Cursed jersey?

Nonoo......get this straight, I am not an EPL (English Premier League) fan and I do not support any English club........but there is no escape from the bombardment of EPL games on our conscious through all the media here in Asia.

And as a result of this media frenzy, practically every football fan has chosen sides, be it as a ManU fan, Chelsea fan, Liverpool fan.....or whatever.....

So far I have stood my ground and haven't been tempted to switch colours........my heart was Club Brugge (FC Bruges), and still is to this very day......oh yes, for the peeps who don't know what team Club Brugge are.....it's a Belgian team m8.

Ofcourse you might be wondering why I am sporting the 'Hammers', West Ham jersey whilst playing football at our residential club..........doh, long story...........

As it happens to be, in law's family business is tied up with the 'Hammers' and my dear, little sister-in-law was so considerate and nice to bring back a jersey for me.......at least that's what she told me on the phone...........

Cool, I get a genuine jersey for free. Thanks sis!!! Mucha gracias!!!

Great was our surprise when she deposited not only 1 jersey, but 3 jerseys on our doorstep.........eeeeeuuuhhh..........aaah, I see, one for daddy Yuen, one for mummy Yuen and one for daughter Yuen .......

And the biggest surprise of the lot was a huge bathrobe.......can the three of us fit in it? :p

Ofcourse, proud as a peacock, couldn't resist to try it out on the field, during a friendly match. Did it bring luck? Ermmmmmm............no, lost 5-6..............a few goals that I should have saved, went inexplicably behind into the netting.........very odd indeed.

Hope this jersey ain't cursed 'cos else this jersey will wind up in the closet for a very, very long time indeed.

Rest In Peace, MJ

.

Gotta make a change,
For once in my life,
It's gonna feel real good,
Gonna make a difference,
Gonna make it right.

As I turned up the collar on,
My favorite winter coat,
This wind is blowin' my mind,
I see the kids in the street,
With not enough to eat,
Who am I to be blind,
Pretending not to see their needs.

A summer's disregard,
A broken bottle top,
And a one man's soul,
They follow each other,
On the wind ya' know,
'Cause they got nowhere to go,
That's why I want you to know.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror,
I'm asking him to change his ways,
And no message could have been any clearer,
If you wanna make the world a better place,
Take a look at yourself and then make a change,
Na na na, na na na, na na na na.

I've been a victim of,
A selfish kinda love,
It's time that I realize,
There are some with no home,
Not a nickel to loan,
Could it be really pretending that they're not alone.

A willow deeply scarred,
Somebody's broken heart,
And a washed out dream,
(Washed out dream),
They follow the pattern of the wind ya' see,
'Cause they got no place to be,
That's why I'm starting with me.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror,
I'm asking him to change his ways,
And no message could have been any clearer,
If you wanna make the world a better place,
Take a look at yourself and then make a change.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror,
I'm asking him to change his ways,
And no message could have been any clearer,
If you wanna make the world a better place,
Take a look at yourself and then make a change.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror,
(Man in the mirror, oh yeah),
I'm asking him to change his ways, yeah,
(Change),

No message could have been any clearer,
If you wanna make the world a better place,
Take a look at yourself and then make the change,
You gotta get it right, while you got the time,
'Cause when you close your heart,
(You can't close your, your mind),
Then you close your mind.
(That man, that man, that man),
(That man, that man, that man),
(With the man in the mirror, oh yeah),
(That man you know, that man you know),
(That man you know, that man you know),
I'm asking him to change his ways,
(Change),
No message could have been any clearer,
If you wanna make the world a better place,
Take a look at yourself then make that change.

(Na na na, na na na, na na na na),
Ooh,
Oh yeah,
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah,
(Na na na, na na na, na na na na).
Oh no,
Oh no, I'm gonna make a change,
It's gonna feel real good,
Sure mon,
(Change),
Just lift yourself,
You know, you got to stop it yourself,
(Yeah),
Oh,
Make that change,
(I gotta make that change today, oh),
(Man in the mirror),
You got to, you got to not let yourself, brother oh,
Yeah,
You know that,
(Make that change),
(I gotta make that make me then make),
You got, you got to move,
Sure mon, sure mon,
You got to,
(Stand up, stand up, stand up),
Make that change,
Stand up and lift yourself, now,
(Man in the mirror),
Make that change,
(Gonna make that change, sure mon),
(Man in the mirror),
You know it, you know it, you know it, you know,,
(Change),

Make that change.

June 26th, 6.37am Malaysian time..........we were still in dreamy dreamy land when we received a text message from my bro........

Newsflash......MJ has passed away........

