Goodbye July

Well, it’s almost end of July already; in a few days we’ll bid farewell to July and hello to August instead (what, already??)

And Sol Campbell bade Arsenal farewell to become a Magpie. I’m getting nervous now because it’s only two weeks from this weekend that the new Premier League season kicks off and we still are short of a defender and a new goalie. Scratch that, I’m actually getting desperate. Mertesacker? Marchetti? Bring them on!

Still on Arsenal, here and here are more training pictures. In their last pre-season match on Tuesday, Arsenal beat SC Neusiedl 4-0 with goals from Theo, JET, Chamakh (won and converted a penalty) and Vela. Manonne saved a penalty to keep Arsenal’s clean sheet. The new Arsenal boy Chamakh is in the August issue of the Arsenal magazine, go here, here, here and here for the article.

Daniel Taylor of the Guardian credits Arsenal for handling the Cesc affair with dignity/determination and refusing to be bullied. Cheers mate. Hey, we are classy after all, we just live with the worse-than-vuvuzela noise travelling on the airwaves from the Nou Camp – unpleasant as it may be - not at all like the loser Barcelona who are not only tasteless and classless but also morally bankrupt and financially penniless or Euro-less (and yet think they can afford Cesc? Dream on. OK, I know posting losses doesn’t mean they are bankrupt but continue doing so and they’ll be in big trouble).

Nothing much on the non-Arsenal front for me except that I’m hooked to the Korean drama My Fair Lady on TV8. Heh.

Have a good hot summer and long sunny afternoons everyone (at Highbury or not)!

Dodo, Dudú, La-Di-Da

I shall talk first of the unpleasant new noise coming from Nou Camp and get it out of the way. Despite Wenger’s call for the speculation on Cesc to stop, yet another dumb as a dodo person had expressed his unsolicited opinion. It’s Xavi this time (Xavi, you Vavi) and he opened his big mouth and spouted the stupidest statement ever. He actually had the temerity to say that Cesc is on loan at Arsenal. Can you beat that? It’s just so dumb and stupid and classless, you uncouth twat. And FIFA isn’t even doing anything about it – except to withdraw it from their website as some form of damage control.

There is just no word to express your stupidity

And this is what we think of your opinion

Seriously, we’re not impressed

And this interview with Arsenal legend, King Henry, is equally stupid. Seriously, there ought to be a Dumb and Dumber contest where Barcelona players all get to participate and we judge who is dumb, who is dumber and who is the dumbest of them all. TV presenters can join too.


~~~~~~~~

The club announced on Wednesday that Dudú has joined Shaktar Donetsk. I’m sad to see him go but he’s become a shadow of himself. A striker who can’t pass, shoot, jump, head or finish isn’t much of one. Just like Wenger, I feel very sad and I’ll miss him as he’s a good team mate, always works hard and always classy. He left a personal message (a very classy one too) for the club and I wish him nothing but the best. Just don’t turn into a Diego Forlan who made a forlorn figure at ManUre and shone after he left.

Wenger and his team are now in Austria for their training and pre-season friendly. Nasri stormed in the match with a brace in the match against SK Sturm Graz. Here are some pictures of the match and more of the team in their training here and here.

In other news, vuvuzelas are not allowed into the Emirates this season.

And Cesc has been caught wearing fluffy pink Hello Kitty slippers (I approve! Well, I’m the girl with Garfield bedroom slippers anyway) - and kissing a man (!).

~~~~~~~~

The Malaysia Mega Sale kicks off tomorrow and ends on 16 September 2010. Time to get some bargains! Oh la-di-da!

I Know What I Did Last Saturday

Remember when I asked what you could do in 11 plus hours? Well, last Saturday I ran to another city. OK, I did not literally run of course but you know what I mean. I left home very early on Saturday morning and caught a JetStar flight to Singapore. The ticket was bought back in May for RM99 return (cheaper than MAS, Firefly and even AirAsia) and the best thing is the airline flies to/from KLIA. I was dithering whether or not to check out the Singapore sale after last year’s experience and had been browsing airlines since April. Well, I don’t mind parting with RM99 for a day-trip to Singers (you know how I feel about Singers, I prefer to spend as little time there as possible).

