Eve-post exams stress

Haven't been reading much from the newspapers except that Christopher Lee is facing possible jail time for driving an accident vehicle away from the scene of accident and not rendering assistance to the injured and for drink-driving blah blah blah.... haha.....what a mouthful to read in one breath!

Interject :
Having been done with almost all my papers except one, my motivation seems to dip even farther....i guess it is the culmulative of bad feelings that is brewing inside concerning the papers that i haf sat thusfar. certain things are within our control but certain things aren't. so far....those things which were supposed to be under my control i managed to messed them up with flair and urgency. haha..

While pride is what i cherish, however when i mess those things up......certainly pride was the last time on my mind. Now, i haf to start scooping the broken ( i actualli spelt ---> "breaken") bits and fix them back when i m done with exams.

I wish things could be different but let's face it....there's no point wallowing in self-pity. Life goes on and it is through these challenges that one can be stronger and be better adapt to deal with such situations in future.

I don't know what i m talking about but it makes sense.... i hope.

Just a post

Looking through my posts, I realised that most of them were morbid; deaths, killings and my obesession with tennis. In a way, obesessions can be morbid since if it becomes unhealthy, things may get awry. Enough! haha...I might just end up writing about more morbid stuff.

Anyway, if anyone is looking to watch a very meaningful movie, nothing remotely similar to those starring Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, here's one. It's Out Of The Ashes. A very power and emotions-stirring real-life story. Go catch it on Hallmark channel! haha....Gosh I shld better act my age and the norms expected of an undergraduate.

Speaking of artistes, one of the most respectable name that comes to mind is Anthony Hopkins. He has almost been never linked to any scandals of any sorts and almost starred exclusively in "meaningful" movies ( my limited voca don't allow me to express what "meaningful" realli means in my context ).

Interject:
I have a social work module later and I haven't found all the necessary notes. Such is my enthusiam for studies. Freedom makes me lazy and motivation is what I lacked. I always thought i was above average until I entered uni. Competition is so stiff that I feel that i m breathing "murdurous" air. Countless times were i made to look stupid....haha... without naming ppl, they made me look retarded and sheepish at their gentle best. It's not their fault ! It's mine....since laziness is what exudes from me. Don't come near me, you might get infected.

I think i shld stop coz i m prone to long-windedness if there's such a word.

Yeltsin dies

Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first president died on 23 April 2007, aged, 76. To people who don't know who he is, just read the first sentence....haha! Interestingly, why did I include him in my blog? Well, besides what most people have read about him from the news; the person who did away with Soviet Communism and lost a war in 1994 against Chechnya, he was a great patron of tennis in Russia. After resigning in in 1999, he began actively supporting Russian players. He was often seen in major tournaments rooting for Marat Safin, Anatasia Myskina and the likes. He shuttled between courts whenever any Russian players played. In a small way, I believed he died a happy man since he witnessed Anatasia Myskina becoming the first Russian female player to win a Grand Slam in 2004 at the French Open, beating another Russian! Also, Russian won the Federation Cup and Davis Cup when he was still around.

Interject :

Today's examination was much like LSM1401 ( Introduction to Biochemistry ). It was almost like a game of luck. In a different way LSM 1401 had 40questions and CN2116 had 25 ! The stakes were even higher ! I just pray that I can scrape through with at least a respectable grade.

More explanations :

The Federation Cup and Davis Cup are international tennis tournaments. Much like the World Cup, players represent their countries rather than for themselves. The men play in the Davis Cup while the women play in the Federation Cup. There is a smaller tournament where both the guys and girls are involved in the same tournament representing their nations as well. That's the Hoffman Cup that is played from 31st Dec to the 1st week of January each year.

The format of the tournament is quite similar to that of Uber Cup or Thomas Cup of badminton. There are 5 ties; 4 singles and 1 doubles. 2 singles are played on the first day of competition and the only doubles played on the second while the last day of the competition sees the 2 reversed singles being played. The players can be reused for any of the singles and doubles. In fact, only 2 players are required. Each play the singles on the 1st day, team up on the 2nd and play singles on the last day. However, most countries then to use more than 2 players.

Many players have been criticised about the representation of their nations in these 2 tournaments. This is so since the monetary reward is far lesser than if they had participated in individual tournaments. Also, they run the risk of injuring themselves and possibly unable to play in Grand Slam tournaments and other major events. Davis Cup and Federation Cup competitions do not get players any ranking points and if one was injured while playing these events, they have so much to lose ! Ranking points, money and health. Most players play for the pride and honour of their countries !

Like the World Cup, each nation must qualify for a berth in the final spot. Equivalently, it's called the World Group. The lower tiers are Group 1 , 2 and so on. If I am not mistakened, Singapore is in Group 4 and was routed by Hong Kong.

Favourites

Jennifer Capriati (RED ), Andre Agassi(WHITE) and Maria Sharapova(BLACK)

Well, my blog seems void of pictures, so I have decided to put some...

Without much introduction, the guy is one of the most recognisable faces in the sports history.
Anybody who has learnt to speak and read since the 90s would know who he is unless you are living in Mars or the mass media is out-of-reach to you. He is Andre Agassi.

A short snippet of this guy: He holds a Career Golden Grand Slam, first and only person to have won all 4 Grand Slams on different surfaces.

The person in black is one of the most pin-up person in most guys' walls besides Britney Spears ? I don't know, or issit Gwen Stenfani? I guess she has succeeded Agassi as the most recognisable person in sports history at a very young age. I am not shallow, I like her NOT because she is a looker, she is fantastic and mature player. ( Okie, i must admit, i like her also because she is very pretty ... haha ).

