Monday, November 26, 2007 @5:28 PM
1) Shrieky aka super bim aka maria sharapova's coming to Singapore. Ok, old news, I know, but still. Why couldn't spore have used all that money to invite SOMEONE ELSE, huh?! And c'mon, $150 are like the cheapest tickets? That's crazy. The cheapest tickets for both Fed and Rafa's matches were 83 ringgit. I refuse to believe one actually has to pay more to see Shrieky than Fed and Rafa. Then again, maybe it's just that the spore indoor stadium's just plain small. In comparison to stadium malawati, I mean. Ok, even if they don't want to invite the guys, at least invite Justine instead! I mean, she's the no. 1! I bet they couldn't afford her appearance fee.
2) very VERY disturbing headline spotted on the net: Andy Roddick and James Blake eat and sleep together.
*tries not to imagine the very disturbing image*
James Blake, of all people! *coughs* Erm, I think Safin would be a more suitable gay partner, Zhimin don't kill me!
3) The terracotta statues look NOTHING like the real people. Ok, more old news here, but I only really got a good look at those statues yesterday. On ATP. The statues of Rafa, Gonzo and Ferrer look exactly the same. -.- I mean, I know they all have pretty much the same type of hair, but still! And the Djokovic statue has much too short hair. And there's no resemblance in the face at all. Zhimin thinks he looks like a chicken. XD As for Kolya's statue, well, it's instantly recognizable, but that's only cos of the, uh, lack of hair. Fine, shall not be mean. Kolya's going through a rough time as it is.
4) rumour has it that Rafa was actually supposed to play Baghdatis in the exhibition match. THANK GOODNESS they changed it to Richie. At least Richie's eye candy. :)
5) speaking of Richie, my dad thinks he shouldn't wear his cap on the other way round. He says it makes him look like one of those typical street urchins, or clownish, which he's not. I can imagine Richie going around in the alleyways of France, in baggy sweaters and heavy chains, with the backward cap, going "yo" while flashing the right-hand rule and left-hand rule. XD
Friday, November 23, 2007 @4:47 AM
Yinfei is back, with a dreadful sore throat and a heart which is about ten times more in love with Rafa than it was before! :) *sighs dreamily*
*sighs some more*
One thing's for sure: nothing beats 3D! :D
Live, Rafa's ten times cuter, ten times hotter, ten times handsomer, and even his voice sounds ten times more captivating. Thus I am building a bigger house for him in my heart and am kicking the other residents out into tiny little huts to make space for it. :D Unlike Zhihua's heart, mine is undergoing some major renovation here. XD
So, on the morning of the 20th, I woke up at 7.15 despite setting the alarm (or rather, alarms) at 7.45. So, um, turns out there's no need for the alarms, huh. I happily forgot about them while I washed up and stuff (stuff being yelling at my parents to get up), until they all started blaring at the same time. I switched off my phone alarm after taking note that I'd set it to say "C'mon, it's Rafa day!". Then I had to sit around getting increasingly agitated and impatient at my parents' apparent lack of interest in getting an early move on, as they slowly moved around doing last minute packing. My mum checked if the windows were closed about ten times! Sheesh. I swear, they're doing it on purpose.
Anyway we finally left at nine (NINE!), and met up with my uncle and family before moving on to KL. Suprisingly, thanks to no jam, we arrived by one, and went for lunch and stuff and whatever. We checked into the hotel at four, and my uncle (another one, who lives in KL) warned us to leave by five for his house, where we would then drive together to the stadium.
Dad: Don't worry, this type of thing you won't have to rush her one! (her being me)
Indeed. By four thirty I was done and screaming to leave.
Mum: Come on lah, it's only Nadal today what.
Ahem. PRECISELY!
