I feel a lil guilty for neglecting this blog. Haven't had much time to update here. the last month or so has been crazy with work that actually brings in money for me. Such as working on the Men's Health Singapore website.
We've given it quite the revamp by adding in way more content than we used to have. You know how magazines used to do the In This Issue...and put up teaser headlines to force you to buy the mag? Well, we've discarded that and you'll find 2 years worth of tips and tricks you can use for a better life, our tagline is 100% Useful after all. Do peruse if you can.
If you register (it's free) you get full access to our MH Runner's section as well; our special section on how you can be a better runner, regardless how active you are. Registration also gives you access to our contests. One of which is our Surf & Win promo. You just answer a handful of questions and that's it. It's not hard but you will need to check the site a bit. It's not just about fitness and it's not just for men. We welcome the fairer sex's point of views as always and we've got some grooming tips, recipes and money advice as well among others. I have my work blog there too. You can go there if you miss me. I'm the guy with the pencil for a headshot! LOL.
Speaking of other blogs, I'm looking at switching to another blog to be honest. Vox has been great but I'm trying to maximise my blog more and frankly, Vox is quite restrictive with what I have in mind. I've been trying out wordpress for the moment. You can go to The Odd Fellow for the moment but I'm in the midst of setting up my own personal site. Domain name's settled, hosting sorted. Just the content and design. Hopefully by June/ July. Will update soon. Better way to contact me these days is via twitter. Follow me @kazitoshi
So yeah, that's me. So, how you doing?
After a disappointing defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League, Liverpool picked themselves up with a 4-0 demolition of Blackburn Rovers. Sam Allardyce had made all the right noises in the run-up to this match but Rafa Benitez obviously didn't feel he was important enough to warrant a reply, preferring to let his team provide the answers on the pitch instead.
Even without the driving force of Steven Gerrard, rested for the European return fixture, the Reds were several classes ahead of a Rovers side that only registered their first genuine attempt on goal in the 70th minute. I wonder what Benni McCarthy was thinking, the South African striker benched while Christopher Samba, a defender by trade, foraged upfront in a lone striker role.
A quickfire goal by the irrepressible Fernando Torres set the Reds on the way at Anfield. A long ball from Carragher, chest, swivel of the hips and -boom- GOAL. The Spaniard added one more with a bullet header before the break but in truth, he could have had his hat-trick. An uncharacteristic miss after a swift counter sent the ball agonisingly high.
The second half was a more laidback affair. Xabi Alonso pulled the strings in midfield, patiently probing, but it took Danny Agger to carry the ball out of defence and smash it from 30yards or so, reminiscent of his first goal versus West Ham. The sad state of affair for Rovers was compunded when Lucas headed across goal to David N'Gog to nod in his second of the campaign, and the game's fourth goal.
It was a stroll in the park for Liverpool and it was a very handsome win considering they were playing without Gerrard. Torres looks to be peaking at the right time but with United picking up lucky victories and a game to spare, Rafa and his men know that all they can do is keep on plugging and keep on winning.
Originally uploaded by Chanctonbury.
in Piers Anthony's Xanth series, there exists the Night Stallion, ruler of the Night Mares. They are the horses who gallop through the night to deliver your bad dreams when you sleep.
This is what I'd imagine the Night Stallion to look like.glorious photo.
Not many thoughts in the end haha! But here's the final part of it. The rest of the stuff I thought about and wrote during my trip can't be shared with you guys sorry!
Stoned
I admit Halong Bay was a beautiful spot and I can see how magnificent the location is. For the life of me though, I can't see how some of those rock formations got their names. I tried. I really did. But some of those names left me scratching my head! I could only nod in agreement when my guide pointed out the rocks to us, take a quick snap and then squint and stare very hard to make the connection! Maybe I just don't have a very good imagination. What were those Vietnamese fishermen smoki
Surreal
I've experienced many moments that make me go "WTF?!" but this ranks quite high up there on the surreal table. There I was, floating peacefully on a boat down Halong Bay. The sun was getting ready to set and we've just finished an afternoon of marvelling at the gorgeous rock formations and caves that the Bay boasted. As we came to the end of our tour, activities on the boat had pretty much wound down. Our guide was busy below deck as we neared Cat Ba Island, and we were all rather tired.
I was freezing, but enjoying the moment, as the evening breeze said hello and the rocks stared down at us instead. My fellow tourmates were either busy snapping photos, napping or chatting about their coming stay on the boat. Suddenly I heard the sounds of a harmonica. The song was faintly recognisable but I think it was Frank Sinatra's 'My Way'. I stopped to stare at the Korean guy who was playing, wondering if I was imagining the whole thing. I turned my gaze back to the cool blue water of the bay, and I chuckled.
