A Shock in Paris

Serena Williams, the favourite to lift the women's singles title at Roland Garros has crashed out in the third round!!!

I mentioned in my previous post that the women's draw was unpredictable, but i never thought there would be such a shock...

Serena was defeated by lower ranked Katarina Srebotnik, leaving the women's draw wider than before... Oh, and even her sister Venus Williams is out! Just not the day for the American women...

Based on this weeks performance, Serbian Ana Ivanovic is most probably next in line as the new favourite... Maria Sharapova continues to struggle on clay while Jelena Jankovic hasn't been convincing as well... I have a feeling more upsets will be on their way...

Whatever happens, Roland Garros will be crowning a first time champion here, as Serena Williams was the sole previous champion in this year's draw...

Will it be a repeat of the 2008 Australian Open final where No.1 Maria meets N0.2 Ana???

Only time will tell... =)

My 50th

don't get the wrong idea, i'm not turning fifty... i'm referring that this is my 50th post!!!

to be honest, i'm amazed i could keep this up for so long... this effort is clearly better than my previous take at blogging... i'm using this as sort of a journal so there's a lot of random stuff... thanks for visiting =)

anyway, this morning was my very first driving lesson!

i know, there has been such a long delay n i'm starting so late... but i'm just glad that things are rolling now...

but the instructor was late.... not 5 minutes but 15 minutes late!!! talk about a bad first impression.......

the lesson was OK, the instructor was a nice young man, n he was patient... i thought i did OK, but in my mind i knew that the instructor would think that i'm such a sloth....

coz i was goin quite slow, and i was maneuvering clumsily like a cow...

but hey, this is a first attempt so what do u expect? as usual, i'm gonna put my full effort into it, and i will make it work the next time! Coz i simply hate to put up a poor display...

A Must Watch

Yesterday after all the sports, i went for a movie with my sis, alvin & gerard...

We all saw the trailer some time ago when we watched 'Slit Mouthed Woman' n we instantly knew that this was gonna be a scary show worth watching....

and boy were we right...

'The Orphanage', a Spanish horror movie is in fact the scariest horror film i have watched in a while but it's not just about scaring the audience... i actually really like the storyline and how everything was filmed...

It is exciting from start to end... But the plot is slightly confusing as it doesn't state out everything clearly so u really have to pay attention and analyse it after the show...

Fantastic indeed! Even if ur not into ghost shows, i would recommend watching it just becoz it is a well produced movie... touching at times... and the suspense had me covering my eyes most of the time...

It is by far the best movie i have watched in 2008... Need i say more? You do not want to miss this one...

Be prepared though...

Cramping Leg

yesterday Jit Teng, Yu Xuan & I went for another one of our workouts but this time we went to try out the facilities at Casa Tropicana, where my family owns an unoccupied unit...

i played tennis with them, which is a first, and it actually didn't go as bad as i thought it would be...oh, but playing under the HOT afternoon sun wasn't so great...

we then went swimming, again under the sun... this was my first time trying out the pool there and the water was a little bit too shallow... 1.0m only.. children friendly i guess...

we then had lunch nearby and resumed with badminton... this was when i felt my left calf stiffening... but i still played... and then came the cramps... probably due to the fact that i have not swam in ages & also of cool weather coz it was raining...

overall, i quite like the facilities at the Casa, it's well equipped and done with a very homey feel... probably becoz of the warm light brown colour that they use for the buildings.. i just love their tennis court... the surface is pretty new as not many residents use it...

good for me hehehehehe... =)

Happy Birthday!!!

Kylie Ann Minogue turns 40 on May 28th, 2008... N i must say she still looks amazing, proving that age is just a number...

Kylie is currently on tour, and i sincerely wish her a very warm & joyful birthday... May she be blessed with good health and happiness for many many years to come... =)

Roland-Garros is here!

finally, the second tennis Grand Slam event of the year is here!

after missing out on the Australian Open in January becoz of NS, there's no way i'm gonna miss this year's French Open....i will try to watch as many matches as possible...

personally, Wimbledon is my favourite Slam coz i like the tradition, the grass courts, the all white dress code...

but there's something unique about the French Open as well...