The plane took off close to 9 am, about 15 minutes after its scheduled time and we landed into a dull, grey and wet Singapore about 45 minutes later. It was after 10 when I finally cleared immigration at Terminal 1. I had to take the train to Terminal 2 to get to the MRT and after fiddling with the stupid MRT ticket machines (why on earth won’t they accept S$10 bills?), I was finally on my way to Orchard station. I checked out some stores at ION Orchard (it wasn’t yet fully opened on my last visit) then went to check out Borders – they already had the August issue of British GQ which meant no such luck on the July issue ;’( - detoured to DFS Galleria on Scotts before returning to Orchard Road. I didn’t spend long in Tangs and continued on to Paragon. Yes, the day was spent traipsing up and down Orchard Road (besides the little detour to Scotts Road) – no trip to Arab Street this time at all. I went all the way to 313 Somerset where I had lunch before walking back up to Ngee Ann City.

So how did I find the sale? Disappointing really but maybe it’s because it was the penultimate weekend of the sale. Most stores no longer had any sale items and most of the few sale items that were left cost more than in KL. I did manage to buy something not available in KL, a cardigan at Isetan and two pairs of GEOX footwear which I’m pretty sure either retail at higher prices or no longer available in my size in KL. And that was that. I even went to check out the prices in Chanel (the small and big shopping bags, the wallet and long wallet etc) and was shocked to find they cost more in Singers - even after deducting the GST refund from the price. I even told the salesgirl so and she was equally surprised.

I hurried back to the airport and was not happy when I found that my flight back had been re-timed to depart at 2150 instead of the originally scheduled 1940. I don’t know about you but I absolutely dislike spending too long at the airport (except if there’s a sale and I could shop like I did before flying to Manila). The queue at the GST refund was horrendous and it was then when I realised that there were a lot of Indonesian and Indian visitors (I also saw some Middle Eastern visitors at ION Orchard but that was the extent of their presence). After that, I decided to kill time and took the train to Terminal 2 to have dinner at the food court there. And boy, was it crowded. I remember when I was small and visited Singers with my parents and sister and we stayed at our relatives’ place. My relative (and she was like 10 then) took us to Changi Airport for a trip all on her own – imagine a trip to the airport just for fun! Blimey, but even Ian Wright thought the airport is a small country on its own.

Anyway, our 2150 departure turned out to be a 2220 departure. I had no idea what was wrong and what caused the flight re-timing (you would have thought they owed us at least an explanation) and was not amused when we were still on the ground at 2200. I fell asleep through take-off and only woke up just before we landed. It was 11 pm when we emerged from the plane and I zoomed through the airport all the way to the aero-train, through autogate, bought my KLIA Express ticket and ran down to the train. And to delay me further, the ERL Express and ERL transit trains were combined because of track works – which meant we had to stop for all the three intermediate stations, resulting in me only reaching KL Sentral at 2355. And would you believe it, midnight rate for budget taxis start at 2345 instead of at midnight so I had to pay 50% extra. I finally reached home at 0007 on Sunday... what should be a 10-hour trip from KL turned out to be a 12-hour trip instead.

If I want to get a Chanel, I must do it before the GST is introduced here.

