Good Luck Guys!!! :D

London Olympic Games will be officially open in just a few more hours time! I'm excited! Even though I might not even have the chance to follow it on TV due to the time difference.
Most of you who know me well knows that sports is possibly the only thing that makes me very patriotic. It's the only time I will say 'Malaysia Boleh'! I'm still the same old Malaysian sport fan although not as crazy as when I was younger and despite the fact that I'm no longer a sport journalist. I still read sport news most days and I can see many Malaysians are criticising the government for spoiling these athletes with all those incentives even before they win anything at the world's biggest sports event. Some of them are making it a point to say that is the reason we should vote against the government.

The Malaysian contingent to the Olympic Games in London.

To me, sport shouldn't be political at all! One should understand that it is not easy for these athletes to first qualify for the Olympic! Do you know how much of hard work and time they need to go through in years just to get to that stage? And of course it would be even harder to achieve a medal at the Games! Why can't they just deserve some incentives or just some moral push? If you think it is easy, go try train yourself up for Olympic now! Seriously, athletes are also human! They need encouragements, not criticism!

Frustration aside, I, for once am also feeling really glad that after so many years, we now can not only rely on badminton for a chance for an Olympic medal. In fact, I think this time around we should totally forget about badminton delivering anything to the nation. Archery, cycling and diving are the events that we can look forward to for Olympic medals, whichever colour it is. I know they are capable of it! They just need to keep their cool and don't stumble at some crucial moments.

Step aside badminton, all eyes will be on the diving, archery and cycling team this time around!

Most of my favourite athletes back when I was in school have retired but hey I still find Josiah Ng and Yeoh Ken Nee in the list and they are probably the only few I still have some contacts through FB! So to Josiah and Ken Nee, I wish you guys all the best and I can't wait to see you guys in action! :)
To the rest of the Malaysian contingent, GOOD LUCK & MALAYSIA BOLEH!!!

World Cup fever finally strikes me!

If you have a chance to see Ducum or me today, you'll probably think we look like some zombies...
Well, for our favourite football team's sake, we stayed up till 4 something in the morning just to see them losing the match, thus exiting the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Sigh...

Last night was the first night that I finally started to catch some of the World Cup 2010 matches as the tournament now goes into Last 16. I was so thrilled to be able to be part of the crowd at the Mamak stall to watch the England vs Germany match! The atmosphere with the people cheering, shouting whenever there are goals, or even almost goals was just really cool! I badly miss that man! And I'm so glad I made it there to feel the atmosphere! :pEngland vs Germany, the kick-off moment...
Actually there was quite a big crowd over there, just that I was lazy to stand up and snap a nicer pic.
The match started off with Germany scoring twice, both very beautiful goals, if I'm not mistaken, through Klose and Podolski. They were obviously a better team while England's defense was very painful to watch.Few tables away were Sean, Ducum and I Rene!
Judging from the colour, it looks like Deardo is with England while I'm with Germany!
After a while, Upson scored with a beautiful header, but I really thought England was lucky. They were playing without knowing what they were doing. And then Lampard got lucky again and scored, but was denied by the referee... After a few replay it was obvious it was a goal and I was so freaking mad that it was denied!!!Obviously, THAT WAS A BLOODY GOAL!!!!
Let me make things clear. I'm actually a fan of both teams, although my favourite players Ballack and Beckham are both out due to injuries. So I was basically cheering for both teams while the others stayed loyal to their favourite team. What I was looking forward for was just a good match to watch, especially with loads of suspends, shots on target and goals! And the first half really was quite interesting I thought I made the right choice to watch it. And Lampard's goal would have make it 2-2 and the match would be much more interesting! And I supposed the result would be totally different too.
The disappointed Lampard...
Like in a badminton match, when someone is denied of a point by the linesman, it really will dampened the player's spirit. That is what I think happened to England last night as they just couldn't match Germany anymore in the second half and as it went into 4-1, we left the Mamak stall without finishing the match since it's not fun to watch anymore...

And then Ducum and I waited till 2.30am to watch the Argentina vs Mexico match at home since it was shown on RTM. Forget about England or Germany man, I AM A HUGE MEXICO'S FAN!!! Blur blur punya TV... Lousy...
Ducum says she is still supporting England despite their embarrassing loss.
Because I didn't wear a green shirt, the green container lit will do!
So never mind, Mexico lost. They lost to a way better team, I must say.

