Wicked!

Wicked! Enough said...

Won the Wicked Lottery...they even had a pin for the winners! My holiday is now complete...

Update Time

It has been awhile since my last update. I guess through my studying of my last exam, I actually concentrated and studied, and did not take 20-30 minutes out of my studying time to blog. On second thought, I think I was distracted and did other things instead of study, and since I didn't do an all-nighter, I didn't blog.

Nothing new lately. Finished exam on the 19th, and came back right after my exam. Spent the last couple of days out and about, and quite a bit of time at ET. I was very last minute with my "Christmas shopping" this year. Picked up a few things back in Oct at Mitchell's during their Fall sale, but didn't really get anything for gift exchanges/secret Santa/good ol' gifts for friends until the 21/22. It felt weird going to STC on Thursday. I was never much of a shopper, usually I go when I have something I want to get in mind, and I would get it and leave. Once in awhile I would wander around, and see if anything catches my eye. So after not going to a mall for like...months, it felt really awkward. I was not interested in crowding with the mobs, and the sales aren't really "sales" (too much RFD for me), and since I had in mind what I wanted to get before going, I walked through the mall in under 2 hours. I didn't buy anything in that time, just walked through store to store to see what I wanted/needed to get, before going back all at once and get it so I don't have to hold on to bags while wandering around. Saw a few things, but only bought cards/gifts hoping for the things I want to go on sale during boxing week.

Friday came along. Had a good time having breakfast with the dad in the morning. Another good lunch with J-Lau, and had an interesting time at Eatons (details might not be disclosed depending who you are XD). Wicked didn't work out (SORRY Edie!) so ended up going to ET for potluck instead. Hopefully we can catch it next week, keeping fingers crossed.

Really been spending alot of time with ET people in the past few months between summer and now, and now been even going there on a regular basis. I think a really, really, really brief talk that occured on Friday has really got me thinking about a couple of things. I think I'm leaning towards an obvious choice, but I really want this decision to be thought out before making it. Have talked to some people about it, and probably will talk to more, but I hope to be able to make a decision on it in the near future.

Fun time with the ET-ers tonight. Another nice Lumas reunion, a fun time with some short game clips and videos. It was amazing to look back at the first couple of games and see how far some players have come in the few short weeks during the season. Nice time and some interesting moments at gift exchange. Highlight was definitely the service. Been awhile since I had a real intimate time of worship, and really felt it tonight. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with who was leading, but I think it was a snowball effect for many things that has happened leading up to the service tonight. Definitely (am I really using this word alot?) was an eye-opening experience from what I've experienced in the past. Looking forward to seeing some BASICs join the family tomorrow!

Its that time again...TTOW!

P.S. Don't bother guessing what TTOW stands for, because it doesn't stand for anything! Watch season 9 of the Amazing Race (probably the best season for awhile) for the origin of TTOW...and for the explanation, the post-race CBS Morning Show will provide some clues to the answer.

Fantasy Sports + Texas Hold 'em

Its time for a sports column, with a bit of poker. Haven't had one for ages, and with this break of mine, I finally have some time to do one =) I promise I'll keep is short and sweet. This can also be a Texas Hold'em 101 for those who are not familiar with the game.

So after a nice night of auction drafting with the guys, it brought back alot of thoughts I've had about fantasy sports in general before I started "working very hard" for school. Fantasy, much like alot of things, depends on luck. A phrase I like to describe the skill and luck factor in poker, applies in fantasy sports as well: "You skill will determine how much you are affected by your bad luck or your opponent's good luck". With that said, here is an poker example. You hold pocket aces preflop, the best starting hand in the game. Your opponent hold AK. This is the best match up you can have with any hand. You are a 91% favourite to win. However, the flop comes 10 J Q. Your opponent flops a straight, and you only have a pair of AA. The only way you can win the hand is if the next two cards give you a full house (lets assume flush is not a possibility). The person with the AK suddenly becomes 85% favourite to win, with the person holding the AA only have approximately 2% to win (with 13% chance of a tie). With that said, your opponent got "lucky", because he/she went from a 9% underdog, to a 85% favourite. Now...good players, could potentially get away from this hand. There are a few hands out there that the opponent could hold that has AA beat (AK, QJ, Q10, 89, J10, K9), while fewer hands that the AA is still ahead of (AQ, AJ, A10, KQ, KJ, K10 - note, even a hand like KQ or KJ is still a favourite to win statistically) [note: assumption is that the opponent will not be betting hard with hands like 77, 88, etc]. There are too many players who get "married" to a hand like AA on such a dangerous flop like this example, and end up losing alot of money. However, certain good players have the ability to read the action, and potentially fold this AA and save him/herself alot of money. Now this is an extreme example, but this example demonstrates the point about skills revolving around luck.

