In trying to lessen the obvious hypocrisy, I'm going to introduce 3 vegetarian days into my week....wish me luck! :-)

Anyhoo, another thing I forgot to add was that unfortunately, there's a lot of food being wasted in England. Perhaps because we have generally forgotten what poverty is, we often see leftover food bee lining it for the bin.

I'm tight, but being Chinese as well*, we were taught not to throw away food. From a young age, my peers and I were beaten with feather dusters and flip flops until the sunset, but we were also told that waste is scandalous as:
1) the rice (yes, we ALWAYS eat rice) on our plate is the result of somebody's back-breaking labour in the paddy fields
2) Somebody somewhere is starving, possibly to death.
These two notions alone (accompanied by the intimidation factor of the feather duster) were enough to instil a sense of duty to the food on our plates, or in our bowls rather.
The counter argument is that there's no point in stuffing yourself to obesity. But then there are always options:
1) Improve portion control. Like most things, prevention is better than cure!
2) Store it away for another day
3) Eat it! And then do some exercise later.

*Similarly, as we are massive carnivores, our redemption is that we don't waste the food we cook. But also, we respect the animal by using as much of it as possible. For example, chicken feet is not everybody's idea of a good meal, but cooked in the right way it can be very tasty - if you can get over the unsightly appearance.

Even worse, supermarkets throw away huge amounts of food at the end of every day. It's fair that food past the sell by date should not be sold to the unassuming consumer, but there must surely be
In fact, a lot of food is still in good condition - my friend says a bruised banana in a bag can lead to the whole bag being thrown away. Disgraceful considering the air miles as well. So, it's perhaps something to do with our own snobbery that stores enforce their own regulations.

I think that instead of spending time thinking up and filling out expenses claims, this is an area where the government should act. Surely, they should enforce policies that encourage more responsible management of food by these giant money-making corporations?
Along with disposing of food at the slightest whim, a lot of produce is being wasted by not being reduced early enough. These little bright flags are a joy to a forager like me, but it can also help reduce the amount of food being thrown away. My inside source says that they can just be too lazy or unwilling to employ the staff (not profitable) to be more vigilant.
If food really cannot be sold, then surely supermarket staff should have the option to buy or take produce that has been written off. Currently, Tesco's on Newmarket Road forbids staff to take food that has been earmarked for the bins. I can understand corporations want to be careful not to cause situations where staff might 'reserve' food, but there has to be a better system in place. A giant industrial-sized feather duster maybe?

Ideally, we should all be vegetarians (I tried before and lasted a long hard week. I can't because I love food and crave the taste of meat).
Back to my original point, I make this rather blasphemous statement as:

1) It's quite cruel to end another life just so we can eat. It's not even a necessity to sustain ourselves - we can be well fed and healthy through a vegetarian diet. It's just a little more difficult to get right and requires a bit of training.
Imagine if, in a parallel universe, humans were reared as food to the dominant species (giant pigs?). Now that would be wrong?
2) The production of meat is a massive drain on the earth's resources. There is a huge amount of energy that goes into raising animals and this is generally taken from the earth's (finite) natural resources.
3) Livestock fart a lot and the methane produced is a very potent greenhouse gas that damages the ozone layer.

I know it can be argued as nature's way' -  but wasn't nature determined a long time ago where predators won the race? Now we're a supposedly a civilised race, can't we shape the next chapter?

Poor Mickey Chan. Last week, he experienced a horrific injury while playing for the second team. I'm not sure what the actual diagnosis was, but from what I saw, his foot must have become dislocated from the ankle and spun 170 degrees to face almost backwards. It was a traumatic sight and we could only comfort him before the ambulance arrived.

We are hugely appreciative of the ambulance service, but I was a bemused by the process of the helpdesk. Firstly I had to tell them my name, my phone number, what had happened and the name and age of the victim to the first call worker. I then had to carefully explain the location. This took at least a couple of minutes or more. She then put me on hold as I was passed to an 'advisor' who I repeated the same information to again. I expect (and hope) they'd sent the ambulance immediately, but it seemed unnecessary for me to explain everything to her before being transferred. Surely, a quick summary would have been enough - she could then pass me to the advisor for the more thorough explanation. Of course I don't know the system well, but it seemed a long winded process especially if the emergency was even more dire or urgent than ours.

On a brighter note, I've been playing fairly well for C4. My fitness isn't where I want it to be, but is heading in the right direction. Despite not being in top form, I've scored eleven goals in the last three matches (should have been thirteen, but two were harshly ruled offside). In the league, we beat St Johns 2nds 8-0 in which I scored a  hatrick and the score line was actually quite flattering towards the opposition. Our team is arguably as strong as it's ever been and we're creating all sorts of chances. I know we can hurt teams if we keep solid at the back, and we do seem a lot stronger in all departments. Shu, Duo, Jake, Jonno and Frankie have all added strength and depth to the squad.

Earlier this month, there was considerable controversy over the invitation and appearance of the BNP honcho, Nick Griffin on the BBC's mainstream political show 'Question Time'.
I watched most of it on the i-player and quickly deduced that he was simply a wolf in sheeps clothing. An obvious racist with some laughable claims (he shared a stage with a KKK leader, although this KKK group was in his words non-violent. But of course he failed to but needn't mention, still massively racist) he didn't do himself or his party any favours. But the controversy is that the BBC presented them a platform for publicity and despite a generally pathetic performance, perhaps there is no such thing as bad publicity. It raises awareness and the more naive viewers could just buy into some of their tripe.

The party claims to protect the values of the 'indigenous people' of this land. Panellist Jack Straw challenged him to admit that he meant indigenous white. Somewhat surprisingly and rather amusingly, Griffin claimed that colour isn't an issue (which is strange as his party's main concern is precisely that) and followed up his audacious claim by saying that Straw wouldn't dare tell the Aborigines and the 'Red Indians' that they are not indigenous. Quite right, you wouldn't tell these marginalised people that they had no rights, if just because the English had quite the darkened hand in shaping the history of these people. Double standards, anybody?

Furthermore, being indigenous to a land basically means you were there first. Does that entitle you to more rights to anybody else arriving later? Surely we should live in a free country (world?) where we are all equal. Frequently those that claim rights to a land are beneficiaries of a war-mongering legacy - how much honour is there in that?

