Déjà Vu* -Beyoncé Knowles

Got hit. In the back. Again!!!

Look at my earlier post some years ago. Compare the damage to the car then with the damage in the photo above. Looks similar, doesn't it?

The situation was also almost identical!!! The cars in front had come to a standstill stop. So i slowed down my car and stopped it too. After a few moments, we felt the impact!!! Yes, we got hit while we were at a standstill stop!!!

This time, tho, it was a bit different. There were 3 other cars involved. But mine was at the front. Thank God i stopped a safe distance from the car infront of mine or else the damage could be worse. As it is, the damage is only limited to the back of the car.

When i made the report at the police station, the corporal commented "Kesian" when i confirmed that my car was the one at the front. I know what he meant but it is better being the first car than being the 2nd or 3rd - damage to front and back - or the last car - being liable for all the damage caused!

Oh well... we were really thankful, tho that Shona was not in the car at that time. And the incident made me reflect that we are indeed blessed as i counted my blessings.

So i'm car-less for now. And that has turned out to be not a bad thing too as my wife and i have to leave for work together and come home together.

*The lead single for her second album, this song also features Jay-Z.

We made it* - Busta Rhymes

So England qualified for the World Cup in Brazil next year!!! Well done!

Pic taken from BBC Sports

I thought i'd blog about this - mainly to give credit where it is due. And credit is to be given to Hodgson, Rooney and Moyes.

I have not had very much respect for Hodgson since he became Liverpool's manager for a short stint. I did not think he knew what he was doing.

But i must say he did well. Thanks to him, all England fans now know who is Andros Townsend. Hodgson surprisingly included him in these last 2 crucial games and he performed really well. In fact, he seemed to have sealed his place as a first team player in England's squad!

On top of that, Hodgson did what a lot of managers failed to (or was afraid to) - he benched Lampard. There has been so much talk about whether Gerrard and Lampard can play together - and going by the evidence of the games they have played together, they do not seem to play well with each other. So Hodgson did not play Lampard but instead chose Carrick - and this worked well too! So kudos to Hodgson!

Rooney! He broke the deadlock in both games. Enough said. I felt that he was overrated - but he has shown how valuable he is to England!

And finally, Moyes. Huh? How is he involved? He was not. But this is regarding Baines - the player that Hodgson put in the team as Cole was injured. And Baines showed how well he can play. He even set up Rooney's goal last night!

I have been laughing at Moyes and the Man Utd team when Moyes was planning to bring in Baines. But perhaps this is proof that Moyes was not so clueless after all? Would Baines have formed a good partnership as a full back with Rooney in Man Utd?

Having said all this, no one is getting carried away about England's chances at Brazil. But i will still be wearing my England jersey come the summer of 2014 (and changing it with Spain's occasionally).

*This promo single featured Linkin Park!

No good deed* - Idina Menzel

The saying goes - No good deed goes unpunished. This basically means that "beneficial actions often go unappreciated or are met with outright hostility".

My poor wife experienced that recently. With good intentions, she shared her experience with another person when that person was not too careful with what she said. But that person responded quite defensively and in a hostile manner. I guess that some people can get too sensitive and misread good intetions. It probably comes from an attitude of pride - not wanting to admit that one made a mistake and not humble enough to accept advice from others.

So how? Stop doing good to others? Well, in my view, no. At the end of the day, we do good because that is what we supposed to do - and not to do good only if we benefit from it.

We just have to be more discerning when doing good - after all, the Bible warns us about throwing pearls to swines.

*From the musical, Wicked. Widely regarded as the most powerful song of the show.

Who's that guy?* - The Cast of Grease 2

I have been ranting about this for a while. And I am still unhappy about it!!! As Boromir would say it:-

But that's what Brendan Rodgers did. Giving it to Iago Aspas. Who??? I have no idea!!!

Sure, there have been former no. 9s who have flopped (I blogged about the recent no. 9s and whether they were successes or flops = you can read it here). But you can understand why they were given it - or least there was some justification. Diouf impressed in the 2002 World Cup and he was given the no. 9 jersey. Carroll was very impressive at Newcastle before he took the no. 9 jersey.

But Aspas?

Give him a chance? Well, he has not impressed at all when he came on as a sub. In fact, the only notable thing i remembered him doing last weekend was stupidly kicking the ball away (when it was Crystal Palace's freekick) right in front of the ref leaving the ref no choice but to show him the yellow card. Well done!!!

*One of my fav songs from the soundtrack, very musical-esque!

Papa, can you hear me* - Barbra Streisand

Happy birthday, papa!!!

I wish you were here - cuz you would then be able to see Shona! She brigns so much joy into the lives of those who see her, so i'm very confident you will be filled with joy when you see her too.

I am also confident that she will be so blessed to have a grandpa like you. I know you would loved her to bits, and spoilt her silly. You would have been there to carry her whenever she wants someone to (which is pretty much all the time these days) - and you would have done so willingly and happily.

I just hope that through me, Shona will be able to see you and the love that you have shown us when you were here on earth.

I have always appreciated you as my father - and now, being a father myself, i appreciate all that you have done even more.

We'll see you later, one sweet day!

*Taken from the movie, Yentl.

Back for good* - Take That

Wanted to blog this last Monday. Din get a chance. Thought i better post this up before the game later!

Suarez is back in the Premier League - and he marked his return with 2 well taken goals, helping Liverpool to win 3-1!!!

It was a poor poor performance by Liverpool - but Suarez helped them to win despite such a bad performance. So yes, i am glad he is back. And he looks like he's back for good. He still looks sharp, and he has not lacking in passion and work-rate. The boo-ing did not discourage him. His partnership with Sturridge is encouraging.

Perhaps more importantly, there was one telling moment in the game that warmed my heart - when he tumbled in Sunderland's penalty box from a challenge of a defender, but he picked himself up almost instantly and continued to chase for the ball. No more cheating? Well, i hope that is the case!

As he celebrates the birth or his new born son (see pics below) by dedicating both goals to him, i hope he will indeed be a good example to his son - and to all the young football fans out there.

The Daily Mirror published an open letter to Suarez earlier last week - and i was surprised at how much i agreed with the contents of it (you can read it here). Here is an excerpt from it:-

We have missed Suarez the footballer. A footballer of extraordinary talent. We have missed your astonishing skill, your ruthless will to win, your commitment to the tackle, your competitive edge, your obsessive love of scoring, your determination to fight for the cause, your skill, your pace, your power. 

We have missed your ability to change a game with a single, mazey run, your ability to trap a ball with the lace of your boot, to land a ball at the foot of a team-mate, seemingly at any pace and at any angle. 

But we haven’t missed what comes with all that. We understand that a competitive professional will sometimes push the boundaries of fair play but your record is something else entirely. 

So i hope that as he returns, he is back for good! And he can be sure that he will never walk alone.

* The number hit in many countries all over the world, taken from their 3rd album, Nobody Else.