Speaking of tennis, i had a good game yesterday.... (Thank God it wasn't raining!!!) I played a Singles set & 2 Doubles set... We played until 10.30pm, n after about 3 hours of play i was suffering from hunger & a sore left shoulder which was already bugging me since the day before after i stretched it in a badminton game...

Under normal circumstances i would have chose not to play n let my shoulder heal first to prevent further injury... But becoz of the rainin season, i haven't played tennis for more than a week, n was just itching to go n hit some balls...


luckily i feel good today after a good night's sleep... n if the weather permits, i will be back on a tennis court soon...


OK, back to the French Open, today is already Day 2.... lots of great matches coming up... So excited! This year, Rafael Nadal looks set to win his fourth consecutive French title, but may face a challenge from Novak Djokovic in the semi finals & Roger Federer in the finals...


The women's draw is said by many to be wide open after the shock retirement of World No.1 Justine Henin from the WTA tour.... Now, the new favourite in my opinion is Serena Williams... but she too faces a stern test in the form of the Serbian players, Ana Ivanovic & Jelena Jankovic which she could meet in the quarter final & semi final stages respectively.... Maria Sharapova, the new world No.1 has the benefit of being in the other half of the draw & her biggest threat comes in the form of Svetlana Kuznetsova...

No doubt the women's draw will be more unpredictable coz a number of players have a equal chance to win the French....we will just have to watch how the cards unfold day by day... =)

some pics on Day1:

Serena Williams' power game

Novak Djokovic streeeeeetches to return shots

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

oh no! the raining season is back to haunt us all.... we all love a little rain to beat the heat, but consistent rainfall in almost every evening are really the most frustrating thing!!!

if u are desperate for some outdoor sports u will know what i mean!

hope this video will lift things up a bit...

M&M: music+movies

MUSIC

David Cook has won American Idol!!! It's unbelievable... especially it being a landslide victory.... he beat David Archuleta by 12 million votes! I'm glad he won, he was my favourite for many weeks...this is the first time a Rocker won the title, so it's pretty refreshing... =)

MOVIES

Haha... I seem to be on some kind of a streak this year, i watched a lot of movies already since coming back from NS...i mean it's a lot for me considering i have not watched many movies for the past 2 years... i realised i had no life during Form 4&5, simply becoz i was too tied up with responsibilities...

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Hehe so this year i'm back for revenge... So far, i have watched 7 movies i think from March to May, and i intend to make it more!

Here's a list:

1. I Am Legend

2. 10,000 B.C.

3. The Forbidden Kingdom

4. Ironman

5. Slit Mouthed Woman

6. The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian

7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

So far, the best movie i have watched in 2008 is Indy 4... i didn't thought i would like it, but the plot keeps u excited coz u won't know what to expect until the very last moment...

OK, other movies i want to watch this year include Superhero Movie, The Orphanage, Kung Fu Panda, The Happening, The Incredible Hulk, Hancock, The Dark Knight (Batman), and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor....

So if u want to support my goal, ur more than welcomed to watch a movie with me... Just give me a call... =)

Who's The Next American Idol?

Season 7 of the successful reality competition American Idol is drawing to an end, and I must say this year's final is really hot! For many years, the competition has been dominated by women with strong vocals, but this time, the two men in the final really stand out from the rest of the contestants...

personally, i'm supporting David Cook, coz he does Rock music in a way that is pleasant but still totally cool... it's his singing style, the tone of his voice that makes him so unique...

on the other hand there's David Archuleta, the 17 year old that has a baby face.... his vocals are good, but i just feel he doesn't have the sparkle that David Cook has...

i'm watching the finale now as i type this, each David has to sing 3 songs......

so far, Simon has declared Archuleta the winner of the first two rounds, but there's one last round to go! Last year, it was pretty obvious Jordin Sparks was gonna win, but this season is hard to guess...

we will just have 2 wait n see =)

A Fun Trip

hey, i'm back from the Jeram Besu trip, n it was a lot of fun! fun but tiring, but it's really worth it...