So we left at five (yes, my parents are slow) and were caught in a massive traffic jam in the taxi. Here, Yinfei has numerous heart attacks. We eventually arrived at my uncle's house at five forty-five, which is actually a pretty long time, because from past experience, no jam needs only fifteen minutes to get there. I was all set to leave instantly, but my uncle and parents had different ideas and insisted on some dinner first. I might clarify here that the match starts at eight, and because I'd heard that in the case of massive jam, it takes two hours to get there, plus I wanted to be there half an hour early to soak in the atmosphere, we should have left fifteen minutes ago! No words can describe my state of mind at that time. I was on the verge of tears and heart attacks and suicide. Hello, this is Rafa, THE RAFAEL NADAL, LIVE! Ok, so I thought a little dinner would be fast. I refused to eat anything other than a piece of chicken, cos I didn't want to waste anymore time than they already had, and cos I seriously was in no state for food consumption. I paced the room and could not sit down, even when I was eating the aforesaid piece of chicken. I couldn't stop walking, couldn't sit, couldn't look at anything, the TV, the food, anyone at all, for more than two seconds. I couldn't talk.
Aunt: Yinfei, why are you so excited?
That was a question posed to me by practically everyone, including my four-year-old cousin.
Eventually, dinner was done, and my uncle went upstairs to change. And he took so long up there (or was it just my imagination) that I was almost inclined to think that he must have fainted up there. Finally, we were set to go (or so I thought).
Mum: Yinfei, Uncle needs to digest his food first. (uncle stretches and strolls in the garden)
Yinfei: I NEED TO BE TRANQUILIZED!
Everyone laughs at poor Yinfei who looks like she might faint any moment. Everyone fails to understand the mentality of a fangirl who might just be late for the first and maybe only time she gets to lay eyes on the guy she loves with all her heart and soul in living flesh. :(
Anyway, drama aside, food digested, we're leaving the house at six twenty. Caught in another massive jam, Yinfei contemplates suicide. Mum suggests that if Yinfei is so anxious, she might want to get down from the car and jog there herself. Yinfei thinks this might not be so bad an idea. Amazingly, AMAZINGLY, at seven twenty, the huge words STADIUM MALAWATI looms into sight of Yinfei's eyes, and a leaping feeling grows in her heart, and she almost cries in relief and pure joy, and a strange feeling grips her heart with the knowledge that she is now within a five-hundred metre radius of Rafa.
I stumble out of the car and cannot stop gawking at the huge stadium. Adults give me weird looks and tell me that we're early, VERY EARLY, and am I happy for getting them here so early? I ignore them, being in a mood so happy that mere words cannot describe it. At the stadium entrance, I gaze in awe at the four huge (and I mean HUGE!) banners bearing pics of Rafa, Fed, Gasquet and Sampras respectively. I want to whip out my camera and start taking pics, but adults say it's wiser to get in there earlier. I whip out the tickets (they were placed in my care, due to common agreement amongst the adults that I would be the last person to lose them) and present them, and we're in. We're seated in the south zone, row KK, seats 13 to 17. When the usher shows us to our seats, I scream in joy at the realization that our seats are more than good - they're excellent. 350 ringgit well spent. The nearest to the court are the corporate boxes, reserved for the sponsors of the event, and VVIPs. We're just two rows behind the corporate boxes. I am just so, SO excited. There are people walking around selling Haagen Daaz (I know I've spelt it wrong, who cares) ice-cream, and because I ate practically nothing for dinner, and because I am now in a very good mood to eat, I buy chocolate ice-cream. Then everyone else decides to buy too, and because my dad is such a traditional person, he buys strawberry (for anyone who doesn't know, it's Wimbly tradition to eat strawberry cream/ice-cream). There're huge banners of all four players hung around the stadium, and I hasten to take pics. I feel sorry for all those people high up with a lousy view, with 85 ringgit tickets.
Then the emcee comes out onto the court, and announces that we're going live in one minute, cos the match is going to be live telecasted in 58 countries. Hmm, is Singapore one of them? Probably not. Anyway, this means Rafa's coming out any moment, and I can barely sit still with the excitement. Then the emcee calls for cheers.
Emcee: Let's hear it from the Gasquet fans!
Yinfei: -keeps her mouth shut-
Emcee: And now let's hear it from the Nadal fans!