I'm not sure what he means by core British values anyway. When were these set and more to the point, what are they?  A society shifts and changes with the times - trends and cultures come and go, but if there is a set of core values, then these should surely be equality, honesty, freedom and a measured sense of morality. I'm not sure where racism and hate fits into that.

Rather disappointingly, it seems the BNP have gained members over the last decade or so. We can only hope that the majority of their support have felt let down by the consistent scandals and failings of mainstream parties and that they are not actual racists. In fact, you can almost understand why people who have been brainwashed with xenophobic propaganda would feel the way they do, although it is of course misguided. When things don't go well, it's so much easier to blame and scapegoat somebody or something else.

Having said all of this, we should ALL set an example of being decent human beings - that way there is even less reason for xenophobia. Extremism finds scapegoats to vilify and while this is wrong, what I'm saying is that we should give them no grounds whatsoever to latch onto. For example, it's fair to say that gypsies have a fairly bad reputation. The police are reluctant to deal with them and the councils just want to pass them off onto to the next county. Whether their reputation is warranted or not is arguable, but it is clear that the anti-social members of their community do quite a lot to enforce these stereotypes and little to subvert them. My own experience has seen them play off the fear they generate and many are just pure troublemakers.
Again and indeed, it is wrong to tarnish a whole community with the brushwork of the extrovert members and again, it's up to the individuals and the community as a whole to enforce the correct perception and ensure there are no reasons to scapegoat them.

And so what worries me is that we say Britain is multicultural, which I guess can be considered true. However, the multi cultures are too often segregated and insular - preferring to group together in clans. This doesn't have to be an issue, but in reality this division can promote misunderstanding and exacerbate conflict between these various communities (and the wider public).

It's just sad that people wallow in hate, and particularly more so when the reasons are so shallow and pathetic. Imagine if we put our energies towards something constructive that would benefit people
There's a quote, which I will now probably (accidentally) misquote - the meaning of life is to plant trees in whose shade you may never sit.
I don't think it's literal - we shouldn't necessarily become a nation of farmers - I assume it's to do good deeds without the purpose of self gain.
Imagine if we all did that instead of indulging in petty feuds and superficial hate. The world would be a much better place.

Am I sounding like John Lennon? Mock me, but my point still stands :p

Ooooh, the '09 CUAFL season starts this weekend and our first game should be against St John's 2nds. Despite looking comfortable and taking an early lead, they beat us last time in quite torrid conditions. So we're eager to repay the debt, and more.

With Skinny teaching English in China and so many new faces, it's almost like a new team. (Long) gone are the likes of Julian, Yauser, Mikey and Mantis to be replaced with the very capable Duo, Jonno, Jake and Shu. Have been very impressed with the latter - he has the ball winning ability of Yau, the salmon leap of Mikey, the exuberant energy of Julian and can pick a pass too. We have a new centre back who seems to be a good calming addition and also Bear is back and looking to regain fitness in the second team and we have Swish and others finding form. It's a bit early to say, but this squad could be the strongest so far...time will tell, but we really should be looking at promotion this season.

We've had two matches in the run up - the first against the 2nd team (half of which were fringe first team players) and then against Hughes Hall. We won both quite convincingly (8-4 & 8-2) and I scored three and four goals respectively. It's a good start, but the league is often much more treacherous and we'll be tested far more vigorously. Can't wait though!

Am aiming to start doing some boxing/kicking training (lost count of how many times I've tried!). There's a single free class on the 20th Oct, so will try to do a bit before that and then take it from there. I think it'll help with my overall fitness as well and can execute fancy kicks on the football pitch.

Last night I cooked a delightful Mapo tofu dish (incidentally, 'mapo' translates to old lady with pocked face). Found a recipe online and adapted it to my taste (or rather what was also available in my larder) and the results were remarkably sweat inducing but very tasty. Unsurprisingly, Kat benefited and even had some to take away for lunch. 

Where did that year go? It's been over a year since I last blogged and that was to complain about religion*. Nothing new there then.

Anyway, what's happened since July 2008? Absolutely loads and nothing much at all.
Hmmm, K4 has been informally disbanded. All that remains is, in Eddy's words: 'K'. Great times while they lasted though. We survived relegation by beating the top team in the division in the last match of the season. People have come and go whilst my fists have stayed rooted. I now co-own a flat with my sister, but prefer to live at home much to the chagrin of a certain feline. Speaking of who, I've been going out with Kat since late 2008.

There's so much more, but the brain hurts when I try to think too far back. In fact, it's complaining now and I'm supposed to be going to watch a short film at the film festival at 4pm. I'm still in my underwear (sorry about that image) trying to gather my thoughts.

So this has to be quick...last weekend Kat and I went to her friends' wedding in 'Somerford Keynes' (pronounced Kay-ns in that part of the world), which is in the picturesque Cotswold area. It was a massively elaborate and extravagant wedding and in all we had a great time. The food was simply amazing (the church service was very pretty too) with a champagne and Pimms reception right next to the church in a residence called 'The Manor'. There were the most delightful canapés - quail eggs wrapped in gold and silver leaf, perfectly formed smoked salmon parcels on a small isle of toast, semi-raw beef carpaccio and more wondrous morsels that I'm too rushed to list. This was all set in a well manicured garden with the September sun in full glory. There was also a magician and a cartoonist working their trades.

Then there was a four course meal in a huge marquee by the pond/lake in the garden. This monstrosity glowed neon inside and stomached a cocktail bar, dance floor and about 150 guests. On each plate was a poem sealed with wax on a pseudo burned scroll. And on these plates came a light starter of crab meat dressed with a fanciful entourage of salad and sauce. Yum. This was followed by a chunk (and I mean this in the most flattering way) of Beef Wellington, washed down with wine of both colours. The evidence is still on my shirt to this day. A selection of desserts followed - three treats in one serving. Tea, coffee and fruit followed, but I'd been gluttonous enough for one Chinaman.
As this was actually a wedding and not a buffet, there were speeches afterwards and I must say that each was impeccably delivered in varying degrees of warmth, dry, sweet and sharp.

  
 

In fact, having just posted these photos...I've got to go watch the short film that I storyboarded for (Honour Me, by Alex Tweddle)...BRB...