But since I'm already talking about Mexico, let me crap about when and why I'm such a fan of Mexico, a bit odd for most of you I guess since they are not really a famous team.
It was back in 1998 when I was still in F2 that my classmate started to ask me to bet on the World Cup back then, which was held in France. And so I watched some of the matches and totally fell in love with the Mexican team, and... The famous Mexican hat too! Back then there were this trio that I really like. They are truly some football legends. They are goalkeeper Jorge Compos, strikers Luis Hernandez and Cuauhtemoc Blanco.Jorge Compos was quite a top goalkeeper back then. Standing at 168cm, he is definitely very short for a goalkeeper. But he was pretty good in saving goals by leaping! And his striking attire always make headlines too! Plus, because he was actually a striker long before he became a goalkeeper, he always love to run far out from the penalty box to kick the ball. Sometimes when Mexico got a penalty, he will be given the chance to take on the penalty. How not to like such a talented goalkeeper with such a cute height?

Luis Hernandez was one of the top scorers in the 1998 World Cup and is by far still one the Mexico's best players of all time. He was really fast and dangerous back then in 1998. I think most soccer fans love him. He has this trademark long blond hair and always have his own style in celebrating a goal! Love him! He is actually my favourite player of all time! Too bad he has already retired...
Here's a goal he scored during the 98 World Cup...


Cuauhtemoc Blanco might be a bit more familiar to you as he was still playing in the ongoing World Cup and was actually a scorer when Mexico beat France 2-0 in their Group A match. Well, FYI, he is actually the oldest player of the tournament! Blanco is especially famous for his trick simply called a 'jump ball'. Watch this video and you will know what I mean...


Well I think I can say I always love underdogs. That is why I love Mexico so much.
Deardo and I are actually betting on whether or not Brazil will make it to the final. I've taken 'NO' just because I love to see underdogs win.
Anyone with me on this one? :p

Bye bye Thomas Cup~~~

I skipped reading the sport news this morning. I guess you all know why, you probably did the same too, mou ngan tai already man...
The Malaysian badminton team let us down AGAIN. It's okay, this is already the N times since I became a Malaysian badminton fan back in 1996. Yes, I wasn't even old enough to realize things when the Malaysian team won the Thomas Cup in 1992. What bothers me more is the difference of the attitude the Malaysian players had back then and now. Of course, that is just part of the reason they've lost. The biggest reason is still, they are simply not as good as the Chinese players.
Despite the fact that I was once a sport journalist, I have zero idea how the Malaysian players behave in real life since I've never got to do any badminton news back then. But look at the great Mohd. Faiurzizian who responded with an 'isyarat lucah'(according to Bernama) to unhappy audience after losing his match during the Malaysia vs Japan match. Look at how kan cheong Datuk Lee Chong Wei played when facing Lin Dan, he looks so scared like Lin Dan is some kinda zombie or something. And I couldn't stop starring at Koo Kien Keat's big ass as I think he definitely put on weight a lot. My point is, the Malaysian players nowadays really have lower EQ and are definitely too pampered with whatever the government(=tax payers like us) gave them.Fairuzizuan who??? I didn't know who you are until the day you became so famous because of the wrong reason...
Even my dad thinks Koo Kien Ket is too fat, Koo Kiet Fat suits him better.
Don't agree? Look at our second single, Wong Choong Hann. At 33, he is one of the veterans sadly still being included because there aren't anyone good to take over his place. Yes, it's true he lost all his matches during the entire tournament. Yet, he lost it beautifully. I can see fighting spirit, I can see skills, I can see calmness whenever he plays. It was just physical problem that caused him all the defeats.Wong Choong Hann is definitely a better player compared to the younger ones although he lost all his matches.
If you can remember, the other very calm and cool Malaysian player I really like was Yong Hock Kin. He always fight for every single shot, even if it makes him run here and there or fall like a baby. Most importantly, he always remain calm and quiet. Until today, he is still my favourite badminton player of all.I LOVE YONG HOCK KIN!!!
Nowadays, Malaysia just stopped producing skillful players with good attitude.
Okay lar, you can say they are skillful. Lee Chong Wei and Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Hiong certainly are not some lousy players since they are ranked world number one in both the singles and doubles categories. But when facing tough moments, they just look like babies playing against professionals! I think this is just mentality problems really.
Yes, I mustn't forget, training is tough. But other than training, did they have too much of fun with the money they are earning? Are they too pampered?
Thomas Cup seems so far away from us...
We've missed the Thomas Cup for 18 years now. Playing on home ground doesn't help. Having world class coaches like Rexy Mainaky doesn't help. Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's presence doesn't help. Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah's presence doesn't help... I think ah, for the rest of my life also I won't get to see another Malaysian team winning the Thomas Cup!
Still want to say 'Malaysia Boleh' eh? Still want to call Lee Chong Wei 'Datuk' Lee Chong Wei ah?

