There's a 3 on 3 tourney in Cyberjaya on the 29th, and I plan on entering. I'm bringing John and Man Rebound. At least, that's what I think right now. John may or may not be able to play with me because he's only 19, and I'm not sure if he'll be able to play in the same category as me. Man on the other hand has a tournament in Perak a week before the 29th so he'll only be able to play barring any injuries. I'm crossing my fingers on this one. I hope I can play with these two guys.
Details -
Where : Pusat Komuniti Cyberjaya
When : 8am-6pm, Nov 29th 2008
Categories : Under 19, 20-24, 25 and above (only Non-Chinese)
Anyways, here's my take on the two guys who (I hope) will be playing with me. John's a natural swingman. He's got his triple-threat going on, but he can still post-up against smaller guys and dominate because of his freakish athletic ability. Man Rebound, despite his name, is not just a rebounder. He's a freaking great rebounder, one of the best I've seen for his size, but he also possesses some nice post moves. No perimeter game, but he can shoot from midrange decently. Mainly a high-post player. Some say one-dimensional, I say nevermind.
I'm feeling good about these two guys, because John's a hell of a spot-up shooter and Man's a great option in the post. That means I can just hang around the 3-point line and play my game. Defensively, I'll be taking the weakest opponent because John's a good perimeter defender (freakish athletic ability+wingspan like a hawk=hard time for opponents) and Man is a good shot-blocker for his size. Unless we go up against a team with a 6'2" ogre, I'm pretty sure we'll do alright.
I'm not putting too much hope on this tourney, because it's open to anyone who's not Chinese and there's a lot of good Malay ballers out there. Hopefully the guys would be too exhausted from the Petronas Cup (yet another non-chinese tourney, although a more established one) and skip this tourney. Then my team would have a good shot. Wait a second. I haven't registered for the tourney yet. Arck!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Shot
Random short poem I found. Sounds so depressing, but accepting at the same time.
I can't blame you for this. I should've seen it coming.
It was my fault, I suppose.
I provided the gun.
I provided the ammo.
I provided the easy target.
Come on now, baby.
Put me out of my misery.
Here we go, will you pull the trigger now?
I can't blame you for this. I should've seen it coming.
It was my fault, I suppose.
I provided the gun.
I provided the ammo.
I provided the easy target.
Come on now, baby.
Put me out of my misery.
Here we go, will you pull the trigger now?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Budak Kelantan
I had some alone time yesterday. 7 hours, to be exact. It was hell. I've been going through this phase where I'm starting to miss my ex, and I know that it's part of the whole acceptance process but it doesn't make it any easier. I used to enjoy my alone time, driving lazily, smoking while listening to music but I'm starting to hate it because that's when I start to think of her and miss her. I feel sepi everytime I'm alone, and I didn't have anyone to hang out with yesterday. So I had to distract myself.
I spent the first three hours reading a bit from Catch-22, helping a few of my friends with some marketing stuff, and talking to Michael about random stuff. Catch-22 is funny, and I am seriously considering buying the book in a few weeks' time. Unless of course I could find someone who'd lend me the book. Talking to Michael was even funnier, with the topics going from Formula 1 to Malaysian Chinese's lansi-ness to road bullies to national economic situations to etc. Started to run out of ideas on ways to distract myself, so I went to One Utama.
What did I do in One Utama? Watch two movies back-to-back, alone. The first was House Bunny, which made me laugh on a few occasions but did not prevent me from attending to my phone on a few different occasions throughout the movie. The second movie, however, was different. It simply made me ignore all incoming calls, so it's safe to say that I was glued to my seat.
First of all, Budak Kelantan is roughly 99% Kelantanese dialect. I've had some bad experiences with Kelantanese people during my school days, but the dialect still attracts me. The fact that the usage of the dialect didn't sound fake (unlike those Razak Mohaideen movies) caught my attention even more. Of course, I don't like the movie just because of the dialect. There were other aspects to it as well. The whole cinematography was good. There were a few scenes that simply oozed coolness on a visual basis. Other than that, there were also a few good lines that I thought were brilliant. The whole "kande kambing" line was thought-provoking, to say the least.