Back. From the short films (Screen East) at the Picturehouse. A mixed bag of goodies, but I ran off to play football afterwards and didn't manage to catch Tweddle. Very naughty. So where was I? Oh yes, the wedding. After speeches and cake slicing, they went outside by the small lake to light lanterns and prompt them to float away, carried idly by the winds of fate. During the evening, I fed a dog two sugar cubes and some chocolates. He turned down the grapes, but did eat some chips. To cap off the night, there was the obligatory disco in the mould of all true wedding/school events - cheesy anthems of all shapes and sizes. An added touch was that chips and burgers were being circulated by the waiters and waitresses. True class :)

Amidst all the indulgence I managed to get angry. I'm greedy enough to enjoy the luxury, but I couldn't help getting a little disturbed by the significant disparity between the stinking rich and the desperately poor. This was the most lush wedding I've been to, and everybody seemed nice - so I don't begrudge them personally. However, there is far greater riches amassed by others and it just seems so unfair that there is such a stratospheric gulf between us (humans).

People should be rewarded for hard work, innovation, courage or even good will - but I do have an issue that the chasm between rich and poor is so sickeningly wide. Why should some own numerous luxury homes and private leisure ships equipped with helipads and copters when others die from a lack of the basic necessities elsewhere in the world? Surely, a fleet of posh cars is better exchanged for building a livelihood for the less fortunate (and a conscience)?
Like I said, people should be rewarded on merit, but there should be some perspective as there is a disgusting excess that exists which is inexcusable. My rage is especially reserved for those that are born into lofty perches without merit - barons, duchesses and princes as well as sheiks, moguls and Paris Hiltons. The rather significant problem is that the people in power are intent on keeping this wrong status quo. This has existed since recorded history and perhaps is a legacy of the human gene. It would take a lot of nurturing to change a trait that might make up our nature. Being selfish is (was?) necessary for survival and so to straighten out this mentality could take generations of learning, or a big great industrial sized and fist shaped moral iron. It's just tragic that people die every second directly or indirectly from poverty, while others don't know the meaning of it and really couldn't care less.
If we were to design a society and a species to live in it, I'd expect there are many things we'd change about the one we live in right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a total mentalist and I do appreciate the good that exists, but my blood did bubble a little and the hulk hands were clenching if only temporarily at the thought of what could be.

And so, despite veins churning on overtime for a quarter of an hour,  it was a fun and special evening that we finished off with a 3 mile bicycle ride back to our bed and breakfast. The country roads are as dark as my soul and the little bike lights did little to show the way. We did get back without any major incident and sunk clumsily into our neatly laid twin beds.

Morning greeted us with a cooked breakfast which was ravenously received and happily dismantled. Upon advice from the friendly proprietor, we drove to local Bibury to visit the trout farm, where you could catch your own fish. The trout farm was...well, a trout farm. So not particularly exciting, but at least the weather was in fine form and so we leisurely toured the area. We then settled down for some trout fillet and salad that was 'shared'. Kat calls it sharing, I see it as survival of the fittest. Have you ever seen lions eat? Anyway, after eating we got our bikes from the van and decided to go on a bike ride around the village. Now I truly know why Cambridge is considered flat. Though picturesque, the terrain is all very hilly and is challenging whilst nursing a mild hangover!

*heard a quote about religion, though not sure where from...something like: Without religion, good people will do good things and bad people will do bad things. But for good people to do bad things, well that takes religion.

Touché?

 

I should do some exercise, but procrastination appears a happy compromise for now.

 

Watched ‘Princess Mononoke’ on Film4. I’d seen stills from it some time ago and it all looked a bit pants. However, humble pie never tasted so good – as the film was (or rather is) a real gem.

 

I’ve seen a few Studio Ghibli films now (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service) and I’ve always been really impressed. Mononoke was no different and perhaps second only to Spirited Away (Alice in Wonderland on ecstasy).

 

The main theme of Mononoke – the film - seemed to be about the conflict between mankind and nature. Irreverence towards nature and the closely linked gods/spirits (which appear to be one of the same in this story and a nod towards secularisation?) is something that is quite real in our society and played out in a marvelous and intricate fantasy world.

There’s a bit of everything in it – an unfinished love story, epic battles, extravagant imagination, perhaps some Japanese feudal history and a chubby man on stilts.

 

There was also a distinct message towards the lessening of ages. For example, in Mononoke, the giant boar god states that his offspring are growing progressively smaller and more stupid. Fantasy fiction is littered with long gone golden ages and apparent ages of might.  The Lord of the Rings is always referring to Elf lords and men whose might and lore remained unsurpassed from bygone eras.
So, essentially, our predecessors were much greater than us and time has dwindled us all ¬.¬

 

I guess that’s the difference between fantasy and the reality I know. Whereas on record, we are gaining in knowledge and ‘greatness’ (science and technology is always improving, we live longer, run faster than we could etc). I suppose we are always building or adding to our knowledge and in that respect, walking on the shoulders of giants. Also there were certainly great thinkers in the past, but I am too naïve and tired to consider it all. Therefore and nevertheless, it is still quite a different to the perspective to the lessening of ages.

(Although I have heard of conspiracy theories whereby ancient humans were 10 feet tall and some of the mysteries of the world point to a higher intelligence/power lost through antiquity. But I don’t buy into any of that quite yet.)

 

I recently finished ‘The Children of Hurin’. Dubbed the darkest of Tolkien’s tales, I can safely reveal that it’s no bluff. In the mould of classical Greek tragedies* this was a story where hope is long denied and gloom is a constant foreboding presence all the way to the sorry ending.

(*Incidentally, in Greek mythology, the gods are often petty and vengeful and very few heroes escape with much glory intact. Oedipus had a well known and unfortunate complex, Theseus aged less than gracefully, Achilles lived and died a man of wrath (and had a suspect heel) and even the great Hercules/Heracles had a penchant for rampage, madness and wanton killing sprees.)

 

Anyhoo, the book left me with a similar dark unease as when I’d watched Oldboy.

When I closed the book for the last time, I was left with a lingering darkness, much of which plagues the narrative throughout L

 

On a lighter note, we played in the annual Mini World Cup a couple of weeks ago.