*Pics taken from The Star and around the internet.

One about my previous job...

So yesterday was a public holiday. I've decided I should stay home to do the laundry and keep an eye on the clothes just in case if it rain... Gosh, I hate rainy days!!! When is the rain going to stop??? Aaaarrrhhh... Everyday also rain, rain, rain... It's so freaking annoying!!!

The other thing I've decided to do is to tidy up the whole bunch of old newspapers I've collected. Erm... Those are the bunch of newspaper with the news stories I've wrote back when I was a sport reporter lar. I will have to arrage them according to the date and cut and paste them all into the sketch book. Hard work you know, spent half the day doing that.

So far... Two sketch books. Maybe I should start writing to newspapers or magazines again soon?
Some of the articles I've collected with the byline-Shirlexia Tan.

What I actually noticed was I really didn't have as many news article published as I thought, although I have to admit I did not keep every single of them. I really love some of them, especially those that got a thank you message from the person I wrote about, although in a way they might just been using me to deliver some message to some people. And I was always excited to write about my school-time idols, like Yeoh Ken Nee because some of them has retired even before I started working... Some were really bad that I will never felt proud of them at all. Of course there were some which I'm not really proud of but my boss would be happy with... All that kinda stuff.

After all... I've picked my favourite one...It's a review of the Cobra Rugby Tournament that I've covered in 2007. I think the reason being, that was the one and only article I've written that got praise by my super senior in the office. He actually sms-ed me early in the morning to tell me it was great and that is the way I'm supposed to write. And the Cobra event was also one of the best tournamets that I've enjoyed covering. We got free flow of beer during the tournament, got to see some really cute and muscular rugby players from different countries (although some of them look seriously scary), and the dinner on the final day was awesome! Love it! And getting to interview the Cobra president, Krishnan Tan made me really nervous. Okay, it's not that I have a crush on him, it's just that he is one of the richest men and some really famous guy in Malaysia. So yeah, that was the one I'm quite proud of.

The one that Shirlexia loves...

I also found my one final article published before leaving the company quite good. Somewhere in April... The two articles on hockey, it was on the second page from the back! So not too bad lar to leave with such good stories.

The one that Shirlexia left with...

One very big tournament that I've missed was the exhibition tennis match between world number 1 Roger Federer and former world number 1 Pete Sampras end of last year. I was so damn excited to be covering the tournament. I saw many envy eyes on me that time! I've even had the media pass done for myself to cover the event and meet with the stars!!! And in the end I had to give up the chance just because of the stupid mozzies!!! Got dengue and was stuck in the Kangar Hospital! Aaaaaarrrrhhhh... Will never forgive the mozzies!!!

It's always very difficult for me to tell you how hard it was to work as a sport reporter there and how hard it was to give the job up. The moment I took up journalism, I've told myself I'm only going to be a sport reporter. I have no interest in politics, current affairs of whatsoever, while entertainment means it will be a waste. Sports news was my passion! But being in the field, facing not only external, but internal challenges to write good stories, was killing me. The 'good' stories to my bosses are those bad stuff on the Malaysian sports, the sports association or the athletes themselves. I not only didn't know how to write stories like that, I actually also did not want to do so... I'm abviously too emo to be a sport reporter there. Getting harsh comments from my boss was also another thing, but I believe all that have made me a tougher person. From a new girl in the field, I've cried because of his comments, but in the end of the day I was actually fine with whatever shit comments I've got. And after all, I've learnt so so much from the job that I've stuck with about 1 year plus (still couldn't believe I've stayed for so long!).