Now moving on to fantasy sports. There are many things that are within your control, yet many things aren't. One move I was totally against, was the Minnesota Twins pushing Francisco Liriano back into the rotation despite not being 100% healthy. He was a highly touted pitcher, whom many experts have said could potentially be better then Johan Santana in the neaf future (#1 starting pitcher in the league). As a manager of a fantasy baseball team that held Liriano, the managers would be delighted. However, the Twins decided to start Liriano despite his health, so they can make a push towards the playoffs. What ended up happening is that Liriano now requires Tommy John Surgery and is out for the entire 2007 season. Not only is he out for a year, this surgery has had major impacts on many pitchers who had a very bright future. So Liriano could potentially never live up to his potential as a result of this injury. So while the fantasy managers were good, and skillful in digging up his potential and drafting/picking up Liriano, their bad luck with how his health was managed in real life will make a big impact towards their team in the future.

That was pretty short and simple I think. Looking forward to another few days off before heading back to loo and "study" for the last few days before my exam. I really don't think I will be starting until the day before, so that will give me two days (since my exam is at night), which is plenty by my standards. So with that said...

TTOW!

Rant Post

This is a small rant post about how annoying some people can get, so if you don't like rants, please place your fingers over the button "ALT" and the button "F4", and press them down at the same time. Now that I have the remaining audience, I shall begin.

Its almost 5am, the sun is about to rise in a couple of hours. I'm buried in my books thats piled a mile high.
Location: Student Life Centre 3rd Floor
Purpose: To complete 2 "take home exams"

So as I sit here, working hard, fighting my fatigue to finish my essay, when these two very considerate gentlement showed up. Not only did they bring chips and drinks, they also brought alot of work to do. They began work night by opening their bags of chips, and proceed to chew very loudly, as if warming up their jaws for their work. As they finish their warmup exercise, they began chatting loudly in a room where people are finishing essays and studying for exams. They begin their work by going through pictures on their laptop, discussing how ugly some people are, and how retarded they look. As they completed their work, they moved on to talking about how annoying some people could be, and how much they wish they can beat someone up.

Disclaimer: I hope all the readers detected the use of sarcasm in the previous paragraph....

Enough ranting, back to Sir Wilfred Laurier and Lester B. Pearson...no seriously.

TTOW!

Last All-Nighter

As I sit here staring at my history papers with a blank look on my face, I have a feeling tonight is going to be another long night. With 1 history paper completed, I am already sick of writing. Looking ahead to the next 24 hours, I will probably be hidden behind my laptop either at the DC Library, or SLC 2nd/3rd floor. Those who read this and are still up, feel free to distract me on MSN, on the phone, or in person (probably least likely). So with another allnighter coming up, this put the count up to around 10 (I've already lost count). Hopefully this will be the last one until next term, considering I only have 1 exam left! =D (now now people, don't hate). In the mean time, back to work...maybe a longer blog tonight when I decide to procrastinate again.

TTOW!

Late Night Snacks

It was definitely a fun night, a night just to kick back, relax, and take my mind off things.