I also liked the issues brought up in the movie. There was the whole issue of crime and delinquecy, which would attract any young Malay male I suppose. The movie also touched on friendship, and the movie's take on the two main character's friendship is good. It wasn't original, but good try nevertheless.
Anyways, I managed to distract myself from feeling sepi yesterday but I don't think I'll be able to do it everytime I'm alone. I can only hope that the next time I'm alone, I won't think of her anymore because more than anything else, I just want to enjoy my alone time. God help me.
I spent the first three hours reading a bit from Catch-22, helping a few of my friends with some marketing stuff, and talking to Michael about random stuff. Catch-22 is funny, and I am seriously considering buying the book in a few weeks' time. Unless of course I could find someone who'd lend me the book. Talking to Michael was even funnier, with the topics going from Formula 1 to Malaysian Chinese's lansi-ness to road bullies to national economic situations to etc. Started to run out of ideas on ways to distract myself, so I went to One Utama.
What did I do in One Utama? Watch two movies back-to-back, alone. The first was House Bunny, which made me laugh on a few occasions but did not prevent me from attending to my phone on a few different occasions throughout the movie. The second movie, however, was different. It simply made me ignore all incoming calls, so it's safe to say that I was glued to my seat.
First of all, Budak Kelantan is roughly 99% Kelantanese dialect. I've had some bad experiences with Kelantanese people during my school days, but the dialect still attracts me. The fact that the usage of the dialect didn't sound fake (unlike those Razak Mohaideen movies) caught my attention even more. Of course, I don't like the movie just because of the dialect. There were other aspects to it as well. The whole cinematography was good. There were a few scenes that simply oozed coolness on a visual basis. Other than that, there were also a few good lines that I thought were brilliant. The whole "kande kambing" line was thought-provoking, to say the least.
I also liked the issues brought up in the movie. There was the whole issue of crime and delinquecy, which would attract any young Malay male I suppose. The movie also touched on friendship, and the movie's take on the two main character's friendship is good. It wasn't original, but good try nevertheless.
Anyways, I managed to distract myself from feeling sepi yesterday but I don't think I'll be able to do it everytime I'm alone. I can only hope that the next time I'm alone, I won't think of her anymore because more than anything else, I just want to enjoy my alone time. God help me.
Movie References... Funny...
I got this from Family Guy but I don't know what movie it came from. Sounds cool, though.
You wanna hurt me?
Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better.
I'm an easy target.
Yeah, you're right. I talk too much.
I also listen too much.
Oh, I can be a cold-hearted cynic like you.
But I don't like to hurt people's feelings.
Well, you think what you want of me, I'm not changing.
I like.. I like me.
My kids like me.
My friends like me.
Cause I'm the real article.
What you see is what you get.
You wanna hurt me?
Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better.
I'm an easy target.
Yeah, you're right. I talk too much.
I also listen too much.
Oh, I can be a cold-hearted cynic like you.
But I don't like to hurt people's feelings.
Well, you think what you want of me, I'm not changing.
I like.. I like me.
My kids like me.
My friends like me.
Cause I'm the real article.
What you see is what you get.
Iverson becoming a Piston? Seriously?
By now you would have already heard the news. Iverson goes to Detroit for Billups, McDyess and Cheikh Samb. McDyess' contract would most probably be bought out, and Samb calls for no real attention so the trade is basically an Iverson-Billups swap. It looks like a win-win trade, but it's too early to pass any real judgment. I'm not going to discuss about the whole salary cap thing or the "which team is getting the better end of the deal" debate, because you can read about it in ESPN or other places. I just want to touch on two points regarding the two point guards.
Firstly, this move is basically a sign that I'm getting older. No, seriously. Iverson was one of my basketball idols while I was growing up and for Denver to move him in favor of JR Smith getting some minutes just shows that Iverson's time is up. Iverson's current talents is outweighed by JR Smith's potential. Iverson's old, and I'm getting older. Sigh... Oh, and Billups was reportedly moved to give Rodney Stuckey some playing time while McDyess was moved to give Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell some playing time. Conclusion? These old guys had to move out of the young dudes' ways. Kudos to both organizations for finding the right deal to develop their young players, though.