Yinfei: -screams her lungs out, louder than she ever did for the Raffles cheers-
Mum and Dad and Uncle: -stares at Yinfei like she's gone insane-
Mum: I didn't know you can scream so loud! Must be all the training from your school cheers! (to uncle) You know nowadays the young people ah, learn to scream very loudly from their schools!
Anyway, there're short performances from a boyband and a dance group, which Yinfei patiently sits through. Then, the emcee comes out again and announces, "Winner of five singles titles, ranked number eight in the world, blahblahblah, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Richard Gasquet!" I excitedly video Richie coming out and waving to the crowd, and marvel at how much cuter he looks live. I video him walking to his seat and sitting down. And then..."And now, winner of three consecutive French Open titles, 23 career singles titles, ranked number two in the world, probably the hottest guy in the world (ok, I made that up), blahblahblah, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Rafael Nadal!" Here's where Yinfei lost it. It was too much. Simply too much. If you were to watch the video that I took, you'd see a stable picture of Richie walking to his seat, and then, all of a sudden, the whole picture shakes like crazy and goes out of focus, before finally getting a clear picture of Rafa walking and waving to the crowd. That's because Yinfei at this point was so excited that her hands shook like crazy, and because she'd really rather look at the real thing than look through the video camera.
I practically went crazy, as I realized that I was finally looking at Rafael Nadal in the living flesh, all 185 centimetres of him, just twenty metres away from me! Then I shoved the video cam aside, and started applauding like mad, and screaming and cheering as if my life depended on it. As he sat onto his seat, I grabbed the binoculars out of my bag and stared at him through them. I was gawking when suddenly my mum grabbed them out of my hand and looks at Rafa too. When she finally gave them back to me, she said, "Aiyoh, Nadal is so handsome! On TV I thought he was ugly, but in real life he looks so handsome!" Of course I wasted no time in congratulating her on finally seeing the light, and then continued to look at him through the binos before taking about a thousand pics. Then he got interviewed by the emcee, and I was totally amazed by his voice. It sounds so much better live! :D So deep and manly and all. :D Then, the coin toss. I looked at it through the binos, and watched as he smiled and laughed as he talked to Richie. To give credit to Richie, he was really cute too. :) Then my mum grabbed the binos again to look too. Throughout the match, my mum and me continued to squabble over the binos, while my father and uncle looked on, bemused. I congratulate my mum on her fine taste, although it did come a little late.
Anyway, Richie won the coin toss, and chose to serve. The practice rally was totally amazing. On a totally non-Rafa-related note, the tennis was really something to watch. This was my first time seeing world-class tennis live, and because you're so near, you can actually see just how good it is. The speed was fantastic. I've never seen a ball travel that fast before. Malaysia's number one player had rallied with Rafa the day before, and he reported that the balls that Rafa hit were like "bullets". Richie was really good too. Then, the match started. Of course I can't exactly describe how it was like, just that it was fantastic. Although I must say it was pretty obvious that Richie wasn't really trying on those overhead smashes. Because I'm such a fair person, I know that if Richie had really tried on those smashes, Rafa would have lost that point. But I suppose since it's just an exhibition match, they both didn't take it very seriously, and Rafa was able to return Richie's smash and win the point at that. But my favourite shot of the match was this overhead smash that Rafa did. He totally jumped up in the air and smashed the ball down in such a cool way, and with so much power, that the resultant bounce was so high, and Richie had no answer to that. I screamed like crazy at that point.
The linesmen were horrendous. In ball shout out, out ball never say anything. If this was a real tournament, Rafa and Richie would have countless challenges. One spectator even shouted, "Linesmen, janggan tidoh!" which means "Linesmen, stop sleeping!". Then there was one shot which Richie hit in, but which the linesman called out. Rafa, being the fair and just person that he is, told the umpire that the ball was in. The umpire looked down at him, smiled, and said, "The ball's out." Rafa laughed and raised both his hands in mock surrender, and bowed to the umpire. The whole crowd laughed and so did I. Rafa's just so cute, isn't he? :) He did loads of funny stuff too, like bouncing the ball on his head, and kicking it playfully. There was one shot which he hit in, but which the linesman called out. That ball was so obviously in! I shouted "It was in!" real loudly, which made some people laugh, and my mum and dad looked at me in amazement and demanded to know what had caused me to act so out of character. Apparently they didn't know I had the nerve to shout out individually in front of such a big crowd.
