home fans of OLd Trafford happy and worship him, or he seriousLy do not understand what job professionaLism is.

12 against 10 .. yes, this is the beautifuL game.

It made me swear continuousLy whiLe waLking home through my park, so much so a passerby shun away probabLy thinking the man he saw couLd weLL be a runaway from the Institute of MentaL HeaLth Located just a LittLe distance away.

Fuck it. Rejoice, Manchester United, you deserve your victory. But dun forget the numericaL advantage you had to win this.

Under My UmbreLLa

On a wet Saturday Like this where cats and dogs are poured from up above, it is aLmost impossibLe to head out of ur doorstep without the ever-reLiabLe invention - umbreLLa.

For the first time in ages, you see this 23-year-oLd dude carry a white, stick-styLe umbreLLa, throwing aside the Man's ego that its damn sissy to bring one out. He finaLLy got enLightened, that ego does not make a man, manLy. It onLy gets the man drenched on a rainy afternoon, or worse, ending up with a drenched mobiLe phone as weLL.

I feeL pretty wise.

Yet, on the same day in a separate incident, this wise young man go for a footbaLL match pLaying for his constituency. To impress, he runs, and fights for every baLL. In the end the impression is made, with a deep gash on the upper Lip, coming from a bad boot of the opposition.

I feeL, weLL, stupid to chaLLenge for that baLL.

Watever u may be doing, do enjoy ur weekend of raindrops (touchwood) .. I mean, rays.

Same Breed

I read Audrey's Latest post on her bLog, and it sets me coming with a few questions.

Are you ..

One. Facing the computer every singLe time you get home tiL your bed caLLs for you ..
Two. Staring at ur bLoody MSN List without even cLicking on any names ..
Three. RandomLy browsing the same god damn websites for the 1000th time this week ..
Four. SeriousLy just sitting in front of the computer and feeLing uer no better than dead.

If aLL of the above happens frequentLy to you, on a positive note, you and I beLong to the same breed. However, we shouLd aLso be aware that the computers in our homes are eviL hypnotists.

Women in footbaLL @ Serangoon stadium on a Saturday afternoon. Impressed is me by how good women can be if they trade their shopping addiction for footbaLL.

Some cute LittLe pLace I happened to notice when the bus I was on came to a haLt at red.

WarLords

Not exactLy the best of a week for the team with a disappointing defeat over the weekend. NevertheLess, on a personaL note, my own game pLay is going in the right direction.

For the sake of improving in the BeautifuL game, catching up with friends has since become graduaLLy once in a bLue, bLue moon. With that, friends are sLowLy drifting away, or maybe, I shouLd say itz the other way round.

I gotta apoLogise to some of whom I have been "ignoring", but it certainLy ain nothing personaL. You guys must understand, that J. Long is a fuLL-time (no-pay) professionaL footbaLLer. Come to think of it, everyone is just as immersed in their own Lives, going from one phrase in Life to another, drifting away from peopLe of their own past and meeting new ones.

Life's pretty interesting/ugLy with aLL the twists depending on how you see it.

I dun care Less, reaLLy.

PROTEGE FC 6 GREATS 2

GREATS FC 2 AioLi United 0

A Pair of Exciting Events

They say good things come in twos ..

Juz hours ago comes the announcement of the winning bid for the inauguraL 2010 Youth OLympics. ALso, eagerLy anticipated by young and oLd .. the winning numbers for the Toto Lottery of a whopping TEN MILLION DOLLARS (Singapore Currency).

CongratuLations to motherLand Singapore for earning the votes 53:44 .. thus becoming the first city to host the event come 2010.

My heartfeLt envy and joy for a good man who has won the Toto, but probabLy having to share with dozens others around the country. Itz so unbeLievabLe that it happens to someone cLose in my circLe, but it can happen to anyone though. WeLLs, identity wiLL be kept confidentiaL for security reasons.

ALL in aLL, it is a good day though nothing comes for me. Coming down to earth, I might as weLL work for my own patch of happiness though we do need a LittLe Luck sometimes to just make things happen.

Anger Management or Therapy?

ShouLd anyone have any idea where to find it in Singapore, pLease do contact me directLy.

Having been in the centre of heated arguments with footbaLL opponents, strong objections against referees and hustLes and tussLes and even fighting with certain opposition pLayers, I think I am on the verge of doing worse.

SeriousLy, itz advisabLe never to catch me in any footbaLL game.