To many people, especially my relatives(those aunties and uncles), giving up such job was stupid. It's a glamorous job because you can see my name on the paper almost everyday! And honestly the allowances and stuff were pretty good. But well... It's just not my kinda job...

Of course, needless to say, the ones that I missed the most are my ex-colleagues. At the sport desk, the guys don't call guys as 'guys' or 'men', they call them 'fuckers' or 'bugger'. Actually, it's quite 'raw' to call them 'fuckers', I guess. Every single minutes the guys would be swearing, especially Mr Maurice... I actually quite enjoyed it but I don't get that now in my office! Hehehe... Hmmm... Well I'm not actually missing those reporters ex-colleagues though. Some thought I'm stupid or useless, some thought I would snatch away their stories... So I didn't really mix with them. I actually made more friends with the reporters from other newspapers than those in the same company. The ones whom I mixed around the most were the sub-editors. Well, being the only girl in the sport desk, I got all their teasing and all their cares at the same time! Uncle Yip, whom I still meet-up once in a while. He always bring me to good food and made me FAT... Wai Kong, who always have never ending stories to tell, Mr. Collin whom I missed so so much. He is so cute lar, imagine a man with lots of grey hair talking about American Idols everyday after the show the previous night! And Siva, who would always send me Christianity SMS... Mohan, Neil, etc... Okay, we've promised to go out for a meal one day but it never happened. Where's the Wanton Mee session (still trying to figure out why Indians love Wanton Mee so much...)??? Hopefully one day lar... I really missed you guys! And I'm also missing my translation money, Uncle Yip!!! :p

On the left, Wai Kong still trying to tell me stories... Uncle Yip at the other side. I looked like I was having a cramp on my face, didn't I?

My ex-boss, Mr V is a nice guy... I will never forget how touched was I when I was in the hospital in Kangar. He took care of everything for me and actually told me not to worry about work, and then let me rest for 2 weeks! He is such a sweet guy... Whenever he wants to be...

He was an ex-national takwando exponent lar, what can you expect? An eye contact with him would scare you away! I can see some of my guy ex-colleagues freaking out talking to him, apa lagi me? Many time he had made me cry with his very harsh and mean comments, but it's just him being very straight forward lar. He talks to everybody like that, including his 'best friend'. You gotta listen to him talking to his kids on the phone, so the lemah-lembut man! Anywayz, I'm here to thank Mr V. I wonder if he sees the message I've left in his blog during the Olympic Games???

Look... The reason for me to cover up Mr. V's nose and and mouth isn't because I hate him, I'm just trying to prove to you that he has a pair of fierce eyes!!!

Hmmm... it's just all of a sudden, I wanted to write something about my previous job which I've loved and hated at the same time...

A Sunday with Excitement & Food!

