11. Jinaldo Hsu

David vs Hsuperman

2005-10-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

Just how far am I away (literally) from a certain Beckham in term of annual earning power?

The English midfield maestro is currently earning ₤110,000 a week at Real Madrid. That would amount to S$328,638.6585 when converted to Singapore currency. That means he is earning about slightly more than 50 cents per second! To think that all he did was to kick around with his Brazilian kakis everyday. Anyway, back to the question. Using a complex formula involving my salary figures and the diameter of 1 cent coin (1.6cm), I would end up with 1,575,245,556 coins and a staggering distance of 25204km when the coins are lined up side by side. And that does not include his endorsement earnings.

*Sigh*

My Pretty Girl

2005-10-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

i am so going to die...

How many times have we got ourselves into this situation?

2005-09-01T01:07:00.000-07:00

We walked into casino in hope of a lucky day. Luck was on our side and we headed towards the exit with a small fortune in hand, smiling and contented. Just before we walk through the door, a thought came into our mind. The extra cash in our hand is our winnings anyway, might as well give it another shot in a 50/50 game. Either we double our happiness or a day wasted in a casino.

Ladies and Gentlemen, what would you do then? Walk out? Or turn around?

My First Staff Photo

2005-08-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

if not for rauf, i would be standing in the center

under microscope

Remember the 7ers

2005-08-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

Half Past 7

Final score

1... 2... 3... everybody suck in!
L to R: Me, Pang, Faizal, Zareen, Amran, Hafiizh, Din

Lewis.. i know we are not exciting like premier league.. but dun sleep leh..

Answer to 'Where's ZJ?'

2005-07-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

Graphical violence. Enter at your own risk.

Some photos taken on the last day of track and field meet

2005-07-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

the last cowboy in singapore

a chow yun fatt inspired shot

me and farhan deciding who will have the last cup of milo

left to right: kwok, nurul, farhan, bee hong, me and siva

Where's ZJ?

2005-07-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine messaged me through friendster today. She said she could not remember how I looked back then when we were classmate at Hai Sing High. Not surprising, considering my low profile. So, here you go Pauline. Make a guess which goondu is me.

click picture to enlarge

A New Beginning

2005-07-09T05:48:00.000-07:00

A humble new beginning for my Dad.
I'm proud of him.
He never gave up.
I'll be behind you.
Always.

善变

2005-07-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

无奈寂寞的肆虐唯有落莫影子伴随
压抑不住的空虚逐渐的吞没了黑夜
晚风凄凉的呻吟冷得让人心寒不已
随着细雨的敲击故事序曲再度响起
已久违的双人照还残留着你的微笑
仿佛你还在身边依在怀里说着想念
痴心的愚昧坚信你心似嫦娟永不移
至今才恍惚领悟难测风云善变之心
关上了情感的窗却听见了自己的伤
隐隐作痛的沉默喧腾在孤独的夜晚

08072005 2307 中劲笔

思念谁

2005-07-02T08:11:00.000-07:00

沿着海洋的尽头散着复杂凌乱的心
城市的辉煌灯火淹没了辽阔的星空
海浪微微伏上岸让人陶醉的催眠曲
此时对岸的你是否也在感伤的聆听
看着平静的海面倒映着微弱的月光
仿佛在对我述说你那已发黄的承诺
零三零九九九九已经对我无关紧要
过往回忆似流星转眼已是成年旧事
感慨万分的心境此刻的我又思念谁

02072005 2115 中劲笔

Ke Garisan~ Sedia~ BANG

2005-07-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

I was exiled into the unknown Planet of Stade de Bishan for a week as an official for the national primary sports meet. It is a whole new experience for me as I know nuts about Track and Field. I must say I am really lucky to be a starter for track events. Who else gets to stand in the rain and sun like we do for the whole day? Who else gets his mistake placed under microscope at the slightest screw up? But at least I looked cool with the pistol. I think. One important thing I learned is that ear plugs work in pairs. My kind chief starter gave me only one side of the ear plug, so I have to decide which side of hearing I value more. So, pardon me, I am half deaf now. It gives me great comfort to know that Master Feng once went combat shooting without ear plugs. He was deaf for one week though. So I expect this bloody ringing sound in my left ear to last through the weekends. Credits to Mr. Silva, my chief, as he did a great job explaining all the rules and procedures of track events to me patiently. He also covered up a lot of mistakes that I did. Great boss.

Another good thing that came out of this attachment was that I got to know this lady called Charlene. Unfortunately, she shared the same fate as me. Both of us failed our PPT and have to wait for next year’s NIE intake. We screwed up all the same stations with the same points. At least we can take comfort in each other knowing we are not alone. One difference between us is that she is humble enough to take up swimming lessons whereas I shamelessly asked her to reveal the correct techniques to me. All the best then for our next test in October.

