Final Score from St. Andrew's Stadium;
Birmingham 1
Stern John (90th)

Newcastle United 1
Gary Speed (37th)

we almost had it... son of a bitch...

another good bye...

solano leaves newcastle for aston villa in a transfer deal worth £1.5 million.


Copyright (MikeFinnKelcey/GettyImages)

wat is goin on? he's been one of our best signin, bangin in goals n curvin in free kicks from everywhere, and when he goes, he goes for a minimal fee of only 1.5 mil. heh, i remember few years back, he was worth like 10 mil, after his superb showin in the league.

i dont know wat the newcastle management is doin. they buy carl cort for 7 mil, sell him off after such a long time for about 2 mil. n they sell solano, who's been more of an asset than cort. who's gonna b supplyin crosses from the right side now? i thought wit robert n solano, we had a very good supply from both wings.

this saddens me a lot i tell ya.

Kerry wins yet again in New Hampshire Primary


Copyright CNN.com

The results;
John Kerry 38%
Howard Dean 26%
Wesley Clark 13%
John Edwards 12%
Joe Lieberman 9%
Kucinich 1%
Al Sharpton 0%

wow, kerry sure is surging. but we gotta remember, the last person who won the new hampshire primary and continued to win president was jimmy carter. tts long way back. and this is wesley clark's first election, so its gonna be a long wait to see wat happens next week, when a number of primaries and caucuses take place on the same day.
lieberman might drop out, not sure, but he still thinks he's tiein wit clark n edwards for third place. well, i guess we'll hav to wat happens next week in the super tuesday.

Woke up from a weird dream, yet again.

dreamt like I was some liberator in India or somethin. xxx style, blowin stuff up and all. later on kids in the village were like hailing me like a hero coz i saved them or something. i can recall me holdin the rocked propelled granade and blowin some buildin up n all.

i think it has to do somethin after i watched mission kashmir.

anyway, finally sent my transcripts. i was gutted when they told me it might take 2 weeks at the longest, if not, bout 11 days for it to be sent. god. i might actually b riskin admission to some of the schools. hope that doesnt happen. but no choice, durin chinese new yr, how was i to send? would get delayed anyway.

yea, oh, then i was gonna cut my hair at hv (the post office was at hv) and i saw the mtv vj, denise keller. she looks rather attractive than in person, than on mtv. didnt cross my mind then, but i should've juz went to her and asked her if she had any mtv asia awards tickets. damn! y didnt i do it! i would so dare, i mean, its worth it. never mind embarrassment, i would get to talk to her at least.

one thing different from seein other celebrities, other times, u see em, but they dont see u. i saw denise keller and she also saw me. as in eyes met eachother. all of u who think my eyes r nice, take a look at denise kellers. i'd take her eyes out n put em on mine anytime.

anyway, yea, had a haircut. part of me wanted somethin like allan. after seein allan shave his hair off, i really felt the NS thing. but my mom would kill me if i cut so short and besides, i need some hair at least, since im goin to chicago, a sub zero temperature, this would probably the first time i would know the importance n advantage of being hairy. hopefully. maybe. but its quite short anyway.

urrgh, y does it rain n rain. i wanted to go serene center to buy n complete the 'truth' comics. mayb a lil while later.

oh, and so dewi fabbri leaves for aussie today. sad i didnt get to spend proper time wit her n all. wanted to meet, forgot tt she was leavin today, she said if she aint busy then we would meet, but cant expect her to do all tt on her last day. the most i saw of her was durin those japanese class days where i would see her n her friends in moelc n they would b jokin around n all. anyway, heres me wishin well on whatever she does in aussie.

so thats one more good bye. soon i'll be sayin to a whole lot ppl, but not yet.

not yet.

phew! im finally done sorting out my transcript tt i have to send to the universities ive applied to.

rushed to hv to get my papers photocopied, told each copy was 20 cents. tt would hav made all my photocopyin for like 30 bucks. no way was i gonna let tt happen. luckily the store lady told me to head to queensway coz they do much cheaper there. so headed to queensway and got my stuff all printed. 14 documents multiplied by 11. all for $5.70. whoa, tts a lot cheaper compared to wat i was gonna pay initially.

sortin out, writing wat is wat and separatin into diff piles for each sch, puttin em in big envelopes are all done. all tts needed to be done is to send, which ill do first thing tomorrow mornin.

im quite afraid my stuff r quite late, but i think it'll all b fine somehow.

oh, carnegie mellon and georgia tech, admit me!

was surprised y the UC schs didnt request any transcripts but i hope tt goes well as well. berkeley would b the best choice out of all.

alright.. gonna meet my JPU classmates at bishan.. probably last time i'll meet em. surprise our jap teacher for her birthday, then dinner. alritey...

okay, i need to get a lot of CDs. a lot. seriously. was at hmv after lunch wit denise n koustav and realised that i there were so many albums out that i juz needed to get. damn it. once i go to chicago, not sure if i'll be able to use kazaa, since its like closer to gettin caught, plus, in campus, we're not allowed to use any file sharing programs. the network will detect and block. damn damn...

the list of albums i wanna get my hands on;

Alicia Keys - The Diary of Alicia Keys
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood To The Head
Dave Matthews - Some Devil
Justin Timberlake - Justified
Linkin Park - Live In Texas
Michelle Branch - Hotel Paper
Nelly Furtado - Folklore
Neptunes - Clones
Norah Jones - Feels Like Home
Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below
Peter Malick and Norah Jones - New York City
Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
Rage Against The Machine - Live At Grand
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Greatest Hits
Ruben Studdard - Soulful
Shania Twain - Up!
Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico
The White Stripes - Elephant
Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody

sigh. wonder when im gonna get my hands on all of em. n when i will, it wont matter anymore. will all b considered juz classics.

Final Score from Anfield;
FA Cup 4th Round
Liverpool 2
Bruno Cheyrou (2nd & 61st)

Newcastle United 1
Laurent Robert (4th)


Copyright (GaryMPrior/GettyImages)
damn it.

superb robert free kick, but we lost. one thing im happy is tt i think we finally found a way to contain our nemesis owen in his turf. yep, the answer is figured out after couple of mishaps and letting him score like 14 goals in 9 matches?

welcome the partnership of o'brien and woodgate. the defence tt only leaked one goal prior to this match. we won over leeds, fulham and drew wit manures in old trafford and its all coz of the tight command of those two.

we can look ahead now.

From CNN.com - entertainment

'Friends' cast says farewell

Copyright NBC

Series finale was taped Friday
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- They won't be there for us anymore.

The enduring comedy "Friends," with the theme song that promises "I'll be there for you," wrapped its final episode Friday night in front of an invitation-only audience on a set veiled in secrecy, all part of a plan to avoid spoiling the surprise ending for fans.

The taping of the hour-long finale, scheduled to air in May, concluded shortly before midnight with an extended curtain call for the cast members, said a show representative who declined to be quoted by name.

Stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer were joined for the taping on Stage 24 by an audience of about 200 people. A party was planned afterward, at a secret location.

The mood this week has been "deeply emotional, very sad," Peter Roth, president of Warner Bros. Television, said Friday. "But beyond the sadness, I think there is an enormous sense of accomplishment."

The cast, which shared real-life friendships as well as highly productive salary negotiations, talked with reporters last week about the series' end.

"Looking back on all the fun ... is not going to help me leave," Kudrow said. "I mean, that's exactly what I can't be thinking about because that's the saddest part for me."

Friday's studio audience was limited to "a very special, invited guest list," Roth said. Measures were taken to safeguard plot leaks, according to the show's producers.

