Funny lame jokes with a guitar

I wonder if you guys watched this before. Its pretty good.

I especially like the part about “ladies” and “oranges”… hahahaha

“Will you marry me?”

Seriously… those were the first words that came to my mind when I heard Olivia sing (ok I heard her sing and then saw her picture)… Its terrible that I’m writing such biased and possibly stereotypical and discriminating opinions… sorry I’m just completely swept off my feet (no wait… that phrase is meant for ladies)… I’m swooned over just by her looks and voice, and I wanna marry her? Hello!!!

You know, if say one out of the million chances that fate might bring, that we got acquainted…. again…. HELLO!!!!

I can’t bear myself to be objective about this album. Yes gals who sing like her and look like her become every guy’s dream woman… ok I just can’t do this review… I just can’t… she’s just so perfect… oh God I said it!! no!!!!!

ok… calm down… k… rite… phew…. ok… yup… tsssss…. ok… yah… ok… here we go…

Her music is basically jazz inspired, which doesn’t really mean that its pure jazz. It sounds like jazz, because of the rhythm that’s freely improvised by the dictions and delayed placement of on and off beats… and yes it is definitely bossa nova, and Olivia has a voice that can just melt and soothe the hearts of men. She doesn’t have a strong projectile voice like the whitney houstons and the christina aguileras… but its stable and light and she just catches the essence of the lyrics and jazzy rhythms extremely well. When I hear her sing… I just simply hear singing… as in I don’t start comparing the voice to another wonky musical instrument… and it’s just great that she has that soulish feel when she sings, and its light! Normally you’d associate soul to big voices but this is different my friends. The songs are really simple and lean towards more feminine annotations, which really just exudes a ton of oestrogen… ok I’m seriously exaggerating… how can a CD emit oestrogen? I can hear all the women yelling out blasphemy now… but that was probably what made me swoon over Olivia like a horny monkey… no I mean a crazy fella… horny monkey’s just… arrghh…. that’s my alter ego talking… Anyway… she has that femininity that I so fall easily for in a woman… her voice is just so tenderly mellow… and to top it off she has that next door girl look that is cringingly attractive.

Although marriage seems like a real long shot (oh purrlease!), its really so nice to hear her sing over and over again. I’ll bet she can’t do that in real life.

Congrats to Iraq for winning the Asian Cup!

Started my day with a prayer, and realized that I’ve probably been haboring too many negative emotions and thoughts without even realizing it, which probably explained a rather sullen and tired mood. But played much better this afternoon, although I lost the first set 6-7, chased back to win the 2nd set 7-6, and the next 7-5, ran out of gas the last set at lost 7-1… but I’ve done what I needed to do for the day.

Came back home, had dinner and watched the entire final between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. It wasn’t the best of matches quite frankly… and I’m seriously NOT a big soccer fan. But since I’ve not watched a Middle East Asian Cup final before, I guess it would be interesting to see how they played. Iraq’s defence was absolutely superb, which made the match just boring to watch, but it was exciting to see how the possession was won in midfield. Saudi Arabia just could not create any chances because Iraq’s defenders and midfielders were just all over them, they couldn’t even make past 3 quarters of the pitch! That said, Iraq put up a real gutsy performance and finally scored, and just to see them celebrate was a priceless sight to behold. Eventually they held the 1 goal lead and became AFC Champions for the first time in history. It was what I felt to be a truly great and timely triumph amidst all the political turmoil in the country.

Anyway, about that inviting people to church thingy, I really hope that I’ve not offended people here, but you know, if you think your life is just incredibly sucky… it probably is. The thing about some people is that, they think once they go to church for the first time, they’re expecting something supernatural to take place. And the word ’supernatural’ is very subjective to interpretation. In my own personal opinion, the concept of God itself is supernatural (it requires faith and belief), just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. And this thought basis in itself can be incredibly difficult to reconcile with a logical mind aka human intelligence. Anyway, my point is… although being renounced and cleansed of your sins is a supernatural materialization of salvation, your life doesn’t just change with the snap of the finger.