Got home at around 2am, and one of my roommates was watching ECW. Got bored of that, so we turned on the Wii and played a few games. Other roommate and his friend came home from the bar, we played more Wii. At 4am, someone made a remark "I'm getting hungry, I dont' mind some Pepi's" (btw, Pepi's is the BEST pizza I've had). So we called them at 4am and ordered 2 pizza. After more Wii-ing, and finishing the pizza, we made popcorn. Not the microwave ones, but we popped popcorn. A couple more hours of Wii-ing, and we called it a night...at 730am. Nothing special, but just some fun with a few guys, and some late night snacks.

Class

I actually went to all my classes this week! Well, only had 3 days of classes because no classes on Friday, and both classes on Monday were cancelled. Either way, I went to all my classes in one week! First time that has happened since the first week.

Hermit-ing

I think I've officially become a hermit, mainly when I'm in Waterloo. I've stopped going to various things that I used to go to (example: badminton club, DEX/DECA, etc etc), and currently only attends CCF on a regular basis. I've found myself at home working, playing the Wii, playing Eastside Hockey Manager, among other things, rather then seek social interaction. I often use excuses such as: I live too far from campus, or I have work to do, but it has gotten to a point where I know I'm purposely avoiding interaction outside of what is necessary. Things are alot better whenever I'm back in Toronto, but I think changes needs to be made in Waterloo. Maybe next term.

Other news:
Crazy week coming up. 2 essays and 2 speeches over the span of 5 days. Econ final tomorrow yet I'm blogging. I'm getting sick of hearing and reading about upstream monopolists and quantity/price leadership in a oligopoly market.
There are some things that was said which resulted in things being in this current state. Its disappointing, and depressing, to see how things were and how things are. Regret is too strong of a word, as it was something that needs to be said and set straight. Maybe a different timing or a different method would've changed the result, but it looks like there is really no turning back now. Some things just takes two willing parties, but when theres only one, it just won't work out. Best wishes...and God bless. Maybe I was being a fool...again. I guess I can only hope that you change your mind.
With everything going on, especially in the past month, I feel like just going away, or just take some time off to clear my head, but can't. I guess maybe following one of the stories in "Every Men's Battle" could be beneficial. (will have to find my book and quote it when I get home)
I've been catching myself slipping the past little while. I don't know if its because of other external factors, but regardless, I need to refocus my spiritual walk.
I guess Clark said it best, "sometimes these problems will forces you to focus on your studies because you want to take your mind off these trouble...it might be God's plan for it to happen so you will understand that it is not the right time for you to pursue it any further" - how stubborn am I? I need to learn these lessons about timing not once, not twice, but who know how many times.

I think enough time has been wasted. Back to two-part tariffs and who knows whats next.

TTOW!

Wii-tards

It was definitely an unforgettable experience. If you don't want to read the whole thing, skip to the last paragraph...

Lets rewind, stories of PS3 camping was definitely interesting to say the least. Good thing a pre-order ensured a console which has already changed hands at a decent profit. The Wii line was definitely shorter, and the waiting conditions were definitely better.

The night started with a call from Mark, hearing panic in his voice "yo wes! theres already 46 people in line at Best Buy, you guys better come soon, i'm running over to futureshop to see what the situation is there and i'll call you back *click*" - time of call: 10:15

Going back down memory lane - a week ago: "hey..i think 5am would be fine.."

5 days ago: "lets go at 4 just to make sure we each get one"

2 days ago: "alright, i think we should go with 1am"

eventual result: 10:30pm, the night before!

The packing list consisted of:
1. wallet
2. cell phone
3. sweaters..alot of sweaters
4. sleeping bags
5. blankets
6. camping chairs
7. pillow
8. reading material

After scrambling for 15 minutes, phone goes off again "hey wes..its mark..thers only 6 people in line here...but i think you better come now...people from best buy might start coming over". I think I havne't mention this yet, Best Buy was getging 55 units, Future Shop was getting 30.