"There are elements that the audience will not be seeing that we'll be shooting before the audience comes in," series creator and executive producer Marta Kauffman said last week. "And then you just keep your fingers crossed that everybody lives up to what they say that they will."

If Washington can leak, however, so can Hollywood. At least one tabloid claimed that it had the "Friends" scoop: parents Rachel and Ross (Aniston and Schwimmer) will reunite and husband and wife Monica (Cox Arquette) and Chandler (Perry) will become parents of twins, according to the National Enquirer.

However the May 6 finale plays out, will fans be satisfied?

"As one of the show's biggest fans, I am enormously satisfied with it. I was enormously satisfied with the script, and I certainly hope fans will be satisfied as well," Roth said.

The top-rated comedy for the past six seasons, "Friends" is going out in style. Thirty-second ads for the show are reportedly fetching $2 million, close to Super Bowl territory, according to Horizon Media, an ad buying firm.

In its 10 years, "Friends" received six nominations for best comedy series and won the award once, in 2002. A spinoff starring LeBlanc, "Joey," is set to debut next season on NBC.

Copyright www.clark04.com

yep, juz so as u guys all know who im behind this democratic race.

oh hell no.

juz wat did howard dean do. such as ass. after proclaimin he'll win the rest of the primaries, he gave tt animal-like 'yeaaaahhh!'

bad choice dean. i think tt effectively ends his campaign. juz when it wasnt goin all wrong.

isnt it a sad story. leadin the packs before iowa caucuses, then slippin behind, and makin tt runt. he's on his way down for sure. now everyone's sayin he's got too much temper to control to be in the oval office. maybe its true. from his interview in TIME, he has this psychotic side to himself, but he maintains tt all those behavior is wat makes him a doctor, a step by step procedure in his practice. well, i dont think many people are gonna buy tt.

wat was supposed to be a clash of the titans in a few days time in new hampshire, between kerry, dean, edwards, clark and lieberman, it seems like its gonna be a three horse race (lieberman doesnt seem to be having a secure foothold so far)


Wesley Clark works a Dunkin' Donuts franchise in Derry, New Hampshire, Friday.
Copyright AP Photo

anyway, juz to let everyone know, im all for clark. his interviews n speeches convince me tt he's the man. well, if not, it sure gotta b between kerry and clark. i think i'd be happy wit either of em. after pickin up the iowa win, kerry's been marchin wit confidence, his propositions gettin stronger and more convincin and thoughful too.

i guess everythin will be clear come tuesday.

okay, i watched my first full fledged hindi movie.

one thing i thought i never do.

but it so happened tt i heard of this movie for a long long time n never got to see it. coupled wit the fact tt my cousin told me it was gd. it had won international awards so its gotta b somethin rite?

'mission kashmir' was the title. n if channel i's showin a hindi show on a chinese new year day, well, its gotta be somethin.

its not as happy go lucky as most hindi movies. in fact, its rather dark, serious movie. not so much dancin around the tree stuff, and not so much crazy stuff. but the movie was quite gd in my opinion. but unfortunately not many hindi movies r like this. my parents hav the dvd set of devdas, tts another international hit, one of these days im gonna watch tt.

went out for a coffee wit junwen today. was supposed to go for another round of drinks wit pragas n allan, but tt was cancelled. well, i had a nice talk wit junwen anyway, so the day was gd.

n yea, thanks hui. had those sarah mclachlan song downloaded, but never really tried listenin wit proper attention. will do now.

oh i heard ruben studdard's new song 'sorry 2004'. my god, its so good. reminiscent of old r kelly songs. really nice. i think im gonna b listenin to it for the next few days quite frequently.

finally we r gettin rid of striker carl cort.


Copyright TEAMtalk.com

clearly the worst signin ever made by newcastle, he came in wit a big hope, scoring few but crumblin to succesive injuries since then on. signed in 2000 for £7 million. boy tts a real waste of money i tell ya.

he's goin to wolves today for cut price £1.5 million.

heard of leeds united? doing the same thing tt got em in debt, arent we? hope newcastle know wat they're doin.

k im gonna hav to compile all the soul, jazz-rap, acid-jazz, chillout, lounge (n the list goes on) music before i leave.

someone help me!

couple of gd ones ive been listein recently;

Alicia Keys - You Don't Know My Name
Black Eyes Peas feat Les Nubians & Mos Def - On My Own
Dave Matthew's Band - Crush
Les Nubians - J'veux d'la Musique
Lynden David Hall - Forgive Me
Sarah McLachlan - Adia
Will Downing - Tired Melody

okay.. so im back from the goin out n catchin up on time.

monday... met vieda. after like a 2 year hiatus. y? coz her bf doesnt like us. its kinda sad tt someone who doesnt really know u at all judges u like tt n comes up to a conclusion tt i am no-good n enforces some law to his gf tt she cannot ever cross paths wit me again. really sad. but somehow i managed to fix a day to meet her before i leave. she's pretty much the same, if not a lil different. but wat amazed me or rather, took me by surprise was the fact tt she was so calm when she told me tt her bf didnt know she was meetin me n if he did, he probably come kill me. as in, really, kill me.

i really dont understand y some guys like to control the actions n behavior of their gf so much. for god's sake, they're not a possesion or a property tt u own, they're human. but then again, if they actually understood those words from my mouth, then they wouldnt b the person tt they r. another thing bt these ppl, they dont giv us a chance to talk, let alone them even botherin to listen. wat makes em a real hard headed asses.

i better not go on, coz i can go forever. but tts not me.

anyway, yea, tt was tt. went around hmv n some comic places lookin for any interestin stuff. found none, or they didnt hav things i was lookin for.

anyway, tuesday, bout 12 plus, got a call from mr mannan all my college paperworks were ready for collection. its about time. im beginnin to think tt im actually v late so much so my applications r in jeopardy. but i knew the reason y. i dont think he understood wat i meant when i said 'ignore cornell, upenn n chapel hill applications' coz tt took a lot of their time. if not for them, i would hav got my stuff long long time ago. well, watever it is, i juz gotta photocopy a lot of stuff (sec sch records n all) before everythin's ready to b sent. intendin to finish all by this weekend. the prob is, where r the places tt r open for photocopy n mailin durin cny?

kay, so anyway, had to go to airport later on. kyocera, which is the company my dad works for, has like 3 or 4 vice presidents or somethin. since my dad's requestin transfer to the states, some of these vps r like handlin lookin at his resume n capability n stuff. so happens tt one of the vp's wife was comin to singapore n later on to bangladesh so while her stay in singapore, we had to kinda take her around n all. we were told the wrong flight number, so basically we went to fetch her on the flight tt arrived prior to the actual one. so we were like there from 5 n wonderin y she wasnt there. me n my mom walked around airport, ate at bk n finally we met mrs. yukawa. she was v nice lady, quite hilarious n v reserved. wat im really worried is, my jap is so freakin rusty already! im not really gd at talkin jap in formal manner, so i was havin a lil prob tryin to talk to her, but it was better than nothin. we went to sentosa to see the musical fountain for a while then we left to hav seafood by clark quay. gd stuff.

woke up quite early on wednesday to go to SA. it was quite a bore, coz most of the performances n all were in chinese n i didnt understand shit. i guess now tt su is gone, there isnt tt gd emcee who can joke in english n all. but met quite a lot of the cricket boys, irony was tt it seemed like a indian reunion on chinese new year eve, so we were all like, hmmm. went to orchard, played pool for a while before meetin the council boys who already were in ns. all the baldies looked pretty well actually. had lunch, wanted to watch cheaper by the dozen but there were no more tickets, so went to city hall area to hav coffee, talk, and disturb fiona again. only prob was, some big person was there or comin so i guess we came at a bad time. after tt we left, i went back to orchard n met paulina n we talked for a while before headin home.

somehow this holiday means nothin, coz im already bummin around n whether its holidays or not really doesnt make any diff, coz ill still b bummin around.

felt quite awkward when we were at heeren. below us were all this sch kids in uni havin a gd time n suddenly both allan n i felt out of place coz we were no longer in sch n somehow, we cant enjoy tt feelin anymore. it was really lookin at things from a point above.

last cny i'll see for a long long time.