童话

2005-06-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

忘了有多久再没听到你
对我说你最爱的故事
我想了很久我开始慌了
是不是我又做错了什么
你哭着对我说童话里都是骗人的
我不可能是你的王子
也许你不会懂从你说爱我以后
我的天空星星都亮了

我愿变成童话里你爱的那个天使
张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信相信我们会像童话故事里
幸福和快乐是结局

你哭着对我说童话里都是骗人的
我不可能是你的王子
也许你不会懂从你说爱我以后
我的天空星星都亮了

我愿变成童话里你爱的那个天使
张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信相信我们会像童话故事里
幸福和快乐是结局

我要变成童话里你爱的那个天使
张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信相信我们会像童话故事里
幸福和快乐是结局

我会变成童话里你爱的那个天使
张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信相信我们会像童话故事里
幸福和快乐是结局

一起写我们的结局

一路向北

2005-06-26T03:07:00.000-07:00

词:方文山曲:周杰伦编曲:蔡科俊

後视镜里的世界越来越远的道别
你转身向背侧脸还是很美
我用眼光去追竟听见你的泪

在车窗外面排徊是我错失的机会
你站的方位跟我中间隔著泪
街景一直在後退你的崩溃在窗外零碎

我一路向北离开有你的季节
你说你好累已无法再爱上谁
风在山路吹过往的画面全都是我不对
细数惭愧我伤你几回

後视镜里的世界越来越远的道别
你转身向背侧脸还是很美
我用眼光去追竟听见你的泪

在车窗外面排徊是我错失的机会
你站的方位跟我中间隔著泪
街景一直在後退你的崩溃在窗外零碎

我一路向北离开有你的季节
你说你好累已无法再爱上谁
风在山路吹过往的画面全都是我不对
细数惭愧我伤你几回

我一路向北离开有你的季节
方向盘周围回转著我的後悔
我加速超越却甩不掉紧紧跟随的伤悲
细数惭愧我伤你几回

停止狼狈就让错纯粹

My Greatest Fear Is Losing You

2005-06-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Went to watch Batman Begins last night. I was all psyched up for some villain bashing action, gadgets galore and graphical feast. Reality really hit me hard this time. First off, my nachos did not last me through the advertisement marathon. Again.

Red and *crunch* yellow and pink *munch* and green
Purple *gulp* and orange and *crunch* blue
I can *munch* sing a rainbow
Sing a *crunch* rainbow *munch*
Sing *gulp* a rainbow too
*bbbuurrrpppp*

I hope the uncle can find where I stuffed my empty box.

After about 30 mins of the rainbows and beckhams, the show finally begins with a boy, who I suspect is Mr. Batman, and a girl running around in a garden. “Wayne!” the girl called out as she reaffirmed my fear. This is great, childhood. All my hopes of an action flick crashed as the whole good first half of the show is about how Bruce Wayne became the caped crusader we love so dearly. Some of the audience fell asleep. The person two seats away from me apparently overslept, as he snored through the whole show. No joke. The later half of the show redeemed itself with plenty of DIY weapon fighting scenes and hilarity. I will not provide any spoiler here, go watch it. Say no to piracy.

What really gripped me in this show is how Bruce overcame his greatest fear, which is ironically, bats. The scene when he stood amongst the thousands of flying bats just gives me the goosebumps. Will I ever be able to face my fears like he did? There are currently two things I dread the most. One is bungy jump and the other is my nemesis, cockroach. The hairy creature came close but I still list bungy as my top fear. The thought of having a cockroach lurking in my room when I sleep and to wake up with one of its leg stuck between my teeth just sends shudder down my spine. But I guess I can live with it as I do not think it will be stupid enough to venture into the unknown. I believe most of us have a fear of height. To jump off from a dizzy height is bad enough. To jump off head down is insane. The trepidation is so great that I dreamt of it every morning. Up till now I still cannot explain this phenomenon but everyday just before I wake up I will be standing on the platform waiting to leap off. A lot of thoughts would be going through my mind. The voices in my head mocking me, telling me if I cannot even overcome my fear, do not even think of accomplishing anything. Eventually I would take the leap of faith. The feeling of free fall is eerily real and that is when I would jerk up from my sleep. There is no way I would do that in real life unless it is for that special someone.

All above stated is in assumption that the cockroach crawls around harmlessly. Once the six-legged freak spreads its wing, I will take the plunge.

All Hail The New Champion

2005-06-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

I am not one who would show my feelings on the outside. Happy or sad, it is still the same expression on my face. The only time when you can see a change is when I am angry, but I will probably just shut myself from the rest of the world. Today however, the North East CDC 9-a-side soccer tournament got me all emotional. By emotional, I mean I am happy. By happy, I mean there is still no expression from me.