And perhaps the only way to experience the true living Word of God, is to inculcate the principles that the bible teaches. So what happens? It becomes another additional commitment. My key word is, ANOTHER…. And I think that’s one of those things that can turn people away (myself included) because we as individuals have already made certain choices about how to spend the little time we have on this planet, and we all know what it means to be committed. Its just plain tough.

I’d say if the individual was a person who sought truth and understanding about all things… that desire can be the driving force to that commitment, and it does provide more insight and a newer perspective on how God meant things to work. And truthfully… the things I’ve learnt and applied have worked rather well, although I’ve not been all that successful in other areas. For example, the concept of love and forgiveness is just so powerful when you apply it to any type of social relationship.

I can’t say that I’m a committed christian, and although I do hope that others around me will come to know about God, I really find it hard to be a source of inspiration for you guys at this moment because I’m really no better than any of you. I too struggle with my life and meet obstacles that throw me off ever so often. But knowing that there exists this person who’s always there for me, and always looking after me, knowing that I’m not all that holy… it bring a sense of peace and calmness when you know that no matter what happens, this person loves and cares for your well-being not for just a couple of sundays, but for eternity. He just knows us inside and out, but wait till you find out who He is, and you might just have the greatest discovery of your life. 

What to focus on and what not to focus on…

I’m starting to wonder if my playing pool is actually leading me to become another different person. Perhaps even becoming more selfish and fussy about all sorts of things. I think about this because in the game, the slightest, nitty gritty factors can make you miss a shot, or lose position for the next shot. I wonder… do I treat people the same way as I treat the game, and as I’m writing to myself at this instance, people aren’t balls. People are people. Balls are just balls. Pool is just a game, and life is life. My new cue is not my new wife. A cue is a cue, and a wife is a wife.

At times when I just want to progress so much on something, I just end up trying to be smart by interelating subjects to come up with some nonsensical philosophical statement or conclusion, trying to justify why I did what I did… (normally happens when I do something wrong) And that’s a ridiculous and potentially irritating about me. And I’m getting irritated with myself because I can’t seem to do what’s right all the time. Funny thing is I don’t even think that I’m a perfectionist. I think perfectionists are just so anal about everything.

I’ve visited 2 cell groups so far… first one… quite frankly wasn’t really that suitable for me, I felt really old and was probably too judgemental about the cell group leader, and the 2nd one didn’t really feel that right for me either because the leader stressed a lot about growing the church and getting people saved, which yes is what the Bible and what God wants us to do… I just find it really hard to bring people into my church… and the funny thing is I’ve just been looking at my church parish rather negatively… even for the pastor… even for my fellow cell group leaders/friends. If I’m like that, how can I possibly get people to come? Another thing is, I don’t think that I’m even doing anything wrong here. Well, fine I’m not doing anything either. But seriously… like will you seriously come to my church? I mean… I really like to invite you guys to come but, its not like you plan to “change your faith” or “be unfaithful to your God” or even parents… You might even get irritated by me if I keep pushing you to come… and even if you do come… you’d probably be even more confused than you were previously about life and…. arrrghh… now this is probably the most emotional entry in this blog and yes this paragraph isn’t the least objective and I’m seriously ranting.

This has really been bothering me a lot. I don’t know why I just happened to be so critical about everything around at the moment, and thinking that situations ought to be better controlled and certain things ought/not be said/done in public. I realized that when I pick up the phone and maybe my mum or RN calls, after I hang up I realize that my tone of voice seems rather cold. They would think maybe something is wrong with my life, but there really isn’t anything major… so is there anything wrong here? I really don’t think there’s anything wrong here… and yet I feel bothered by nothing! Duh…

Ok perhaps I’m just going through that stupid mood swing again like some people go through… and its not helping that I lost concentration while playing with JL just now. I almost lost 7-0 if JL had not missed a cple of shots himself (still lost anyway). Despite being a little irritated by his form and experience, I’m thankful that he’s tells me that I’m not focused and other stuff to motivate me to change and improve. The way I’ve been playing is going downhill again now that I just switched cues… for some reason my mental strength wasn’t there, told JL that I was tired cos I travelled quite a bit during the day time but was rebutted that such things aren’t an excuse to loose your focus. During a tournament you must keep your concentration going no matter what otherwise you will just lose. That statement just made me feel like some sh*t player seriously, but that isn’t totally true, at least my stroke is still ok, but the fact of the matter is that I wasn’t really mentally strong today. And JL was right and I wish he wasn’t. hahaha…

Anyway, tomorrow will spar again and ”prayfully” play much better since I plan to rest up before going to play.