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry (D) wins Iowa Caucuses


Copyright CNN.com

The results;
John Kerry 38%
John Edwards 32%
Howard Dean 18%
Dick Gephardt 11%

okay, seriously, didnt expect it. he made a pretty gd speech, criticizin bush from all corners, but kerry n edwards were considered pretty much K.O.-ed. wat a surprise, wit dean endin up third, and gephardt is gonna pull out of the race after his dismal showin in this. v interestin indeed. i guess all eyes will b on new england next wk, wit the new hampshire primaries, which will b really interestin battle. i thought it would b dean n clark head on, now kerry's in the race too. plus, the super bowl, yes, i hope pats win. im gunnin for clark, but am i obliged to support kerry? since im a massachusetts n all...

Final Score from St. James' Park;
Newcastle United 3
Andrew O'Brien (4th)
Gary Speed (41st)
Laurent Robert (54th)

Fulham 1
Sean Davis (74th)


Copyright GettyImages

sorry coleman, for the departure of saha, but u should hav known this would happen rite? afterall, saha got his break in the premiership wit newcastle years ago, when he hit tt brace against balckburn in the league cup. he decided he better stay in france after that, instead of signin for us. well, he got wat he wants now; to play for the manures. lets see if he succeeds or falters.

man... who would hav known, kerry n edwards would continue their weekend progress wit an unassailable lead in the iowa caucuses? im rather shocked dean is like already concedin defeat at this moment, he's got half of the votes that kerry has.

amazing. really.

but some guy who ran quite sometime back is sayin bush senior was once in dean's shoes, but well, he came back pretty strong and won, so its still anybody's game.

New England Patriots 24 - 14 Indianapolis Colts

Pats are through to the Super Bowl!!!!

Yeaahh... at this moment, carolina panthers are likely to be the opposition in a very interestin match up next monday.

oh, im talking american football now, not soccer. u noe, the "25, 43, hut hut!" thingie?

yep yep, super bowl, is like the national (probably world, coz how many other countries play american football at such a high level?) championship, i dont think i need to mention that.

pats kinda dominated the season, its only fittin that they should win the super bowl next week. at least there's no computerized system to throw us off like USC...

hmmm, found this interestin website which allows us to put music on our blog, basically lets WMA files stream. i always hav this prob of not bein able to pick one single song. i usually end up changin every week or so. but i dont wanna do tt.

so i'll list the songs i selected n see which one would b gd. i wanted somethin tt fits in well wit the dark settin of my blog, but still cant pick on one. whaddya guys gotta say? help me out. pity they dont hav anythin by goo goo dolls, if they did, it would hav made my job much easier.

audioslave - like a stone
busta rhymes - gimme some more
coldplay - the scientist
coldplay - god put a smile on your face
craig david - walking away
lifehouse - everything
notorious b.i.g. - hypnotize
stacie orrico - stuck
zero 7 - destiny

in my opinion, the clear cut dilemma lies between lifehouse - everything and zero 7 - destiny. but im not sure.

not many would have heard of zero 7, so tentatively i would put up tt song in the blog until change is deemed necessary.

wolves 1 - 0 manures
ITS MILLER TIME!!!!!!

muahahahahahaha....

oh boy, bottom club beats top club, tts always nice...

Copyright NUFC.com

now he's gotta b the most goodlookin player in newcastle united, period. i always thought tt he resembles mike, phoebe's bf from the sitcom, friends.

anyway, who's he?

21 year old portuguese winger, hugo viana. apparantly to boost his chances of bein in the portuguese squad for the upcomin euro2004, he wants to go on a loan, or if possible, leave to play somewhere. well, we cant say anythin to tt, but talk to the gaffer, instead of goin public to the press. i mean we've got one of the nicest manager around.

okay, got 7 months worth of contact lenses to last me, considerin i dont tear or throw em away before their lifespan, a new bag, for both travel n college, a new shoe for running. spent quite a lot in the past few weeks, gotta watch my other expenses. dad got himself a trekkin type shoe for the winter and a new facsimile to replace the one we had previously which broke.

i was at shaw towers, between bugis junction n suntec city. got my bag there. spent most of the time shoppin there. we went to coffee bean for a while, i didnt notice cheryl goh workin there, i was orderin without lookin at her face, then she was juz standin infront smilin, i took like few seconds to realise who she was. saw reuben there later as well.

man, everyone should hav seen my dad nagotiate wit this really irritatin watch shop dealer who tries to sell us somethin every single time we go there. i wanted to clap when the deal was sealed. i dunno y my dad keeps goin there tho, dealer's so irritatin. anyway since tomorrow's my parents 24th weddin anniversary, he saw this nice watch for my mom so he thought of gettin it. startin price, 399. the dealer gave us a 'special' price, 287. my dad still wasnt impressed. then the guy started talkin a lot of cock like usual, wastin like an hour of my day. or more actually. its like this every single time we go there. luckily there was a movie memorabilia store opposite the store, so i went to see lotr stuff. they got the 1/5 replica of the narsil for 70 bucks. its v impressive. they got 4 more swords, but gotta order. one of frodo's, one of the ringwraiths, one of i think it was the elfs, the other one, i forgot. they also had that shards of narsil too. tt was 90 bucks. n tt cool return of the king poster for 35. i was so tempted to buy the poster, the drawin is so awesome. spend a while talkin to the assistant about how to obtain the narsil, coz tt was the only one, mayb gotta order. i might get the short swords keychain sometime in the future. back to the store, my dad was still half listenin to the fella, who gave us a price of 587 for two watches. after some more negotiation n waste of more time, while my dad insisted a non negotiable price of 500, he gave up, offerin us final price of 530. imagine, tt price for two watches wit a combined startin price of 800+. i was like, wow, tts gd. my mom's quite happy wit the watch, since its quite impressive n all.

k i'll try not to get anymore things for the next few months. well, except for some necessities. but i really want the sword replica n the poster. urrrgh....

theres some error in my html codes.. the yellow caution sign doesnt escape my eyes. mayb gotta skim through the codes later on n hope to rectify the error. most prob its coz of the klink message thing. actually i should remove that since ive got tag board. since then, noone has left any message on my posts. ahh, heck.

anyway, i finished readin jhumpa lahiri's v interestin novel, 'namesake.' it was the one featured in TIME. n if ever someone asks me which book influences me the most in the next 10, 20 years or so, i think this is it. the story is more or less like my life. the book describes of a couple who go to boston from calcutta after arranged marriage. then they hav a son, who grows up to be an ABCD (american born confused deshi) and he starts questionin the way his life is n all. he basically grows up like any american, but his family is pretty much still backward, always remainin as immigrants.

i can identify with the boy's problems. i dont necessarily fit into my so called community, i still get the feelin they think im a modernized outcast in a way coz i dont speak bengali properly, dont practice my religion wit heart, etc. so readin through the book, i was totally immersed in their environment coz tt was more or less my kinda environment, n i might b settlin down in the new england area, so that was another thing.

