Year of the Dog

The mighty blue and white bulldogs are through to the grand finals! Woohoo!! I've been waiting for this moment for yonks. I feel like two years ago, it was their year except that they got docked for the salary cap breaches. Last year, things just crumbled. But this year, their backs are against the wall and they got soemthing to prove. Also, with Pricey leaving at the end of the year, I think the fellas are doing it for their captain, to ensure that he goes out with a bang.

I just love watching the bulldogs play as they are so entertaining. In attack, they have a monster pack led by Steven Price, Mark "Shrek" O'meley, Andrew Ryan and Big WIllie Mason. THese four guys are always on fire. The Bulldogs have too much size in the forwards and skill to boot. ANd then you look at the bench and they have guys like Sonny Bill Williams and Roy Asotasi coming off (don't forget that they also have Jamie Feeney and Dennis Scott running around in premier league).

THe halfback, Brent Sherwin has also been on fire lately as well. To me, he has the best kicking game in the NRL by far. His kitbag is unparelled (save for Andrew Johns but he's injured).......he can kick long, grubbers, 40/20's, field goals. Shifty has got all the moves and I love the jink in his step. He just reads the game so well, knowing when to take the defence on and when to pass it.

ANother one of my favourite players is Willie Tonga. I love this guy. He has been very quite of late as defences are rushing him a bit and focused on shutting him down. But throughout the season, he was absolutely terrorizing opposing backs with his speed, left arm fend and deadly step. He has this killer move where he'll just accelerate and take you on the outside and use a fend to shake of his opposing number. However, that's not his best move. Even better is his shimmy. He'll appear like he'll take you on the outside (run around on your left side) but just execute this killer step and explode onto the right. I saw him do it on Preston Campbell, Matt Gidley, a number of other fools that dare take him on. i heard of this guy before but it seems like he just exploded onto the scene this year. I think it was a combination of playing time, change of scenery and mostly gaining the self-confidence to take on other players. I really look up to this guy because I feel that self-confidence was the main reason he had a break-through year.

The other new kid on the block, Sonny Bill Williams just takes my breath away when I see him play. I can't believe that a kid this young, he's 18, can be so good. He's just awesome and just has mad game. He's big, athletic, possesses brute strength, speed, fantasic step, can offload like crazy but most importantly he's just so confident. There's no fear in his eyes when he takes on players much older and more experienced than him. I don't want to overhype him cause he does come on after the bulldogs pack has already monstered the other side and softened them up for him. But far out, he was just awesome in last Saturday's game. I think Matty Johns best described him as simply "built to play football". Phil Gould added soemthing like "He's different to other kids that have come through. He walks different, acts different" . and its so true.

I've watched a lot of rugby league, but i've rarely seen a kid this good so young except for Karmichael Hunt. This guy is still filliing out his body frame, just imagine how strong he will be when he's like 23. His shoulder charge on Joel Clinton was simply awesome. Then against Paul Fateria, he was wrong footed, but managed to connect with his left shoulder and knocked the living daylights out of the attacker. Wow. It's scary to see this combo of brute strength with skill.

This guy kinda reminds of Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, in the NBA. Cause he's also young but has some kind of Hulk-strength that isn't normal for someone of his age. But more importantly, its that confidence and ability to outplay his older peers.

Sunday's game should be awesome. I'm predicting that the Bulldogs will emerge victorious (that's not biased is it?).

You go girlfren!

Most of the performances on Australian Idol last nite were average, no real standouts. The problem is all the contestants are good but not great. However, I felt Ricki-Lee was very entertainting. Very sassy, excellent pitch, high entertainment value. Although Mark Holden (one of the judges) thought that she was short of a touchdown, I think she was a 10/10, perfect. Ricki-Lee did the Michael jackson song "I just can't get enough" and just killed it - she had the moves and the voice down pat. The song choice was great as the crowd knew the song and were singing along to it as well.

