Wow...

..I can't believe I actually won tickets for the Emirates Cup this weekend! Basically I randomly entered a lucky draw on the Telegraph newspaper and a girl called me up to say I won the tickets! :D Woohoo!! (Let's see if she is actually pulling my leg tomorrow when I go collect the tickets ;o) )

Anyway if I do manage to get it, I'll be watching 4 awesome matches over the weekend, starring Arsenal, AC Milan, Lyon and Celtic. Can't wait!!!!!!!! This will probably cure my football withdrawal for a while... =)

*Listening to Top of the World by The Blackout*

So here I am at Koko's...

...tapping away on my iPhone and waiting for Good Charlotte to get on stage. I've never been a huge huge fan of the band but I definitely like most of their songs. They've always never failed to produce really catchy and mostly happy tunes. It's pretty packed in here - I'm standing by the stairs - hopefully no one's gonna obstruct my view!!! :D

P/S: don't you just love technology ;)

*Listening to Victim of Love by Good Charlotte*

Is relieved...

..can't believe I scrapped through! Really happy and relieved right now :D

*Listening to Happy by Sister Hazel*

Congratulations...

..to Sheryl and Tim and wishing the both of you a lifetime of happiness! I've just gotten back from their beautiful wedding at Magdalene College earlier today - t'was a really great experience as I have never been to an English, let alone Cambridge wedding before! Also met lots of friends and had a really wonderful time. Indeed, I think weddings can sometimes the best places to meet friends whom you've lost touch with after years of slogging in the working world.

Anyway on a totally separate note, I think I will start watching/following the Bundesliga from next season onwards. Everyone who knows me will know that I'm the most judgemental and bias person on earth so no surprises for the team/s that I will be supporting! Bayern - definitely - and Werder if Ozil stays though. I'm pretty sure Lahm and Muller are not leaving Bayern - and as for Ozil, it's a tough call. I think he will leave...but not to Man U - the club is probably too strapped for cash to spend on a new buy...methinks. Can't bear the thought of supporting another English team - and I somehow could never bring myself to support Barca - yes, as hard as I try to, I've just never been a supporter. Well, we shall see...

*Listening to Tomorrow by James*

Into oblivion...

Don't you wish you could immerse yourself into nothingness sometimes? Well, not always - but sometimes I wish I could hide myself into oblivion. Btw this is a fantastic song by FFAF - I really hope they play it tonight!! :D :D :D I've been wanting to see them play in years and am glad that I'll finally get to catch them playing live tonight.

The days I've felt alone

And the sea, it brings me back again

So that I can see my wife

And I can see my child

Home, I'm home, it never changes

Same old faces, same old places

I stared into oblivion and found my own

I stared into oblivion, into oblivion

Find in me the home

That you have never known

Find in us the faith

The faith to bring you home

I stared into oblivion and found my own

I stared into oblivion and found my own

I stared into oblivion, and found my own reflection there

(reflection there)

Home. Now that I'm coming home

Will you be the same as when I saw you last?

Tell me how much time has passed?

I stared into oblivion (and found my own)

I stared into oblivion (and found my own)

I stared into oblivion (and found my own)

I stared into oblivion and found my own reflection there

P/S: I sometimes wonder what's up with me and Welsh rockers! Haha!!

Yay!

Joachim Loew to stay as Germany's coach..for 2 years - hopefully capped with winning the Euro 2012 :D :D

Man, I'm turning into a Deutscheland fangirl I swear....

*Listening to We Owe This to Ourselves by Anberlin*

A nice dream...

..would be for MU to get Ozil AND Lahm in time for the start of the season....now that would be way beyond awesome. Maybe I should stay in dream-land ala Inception! (which was really mind-bogglingly fantastic!)

By the way, I'm still terribly obsessed with the song Impossible by Anberlin...

Make my teeth clench
And my hands shake
Do you ever see
What you do to me?

You're wearing me out
Just wearing me out
But I'm wearing you down

You're impossible
Lovely
So impossible
To win or please

I'm wearing you out
Just wearing you out
But I'm wearing you down

Take what you want from me
It means nothing now
Take everything from me
It means nothing now

Not so easy to forgive
Harder to forget
Take what you want

I make your lips red
And your moans quake
Try to think through
What I can do to you

It's wearing you thin
Can I begin
To wear you out
Wear you out

Take what you want from me
It means nothing now
Take everything from me
It means nothing now

Not so easy to forgive
Harder to forget
Take what you want

I'm impossible
To figure out
So impossible
You've had your doubts

Take what you want from me
It means nothing now
Take everything honey
It means nothing now

Not so easy to forgive
Harder to forget

Take what you want from me
It means nothing now
Take everything honey
It means nothing now

Not so easy to forgive
Harder to forget
Take what you want from me
Take what you want from me

*Listening to... :o)*

Phew...