picked up certain views n points to note from this journey. now i dont feel so bad not bein able to identify myself or not knowin where i belong to n all. i am who i am, doesnt matter how screwed up i can be. besides, the place i am goin, people are goin in n out on a daily basis, i think i would fit right in. as for a lot of private thoughts that ive been speakin to my very close friends about, well, its no more a worry, coz my mind is crystal clear right now. i feel so much better after readin this book n it has been v insightful.

well, considerin she won a pulitzer for her first book, i think this is a v gd next step tt she took.

i will embrace this novel for quite some time to come. u guys should try too.

started the first leg of my meeting-friends-before-i-dont-see-them-again-for-at-least-5-years thin yesterday. first off, was supposed to meet up wit latheefa n anna but latheefa fell sick, so juz met anna instead. havent met her for like a yr, last time bein when she hosted the PESA finals. caught up on eachother's lives durin the past yr, but basically both of us hav been bummin around while others are workin. she hopes to get into NUS, if not mayb move to aussie. she's still the same, people dont really change much in a yr. talked a lot of shit n some weird observations n all. i never knew causeway point was such a mega place. i always envisioned tt place at a mid pt between singapore n malaysia n i tot it was juz residential area or somethin. that place has everythin. n a huge library to top it off. it was all done after SAS (this time, its singapore american sch, not st andrews sch) moved to woodlands n the expatriate community's houses built near the area. it was pretty impressive, really.

met hazril later on at west mall. he suggested we watch return of the king, but i told him i dont think i would b able to last 3++ hrs after bein out the whole day. so we watched sch of rock instead. he n his gf generously got me the return of the king score, but he had mistakenly thought that i was leavin 5 days' time. nono, not tt fast.

thinkin of droppin by to queensway for probably my last time, say hi n bye to teachers who r still there n to those juniors still in sch n all. winfrid, comin or not? aisha might pop down, depends on her work too. poor paulina's havin such a torrid time organisin n makin sure everythin's gonna go fine, but sec sch orientation isnt so much, she has not much to worry about really.

next wk, full of meetin ppl. some ppl i still hav time to fix on, but should b ok.

damn, my CM4 season's goin nutz. my precious players hav decided to try their luck in the higher division or retired. i lost like 4 integral members of the first team squad. was hopin to press for playoffs, but instead, languishin somewhere in lower-midtable. the board has told me to reassemble the squad n begin anew, thus not expectin any final positions. well, because of the cup successes last season, i got the money to consolidate my weaker positions, but like chelsea, they need time to gel. got a fab striker on free n got central defenders who hav excellent potential. but as i said, they need time. my contract runs out end of the current season (05/06) thinkin whether i should take up a new job or stay on n rebuild. been wit this team for 2 seasons already, this team is one of those teams which will stay pretty much the same over a long period of time. still early on in my career, so i need to raise my profile. some offers from 2nd divisions pop in everynow n then, but they're stuck pretty firmly in relegation battle, i wouldnt wanna take charge of em only to play in 3rd div next season n face my former team. i'll see how it goes. about 4 more months till end of season.

n continuin from the previous post yet again...

woke up at 0730, coz i needed to get to eunos by 0830 to meet allan n run at east coast. i was gettin read to leave when my mom told me to clean my room n put the winter clothes all neat n stacked under the bed. i couldnt say no so as a result, i had to leave pretty late. by the time i got the bus it was 0830. n worse, the area was havin rush hour jam. but luckily the train was more frequent n faster coz of it. managed to reach eunos by 0915 n met allan. we travelled by the usual way to east coast n then started runnin. he said the total distance would be about 10km if not near that. i was like, wat... couldnt believe i'll run tt much, but after runnin, for about 30-40 mins, it seriously didnt feel like it. he said the distance was parallel on the map from eunos mrt station to tanah merah mrt. tts 4 stops! i was quite amazed. my toes were givin me probs from yesterday n it was really painful, so i had to stop couple of times yet again. n since i didnt drink enough, i had to stop for a drink when we came across water stations. but it was a gd run. i shall hav to continue this myself. thinkin of runnin from my place to botanical gardens, then turn in to places where a lot of embassators stay n come out near SMU, near serene centre n run straight back home from there. wonder how much the distance is.

yea, after tt went to parkway parade, kinda popped by evelyn's workin place. she works at this bird nests shop. she looked rahter unusual in formal office wear, but nothin could compare tt to allan when he shaved his hair off for NS. i was the first one to see it. but he looks gd for sure. we decided to hav lunch wit evelyn but she could only go off at 2 plus coz she was the only one around at tt time. so we went around places to look at stuff to kill time, lookin at a toy store tt brought back memories of those japanese tv heroes n all. we went to pizza hut n ordered this huge meal, which was v fillin. but wat was funny was the way allan reacted to the waitress, she juz kept laughin n all. i swear she could hav mistaken tt allan was flirtin wit her or somethin, but tts juz allan's friendliness. she was askin whether we would like to change the drink in the pitcher n allan was sudddenly like, huh? can change pitcher? n all of us were like laughin like nutz. whenever the waitress came to clear our plates or somethin allan would react in some comical manner n evelyn n i were wonderin if he was doin it on purpose or somethin. after lunch, evelyn went back to her work n allan n i headed to city hall area. we took a look at some bags coz i needed some new ones. then we walked all the way to suntec n juz popped our heads outside ralph lauren where fiona worked. she was quite surprised to see allan's new hairdo.

then we walked to shaw towers to look at some more bags n then headed to bugis to look at books, comics n action figures. both of us were quite tired n all, so we juz went home from there.

got back, wanted to sleep but couldnt. so was on the net, checkin up stuff n went to sleep. wanted to watch se7en but knowin i would fall asleep durin the show, i decided not to.

continuin from the previous post...

i woke up at 0830. i tot i would go to sch by 10 plus. but when i called mr mannan, found out the paperwork wasnt done. i was quite worried coz i know tt i would hav to send these stuff pretty soon, if not my application process would b jeopardized. i was gonna meet allan to start runnin n get fit, so we decided to meet at 4. i had to send some stuff to san jose for junwen's gf, so went to his place to pick up the package n headed to hv to send. got back, played cm4 for a while, since i was quite pissed, well, i kinda screwed the season. scunthorpe could hav finished 9th or 10th, but coz of my heckcareness, ended up 14th in the end. then went to sch. handed more stacks of paper to mr mannan n he told me it should all be ready by wed, since now all tt was required was projected grade n recommendation. check it out, he managed to get me a ACC! tt works out v well for me, i might b able to ask for few months off, maybe two or three. but freshman would probably be quite straightforward anyway, so wouldnt make too much diff. but mayb i need tt courses to up my GPA... urgh, worry bt it next time.

yea, then went to run wit allan around sch area. didnt seem like 4+km, but he said it was. since i wasnt runnin for a long time, n without excersize, i was havin pain on my foot, so had to stop couple of times on the way. but i guess tts a start.

this wasnt part of the plans but i decided to join in the cricket trainin, since i was in sch n all. i feel quite sorry for peter, he seemed quite pissed tt we couldnt do the simplest of stuff durin trainin. could b coz of inactivity for so long.

left early wit allan to hav dinner at adams road food centre n then later at black canyons for coffee. he was still reelin from the drinkin last nite, he had a minor bloodshot eyes n was drinkin helluva water. he asked the waiter for like 4 glasses of water n the waiter was caught by surprise, like duh. then we juz started laughin n all.

i was quite tired by the time i got home. got myself a light dinner n went to sleep.

okay... lets recap the last few days...