I'm making a bold prediction right now - Ricki Lee will be Australian Idol. Nite in, nite out, she just brings it. In the words of Marcia Hines, "You Go Girl Friend".

Side note: Is it just me or does it seem that people are now standing up in the crowd and dancing. I don't recall ever seeing that before.

Blast off to Mars

I went to mars lounge last week for Sheena's party and it was aiight. Mars Lounge has a bar, table areas, couches and lounge areas hidden behind some curtains. You basically have to be on the "invited list" to be admitted - so I felt like a VIP when I got in. We had an area allocated to our group but yeah it was pretty crowded.

The lighting of the club is weird causes everything looks dark red. The place was also pretty packed as there was hardly any room to move around, and at the bar you had to wait like 15 mintues to get served. Some of these cocktails are pretty expensive with the lowest price $15. Their speciality is a Marsberry and it tastes pretty crap. A mixture of vodka, stawberry, some crushed orange and someother weird stuff. Dizzie got pretty sick from drinking it as well.

The place was jumping, with the DJ pumping out music. I left around 11.30pm and the place was still packed. One problem I had with the party was that I could hardly speak to anyone unless I was shouting in their ear. But then again , what do you expect at a nite club??

One other interesting note, apparently you can't smoke cigars inside - cause someone in our group got kicked out. Also, thanks Dizzie and Carol for helping me figure out what to wear! I was told it was smart casual and I was stressing a bit as to what to wear. I finally went with dark jeans, longsleeved shirt and pair of white old skool sneakers. i wasn't sure if that qualified as smart casual but I was carrying a pair of leather shoes in the car just in case!

Jordans galore!

I was in the city today and came across a very unique store. It's called Freestyle Kickz and basically sells Jordan shoes, Old Skool Nike shoes, Jordan singlets and other basketball related gear. As a b-ball fan and jordan worshipper, to me it was like the ultimate store.

Hoi had mentioned this store to me b4, and it was like an oasis buried in the desert - like Alladin's cave. They had like all the Jordans! I don't know the actual names of all the types, but I recognised most of them - the red/black one that he wore in 98', the white one with the black stripe down the side that he wore in '95 (the year of the comeback). I was like a kid in a candy store! I was like touching all of them, in awe of these jewels.

They were all like collector's items. And the prices reflected this and they were gi-normous (is that a word?). Absurd. Prices in the range of $350-400 were common. Remember these are limited edition shoes, some of them never to be produced again. But the thing is, who's going to pay these amounts for these shoes. Maybe on Ebay, maybe in a basketball mecca like New York, maybe in Hong Kong. But definently not in Chinatown, Sydney. I even heard one of the sales assistants say that one of the Jordans in the window was worth $800. I'm sorry, but no one in their right mind would pay that much unless they were a full-on die hard jordan collector.

I gotta give props to the owner of the store for selling them, cause otherwise I'd never be able to get my grubby hands on them and see them in person. However, I'm almost definently sure that this store will struggle to survive. Firstly, these products are only wanted by die-hard jordan fans. And even a jordan fan like myself (who has several jordan items of clothing) has an upper limit as to how much they will pay for a pair of Jordan shoes. THe max that I would pay is what...... $200??. There's not much of a market for these kinda items.

ALso, the store is in a very isolated area. It is seriously hidden. I only went there because Hoi told me where it was. And the rundown sign facing the street looks really cheap - hardly likely to bring foot traffic in.

Lastly, the sales assistants don't seem like they knew that much about the shoes - I heard that a die-hard basketball fan owns it (he would have to be wouldn't he) but to sell those kinda shoes you need someone that has an intimate knowledge of the shoe to help sell it i.e. the history of the shoe, a sense of who Jordan is, his place in NBA history. Then again, if your a Jordan obsessed, you'll buy the shoes regardless of who's selling them. You'll know everything about the shoe and its market value.