All of the three teams that we registered for the tournament made it through to the semi-finals which is to be played today at Meridian JC. Two of the teams were categorized under the Cup play-off and the other one the Plate play-off (read: loser bracket). The three teams we registered were the primary 4s, 5s and 6s.

Primary 4s – No one, not even Mr. Zareen, expected them to make it to today’s semi. They have already achieved the unthinkable by beating all the big boys in last week’s qualifier. Nothing is expected of them here, just enjoy.

Primary 5s – National Champions. Enough said.

Primary 6s – Last tournament for them in their yellow and red jersey.

*whistle*
bish pow hyah kling klang atuken sonic boom goalll.
*whistle*

Results
Cup – 1st Primary 6, 3rd Primary 5
Plate – 2nd Primary 4

End of story.

I am not about to bore you with the details of how the match went. What I want to share is what really got me ‘emotional’. It is about this student of mine called Rifat. He is the Head Prefect. He is a soccer player. He is a band member. He can play any percussion instrument. He is a girl magnet. He is the angel amongst the devils. He is everything. But the God of soccer, if there is one, just would not smile upon him. In my short career of three months, I have seen him broke down twice and it really breaks my heart to see him in that state.

The first time was during the qualifying phase of the National Championship. Everybody had high expectations of them as they won it last year in the Primary 5 category. They were competing with St. Gabriel that day in a match that will decide the fate of their qualification. We lost. It was not by a big margin either. We were down by 4 goals but my boys put up a spirited comeback to make it 4-3 at the final whistle. That one goal just would not come. No one could blame them though as St. Gab’s players were mostly foreign students who are 2 years older and possesses a physique that Ade Akinbiyi would be proud of. The moment Rifat stepped off the pitch, his infuriated Dad lashed at him. Tears just flowed as disappointment sank into his heart.

The second time was last week during the qualifier for the 9-a-side tournament. It has nothing to do with the tournament this time. Four of our senior players had been short-listed for the trial in selection of players to be sent to Japan for a competition. When they came back from the trial to join us at Sembawang Stadium, we were told that only three made it for the second trial. Rifat was the only one not selected. He looked strong and unaffected, but the moment Mr. Zareen held his head, he gave in to disappointment again. I could see that he wanted to go Japan badly.

Today’s final was the last chance for Rifat to get anything out of his last year as a Loyang player. And boy, did he play his heart out. Cool. Calm. Composed. Focused. Nothing got past him throughout the game. Nothing went forward either as the match ended in a stalemate and had to be settled by a best of three penalty shootout. Alif and Hannan coolly converted their chances whereas Tom and Dick from the opposition screwed up their shots to hand Loyang the trophy. There was not any tear of jubilation but I know deep down, he is one relieved boy.

Finally.

Primary 6 team

Hannan taking a freekick

Hannan blast home from the spot

Trophy winning save from Farhan

Celebration

Adie the poser

What on earth is HDBros?

2005-06-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

Vision
From group to team, from team to club.

Motto
Brothers through our passion

Mission statement
To enjoy the game, enjoy the companionship. To share our passion for soccer, bring our brotherhood to lasting heights.

HDBros is the soccer team formed by mainly my secondary schoolmates. It has been around for 7 years. Initially it was known as Predators, but we decided to rename it as more often than not we ended up as preys. The name ‘HDBros’ was chosen as we grew up playing soccer at the void deck of HDB flats. Another version has it that it stands for Haising Desperate Brothers. Along the years, new ‘foreign’ players were drafted in to boost the quality of our football. And what differences it made. We have progressed from our typical kampong style football to our current free-flowing sexy football.

Okay, I lied. We are still playing kampong football. I just love it when we mass orgy within the 5m radius around the ball. People watching from afar would have thought we are playing American Football. It is not 100% bullshit to call our team formidable according to Adrian, my skipper. It is 99% bullshit and 1% birdshit. Pure shit. Our proud history includes a losing streak of 8 matches and a win-less streak of… I’ll tell you when it ends.

I must admit I do not really share the vision of this club. It is the Motto and the Mission that kept me in this club. If not, who would be willing to shell out 20 bucks once every so often to get our butts kicked? It is through this club I can still keep in touch with my brothers every week. It is through this club I got to know so many new friends. It is through this club I get to indulge in the sport I love so dearly weekly. All these for just a minimal sum of $20 per month! But wait, if you sign up within the next 5 mins, you will get a set of our jersey absolutely FREE! Call 1900-I-LOVE-ZJ now to avoid disappointment.

A Tribute to Philips Sr

2005-06-17T03:45:00.000-07:00

As I am writing this entry, my good friend Philips Sr has already decided its time for him to ‘up the lorry (ki chia)’. He kicked the bucket yesterday in the morning while I was checking my mail. It was about time too. I have spent much of my youth and countless lonely nights traveling around the world with him. His departure means I can finally invest in a sleek looking LCD I have been eyeing for a long time. Cool. The 17” beauty cost me only $399 with 3 years warranty plus a set of keyboard and mouse free. Phil, you have served me well through the years. It is time for you to go. Phil Jr will take over from here on. I’m sure he can do the job as well as you did. Farewell.