 

We performed reasonably well – topping a fairly generous group stage, before beating another team by penalties in the knockout stages. We should or could have beaten the Algerian team that we faced in the quarter final, but conceded a non-penalty. Looking at their team, we really should have done better.

I’ve personally not played well in the past couple of months (or past few tournaments for that matter). I’m at my best when I’m super confident or severely angry. I never hit either extreme and just ran around hoping something would happen. My only excuse (actually I have two)…are that I’d had 5 hours sleep the night before and had hurt my hip playing a few days prior. But still, I’d have expected to play a bit better.

 

Better get back to the drawing board, or at least my press ups...

(Written 29^th May…while emotions still raw)

 

I’m happy. But I’m also a little angry. I guess that’s how rainbows are formed? [insert eye-rolling emoticon]

 

I smile. Because the Sichuan Charity party went really well in terms of how much we raised. In total, it will reach £565 and this should get doubled by Angel’s match fund. That’s over £1000, which is really quite incredible.
It was a decent night in all – there were some quality moments. The auction was successful. A girl randomly donated £5 for her friend (a guy) to dance. We’d been playing R’n’B/Hip Hop all night, then as soon as he came forward to show off his moves, “Dancing Queen” by Abba blasted out from the speakers. I looked at Skinny and just creased up.

 

I think people were paying between £10 - £30 for a signed photo and one lucky/dirty Ukranian contributed £10 and 20.10 Euros for a private dance. I’m sure he wanted Concept really, but was not unhappy with landing Ayi.
(Haha! Apparently, that weakling (Oleg) couldn’t support her weight on his allegedly injured hand and so she was sent sprawling to the floor! Ouch.)

 

I frown. As while it went well, it could/should have been busier. I’d secretly hoped that double the number of people would come. It didn’t seem like much to ask – come out for a bit, share a tasty drink and do something for a good cause at the same time. There are no losers in such a bargain.

 

By the next day, I’d heard enough excuses. No money? That’s a currency whose value has paled in comparison to the horrors of recent times. Too tired the next day? Some have little to wake up for.

It really was a good event – intimate surroundings, colourful fruity cocktails and a live performance. Do people not tire of the same routine more so than they would be had they made the journey?

 

...Perhaps, mostly, humans are inherently selfish creatures L

 

Those that came, in spite of the difficulty, were very much appreciated.

Unlike last time, I won’t slate Pigrat – she came and had a double shift the next day, as well as encouraging others to come with.

Similarly, Beasty had to be up by 6am the next morning. But he knew how desperate I was for it to be a success and had no qualms about making a prolonged and generous appearance. I really have a lot of time for these people.

 

Before I sound like a self-righteous prick, I suppose I’m not much different – if I was as noble as I’d like to be, I’d drop everything and spend my life crusading – become a mercenary of the people. No, I’m not a true Samaritan. But I hope there is some genuine compassion in me, though the balancing act between selflessness and its opposite is a juggling act that is often won by the latter.

 

I guess it’s just where and how the point of that compromise is reached is what speaks louder and clearer.

My heart was pounding and I couldn’t catch my breath. I was truly exhausted. My boots seemed to weigh a tonne and if I had an operating system, it would have been Ms-Dos, such was my speed of thought. I’d only been running for a couple of minutes.
It was equally painful and embarrassing and likely the culmination of too may late nights, early rises, perpetual snacking and a tainted blood stream.

 

That and the following account has led to a well needed detox.

 

Not long ago, I could have experienced one of the dullest nights in recent memory. If not, like the current heavyweight boxing division, there are not many other strong contenders.
I was adamant that I’d stay in on Thursday, but then had arranged to meet Alex Tweddle for a drink. That was cool and it was good to meet as I hadn’t seen him for four or so years. Unfortunately, one innocent tea turned into a beer. And one innocuous beer swiftly into another.
Then my fate was sealed when I decided to meet with Kevin and KF.  I was growing sleepy and was grumpy to be out. However, since the course of the evening had already been set in motion, I tried a grin and bear it policy.

Ballares. Everytime I go there, I’m reminded why I don’t like it. The music is atrocious and the merits of clubbing seem lost to me. That fake grin, soon turned into a growl and I was waiting for the end to arrive.

The final whistle sounded, but then that was only the beginning - there was agonising extra time. Rat, whose birthday it had been, underwent an unexpected return to innocence - senses dulled by the moment, thought processes clouded by tequila and vision impaired by a rumoured charm. ‘Wait for me’ she squeeled, while making minimum effort to leave. Waiting in an emptying club is bad enough, but then the location moved to the cold and rain outside. To make it even worse, the guy was one of the truest idiots I’ve had the misfortune to meet.

 

The ordeal ended not soon enough, after I’d been called a c*nt a few times by the charming gentleman. But then I meekly succumbed to the seduction of the Van of Death. I love eating. But I generally try to avoid junk food, especially late at night. However, I couldn’t resist the allure of the infamous egg burger. I hadn’t eaten dinner and I was fuming. Comfort eating was the quickest solution.

Midway through devouring, a middle-aged drunk stopped by. It was quite sad to see – the guy was so wasted he was trying to open a bottle with his teeth. I could hear a horrible grinding sound as he endeavoured to chip his teeth and spit out the waste. The rest of my junk meal was accompanied by broken glass – as bottles and lightbulbs seemed to rain down around us.

 

Not at all fun.

 

Although a few nights previous to that I did meet up with Ayi, who had come back to visit her family for a few days. She was bored and I was willing, so we met up for some drinks in the dwindling sun. It was a lot of fun and hanging out seemed effortless. Some people get the wrong idea about her, probably as she’s pretty. But she’s just a nice girl, with a big laugh.

The evening itself was messy – I had an entire bottle of red and a little white wine by the Quayside. Followed shortly by 2 pints at Teriaki and a cocktail at La Raza. Then there was a little more at SoulTree…

 

Other than illness, some good did come out it. Over the subsequent few days, we’d agreed to hold a charity event at La Raza to help raise funds towards the Sichuan earthquake disaster that had happened.

 

It’s quite distressing to see the images of the disaster. I feel lost when I leave my phone at home or think I’ve lost my wallet. To go through what some of those guys have is unimaginable. Material possessions are one thing, most other things are irreplaceable.