I have a fear for this shop as well. They sell expensive, rare Jordans. They are in an isolated area. They are run by some female sales assistants (well at least when I was there). You can touch and feel and see the prices of the Jordans. There is like no barcode security on the shoes. I think you get where I am heading. All this equals potential target for a robbery. I pray that no one does this as this store truly has a place in the city. Away from the city smog, smell of Burger King and the beggars on the street panhandling is a buried treasure.

There is only one word that can describe this store and Smiegel said in best in Lord of the Rings...................... "Preciousssssssss".

take a vacation

Now is that time of the year when a lot of students are applying for vacation work/internships. i know what it's like having been through it myself last year. To me, it was the "be all and end all" ...i just had to have one...so I know exactly how a lot of people feel.

I've been talking to Hoi about it and reading his posts, and I really empathise with what he had to go through. I've also been speaking to another friend of mine, Jacqueline with her vacation work interviews. It reinforces what I always thought, that its really hard to get a job these days, even more so with these big companies like PWC and Deloitte.

There is just so much competition these days and everyone just wants it bad. I mean speaking to guys that got it like 5 years ago, back then it wasn't a big deal.....it was like work experience....but then all of a sudden things went bananas and now everyone wants it.

HOw these companies select their graduates/vacationers/interns is quite complex and sophisticated. I orginally thought they just had interviews. ANd then you go along to a joint like PWC, and they have this whole day set aside called the "Conquest" and its like a series of activities such as role play, interviews, public speaking, group discussion, letter writing.

All i can say is , these internships are very hard to get. I'm just one of the fortunate ones that managed to scrape through. There are some people that really helped me out in this time, cause I after I got rejected what seemed like by every company in town, I just felt like sh#t. Your confidence starts to waver and you start to think "what is wrong with me". It did affect my self-esteem at the time. I even started to not believe in myself thinking I'm not cut out for this.

But people like Marjike (the UTS careers counsellor), Helen - Ashby's mum were there to turn to reassuring me that I was good enough. Other people like Nadine from Ernst and Young (my Young Acheievers adviser) really gave me a hand in fixing up my resume and assisting with my applicatoin. A big shout out must also go to a lot of the elder statesmen in the year above me - guys like Aadesh, Ranjan and Ernie who I always asking questions and helping me out. I think I did have a huge advantage as I had all these guys in my corner. Aadesh man, I owe you so much for re-doing my cover letter and my resume and just telling me to believe in myself.

As a result of all these people helping me out from the kindness of their own heart, and a sprinkle of self confidence and determination....I landed a job at a Big 4 accounting firm and i'm pretty set now for next year.

That's why I don't mind helping out people with their applicatoin. Because I know what people are going through and its a very stressful process. So Jacq, congrats with getting your internship at PWC. i knew you were good enough and are you needed was a bit of magic (I'm really felling that line by Dr Dre about fixing up someone's beats - Who's the doctor they told you to see )....btw you owe me lunch!!!!!!!!


The village

I saw this movie a few weeks ago, and I'll just review it in a nutshell. It's a pretty weird movie. It's promoted like a horror movie and it does come across as a thriller. But to me its more a story about life - a way of life that is totally different to modern society. And about believing in things because people tell you that is true. I have to say, it has one of the coolest twists that I have seen in a while....although the rest of the movie is kinda predicatble and i have to admit that i actually almost predicted the twist.....

THe story invovles an isolated community town, set in the early 1900's ...like a different era.....and there's this problem...no one can leave the community because there this fear of "beasts" that live in the surrounding woods. ......they never really see the beasts either....and i figured that has to be myth....there's no way that's rue......they are just saying that so everyone gets scared and doens't want to leave the town.....anyways , i won't go too far into it.....i give the movie 6/10 but because of the twist, i'll give it an extra 1.5 ....so 7.5 out of 10....

