The Greatest Spectacle of 2006
Its that time again, where football takes centrestage, grown men drink black coffee in the middle of the night and women 'take care' of themselves for a whole month, a month of football nirvana, culminating in the crowning of the world's best footballing nation come July 9th, 2006.
Foremost on everybody's mind (at least the men..) is which country will grace the podium and hold aloft the Jules Rimet Trophy after a month of competition. Here's the lowdown on the contenders for the mantle of world champions for the next 4 years....
Reigning world champions and perennial favourites Brazil are set to samba their way to the title. Boasting the fantastic four of Ronaldinho, Adriano, Kaka and Ronaldo, they have probably the most exciting team in recent years. Adding to that the forays of Cafu and Roberto Carlos down the flanks, they have 6 attack minded players, with plenty of firepower on the bench, like
pedalada king Robinho and free-kick specialist Juninho. If they can curtail their individualism and play as a team, the trophy looks set to remain in Rio. Prediction: My bet for the cup.
Brazil's nemesis and another south american powerhouse. Argentina have won the cup twice and are looking to add to their collection in Germany. This time around, they have an excellent blend of experience and youth, with Ayala and Sorin holding down the back four and the new Maradona, Messi and Riquelme pulling the strings in midfield. Crespo has always been a reliable goal scorer for the argies and he will be banking on both Messi-ah and Riquelme to provide him the ammunition. Prediction: Final Four.
French flair, like wine it gets better with age. This will be Zidane's final hurrah and the perfect sending off would be another victory to add to their 1998 triumph. With Henry in majestic form over the last EPL season, Thuram still looking as solid as ever and newcomer Ribery being hailed as the new wizard in France, the french will be one to watch. Prediction: Quarterfinalists.
The Italians couldn't have wished for a worse preparation to the world cup. Allegations of match fixing scandals in Serie A have threatened to derail the aspirations of the Azzuri. Talk is that camp spirit is intact, but negative vibes abound are sure to have psychological impacts on the players. Totti and co have failed in recent times to impress on the world stage, with a quarterfinal loss to South Korea in the previous championships. A probable 2nd round matchup with Brazil looks to be the furthest they go. Prediction: 2nd round.
Teutonic hosts have won the cup 3 times, with the last one during the heydays of Lothar Matthaeus and Juergen Klinsmann. Their solid play and reliability have always made the Germans one of the favourites at the knockout phases, and as hosts this time around, they should go all the way. Though lacking a little in firepower upfront, Neuville and Klose don't exactly instill fear in opposition, they should still churn out enough 1-0 wins to progress to the final. Players to watch are Ballack and Schweinsteiger. Prediction: Rematch of 2002 Final.
The Oranje. In previous tournaments, the Dutch have always failed, not due to their inability to play football, but internal bickering. This time around, Van Basten has managed to blend the superstar egos and have the Oranje playing as a unit again, reminiscent of Cruyff's total football days. With Stam still patrolling the backline and ably assisted by Bouhlarouz, Van der Vaart and Robben providing the bullets for Nistelrooy, the Dutch look set to cement their place amongst the elite once again. Prediction: Semifinalists.
The golden generation has come and gone. Figo and Rui Costa are past their prime, and new blood has yet to come off the production line bar Cristiano Ronaldo. Pauleta is still labouring upfront for the Portuguese and Deco has just come off an excellent season with Barcelona, but the Portuguese still have some way to go before their names are synonymous with success. Prediction: 2nd Round.
Perennial underachievers. The Spanish armada has been boosted by young blood and experienced heads in their quest for the holy grail come June. Wonderkid Torres leads the line with David Villa making up one of the most exciting strikeforce to come out of Spain in recent history. Xavi and Raul are experienced heads, as are Helguera and Casillas, and if they can blend together as a unit, they could be a force to be reckoned with. Prediction: Last 8.
As always, there are bound to be upsets and dark horses upstaging the perennial favourites. What would the World Cup be without the drama and heart-wrenching upsets? Look out for Ivory Coast, they could make a stand this summer.
Who's your bet for the cup??
Atchoo !!
Aku rasa tak sedap badan la.... rasa panas sikit, rasa demam sikit....Itu hidung berlari-lari, itu kepala bersakit-sakit, lagipun itu awan dan hujan macam tak mahu pergi pergi la....
Hai... I rasa I sudah terkena floo.
Bulge Wars - Episode 2
That sure looks like 79 to me!!! =D
Of Wedding Photos and Torture Chambers
Ahhhh... finally. After browsing and comparing loads and loads of bridal studios and event management studios (oh ok, maybe i'm exaggerating a lil..), we finally decided on StarEast. They used to be called Wedding Bells, till some big kahuna of a bridal management company in Penang calling themselves (surprise-surprise) StarEast bought them over this year.
Their package was quite good, in fact so good we signed up on the spot (after listening to them and viewing photographs for the better part of 4 hours). Talked to their sales personnel, their photographer, negotiated better deals, bla bla... and ta-da, thats another to-do item struck from my list of wedding preparations. Phew.
2 dates in July standout in our calendar at the moment... 2nd July, thats the "J to try on gown and hope I pick the nicest one and hopefully I don't look fat in it while Eugene sits around fidgeting day" and 12th July, thats the actual photography day. Haven't really decided what kinda wedding photographs to take.... so here are a couple of samples that'll give you an indication of the 'difficult' choices we have...
el-classico poses
sensual and sexy poses
traditional garb
or my favourite... poolside wet and sleazy....
