bye to my workplace, and bye to Euro 08. What a night it was, by the way. Last day of work at compasspoint, met up with 2 friends, went to bedok where we met more friends for supper. Came back to tampines, played some poker cards to while the time away (no betting though), then went to the coffeeshop for the big final.
Spain seemed to overrun the Germans completely, with slick passing and numerous through passes to Torres. Spain were seemingly playing like a game console team: Press the triangle button, and a nice defence splitting pass gets to Torres. The Germans hardly had a sniff at goal, while their goalkeeper Lehmann had to work overtime, diving all over the place to ensure the scoreline stayed at a respectable 0-1. In all, an entertaining and worthy final, and a high night for me. Wooz!
me at 2:48 PM
this is it. I'm so excited, i barely had 5 hours sleep last night. Today is the last day of work for my temporary job, and i'm gonna hang out with some friends after work before we will all watch the final together. Such a coincidence that a few hours after the final day of work, Euro 2008 kicks off the final match. What a climax tonight may turn out to be!
me at 12:43 PM
Germany and Spain. Yes, 2 heavyweights are meeting in the final after all. With many upsets along the way, like Czech Republic crashing out in the group stage, Italy and France crushed by the Dutch, defending champions Greece losing all 3 group games, mighty Holland booted by a youthful Russian team, Turkey staging 3 stunning fightbacks in a row before succumbing to a late Germany goal themself, the final might have been contested by 2 'small' teams. But well, here we all, a final featuring 2 traditional powerhouse teams.
And oh yes, speaking of the Russia Spain match, Russia put up a decent fight in the 1st half, before Spain bulldozed them with 3 goals. Finally, a great match that i watched, after the bore Italy-Spain match and the disrupted Germany-Turkey match. On to the finale!!!
me at 9:34 PM
the 1st semi, Germany vs Turkey. The 1st half was very exciting, plenty of goalmouth action. Then came the 2nd half. There was an initial disruption, with the screen freezing, and action continuing after roughly 6 minutes. Ok, no goals in that period. Then in 75+ minutes came the second disruption, this time longer, and when the broadcast resumed at around 85+ minutes, it was already 2-2. Gosh, 2 late goals missed. And Germany scored just in time to make it 3-2 as the telecast froze again. Man, what if Turkey staged another mega late comeback. But the scoreline remained. At first I thought only the scv preview channel suffered this fate (it's free after all). Then I checked with a friend, a starhub subscriber, who also had the same problem. So i thought boo to starhub. Only after i read the days' paper, then i realised that most broadcasters worldwide were unable to show the match due to a storm in Austria. Hopefully the last 2 matches of the tournament will be ok.
me at 9:26 PM
what a disappointing match. i stayed up with a friend, first at starbucks, then at macdonalds, before heading back to the coffeeshop near our place for the supposedly exciting match between Spain and Italy. What a yawn match it turned out to be, no goals in 120 minutes, thats fine, but there was hardly any genuine chance at goal for either side. Maybe just one good chance for Spain, and that was it. Boo. The only excitement came during the penalties. Duh. On to the semi-finals.
me at 9:13 PM
So the quarter-finals have started! The Portugal-Germany match was rather entertaining, serving up 5 goals in all. Ronaldo shone for Portugal as usual, while Deco was a mere passenger in this game. Germany showed their set-piece prowess with 2 well taken goals coming from free kicks. On to the next match!
me at 10:14 AM
There's this Puma sale at Tampines Mall main atrium area...
And things went from this...
To this...
Also a friend showed me this bag... and told me the drawing kinda looks like a sperm... I can't help but agree with him
me at 9:05 PM
Wooz, definitely the best game of football so far. The crowd for the game today at the coffeeshop was the biggest of the matches i've watched thus far. Ok, this is a big match after all. Or perhaps it's weekends already. With this match viewed, i've watched the entertaining trio of Spain, Portugal and Holland.
As for the match, Dutch attacking flair was at its maximum, and it was no surprise they took the lead. After that the Dutch had to weather a barrage of attacks from France for the remainder of the half, as the French came agonizingly close to an equalizer. And thats only the first half.
The second half brought more excitement. The Dutch got another goal on a counter attack, Henry pulled one back for France, but Robben scored from a very tight angle straightaway to make it 3-1. Despite a healthy 3-1 lead, Holland still ventured forward at times and this culminated in a fourth goal. So Holland has now beat both of the World Cup 2006 finalists by 3 goals. wow.
Which means that France and Italy will be going all out at each other in their final cutthroat group game. Another must watch match.
me at 12:46 PM
Went to the pc show after work today. I drew quite some cash to purchase an external hard drive for a colleague. Along with the psp, handphone and mp3 player, there could have been $1,000 worth of goodies on me. I couldn't wait to make it home quickly.
The Singtel race simulator was present too
And of course, the usual mass of brochures
me at 11:39 PM
Czech Republic vs Portugal this time. The Czechs seem quite poor, lacking ideas upfront. Ronaldo was at his best, setting up 2 goals and scoring one himself. Another entertaining match, though the entertainment mainly came form Portugal.
me at 10:53 PM
I finished work at 10pm today. but by chance and unforeseen circumstances, i reached near home at 1130. I then headed over to the two coffeeshops near my place. Both were still showing channel 8 dramas at 1130. So i persevered and decided, heck, since it was already 2330, might as well wait 20 min more to see if by any remote chance, the soccer channel would come on. So at 2350, i went for a final check, starting from the block across... at first i saw a green background on the tv... then saw some mascots on the green ground... and THAT WAS IT!!! I have been wondering and pondering since the opening match, how and where to catch soccer life, without having to taking cabs to and fro to faraway places. And HERE IS WAS, live Euro soccer practically right under my nose!!!