After scrambling around for 2 days, I managed to get my laptop fixed today! Amazing isn't it? Have to admit that this came with a lot of "travelling" effort - I was at the point of giving up last night and already psyching myself to write off 2-3 weeks by sending it in to Apple - but luckily, I decided to try an independent service provider and they got it fixed almost immediately (I have to thank my lucky stars that work hasn't been too busy lately as well). Very impressed with this ISP - seeing that Apple was about to quote me £50 for the repair (saying that the socket had to be replaced, bla, bla, not in warranty, etc.), I was shocked when these peeps contacted me back within an hour to tell me that my laptop was ready for collection (with no charge!)! I guess it must have been a really easy fix - I will have to be very careful with my laptop from now on - I don't know how it got damaged in the first place though....

That aside, weather has continued to be crappy today - and doubt I can run outdoors. Looks like I will need to start going back to the gym if the weather continues to be like this. Not so fun now that I've experienced how lovely it is outdoors!

On a separate note, Stone Sour and A7X just announced a double-whammy tour in Oct - and tickets go on sale tomorrow! :D :D That will defo been an amazing concert....now I just need to start clicking at 9am tomorrow...

*Listening to Say You'll Haunt Me by Stone Sour*

Footie withdrawal syndrome hits...

..and my laptop is buggered. Sigh. I'm quite lucky to have booked myself a slot at the Genius Bar this afternoon so hopefully it'll be OK by tonight.

The weather has been a bit gloomy today - which would have been quite a nice welcome after 2 weeks of blazing hot sun - except that I've recently started running by the Canal near my house and it's really nice and relaxing when the weather is looking up! (P/S: Need to thank JJ for convincing me to run outdoors - I've been running indoors for 1+year!) Maybe it will stop drizzling later today and I can take a short jog this evening....

*Listening to Forever Young by Alphaville*

Spain are champs!

And so the match finally ended after 120 minutes of gruelling football - and by gruelling I mean filled with quite a lot of drama and violence! Although goalless until the 116th minute, both sides fluffed "sure score" chances but also showed sheer grit. Maybe this has something to do with nerves? I have to give credit to the Dutch for they managed to shut out the effective passing of the Spanish in mid-field and their defence was solid...in fact sometimes they looked even more impenetrable than Spain. But hell were they rough! That kungfu kick by De Jong on Alonso must have cracked at least one of his ribs, no? Anyway, I think they had a total of 8 yellow cards in the game, and one of the guys got deservedly sent off. Nonetheless, Spain's dominance was pretty much unquestionable although the Dutch were a dangerous lot (esp Arjen Robben - Sneijder was completely shut out in this game though...). Given that Spain actually fluffed a lot more chances than they usually do, I was over the moon when Iniesta's goal happened - I wouldn't have been able to bear watching Spain lose due to penalty shoot-outs! The one sad Spanish element (to me anyway) was watching Torres being relegated to a sub (he came on during extra-time), barely got a chance at the ball and later on injured himself (apparently a groin injury). I wonder if this will be the end for him?

All in all, the champs did win as they should have - but I have my faith in the young German team. Looking forward to the Euro 2012....

I'm already wondering how am I gonna survive now that WC10 is over - any ideas?

*Listening to Over and Over by Three Days Grace*

Happy day!

Today was a great day. Woke up early, had a run - and went off to have a 4.5 hours 10 course lunch at Fat Duck! Although it cost the 6 of us a bomb, it was definitely an unforgettable experience - and with a good bunch of friends, was a delight! Food was strange - as expected - my favourite course came in the form of a snail porridge - it was green, tasted like congee with pea puree but with yummy snails! A close 2nd was the dessert course of Black Forrest Gateau, which was amazingly delicious!

So after a long lunch, we came home just in time to rest a bit before the Germany vs Uruguay game started. I have to say I was slightly disappointed with the line-up - 3 of their key players were struck by flu (Klose, Podolvski, Lahm) - so it was a visibly weaker midfield and the lack of these players were quite obvious in Germany's gameplay. Butt started for Neuer, but he was very experienced (he's 36) so was quite good at the goal. Cacau (who came in for Klose) was slow and ineffective (he was later subbed off for Riessling - who although better than Cacau, was definitely not Klose!) - but luckily Muller was around. To be honest, I still think Muller would have made a difference had he been able to play on Wednesday....but that is my biased opinion, of course. It was a really exciting game - both sides attacked freely so defense was lacking (yes, for the Germans in particular!). The Uruguayan strikers were dangerous - somehow it felt a bit like when Germany was playing against Argentina - you never know whether one of them will strike! Forlan had an excellent game, dangerous at all times while Suarez was the anti-hero - booed whenever he touched the ball but threatening in presence nonetheless. Ozil was good - watching him play is a joy - and I can only hope he comes to the EPL next season...otherwise I might need to revert to watching the Bundesliga instead!! ;o) I'm happy with the 3-2 result - it was enough for Germany to win 3rd place - although for most of it, I was hoping for Ozil to strike...but maybe next time. I have faith in this team...so bring on Euro 2012!!! :D

Tomorrow will be a much more tactical game - hopefully the Dutch will unrattle Spain first so that the Spanish armada will set off quickly!!