It’s also somewhat unfair that I should feel more distraught that they are Chinese who are suffering. It’s, sadly, true that the tragedy in Burma not long previously did not come close to grabbing my attention, or indeed that of the media (or so it seems).

 

Enough sombre thoughts for now.

 

Summer is here! Or was here. It might come back.
We were teased with a few very warm days then taunted by a succession of less jubilant ones. I’d packed away most of my winter clothes, though looks like I’ll need to dig them back out.

Recently, I’d planted a few things and helped with some gardening. The limits of my ability were to dig a big hole. That’s not all I did, I did plant some spinach, cauliflower and spring onion seeds. I water them when I remember and a few shoots have begun to show. It’s quite rewarding watching them grow. And I get to eat at the end of it.

 

When the sun was actually out to play, I spent an afternoon tucked away with a book. 'Geek' springs to mind, but it was awesome! Nestled amidst some puffy sheets with the bright sun illuminating the pages and decorating the room is heaven. On earth that is.

 

Landing back on earth, my bad form kicked in. We played against Rio’s team. We endured a terribly slow start – accumulated rust from inaction being the main culprit.
We were trailing 3-0 within about 15 sorry minutes. But we dug in and pulled it around, to lead 4-3, having played reasonably well in the process. However, we took our foot off the pedal and paid the price, conceding three late sloppy goals.

I was pretty crap (again) but I hate losing. I really hate losing. You can learn a lot from it, but I still hate it. But in this instance, perhaps a tiny part of me was glad we’d lost as my colleague has had a difficult time and the win was better for him than it would have been to polish my ego.

 

Crap. I’ve typed so much…crap. I may as well finish on some more randomness. I think I’ve been guilty of chasing butterflies. They are pretty as they flitter to and thro. It’s too easy to forget that they can be delicate and, ultimately, not easily (or willingly) caught.

 

Now that really was random and it seems unfinished. But I’m tired. I think I’ll sleep.

 People seem to be attracted to bright or shiny things*. Take my bike lights for example. I’d had enough of chatting to Neoh after a late night out and was about to (gallantly) disappear into the horizon. Alas, some acquaintances walked past and we ended up bantering. Amidst this, my lights had been left flashing and so the first magpie swooped in…a pink shirted lad behind a facade of kindness, promptly felt obliged to switch it off. This sparked an unexpected furor which led to a lot of name calling and a general testosterone eruption. I wasn’t at all bothered, but somehow it did get quite heated with a couple of the other guys. Eventually, Mr Pink left us in peace, albeit with a somewhat bruised pride. No sooner had he left, then the flashing front light attracted a drunken Norwegian girl. She struck up conversation and then nonchantly (and clumsily) removed the light to put in her pocket. I protested, but she seemed adamant the light wasn’t mine either. In the end, I had to bribe her with some random vouchers. Bike lights are trouble.

 

(*Take heed… "All that glisters is not gold.")

 

Not long ago, I cycled past a newspaper billboard that warned: “OAP anger at delayed bus passes” and I wondered how that became breaking news of the day. I guess it’s Cambridge after all. Although having said that, the prospect of facing a raging mob of old-aged cronies all of whom furious at slow admin is less than pleasant.

 

I had the misfortune of watching a film called ‘Ghost Voyage’ last week. It looked so cheesy, I had to stay up to watch the rest of it with Ruddock. Some parts were really very funny, albeit unintentionally. The acting, storyline and - dare I call them - special effects were ludicrous. There’s one guy who just runs around screaming about having seen a phantom. The hysteria eventually wears off and he is quite content to settle in an eerie silk-draped room to chill out, as you would. The craziness goes on with more unusual character psychology, a host of clichéd characters and some Megadrive-esque graphics.

 

The sheer absurdity of that movie seems to have translated onto the footy pitch. I have been so crap recently! I can’t truly blame ‘Ghost Voyage’ – it’s more probably a combo of fatigue, niggling injuries and drinking a little too flamboyantly. Will definitely try to binge only if there’s a ‘good’ reason to. Of course, I fully expect I’ll make excuses for what constitutes a valid reason, but will see how it goes for now. (Note: It’s now May and not a lot has changed >.<)

 

Spring finally seems to have remembered its role and there have been a handful of quite glorious evenings. Meandering through the lush landscape and basking in the lingering hazy sunshine brings on an eternal nostalgia. It’s sweet, but always too fleeting. In Geoff’s (oft-repeated) words, there is an air of bittersweeteness about it all. Enjoy it while it lasts I suppose.

 

Saw some cute dogs running around jubilantly during a news broadcast. Something didn’t seem right. Just a batch of very similar sized auburn coloured mutts, but something was peculiar. Turned out they were apparently all clones! The official line was that they were cloned from the best sniffer dogs. This is pure science fiction. The official line is that financially, producing top quality sniffer dogs is a burden – so, save the expense and clone the best! There must be enough ethical issues to fill a novel, but it really is a concern where they go with this. How long – if not already – until super soldiers, athletes, scholars are next? Or worse.

 

Enough of reality, I’ve been reading a fantasy fiction book recently. Something I read as a teenager and it brings back strong and fond memories. Nothing particularly clever - just an old-fashioned story of courage, chivalry and general kick ass. I even stayed in on a Thursday night to read instead of the embarrassingly traditional nightclub outing. I woke up at 4am (for a pee) and was glad I’d had some sleep rather than slinking back at the crack of dawn, fueled with nothing more than alcohol and borrowed junk food.

I’ve been meaning to scribble something for a while but never got round to it. So, Phone - silent, Messenger – ninja mode, Food – eaten, Eddy's PS3 - hibernate.
The weeks have flown by. Now, where to start? What the heck, whatever springs to mind will do…

 

Whoops, that’s censored :]

 

Well, I’m stuffed. Went for Tapas last night with seven of the boys and gorged ourselves to the point of fatigue and implosion. It was a semi-farewell to Frodo Baggins as the ring-bearer looks to journey to the Land of the Rising Sun for a year. I think he’s still searching for Mount Doom. There will be at least one last session before he goes. I’m sure it will involve Dojos and filth.
 
La Tasca was good wholesome fun, without being too gay, it’s fervently snug to be around close friends. Though – off topic - I’m still taken aback by just how many Orientals frequent that place on a Monday evening. I swear half of the people there had squinty eyes.