* I bought my GEOX at the outlet in Paragon though I did spend a very long time at the GEOX area at Tangs because the sales assistant there was oh-so-gorgeousss. I reckon he was solely responsible for the GEOX sale hike at Tangs for that Saturday afternoon. I would have bought mine there too but the ones I was eyeing were not available at Tangs and those that were did not catch my eye. Only he did, heh (catch my eye, I mean). I just about stopped myself from telling him that he should be on the catwalk instead of helping girls try to fulfil their dreams of being there themselves. I also tried to sneak a peek at his nametag but what little I saw looked to be like a girl’s name (?). Oh well, maybe he borrowed a colleague’s nametag to prevent crazy shoppers-cum-oglers like me from discovering his real name.

~~~~~~~~

I didn’t tell anyone that I was going to Singers – hey, it was only a day trip and besides, it was just Singers. I didn’t count on Abah trying to call me (I missed the call and because I de-activated my voicemail, he couldn’t leave any message) and then getting all worried and paranoid. He must have asked Akak because shortly after Abah’s missed call, I got her text telling me to return his call. I told her I’d call later that evening but she told me to do it ASAP. The thing is the message from Abah was to remind me of the appointment on Sunday which we had already discussed and agreed to earlier in the week, in short, nothing new that I didn’t already know. Finally I told her I was in Singers and I would call the mother ship later like I said. He must have not got the message because he called again (and I missed it again) late in the afternoon. Eventually, I called home from Changi. So much for keeping the trip to myself; in the end, everyone knew I was in Singers.

Look, I didn’t think (and maybe that’s my problem; sometimes, I just don’t think of the consequences) that it was that important a trip that I should inform all and sundry about it. Besides, I think and believe that I have the right to privacy and need not report my whereabouts all the time. And why did Abah have to immediately think that something untoward had happened to me like I fell down and broke my leg or something? Are all parents paranoid or just mine? Does everyone else have to call their parents the minute they touch down and when they have reached home safely? Because I have to do that every time on top of the itinerary of my whereabouts (complete with address and contact details, route plans and airline info) that I have to prepare beforehand.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not that ungrateful a daughter. I’m touched that they’re worried sick about me (although I wish they wouldn’t worry themselves sick sometimes) and they’re concerned about me. And I know that one day I will miss them missing me. I also know I need to behave like an adult to be treated like one but I don’t think the half-day trip warranted much attention and surely keeping the info all to myself is not being childish? It wasn’t a classified secret or anything but I just wanted to have a private moment all to myself where for once I don’t have to report where I’m going, what I’m going to do, whom I’m going with, where I’m staying and how long I will be away for. (I didn’t tell them when I went down to watch Liverpool; luckily no one called me then).

Like I said, I know one day I will miss them missing me like that and worrying silly over me. I know, I’m just confused and confusing, selfish, inconsiderate and thoughtless like that. You’re probably sympathising with my parents already for having to put up with me all this time. Maybe to their perspective, what is so secretive about this trip and why couldn’t I just inform them? (To my perspective, it’s not a secret and not a big deal, hence why I kept mum about it).

~~~~~~~~

More irritating noise came from Nou Camp from the male version of Sarah Jessica Parker (Cesc being deprived of coming home?? Such rubbish!) to Iniesta and Messi (don’t mess with us, Messi) and even Reina couldn’t help involving himself. And finally Sandro Rossell (aka Sandro Bollocks. By the way, I like Sandra Bullock the actress) admitted Cesc may stay at Arsenal after all. Having been in that same situation, Henry was unsurprisingly not envious of Cesc’s situation; the differences are that Cesc is from Barcelona suburbs after all and Henry would love to return to Arsenal one day. Wenger being much more classier than anyone from Nou Camp (well, he manages classy Arsenal after all) is more eloquent about the whole issue when queried but stressed the speculation has to stop as it is just unpleasant to read about it on a daily basis (imagine me having to agonise about it).

For the rest of the Gunners, it was back to business (in their new kit if I may add) with a traditional pre-season visit to Barnet on Saturday which the visitors won 4-0. New signings Koscielny and Chamakh played in either half. Here are some pictures of new boy Chamakh.

For more pictures of the old boys and new kids on the block in their new kit and banner of the day, go here and here. And watch the new New York Red Bulls striker, Titi, take shots against Jimmy Fallon here (the latter actually played in the movie Fever Pitch which is loosely based on the novel by Nick Hornby, a Gooner. What a coincidence, eh).

RESPECT

Today, I’m going to talk about respect and class, or rather, the lack of these two qualities from most Barcelona players (and I don’t mean only those on the Spanish squad. Here’s looking at you, Messi!).