Second thing, this trade changes the whole perspective of both teams, doesn't it? AI's a star, (or was, according to you haters) and he's now playing in Detroit who've been trying to justify the "we don't need stars to win" view. Then again, maybe AI wouldn't get as much freedom as he did in Denver, hence taking a more team-based approach towards basketball. Very unlikely, but who knows, right? On the Nuggets' side, I thought they wanted to run and run and run and gun, so what the hell is Chauncey doing there? Who knows. Looking at it now, Billups might slow down the offense but he's one hell of a pass-first point guard so he can make it work. Then again, the other Nuggets might have a hard time adjusting or worse, Chauncey might just run and run and run and fall.
Old people getting moved to give young guys a chance, change in basketball philosophies after a few years of losing in the playoffs, all these things show that these two teams are trying to change. We won't be able to tell what they'll change into just yet, but give it some time.Whatever it is, this trade has too many variables for any smart person to judge immediately. Goes to show how complicated life, I mean, basketball really is.
Firstly, this move is basically a sign that I'm getting older. No, seriously. Iverson was one of my basketball idols while I was growing up and for Denver to move him in favor of JR Smith getting some minutes just shows that Iverson's time is up. Iverson's current talents is outweighed by JR Smith's potential. Iverson's old, and I'm getting older. Sigh... Oh, and Billups was reportedly moved to give Rodney Stuckey some playing time while McDyess was moved to give Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell some playing time. Conclusion? These old guys had to move out of the young dudes' ways. Kudos to both organizations for finding the right deal to develop their young players, though.
Second thing, this trade changes the whole perspective of both teams, doesn't it? AI's a star, (or was, according to you haters) and he's now playing in Detroit who've been trying to justify the "we don't need stars to win" view. Then again, maybe AI wouldn't get as much freedom as he did in Denver, hence taking a more team-based approach towards basketball. Very unlikely, but who knows, right? On the Nuggets' side, I thought they wanted to run and run and run and gun, so what the hell is Chauncey doing there? Who knows. Looking at it now, Billups might slow down the offense but he's one hell of a pass-first point guard so he can make it work. Then again, the other Nuggets might have a hard time adjusting or worse, Chauncey might just run and run and run and fall.
Old people getting moved to give young guys a chance, change in basketball philosophies after a few years of losing in the playoffs, all these things show that these two teams are trying to change. We won't be able to tell what they'll change into just yet, but give it some time.Whatever it is, this trade has too many variables for any smart person to judge immediately. Goes to show how complicated life, I mean, basketball really is.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Archers Update
The Archers had a friendly with S12U, which consisted of ballers from the court in Section 12, Shah Alam today. S12U had 15 players while the Archers only had 7. One of us didn't play and opted to be coach, but we had the help of some UiTM regulars. It wasn't really a proper friendly, because we didn't really play by the books.
First up, there were no shotclocks. In fact, there were no clocks used, period. The winner is first to 50, with scores in 2s and 3s. There were no referees and no free throws, so players called their own fouls which led to certain players going rough and ended up being emo. Overall, it was a good match for both teams as we were both rather inexperienced. Archers won 50-40, by the way. Anyways, here's a brief individual scouting report for the Archers.
Fikri(guard) - Dude shot the lights out today. He made more than half of his jumpshots and really punished his defenders who gave him too much room to operate. He started out slow and made some bad passes early on, but pushed the pace once the team got settled in. Showcased some good dribbling talent. A lot of upside to this young, awkward-looking point guard. However, he's a little bit slow and doesn't really possess the ability to drive to the hoop. Will face problems once he faces quick pointguards.
Faiz(guard) - Defends with a lot of intensity and hustles. Once a guy loses his dribble, he closes up quickly. Fairly good on-the-ball defender. Valuable in pressure defense situations. Has a high basketball IQ, and knows where players are supposed to be to get the open shot. This guy shouldn't be taking jumpshots for the time-being. His shooting mechanics look consistent, but his shots weren't falling today.
Nazim(guard) - Anticipates the passing lane and gets the steal with ease. Projected to be the leading steals man in Archers. Good shooter in practice, but didn't bring his guns to the game today. Archers will need him to consistently shoot the outside shot in future games.
