Gimme More

The football weekend kicked off with a much touted match between Liverpool and ManUre (I have nothing against Liverpool except when they play the Gunners, of course. Their fans are an affable lot too). And Liverpool finally managed to do what they had not managed in the past seven years - beat ManUre in a league match. In the later match – a clash of the cash – ‘old money’ came back from a goal behind to beat ‘new money’. Proof that even a rich multi-millionaire Sheikh’s dinars can’t buy a win.

The Gunners travelled north-west to Blackburn. While the host has a new manager in the form of Paul Ince and some new players, their players still adopted their old style of playing – kicking opponents’ feet than the ball. The new England hero (incidentally the youngest player to score for England – correct me if I’m wrong – but definitely the youngest English player to score a hat-trick) fed van Persie for the Gunners’ first goal. Then Adebayor finally scored his first goal for the season and didn’t stop there – he went on to score two more goals including a penalty. It had indeed been a week of hat-tricks for Arsenal players and this match was quite a stroll in the (Ewood) Park for them too.

Wenger brought in Aaron Ramsey (who was later instrumental in Arsenal’s last goal) and Jack Wilshere late in the second half. The Gunners were briefly down to ten men as Clichy went down and was brought out for treatment. I hope he’ll be fit for Wednesday’s Champions League match.

I feel sorry for Paul Robinson. To let in eight goals in the last two games would be a nightmare for any goalie surely. Oh, to be honest, I didn’t think Arsenal played a whole 90 minutes of wonderful football. There were a few passes that were intercepted, there were lapses in defence in the first half and, at times, too many passes, so much so I wished I was at the stadium and could just step onto the pitch and smack some of them.

Oh, and Santa Cruz, please don’t follow in the steps of Andy Murray. Next time, please shave.

I’m not going to complain about the score-line though. Come on Arsenal, Gimme More goals, more wins and more fine performance!

To the tune of Britney’s Gimme More:

We can get down like there’s no one around
We keep on rockin’ (We keep on rockin’)
We keep on rockin’ (Keep on rockin’)

Cameras are flashing while we’re dribbling
They keep watchin’ (They keep watchin’)
Keep watchin’
Feels like the crowd is saying

[CHORUS]
Gimme gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme (Mo’)
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme (Mo’)
Gimme gimme more

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On a personal note, I have also been adding to the tally of Scrabble bingo hat-tricks.

I did WOODMAN, UNPLAITS and CURTAINS here.
I did BONDERS, CADDIES and SHAITAN here.

And here, I did LISTELS, CLEAVER and BOASTED.

What irked me though was someone actually had the temerity to ask if I was using an aid. Just because I’m a non-native English speaker or that my mother tongue isn’t English, doesn’t mean that I can’t play Scrabble and kick some spice. And I can certainly do a bingo, or a brace or a hat-trick. My first bingo hat-trick was in a friendly match with my mates (where I scored three consecutive bingos in my first three moves), then after a long drought, I did it again during a competitive match. And I’d done so in my online Scrabble games. So don’t you dare suggest that I used an aid, just because I’m a non-native English speaker, an Asian whose mother tongue isn’t English.

Besides, it’s not as if I can control those tiles that I receive in online games now, can I? And I have lost too; I don’t win every time.

So Gimme More, Gimme More, Gimme More Scrabble bingos!

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I’m not any close to understanding Mandarin that I was (alas, even after watching all those Chinese dramas and Korean dramas translated into Chinese) but I love the soundtrack to the drama Hooping Dulcinea, the Taiwanese drama I was glued to. In fact, I actually stopped in my tracks when I heard the song while doing window shopping on Saturday. I retraced my steps and went to the store that aired the song and asked the girl what song it was. She couldn’t tell me the song title but told me the group is S.H.E.

I just can’t seem to stop humming the song since Friday evening. Alas, doubt I can listen to it anymore as Hooping Dulcinea drew to an end on Friday evening. I wonder if I can download it from the Internet somehow – now that would be as much a challenge as finding anything Taiwanese-related in English is never easy.

I am enlisting a friend to help me. Heh. Wish us luck!

Addicted

A fortnight ago, I actually wondered what it is like to be a compulsive gambler. Now, I reckon a compulsive gambler would be gambling away his money, possession and even his pride. He’d be tempted to continue gambling because he believes, rather foolishly, that his luck will change, that he will hit the jackpot if he places just one more bet even though he knows he can ill afford to pay his existing debts. The situation is worse if he has to resort to borrowing from loan sharks to pay off his debts because he would be constantly looking over his shoulders, be cautious to walk alone in public places lest he be recognised by the loan sharks or their ruthless followers, and generally be fearing for his life.

I’m no gambler but I have my own weakness: I stray and get involved with random strangers (don’t I sound promiscuous!) by joining new online Scrabble games even though I am already playing a few games (I’m currently playing 16 games simultaneously). Oh, there are similarities between a gambler and a Scrabbler, I can assure you. By gambling, a gambler keeps adding to his debts; by joining new games, I keep adding to the games I have to play. A gambler would need to be one step ahead of his pursuers (loan sharks); I have to keep one step ahead of all those I’m playing against. A gambler over-commits himself (and make empty promises) in order to get another extension from his creditors; I over-commit myself to my opponents.

And for a while that day a fortnight ago, I wondered if what I was suddenly feeling was what a gambler feels like as he tries to escape from his creditors because at one point, I felt a bit panicky - as if I have got myself involved in too many debts and over-committed myself – and I questioned my decision to join new games when I still had games outstanding.

Just like an addicted gambler, I think I’m an addicted Scrabbler. (But not to worry, Adek has yet to have dreams playing Scrabble or visuals while performing prayers – which she had when she was addicted to Tetris previously).

I’m So Vain

I’m so vain, I know this entry’s about me
I’m so vain, you know this entry’s about me
Don’t you, don’t you

Yes, this entry is about me, specifically about my wins over my friends in our online Scrabble games.

My first game: I scored the first bingo ‘AIBLINS’ then my mate retaliated with a bingo ‘SIPHONED’ and I put down the third consecutive bingo of the game ‘NAUTICAL’.

In my second game, I scored a hat-trick of bingos, ‘INSTEAD’, ‘NOISIER’ and ‘VANTAGES’.

And in this third game, I scored two consecutive bingos again, ‘NIMRODS’ and ‘SUNNIER’ and my mate retaliated to the second bingo with his ‘RECIPES’.

I love this game (and especially if I win/am winning of course!)! Hmm, when will I start competing internationally, if ever? Congratulations to Nigel Richards for winning the Scrabble Championship 2008.

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I can’t wait for the new Premier League season to kick off (and can’t wait to watch Arsenal and Fàbregas in action)!!! It’s been more than a month since Euro2008. I’m resigned to watching the Champions League reruns now besides tuning in to other sports (speaking of which, good luck to Lewis Hamilton for this weekend’s F1 in Hungary. Oh yes, Arsenal did score a perfect ten against Burgenland XI and subsequently beat Stuttgart - and Lehmann - 3-1 this week).

I’m sure Fàbregas can’t wait for the new season either.