Mid-February Weekend in Summary


HeLen's Housewarming session with the PromoPower team, DFS and adidas staff. Not forgetting the many good oLd peeps, especiaLLy Mummy Khing and HeLen. A Friday evening in Tampines.


The view from QJ's bLock some bLocks from mine. It was earLy morning house visit on a Saturday in Hougang.


My primary schooL, so much different as it was 13 years ago. This was a Sunday afternoon, footbaLL match with the Sengkang MaLay peeps @ Xinmin Primary SchooL.

Education

It is so important, that if you dun do weLL in your younger years, you cannot even pursue to further your studies in something that interests you (not unLess you have the cash).

The Chinese Lunar New Year


At a reLative's pLace which is visited onLy once every year on the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year. Last year I gave it a miss being in Taiwan.

I Love this pLace for aLL the peopLe I see once a year. ReLatives growing oLd, cousins growing up, getting attached, going for higher education bLah bLah ..

.. and me, I am stiLL stuck in the army, with nothing at aLL.

Itz reaLity my Life is fucked.

First Time

Since the first day up tiL now, I have never used this word on one person .. you.

But today before the New Year, Let me just caLL u .. "BITCH."

I reaLLy hope you can change, stop hurting anybody anymore, more importantLy urseLf. Nuff said, uer oLd enough to think.

This was written 3 weeks back and posted on a footbaLLing website ..

"After Last week's unfortunate canceLLation of the game against the Gogooryos due to foreseen yet unotified circumstance (pitch was under renovation), The Greats were Looking forward to this match in pretty much enthusiasm. ALas, juz as most of the pLayers have made their way down to Canberra Secondary, an eLeventh hour sms came to aLL that the pitch has been switched to a further yet inaccessibLe venue in the west.

Two straight weeks of administrative errors by the E***** Management has caused more than juz incovenience for most Greats pLayers but aLso in monetary terms as many had to haiL cabs to the unknown venue in Choa Chu Kang. E*****'s reputation for being an outstanding Amatuer League organisation has grown significantLy through the years and we hope the management can rectify these probLems in due time.

NevertheLess, the game got off at haLf past 11 with the Greats pLaying against a handicap of ten Gogooryos. The Korean-based team proved that their nationaL team did not reach the semi-finaLs of the WorLd Cup back then for nothing. Even with ten men, they terrified the Greats defence with some chances, forcing an unforgettabLe top cLass save from stand-in goaLie, Xingwen, tipping the goaL bound shot at fuLL stretch over the bar. However the deadLock was not broken as the whistLe bLows for a cLose to a poor haLftime.

After a teamtaLk by boss WiLLiam, who has juz ceLebrated his birthday, the team came out giving a much acceptabLe performance, and they got their reward for the improvement in game pLay when Kenneth (giving his 100% focus to footbaLL now) headed the baLL into the roof of the net which he cLaimed even Petre Cech wiLL not have been abLe to save.

With some pressure off now, the boss decided to hand winger Number 7 his second chance in this game and onLy his second game since his return from Taiwan. The change brought aLmost immediateLy a second goaL when Eddy ran into the Korean defence and reLeased Number 7 in the penaLty area in which he cut past the defence and buried the baLL into the back of the net. The Greats boss made changes again and sLotted Leon into Leftback and puLLed Eugene back into the centre, not becoz Eugene is Lost at Leftback (he is aLways Lost wherever you put). This change sees the reunion of a Left-side partnership of the younger days of Leon and Long, and that Legendary partnership created a beautifuL passes between the two and made a great chance for Greats to add to the Koreans' woes, but the ever-consistent Guofeng baLLooned his shot over the bar.

However, he made amends for this miss with his Lamborghini-Like engine, running down the right fLank past one, two defenders and pLacing his shot into the Left bottom of the net. IronicaLLy, the two who got pranked and drank cattLe's bLood the night before, they scored. Thus, we can come to a concLusion that cow's bLood is good for footbaLL. The Greats enjoyed good possession and as the defence worked damn hard, if not for Guo Ann, Kaichun and Zhanrong guiLty of missed chances and disaLLowed goaL, the Greats couLd have won by a bigger margin.

FuLLtime score 3 - 0 ..

P.S : The three goaLs are sincereLy dedicated by the scorers to our beLoved boss Mr. WiLLiam for his 31st birthday ..

TiL then, see you again."

SeriousLy, I do not understand watz wrong with me in writing the paragraph (in boLd). Itz so degrading that that portion is removed because the management of that particuLar soccer League organisation feLt that wat I wrote was offensive.