Phone Call from Hell

2005-06-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

I’m pissed. Yet again by the same person. The person who acts like a child half his age and talks like a woman in her 50’s. Someone who would not take no for an answer and believes he knows everything. Every conversation with him was torturous. A phone call that could have been ended with two sentences clocked at least 15 mins. Thinking back, I really felt silly entertaining his nonsense. I should have stuck with my decision to stay home rather than to sound so desperate over the phone just so that I can tag along with my friends.

“Why you want to come? What is your motive?” x 5
Which part of “I want to be with my friends” you do not understand?

“Don’t bluff. Tell me the truth.” x 5
If you are not going to accept the truth, why ask?

“Surely there is someone you like among them. Tell me the truth.”
Grow up.

“Of course I can let you come, but I will let you carry the heaviest things.”
……….

“If they do not perform up to standard I will hold you responsible for distracting them.”
Screw you. I’m out of this.

“Of course I win, because your surname is hsu mah.”
Very funny. No one makes fun of my name except myself.

“If you do not come tomorrow then we will know how shallow our friendship is.”
Yes. It is this shallow.

If the conversation went “tomorrow you want to come ah? Meet me in school at 730am.” I would have been sound asleep by now, getting the rest I need for the long day ahead. So I guess its Brazil vs Greece up next for me. Hopefully I will be awake before sunset tomorrow to learn how to cook curry from my mum.

Phua Chu Kang Musical

2005-06-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

With all due swayness, I won a pair of tickets to the PCK musical. A winning ticket that could have been Mr. Patrick’s or Joon Ming’s. The last prize to be drawn with 3 crumbled number cards still in my hand. Even my principal could not resist a cruel joke on me by suggesting that I should pass the tickets to Mr. Patrick. I invited Catherine to the concert with me. It did not dawn upon me that we have known each other for seven years until she reminded me today. Funny she can recall such details when she cannot even remember my birthday. We had dinner at café cartel before heading down to SIS. The crowd was slightly more than what I expected, but mainly consist of children. We did not have the best of seating position, but it is something I would expect from a complimentary ticket. I had to slant my body 45 degrees to face the stage. The play itself has nothing much to comment about. Occasional humors here and there. Does not really justify the $3 million production it claims. It is only towards the finale where it starts to get a bit interesting, but by then we would have to leave early to avoid the crowd as Cat needs to rest early. Not exactly an ideal experience for my first musical concert but at least it kept my evening occupied.

NIE : A Dream Too Far… Literally

2005-06-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

It is every untrained teacher’s dream to receive the enrollment package and an entry into NIE. I am no different. As much as I want to undergo my training and get it over and done with, I do not think it will come anytime soon. This has nothing to do with my pessimism. I did not attain enough points for my Physical Proficiency Test (PPT). No PPT, no entry. It is not all doom and gloom though. I had a work review with my boss last week. The comments was not so bad, he even ‘advised’ me that it is alright to forego the PPT and enroll into NIE as a general teacher instead of PE, since it does not really matter if you are PE trained or not in primary school. Sure, it does grant me an entry into NIE, but it gives me a ‘going-in-through-the-back-door’ feeling. No way am I going into NIE in this fashion, at least not now. I still have 9 months on my contract to prove my worth. Enroll as a general teacher is definitely one of my options, but it will be my last. Come to think of it, it is not really such a bad thing staying at Loyang. The school is only like 10mins walk from my home compared to NIE, which takes me about an hour and a half. One thing I hate is traveling to school, which explains why I dedicated all thirteen slots to Temasek Polytechnic before I prioritize the courses. I have been telling my NIE-bound colleagues about how I wish I would not have to go NIE. But I know when the day they have to go comes, I will be wishing that I am with them. The four of you listen up, I will be there come July 2006, make sure I do not see any of you in my class. Haha. As what Moi would have said: “DAMN YOU, PPT!”

Sway to the MAX

2005-06-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

I am a pessimist. I always was. I had to be. Put on an optimistic front and I will fail. ‘Prepare for the worst and hope for the best’ has always been my maxim. Far too many times have I hoped, far too many times my heart broken. On the other hand, things that I feared the worst usually turn out positive. My dreams often predict my future. I yearn for bad dreams because they are always contrary to reality. I can still remember the helplessness I felt while reading the result slip of my O’s with that big ‘F’ stamped next to my English in one of my dreams 7 years ago. Sometimes I wonder is that my way of escaping disappointment? I mean, if I am prepared for the worst, nothing can get worse than that, right? I call it optimistic pessimist. I do have ambitions, I do hope. But I cannot show.