It was supposed to be a Sunday with a reunion of me, Yve Vonn and Ally who just came back from England... Until Yve Vonn told me she has A1 GP free tickets. Then Ally refused to go and we had to ffk Ally(I'm sorry, again!:p) and go to the race with her sister Yve Wei and also Xiao Luo, the driver of the day.
Yve Vonn really knows me lor... She knew that I would jump at the opportunity to watch the race! You see, I became a sport fan at the age of 12, then came the 98 Commonwealth Games and the 2001 SEA Games in KL which I had to miss just because I was still in school back in Taiping. I was so bloody excited when I got to go to Bukit Jalil National Stadium when I was in college. It was like a dream come true!!!
Then came Sepang I think somewhere in 1999. I remember 4e once asked me to join her and Uncle Mike to the race when my favourite F1 driver, Michael Schumacher was still in the race. But I couldn't ALSO BECUASE I WAS IN TAIPING!!! So bloody frustrating man!!!
So yea, although it wasn't F1 (yet), I was still very excited to visit the Sepang circuit for the very first time in my life!
Yaaaa~~~~ Hooooo~~~
Ohyeah... Here I am, at the Sepang International Circuit!
With the three persons I went with...
Very amazing design, I must say... So proud of Sepang!
Eh, don't be like that lar... I know you guys are sick of going over there for whatever reasons except for watching car racing... I don't drive mah... And I actually spend so little time in KL, what do you expect? Just let me syok a bit, tak boleh kah???:pYou also see cool sport cars like this all over the place!This one is cute! Martini Porsche? Car's name or drink's name?
Another two which were showcased at Sepang.
My favourite one! Its yellow colour!!! SO CUTE~~~!!!
Anywayz, I think I didn't get to see the entire circuit very well. Although, it always looks so nice on TV! But being there itself was exciting enough! We were quite on time as when we finally found the right spot to watch the race, they were just starting! And so... I got to see the grand flag off of the race!!! OMG! I can't tell you how excited I was!!! I wanted to jump up-and-down man!!!Ready, get set, go!!! Vrrrrrrrroooommmmm... The flag-off and the exciting sound of the engine!!!
You must be guessing what was happening? Those people just ran away from one side to the other to catch the cars!
Of course, Yve Vonn, Yve Wei and Xiao Luo didn't know much about A1. Look, no one can tell what does 'A1' stands for! Erm... Actually neither do I! I'm sorry, it's such a shame for someone who was a sport reporter, right? And then I told them, look, I know who's the Malaysian driver, his name is Fairuz something, I think he is pretty good? Anywayz, because his car is so yellow with a "Visit Malaysia" logo on it, nobody wouldn't not recognize it, ok? He started well, from 4th place he went up to 3rd place, and everyone was cheering for him, including us. And Yve Voon and Yve Wei was of course starting to get interested with this fellar. Yve Vonn said parents brought their kids to the race to train them sleep even with a noisy atmosphere! Wow, what a good idea! Okay, look, I had a swollen left eye, so thats why I look weird.
Yve Vonn and me having fun at the race!
Malaysia's very own Fairuz at the pit stop...
And then... A miscommunication led Fairuz into pit stop and he got chased away by the crew right away!!! We were like... WTF??? Because of that, he dropped to the last. But as good as we didn't expect, he slowly catch up with the others and made himself up to 10th place when the race finished! It was so exciting seeing him cutting the other cars one-by-one! We were amazed, honestly! Fairuz Fauzy is really NOT BAD!!! By the end of the race, Yve Wei kept asking me how does he look like? How old is he? And of course, needless to say, he is rich! Okay, here you go, go to his website to see for yourself. Oh yea, very sad to tell Yve Wei, he is married... About the best looking picture of Fairuz Fauzy.
So... Although it was only A1, I'm very very excited and thankful that I actually decided to go! Looking forward for my chances to watch F1 and Moto GP in the future! Anyone? Free tickets??? Cheap tickets???
Then since we were at Sepang, we decided we should go straight to Seremban for dinner! For what??? Fish Head Meehoon（鱼头米粉）!!! It was Liong Kee Restaurant, which is pretty famous and was on Yve Vonn's show before. Liong Kee Restaurant at Seremban!
Hmmmm... I think the Fish Head Meehoon is a bit different from the ordinary ones that we have. They don't put tomatoes or salted vege, etc. It's just noodles, fish, Choy Sam! But the unique part is the soup! They put lots of pepper and it makes it so damn spicy! Still we all drank it all because it's always tastier when it is spicy, right? My personal favourite is their homemade fish balls! I'm not really a fan of fish balls actually, but when you make it yourself, it's different! We also had the Yong Gai Yik (chicken wings). It's like Yong Tou Fu, but they put the paste onto the chicken wings and deep fried it. I thought it was not bad, just that I really prefer it maybe BBQ or other healthier way of cooking.The Fish Head Meehoon at Liong Kee... Strictly for those who can take spicy food!
The super duper yummy homemade fish balls!
The very famous and special Yong Chicken Wing!
And then... Wow! It was already 10 something when I reached home! But what a day full of excitement and good food! Hmmm~~~ Yummy!!! So thanks again to the people (ya know who I'm talking about, huh?) for giving me my first Sepang experience! LOVE IT!!!

你们看看是不是他？

好啦好啦，我知道我很烦！一天更新几次！可是我真的要放这张照片！

刚才好奇心之下就去了看看中国体操运动员杨威和杨云在今天举行的婚礼的报道，然后就发现了这张照片！这是我从某个中国网站里看到的，大概是到三亚出席婚礼的客人，左边（被圈起来了）的那个.......那个......不就是我们前国家体操运动员，曾经是太平之光的黄书威吗？他也是婚礼的客人之一吗？那好棒耶！

还是我看错了？我没见过他真人耶，有谁可以帮帮眼的？

这是书威放在Friendster里的照片，帅的咧！