-he said wot?-

Funny thing is, I'm probably enjoying myself more this year than I was this time last year. And yet for some reason I'm strangely more troubled.
Work's bad, I'm not as 'in control' as I was last year, and yet I'm not all that concerned anymore. Which probably ought to be cause for concern in itself.
The football's even more crap than last year. But hey, at least I do play. Once in a while.

And then there's the other THING. It's not a very big thing (partly because I'm pretty damn hopeless at making it one) and yet it's definitely not such a small thing either.
It's a stark contrast from work, this THING. With work, you can just put in all the effort, and you should expect to reap some rewards. Sure, there can be screwups and sometimes you get mental blocks, but more often than not, you can keep at it and tell yourself you've done all you can.

But with THE THING, the more effort you put in, the further it tends to get from you. And sometimes there's just far too much at stake for you to let it get further away from you, especially when someone else will just take THE THING. Which bites.

People (well, one person, really) have been urging (goading, really) me to take drastic action. But I think it'd be far wiser to cool off and not push it further. So instead of being so bleeding desperate, I'll leave well alone and cool off. Or should I?

-yet more random musings-

"that's defending typical of KFC, lads"

"my sister say, in her course, everyone knows you. Cos you are the handsome Chinese boy."
"F*** YOU!!!! F*** OFF!!!!" (accompanied with some rather rude hand gestures)

"football's a simple game made complicated by footballers"

-el finalmente-

The last official email I sent to my committee:


As it all began, so it shall all end.

I was having my dinner when an idea struck me. Hey, I thought to myself, I’m sure my committee would love to pore over another of my long messages, on account of how they simply loved all my previous ones. (which makes you wonder what my housemates put in my food)

And so I think it’s only fitting that I round off our year as a committee with yet another of my insalubriously (not that word again!) long emails,which never fails to discombobulate, and that is always about as well-received as tepid ice kacang. But this time sans the verbosity and grandiloquence. Or perhaps not. The pomp stays for good measure.

I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone of you for making our year as the LSE Singapore Society Executive Committee a successful and definitely memorable one. While we weren’t exactly iconoclastic in that we didn’t pull away from the norm and shake up the entire administration, I think we did our jobs pretty damn well. So thank you all for making my job easier by always being there to help me out, for expeditiously carrying out everything you were tasked with, for being good sports and thinking up new events we kept taking gambles on.

More importantly, for carrying dead yellow flowers around London as if we belonged to some omerta-characterised top-secret sect the greater part of London was not privy to; for (albeit) begrudgingly trooping down to Imperial College to see how many supposedly educated university students it takes to fuss over a bunch of jelly, which was only one notch on the excitement scale below watching grass grow(cries of –farce!- rang round the LSE for days); for watching on in wide-eyed (green-eyed, perhaps?) wonderas one of our own went home with a return ticket on SQ on the same night that some bigshot stormed out of an event; for making an appearance at so many parties (all this while displaying assorted asinine behaviour like the reprobates we are) despite the essays you had to hand in the next day; for skipping a few heartbeats with me as we somehow ended up with only 5 teams 1.5days before the debates (think I lost a few years ofmy life that night); for watching on as a rather entertaining debate unfolded, in which some of us extolled the virtues of football and how we deem it more pleasurable than engaging in carnal acts (everseen me watch football?); for helping to plan and finally execute the best party this side of Europe,where everyone adhered ever so strictly to the colour theme and showed up in black; for always lending a helping hand and (to a certain extent) a listening ear; for featuring in the best (and, no doubt, worst) memories of my first year.

And so I have expatiated on our committee and the past year excessively and everyone’s bored. Mission accomplished.

People can try to denigrate our efforts as the Singsoc comm of 2003/04, but I think we can all walk tall and proud. Except for you, Hazel, it’s physically impossible. (Cue the release of unbridled joy as everyone is suddenly suffused with the realisation that they shall have to read long emails no more.)

Keep it real, and I’ll see you all around school.

JB
President
LSE Singapore Society 2003-04

-You can keep your Tickets Please-

It musta been 2 week ago that the football team was returning on the train from Berrylands after an exhausting day of training, all wet and knackered, to Waterloo station.
Being the civil members of society that footballers are, not one of them had a valid train ticket on them, but this had never been a problem as they'd hardly ever encountered conductors in previous sessions.

Much to the consternation of the contingent, the ever-alert staff at the station were well aware of their fare-evading antics, and lay in wait at the exit of the station, ashen-faced and gnarling their teeth menacingly.
The much-travelled LSEFC players, however, decided to take a nifty nip round the back of the station, but the seasoned ticket wardens were guarding the back gates like starved hounds as well.

So up stepped the 3rd team captain to expound his theory that power lay in numbers and that the conductors could do them no harm.

And before the conductors knew what was going on, a horde of sweaty, disgruntled footballers hurtled their way with the kind of force not inappropriate in a train station, and barged their way past them.
The station attendants had no clue what hit them as all they could offer in resistance were feeble chants of "Tickets please, tickets please..."

-Imaginary fans stage strike-

LSE 6th team football star JB's legion of nonexistent fans today stormed the offices of SDRR, demanding a written apology from the head reporter and a retraction of an earlier article, in which he labelled the footballer 'a shadow of his former self', among other things.

When interviewed, the 20-year-old had only words of encouragement for his fans.
"I'm very flattered by this outpouring of emotion from my fans and thank them for their adulation and support. Clearly they have taken heed of my policies of violence, intolerance and nonpacifism. It really fills my heart with joy and warmth. I hope they continue to worship me, and cheer me on as I beat the crap out of my opponents on the pitch. Literally."

-JB wings into 6ths-

The LSE 6th team moved quickly to snap up mercurial right winger Jonathan Ng on a one-year contract Wednesday. The move didn't cost the 6ths anything, as the Singaporean had been out of a contract.

This could potentially be the best thing that has happened to both parties in a while -- the lowly 6ths badly need a boost, while this could be just the tonic to give 'Jonny Baby''s waning career a shot in the arm.

Despite his recent dip in form, JB was still selected by captain Matt "Spitroast" Bawden, who decided to keep his faith with the man once thought to be the successor to the likes of Joaquin, Freddie Ljungberg, Andrei Kanchelskis and Sir Stanley Matthews.
In recent days, however, the 20-year-old has been a shadow of his former swift, classy self, often giving the ball away softly, and has looked rather tired in recent matches.

If he intends to secure his first-team status, it is almost certain that he will have to shape up. And quickly.

-diabolical-

Have had the most appalling weekend imaginable.
Absolutely diabolical.

There are 7 teams, for the love of whoever it is that's up there, 7 teams!!!!!!!!
FFS!

-Tomfoolery. Pure, liquid, stupidity-

Absolutely pissed off.
Am left baffled by the gullibility of some of the members of this new group of people I have met. Granted, they are still new and impressionable. But their opinions of some people are completely absurd, for lack of a better word.

Before you start, yes, I AM bitching.

It's been pissifying watching as they all get duped into believing and trusting people (or one person). They all seem so eager to listen to what some people have to say and take it all in, like the said people (person?) are oracles of no less than the absolute truth.

And yet these same people are outcastes, people shunned by society in previous years, and whose motives are so devious it embarrasses us to speak of them. Yet they're cunning enough to dupe people into believing them.

But time will tell. There is a Chinese saying, as time passes, you see a person's heart, i.e. you see him/her for who he/she really is. I hope so. I certainly do. Open your eyes, people.

And now I feel bad with this smear campaign. But screw it.