Out the door at 10:30, arrive at 10:50. #9, 10, 11 in line. Time to get settled in for a long night. The first hour and a half consisted of:
1. talking about how excited we were for the Wii
2. talking about what games we will get
3. talking about reviews about the games we've read
4. talking about games that could be good
5. talking about zelda...and zelda...and zelda
6. talking about accessories that we will get along with the console
7. looking through a wii launch day flyer from EBGames

The line did not get significantly longer from our arrival until around 2am. The line reached 20 at around 2:30/3:00 am. At around 1:30am, a cop came by just to see the line, and jokes were made about him kicking us out for trespassing. He said he would come by again at around 4 or 5 but never did. We all figured he had to stay at the Best Buy because the line reached 85 at max. The entertainment department manager came by at 2am on his way home from somewhere to say hi and chatted for a little while, so that was interesting.

Midnight - 4am consisted of:
1. Attempting to read the book but it was too difficult to flip pages with gloves, and hands got cold too easy without gloves, so I gave up
2. Being wrapped in 2 hoodies and a sleeping bag and trying to fall asleep but failing

4am - 7am - aka the longest hours of the wait. After being in line for 5 hours, the line finally reached 30 people at around 5am. So we would've been able to get a system if we stuck to the plan we made 1 week ago! Dang it! At least we get first choice of games and accessories! People keep coming in, and we alternate between being very nice to them about them not getting a console, or mildly sarcastic regarding the line situation. Some stubborn people stayed despite being told they are in the 40s in the line up and they will not get a system, while some were smart and drove home and probably got in their comfy beds and went back to sleep. Those 3 hours consisted of:

1. 3-4 different Timmys/McD's run
2. Actually falling asleep for an hour and a half, but being woken up by a mildly disturbing joke.

7am - 8am - Finally! The last hour before they hand out tickets! Yes, this Futureshop opened at 10am, NOT 8am because of their store rating (hmm..can't really disclose this info..so thats all I'll say). No wonder our line was shorter! We had to wait an extra 2 hours! Oh..and we were also the store thats the most out of the way for people. This hour consisted of one thing - ticket is being given out soon, oh..and throwing donus at seagals...well...not at them, but for them.

8am - 10am - So tickets are given, people are turned away, some people try to sell their tickets (myself included) as a half joke half serious proposition. Some moms bring their kids there at 8-9am expecting to get a system...we laughed among ourselves about how naive some people are. Tickets given out, we were told we can go for some breakfast and return by 930. We decided to go to Best Buy, the one with 55 consoles, to see if there were any games/accessories remaining. Sweet! They still had Zelda in stock! AND at $49.99! A whole $10 cheaper than FutureShop. A copy each, back to FutureShop we go. Stood around for another 15 minutes, had to listen through a whole whopping 5 minute sales pitch of why we should buy the extended warranty. Each person in line were asked what items they wanted along with their console, and each package were prepared by staff so we can go in and come out within a span of 5 minutes.

As each person comes out of the store with a Wii in hand, we get a loud ovation from those still waiting. The term Wii-tards, refer to those who stands in line for hours for the Wii!

That was a long recap...Will I do it again? Probably not...unless the release is in the summer months. Did I regret doing it? Not at all. It was a wonderful experience, and why not experience this while my body can still take some punishment. All in all, it was an unforgetable experience.

Weeeeeee!/Wii!

Done for a bit

So while I sit in front of the TV watching the Leafs vs. Bruins, I had the urge to blog. Not really about anything in particular, but more like nothing in particular. Its going to be one of those random thoughts blog.

After a pretty busy week, I'm going to have a pretty relaxing week or so before everything kicks in again. This is probably going to be the only weekend where I won't have to worry about studying or doing any reading. There is still a bit more BS-ing to do in terms of my speech com's class' evaluation, but other than that its going to be pretty relaxing. My schedule will look like this:
1. ECON201 Final - 25% Nov 30
2. SPCOM223 Speech - 15% Nov 27
3. HIST254 Take home final essay - 30% Gets topic Nov 29, Due Dec 3
4. HRM200 Final Exam - 50% Dec 19
Thats pretty much how everything will look like from now until the end of the year, so I'm not complaining at all.