we stayed at the Countryview Recreation Park Resort.... it was kinda like NS style dorms... but with air cond n a much nicer bathroom... the food was ok too...

the first day we went Jungle Trekking.... it was quite tough, the route was long & filled with obstacles.... but at the end of it was a nice waterfall waiting for us.... we went to play with the ice cold water...

on the second, we went for caving first, which was pretty relaxing, coz it was a show cave... then, we went for the 4WD Adventure which was super exciting...the ride was so bumpy, if u don't hold on to something, ur gonna fly off the car... again, we were treated to a waterfall at the end of the ride, but this time it was more majestic... haha, and the water was even colder.... i almost froze till my fingers got numb... the water was deep so we all wore life jackets for safety...

on the final day, we did abseiling & flying fox.... it was fun.... some of them went all the way to try different ways of abseiling, including the sliding down upside down one called "Spiderman"...

we reached PJ around 5pm, & i was tired but so happy i went for this trip... it's nice to meet up with classmates after quite a while, & i also made some new friends from other classes..

overall, much of the activities we did during this trip i have done before during NS, so in a way i feel that NS has prepared me well for life in many aspects... i can't believe i'm saying this but it's true... =)

sorry, due to the conditions and circumstances, i did not take photos of the activities, but i will try to get them from Zhen Xiang or Ah Boon...

Aloha, Buenos días, Buon giorno

I just said 'hello' to u in 3 languages: Hawaiian, Spanish & Italian...

ok, ur probably wondering WTH is goin on... it's just that recently i have the obsession of saying things in different languages.... not that i want to blow you away in complete & long sentences (or should i say not that i CAN), but just replacing the simple terms we often use like "Hello", "Thank You" & "Goodbye"...

haha.... this is what u get when ur on a holiday that's just TOO long... i have all the time to do funny things...

anyway, this week has been exciting, first of all, i got a new laptop!!!

yeah baby, it's really cool.... i still can't quite believe it... but i'm adjusting well to this...

yesterday i finished transferring all my files from the home computer, and now i have organized everything well..... (talk about being Obsessive Compulsive...) i admit i'm a organising freak... something like Monica from 'Friends'....

oh, this Saturday i will be going for a long delayed class trip to Jeram Besu.... it was postponed becoz of the flood season last year... will take more pics with my HP for u to c...

ok, that's it for now.... Au revoir, Itte kimasu, Poyitu varen...

p.s: that's French, Japanese & Tamil.... just in case u wanted to know... =)

anotha gathering

yesterday night had another gathering in SS2... but this time less ppl showed up, with d excuse of celebrating mother's day... (what?) but mother's day is today!!!

oh btw Happy Mothers Day to u ma, and all mothers of d universe!

so there were only 5 of us- jit teng, chan fatt, yu xuan, zhi shan and ME!..... But it was still nice... had dinner at One Noodle, then went to Kayu for drinks....

oh, we ordered a Roti Tissue to try... it was HUGE! huge but thin... and we had 5 guys there so no problem finishing it... reli sweet though... (diabetic...)

hehe got some pics of the Roti... later playing tennis again.... this is d fourth consecutive day i'm playing matches.... really exciting....

oh, and one more thing! to all u guys doin form 6, have a great start at school on Monday!

ok, this has to be about a metre long...
=)

Revenge Is Sweet...

yesterday was a great day.

went to play another tennis match... played doubles... i was paired with my sis n the opponent was the combination of Alvin+Gerard...

few days back we played a similar match, we lost in the deciding game... it was tight...

this time round there was no way in hell i'm letting history repeat itself...

n so it did not...

