What makes it even more scary that it is soccer, not exactly my forte. Right now I can relax in the thought that I'm not starting and chances are I won't get any game time for a while. With a back-four consisting of Jin, Phan, Nelson and Ming, I'll almost definitely come on after Joe does.
However the time will come when I'll have to suit up and make an appearance. Until that day comes, I shall be shitting myself sitting on the bench, during each and every match.
During my maths lecture today, I was thinking about how cool it'd be to start up a cricket team [which of course minimal attention was given to lecturer]. If it were just us soccer idiots, the team would be pretty bare, as in even worse than if we were a soccer team, but I believe we could be slightly competitive.
I would clearly be captain, because I'd love to finally captain a side. And as my first act, I'd open the batting. At the other end I need someone tough, someone who won't back away. Opening bowlers are generally pretty scary, but I think Tom Wang will be up to it. I don't know how good of a bat he is, or whether he can bat at all, but we would look an imposing pair. Twang will also double up as keeper. First drop without a doubt would be Jase Yang. I believe he could be the best bat in the team. To follow him, we're going to have to branch out a bit and look elsewhere for members. I think Nige could bat at four, at least for the first couple of matches to see how he goes. Behind him would be Gary Zhang, depending on availability. Lobes would then be at six and Joe at seven. The final four spots will be between Tom Wu, Phan, Jamie, Duc and Victor.
Opening the bowling, without a doubt, would be Lobes and Phan. We know Lobes can bowl, Phan is a bit more of a wildcard. Jase and I will both contribute substantially to the bowling as well. The spin will be left in the hands of Joe and Victor, both specialist spinners. Duc and Jamie could also provide a couple of overs as a change up.
The fielding is where it gets fun though. It was already decided Wang would keep. First slip will be Jase, effectively making him our Jaques Kallis. The other key catchers will be Joe and Tom Wu. Our gun close in fielders will be Lobes and Phan. Speed will be required for the boundary riders, so Jamie has earnt himself that role. The rest will be spread around, with me parked at mid-off.
This team could do well, depending on the league we're in. With a strong opening bowler in Lobes and canny spinners, our bowling should be able to hold its own. The only problem is with the batting, we will be prone to epic collapses. We'll pretty much be New Zealand.
Labels: AS Penalties, cricket, random, rant
Written by banh at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)
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I'm finding it hard to describe the day I had today.
It started off crappily, then got better, ultimately crappy again and then finally good. What is clear is that it has been a long day.
It started off crap because I had to go to Centrelink to put in my claim for a healthcare card. If there everyone associates with Centrelink, it's lining up. Last time I was in line for almost an hour. When I walked in this morning, I saw the line was only half as long as the other day and this pleased me to no end. Of course it was still a 20 minute wait, but still much shorter than it could have been.
However it got better when I did finally hit the head of the line. I was told to sit down to wait for someone to call my name to complete my claim. Why did this make me happy? Because I got to sit down and get stuck into my maths problems. For an hour I sat there and ploughed my way through question after question and I did not mind in the least. It was fantastic.
Even after I finished up at Centrelink and finally got to uni, I was able to sit down in the Hargraves (somewhere I haven't really been this year, it's surprisingly a good place for private study because no one goes there) and do a couple more hours of maths. I was having the time of my life up to that point.
But then when I go to class, I get the message from Lily saying she wasn't going to give me a lift home because she finished early. I'll be honest, it stung like hell. Usually I don't like to get angry or upset, I found it hard to this time. I was really disappointed, even though it was over such a small thing like a lift home. I got over it though, I mean, afterall it is just a lift. There are worse things a person could do.
To cheer myself up I tried to do some maths but I was all math-ed out from the day's work, so I bailed on my tute. To really cheer myself up I nicked a drink from the common room, just a can of orange soft drink. I was a little nervous drinking it because it was the last one left and I didn't know if it had been there for a long time or it was the last one because it was slightly dodgy. My fear led me to have feelings of wanting to throw up, but it settled eventually.
The last rise came when watching the footy. Footy cures all. I love watching the footy. It's beautiful and brutal at the same time. But more on that another day.
Labels: centrelink, lily, rant, uni
Written by banh at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)
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We all know it but it's still a bit of a shock sometimes, however it really does suck to remember the entire world doesn't revolve around you.
As is my wont, I decided to do a complete back-flip regarding my last post. Or perhaps not a complete back-flip. It's more like a hand-stand, half a back-flip, if you catch my drift.
I feel good about it but I know I shouldn't be patting myself on the back. The line "too little too late" keeps ringing in my head. And we all know it, I'm not the only one. My perfect way to put it is like this: There was a bridge that needed mending. All the materials were provided, all I needed to do was get off my ass.
There actually is a very clear reason as to why I decided to finally get started. It's a reason so petty and childish that it shall never be revealed to another soul. But it did strike such a chord that I knew it was time to do something. So we did.
On a completely unrelated note! I have reached the point where I deem anyone, and I mean anyone, singing Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" deserves to get a big punch in the face. And yes, this does include Mr Mraz himself.
Labels: jason mraz, rant
Written by banh at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)
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Goodness life can never just be all plain sailing can it.
All these adult feelings are telling me to grow up and stop being such an idiot.
Before the year started, I really wanted to do what (allegedly, or maybe it really did) happen to Victor Yui. Some girl who he somehow pissed off managed to ignore him for the entire year. Upon hearing this, Nigel and I were supremely impressed by this feat, as opposed to feeling any sort of pity towards Victor.
I really wanted to do that, but it's just flat out impossible. She was able to do it because she didn't like/know Victor's friends. But because I'm so entwined in the whole deal, it just cannot be done. I'm not ready to give up, but I know it's futile and pointless.