sunday... jaime's farewell b4 he went into army... i had confused the message winfrid sent me, so i was led to think that ill meet the clique then meet council to watch soccer at a pub. he was referrin to me as part of the council, which i misunderstood, so didnt get to meet the council guys in the end. i called like 7 of the councillors and none of em picked up the phone, so i couldnt do anythin about it could i. so i came a lil too early to meet, so i went up orchard mrt to look at some comics. im still lookin for back issues of gambit and truth, so was quite delighted to find em, only to be told that the prices were not actual prices. they had the complete set of truth, but since i hav like 4 out of the 7, y buy the set right? even gambit's ones... i juz want the last issue of the gambit & bishop collabo, but they only sell by set. so i was quite pissed. then i found bishop's first issue. it was only for 3 bucks, so i tot i get it. i had a budget for the evenin, so i couldnt cross 5 bucks. then the guy looks at it n says, 'sorry, this is first edition so its actually 8 bucks.' so i was like 'huh... forget it then, i'll buy it next time.' juz left the place.

then i met denise, winfrid, jaime, zhengwei, adeline, andrea and allan. lem joined us later. after some discussion we decided to go to marche for dinner. was a gd time, winfrid tellin us some weird stuff tt happened to him few yrs back n the general cock by allan. im kinda confused as how i ate 20 bucks of food, but i let tt pass. ice cream waffles is macro-orgasmic, period. haha.

initially tot tt council ppl would wanna go to a pub n watch soccer, since i couldnt contact em, i juz followed the clique along. they wanted to go to denise's place n drink, playin tt circle game. then iskie said tt council most prob wouldnt go, so i tot, fine, i'll watch it at denise's place. they bought drinks while i ogled at maxim's january issue. never thought michelle branch would do tt kinda shoot, considerin she's been squeeky clean throughout her career. well, til now tt is. she's got a bod, tts for sure. anyway, we headed to denise's place from there, we stopped by jaime's place to get some of his drinks. then surprise surprise, fungi joined us n he was drivin. it was kinda funny when we couldnt find a way to denise's place by car, but knew by foot. so we made some wrong turns n all b4 finally findin tt place.

shortly afterwards, the game started so my eyes were fixed on the game while the others drank n got drunk. allan's face was juz red. winfrid was goin nutz. by the time match ended it was like 2 plus. i was thinkin of a way to get some. initial plan was to share a cab wit zhengwei n winfrid. then winfrid started worryin bt how fucked he would b if his parents found out n all. another surprise. when we all got ready to go, fungi suddenly offered all of us a ride back. never thought that would happen. he seemed to hav changed a lot since he left sch. zhengwei thinks its coz of his gf. so feelin rather bad, we all chipped in to pay for the fuel. nice gesture fungi. yea, so by the time i got home, it was 3, i was too tired, but i knew i had to get up early coz i had to go to sch to meet mannan.

Final Score from Old Trafford;
Manchester United 0

Newcastle United 0

I'm quite surprised that we drew, considering manures have been on form. We should have had a penalty, and they scored but i dunno why it was disallowed. didnt see too much nudgin. but we drew at their turf. im happy wit tt. here's a interestin review of last nite's match...

Toon on the rise by Soccernet.com - The Insider


The aggrieved: Shearer and Silvestre (LaurenceGriffiths/GettyImages)

'Make no mistake, this is a massive season for us.'

The words of Newcastle United chairman Freddie Shepherd on the eve of the 2003-4 campaign.

After spending £43million in the last two years and securing fourth and third placed finishes in the Premiership, the Geordies hoped they would force their way into the top two.

It became apparent by mid-September that this just wasn't going to happen. In fact, until the start of October, Newcastle were sitting with the sides hovering around the relegation zone.

A bad run of injuries and alleged antics off-the pitch - surprisingly none of them involving that paragon of virtue Lee Bowyer - didn't help. But that didn't prevent a recent blast from Shepherd, who accused the team of putting in Mini performances for Rolls-Royce wages.

Those words may well have had an effect today as Newcastle earned a deserved 0-0 draw at the home of the title holders to keep their Champions League aspirations very much alive.

Since their mauling at Chelsea on November 9, Newcastle have grown steadily in confidence and moved steadily towards fielding a full-strength team.

That confidence - and composure - was in evidence at Old Trafford. This was a frustrating afternoon for the champions, who looked tired at times.

However, Newcastle deserve much credit for their belief, defensive discipline and a doggedness which was required when the champions threatened to score the decisive goal during second-half pressure.

The fact Liverpool, and not Newcastle, remain favourites for the fourth Champions League spot should not deter Sir Bobby Robson. If his team play like this consistently, they have every chance of securing what will be the last Golden ticket available, with the top three surely all-but decided, in whatever order.

This affair may have been committed but the respect from both sides towards each other was clear from the moment Sir Alex Ferguson and Paul Scholes were presented with their manager and player of the month awards for December prior to kick-off - one of the 67,000 fans applauding was fellow knight of the realm, Sir Bobby Robson.

The two managers are not only friends but gentlemen - two of the old school whose respect and warmth for each other is very clear.

As for the match itself, it focused on two incidents which both managers commented fairly upon. Newcastle had valid claims for a penalty when Tim Howard caught Alan Shearer after 25 minutes but referee Paul Durkin didn't award a spot-kick. Shearer possibly didn't help his cause with a slightly over-theatrical tumble.

It was also difficult to see why Mikael Silvestre's 65th-minute goal was disallowed. As with the penalty claim, TV replays suggested the official got the decision wrong as well.

Ferguson said himself that the goal should have stood and that Newcastle should have had a penalty.

Praise Mr Durkin though, who generally officiated the match well and, in keeping with the encounter, had the honesty afterwards to explain his decisions to the television cameras - admitting he probably should have awarded the visitors the penalty that Shearer was adamant they should have had.

That aside, the first half belonged to Newcastle, although chances were few. Two long-range efforts by Laurent Robert never looked like troubling Tim Howard but were a measure of the visitors' confidence.


Nol Solano and Tim Howard in battle (MikeEgerton/Empics)

Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre made important blocks to stop Jonathan Woodgate (who makes a big difference to the Newcastle rearguard), while the luckless Andy O'Brien twice had to receive treatment for head and facial injuries and did well to soldier on.

Although Howard had to block and intercept other moments of danger, Newcastle could have gone unfairly behind on the stoke of half-time, although Ryan Giggs should have done more than direct a free header straight at Shay Given following Kleberson's pinpoint cross.

The Reds had played with composure of their own during the first half and after the re-start upped the tempo, although they did miss Giggs who failed to re-appear after sustaining a back injury. Although Jermaine Jenas hit the bar with a header, the champions were doing most of the attacking after the interval with Given making a number of important, if often straight forward saves.

Ultimately, honours were even with Ferguson's men finishing the day a point ahead at the summit of a title race which looks set to go down to the wire again. Whether this point apiece proves costly for one United or invaluable for another come the end of the season, only time will tell.

Man of the match: Jonathan Woodgate. Newcastle are a much better defensive unit when he plays.

Moment of the post-match: Referee Paul Durkin appears on TV to explain why he didn't award Newcastle a penalty and disallowed Silvestre's goal. A refreshingly honest approach and one applauded by Sir Bobby Robson.

Atmosphere: Cracking. Arguably the best two sets of supporters in the country.

Insider comment: Shearer came across a little bitter when interviewed by Sky after the match. Although he says otherwise, perhaps he realises he made the wrong decision in snubbing United for Newcastle seven-and-a-half years ago.