Dan(guard) - Plays according to the coach. Got tired despite playing limited minutes.
Yusuf(forward) - He can play the high-post well in practice, but struggled playing his game against rougher opponents. Showed flashes of his post game, but it was mostly because of bad defense rather than good offense. Can easily score when he's aggresive, and needs to be in that mindset throughout the whole game.
Ali/Sadiq(forward) - Didn't play but coached instead. Good at spotting fatigue and distributing playing time among the Archers. Should've been more vocal about calling plays, though.
PG/Bomba(guard/forward) - Ran up and down the court, but didn't finish his cuts when it mattered. Was not aggresive on offense, and looked lost at times during defense. His only two baskets were jumpers, one from midrange and the other a trey from the baseline. Needs to be confident in taking open shots and drive to the basket when possible.
Overall performance - Defended as a team well, as there were minimal leaks in their zone defense. However, they didn't capitalize on opportunities to trap opponents despite knowing that the other team had only a few true ball-handlers. They didn't finish their ball-rotation on offense, and it led to quite a number of long jumpers. Their guards didn't cut, and it led to the ball being stagnant on a few occasions. The team looked like they didn't have chemistry. This is most probably due to the influx of outsiders playing for the Archers today, but the team should've played their game nevertheless.
On a sidenote, I'm only doing this individual scouting report thingy so that I can better understand me and my teammates' strength and weaknesses. I'm not trying to diss anyone here. Peace.
First up, there were no shotclocks. In fact, there were no clocks used, period. The winner is first to 50, with scores in 2s and 3s. There were no referees and no free throws, so players called their own fouls which led to certain players going rough and ended up being emo. Overall, it was a good match for both teams as we were both rather inexperienced. Archers won 50-40, by the way. Anyways, here's a brief individual scouting report for the Archers.
Fikri(guard) - Dude shot the lights out today. He made more than half of his jumpshots and really punished his defenders who gave him too much room to operate. He started out slow and made some bad passes early on, but pushed the pace once the team got settled in. Showcased some good dribbling talent. A lot of upside to this young, awkward-looking point guard. However, he's a little bit slow and doesn't really possess the ability to drive to the hoop. Will face problems once he faces quick pointguards.
Faiz(guard) - Defends with a lot of intensity and hustles. Once a guy loses his dribble, he closes up quickly. Fairly good on-the-ball defender. Valuable in pressure defense situations. Has a high basketball IQ, and knows where players are supposed to be to get the open shot. This guy shouldn't be taking jumpshots for the time-being. His shooting mechanics look consistent, but his shots weren't falling today.
Nazim(guard) - Anticipates the passing lane and gets the steal with ease. Projected to be the leading steals man in Archers. Good shooter in practice, but didn't bring his guns to the game today. Archers will need him to consistently shoot the outside shot in future games.
Dan(guard) - Plays according to the coach. Got tired despite playing limited minutes.
Yusuf(forward) - He can play the high-post well in practice, but struggled playing his game against rougher opponents. Showed flashes of his post game, but it was mostly because of bad defense rather than good offense. Can easily score when he's aggresive, and needs to be in that mindset throughout the whole game.
Ali/Sadiq(forward) - Didn't play but coached instead. Good at spotting fatigue and distributing playing time among the Archers. Should've been more vocal about calling plays, though.
PG/Bomba(guard/forward) - Ran up and down the court, but didn't finish his cuts when it mattered. Was not aggresive on offense, and looked lost at times during defense. His only two baskets were jumpers, one from midrange and the other a trey from the baseline. Needs to be confident in taking open shots and drive to the basket when possible.
Overall performance - Defended as a team well, as there were minimal leaks in their zone defense. However, they didn't capitalize on opportunities to trap opponents despite knowing that the other team had only a few true ball-handlers. They didn't finish their ball-rotation on offense, and it led to quite a number of long jumpers. Their guards didn't cut, and it led to the ball being stagnant on a few occasions. The team looked like they didn't have chemistry. This is most probably due to the influx of outsiders playing for the Archers today, but the team should've played their game nevertheless.