Peace
After the assault on my privacy and senses that is Hanoi, it was nice to find solitude on Cat Ba 2 beach. As I write this, the place is practically deserted, save for the handful of staff and some bored-ass tourists mucking around. The only sounds in the background are the crashing of the waves and the spluttering of a motorboat heading out to sea. I did my 2009 lifeplan during my 2.5hours on that beach. It was definitely worth the 2km trek from my hotel.
During my trip to Hanoi in January, I jotted down a few thoughts in my Moleskin. I've finally gotten around to post them on my blog. Randomness really. Better late than never! Part 1 of 2.
Stay Cool
Chilling in Hanoi takes on a different meaning during the winter months (as I found out). With temperatures hovering around 18 Deg. Celsius in the day and dipping to a low of 13 Deg. Celsius at night, I've hardly taken off my jacket here. I even sleep with my socks on because it's freezing!
How anyone can stroll about in a pair of bermudas and a thin t-shirt is beyond me. In fact, I asked this British dude I met on my Halong Bay tour how he was the surviving the weather as such. He admitted, he wished he'd brought his jacket at least. I bet a lot of tourists realised their folly upon arrival, though to be fair, if you'd compared Hanoi to Ho Chin Minh, it's never so chilly in HCM.
Thank goodness for roadside stalls selling hot green tea to warm up your engines. They cost pittance and offer welcome relief. Plus they're great pit-stops after a long walk, so you can tank up on tea or coffee and a cigarette or two (or three) before getting lost again.
Fashion Forward
The Vietnamese folks never fail to impress me with their fashion consciousness. The younger folks are all about looking flashy with the latest brand names but it's the older generation who earn my admiration for their stylishness. They all looked so prim and proper whether in their colourful, traditional outfits or their European-influenced wear - full tweed suit, with matching vest and flat cap anyone? Like most of Hanoi and its buildings, the elder Hanoians ooze old school cool.
Liverpool followed up their 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid with another four-star display against fierce rivals Man Utd, in their own backyard no less. In the process the Merseyside Reds handed Utd their biggest home defeat since 1936 and kept their own title ambitions alive. Goals from Torres and Gerrard wiped out Ronaldo's penalty to ensure the Merseyside Reds entered the interval with the lead. A Vidic red-card was compounded by a fabulous Aurelio freekick to kill the game off and Dossena's classy lob over Van Der Sar was icing on the cake for the travelling Reds fans.
A victory over the old enemy is always sweet. Handing them a trashing at Old Trafford is diabetes-inducing! Despite the euphoria after this emphatic victory, I hate to be the voice of reason to remind everyone that Utd are still 4pts ahead with a game in hand. We'd need them to slip up badly, and for us to win all our remaining matches. And there's the little problem of hoping Chelsea will drop from their second spot too.
Benitez mentioned about blaming our form slump with the loss of Torres and while I disagree with that statement, I can't express how integral the Spaniard has become to the club. His linkup play with Gerrard was telepathic last night but what everyone would agree most would be his hunger and desire - playing through the pain barrier against the league's best defensive duo and beating them, time and again. We need more of that kind of courage from the rest of the lads too, especially when Torres and Gerrard are not in the team.
There's nothing more frustrating when following Liverpool and knowing that we can win so handsomely against the likes of Madrid and Utd, and then lose to the likes of Stoke and Hull. I'll only truly celebrate when they perform like they did, week in week out and emerge with 3points each time. The two massive wins from last week can instill more confidence in the side and push them to drive towards the elusive Premiership title. We can only focus on our own games from now on and power through the remaining 3months.
My Sony Ericsson K800i has been with me the past 2 years plus. I fear it's finally showing signs of old age and may go on the blink on me. I've already had to replace its battery sometime last year. Now, it doesn't store the numbers of people who call me, or whom I call out. Meaning if I miss your call, I wouldn't even know that you did. Actually, I'm just looking to get a phone with WiFi so I can surf and check my emails on-the-go. I'm quite keen on the Nokia 5800 (mainly cos it Comes w Music) and it's well, quite fancy-looking and the Google phone which is like, ZOMG google phone! 2 things which are stopping me - the Google phone has no headphone jack and no support for bluetooth stereo (i'm not letting other ppl listen to what i'm watching or listening, that's annoying!) and the 5800's keypad is the touchscreen and i'm not a fan of that. alternatively i can wait 2-3 months more and get one of the new Nokia E-series and just buy a new Xbox in the meantime. decisions decisions.
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