I really had a memorable time at Wimbledon yesterday. Here are the reasons:-
1. I almost din get to go!!!!
When i first reached there and noticed the crowd - which was much much bigger than when i was there 10 years ago - and the queue, i almost felt like not going at all. But i knew i won't get another chance. So i joined the end of the queue.
It was after that i found out that the queue was much much longer than i thought it was!!!!
While queuing, one of the stewards was just joking wif us, reminding us that all we need is "cash and card". Cash for the tickets, and the "Queuing card" which is given to everyone in the queue according to descending numbers. The lady in front of me asked if she could get a refund for her Monday tickets cuz it rained the whole of Monday. The steward told her that she could get her 17 pounds back.
I was like - wait a minute? 17 quid? The tickets are 11 quid, isn't it? I checked the price on the queue card and sure enuf, it was 17!!!!! 11 pounds tickets are only for those who go in after 5 pm!!!!!!!
I checked me wallet - yup, i had ONLY 16 QUID!!!!!! And some pennies...
I gave up. I left the queue and headed towards the tube station. Then i had an idea - i checked wif another steward (helpful ppl these stewards - and plenty of em around too!). Yup, wif me queue card, i can leave the queue and rejoin at any time.
I rushed to the town nearby (by foot), found a Barclays Bank, got cash and rushed back, hoping that i can remember the people i was standing in between. I did! And they were so far away - the queue moved really fast and we were in in less than 2 hours!!!! :-)
2. I caught a glimpse of the big names - Maria Sharapova, Sebastien Grojean, Daniela Hantuchova, Elena Dementieva, Anatascia Myskina etc.
Some were just fleeting, most while playing, some were really up close, as they walked pass. Whenever we hear stewards shout out "Make way, make way, player passing thru", we'd all turn in expectation to see who is walking pass by!
3. Just being on the Wimbledon grounds was special for me.
I was close to tears as i stood inside there initially, absorbing the wonderful atmosphere! The place where dreams were made and dashed! the place which i had been watching all these years on TV. I was there!
4. I got to see some things in the smaller courts you dun normally see.
Things like balls flying in from another court, the scoreboard person making mistakes - to the annoyance of the umpire, seeing the umpire roll his eyes, the ball boy taking a drink, etc.
5. I got involved in a match!
While waiting for another match, i got engrossed in this doubles games between a Japanese pair and a Russian pair. There was a host of Japanese supporters there too and we were cheering the girls on enthusiastically! There were the usual "Ooos..." and "Aaahhhs..." you normally hear on TV at a close-call shot or a brilliant one. They lost but we had fun!
6. I got so familiar with the place
Now each time i watch a game online, i know exactly where the Court in question is!
7. The weather was brilliant!
A bit too sunny at times but lovely. There were nice breezes and occasional and rare cloudy spells. When i left at 8:15 pm, it was still bright!
8. There were oso the negatives.
I had some pretty bad experiences wif some British ladies. First, there were 2 who just pretended i wasn't there and slipped in front of me, ahead of the queue for Court 3!!!!! Then there was another who's phoen rang during the game and she actually answered the call - loudly - to the annoyance of all of us. I glared at her until she laughingly told the person on the other end of the line that she had to go!!!! I was pretty mad - she was standing at the entrance and she could have very well just turned around and walked 2 steps out of the court! Sigh...
9. Seeing the matches in real life is different from watching it live on TV.
I just can't explain it - you had to be there, see the ground strokes being made right before your eyes, hearing the racquet make contact with the ball, seeing the expressions on the faces, seeing the chalk fly up when the ball hit the line - sure u see and hear these things on TV but being there is so so different! Oh, you get to feel the heat and the breeze too! And the excitement among the crowd! And we had to duck some balls which flew our direction too!
10. I got meself a nice tan! I got meself a nice t-shirt too! :-)
Friday, June 30, 2006
Justification
OK - so i bought the most expensive t-shirt i have ever bought in me whole life!!!! It'll definately be the most expensive one i purchase for my whole life! Dun ask how much. Dun ask, please...