Flashback early 1983.......as an early teenager immersed in the fastflowing '80s I was immediately gripped by this young afro-american guy.....his songs were so uplifting, dance moves enthralling and accompanying music video's were true gems. My very first single that I bought was the single,"Beat it"............and afterwards it didn't took that long for me to bugger my parents to cough up the money and let me buy the album "Thriller"...........

Suffice to say that I and many million others, became part of worldwide fan hysteria.......every article, every magazine which covered MJ's latest news I had to have.....posters on the wall......every album which came out after that I had to have, no matter how crappy it really was as compared with the original "Thriller". As time passed by I developed other 'interests', but nevertheless......MJ always occupied a special place in my heart.

One song which became my all-time favourite was released on the long awaited follow up album, "Bad" , ........"Man in the mirror"..........

Forget the pop songs, forget the rock songs, HipHop, techno, dance, ..........they all pale in comparison with this ultimate jewel song by MJ

Whatever had happened past decade in his personal life, ....let it be....he's just a human like all of us.

Let's remember him for what he was and still is to many people.......a man gifted with an unique ability to touch every single one of us with a simple song in a positive way.

Thanks for the beautiful memories, Mike

Veterans field day

First year anniversary............

Who would have guessed that our football team would still be around after one year.

Thanks to the continued efforts of the captain and quite a few player/volunteers, the FC is still alive and kicking like a newborn.

And to celebrate its anniversary, it was decided upon resonating consensus that we should hold something grand. A bit of brainstorming and budgetting resulted in a 2-day birthday bash proposal.

Heck, 2 days to celebrate a birthday?!? Yep, 1st day or rather eve itself was a karaoke/buffet party.................a way to get the stomachs filled with food and booze.................a perfect excuse to get the spirits lifted.................and the following day would be a 1-day tournament involving all FC members and their entourage.

The smart men (and boys) amongst us, skipped the boozefested karaoke party, opting to play with a fresh head on the following day........but that didn't stop the dudes at the karaoke event to apply the brakes, on the contrary.......veteran drinkers showed the young kids how to drink properly......and I'm not talking about drinking slowly.....quite the opposite.

And no, .....it didn't turn out to be Sodom & Gomorra,......you wish.....

The mini-tournament itself was a joyous event on a splendid, shiny day. Ladies and volunteers amply helped out with taking snapshots and providing F&B. Leaving the players concentrate on their ....erm...footballing duties.

And surprisingly the men in their 'golden' years won the coveted challenger Cup.........and to rub further salt on the wound, our froggy (yes, he is from France and don't know whether he eats snails though......) veteran, Sylvio Cerbino, became the ultimate topscorer with 5 goals in 3 matches, resulting in him picking up the Golden Boot award.

So that means the 'vets' outdrink and outplay the younger generation........another proof that experience counts!!!

We're game for more birthday parties like this in years to come...........

Flu.....what flu?

Before we left for our recent holiday, we were already fully aware that there was a flu pandemic, the ominous H1N1,.............and despite the warnings of fellow concerned family members we proceeded with our trip.

H1N1,...............it is just a flu for God's sake..............albeit a new strain,............and yes, people die from it, but then again.................other common strains of flu also create fatal victims, don't they?

Hong Kong smartened up from its bad SARS experience has gone all out to prevent this flu from spreading, even closing down all kindergartens and primary schools in the territory for a forthnight mid-June after 1 case of child-to-child infection of the said virus..............a bit harsh though as it took parents and guardians completely off guard, leaving many parents and kids in the lurch about daycare for the kids themselves as substitution, ..........but better be precautious....................and as regarding the homefront, Malaysia?

Ermmmm........how to put it in a tactile, diplomatic manner? Malaysia ofcourse hasn't been spared from the 'airborne' virus, and indeed, once again, measures that are in place are a bit halfhearted if you ask me. This week, there was an infection in a local primary school....and what did the authorities do? The Health Ministery send the class from which the 'contaminated' pupil came, packing home...........only that class? How about the whole school?.......Ofcourse there was a heated discussion started by concerned parents.........certainly the 'affected' kid must have been in contact with numerous other children at school....think of canteen, play area, library, toilets, hallways.......but the authorities were adamant that sufficient action had been taken to safeguard everybody's well being.

Yeah, right......'till another student of the same school, but from another class was diagnosed as having this particular strain of flu. The Health Dept. officers had to admit their mistake and suspend classes for the entire school for the following week.

As of today, another school which has amidst them an 'affected' student has been ordered to close its doors for one week. Is it a bit too late? That question is best answered by the authorities in question.