Wat is freedom if we cannot express our thoughts or facts? Wat is an open society if estabLished organisations are unabLe to handLe facts which they think is best to keep out from the worLd?

Behind many successfuL organisations Lie LoophoLes. Itz juz Like beauty queens who have done weLL to hide their ungLam side out of the LimeLight.

The beautifuL worLd is wonderfuLLy fiLLed with Lots of inperfection not on the surface.

The Socks

On this Saturday, a good one, I stroLLed around Northpoint, together with the PFC peeps (primary schooLmates). We had juz finished the game of, weLL, what eLse - footbaLL.

We went into RoyaL Sporting House. Then, I thought of buying a pair of footbaLL socks. You know, those sexy ones that Looked Like woman stockings. And so, I stood at the socks compartment and using my more-than-a-decade-year-oLd experience in choosing soccer accessories, I picked this pair of Nike socks over my aLL-time brand, adidas.

Upon reaching home, I sat on my sofa and Laid the pair of socks on the coffee tabLe. I tore open the pLastic. I feLt the materiaL and was emphatic at my Latest acquisition because by touching, it had proven firstLy, that the socks are strong and secondLy, they have good eLasticity. At that moment, I am confident that my foresight is reaLLy good and I beLieve that I am a consumer with great tastes.

The coffee tabLe in my house has a wide range of generaL stuff ; tissue paper, pens, scissors, Lots of Letters and biLLs, coins etc.

Next thing in my mind was to remove the LittLe thing that attached both socks together, Like aLL other socks where every pair is bound by this LittLe thing. So confident was I that I can remove the LittLe thing by spLitting the two socks apart, I did it.

Yes, the LittLe thing came off, bringing strands of materiaL with it. It shouLdnt be no big deaL, I thought. And so I peeLed the materiaL. As I peeLed the materiaL, a LittLe hoLe appeared. I haLted, my confidence in that pair of socks on the sLow decLine inside of me. I peeLed again. The hoLe grew. ALright, it was then I picked up the bLoody scissors and cut off the materiaL.

I Looked at my Latest purchase, stoned. There Laid my purchase of good foresight and great taste, ending up with a hoLe in the body without even wearing it before! If onLy I used the scissors to cut off that LittLe thing in the first pLace.

Sometimes, we shouLd just be Less compLacent about certain things. No doubt some things are good, but the good has weak points too.

Damn my foLLy.

Saturday afternoon .. the Irish in Singapore.


Saturday evening @ MOS.


My Birks of aLmost two years now, since May 2006.


Friday evening @ Gateway Towers.


Yet another awesome view at the paper-Like designed skyscraper.

48 Hours

Weekends are wonderfuL. But what is considered fuLLy enjoying and utiLising them?

PersonaLLy I have had fuLL utiLisation of my own, doing sports, sports and ... erh .. sports. This week is no different, but its by far the onLy one time I got drained of energy so much so that I can doze off in seconds just by cLosing my eyes.

The Saturday was spent with two soccer matches, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. The morning match was with the peeps of my primary schooL. The noon one, was with a team coached by an ex-nationaL team pLayer who used to pLay aLongside Fandi Ahmad and David Lee during the MaLaysia Cup days in the 90s. His name is ZuLkifi .. now in his forties. I am reaLLy gLad and honoured to have the chance to train and Learn things from this man, a Legend. More pLeasing is getting nice words from a few peopLe there as itz not easy to be the onLy Chinese around.

At night I went on to M.O.S for Samantha's birthday bash. But this night was pretty cooL, met a few new peopLe who are decentLy friendLy and happy. ALso bumped into the notorious Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd star Marcus Ng of whom was recentLy in the papers for the wrong reasons. This dude was my pLatoon mate during BMT and itz amazing he can stiLL recognise me. He gave me a fist-to-fist greeting with a hug and we taLked up a bit before I Left.

So darn Lucky to get a Lift from one of Sam's peeps, even Luckier to get the front seat coz I was the onLy guy and the five poor girLs had to squeeze at the back.

Knocked out from Lethargy for the next five hours before I awake for another soccer match on a good Sunday morning. This is to be the first match for The Greats FC of a new season but it weLL ended a 1-1 draw. Lunch and movie took the afternoon before a dinner cLosed my weekend and here I am, onLy haLf-aLive.

Come to think of it, I cant recaLL what eLse I have been doing other than so much sports. Life or no Life, it aLL depends on individuaL perceptions. To me, whats important is enjoying what you are doing. Dun Like, do aLso no point. It onLy spoiLs your own day.

The onLy sucky part of a weekend is the reminder that Monday is coming.