Here it is:-
Trust me, it took me a whole day of inner struggle before finally deciding to buy it! Here are the reasons i manage to come up wif (in Wimbledon colours, of course!):-
1. This is prolly the only time ever i'll go to Wimbledom - the t-shirt with the "06" will be a perpetual reminder of that wonderful summer day!
2. I have not bought anything for meself since i started working! Not even Jewel's CD!!!! Surely i can afford to indulge meself on this, can't i?
3. It's Wimbledon!!!!!!!! :-)
4. It's green!
5. It'll oso remind me of the wonderful Summer of 2006 i'm having now (yes, WS, this is a direct reference to that theme!)
6. I starved meself the whole day - and saved some money which goes to part-payment of the t-shirt!
7. It looks really nice, doesn't it?
8. I've always been a big fan of Wimbledon Tennis - far bigger than the other Grand Slams.
9. I'll never buy another t-shirt this expensive ever again... i hope!
10. It's green in colour! Wha..? I said that oredi? Ermm.... well, it's a nice shade of green, dun u think? ;-P
Give me credit for trying... :-)
Here it is:-
Trust me, it took me a whole day of inner struggle before finally deciding to buy it! Here are the reasons i manage to come up wif (in Wimbledon colours, of course!):-
1. This is prolly the only time ever i'll go to Wimbledom - the t-shirt with the "06" will be a perpetual reminder of that wonderful summer day!
2. I have not bought anything for meself since i started working! Not even Jewel's CD!!!! Surely i can afford to indulge meself on this, can't i?
3. It's Wimbledon!!!!!!!! :-)
4. It's green!
5. It'll oso remind me of the wonderful Summer of 2006 i'm having now (yes, WS, this is a direct reference to that theme!)
6. I starved meself the whole day - and saved some money which goes to part-payment of the t-shirt!
7. It looks really nice, doesn't it?
8. I've always been a big fan of Wimbledon Tennis - far bigger than the other Grand Slams.
9. I'll never buy another t-shirt this expensive ever again... i hope!
10. It's green in colour! Wha..? I said that oredi? Ermm.... well, it's a nice shade of green, dun u think? ;-P
Give me credit for trying... :-)
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Escapism
I remember when i was really young. me bro and sis went off for Sunday School. Methinks me was too young to go!
So there i was, crying - more at being left out, i guess!
Me dad - well, he took all me action dolls, got out his camera and got me to pose wif me toys while he took pics of me! I still have those pics today, back home.
Sure enuf, i stopped crying and enjoyed the spontaneous photo-shot! ;-P
I guess some things never changed. I was feeling down these past couple of days - and to get me mind off things, guess wat i did? I got me guitar, took out me camera and started taking photos!!!!!! Here there are:-
They would look good inside the CD jacket of my album, wouldn't they? :-P
I dun recommend any forms of escapism - face up to the issues/problems! But i must admit that at times, it is good to jus get away from it all, for a while, to maintain me sanity! Here is the list of some other things that i do:-
1. Read! I'm devouring me latest Archer's novel in record time. It's an excellent way to escape. I'm transported to Yale, to Vietnam, to many other places mentioned in the book. And Archer is really good - and funny too! The other good thing about reading is that i can read til i get mentally exhausted and sleep will come easier, instead of me lying in bed thinking of things!
2. Cook! Be busy with all the chopping, and cutting, and frying and experimenting! In my view, timing is important in cooking - how long you fry the garlic, how long you soak the vege, how long you boil the pasta. These things keep me mind distracted - but the problem at times is that after cooking, me dun have appetite to eat - wif the things still on me mind!
3. Jam on the guitar! I think i've been playing on me guitar more in this month than in the past 7 months before put together!!!! (Usually, me jamming session will end wif a photo taking session!)