*Listening to Shameful Metaphors by Chevelle*

Melancholy...

..after listening to the new Anberlin song - absolutely awesome! Definitely cheered up after a terrible start of the day but at least, I've gotten a couple of things sorted, and have learnt some new things in the midst - and it's not even noon yet!

So Wesley Sneijder doesn't want to leave Inter - which leaves SAF to sign on Mesut Özil quickly (or so I hope!) =) I think he will be able to make a difference to the team. As we all know from last season that Ronaldo was sorely missed - that playmaker cum scorer cum crosser role has been lacking in MU's game play. To be honest, the team was never quite the same quality compared to '99 - when MU was at the pinnacle of success! Anyway, let's hope for a better year ahead.....

*Listening to Impossible by Anberlin*

Even in my gloom...

..I've managed to discover a new band that I really like! The band is called Hail the Villain, a fairly new Canadian heavy metal band (formed in '03) - their songs are just my cup of tea: Punchy, strong rifts, awesome tunes. I'm not done listening through their new (also first!) album but so far (4 tracks down), it's been definitely promising.... :D

Good solution to mend my disappointment - I'm still amazed about how upset I am still though...

*Listening to Take Back the Fear by Hail the Villain*

It still hurts..

...even when you've predicted the outcome. 1-0. Oh well. The better side definitely won (by the sounds of it) - but I will be looking forward to watching 2 stress-free matches this Saturday and Sunday. If there's any consolation, phantom of the opera was excellent - definitely one of the best musicals I've ever seen :o).

Special thanks to my lovely friends who know how upset I would have been today...

Now to get over and move on....bring on Spain!

*Listening to Knock You Down by Keri Hilson*

Is it even possible...

...to feel nervous when you're not even going to experience the 90 minute agony that might end the road for your favourite team? Probably so. Sigh again - I sure hope that damn octopus got it wrong....

*Listening to Everything and Nothing by The Classic Crime*

Ain't nothing but heartache...

It's surprising how I'm gonna be missing the most highly anticipated match of WC2010. Yeah, when Germany play Spain tonight, I'll be watching Phantom of the Opera (albeit checking the scores every minute!). Maybe it's meant to be? Or perhaps it's to stop me from the heartache of watching the annihilation of Germany, whom I've been supporting so far..... Sigh. I know I should have more faith in them - and they've already exceeded everyone's expectations so far. But me being me, hates getting my hopes up for fear of falling flat on my face. It hurts. Real bad. Anyway, I'll be supporting them even if I won't be watching it live - and as I always believe, come what may, the best team always wins, right?

*Listening to So Alive by Ryan Adams*

I love Germany!

Can't believe they pulled this off. I was rooting for them.....in hope that they can spring a surprise on the favourites Argentina - little did I expect them to be able to thump the mighties 4-0! :D I'm so happy right now and can't quite describe how ecstatic I am feeling at the moment. I really should have really had more faith in them... =) =)

*Listening to Keep the Faith by Bon Jovi*

Kudos to Oranje!

Awesome match where Oranje deserved to win! Too bad for Brazil - all seemed to be going well until they fell apart in the 2nd half. Such is life I reckon.

Looking forward to the football tomorrow albeit cringing at thought of Germany getting whipped by Argentina =( =( =(

*Listening to Closer to the Edge by 30stm*

Oranje or Green?

In any case it will be a salivating showdown between the Oranjes and Brazilians. Out of loyalty, I'm throwing my support for Brazil (and Kaka! :D). However, I won't be too upset if the Dutch manage to spring a surprise on the favourites. With Robben back from injury, the Dutch offence looks even stronger now - as was proven when he subbed in the 2nd round match against Slovakia the other day. Brazil will always remain everyone's favourite team - has been lots of complaints about how they've sacrificed flair for structure/technique but I actually prefer the team now compared to years ago. Yes, they have changed their style of playing - but I do admire and appreciate how much their defence has improved. If it were any other Brazilian team, I would always get a heart attack when the opposition came near the Brazilian goal - but not anymore!

Awaiting the match to start in 1.5hours. In the mean time I'll be dreaming of Mesut Özil coming to Man United! =)

*Listening to Lights by Interpol*

Day 2 of withdrawal...

...and still suffering! Sigh.

*Listening to Another Way to Die by Disturbed*