Just saw RN’s latest post and was seriously shocked that her brother broke off with his gf… and yes relationships can be just so…… difficult to understand and predict any outcomes. I can’t really say thank God that I’m single though… anyway relationships do toil and eventually crushes both parties… its really what both people choose to do after that happens and whether they are prepared for such challenges to stay together. And its just one of the toughest things to do in this world… no one ever wants to be in that difficult situation… it feels a hundred times worse than being snooked fully by another ball.

I actually wanted to write a lot more than this, I bought Olivia’s 2nd album and am yearning to rave about it, and also some stuff to share about the Guiness 9 ball quarterfinals that I spectated at Orchid Country Club 3 weeks ago. Hopefully I will be able to write more tomorrow.

I’ve finally got my first custom…

Cue: Omen
Made by: Pete Ohman  http://www.omencues.com/ec07017.htm (nice number)
Cue specs: Gaboon ebony forearm, 6 half spliced flame veneered Gaboon ebony points. Lizard skin wrap. southwest-like ringwork at A,B,C,D and E positions. 3-8-11 brass joint pin. Phenolic collar, wood to wood joint. 2 Shafts with ivory ferrules fitted with Moori Q tips. Approx. 19.75 oz.

If you look closely at the brass pin threading, you’ll find the letters O-M-E-N which is the signature of Pete Ohman’s work.

Here’s the forearm of the Omen. The points are razor sharp and another nice thing is the thickness of the veneers which accentuates the design. Some custom cuemakers have veneers that are just too thin and it doesn’t look as good as it should. But this is just remarkably nice!

Above is another view of the forearm. Ringwork is also very nice. However have to admit the finishing is quite thin. When I run my fingers across the points, I can actually feel them. Else this cue is extremely easy on the eyes.

It might not look much from here, but the handle wrap is actually Lizard Skin. How cool is that! Discovered that Pete is darn good at doing leather wraps because the seam was almost impossible to locate, you’d probably think it was a “slip-on” wrap but its not. Need I say how comfortable the grip is? Very impressed by the workmanship here.

Apart from the looks of it, the cue plays incredibly well. Probably better than it looks. There is a hefty ton of power in that shaft. Performance is seriously scary in a good way. My Joss cue shaft is good, but it has a little bit more flex and runs off when I stress it. Whereas this Omen shaft is by far one of the stiffest I’ve tried, yet its not too difficult to compensate the deflection, and it can take higher stress and maintain my desired cueing path. It can generate so much cue ball action without having to do too much too. I love the balance and weight distribution on this cue, it just fits my stroke well and I can execute tougher shots with less effort compared to my Joss. The challenge will be for me to tame this fiery beast because the cue is so powerful that I end up over running/over drawing/over siding… hahaha… I guess its because the hit is so much softer than my Joss which has a stainless steel joint (very hard hit) whereas the Omen has a wood to wood phenolic joint (soft hit), so I couldn’t really tell how hard I was hitting it till after I see the cue ball run like JL’s runny nose (he really had a bad cold). Will take some getting used to controlling shots with this cue.

Here’s how it stands out against other cues… although Pete Ohman isn’t really recognized as one of the premier makers now (Bluegrass/Bender/Southwest), I have to commend his craftsmanship because the cue looks good and plays great. A seriously worthy custom cuemaker. This Omen is just insane!

I’m really thankful that I got this, and despite many temptations to deviate, I still put God first to tithe and give church offering, give money to my parents and pay my insurance premiums before getting this cue. Truly happy with my new Omen and won’t be looking for another play cue for a very, very long time.

Homemade goodness?

I must thank my dear friend RN who actually made the effort to attempt one of the most difficult recipes of all time…

That is… ta da!!… the Hamburger. 