4. Go for a walk. There's this excellent trail which starts behind the South Courts all the way to Wivenhoe. Love that trail. The river is on one side while the railway track is on the other. There are usually so so many things along the way to distract me - the wildflowers, the animals, the birds, the plants. The physical workout is nice too and the excellent breeze in the hair is lovely!
5. Sit in the kitchen and wait for some flatmate to chat wif. The plus point of being in a 13-roomed flat. However, you'd be surprised at how difficult it is to find some flatmates at times. Most of us matured (konon-lah) post-grad students stick in our rooms all day long!
6. Go to YouTube and look for interesting/funny/cool clips!
7. Try all kinds of online quizzes (i've finished all the interesting ones on blogthings.com!!!!!)
8. Watch Buffy! Incidentally, Season 2 has for surpassed season 1! It's brilliant. the characters are fleshed out, the storylines are more complicated, actors get to show more emotions and break out from the stereotypes, new interesting characters (Spike and Dru are excellent!) - and Seth Green! :-) And the season finale for Season2 just blew me away!!!!
9. Go to London!!!!!!! A bit expensive, tho. But at least now that i'm allowed into LSE's library, i've got a legit excuse to go to London!
10. Sit down and think of stupid lists like this to blog about! :-)
So there i was, crying - more at being left out, i guess!
Me dad - well, he took all me action dolls, got out his camera and got me to pose wif me toys while he took pics of me! I still have those pics today, back home.
Sure enuf, i stopped crying and enjoyed the spontaneous photo-shot! ;-P
I guess some things never changed. I was feeling down these past couple of days - and to get me mind off things, guess wat i did? I got me guitar, took out me camera and started taking photos!!!!!! Here there are:-
They would look good inside the CD jacket of my album, wouldn't they? :-P
I dun recommend any forms of escapism - face up to the issues/problems! But i must admit that at times, it is good to jus get away from it all, for a while, to maintain me sanity! Here is the list of some other things that i do:-
1. Read! I'm devouring me latest Archer's novel in record time. It's an excellent way to escape. I'm transported to Yale, to Vietnam, to many other places mentioned in the book. And Archer is really good - and funny too! The other good thing about reading is that i can read til i get mentally exhausted and sleep will come easier, instead of me lying in bed thinking of things!
2. Cook! Be busy with all the chopping, and cutting, and frying and experimenting! In my view, timing is important in cooking - how long you fry the garlic, how long you soak the vege, how long you boil the pasta. These things keep me mind distracted - but the problem at times is that after cooking, me dun have appetite to eat - wif the things still on me mind!
3. Jam on the guitar! I think i've been playing on me guitar more in this month than in the past 7 months before put together!!!! (Usually, me jamming session will end wif a photo taking session!)
4. Go for a walk. There's this excellent trail which starts behind the South Courts all the way to Wivenhoe. Love that trail. The river is on one side while the railway track is on the other. There are usually so so many things along the way to distract me - the wildflowers, the animals, the birds, the plants. The physical workout is nice too and the excellent breeze in the hair is lovely!
5. Sit in the kitchen and wait for some flatmate to chat wif. The plus point of being in a 13-roomed flat. However, you'd be surprised at how difficult it is to find some flatmates at times. Most of us matured (konon-lah) post-grad students stick in our rooms all day long!
6. Go to YouTube and look for interesting/funny/cool clips!
7. Try all kinds of online quizzes (i've finished all the interesting ones on blogthings.com!!!!!)
8. Watch Buffy! Incidentally, Season 2 has for surpassed season 1! It's brilliant. the characters are fleshed out, the storylines are more complicated, actors get to show more emotions and break out from the stereotypes, new interesting characters (Spike and Dru are excellent!) - and Seth Green! :-) And the season finale for Season2 just blew me away!!!!
9. Go to London!!!!!!! A bit expensive, tho. But at least now that i'm allowed into LSE's library, i've got a legit excuse to go to London!
10. Sit down and think of stupid lists like this to blog about! :-)
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