Copyright © 2001 ESPN Internet Ventures

yes... USC is done... the brochure that I received some time ago really entices me to be a Trojan, but USC bein a private uni, the tuition fees will b rather steep. but i've got a cousin there, so gettin about wont be a prob.

technically, three more to go. but two of em are just simple essays, one talkin about my academic interest n how i would fit into wisconsin - madison, and the other two 250 word essays about general stuff. so that actually means 1 more uni left coz those two schs i can clear pretty much in the next few days.

but wat stumped me was university of texas - austin. i thought there was only two essays. the prob wit texas common application is that u cannot proceed to the next page until ur current page is complete. so there were like 9 pages and they were already askin for credit card number by page 5, which led me to think tt the rest was printin forms to be signed n all by mr mannan n keyin in the essay. i found out that now there are three more essay to do. i was like wth. most schs in texas dont require essays, some do. n austin, ironically, the one which would b best for me, now requires 5, not 2. and the three new ones are not simple ones either. for college of engineerin, they want some scientific experience out of the laboratory and some essay talkin bout a belief i had previously but due to an incident, i no longer believe in watever tt was. n also wat bk i would recommend to my 15 yr old siblin, one which would b life-altering. seriously, wat the heck man...

but i guess austin is gettin pretty popular. its the next brain-gain city, estimated hub of creativity in the next few yrs. good ol' texas, where bush roams from. cheap houses, lotsa cowboys, plenty of places to drive n chill, which is wat i really fancy. urgh. guess gotta settle ann arbor, madison n start gettin ideas n inspiration for austin essays.

so one more to go!

im (or actually my dad) gonna hav to spend a lot of money in the next 7 or 8 months. why? coz heres a preliminary list of the major stuff i need to get. n im not includin the other stuff.

i need;
1. a drivers licence (lessons can b costly)
2. a car (juz a second hand plymouth or cadillac will do. the norah jones kind)
3. winter clothing (yes im talkin about -5 degrees)
4. laptop (im gonna do computer engineerin, of cuz i'll need tt)
5. PDA (nuff said)
6. wallet (one im usin is fallin apart)
7. trainin shoes (o hell yea, i'll b excersizin, gotta lose tt flabs)
8. back account (for convenience sake..)
9. a new handphone (dammit.. US is still usin CDMA network... tt means the number embedded in the phone, so i wont be able to change phones coz tt means i gotta change number too)

k i tot i had more in mind, but cant think of any more rite now. i shall add to the list later. but tt alone is a lot of money.

alrite, so blogger's back on track.

went to orientation finale yesterday. man the new j1s r damn on. no disrespect to the j2s this yr, but if we had this batch of j1s for our orientation, it would have been smashin success. i also heard that a lot of people wanna join the council from this batch. well, theres still the second intake to consider, but if they say tt before orientation ended, well, thats somethin. i think theres a cycle to all the new intakes. our batch, a lot of ppl wanted to join, then there was v low demand for the current council, then there's this new one tts v enthu. same thing wit the response, we gave hell of a time and fun to the 24th, but didnt exactly feel the same thing for our orientation, but this new batch is also v gd.

felt kinda funny while watchin all the performances. can u guys believe it, it was only, n i mean o-n-l-y two years ago tt we were doin all tt? man, its definately not been a long time, but within those two years, seems everythin has changed. we hav become quite different from those care-free and pure fun days. yea, i mean we're v free now, but its different, u know?

anyway, hats off to 26th, u guys put in a lot of effort, its turned out nicely and u guys should b proud.

and hui, woohoo, that midair turn! well, not exactly by urself, but that was cool stuff! so was glen!

allan n i went off a lil earlier than the rest to spend some time talkin bt private stuff, the time wit him was fun, its always nice when u can just tell somebody a lot of things that u cant tell other ppl most of the time. we're gonna spend somemore time joggin n talkin next wk, he's gonna help me build my fitness back n at the same time juz talk bout ourselves.

ive got like 3 sendin off parties this weekend man, one for jaime, thats not confirmed, another one for sunny (not SA) and yet another one for council. n theres that game between manure n newcastle on sunday midnite. then i gotta see mr mannan the next day. and i hav to settle univ. of southern cal application by tomorrow. o dang, gotta finish my essay up pretty soon then, its real GP type of essay. hate it. but that would mean 3 more applications to complete, n some of them, i can reuse previous essays, coz the topics are v similar! once all that r done, then im gonna meet all those ppl i havent met for a long long time. already got a day booked for hazril n vieda. lot more will follow.

ppl, im practically available on demand, but u gotta book me, coz i'll b meetin a number of ppl in the comin wks, gotta write up ppl's name on my calendar n stuff. either i'll contact u, or u contact me.

Final Score from St. James' Park;
Newcastle United 1
Alan Shearer (4th)

Leeds United 0

slim win, u might think. but Newcastle absolutely dominated the match, just that they couldnt convert. it would hav been madness had newcastle not got all three point. soccernet was funny, in a sense, they were like, guess who scored for newcastle? yes, shearer, yet again. 17th goal of season! still top scorer!

juz took a look at the table, its scary. forget top 3. the real highlight should b on the race for that 4th place! right now, 7 teams are in the clear running, only 5 points separatin the 4th from the 10th. anythin could happen. one loss, u might find the team droppin like 3 or 4 places down. its that tight. who would hav ever thought any team other than liverpool n newcastle might be gunnin for champs lg place? i mean who would hav thought charlton, southampton, fulham, villa and birmingham would even play in europe rite? the race's gettin real hot, the next few weeks would prove decisive, one slip, and its all gone. i juz hope that in the end, newcastle prevails. we gotta do ourselves justice for that disastrous penalty loss against mattheaus' partizan.

some other news...

ive been playin bits n pieces of CM 03-04 while doin my essays n application, and i hav been managin a strugglin div 3 side called scunthorpe united. was real bad last season when i took over, relegation threatened, excessive wage, club in debt, etc. i somehow managed to turn it around in juz 1 season, wage controlled under budget, club makin a healthy profit and doin pretty well in midtable in div 3 too. and yesterday was the icin on the cake of a wonderful turnover. i thought beatin two div 1 teams (portsmouth and bradford) comprehensively in league cup was gd enuff, guess who we beat, after a long long duel yesterday? C-h-e-l-s-k-i. yes, chelsea!!! i was like, oh my goodness. we did the unthinkable. i guess my manager ratin has gotten better, i might receive offers from some div 2 or if lucky, div 1 teams in near future. juz unbelievable.

not sure if many of u care, but recently a news surfaced that sir bobby robson expressed interest in acquirin ex-swedish international henrik larsson of glasgow celtic. he becomes a free agent in the summer, so if he decides to sign, we dont have to pay a shilling. u noe wat tt means? larsson has been one of the most prolific scorers in scottish football in recent times. he was the european footballer of the year in 2002 or 2001. imagine a partnership of shearer and larsson! my my, the SAS partnership of sutton n shearer in the blackburn days in '96 will be emulated! wow, thats big stuff, considerin shearer will retire after next season. larsson is already 32, as old as shearer, but he's still got a long way to go, he's got the pace tt shearer lost due to numerous injuries and wats more, he still is a sharp shooter.

here's a pic of larsson, he used to hav long dreadlocks like lenny kravits, man, he was so goodlookin wit it.



Copyright (AlexLivesey/GettyImages)

okay, just wat is goin on. it seems any directory within blogger is forwarded to the blogger main page. ive been tryin to bypass that thin but cant seem to do. i cant even go to my friend's blogspots. this is crazy.

oh wait, got it. from status.blogger.com

Monday, January 05, 2004
Due to a database change, Blogger was unaccessible for 10-15 minutes this morning. We apologize for the downtime.