Still waiting to hear from a travel agency regarding my trip that I was planning on going, but its been a week and a half and haven't heard from them yet, so a little worried about that. Hopefully I'll be hearing from them soon.

*Side note: I think I just witness the longest continous play in the NHL this season, at least from memory. The Leafs and Bruins almost played 8 minutes non-stop. For sure it is not the longest in history, but its a pretty long time.

I'm ready for baseball season again! All the rumours going around for next season is getting me excited. How about the Big Hurt in Toronto? Quite a risky signing in my opinion. Frank Thomas have had a history of ankle problem, and turf is not the most forgiving playing surface available. Hopefully if it does happen, he can have the type of year he had this past season.

The sports fan in me has me wondering how it would look with Eric Gagne setting up for B. J. Ryan? With his history of injury, I'm sure Gagne could be had for a bargain, and its a semi-high risk, high reward gamble that I wouldn't mind seeing.

I'm newly addicted to the game Eastside Hockey Manager. In my opinion, one of the most realistic simulation game available. Its a game where you become a General Manager of a hockey team. You can start out as a GM for an NHL team, or you can even start from any of the CHL/AHL, or even Russian hockey team. The amount of depth this game has is simply amazing. It has details an almost every hockey player currently playing in a professional league on earth. Another awesome managerial game is "Worldwide Football Manager". I haven't had a chance to play the newest version yet, but from reading the reviews, it seems like it'll be a good one also.

A big weekend for Sony this week. Not only is there much anticipated PlayStation 3 coming out, but Casino Royale is coming out also. Quite interesting to see people lining up 2-3 days in advance for the PS3. I was going to camp out tonight, but seeing how there is around 10-15 people in front of the FutureShop in my area, I decided against it. Will be interesting to see what kind of price PS3 will be able to draw this weekend when eBay will be flooded with PlayStation 3s. I'm sure the price will still be ridiculusly high, but I don't think it'll attract the legit $2000+ bids like it has been from the pre-orders.

It will be interesting to see if the BestBuy/FutureShop server will be able to handle all the "online campers", all of them pressing "refresh" (or F5) every other second leading up to 8am.

I can't wait to play the Wii, hopefully my roommate will be able to pick one up. I do expect some bugs from the controller, just because it is an innovative design, and like every other new system released, there will always be some bugs and tweaks that needs to be patched.

The 3am Fight Club crew has lost one of its members for a bit. I don't know how you guys do it, but I'm not staying up unless I have work to finish, and please, no comments about how I shouldn't procrastinate until the night before.

Still have to figure out plans for Seussical. And hopefully I can score the ticktes for Wicked. Chicago seems to be sold out, but it doesn't mater anyways since I spent my money on Phantom. Also in the middle of making plans for the Hacken concert.

*Side note 2: Crap, the Bruins just scored

Thats pretty much everything I have on my mind for the time being. I probably have more but the Leafs game is taking up most of my concentration.

TTOW!

5488

Thats the magic number. Waiting list #5488. At this rate, it probably won't get to me until my grandchildren is in university (with the assumption I get married and have kids..and...etc etc)

46 Hours and counting

I shall continue my daily entry to my blog, albeit a short one.

So I've been up for...46 hours straight and counting now. Been up since waking up Tuesday morning at 8:30am. The past 46 hours consist of, working on essay, going to class, working on speech, going to library to work on essay, going home and sit in the living room to work on essay, blogged to procrastinate from working on essay, go back to the library to work on essay, go to class, come home and relaxed a bit, and work on essay again.
2 essays, 40 pages later, I am done...for the week. I am just planning to stay up until my 10am class, and just have a good night sleep tomorrow night. Since I'll be going home this weekend, I'll probably get a couple of hours sleep on the bus, so that should keep me alert until the evening.