On a sidenote, I'm only doing this individual scouting report thingy so that I can better understand me and my teammates' strength and weaknesses. I'm not trying to diss anyone here. Peace.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Stages of Grief and Loss
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross stated there are five stages that people go through when faced with grief and loss. This can be related to death or even break-ups i suppose. Basically, the five stages are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Final Acceptance. The thing is, i thing I got my stages mixed up when I broke up recently. Let me explain.
The first stage I went through when I dumped her was Bargaining. It was only a few hours after the incident, but I've already started to plead and beg her to take me back. Of course, she didn't give me a straight answer until 4-5 days after that so I went through the Denial stage. I kept telling myself that there is a chance to get back in the relationship, but I was wrong, so wrong. I'm going through Anger right now, because I feel like she toyed with my emotions and simply left me cold and bloody by the roadside. I feel betrayed, and I keep on having visions of bad things, really bad things happening to her friends. I'm sure that I haven't gone through the Final Acceptance stage yet, because I still feel as though this whole breaking up business is wrong. I'm not saying that I shouldn't have broken up with her, I'm only saying that I was made to believe something fake and things wouldn't be this painful if only she was honest to me.
Another reason why I feel like I got my stages mixed up is because of the Depression stage. For me, I didn't go through one single stage where I was constantly depressed. Depression was like a constant for me, because it existed throughout the other stages as well. I haven't had a single day since I've broken up where I didn't think about her and felt depressed. It goes to show that Kubler-Ross' theory isn't exactly perfect yet, but I don't really care about that. All I know is, I'm enraged and depressed and (oh please God) I hope I can go smack the hell out of her right now. If it wasn't for my "no violence against women" policy, she'll be going back to her friends with cuts and bruises. Argh...
While dealing with this depression, I kept on reminding myself that I've still got basketball, friends, family and my Koala. To tell you the truth, I'm glad because my friends and Koala has been there to support me throughout the whole break-up. Thanks Cerak, Khalis, Jean, Adam, and anyone else I forgot to mention. I would've gone crazy if it wasn't for you guys.
Oh, and Koala, if you're reading this, thanks a lot for being here for me throughout this hard time, and thanks for everything. I really appreciate it.
The first stage I went through when I dumped her was Bargaining. It was only a few hours after the incident, but I've already started to plead and beg her to take me back. Of course, she didn't give me a straight answer until 4-5 days after that so I went through the Denial stage. I kept telling myself that there is a chance to get back in the relationship, but I was wrong, so wrong. I'm going through Anger right now, because I feel like she toyed with my emotions and simply left me cold and bloody by the roadside. I feel betrayed, and I keep on having visions of bad things, really bad things happening to her friends. I'm sure that I haven't gone through the Final Acceptance stage yet, because I still feel as though this whole breaking up business is wrong. I'm not saying that I shouldn't have broken up with her, I'm only saying that I was made to believe something fake and things wouldn't be this painful if only she was honest to me.
Another reason why I feel like I got my stages mixed up is because of the Depression stage. For me, I didn't go through one single stage where I was constantly depressed. Depression was like a constant for me, because it existed throughout the other stages as well. I haven't had a single day since I've broken up where I didn't think about her and felt depressed. It goes to show that Kubler-Ross' theory isn't exactly perfect yet, but I don't really care about that. All I know is, I'm enraged and depressed and (oh please God) I hope I can go smack the hell out of her right now. If it wasn't for my "no violence against women" policy, she'll be going back to her friends with cuts and bruises. Argh...
While dealing with this depression, I kept on reminding myself that I've still got basketball, friends, family and my Koala. To tell you the truth, I'm glad because my friends and Koala has been there to support me throughout the whole break-up. Thanks Cerak, Khalis, Jean, Adam, and anyone else I forgot to mention. I would've gone crazy if it wasn't for you guys.
Oh, and Koala, if you're reading this, thanks a lot for being here for me throughout this hard time, and thanks for everything. I really appreciate it.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Random Emo Song
This is a song by Coheed and Cambria, one of my all-time favourite band. I like the lyrics because it works on so many levels. Personally, I think that the song's simply about a person who's just broken up and feels like he was betrayed by the ex. In fact, he feels like taking up a knife and cutting her up. Actually, cancel that. I feel like taking up a chainsaw and mutilating Comel. I just broke up a few days ago, by the way.