 

Just watched Arsenal vs Liverpool in the Champions League. What a cracking match for neutrals! Arsenal play some blistering football at times and were unlucky to lose.
C4 have been playing pretty well this year too. We won all of our last 6 league matches in style and barring a hapless miracle, should be promoted. Our teamwork and spirit has experienced a new lease of life and we’ve left quite a few teams shell-shocked in our wake.
I think I’ve probably been playing as consistently well as I ever have done. I feel more comfortable on the ball now and physically I’m probably at my peak.
Skinny just popped over and I only just realized that his knee is only about 80% recovered. Hope it does reach full recovery, but it does make you realise how good we have it when something isn’t wrong. And how we too often tend to forget to appreciate even the small things – such as good health. Or good friends with good wine.

 

A few weeks ago, a group of eight of us visited the Lake District in Cumbria for a couple of days.
It’s a scenic area with no shortage of lakes – hence the wildly imaginative name. Though having said that, it could quite easily have been called the peak district, as it’s the hilliest area I’ve ever been to. Frolics included a 6 hour trek through meandering slopes through all extremes of weather. There was some feasting and general male bonding. Yuk.

We traveled back on Sunday morning in time for me to play in our final league match against Homerton College.

I had a forgettable first half, the marathon walk the previous day paying dividends towards my overall level of crapness. However, we had a breathtaking second half and clinched victory with some cracking goals and a solid team performance. I ran my socks off and scored a decent solo effort to make it 5-3. The defender I shrugged off later said it was an amazing goal and that I was one of the best players he’d ever played against. Haha! He was both wise and kind with his words.

 

We held a Cocktail party at La Raza in … March(?). Seems like a long time ago. It was fine and went as well as could be expected considering it was only advertised through word of mouth, online and a small cluster of posters. I had fun anyway, so I guess it can be called a success?

 

In fact, have been clubbing tooooooooooooooo much recently. So much so that Neoh, Chung, Eddy and I are now the self-styled four sky kings! It’s a bit of a joke really, but quite funny nonetheless. I think I’ll definitely try to curb the wanton partying a little though…

 

Started training again from Jan – March. Beasty and I went religiously to the gym over several weekends. Sometimes on a Saturday and Sunday - along with football! That was pretty whack. I hope I used ‘whack’ properly.
I was in quite good shape (until I started eating like a swine recently) and somehow have reached the heady heights of 80 pushups. That’s pretty awesome. I used to drop at about 55 or so.

I was doing some shadow boxing, stretching and kicking, but have had some heavy footy sessions since and not practiced any of that.

 

Several times a year, I’ll tend to get sentimental about things – life or some crap. The most recent bout of excessive emotion was inadvertently caused by KF. That bastard (:P) Kafai just blanked out whilst driving home one night and crashed his car. He escaped with some cuts, bruises (and the dignity of his age intact*) and a written off car. But it really was a lucky escape and reinforces how fickle life can be. To which my response was to promise myself not to hold back from doing things and be more open and honest in general. I’d rather regret doing something than not doing it at all. Though how strong my conviction is remains to be seen…

 

(*Haha…the story goes that while he was laying upside down semi-conscious, he overheard somebody give a description to the ambulance: Chinese, male about 35. At which point KF shouts “I’m 28!” and then probably passed out.)

 

End of random rant.

 

Feel a bit like the party worm from Futurama* right now. It's the eyes!

Not sure what happened to the detox plan - must have forgotten the 'de' part. Have been abusing the liver pretty badly ¬.¬

My deluded and somewhat twisted logic thinks this is ok, as I've been playing footy and training once a week...

 

Had a fair few glasses of wine last nite at staff party - was an 'interesting' evening. 'Cute' Nina came with me, must have been weirder for her than me. And it was pretty weird for me, to begin with anyway. Ended up at SoulTree where Chung and Eddy were up 2 no good! The former was absolutely smashed and has evolved some new moves - yes, shock, horror.
Was woken again at 8am and crawled out of bed to play footy at 11am. Other than feeling quite sick and lethargic, somehow managed to score 4 times in the 45 minutes I played. It was for the other Chinese team and they love me now - have scored 6 goals and won a penalty for them in 90 minutes of pitch time - all of which have been under the influence! Played shit for the Korean team last week tho, was a bit ashamed.

 

No Bambooty till CNY next Feb, tho cld do some kind of small event in between.

 

Hatton vs Mayweather 2nite - shld be a cracker. The euphoric hype has built it up nicely. I like both fighters, but definitely will be cheering for Hatton.

 

Fucccck! Left my bike in town last nite, better grab it in a mo b4 fight night >.<

 

*Slurmz McKenzie died protecting ppl doing what he does best - partying! Haha! http://en.futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Slurms_MacKenzie

 

 

I can barely walk, but it was just about worth it!

Opposition players have a fond fetish for kicking my shins. I also think I've pulled my calf. Anyhoo, we won 5-2 today in what was a stormy, but entertaining encounter. Twice we were losing, but we had the conviction to turn it around. We all put in a heroic shift, other than one person who I shall not name (ahem, Robert!)
I scored twice and probably should have had a few more, but it was a hugely satisfying win nonetheless. Chung hit two and Jeff scored for the 2^nd game in a row.

We held the Aki-Teri cocktail/food/karaoke party a few days ago. It went fairly well, I think ppl had fun. But the management let us down by not delivering on some things they had promised. It was a worthy experiment and some of the singing was quite funny…uptown guuuuuuurrrrl?

The night after that Krang, Mr Neat, Shelley and I went to Leon’s party, which was surprisingly good. Loads of decent food (salmon sashimi!) and drinks (a couple of cocktail and a chocolate fountains). Saw Leon get his face smashed with a rock hard cake. Also remembered afterwards – and not for the first time - I can be quite a knob after a few drinks >.<

Five of us ate like beasts last night – Roast lamb and beef amongst other things. The self proclaimed ‘Hero Man’ is back, as is my sister, which is pretty cool. We ate so much, I forgot to go to Vivian’s party…whoops/ooops.

For now, I’ll nurse my leg and flex in Nike Pro.

As I brush aside the cyber cobwebs that litter my Msn Space, I’m wondering when Summer will arrive. It’s been sucking more than an out of breath asthmatic, and I’d imagine that’s a lot of sucking.