My sis n i won the set(n match) 6-2. now this is a trashing i'm proud of!!!

don't get me wrong, i'm not someone who likes to keep a grudge... believe me it's nothing personal... just business.... the moment i get off the court i don't think about the opponent anymore...instead i focus on my game & the things i need to work on... i know, ppl tend to see me as being overly serious on court, even in training, but that's just how i keep my momentum...

ever since that humiliating loss in the tournament in mid 2007, i swore that i will never ever let another match slip away from me like that.... even if i'm going to lose, i will not back off until the very last point is played...

yesterday's match wasn't my best, but at some key moments i responded well... a match can turn either way in the blink of an eye... so often LUCK plays a role... Also my serve was effective.... YES!!! i've finally regained my service... less double faults from now...

u know, this year hasn't been great in terms of my tennis...becoz of NS n the 3 month break from this sport, i often have doubts... u can easily feel like this when ur game is just falling apart, and no matter how hard u try, nothing seems to work....... the results take a long time to show...

this brought me back to the time when i first started going for lessons , n i was constantly frustrated becoz i was improving at a very slow pace, n i wanted to be good so badly............

n then i started to become more consistent, finding the lines well, n retrieving more shots..... just when things look bright, i had to stop becoz of NS....

NOW, i'm officially back on track... i know i still have miles to go, but i won't stop working hard.. despite the endless frustrations n self doubting, deep down inside i've always believed that i have what it takes to play competitive tennis & triumph...

now that is the truth....
(sorry if this was too long of a post...)

In Pictures: Opening Nite 4 'KylieX2008'

haha i don't want this to be a blog entirely about Kylie, but this new show is just too hot to ignore... i found some pics for the show...enjoy =)

Ms.Minogue Honoured

05.05.2008

Kylie was awarded her second prestigious official honour of 2008 when she received the 'Chevalier Dans L'Orde Des Arts Et Des Lettres' (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters) from the French Government this morning. Kylie will receive her OBE from Her Majesty The Queen in July.

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Kylie was awarded one of the highest cultural awards possible from France for her "contribution to the enrichment of French culture". The award was personally presented to Kylie by the French Minister of Culture and Communications.

Bravo to you Kylie!

meanwhile, 'KYLIEX2008' kicks off tonight in the city of lights!!! It's gonna be spectacular!!!

Do u like it?

so i'm sort of done with the new layout, just some minor things to adjust & change...i sure hope u like the new 'What's Next?'...

here r some pics i took recently...


AT THE HOME DECO EXHIBITION IN KLCC...

other RANDOM shots... i call it "trying to be artistic"...

all shots r unedited... straight from my hp...hehe =)

Deconstruction

hey...

these few days i will be trying out and experimenting with new looks for the blog.

all for the purpose of making it neater and more convenient for yr viewing pleasure.

i've said in one of my posts that 'CHANGE' is a crucial part of me.

so thanks & come back soon.

=)

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

"KYLIEX2008": THE TIME IS NEAR!

30.04.2008

Kylie Minogue returns to her true home - the live stage - when she opens her greatest ever tour KylieX2008 in Paris on May 6th.

The tour will take Kylie through most of Europe and will see her play for the first time in Greece, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Luxembourg, Russia, Latvia and Spain. It will also be her first appearance in Northern Ireland since her first world tour in 1990. The tour ends in London on August 4, the last of a staggering seven nights at the capital's 02 Arena.

Ticket sales for the tour currently stand at over half a million and the show itself has cost a breathtaking 10 million pounds to stage, which makes it the biggest and most expensive show that Kylie has produced to date, easily eclipsing groundbreaking tours like 2002's Fever in ambition and scale.

Kylie's wardrobe for this tour has been exclusively designed by master couturier Jean Paul Gaultier and the show will feature at least 7 costumes just for Kylie, with more visual elements being added daily!

KylieX2008 also sees Kylie perform with a brand new live band including, for the first time, a brass section and a total of 14 dancers, including 4 acrobats.

For the songs, Kylie has drawn on a breadth of material spread over her career but also promises some unheard songs and at least one surprising cover. Songs including those from 'X', Kylie's current studio album, will be performed on a set dominated by huge video screens which will integrate with graphic staging and theatrical lighting to create a new concert experience for the audience. Always celebrated for her incredible breadth of vision on the live stage, this show sees Kylie move further ahead of her contemporaries.

________________________

even though Kylie is not coming to Asia, i'm still super excited about this new show. Can't wait to have it on DVD...

here r some pics of her previous tours like 'Showgirl: Greatest hits tour', 'Showgirl Homecoming', 'Fever2002' & 'Money Can't Buy'....

YH LOVES KYLIE...