This and this are evidences of an utterly classless, clueless, disrespectful, inconsiderate, insensitive joke/prank – and a stupid, ill-judged, disrespectful, egotistical, self-serving one it was too - pulled by Pique and Puyol, the top two (insert expletives) on my priority to-kill list. Spain won the World Cup but they made it all about Barcelona. Egoistical bastards, but of course they made it all about Barça, believing the sun shines only on and the whole world revolves around Nou Camp. Yes, Carlota, it was a joke but it is tasteless, classless and inconsiderate and shows a total lack of respect for Arsenal and Cesc not to mention pathetic. Seriously, like Martin put it, if someone puts on a Real Madrid or Chelsh*t or ManUre jersey on Puyol or Pique or Villa, would they have liked it?? And which part of the ‘Cesc is not for sale’ and Arsène’s snub don’t you morons understand anyway? Seriously, these classless Barcelona players were the ones who made it difficult for me to root for Spain at the World Cup and I’m beginning to detest their very existence. Classless? You bet. Remember them turning on the sprinklers when Internazionale were celebrating their win at Nou Camp in the Champions League just a few weeks ago? That absolutely reeked of spitefulness. Oh and not to mention the endless hint of how much they want Cesc at Barcelona despite the Arsenal Captain having a long-term contract there. Why don’t you just shove all these rumours up yours? And eff off. And while you’re at it, how about learning this one English word, here, let me spell it out for you loud and clear: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

I’ll tell you what is classy though. Class is Cesc dedicating the win to Arsenal and its supporters. Class is when you defer celebrating with your classless team-mates to try cheer up van Persie, a fellow Gunner. Class is being embarrassed when your dastardly buggers of friends put on that jersey on you and wanting to take it off ASAP.

Anyway, another Arsenal player has hit the target, with a royalty no less. Congratulations, Bendtner! I’ve added his official website here on the right.

Take A Bow

The World Cup 2010 ended late last night (this morning for those of us in this part of the globe) after 31 days. Spain became the latest entrant to the elite countries that have so far won the coveted Cup, beating the Netherlands by one goal in the second half of extra time (as they did in their previous three matches in the tournament. All together now: One-nil to the Es-pan-ya, one-nil to the Arsenal opps...). And they are the lowest scoring team to win the Cup too. My baby came on as a substitute and made an immediate impact and he was the one who provided the assist to (the balding and occasional diver) Iniesta (actually quite a few of the Spanish players found it so easy to fall, maybe they had gravity problems). From what I saw, the English referee was card-happy and the Dutch were rough alright... but those quick to condemn the Dutch are only too happy to see the same kind of rough treatment being given to the Arsenal. Hypocrite pundits is what Arseblog calls them and rightly so. Anyway. The Germans beat Uruguay to secure third place the evening before despite being devoid of Klose, Lahm, Neuer and a few others.

The world is in your hand now, baby... but we know it’s Arsenal that’s in your heart

I still prefer to watch the Germans play though. Spain sometimes made me want to grit my teeth and feel like tearing my hair out. Like when they played Chile and the last quarter or ten minutes were happy and complacent enough to just pass, pass and pass (sounds familiar? It should). They were happy enough that they’d done enough to secure a win. The Germans, on the other hand, even when they had already secured a win over the Argies and England, still continued to push for the third and fourth goal. Suarez kind of made me not want to root for Uruguay although I understand that he did what he thought he had to. Anyway, kudos to Diego Forlán for collecting the Golden Ball award, Müller for winning the Golden Boot (his three assists proving the tie-breaker. Villa and Sneijder could have added on to their tally and overcome Müller but didn’t manage to beat the 20-year old) and Iker Casillas won the Golden Glove.

What does this World Cup teach me? That it’s OK to trust kids to do the job - just as Arsène knows it. That you can’t just turn up and assume everything will turn out right. That experience and age don’t necessarily count – just look at Italy, France and England. That you won’t necessarily win the match just because you are the favourites (Brazil and Argentina) or have a coach who had won the World Cup before. And that just because you’re a highly paid professional footballer and well-known, you’d automatically score or shine on the big stage (Roo-Shrek, Cristina, Messi, Kaká ...).