Well, I did that throughout the match, shouting "Go Rafa!", "Vamos Rafa!", and yes, I did remember to pronounce the V correctly, Rita, "C'mon Rafa!", "Vamos!", "Rafa you rock!" and other variations. Had my parents and uncle not been there, love declarations and possibly marriage proposals would have come out too. And I swear, those weren't weak little shouts which no one could hear. I really did shout very loudly, and suprised even myself. And I waited for a time when it was all silent too, so obviously everyone could hear me. :D Of course I didn't do it the match, I didn't want to distract anyone, so I did it before points and during change-over breaks. :D I was pleased to note that there were many Rafa fans in the crowd, because of the numerous shouts that rang out, including a crazed-sounding "I LOVE YOU!" when he first walked out. There were banners which read "VAMOS RAFA!" and Spanish flags in the crowd too. In fact, there was this group of Rafa fans sitting just directly behind us. It was a rather old lady with her daughters and one son. She kept ordering them to hold up the Spanish flag and poster and letters spelling out "Rafael Nadal" up high.
Her: C'mon, hold up your letters!
Her: (to her daughter) Zoom in some more! Some more!
Daughter: Cannot! This is the most I can zoom in!
Yinfei: -smirks at her camera's superior zoom-
Unfortunately, they were all too shy and embarassed to shout. The mum said to her kids, "Ok, one two three we all shout Vamos Nadal, ok?" Then she counts one two three, and they all give a weak shout of "Vamos..." before she alone shouts "Nadal". I roll my eyes, mutter "pathetic", before shouting real loudly, "VAMOS RAFA!" The mum decides that she will not be outdone by me, and starts shouting louder. The daughters and son start shouting louder too. Good for them. My mum is now covering her ears every time I shout, and my dad is telling me to shut up or I'm going to need cough drops. My uncle is very amused. My mum later complains that the Spanish flag behind keeps brushing against her hair.
Final result: Rafa wins 3-6 6-3 6-2. Toldya he had a superb record against Richie. Anyway, when Rafa won the match, I saw a guy below jump up and turn a full 360 degrees in the air, and I shoved bag, camera and binoculars into my dad's lap and jump up in joy. And so did everyone else. I clap and scream and cheer and shriek so much that my dad tells me that it's quite enough shouting and that he's going deaf. Rafa, after taking pics with Richie and waving, makes his way back to his seat, and starts towelling himself. I video this. I'd been wondering throughout the match when he was going to take his shirt off, and he does it at that moment. After towelling himself, he starts to tug his shirt off. Screams go around the stadium as everyone realizes that Rafa's going topless soon, which I of course join in. And because like I said, I was videoing this, so anyone who watches the video can hear the loudest scream coming from me (duh, because I'm nearest the cam). And because that makes me sound like some sort of perverted sicko, I am not showing that to anybody unless it's muted first. Unfortunately, the dancers come out onto the court again, holding long sticks with some kind of crazy deco at the top, which totally covers the beautiful view. I go totally mad that I should be denied the sight of Rafa taking off his shirt, and those stupid dancers stand there and do not budge. I hear similar complaints coming from the mum and her daughters behind me. For some reason, her son is unperturbed.
Then, the interview comes, which I unfortunately can't see either, because of aforesaid dancers. But I still video it, so that his voice can be captured on my cam. The emcee requests "a few words in Spanish" from him, and he jabbers away. I don't know what it means, but I cheer anyway. Finally, he has to leave. I don't remove my eyes from him until he is totally gone from sight. Then it's over.
All over.