We will have a planned maintenance this evening at 8pm in order to implement this database change.

Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Blogger.com and Blogspot.com are not addressable for lots of people because of a DNS snafu. (DNS are the computers that tell your computer what number to go to when you put in a name.) The fix has been pushed, but it could take a while to refresh everywhere. Meanwhile, if you're geeky, you can change your host file to get to Blogger (point new.blogger.com to 66.102.15.100).



anyway, thay britney spears things. one thing; HA-HA. drunken biatch. she's turnin out to b real dumb afterall. dont get all tt stardom get in ur head.

maybe somebody needs to hit her one more time. Lynne Spears, care to do the honor? coz her own daughter (drives her) crazy. she was born to make her happy, but sometimes it jus happens. britney is apologetic about it from the bottom of her broken heart but oops, she did it again! seems she let her be the last to know about her one day wedding, but she's lucky her mom's getting stronger from all the media attention. she's still a girl, not yet a women, but this case has clearly proven she's a slave 4 boys oh hell no, she's not overprotected at all! if she she loves rock n roll, then why is she against the music?

BURN!!!

ok, it started out as fun, but its not funny anymore. damn, shouldnt hav overdone it.

holy cow...

Newcastle takes on Liverpool at Anfield for FA Cup 4th Round Tie.

lets juz hope the scousers continue playin like crap, and that owen doesnt play, then maybe newcastle can win.

oh, and there was this editorial on soccernet about newcastle's recent form. thought it was pretty true.
---------------------------------------------------
Shaky Toon defence by Norman Hubbard

The chairman's public criticism is, the manager and captain agree, correct. Matches with Leicester and Blackburn produce a solitary point between them. They are behind Fulham and Charlton. All is not well at Newcastle.

But Sir Bobby Robson's team are only four points off a Champions League place. They boast, in skipper Alan Shearer, the Premiership's top scorer. And their summer transfer expenditure was, like Kieron Dyer's goal tally for the season, zero.

However, there is an undercurrent of underachievement on Tyneside. In too many places on the St James' Park turf, youthful promise is not being fulfilled. And though Jermaine Jenas' slump in form is merely temporary and even Craig Bellamy cannot be injured forever, defensive failings are a constant.

Admittedly, they have conceded only 22 goals in 19 Premiership games, but it is more the manner of the defending than the statistics which is concerning.

Jonathan Woodgate's imminent return guarantees individual excellence. But the six Premiership games the £9 million centre back has played (and that figure is in itself a cause of problems) scarcely provided collective competence.

Newcastle's most accomplished defender has yet to assert himself as the dominant figure in an inexperienced back four. Hence confusion, especially with Titus Bramble, which has cost vital goals.

Defending long balls is a staple diet of Premiership centre backs yet, against Wolves, Woodgate's lack of communication with Shay Given allowed Nathan Blake to steal in and score. When Liverpool visited St James' Park, he and Bramble overcompensated, headed for the same ball and Danny Murphy relished the subsequent space he was afforded to meet the flick-on and score.

With James Beattie's Southampton Newcastle's next opponents, a weakness against the punt upfield is sure to be tested. The raw aggression of Leicester's Paul Dickov unsettled Newcastle's defence so Beattie's physical approach probably won't constitute their ideal start to the year.

In mitigation, Woodgate is a mere 23. Bramble is 22, the other centre back Andy O'Brien and regular full backs Aaron Hughes and Olivier Bernard all 24.

No other Premiership defence is as young. Few others are as quick, either. But potential alone does not win points.

Consistency does and consistency of selection has been impossible for Robson. Woodgate's fragile frame has cost both the former Leeds man and Newcastle. Invariably injured when Sven-Goran Eriksson calls, John Terry and Matthew Upson have leapfrogged him in the England queue for replacements for Rio Ferdinand.

Ferdinand, Lucas Radebe and Dominic Matteo were all the senior partner when partnering Woodgate in the Leeds defence. At Newcastle, he has greater responsibility but the January transfer window could provide an opportunity to introduce a more experienced, vocal and fit defender to complement Woodgate's composure and class.

The concept of several captains is more common in American Football and even Rugby Union. Newcastle have Shearer and Gary Speed to boss attack and midfield respectively, but they need a leader at the back.

Summer rumours suggested Gareth Southgate would be the man. The consistent Southgate has the attributes Newcastle lack; however, he may now have more glamorous suitors now in Manchester United.

But the contrast between Middlesbrough's ruthlessly efficient back line and Newcastle's chaotic defending against Blackburn shows why a top four berth eludes the Premiership's most northerly team.

With Woodgate missing, Newcastle deserved their defeat despite the dubious nature of Paul Gallagher's winner. As Bramble discovered, one-man offside traps rarely succeed. Andy Cole has not been the only forward this season to give him a torrid time.

One lapse in concentration almost presented Cole with a clear-cut chance. Bramble had the ability to recover but he rarely completes 90 minutes without an error. Sure enough, a back-header sold Given short, Cole nipped in and only O'Brien on the line prevented a goal.

And impressive as Bramble can be between mistakes, it is all too familiar a tale. He was arguably the best player in the first half when Newcastle faced Manchester United in August but found wanting for both the visitors' goals.

That Bramble has been preferred to O'Brien is an indication of Robson's emphasis on promise over reliability. Presuming future glories will result from current team selection, however, is a dangerous assumption.

After early exits from the Champions League and the Carling Cup, the FA Cup takes on greater importance for a club without a trophy in three decades.

With Woodgate ready to return, the Newcastle manager has to decide between the callow Bramble and the more limited but dependable O'Brien on Saturday.

And a decision with still more importance for Newcastle's season must be made in January; does he spend on a striker to deputise for the injured Bellamy and Shola Ameobi or a centre back to strengthen his shaky defence?

Copyright © 2001 ESPN Internet Ventures

erm, blogger's down for some reason i think. i cant see my page, it always bring me to the login area. the same thing's wit other people's blogs too. ah well, i can continue bloggin, so no worries i guess, juz noone viewin.

anyway, settled georgia tech and umass amherst last night. that leaves me wit 4 more schs. yes, juz as i planned. everythin is smooth sailin now. juz essays to do n im done.

right now, juz hope that i get into one of these schools that ive applied so far; UC Berkeley, Purdue, UMass Amherst or georgia tech. of cuz i would prefer texas or michigan ultimately at the end of all the applications.

oh please let everythin go right.

seems everythin's back on course for everybody. those younger ones goin to sch (haha!) and ppl workin, etc. this has been a long time since we havent gone to sch on 2nd or 3rd jan. or wakin up around 10, 11 each mornin n wonderin; wat should i do today?

was told to go get my winter clothin today. i tot i take a look at wat they got before i bought them. meetin Paulina later on today. she came back last night, man i havent met her for like 2 months. she would look for some books and mayb i can take a look at the winter clothes after that. alright then, gonna hav lunch now.

wait, i was thinkin, all this winter stuff is mainly for north eastern states. it would b no point if i end up in texas or california. ah well, juz in case, i might go to illinois, michigan or massachusetts, its butt freezin there.

okay, so ive been missing for a few days. tts coz i was at a chalet, 3D2N. was v gd, juz hangin around, talkin a lot of crap, some sense, but basically it felt like a holiday that we've been longin for for a very long time. esp for me, i felt like after so much work, it was only right that i have this break. tho gettin the food, fannin for the fire and lil bit of cookin was more like work than fun, i let that pass.