Or we could go extreme and find all new friends [read: be a loner]. I should find people doing my subjects. People I can talk to class about. And most importantly, people I can scab answers off. The only problem is maths is about 85% man. And not in the good way.
So we must re-visit the initial problem. For now, I'll continue with this plan of attack. I had always hoped I would just eventually stop caring and then everything would be fine again. That doesn't seem like it'll happen. I'll have to grow up and man up. The only thing is, there's no real need to right now. Life would probably be smoother if I did, but it's still liveable now. So until it gets to the point where it's so unbearable that I cannot stand to breathe, I'll get off my ass.
Labels: rant
Written by banh at 8:26 PM | Comments (1)
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Yeah... last year sucked pretty bad. But please don't reject me for a whole year. It really sucks balls.
By 
, at 7:56 PM
A few of my readers will know that I'm part of a soccer team. It's the Tom Wang organised one with the most brilliant and apt of names, AS Penalties.
My original role had just been as a supporter, however I do train with them just to have a bit of a run around once a week. I intended to go to most of the matches and just help any way I could. Unfortunately that seems likely to change as we may be short on numbers.
Tom recently asked me to fill out a rego form to become a player. This scared me because... well I don't believe I'm a soccer player.
I never believed I was a soccer player. I have very little confidence in my ability. I can be good and decent, contribute to the team and do my bit. However my touch, or lack thereof, often lets me down and can be frustrating. On top of that, I have very clear ideas of what I want to do, the kind of balls I want to put through and how I want the ball to travel, it's just I can't turn what's in my mind into reality. And that is obviously a problem.
The worst thing though, is my soccer sense. Soccer played little to no role in my life when I was small, so there was never a great passion for it. As a result, I'm not overly interested in the game itself, meaning I don't know how to play it. There's an easier way to explain it, I'll do it by comparing myself to Michael.
Michael, although erratic in his touch and techniqe, can still be a good player. That is because more often than not, he finds himself in the right place at the right time. He could be a goal scoring machine amongst us if only he were a bit better with his feet. On the otherhand, I don't know where to be and when to be there. I'm always a couple paces behind the game and am missing wherever I'm needed most.
How do I try to overcome this? I aim to be the play maker. Instead of having to work out where I'm meant to be, I find it's much easier to be at the head and direct traffic. However this then links back to my earlier point of lacking in technique.
And that is what we call the circle of doom. I'd make a flow chart of it if I were bored enough.
Written by banh at 9:56 PM | Comments (1)
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if i had it my way though, i'd wouldn't be a part of the team. somehow, my mouth said yes when i meant no.
you know who
By , at 12:59 AM
I am here to announce karma is not only a load of crap, but it's also a load of crap!
This morning when I got off the train at Blackburn, this woman was running up the ramp to try and catch it. Unfortunately she tripped as she reached the top and missed the darned train. She dropped all her stuff and it was quite an embarrassing moment for her. I did the only thing you could do, I helped her pick her stuff up. Actually the main reason I did this, apart from all this altruism gobble-di-gook, was because you can't walk past someone in that situation.
Immediately after helping her, I began to wonder whether such a good deed, ok maybe not that good of a deed, so early in the morning would hold me in good stead for the rest of the day. It didn't. There was no tremendous moment of good fortune or some magical happening. Clearly I'm disappointed, but it does vindicate my choice to not believe in any sort of higher force having a bearing on my life.
And now that I'm no longer expecting it, the good thing shall happen right... now. Or now. Ok, we'll wait a bit longer.
Labels: rant
Written by banh at 9:50 PM | Comments (0)
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I figure that if a telemarketer calls you, then it's ok to be rude to them. Generally being rude to people is unacceptable but in this case, they are disturbing you and whatever they're trying to plug, they have absolutely no intention of helping you. They're in it for the money, the commission they get from each sale.
Now clearly not true in all cases, but for the sake of this post, it's much easier to clump whoever calls you into one big group. Whoever you call is a bit of a different story.
As a rule, I try to be polite. Even if something pisses me off, it's very rare that I'd do anything about it. I'd just smile and get on with the task at hand. So if for whatever reason I need to call some big company and ask for help, I figure it's much better to be polite because people generally like to deal with polite people.
Anyway, all that is just silly background info. What this post is really about is my underlying, mild xenophobia.
I propose that if you are in Australia, and ring a company based in Australia, it is reasonable to expect to have the phone answered by someone else (or at least a machine) who is also in Australia. This is why the news that Telstra, I think it's them, are outsourcing some telephone serivce (one more to the pile, I'm sure) to the Philipines, it made me somewhat angry. Angry enough to decide it is now ok to be rude to those workers outside of Australia. The added bonus is you can really have some fun if English isn't their strong suit. You can unleash some lines loaded with spite and hate and they might not even notice, which in my opinion, is the most fun way to get back at someone.
Also I will make it a point to try and update more often. The reason for being absent the past few weeks is I'm still trying to find the right pace and rhythm for uni life. It's not as easy as you think it may be.
Labels: rant
Written by banh at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)
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Yes, I had gone to Hong Kong. Yes, I am back and settled now. There is so much to tell from the Honk, but I genuinely cannot be stuffed putting it all here. Ask me about it and you will regret it because I struggle to shut up about the topic.
But what you're really interested in. Photos. I won't put them all up on Facebook, seeing as there's almost 1000 of them, I'll just put a few of them up, my favourite ones. I will put them all on Flickr though, even the crap photos not actually capturing anything because I'm too lazy to sort them out.
All I will tell you now is that it was the best experience of my life and I am considering an exchange to the Honk. I'll wait for a month or so before I talk to my parents about it, of course after finding out more about it [i.e. how much it costs].
Until next time, goodbyes!
Labels: facebook, hong kong, photos
Written by banh at 8:58 PM | Comments (0)
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