My parents have to practically drag me out of the stadium, where I then take pics of the banner with Rafa's pic at the entrance. I go into the car, smiling as if I'd never stop smiling. By now, my throat is totally sore from all the screaming, and my mum and dad and uncle all argue over who gets to take the furthest seat from me on Thursday when it's Fed's match. I assure them that I would not be screaming as loudly on that day. My mum and dad bemoan their unlucky fate that they had to be sitting on either side of me that night, and that they'll remember to bring ear plugs the next time we watch a Rafa match. They wonder how on earth I had so much voice in me. Later, we go for drinks, and my dad recommends a series of drinks to me which he says will help with sore throats. I am in dire need of cough drops.
Later, at the hotel, I show my cousins the pics and videos I took of Rafa, and tell them every one of his numerous virtues, with much help from my mum, who because of this exhibition match, is now a Rafa fan too. Ok, not as much, but she describes him as "a very tall and handsome boy", with "very handsome features", and "wild hair". My cousin declares him to be quite hot, although she says he's a little too muscular. The next day, I spotted a magazine with Rafa on the cover page, which I of course buy. My mum buys another copy too, which she later gives to my aunt. Inside, there's a list of "interesting facts about nadal", which I already know. I find this one very interesting and accurate, "Is the subject of mythical admiration by his legions of female fans". :D I also quote from the magazine, "Rafael Nadal is a fascinating player to watch for more reasons than just his good looks, muscular physique, and long dark hair. Strong backhand, well-angled accurate top-spin, and fast court mobility, he plays left-handed despite it not being his natural preference, and is one of the sports great counter-attackers thanks to his sheer strength and speed." In the interview, they asked him, "How do you feel about being a sex symbol to hundreds of women around the world?" He replied that he doesn't consider himself a sex symbol, but that he really appreciated the support from all of his fans. Too modest, Rafa! If you've got it, flaunt it. :)
That night, when I was going to bed, it suddenly hit me, and I fully realized for the first time that I had actually just seen Rafael Nadal live.
And I'll never forget it for the rest of my life. :)
Monday, November 19, 2007 @4:25 AM
TOMORROW! ZOMG. :D :D :D
So after much anticipation and excitement and deafened eardrums of the residents in my neighbourhood, I'm heading off to KL for the exhibition match tomorrow! :D And I've got a new camera too haha. It's much bulkier than my dad's one, but because it's got a clear 10x zoom, I couldn't care less. My dad was like "This is like a ton of bricks! Can't you get something less bulky? Are you sure you want to carry something like this around the whole time?!" I was like "Why not, if it's worth it!" Dad: "Just to take a few pictures of Nadal and Federer?!" Uh, of course not! I'll be, uh, using it for other stuff too what! He suggested I buy other slimmer cameras, but they all had no extra zoom. I had to tell him that the whole purpose of buying a new cam was for the zoom, and told him that I wouldn't be needing it if he had gotten better seats anyway. :D
Apparently the match starts at 8. That's what my aunt in KL told my mum, after so long! Everytime I bugged my mum to phone her to find out, she said she didn't know. Me: Butbutbut how can she not know?! If I bought the tickets, I'd check out the time and venue immediately! Dad: You weren't THIS anxious even when it was your exams! :D Because I'm a very paranoid person, I considered waking up at six so that we could leave for KL by seven. Unfortunately, the idea was shot down by the dear parents and my uncle's family who's coming along to KL but not to the match. Somehow they all don't seem to realize what a serious business this is. Tsktsk. So we have to leave by nine tomorrow. :( This is insanity! Zhimin thought we were crazy to leave for KL only on the day of the match itself too. Sigh. To ensure that I won't oversleep, I'm setting multiple alarms for tomorrow morning. My handphone alarm + e-dictionary alarm + alarm clock + dad's handphone alarm should be sufficient to get me up tomorrow. Good.
And Dad was very reluctant to drive up to KL in his brand new car, but I staunchly refused to take the coach cos it broke down the last time we went. If it breaks down this time and makes me late, I'll get a heart attack.
Obviously I'm going to try to get an autograph, but I definitely don't have high hopes for this. So Zhimin and Zhihua (especially Zhimin!) better not kill me if I can't get them. :D Zhimin's sis will have better chances, since she's going to have tea with Fed. Zomg lucky person lah!