when winfrid told me the budget was 65 bucks, i was like, wtf, thats impossible. on friday, junwen came over for a while, before headin back home from OCS. we watched some punk'd episodes and we had lunch at my place. then i head over to IMM where Jesica, Junli and me got the food as well as some other things to get us through the duration of the chalet. actual amount came up to 100, and that was all the necessities only. ah well, things like these always goes above budget.

yea, then we took the train, all the way from Jurong East to Pasir Ris. it wasnt as long as we thought it was, then we checked in and waited for others to arrive. Junli and I started the fire and got it all goin. heh, after the chalet, Junli and Winfrid has effectively taught me all about fire in BBQ and stuff, i feel like im a master of it now. small huts on fire, then go for the massacre, then keep blowin at concentrated spots of white hot charcoal to reignite, etc, etc. i was actually engrossed in keepin the fire goin stronger than the actual cookin.

soon after, everyone else came and we were juz sharin common jokes, racist jokes, and a whole lot of crap while eating. thats how its supposed to be like, isnt it. too bad some ppl had to go off, some had things to do the next day, some were still working on sat, so some went off to sleep, some stayed awake n juz talked. allan, glen, zhengwei, jesica and me decided to go to a food place nearby, about 15 mins walk. when we went out of our rooms, we heard someone moaning. we tot it was nothin until we heard it like three times in a row. clearly a women, clearly someone havin sex. glen n i looked at eachother wide eyed. i mean, it was quite loud. then we called allan n we heard one more moan. zhengwei got all excited and ran over, but by then, we couldnt hear anymore. haha, it was funny to see zhengwei's reaction. then we headed over to eat, to make up for the food we ate on BBQ, noone actually eats a lot on BBQ. i had somethin too spicy, so i was havin probs later on in the morning. when we came back, we expected silence but actually everyone was playin the drinkin game. flip a card, and drink cups of water as instructed, among gettin some nasty details about some people along the way. in the end everyone had a bit too much of water and we were juz goin to the toilet every now n then. i went to toilet like 6 times when we eventually fell asleep. by the time we all decided to sleep, it was about 6 in the morning. it worked well for me since i cant really sleep. koustav had to report to OCS thing by 0645, so he went off with zhengwei. andrea, adeline and clarisse had to go off quite early to work and all, so we were left wit few ppl in the end. allan also went off to do his stuff and jesica had to go for dance. in the end it was only jaime, winfrid n me. i woke up around 10 somethin, i was pretty much awake when whoever was goin off n all, so i figured i only slept proper for like 2 to 3 hours. jaime n winfrid were sleepin like pigs, they woke up like near 1 plus. i had my breakfast by then was juz walkin around the whole place, surfin to check my mails and all. when i came back, the two were still sleepin. when they finally awoke, koustav came back, and we deciced to go to the pool to swim, jaime and winfrid wanted to tan. i hadnt swam in a long long time, so it felt real nice. by the time all that ended it was already 4 plus, we all showered, jesica came back, and when we went to get our lunch/dinner, so did adeline and clarisse. we got ourselve the big feast from KFC and juz fed onto em, that made me quite full, so i didnt really eat for the night. then we were juz bummin around, clarisse brough top spin for the xbox, so jesica and i started playin that while others were playin card games n all. i played wit clarisse for a while, but she was way too good, since she's been playin. i couldnt control my shots and she kept returnin my strokes wit hard balls, eventually i cracked. but i got her back wit my Kuerten. then we started playin this career mode, where we make a fresh character and start participatin in ATP cups and courses. it was rather interestin, like GT2 simulation disk. i continued to play while others made supper for themselves and all.

we went off to bowl and we had a real nice time. i beat the 120 scoreline again, somethin tt doesnt happen to me often. i hav to thank partly to a v attractive no 12 bowl. i was always the 11 guy, but i thought i giv 12 a try, it seemed more comfortable to me. when i let the ball go, i realised it went off exactly how i wanted it, wit precision, enough power and most importantly, it went straight, without curving. the first bowl i made wit the 12 came off as a strike. and couple more followed, but i got a lot of 9s and 8s. the first game was pretty ok, but wit the 12 ball, the second game went fabulous for me. jaime n i were exchangin our forces, he hit couple of superb shots as well. ultimately i think everyone had a strike at least once. winfrid was the most funny coz he would bowl so slow and it was almost like pushin the ball forward then bowlin. n it rolled slowly til it picked up its pace n go hit the pins; most didnt make it though. haha.

after comin back, i tried to see which place was showin soccer matches. i realised wit shock tt gillingham was beatin charlton 3-1 at half time. but most places closed after 2 and they were not showin anymore matches so i went back to the room to play top spin. i finished the shanghai cup and went off to see wat was goin on, couple of ppl were too tired already, so they went off to sleep. i was feelin weird, since i had slept little. the funny thign was tt i was not feelin tired but v alert n all. probably coz of over activeness of the brain due to lack of sleep. i went on to play wit the fire, blowin, addin charcoal and heatin things for fun. glen, zhengwei, jaime, adeline, clarisse and i were juz talkin til then. after tt, we juz decided to go to sleep. since i couldnt really sleep, i proceeded to play top spin. i did somemore courses and fnished some tournaments. by the time i was too bored to play, it was 6 and everyone was asleep. i juz lay on the floor and tried to get some sleep. we had to check off by 10, so i had to make sure i wouldnt fall into that long sleep. i suddenly woke up and realised it was 0820 and i was like shit, i need to start clearin up. so i woke couple of guys up to get things goin. when i finished my stuff, i was juz waitin for the others to wake up and clean up, so i continued playin top spin. i managed to finish all the pro-am cups and made it to 14th place, amazing, considerin i was still pretty much an amateur and got only handful of skill stars. all the other ppl in top 30 n stuff had like lotsa stars, but i juz applied wat i knew of playin tennis n beat ppl who were higher ranked than me.

we checked out n headed to macdonalds at white sands. we settled the money prob and glen n koustav went off, and we all took the train to wherever we were goin. allan was goin on the cruise wit some councillors and he went off together wit adeline, clarisse and zhengwei at outram. i went off at queenstown and went back home, showered and tried to rest. woke up about 5 hours later on.

the first thing my dad told me was tt the february thing was now confirmed. so i am leavin early for sure now. sigh.

but from the last three days, it was really pleasant and enjoyable time that i will probably remember for the next few years wit clarity. the ghost stories and religious things we shared on first night kinda confirmed my belief that religion isnt exactly wat it is, it a long theory i came up wit it, i;ll probably blog about it next time. at the same time, i realised these are the kind of parties i'll be having quite often once im in universities; thing would be more ugly i suppose, wit all the alcohols bein consumed means ppl would be doin crazy stuff drunk, ppl makin out in the toilet n stuff like tt. in a way, this is more controlled, or like toned down.

but spendin lnog time wit friends like this is always fun. over a long period, u see a different side of friends u never noticed. i guess some ppl saw me as this order freak, after BBQ, i was like cleanin stuff to make sure the place wasnt too dirty, reorganisin the room to remove all the rubbish, wakin up ppl to get ready, always plannin stuff, etc. yea, i could try not to be like tt for once, but hey, its better that way. haha.

but yea, to all the people who were there, hope u guys had great fun, maybe last time we got to do tt before ppl went off to army and all, n i guess i wouldnt be wit u guys soon so yea, definately has been great, thats for sure.

Final Score from Friends Provident St. Mary's Stadium;
English FA Cup 3rd Round
Southampton 0

Newcastle United 3
Kieron Dyer (24th & 67th)
Laurent Robert (39th)

Yes, a Rolls-Royce performance it is, especially from our boy Dyer. Freddy Shepherd, are you happy now?