A short snippet of her: She won Wimbledon at the age of 17 and US Open at 19. She held the World No.1 ranking on 2 occasions. Born in Russian, she came to the US at the age of 7 to train and was tipped by a legend of the game to be a future champion amongst hundreds of young kids.

The person in red is the least known of the 3 because she has faded from the tennis scene albeit not retired. She is Jennifer Capriati. The reason I admire her is because I like her playing style; no quarters given, none asked!

Short snippet : Jennifer won the Olympic Gold singles at 16 ( one of youngest Olympic champion ) in 1992. In her first year as a pro player, she was ranked no.8 ! She was arrested for stealing during the mid-90s and suffered a slum dropping to no.100+. She bounced in 2002 to win her first Grand Slam and ended the year no.2.

Some jargons used in above post which are not familiar with non-tennis ppl are explained as follows:

A Grand Slam in tennis is the biggest event in the sports. It is equivalent to Olympics for swimming and World Cup for soccer. However, lucky for tennis players, there are 4 Grand Slams tournament in a year instead of once in 4years for Olympics and World Cup. They are in chronological order, Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

Surfaces refer to types of material the players are playing on. There are predominately 3types; hard, grass and clay. There are variations to each type just the same as the spectrum of visible light. Australian and US Opens are played on hard courts while Wimbledon is played on grass and French Open is played on clay.

How important is a grand slam to a pro player? Most pros will tell you they have achieved a very satisfying career even if they won only 1 Grand Slam tournament. It's the pinnacle of one's career.

A Career Golden Grand Slam means to win all 4 Grand Slams in one's career ( not in the same year ) and the " Golden" refers to the Olympic singles gold title. There are like 3-4 chances in an average tennis pro career to bag an Olympics Gold medal.

A Calender Grand Slam is achieved when one wins all 4 Grand Slams in a single year. In the history of the game only 3 females and 1 male have achieved that. Only 1 male and 1 female have achieved the Career Golden Grand Slam and they happened to be husband and wife !

Introduction

Here's alittle intro to the owner of the blog....hmm.... I also don't know myself. Typical gemini...erratic and fickle...
So far, what is consistent about myself is
i simply love tennis....wished i can do it every day !
Capriati and Agassi are my favourite although Sharapova seems to dominate my msn pic...
the love story for tennis began in 2002 when i first saw a match while surfing through my newly-installed SCV... actually i picked it up only at the end of 2004 ... so i m fairly new to the sports... fortunately due to the lack of experienced players in hall, i managed to squeeze into the first team this year...yay ! But i was kinda responsible for the loss of the championship because I COULDN'T convert 3 championship points! So near yet so far... one of my greatest regrets, i guess...

food ... i have a soft spot for Roches n chocolates n chilli crabs! ...
music ... five for fighting, tong ai by joey tung n a few others...
tv show ... the practice to boston legal to gilmore girls ... haha
... chinese shows are not my type

Death

Cho Seung Hui ---- the world's most talked about person and the most recognisable face since Osama Bin Ladin. Without much introduction, Cho gunned down 34 people in Virginia Tech.
After the dust has settled, law-makers and people around the world would be thinking the age-old question, " Ban guns? "
At least, superficially to most Singaporeans who seep coffee ( some just gulp ) at S21 or your friendly neighbourhood coffee shops, we would be going "Just ban lor, so simple....even my ah ma also know!"
The thing is, in the States, the possession and buying of a gun is even easier than buying gum in Singapore. I bet many of us have not heard of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.
It reads: A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. In simple and broken English, it means to ensure that the country of United States of America maintain the freedom of the people ( citizens of US ), the government makes it a RIGHT for them to own guns ( long, short, auto, semi-auto and others which I am not familiar with ). Any infringement is deemed as an act of violation of human rights ? Not familar? It's like if a police officer arrests a person licensed to carry a gun without that person doing anything illegal, it is equivalent to denying a person the right to air and food!
If my interpretation is wrong, please kindly point it out....

The gun issue is one thing. The other thing is, identifying troubled youths like Cho and the teenagers in Littleton killing. Well, I shall leave it here and hit my books....Till the next post...

Reflections

Fourteen years ago to this day my great-grandmother left us. I was eight going nine.
I always remember her as a feeble and wrinkled old lady. ( Not very kind of me...haha ). At least that is because when I can remember anything, she's too old. Reflecting, if she was with us today, she would be 107! That is still a good 7 years short of the oldest living human being. The honour goes to Yone Minagawa, who is going strong at 114. However, the oldest person ever in recorded history is 122 !

Imagine us living to 114 ! Born in 1984, I would be 114 in 2098 ! Gosh...that's 91 years away!
If I were to live to 122, that would be 2106! 99 years away ! If I buy a HDB flat now, I would be homeless when I die!
"Knock knock !" "Mr Sim, you have not paid for the renewal of your ownership of this flat. Please do so otherwise we will be serving you a notice of eviction!"
Me ( with my dying breath ) " You can have it back, it sinks any way(pointing to something brown on the floor)."

Jokes aside, which is more important ? Quality of life or length of life? For sure, I don't want to be immobile and still live to a 100. Yone lived alone up to 2005 at 112 ! I want to die a happy man with lots of descendents weeping at my wake knowing that they will inherit a mountain of wealth after my ashes are collected.

PS: Rubbish post.

Virgin Entry

Welcome all to my blog....I had one last time which is now defunct because of lack of committment.
No more introduction is needed what's a blog for and so ...... i shall keep friends updated about myself and what's going on.
Lastly, my blog might contain some useless information from time to time depending on what i read.....haha...