Reflections

So here I am, spent 8 hours at the library today, and 3 hours in class, and what have I accomplished thus far? Nothing really. I got 20% done on an essay, when I was hoping to have it completely finished by now. I guess its going to be another long night...sweet.
I noticed lately that my blogs has gone from a long one every week or two, to a really short one every other day or so. I don't know whats better, but it feels like now I can just write whenever I have something on my mind.
All this time spent in the library today, so why did I only get so little done? Well, for some reason thoughts just started rushing into my head. I had really good talk with someone from CCF a few days ago about stretching yourself over too many ministries. This isn't what this blog is really about, but its more like what came up after that conversation. What happened after...there were a few people who were younger (this year frosh) who went to TC in the past. So they overheard me and this other guy talking about us serving at TC, and they said "How come I don't recognize you guys?". So I pulled up some pictures and they were still "I think I have an idea of who you are...". After they said that, I felt a sense of relieve, a sense of joy. Normally people would be like "ouch..." (or various forms of 1 liners with similiar meaning), but I was glad I wasn't recognized. In the end, the whole ministry, everyone serving, isn't, and shouldn't be there to glorify themselves, but everyone's focus should be on God. Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing anyone, nor am I in the position to judge, I'm merely going through my own experience, where at various times, I felt my heart wasn't right. Through it all, I've found myself at various times relying on myself rather then relying through God's strength. I've found myself wanting to show off myself, rather then having people see more of God through me. In the end, I firmly believe there was a purpose in everything, it was a lesson that I learned, and a maturing process for myself to draw closer to Him. I'm no where close to where I need to be, but I believe that everything that happens have its purpose.
Ok...that was another 20 minutes "wasted"...so I should get back to work.

TTOW!

Urbana

This question has been coming up alot lately...well...not alot, but nevertheless, I will not be going to Urbana this year. Why? I just didn't feel God's calling for me to attend this conference. Been praying about it for awhile, even had some people pray for me, and I really wanted this decision to be made based on what God wants, not what I want. So there you have it, I'll be staying in T.Dot between Christmas and New Year!

Sunrise

I never fully appreciated how lovely sunrise is. Too bad this weather only allows me to admire from inside my room. I need to sleep more...

Word of Caution

For anyone that meets the following description, theres just a bit of advice for you: If you ask how someone is doing, for the purpose of digging up dirt with the intention of spreading it to others, plus do yourself and the person a favour and don't waste yoru time.

Trust

I think I realized why its so hard for people to open up to someone, or more specificly for me to open to anyone. You feel vulnerable when you do open up to someone, and what you say comes back and bite you in the rear-end. Its not easy to find someone that you can trust, and having them prove you were correct in trusting them. So treassure those friends that you have, that you would depend your life on. There are only so many you will encounter throughout your life time.

Set 1 over

So much for updating this regularly, I don't know how many times I've said to myself "I will blog regularly"...nope...never happened except during the World Cup earlier this summer.

Anywho, here it goes. The first set of midterms and stuff just finished. Monday and Tuesday of this week consisted of 3 midterms, and 2 essays due. Each were worth 20% or more. This past weekend consisted of...reading over 700 pages of various textbooks, getting 10 hours of sleep on Saturday and Sunday night in total, and 0 on Monday night. I guess next week will be the week where I find out if cramming works or not =D

My school routine has gotten pretty...routine this year. It consists of waking up for school, grab lunch on campus, going to classes, come home, cook/buy dinner, do some work/lounge around/occasionally watch tv. With fall-ball over, there goes one activity that I did on weeknights regularly. Theres no more badminton club, even though I've been wanting to go for awhile, and that I blame on the distance between my house and campus. At least I've been going to (or starting to) go to CCF regularly. It feels like I'm losing a bit of my social life up here. I still have friends that I bump into on campus, we might go study at the library together, or what not, but it seems theres not really a group like in Toronto where we would hang out regularly. I guess with going to CCF more consistently, I will be able to build up more friendships, but it appears that most of the relationships here are pretty shallow.

On another note, Phantom of the Opera - =]
Exam schedule, not completely happy with how it turned out, but I'm not complaining either. Gets off pretty late, with a pretty big break in between, but it oculd always be worse, so staying positive.

Other than that...I think thats a wrap!