Ok off to pack.
Thursday, November 15, 2007 @6:30 AM
YAY FIVE DAYS TO KL! ZOMG!
I simply can't bring myself to believe that I'll actually be seeing RAFA, Gasquet, Fed and Sampras LIVE in five days! :D :D :D
Note to self: BUY A GOOD CAMERA WHICH HAS CLEAR ZOOM!
That, along with a pair of binoculars, are the staples for this trip. :D Just now, I suddenly remembered the need for binoculars, and bounced into my dad's room to demand if he had any. (otherwise, it's a trip to the store first thing tomorrow morning) After much grumbling and assuring me that we had "very good" seats for Rafa's match and that I would have a "good view" of him, he extracted two binoculars from the cupboard. I went off to the balcony immediately to test if they were in working order, and am embarassed to say that I was peering through the wrong side of it when my dad came and tutted impatiently at my apparent lack of brain. Not my fault, Zhihua took mine! Finally, when I was peering through the correct side, I started squealing and shrieking like a mad person when I found that I could even see the people in the petrol kiosk across the road. Just to be sure, I focused the binos on the tennis court bench, just to be sure that I could see a person sitting on the bench. I estimate that that will be the distance I'll be facing that day. After much shrieking and bemused looks from my dad, who probably thought me insane, I started to happily clean the lens to ensure maximum clarity. :D
I NEED A CAMERA. Mine, or rather my dad's, has horrible zoom. It goes all blurry when zoomed in. Seeing that I definitely don't want blurry pics of Rafa or anyone else (hey I'm fair!), I'll have to get a new one. After much begging on my part, my dad has agreed, although my mum generally does not like the idea. :D But this is once in a lifetime! How often do I get to see such people live! The VIP package for Wimbledon is like 9000 (I think). But they'll get you the best seats, grant you entry to the players' dining area (not very ideal for me, I'd probably get arrested for making excessive noise and disturbing the peace. that's before I expire from over-excitement) and lots of other stuff which I can't remember.
I won't have to worry about getting overly stressed during the match (which I usually do when watching them on tv) cos Rafa has a superb record against Gasquet. He just beat him a few days ago at the Masters Cup, where he just beat Djokovic a few hours ago to get to the semis. Lovely.
FIVE DAYS!
Saturday, November 10, 2007 @3:07 AM
Ahahaha successfully rented yamakasi! :) So, after watching it three times over the three days I had it on rent, I returned it today and was left with a feeling like there was a hole in my heart. Like there's something missing in me. Sniff. I was planning on *cough* doing some *cough* less than legal stuff with it, as Zhihua would know, but I unfortunately thought of it only in the middle of the night last night, so too late. Awww. Zhihua was very eager to help me with it though. :D
The first time, I watched it myself. The second time, I forced my dad to watch it with me. And the third time, I forced my mum to. Ahaha. My dad found it pretty amusing, but my mum seemed to like it a lot. :D I think she likes Spider. Wheee. At the part where they all save Aila's mum from her attempt to commit suicide, she went, "Waaah...they all very good leh!" Ahahaha. But at that part everyone in my options class was also ooh-ing and ahh-ing. :D I remember Ms Tan was very impressed by the rescue too. And when Spider takes out the file with all seven doctors' addresses (which he stole from the doctor's room), my mum was laughing and saying, "You mean he stole that? No wonder he's Spider." Ok, I don't get that comment either, but nevermind, as long as she likes him. :D My dad, upon seeing Spider appear for the first time, went, "That's a girl!" I was sputtering indignantly.