And while it’s tempting to believe in Paul the octopus, I can’t do that simply because to believe it has the ability to predict anything would be in conflict with my faith as a Muslim. Call me a bore but compromising one’s beliefs is not a joking matter. Yes, it has made correct predictions but they are simply coincidences. Oh and if you’re superstitious (I shouldn’t be), the Nike ad is probably cursed.

A cameo appearance is probably all right

So, Take A Bow, footballers. We meet again in Brazil 2014. There will be a challenge then juggling the match schedules due to the time difference of 10-12 hours... well, it is a big country.

In other sports, Webber stormed to claim the British GP followed by Gooner Hamilton (he still leads the drivers championship) and Nico Rosberg.

My Fourth Of July Weekend

Saturday, 3 July 2010
I left home early Saturday morning for my morning flight out. And would you believe it, it rained just as I stepped out. Managed to reach KL Sentral just in time for the 0700 bus to KLIA. Did a bit of shopping at the airport – would you believe it, I left KLCC on Friday empty-handed? – and was happy with the bargains enjoyed.

The flight took off on time and we landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on time. Took a metred cab (as advised by Andrea) to Makati Apartelle. Audrey had already arrived (she arrived a day earlier but stayed at another hostel the night before). After resting and a light tea, we headed out and asked for jeepney directions to SM Mall of Asia. We had to change jeepneys at Gil Puyat LRT station as there was no direct service to the mall. A note of caution: be careful with your valuables when riding the jeepney as crimes have been known to occur to riders. According to Andrea, the modus operandi is to snatch riders’ jewellery when the jeepney stops at traffic lights or is caught in a jam.

There was a sale at the mall but I only bought a huge bottle of water, two novels (books are soo cheap over there! And I got a 20% discount on top of that) and a t-shirt. Then we walked to the IMAX theatre and waited for Andrea and co. as we were meeting them for dinner. We only waited for about ten minutes before Andrea pulled up and took us to a seafood place nearby. There was a wet market selling all kind of seafood (including frogs too ;p) and restaurants (complete with stages for bands!). Andrea had made reservation at one of the restos but we were still made to wait before we got our table (it was a long wait too, definitely more than half an hour). To kill time, I suggested we check out the market as I’d like to get acquainted with my food first, so to speak.

We only had dinner – and what a feast it was! – around 9 pm and we were so stuffed like stuffed crabs (well, I was a stuffed Cancerian definitely) at the end of it that we declined the offer of dessert. Also there was that matter of a football match between the Argies and Germany...

Andrea drove us back to the apartment and we managed to tune in to a bit of the first half. The second half was definitely more entertaining with three additional goals scored by the Germans. Haha Maradona. He must be nervoussshhh (reference to his statement on Schweinsteiger) and devastated. I couldn’t ask for more than this result and the one the evening before which saw Brazil being eliminated.

It was late when I finally turned in and I struggled to watch the second half of the Spain-Paraguay match.

Sunday, 4 July 2010

We were meeting up with Andrea and family today and while waiting, I managed to get a haircut! It was a much-needed haircut and I’m glad I managed it.

Andrea came just after 10 and we set off to Tagaytay, about 56 km away from Manila. We reached Tagaytay in less than two hours and enjoyed a somewhat hazy view of the Taal Lake (a lake within an island within a lake) and Taal Volcano as we drove through the town; actually we did consider hiking up to the volcano but there was a level 2 alert issued so that was out of the question. We drove on to a private house for lunch (Andrea’s brother had made reservation for us). The owner does not advertise the restaurant on the web although the place is recently featured in a magazine. Bookings can be done via email to the husband-and-wife owners. It was a charming place overlooking a valley and the restaurant is in a separate building from the house. I had spaghetti with mussels for my main course.

After lunch, we headed to The Country Club. Andrea had secured a pass for all of us beforehand (it was an exclusive club; guests need a pass before they can use the facilities). We were about to take a cable car to the club house when there was a flash of lightning and what that meant was the hourly cable car service was suspended. So we got back to the car and drove to the club instead. It started pouring as we reached the club and got too wet to do anything. We did get on the shuttle to visit the mini zoo but it was raining too heavily and I’m sure the animals were also more interested in seeking shelter than meeting us.