Anyway, haven’t written here for so long, am not sure where to start. The beginning would be logical, but I’m not all that sensible and am indifferent to the Adam and Eve story. Big Bangs scare me even more.

What the heck, today will do…
Lately, I seem to be experiencing an exodus of biblical proportions.
Sergio, who I met doing the Mini World Cup, is off to New York to coach ‘soccer’ to the kids and is unsure when, if at all, he’ll be back. I don’t know him incredibly well, but have a lot of respect for his character and integrity – far more so than many people I’ve know for ten times longer.
I popped by to see him today and he seemed really appreciative (he did say ‘I really appreciate you coming to see me’ about three times). I was glad I could say goodbye to him properly, he’s genuinely a good man.
Terrence left a couple of weeks ago, never to return. Had a couple of good nights out with that fool when with Krang and the Dang.
Had been hanging out with Mishe a fair bit lately, a couple of gym sessions and loiters, it was fun and now she’s pretty much emigrated to Leeds. Am unlikely to see Leo the GK again and Mike (Yip) will be off to HK then London on the 9th July. Squeekyman is off to Uni next term too.
And then come the end of July, my sister and Martin are moving to Thailand for I don’t know how long.
Oh, how time flies and how depressing! It doesn’t help that one of Faye Wong’s melancholy tunes is stuck on loop (if you’re curious, it’s: 暗湧)

Will stop my moaning (for now).

Football – I’d generally been playing really well in ‘training’, but couldn’t translate that form to the two tournaments we entered. The St Johns Tournament, we did ourselves no shame by beating Churchill in an eventful game that involved torrential rain, end to end drama, pride and a splash of racism! Our other games could have gone better, but overall, it was satisfactory.
The Mini World Cup was another mixed bag. A lack of goals, but we made it out of the group stage, at the expense of our Algerian counterparts. We drew 0-0 in a hard fought game against the eventual tournament champions. But played badly and were knocked out in the next round by a goal scored in the final 20 seconds. I’ve not been playing particularly skilfully in either event, probably doing too much donkey work. Need to adjust our game plan and mentality for optimum results. We do play too much of an English game, whereas our strengths are more suited for a more elegant style of play. We need to be tough, but have to learn to let eloquence conquer brutality.

Have taken up some external work this past month. Have been doing illustrations for a Muslim project from CTAD. It’s gone ok, and it’s been vital that Dom has helped out too. While doing this, we’re trying for a magazine layout job. It would be a welcome challenge should we get it. It’s a national Rock and Lifestyle magazine called ‘Tuned’ and would be fairly enjoyable work.

Think I’ll need to appreciate things a bit more, even and perhaps especially the little things.

We played some slick football on Sunday, a return to the sort of performances that had us whipping all sorts of players/teams on Parkers. Generally one or two touch football and energetic movement off the ball ensured adept dominance and a sexy brand of play. The pain in my foot is subsiding as the weeks go by and my passing and dribbling hit some respectable form. Am definetely gonna take this Sunday off and just enjoy the G-Mans BBQ and Bambooty.

 

There was a BBQ for stealthy Henrys BDay. At the party, there was a chick that knew next to nobody and sat there looking moody. Beasty and I agreed we should've talked to her. Admittedly she was quite cute, but that wasn't the only/main reason we should have done some chatting. To be fair, we did try but prob came across as a couple of pervs, so it didn't go too well, haha.

 

The BBQ food can best be described as burnt, but as we were at a restaurant, there were loads of fried noodles to compensate. Later, there was a water and food fight which saw anything go. Quite funny and birthday boy got a royal pasting. I lobbed a few burger buns at his head from a far. To put the icing on the cake and my self proclaimed 'Warrior' title to shame, we plotted and succeeded in stripping Henry down to his pants. Sordid, but so very funny.

 

That weekend, there was a big boxing fight - Mayweather vs De La Hoya. To spice things up, I put a £4 bet on Mayweather to win on points. He won and I won, but it was a good - rather than spectacular - fight. Along with chatterings of MMA, I really need to get into shape.

 

In fact, am gonna do some training now. Watch out Floyd.

Finally JUST watched ‘300’ and despite the mixed reviews, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
No film has made me want to do situps so much as 300, but other than that – purely on visuals, this film kicks some (Persian) ass. The lead actor does an awesome job and I simply have to get a pair of furry pants, short sword, sturdy shield and a ragged crimson cape. It’s so vogue! Erm, cracking adrenaline movie anyway.

Been drinking far too much red wine recently, my clothes are picking up more battle stains than King Leonidas with a machine gun. It’s been fun, but am certainly feeling it on football days…
Went to La Raza with Krang last Friday, which was a first and also has extended our Friday night haunts. A couple of cute girls there – one that Anthony Chan mentioned – half Spanish, half Oriental, totally hot.
Also been loitering with Ruddock and QD at the Round church. It’s their favourite hang out and other than the local hobos, isn’t a bad spot.

Footy – well, we travelled to Brighton and despite being the best (and most muscular) team, crashed out shamefully albeit unluckily. Did get some fish and chips from the seafront afterwards and it pains me to say the highlights of the day both involved Chung. First his ripping off of top for his goal celebration, then his and Roberts ‘punches’ that drew the verdict of ‘a bit weak’. Oh dear.
Man U just got dumped out of the Champions League and that sucks. It goes to show how important mentality is to winning and they just didn’t have it.
Have semi-arranged a match with a work friends new team. Losing isn’t an option. It never is, but bragging rights are valuable.
Mayo Greg is leaving Cam this Friday and it’s a shame to see that muffin go. He’ll at least remember my spicy noodles – a legacy comparable to any king.

The weather has been in fine mood of late. And so I found myself in Grantchester with Krang, Quoc and Isaac(s) last Saturday. Swanning around by the river like a group of fairies, we eventually settled at a pub and spent an hour ridiculing people. Cheese and his alleged forgetfulness to don his trousers bought much merriment.