My cousin who came over for Maths tuition from me (like I can tutor anyone anyway) didn't think very much of the seven of them. Ok, so she didn't watch it, but she was studying the dvd cover and making so many negative comments that I was tempted to name her Insultatron No. 2. She insults people almost as well as Rita. :D But because she declared Baseball the best among them, I forgave her. She said "These two are ok (baseball and weasel), and this one is the best (baseball), but the rest are all suckers! And this one is the worst (spider)!" Reason being she thinks he looks like a girl with his hair. Grrr. Zhihua thinks he looks like snape. :D And she can't stand Tango either. "This one look like a sick man! Like two hours time going to die like that! See the big scar on his face! And why is he leaning against the wall like that! And the expression is like so sick!" I tried to explain that aforesaid scar is just a shadow, and that the pose in question was meant to be a "cool" one, like the typical cool, bored look which says "I don't care." Unfortunately, she doesn't get it. Ah well, she's only ten. Zhihua says that once she reaches puberty, the "oestrogen and progesterone" will change her mind as she learns to be more appreciative. :D
So now I'm going for the one which is sold, not just rented. Yes, I heard Rita's advice about ebay and amazon, but somehow I prefer getting it without the help of the net. :D Ahahaha. Call me irrational if you like. :D First up is Borders. So far, I've already spent 15 bucks on the two rentals. Plus, upcoming dvd. Hmmm.
Zhihua: Ah, the things fannish love makes us do!
I still haven't tired of the movie yet! In fact, I think I like it even more now. :D And I noticed that Baseball actually said and did loads of cool stuff, which I didn't notice the first time, mostly because I was taking more notice of Spider instead. There's this part when the police fire a smoke bomb into the house they're hiding, and while it's still fizzling, Baseball picks it up and pitches it out through the window all the way to where the minister's hiding behind his car. The minister shouted "They're obviously lunatics!" at this point. Ahahahaha.
Oh, and Zhihua, something which might interest you:
Excerpt from book (the SAME book):
"After several more rounds, which had them all laughing - the Master, Jack told them, was a cross-dressing lap dancer and (person) a Mafia boss on the run from his domineering mother."
"(person) was a crack shot, and was quite used to killing trespassers who came on to the Master's land."
Monday, November 05, 2007 @4:09 AM
LES FILS DU VENT IS NOWHERE AS GOOD AS YAMAKASI.
I is sad. :(
And disappointed.
It wasn't even much of a sequel. The actors are all the same, but the characters have changed. Sniff.
Ok, so I followed Ms Tan's advice that day and went to Serene Centre in search of Yamakasi. Except she didn't tell me that it was a video rental store! I WANTED TO OWN IT, NOT JUST RENT IT! Anyway, since I was there, I thought I might as well just get it first, then try and buy it elsewhere. I gave the store people the name, and just in case they didn't have it, I gave them the name of the so-called sequel, les fils du vent/the sons of the wind/the great challenge. They're all the same thing, except for some reason, they come under different titles around the world. The people (yes more than one) went in search of both dvds, and for about ten minutes, I stood there impatiently while they searched the entire french movies shelf. After that I kinda got really impatient, and decided to search for it myself. And guess what. Within about ten seconds I found The Great Challenge. I whipped it out from the shelf and told the person, "Here it is." The person looked up. "Ohhhhhhh." Sigh. I guess it was the fangirl motivation that helped me find it faster than the two people who were probably (or definitely) not as excited as me.
Anyway they couldn't find Yamakasi, although the person assured me that they have it, and would call me once they find it. Sigh. More sighs. So I rented The Great Challenge, despite what Ms Tan and other netizens said about the sequel not being as good as the first one. Which I found to be totally true. I just finished watching it, and was extremely disappointed. Looks like I've got to pay another visit to Serene Centre, and this time I'll go in search of it myself too.
Reasons why les fils du vent cannot compare to yamakasi:
1) yamakasi was light-hearted, funny, and nice to laugh at. Les fils du vent is too heavy and serious. And too much fighting!
2) yamakasi showed the seven guys combined as one, in one team. Les fils du vent keeps six of them in one team, and mercilessly amputated Baseball from the rest. Sob. Here, he's not Baseball alias Oliver Chen anymore though. He's Kien.