Seriously… its not easy to make good burgers. Why? Cos there are so many variables that can turn a hamburger into sh*tburger. Here’s how I look at a burger. The essence of burgers is the meat that goes in between the buns. That itself poses a challenge for a place that’s made burgers since the day of Mcdonalds… no wait a minute… oh sorry I’m being oxymoronic and forgot they made hamburgers… no wait… they don’t. They make… ok I might get sued if I say that.

For me, the meat that goes in between the buns needs to be fresh. If its minced beef, its definitely got to retain some redness and juice, which really isn’t easy. Unlike chicken patties, Beef patties are extremely tricky. You got to ensure that the minced beef binds itself together after its marinated with the other stuff and doesn’t fall apart. And you can’t add too much ingredients/garnish cos it will kill that sweet beefy taste. Thin beef patties are a sin (ahem), and tend to get overcooked. Results in dryness and doesn’t taste like real beef. Thick is the way to go, because there’s less risk in overcooking and the juices and full flavor is retained in the core of the patty. But there’s a risk of under-cooking which can be just gross. Its really not easy people.

Chicken patties are a lot simpler. NEVER EVER use minced chicken… its like the 2nd most idiotic thing to do in life (1st would be using minced fish, practically fish cake!). Seriously… frozen patties contain stuff like spittle in there. Sure the packages look incredibly scrumptious… but nothing beats a fresh block of breast/thigh meat. In fact, despite being an avid beef fanatic, I very much prefer chicken burgers. Reason for that is because the meat is original. Its not ruthlessly smashed into little bits, and the texture of chicken can be seriously underestimated.  

Anyway, here’s what RN made for me.

You gotta admit the pic looks pretty darn good. I told RN that I was gonna review her burger on my blog and she agreed so… I’ll try my best not to hurt people’s feelings here.

I liked the buns, and I liked the fact that she was bold enough to include raw onions (they can really sting at times but the kick gives character), and mayonnaise is always a safe bet on a burger. Coming to the essence, which is the beef, I ate it sort of at room temperature because I came really late after cell group meeting. I must say, no matter what, if the patty is hot, its gonna be good, anyway her way of seasoning the patty reminded my mum’s recipe for fried minced pork, not really American but tasted more oriental. I prefer American. And she innocently made a terrible mistake of not removing peppercorns that were meant to flavor the oil before pan frying. Really nice touch with the flavored oil… but can you imagine the horror of biting into that? Anyway she sincerely apologized and you know its just really mean to irk at someone’s effort at something that difficult. On the whole I’ll give what I ate a 5 out of 10, and a possible 7 out of 10 if the meat was hot and without the booby trap peppercorns. Oh… sorry… kudos to the mushrooms though… Nicely sauteed, just that it was cold too, which was my fault cos I was late. Should try a chicken thigh patty next time with similar seasoning… it’ll be a lot nicer.

I’m no longer a virgin…

I have finally got lai… no erm… tagged!

I watched Snakes on a Plane last night with LP and KM. RN was either too tired, or really scared of snakes, or couldn’t see any entertainment value in making a show where computer graphic vipers threw themselves sinking toxic fangs into a nipple and a dick. Seriously.

Been tagged for the first time so I guess this is what I should be doing (taking it that I’m not doing this on my free will but because of the hidden social pressures of taggers who tag other bloggers to keep blahing, damn I miss sociology…)

4 jobs I have had in my life:
1) Course Coordinator
2) Service Coordinator
3) Document gatekeeper
4) Customer Service Executive (and you still won’t know what my job is)

4 places I have lived:
1) My mother’s womb for 9 mths
2) I think Redhill after I was born.
3) My grandmother’s place when I was still a baby and mom was working.
4) Jurong East St 31

4 places I have been on vacation:
1) London, Shrewsbury – music festival (there’s nothing but bread… craved silly for noodles/rice)
2) Jeju Island, South Korea – for music festival (no i dun really like korean stuff other than that there’s tons of christians)
3) Kuala Lumpur – Linkin Park concert (this was awesome)
4) Genting – no… I couldn’t go to the outdoor themepark for no reason. sorry I still can’t get over it till I can go. Where was the fun?