Then a quick session at Parkers whereby we hoofed a mini football between us. It was alright, as hoofing footballs goes, but while the pain in my foot is mild, it is also constant and so does a good job of dulling any enjoyment. Dom slid by and hunger dictated that we construct a feast at his Nonna’s place.
And it was a feast. A leg of lamb roasted with rosemary. Chicken stuffed with pork and sage. The most scrumptious roast potatoes (second only to my Goose fat basted gems of last Xmas), salad of rocket, watercress and other fanciful greens dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Then finally boiled broccoli, which was avoided like…well, boiled broccoli. A super meal, but alas combined with a poor showing of sports on TV. Three one sided boxing matches sandwiched by Man U losing to Portsmouth quelled my appetite whilst fuelling my rage.

It must be that time of the year again – talk drifts excitedly towards imaginings of a journey to Europe (other parts of). The hot topic seems to be Amsterdam/Southern France. A certain Krang wants to eat mushrooms (of the magical variety…whoops, should I have typed that?), but I would like to get to France for a voyage – sampling fine wines and finer food. Perhaps it will happen this year. Chung seems interested and can probably rope others into it this time.

Have been coveting a precious red stone recently. But my intestinal fortitude is too alike that of ‘A-force’ to properly complete the mission. To be continued…

Wednesday was the rematch against the Korean Soc. We’d had enough excuses to make the aforementioned ‘A-force’ blush and so were keen to do the talking on the pitch. We won 7-3, but in truth it was a mediocre performance from the team. We raced into a 4-1 lead and looked reasonably comfortable. I scored 3 in the first half, latching onto a series of ground balls. The first, Greg rolled across goal for an easy tap in. Greg slipped me in for the second for another simple finish, side footing it past a stranded keeper. The third, Chung dropped in a perfectly weighted throughball between both centrebacks. I made a diagonal run to round the keeper and find an empty net. Wai hit a decent strike from outside the box for our fourth goal.
And so things looked good, but a scrappy 2nd half was to follow and as such there was little interplay and too many hopeful high balls. The pain in my foot made a throbbing and unwelcome return and the only part of me on fire, was my ass after a few sliding tackles. We did enough to get the victory, but this display was patchy at best. Though credit to the Koreans, who with a good central midfield pairing and a few other tidy players did pretty well. Despite our timid 2nd half display, Beasty boy was tripped in the penalty area and got up to score a well taken pen. Also, Minh added two more from tight angles.
Mike wasn’t playing and would have made a huge difference and of course as would have Skinny. Arguably, Mickey Chan and Robert ‘the body’ Law may have helped. Also, if I wasn’t struggling with my foot injury (which has accompanied me for almost two months now), I wouldn’t have had such an anonymous second half. Wow, a multitude of excuses and we actually won the game.

Talking about football, as I so often do, Chung and I bumped into the French guy we call Silvestre. He was full of praise for the way we won the BBD United match and said I was the best. Of course, I’m not ‘the best’ but I did play out of my skin in that game. I prefer to have a challenge and the part of me that is a bad loser means I’ll up my game if the odds are against us. Mantis Hui described it as mentality. When editing C4 on Pro Evo, he gave me the maximum stats for mentality (but crap all for heading) and harps on about it occasionally when I see him :)

 

Haha, I watched a bit of Kiki's Delivery service and there's this cat in it that cracks me up. It's tiny* and is classic when he pretends to be a stuffed toy. In fact, Studio Ghibli films rock.

 

* That reminds me of when I was walking down the road with a friend and he spotted a squirrel. Excitedly, he shouted 'look at that squirrel, it's tiny!' and embarked on chasing it. I was, of course, quite miffed as I watched him sprint after a squirrel for the sole reason that it was tiny.

 

The poor salmon. Too tasty for its own good. I had the unappealing task of filleting a salmon today and the tedium of the process had me thinking. But I best keep that to myself. Haha.

 

Well, I also cleaned the filter for our goldfish – tank and this also had me thinking. I was thinking how I didn’t want to be doing this! Haha, again.

 

Seriously, these goldfish are fragile creatures – the instructions for cleaning the pump suggested that I use aquarium water or else something or another might kill the blighters. I also know that they can only survive within a small window of ph levels and temperature conditions (nothing near boiling).
Couple this with their apparent two second memory and we have a species that has a distinctly low quality of life. Indeed I often see them gobble up small pebbles (and fish turd) hoping it was food before spitting it back out again (and again) in disgust. Thankfully humans don’t have that problem.

So what the heck is my point? I’m all about evolution theory, but it seems we’ve now built up a society whereby sometimes life regresses rather than progresses? These goldfish have little merit other than decoration and I’m sure wouldn’t do too well out in the wild.
And along with the flaccid farmed salmon, we have bloated lifeless, flightless chicken (I was told they could once fly, though through centuries of abuse and oppression(!), even Mike from football puts their airtime to shame and their flying technique isn’t so elegant).
Unfortunate farmed cows with oversized nipples/udders – this lovingly developed through generations of milking them dry. The list goes on.

 

And now down to the crux of the matter…devolution in humans. Evolution would imply that species become more refined and adapt to the environment – whereby we would become smarter, stronger, healthier, get more Xmas presents etc or else die out. But this may not be the case.
I won’t even attempt to be PC, the chav/asbo population seems to be exploding and whereby survival of the fittest may once have halted this, we now have little in place to control these spiraling numbers. Some cities have become engulfed with urban rednecks and the genetics it circulates and the culture it perpetuates isn’t at all promising.

For a fool so used to being alcoholically impaired, I’ve been pretty much sober at the Fez on Friday night and on Sunday for Bambooty. It’s a weird experience - you feel quite self-conscious - but certainly feel a lot better the following morning.

Sunday was a long day, as is usual. A physically demanding footy match vs a team called BD United at noon kicked off proceedings. They were a mixed bunch and despite us playing well, we were undeservedly 4-1 down by halftime. With a raging inferno burning in our bellies, we played fiercely and overhauled the three-goal deficit to emerge victorious, winning 5-4.
It was superbly satisfying and while we had next to no subs, they had at least 8. Most teams would have given up when trailing 4-1, but we turned it around through sheer force of will and no lack of skill. My heel was so sore with half an hour to go and I picked up a blister that is set to pain me for a few more days.

Later that evening, was Bambooty. I can’t DJ for shit, but had to help out more as Jans is away in China. Therefore, I barely drank and was always on the move – not having much  time to chat to ppl or drink properly. In conclusion, responsibility sucks. No wonder Spiderman is always bitching.