3) And that's another reason. I want Baseball back! Ok, Kien's a bad guy in this one, which is supposedly the type I like, but I don't like him separated from the rest. He does go over to the good side eventually, but Kien was too serious for my liking. Baseball was funny and cool, but Kien emo-s a lot (and I meant A LOT!), and is forever angry. I don't remember him smiling at all throughout the movie. Although his love for his sister was really touching. Makes me wish I had an older bro. :)
4) Spider, now named Williams, has his floppy hair eternally tied back in a ponytail! GOOOOOOOOOOOOSH NOOOOO, TAKE THAT FREAKING HAIR TIE OFF. I LIKED THE HAIR LET DOWN SO MUCH BETTER. Although there was a huge number of scenes with spider in it in this show. Lots of stuff about him communicating with his dead grandfather. I might just switch back to Spider now. :D
5) screen pairing of sitting bull, now called logan, and kien's sis, tsu. Nononono. That pairing so does not work. Couldn't they have given her to spider or something? At least they had a few nice scenes when spider and tango save her from the yakuza.
What saved the whole thing was baseball, honestly. He was a through-and-through bad guy in this film, with a tattoo on his arm. And his physique was a lot more rafa-like than from the last film. :D Somehow though, I prefer him in the previous film still. Sigh.
Back to Serene Centre for me. (that's the only good thing about having done SMP. otherwise I would never have been sent to serene centre for YSC and SSEF poster printing, and I would never have known where serene centre was. :D)
Friday, November 02, 2007 @5:39 AM
Excerpt from book I'm reading:
"Well, you'll have to fill me in on the details. All I've got so far is that he's a cyberman called Ewan Jones. Does that make him a Welsh enemy of the Time Lords?"
She shook her head, then waited for the room to stop spinning. "He's a little older than me and has a great talent for making me laugh. He's also a fellow writer. Not published, but hopeful."
"So where did you meet him? At a Doctor Who convention?"
Ok, end of excerpt.
And yesterday, when I was in my dad's car, I saw this guy walking on the street outside, wearing a red shirt, which had something written on the back. At first I thought it was just my imagination. So I looked closer. Still the same words: drWHO. I could. Not. Believe. It. I stared and stared but the words remained the same. WTH?
Now I'm suspicious. Why am I seeing Doctor Who everywhere? Zhihua! Explain!
Anyway, now that EXAMS ARE OVER, gosh, at long last, here's what I have to do now:
1) Prepare for prom, i.e. LEARN TO WEAR FRIGGIN' CONTACTS, get dress.
Currently I'm left with these options:
- learn to wear contacts by prom time
- go to shop on prom day and make the person put them in for me
- go blind on that day, i.e. just make do without specs like zhimin
- go with specs -.- last resort, seriously.
2) Embark on an all-island search for YAMAKASI dvd! I shall turn every stone in the country until I lay my hands on that dvd. And Les Fils Du Vent, the sequel, if I can manage it. I shall save my rants about the sequel some other time.
3) Finish fanfics. XD To my great embarrassment, I've discovered that my yamakasi fic has made far FAR more progress than any other I've ever attempted (HP, LOTF) before. Whoops.
Oh and Rita and I have named various parts of the school. XD Er you know, since we're leaving it for good! Sniff. Shall emo about this next time. Rita started it by forcing me to name my table before we left. She suggested a series of ridiculous names, so I hastily named it Spider to shut her up. Then as we were walking down the stairs, I had a sudden urge to name the stairway, so I christened it Lysander. And then I said we should name the walls too, and Rita insisted on Harold. Oh well. Then we went to the canteen, and I decided to name the canteen too. So Rita called it Dave. I decided that since it was kinda short form for David, sure! XD
I might add that I was in a very good mood last night. XD I was watching TV, and when I switched to the sports channel, it was Rafa playing! He was playing Stanislas Wawrinka, and beat him 6-4 6-3. YAYYY GO RAFA! Then the match after that was dear Tommy R. vs Guillermo Canas. And Tommy won too! So I must say I'm delighted thus far with the Paris Masters. (I might add that Djokovic lost in the second round to Fabrice Santoro. Good job Fabrice!)
Ok wish me luck for my yamakasi mission. BASEBALL! XD