We returned to the club house and, for want of anything to do, decided to have some snack. Snack turned out to be pizzas... so it was early dinner for us then.

It was starting to get dark when we left the club (made worse by the dark clouds threatening more rain). The rain only hit certain areas of Manila though and despite the heavy rain on the way back, we managed to reach the apartment by 8 pm.

It was only a few minutes upon entering our room when I felt a violent, urgent need to use the washroom. It continued ... yes, I had diarrhoea. And I forgot to pack my pills too. First time I forgot to bring any medication with me and I had to have diarrhoea. After discussing it, we agreed that it must be the spaghetti I had for lunch ;’(

Monday, 5 July 2010

An early start today as we planned to cover Intramuros and Quaipo and get to the SM Mall of Asia before 12 noon as Audrey had to catch her bus to Clark Airport at 12 noon. We took the jeepney to Gil Puyat and had to wait for the third train before we could battle ourselves into the packed morning train. We finally reached Central Terminal Station and met up with Andrea. It was already a hot day at 8 am and we decided to take the jeepney instead of walking 20 minutes to Intramuros. We had to wait for ten minutes before the jeepney moved because the driver was determined to squeeze in as many passengers as he could. It was a tight affair in the jeepney – there were 16 of us squeezed at the back and two passengers squeezed next to the driver in front.

We got down near Fort Santiago and after paying for admission, went in to explore the area. Andrea was explaining the history which I only half heard as I was giddy at the old stones and walls. Then we walked across to the Manila Cathedral. After spending a few minutes in there, we continued on. We would have lingered on but time was not on our side (and the traffic there is so unpredictable) so we left and took a cab to Quaipo. Famous for its Black Nazarene, the area is also home to a sizeable Muslim population. There are two mosques there, the Green Mosque (under renovation) and the Golden Mosque. I had entered the cathedral and church and thought it’s only appropriate to visit the Golden Mosque too. Andrea and Audrey didn’t follow me though as only Muslims were allowed in. Even then, the men at the gate looked at me and asked if I was Korean. Yup, I’m a scarf-donning Korean. I told them I’m a Malaysian instead of course and was allowed into the compound. I didn’t want Andrea and Audrey to wait too long so only took quick shots of the mosque and went out again, calling out salam to the men on my way out.

We had our brunch at a halal restaurant serving chicken (I think it was roasted chicken). Well, I was hungry enough. I finished my meal with some Chinese pills supplied by Andrea for my tummy.

It proved a tad challenging to flag down a cab but finally we managed to and were rewarded with an efficient driver who knew all the back roads and shortcuts. We made it to SM Mega Mall in good time. It was pouring when we reached there though. Audrey boarded the bus just before 12 noon and Andrea and I waited to wave her off. After that, we joined the lunch crowd seeking shelter and lunch in the mall. Then we walked to Shangri-la Plaza nearby. There were some Japanese movies shown for free and we caught the 2 pm screening of ‘Fourteen’. I found it boring and was almost moved to tears (of boredom). It was painful, in fact so painful that I had another diarrhoea attack. No, I wasn’t kidding. I had to buy some Imodium pills and isotonic drink from Mercury Drugs and we went to the nearby Shangri-la Hotel. It was then that I started feeling feverish. Could things get any worse?

We left at 5 pm and took a cab to Makati where we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I had miso soup with udon and seaweed for dinner – no seafood for the time being, please. After dinner, we walked to the nearby Mercury Drug to buy oral re-hydration salt and more isotonic drink. Then we took a cab back to the apartment and Andrea continued on her journey home. I turned in early that night and slept through Ronaldo’s confirmation of baby Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos, born on 17 June 2010. Hey Cristina, can’t you think of another name? Talk about being narcissistic.

Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Woke up feeling slightly better and to text messages from UK, KL and Australia. Thanks mates! Left the apartment just before 10 am and took the jeepney to The Landmark store on Makati Avenue. Went to explore Glorietta too but hurried back to The Landmark and crossed back to Greenbelt. Met up with Andrea at M&S in Greenbelt 5 and we went to find lunch – Andrea’s treat. Lunch was had at a Thai restaurant. After that, I borrowed Andrea’s credit card to purchase something before crossing over to The Landmark to buy some dried mangoes.