The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut
In the final curtain call
You left me here with the coldest of feelings
Weight, kind, depression
Blessing the floors with the places you’ve stepped in
Will they ever measure up to the way you left me?
Here on the roadside the bloodiest cadaver
Marked in your words: I’m the joke, I’m the bastard
Here wait, so I guess that you knew
That you’re… a selfish little whore
I’m the selfish little whore
If I had my way I’d crush your face in the door
This is no beginning… this is the final cut
Open up, I’m in love
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Emo Song of The Week
I'm addicted to this song because of a few things. First, it's because of the lyrics. Short and concise, and it still delivers the desired emotions. I put my favorite lines in Italic.
Second reason, it's because of the guy's voice. His voice doesn't make feel sad. It makes me feel pain. It makes me feel his pain, and reminds me of my pain.
The last reason would be because the song's played with just two guitars through out the whole song, and it doesn't sound over-produced like the mainstream ballads you hear on MTV. This song sounds honest, in a way.
Anyways, go check this song out.
Nadia's Picture Show - Menunggu Dirimu
Harusku menahan semua kisah cintaku
Jauh, jauh….
Jauh…
p/s: this song will forever remind me of that emo girl
Second reason, it's because of the guy's voice. His voice doesn't make feel sad. It makes me feel pain. It makes me feel his pain, and reminds me of my pain.
The last reason would be because the song's played with just two guitars through out the whole song, and it doesn't sound over-produced like the mainstream ballads you hear on MTV. This song sounds honest, in a way.
Anyways, go check this song out.
Nadia's Picture Show - Menunggu Dirimu
Semuanya kan berakhir
Kiranya kau kan mungkir
Tetapku menunggu mu
Untuk kau terus berfikir
Jangan kau anggap ini semuanya
Hanya mimpi yang tak berharga
Jangan kau hampa tentang isinya
Kenangan yang telah kita bina
Hanyaku yang inginkan semua
Untuk kita terus berdua
Ku kan terus tersiksa
Kiranya aku tetapkan menunggu dirimu
Harusku menahan semua kisah cintaku
Jauh, jauh….
Jauh…
p/s: this song will forever remind me of that emo girl
Friday, October 10, 2008
Random Update
First up, I'm going to go ahead and say that I think my non-paying 2-day modeling gig went well. Christie didn't put me in the IT nerds shot. Instead, I was put into two different shots. The first one was a massive group photo with 3 girls and 6-7 other guys. We all wore business suits, and one guy was holding a trophy in the middle while we all huddled up and faked some glorious emotions. It was funny because we were basically cheering and screaming for nothing, and the trophy we used was a really old trophy. Seriously, REALLY old. The props guy had to dust it off before we used it. That's how old it was.
The second shot was uber cool. See the Franz Ferdinand picture? That's the shot that Khalis, Aaron and I had to recreate. We all wore skinny jeans with coats and ties, the whole works. I even had my hair combed like one of the guys. We had to jump a few times before we got the shot we wanted, but it's all good. Christie said that she'll give us a CD containing all the pictures taken during the gig, and I can't wait to get it.
Jackie, one of the guys in charge told us that the pictures are going to come out early next month, most probably. Of course, since we're talking about Malaysians here, I'd say the earliest they'll come out is late November. Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure I'll be uploading the photos once I get it.
Anyways, I had a good Aidilfitri. The only thing I hated was driving back, because I got stuck in a traffic jam for 3 hours. Sigh. One interesting thing that I would not forget was seeing my little cousins trying to "layoq" some chickens while in Alor Star. My uncle and I had to "sembelih" and prepare 7 chickens for the family to cook, and the little buggers were forced to help pluck out all the feathers. It was funny because it was their first time doing it, and my little sister was making a big fuss over it. "This may be the only time I'll ever do this in my whole life," she says.
Oh, another random thing. I've been trying to figure out ways to kiss a girl without her noticing it. Things like lightly kissing the girl's shoulder when taking the escalator, kissing the back of her head while she's paying for something, etc. Anybody has any other methods to share?
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