Taking precautionary actions ourselves we have pulled our little dragon from school for one week...........remember that we've been in Hong Kong for a good forthnight......and knowing that the incubation period for H1N1 is stated at 7 days......we are maintaining a low, public profile for a week at least

Apart from the fact that hospitals and immigration departments are on high alert status ................it remains a fact that the majority of the population doesn't give a damn about this flu..........and public broadcasting channels are not doing an enough effort to hammer in the message of 'personal hygiene' to everyone, malls don't sufficiently provide handcleaning disinfecting stations for the shopping crowd, so in the end it's business as usual.

Sometimes I wonder whether being ignorant is a better option than being in the known......it provides a more carefree life indeed........have to take my hat off to the merry go attitude of the locals here......chapeau!!!

Stomach comes first..........screw the full fare

For the first time in living memory, the number of people travelling by airplane has dramatically plummeted thanks to the recession..............I bet that the green eco warriors are glad with this notion, as airplanes leave a huge carbon footprint in their wake.

The regular airlines suffer as a result of the lower volume of passengers and those companies have cut down on routes and flight frequencies in order to lower operating costs.

So we have winners and losers as a result of less airtravel.............but an unlikely winner and part of the airline industry are the budget airlines.............

These budget airlines provide a basic service for a downright bottom fee, add up the dollars if the passenger wants some food, drinks, additional luggage allowance, first boarding priority,.......but the fact is that the budget airlines are a real cheap alternative to the regular airlines who still serve all the thrill and frills as expected of a full fare charging airline company.

Ofcourse we compared prices, calculated a bit, and the result was that we would travel 'budget' this time 'round. Honestly, flight duration was barely 4 hours, sneak in our own food, few bottles of mineral water, provide our own entertainment in the form of laptop and NDS gameconsole, a magazine or two............what more can one ask for on a short-haul flight?

So there you have it..........with the money saved we were able to indulge an extra few good meals down in Hong Kong.

It's true what they say.............love goes through the stomach.

An odd batch of visitors

Hong Kong with its 7 million inhabitants and scarce availability of land is struggling to find a place for the remains of its deceased.....

It was already a problem a few decades ago, what with cemeteries being 'overcrowded' and therefore the HK government in the '70's urging people to resort to cremating the deceased.

But anno 2009 the age-old issue of overcrowding has resurfaced again as all public columbariums are stacked full............and the creation of new columbariums (although badly needed) are confoundedly stumbling upon protests of locals who live near the proposed to-be built columbarium sites (apparently, it brings forth bad 'feng shui'....as 'living' and 'dead' cannot live near to eachother...........that's the common belief).

You have to admire HK entrepreneurism,..........some fellow Hong Kong business dudes have found the proverbial 'goose who lays golden eggs'......by offering private columbariums............where for a hefty fee, one can buy a niche to store the remains of their beloved ones or reserve for themselves when they perish.

Ofcourse there is a personal touch to this story........a decade ago, mother Yuen, had arranged for the remains of father Yuen to be transferred to this 'private' columbarium........back then most of the relatives, including me, were balking at the idea of spending a relatively large sum of money on storing the remains of late father Yuen in a 'posh' place.........but admittedly, we, the cynics, were proven wrong........it has been a pretty good investment...........as despite the breakneck Hong Kong way of life..........the site of columbarium is rather unscatched and pretty serene......

But ofcourse this idyllic picture has attracted a different crowd, apart from the worshipping family, to the columbarium/annex temple..........TOURISTS!!!

Somehow tourists with their mandatory camera in tow have found their way to Po Fook Hill Memorial/Columbarium, mixing in with the grieved audience.......and no, there is no law forbidding them to enter the premises and taking snapshots of the temple and its niches. Do the 'souls' object to such visits of strangers coming and taking snapshots from every possible angle? Should ask the ancestors........

Yes, I do confess that I have taken pictures, but certainly not of the niches itself.......to me that feels like an intrusion into something 'sacred'.....

Leave the dead at peace I'd say........

Valid enough reason for a holiday?

People often ask us why we always go back to Hong Kong for holiday.....

'Cos there are actually so many valid reasons for not going there.....pollution, pigeon flat, ant colonies living conditions, rat race working ethics. Why in God's name always opt for Hong Kong instead of a beach holiday, city trip or whatever?

The answer should be very obvious by now for people who have been following our endeavours.....

What attracts us to come back time and time again is oh so simple......one word.......Food !!

The cramped living conditions and long working hours don't entice the locals here to cook properly for themselves....hence, they nearly always eat out, at least once a day. On every corner and every nook imaginable one can find an eatery, be it small or big, from dirt cheap to outrageously expensive.

It's too tempting not to try out the food on offer and once again we sure feasted upon the numerous offerings.......

Yes, yes...we know...glutony is a sin.......but rest assured....we always made sure we never left any scraps behind.........would have been pure waste, wouldn't it? :p