It was 2 pm when we left and we took a cab back to the apartment. Said our farewell in the cab before I went up to perform prayers. I had earlier informed that I’d be checking out late (the apartment charges P100 an hour after the 12 noon check-out; check-out after 3 pm is will be charged as a full day stay). I checked out just before 3 and settled the rent. The hostel called up a cab for me and I settled down to wait.

The ride back to the airport took half an hour and only cost P115 (as opposed to P200 when I arrived). I gave the cabbie P150 (inclusive of tip). It was chaotic in the airport as it was the last time I was there three years ago. My flight had been re-scheduled by more than two hours to depart at 1830 (I got the text from MAS in mid-February). We took off slightly later (plane was on the runway for some time) and landed after 10 pm. There were a lot of people also descending upon KLIA at that hour – I never knew there were so many flights arriving that late – and so the queues for the autogate and normal immigration counters were long. My bag was already waiting and I ran to get it and ran on to catch the 2240 train back to KL Sentral. It took seven minutes the cabbie to reach micasa – he was speeding alright. I had a speedy unpacking before finally hitting the sack after midnight feeling most knackered.

~~~~~~~~

Remember the July issue of the British GQ I told you about? Well, my friend got one alright... BUT she got the one with Rio Ferdinand in front. She’s a non-footie fan and thought they all looked the same (what?!). So it means I’ll be stuck with a Ferdinand GQ (yucks) because she doesn’t want to keep him either - not that I want to own him either but she tried to pacify me by saying there’s a tiny picture of Cesc in there. Tiny? *Sob* So I spent time at KLIA and in Manila scouring the magazine sections of bookstores looking for THE right GQ with the right cover. The Philippines are more into US than the UK and it was with some surprise that I discovered some British GQ BUT with either Ferdinand or new narcissistic daddy Cristina. Ugh (repeat five times). And they cost a bomb too, at P699, that’s close to RM50!!!

A Cesc-cover July issue of British GQ for me, for my birthday, anyone? Por favor???

~~~~~~~~

Well, Oranje demolished Brazil on Friday evening and Uruguay beat Ghana while the Germans continued their blitzkrieg on the Argies and Spain saw off Paraguay the following evening. Oranje has since beaten Uruguay for a date with the winner of the Spain-Germany match. Apparently Octopus Paul predicted a win for the Spaniards but I read that it was just a hoax. Besides, the Germans are too practical to be placing their beliefs on an octopus. Am planning an early night tonight to catch the match tomorrow morning.

Oh and Cesc has shaved. Thank God.

July

July, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry: The shearing of the sheep. In the background is the Château du Clain near Poitiers

Caius Julius Caesar in the Jupiter Room of the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg. Caesar was born on 13 July 100 B.C.

I love July. I love that it’s named after Julius Caesar. I love it despite it being a 31-day month with no public holidays sandwiched anywhere in between. I love it simply because I was born in this month (well, I’m sure I’m not alone in loving a month merely because I was born in that month). I find that my shopping expenditure peaks in July as I buy more things and treat myself more this month (my belief is that if you’re not going to treat yourself, no one else will. If you’re not going to love yourself, no one else will. And there’s nothing wrong in pampering oneself). In fact, I have been taking leave on my birthday for the past few years. Hey, it’s my birthday and I’m not going to work on my birthday!

And what do you know, there are five different covers to the July issue of the British GQ magazine and one of them is none other than Señor Cesc Fàbregas himself. I’m still awaiting for my copy as Aunty couldn’t find it in either London or Manchester (what was left were those with Rio Ferdinand on the cover – shows how little in demand he is eh). I actually scoured the bookstores in KL looking for one (unfortunately, most bookstores stock the US GQ and one even stock the Indian GQ). With luck, I should be getting my hands on it soon - I hope ;)

As I’m in a generous mood, I’m sharing you pictures of Cesc sans beard from the magazine.