4 of my favorite foods:
1) Seafood. Includes king prawns, scallops, crabs, lobsters, crayfish, mussels, fresh fish.
2) The Prime Minister’s sliced steak at Outback Steakhouse. Its just the most insane slice of beef I’ve tried.
3) Fried Chicken.
4) A full American breakfast buffet. Bacon/sausages/ham/scrambled eggs/sunny side up eggs/toasts etc.
(none of the above is ever healthy, its probably what I’ll eat before I’m given a death penalty) 

4 places I would rather be right now:
1) A pool hall
2) A cinema watching Transformers with a hot date who looks like Jessica Alba who’s agreed to be my wife. (God I’m shallow)
3) The USA playing a US pool tournament
4) In the USA being coached by a top professional pool player

4 friends I would like to tag:
1) http://fleaflyflooflum.wordpress.com/ (i have no idea who she is but I ran out of friends who blog)
2) http://thingie.blogspot.com/
3) http://ianlum.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/
4) http://kingmeng.liquidblade.com/

I got tickets to the Guinness 9 ball tour!

Oh sorry they aren’t for you…

And the preliminaries start today (later in the morning). Thanks to RN, displayed her creative writing talents in a contest to win 3 tics and invited me to go… thank you thank you thank you! And also big thanks to JL who also had one more ticket for Sunday’s finals.

As you all probably know by now, I love pool almost as much as Dr House does vykedin (or vykedyn/vykidein…. will someone tell me how to spell that?) and its my first experience to be a spectator in an arena filled with top class pool players… yeah I’m excited. But I didn’t do my homework to look up on the participants, nor create an autograph book with pictures hoping someone famous would sign his autograph. So yeah I’m excited but not fanatical.

I just wrote a paragraph about me dying my hair and it turned out to sound like a real bimbo. So yeah I dyed and cut my hair. Period. And yes lotsa comments when I reached the office.

My “new” partner at work is gonna become “ex” partner in 7 days. Again… yes… the 3rd person to leave the position in just less than 2 years. And a colleague suspects that my finance manager’s gonna move somewhere else too… its just pretty freaky… everyone just seems to wanna get out… whereas I wanna get in but can’t. Yeah the world is ridiculous.

I wanted to sell my PSP. Only to be stood up by the buyer. In disappointment and fury, I decided to re-upgrade my previously bricked console to the newest custom firmware. It was nerve-racking because if I screwed it up, I’d have to pay 130 bucks to unbrick it again. Thankfully it went as well as ever, and I don’t wanna sell it anymore. Realized second hand sales seem like a real desperation plan. Its up to a 50% loss… really bad odds to buy something and regret it. Unless its a custom cue… which I’m gonna get soon.

I’ve not been thinking much lately. Figured too much of it just confused me 10 times more. Went for a run. Not a bad week after all… and I probably won’t spoil it further by playing lousy pool. Rather watch good pool than play lousy.

Another 3 weeks till the tournament… hope that after watching the matches I’ll play a lot better next time.

Cooling off…

Thanks KM…

I’ve cooled off somewhat.

Just that today…

someone stood me up…

Sigh… Praise God maybe I could’ve gotten into some sorta crap situation if the fella showed up…

I’m seriously… nuts…  la la la la la….

I’m not giving up!

I’ve missed all the nines that I’ve had chances to win. I miss after I hit my 2nd shot. My percentage of shot-making is below 5 percent. I lost 4 dinners to a friend. I never won a set. I almost won a few sets but lost when my opponent chased from 2-6 down over 4 times in a row. I lost 0-7. I’m fucked up. My stroke is ok but my mental game is fucked up. I’m fucking pissed with my game. I wish I didn’t miss so many… How the #*$@ can I win a match in a tournament. I screamed multiple times in the car while driving back, I punched the steering wheel. I went mad. I knew I shouldn’t have been mad. I knew I had to keep my cool. I was impatient, and I desperately want to excel in what I have done well before. I’m playing THE WORST GAME IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. And I’m over-reacting and being dramatic.

I’m angry at I practice so hard and I get worse and worse instead of getting better. There’s no justice. The world isn’t fair. And you think that I’m obsessed and crazy.

But I’m not giving up! When we reach rock bottom, there’s no where else to go but up. But I’m damn hell pissed off!!! ARRGHH!!