Breaking ankles

After spraining my ankle a few weeks ago, I finally felt it was good enough to go..i felt that itch again to play basketball....so i've been playing for the last three days at uni for about 3 hours a day. I think I've improved heaps as a player. I mean I asked Hoi what it took to be a better player and the answer was obvious: 'you got to play a lot more!'.....so i did! ..after playing heaps, my court awareness has really improved, especially knowing where to cut to open areas and particulary my passing. And I'm enjoying it a lot more now as well.

My mindset a while ago was totally different...i used to think everytime i stepped on the court that i just wanted to be not the worst player on the court....and usually i ended being that, even though i felt i was better than a lot of other guys i was playing against. all i wanted to do was to hold my own and not get embarrased. I feel that those days are past me...and I try to be the best player on the court and the best player that I can be....it's a different mentality.

The other day, I was playing against this tall guy, Angus. He must have been 6'2, so I was giving up a lot of height and he was pretty athletic too, and scoring every time he had the ball. I saw him on the court, and I said to myself, "i'm gonna take this guy on, I ain't gonna take one step back". So the first couple of possessions, I was guarding him down low in different ways ...fronting him, then switching to side defence with one arm out, then from the back....just to give him different looks. and he knew i was trying pretty hard to shut him down and he whispered to me "I'm gonna have fun with you". And so said to him " that's what you think!". I wasnt giving up an inch, challenging him on the perimeter, chasing him around the court.

When it was my turn on offense, I took two dribbles from the 3 point line.. banked in a shot from outside the key.....ala Tim Duncan style...then next posession I posted him up, faked right, then turned left and went up and under his outstreched arm. Plus the foul baby! And1!...Third poseession, I dribbled hard to my right and hit a fadeaway over this other defender...it felt good to hit three shots in a row...it was one of the best games that i had played in a while.

Later on, Angus gave me some props and said "I like you, cause your like like me, you fire up when there's a challenge". I have to say though, it's only been recently that my attidude to basektball has changed. Before I used to hate guarding someone that was better than me, taller than me and basically had more game than me. But now, I love the challenge. it tests your own ability. Because you can learn so much more from taking on someone that is good, and you can pick up these moves from them. I learnt a move how to set up on the block without the ball, intiate pshyical contact then spin, simply from this tall black English dude repeatedly doing it to me, to avoid me just banging him in the post. It's like some Jordan type move and I find it quite effective. You always gotta keep'em guessing!

Movie reviews

The Bourne Supremacy

In case you didn't know, this is the sequel with the first installment being "the Bourne identity" and is based on a series of books written by Robert Ludlum. basically it involves a Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) who was a top US secret covert operative, specialising in doing hits (assassinating people). He was a part of kill squad call the Treadstone project and has lost his memory. He's walked out of Treadstone and is attempting to live a normal life in India. Without giving too much away, he has been framed for a kill and the Feds and an assassian working for the Russians have come after him, forcing him out of his somewhat normal life.

What makes this movie great is the fast paced action, and the great car chases. But the problem is it borders on overkill - he is constantly running away from the jaws of capture. Jason is a cool character who is always two steps ahead of the Feds. He's slippery, has a cool head, calculated, revengeful and really bitter. I wish that the directors developed his character a bit more. I have to say that some of the camera angles were really annoying especially during the fight scenes. The camera moves awakwardly as two men struggle and depicts a fight where everything is going tupsy-turvy and people are being thrown around a room but its very annoying. In addition, some of the sounds when they are whispering were barely audible.

Jason is a guy that the crowd roots for because he escaped from a governemtn agency that had taken his mind, body and soul and turned him into a killing machine. He was re-living his normal life until they took something precious from him again. You feel sorry from him that he was forced into this situation and then we see him revert back to the old ways - surviving on the techniques and killer animal instinct that the Feds instilled in him. At times he is the hunted but then he becomes the hunter again.

Overall, I give the movie 7 out of 10. It's definently a movie better suited to the big screen or if you have an excellent sound system at home. I haven't seen the first one, but its not necessary to understand the moview.


The greatest fear is what we don't understand

The Village.........