Choices.. choices... choices... Well, when's all done and over with, be sure I'll post em pictures for you to see... Wouldn't want to stop you oooooogling at my wet abs rite??
Monday..... was pure hell... physiotherapy took on a whole new meaning once my stitches came off. More like physioterrible to me. One look at my sorry quadriceps (thats the thigh muscle to the uninitiated) and the therapist sent me packing off to the gym section. You're not gonna believe this, neither did I at first when he showed me my schedule (but I'm proud I got thru it) as it has only been 2 weeks since my knee op.
Schedule:
1. 15 mins stationary bike
2. 15 mins 4km/h walk on treadmill
3. Patella mobilization (This helps loosens the tightneess in the kneecap due to scarring)
4. Ultrasound treatment for pain around the knee
5. Leg presses @ 80 pounds for 100 reps
6. Calf presses @ 40 pounds for 50 reps
7. 1 leg press @ 50 pounds for 50 reps (both legs)
8. 15 mins Ellyptical machine
9. Half squats (no weights) for 50 reps
10. 1 leg quarter squats for 30 reps (injured leg)
Whoa. My whole lower body is aching today. Its a condition they call
waehkhachui chinlanthia. No kidding. It'll take at least a couple of days to recover from that syndrome. And I'm gonna expect more of that on Thursday when I go there again.
Btw, on top of all that physical exertions, I have been religiously going to the gym with B (remember him don't you?) at least every other day. Glad to say he's making good progress and mindful of his diet as well.
His lunch menu today consists of 2 glasses of shake in fact, low fat and high protein shake. Recipe included below:
1/2 handful of almonds
2 tablespoons of raisins
small cup of cornflakes
5-6 slices of mangoes
1 small cup of yoghurt (low-fat)
2 glasses of low-fat milk
Blend it all in. Servings for 2. Enjoy.
1-2-3-4-5 ... Once I caught a fish alive..
6-7-8-9-10.. then I let it go again.... Why did you let it go? Becos it bit my finger so... Which finger did it bite? This little finger on the right... da da di di dum...
Remember the nursery rhyme? And more recently, remember the hoo-haa about the 01.02.03.04.05.06 thingy that came out in the papers? Something about one hour two minutes three seconds past midninght on the fourth of may year two thousand six.... and some contest about what were you doing at that particular time as it only occurs once every one hundred years. Well guess what, I was snoring.
Well, closer to home, I caught this on my tachometer (think thats what you call it) while I was barrelling down the highway at one hundred twenty kilometres per hour yesterday.
And since this will not occur again in this particular ride in errmm.. like forever, I fished into my pants (pockets and nowhere else), whipped out my trusty camera phone and quickly snapped the shot. Luckily my hands were quick enough, and my concentration on the road unwavering, cos as soon as I clicked the button, mileage went up a notch. Phew.
So there you go. As long as I own this ride, I will never, ever, forever see that sight again. This one's for the scrapbook. Da da di di dum...
Bulge Wars - Episode 1
I
have a friend. He is blue. And here I'm gonna tell, his story to you.B* has been battling the bulge for as long as he can remember. Crash diets, vigorous exercises, you name it; he's done it. But to no avail. It would be good for a couple of pounds, and then he'd revert back to his normal lifestyle of irregular dinners, fattening foods and lack of activity other than going to the loo. He blames it on lack of motivation and says that if he can get external motivation to sustain him, he will eventually succeed.This is where I come in. His saviour, superman to the rescue. Knowing that I had started to blog again, and I have a steady clientele of readers (haha), he has asked me to put his story public, with pictures to boot in a last ditch effort to save him from a life of high BP and a cholesterol case ready to happen.He's given himself 10 weeks to lose 10kgs and I have agreed to chart his progress here on my blog on a weekly basis. Pls feel free to comment and give advice, nutritional, fitness or anything else... and most of all, please... please... do him a favour and don't tempt him with chocolate ice-cream.As of 17th May 2006, I give you B*'s bulge and stats:
Weight: 80kgs(In the end, B* decides to keep his vital stats a secret)
His target is to get his 1-carton looking like a 6-pack, though in my humble opinion, 10 weeks would be way cutting it too early. Neways, I love this dude, and I'd do anything to help him; and you as my friend, I urge you to give him support when he needs it most. Now.
Will keep you guys posted on his progress. We're off to the gym now, B* and I. The battle of the bulge begins!!*All names have been changed to protect the innocent
The Bunny's Back !!!
How's everybody doin'?? I know I ain't been posting, and I ain't been updating... but thats all in the past now, I'm back, I'm bigger, better and I'm most definitely bunnier !! Heheh...
To those of you in the dark 'bout what I've been up to lately..
06. I moved house (into a showhouse konon.. =) )
17. I quit my job (finally)
29. I started playing CM (again and again and again)
57. I gained 1.73 kilogrammes (spelling it out makes me feel better)
79. I spent > RM10k in 2 days (Yes, on meself..)
83. I surgerized my knee (refer to no 4 above... and if there is ever such a word)
99. I sent wedding sms invites (To those of you who have not got it, blame the network)
As you can see above, I've been pretty busy... and I only listed out the major highlights... The rest of it you can not need know ....
So now I'm like sitting home, putting me feet up (literally) and wasting my life away.... God, it feels good!!
Coupla pictures to share.... enjoy.
Part of my medial meniscus removed. Menisectomy they call it. Robbery I call it.
View from the "showhouse" balcony.
CapArnabBrand & CapArnabBrandWife's Love NestGonna keep this one short this time. Gotta go tend to me knee... needs some TLC...
Over & out.