Speaking of the match, Spain played exquisite football, pacing many beautiful through passes, with David Villa in superb form. Russia provided some resistance, particularly with a woodwork effort. By half time it was 2-0 to Spain. I then went to the toilet (with my bag), and i came back out to find my seat taken immediately. Boo. As the remaining places left were kinda poor for viewing, i thought, alright, 2-0 means the second half would probably be Spain relaxing, and Russia perhaps getting at most a goal back. How wrong I was as the second half served up 3 more goals. Boo.
me at 12:37 PM
Yes, the 2nd most major tournament (the big boss is of course the World Cup) has finally kicked off! And boo to channel five for not showing a single match. Though Starhub made up for it with a free preview channel which showcasing the opening match, semi-final and the final.
Before Euro started, Singapore played Uzbekistan in an away game (which channel 5 did show). Singapore fought gallantly and were close to an upset draw (and even victory), but their hard work were upstaged by an Uzbekistan goal in the final 10 minutes. But kudos to the Lions, pride has indeed been restored following the 3-7 mauling on home soil to the same opponent days ago.
On to Euro. The opening match was a kinda drab affair. Both sides played cautiously, with little goalmouth action. In the 1st half, Switzerland start striker Alexander Frei was taken out and had to stay on clutches (not on the field haha) for the rest of the match. When Czech Republic star striker Jan Koller was substituted in the 2nd half, that was it: both sides playing without their top strikers, and it was a matter of which side could nick a goal to earn the full points in a dull match. And Czech Republic duly got the solitary goal. Well, from now on till the semi finals there will be no live matches on soccer for me, so i'll have to watch some matches at coffee shops. Hopefully i'll pick correct, entertaining matches to watch.
me at 11:46 AM
theres this little shop at compasspoint that sells interesting stuff:
tasty looking chocolate
which turns out to be a mirror in disguise
anothe bar of chocolate
which is actually a pencil case
then there's a chocolate calculator
a chocolate notebook, with a bite taken for good measure
plastic noodles
and other cutesy stuff
me at 10:35 PM
Ate at Viet Thai with 2 friends today (finally get to meet up with friends after so many night work days), and I was surprised to find on the plate... a green tomato
Later on we went to the arcade, where we played the same usual game... spot the difference:
And it seems that i haven't been to the arcade for a looong time; winning eleven aka pro evolution soccer aka what is probably the best and hottest soccer game out there is now an arcade game!
Then we went to have snacks at Cafe Cartel. Cakes sold there are at 50% off after 9pm everyday, no terms and conditions (other than availability)! The Black Forest cake was superb
Finally... on our way home, at the interchange, there was this uncle who said he needed help in finding the bus stop for bus no 27 (which is along my way home, and the bus i have been taking to work the past weeks). At first my 2 female friends were hesitant about me leading him to the bus stop (well, who knows). After a mini discussion i decided to lead him anyway, amid a little suspicion. But as i led him to the bus stop, he told me the whole story of how he ended up at the wrong interchange, having taken the wrong bus (mistaking a 9 for a 5), and everything fitted, given that i know the routes of the buses he took and how they led him to the wrong destination.
It certainly felt really good to be able to lend a helping hand!
me at 11:49 PM
Nonono. Singapore was mauled 3-7 right in front of the home fans, who showed up in droves to show their great support. Oh man. When i reached home yesterday, it was already 1-2 to Uzbekistan. I went into my room and came out, and it became 2-2. Went to the toilet, and the score increased to 2-3. I thought, well, ok, i'm gonna sit down and watch the match fully form that point to miss any more goals (and see if Singapore does indeed have the strength to muster a great comeback. And pf course, the defence was in shambles and culminated in a Uzbekistan goal scored direct from a corner. Boo.
me at 10:56 PM
Long awaited off-day. Been a long time since I caught a movie (previous one was ironman). Caught a show at this theater at Bedok, known as Overseas Princess. The place seemed pretty run down, with not-so-comfy seats. Well who cares.
Heres the ticket 'stud', which is actually just a piece of paper:
By the way its really cheap, five dollars, which leads me to think that
this cinema hasn't raised its price since... its opening maybe. Also the theater was playing some really 70s/80s retro disco music before the show started.
As I got into the disco mood, a friend called (supposedly from her home), and since the background music was so loud and convincing, i acted smart and told her that I was at a disco. A minute later she said she was busy, and had to call me
back a bit later. Within seconds, a person tapped me on the shoulder from the back,
and hey presto, there she was. Such a coincidence, we were supposed to meet in 2 days' time, and here she was, watching a movie at the same venue and same time as me and my friend. So it turns out she pulled a trick over me instead. Duh.
Oh and speaking of the movie (Indiana Jones), it was a fairly entertaining show, with
uncle Harrison Ford shining in his role as Jones. Mini plot twists here and there,
with Jones and company jumping, sliding and swinging their way through obstacles,
making the movie feel like a game. Action sequences vastly overpowered the conversations, and were over the top. Indeed an old-school, yet refreshing movie which relied on CG far less then the current onslaught of CG-laden films.
me at 10:10 PM