Quick Update

I really need to update this blog on a more regularly basis, but I don't always have things to say, or I don't know how to express them in words, or I'm just too "busy with school work".

Something funny happened recently on one of my many adventures aboard the wonderful greyhound motor coaches. I was seated behind this lady, and theres something special about this lady. Her head is like a bobblehead! I am not even joking, when I say the WHOLE trip from Kitchener to Toronto, her head just did not stop "bobbling". Normally I would be sleeping the whole trip, but since I did get a decent night sleep the night before, plus it was after a morning class, so I wasn't exactly tired yet. I ended up watching some shows on my Zen Vision M, and everytime I looked up, her head was bobbling! So that kept me amused for a bit.

On to a more serious subject. As alot of you know, I am an avid sports fan, I cannot get enough of sports. But a comment from my friend made me sick to my stomach. After the tragic death of Cory Lidle yesterday, my friend approaches me and says "Don't you wish that was Derek Jeter in that plane? Or don't you think the Red Sox fans wished it was Johnny Damon in that plane?". I admitt, I'm not a big fan of the Yankees (but I do have alot of respect for Derek Jeter), but this is no laughing matter. I don't wish upon anyone to have that kind of death, nor do I wish anyone to be going through what his family is going through right now. But there must a line drawn between being a sports fan and hating a team/player, to what goes on in reality.

Enough about that, on to other things. It was an awesome Thanksgiving weekend, got to spend some time with people that I haven't seen for a long time. Celebrated an elementary school friend's birthday, got to catch up with a few guys from high school, and bumping into quite a few high school people along the way, felt a bit like a mini-unofficial-unplanned-reunion. Had a good time at the Lumas reunion. Spent a great deal of time chatting with Nelson in front of the TV, but it was great to have the chance to get to know him better.

Had an extremely short week this week, not that I'm complaining =D Its going to be a pretty crazy week the next couple of weeks. Got a couple of papers due, and a couple of midterms coming up. Have to finish 2 articles that combine for 50 pages this weekend, fun stuff.

By the way, I got a extra ticket to the Jean Beliveau signing taking place at the Hard Rock Cafe on Nov 14th. Its valued at $29 and can be "traded" fo ran autograph on a "flat item" (aka pictures). Let me know if you're interested.

TTOW!

Here we go!

Another NHL season is underway!

I am ready for:
1. Another season of Leafs mediocrity
2. Toronto media bashing the Leafs after a loss and planning the parade route after a win
3. Road trip to Buffalo to watch exciting hockey
4. 2 Leafs game this year (hopefully more)

I am excited for:
1. Seeing how big of a monster Phaneuf can be this year
2. Iginla hopefully playing back to his abilities
3. Ovechkin completely making defenseman look foolish
4. Crosby bringing the Pens out of the basement

My bold prediction:
1. Buffalo and Anaheim will be #1 in their respective conference
2. Ottawa will get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs

Lets drop the puck! The world is waiting..

MLB Playoffs Predictions

Yankees 3 - 1 Tigers
Twins 3 - 1 Athletics
Cardinals 3 - 1 Padres
Dodgers 0 - 3 Mets

Yankees 4 - 2 Twins
Mets 4 - 3 Cardinals

Mets 4 - 2 Yankees

"Unhacked"

So I've "regained access" to my blog, so no need to create a new one..yay!

On a more serious note, I realized it has been awhile since I've had any blog that contained any "substance"...so...why not keep the trend going! =D

Some quick updates I guess. School has been alright. Would rather be doing other things, but its a blessing for me to be in school right now, and its where God has placed me, so just trying my best to do everything as a worship to Him. Workload has been meh...wasn't heavy at all the first couple of weeks so it kinda let me ease into school mode slowly. Things are really picking up now with essays, article/book review/summary due in the next couple of weeks. You might also be wondering why I'm blogging at like 3:45am, its because this is my first (and won't be last) all-nighter of the year. First mid-term exam in 6 hours, so I took a nap after class today, studied for a couple of hours, ate dinner and went to play some ball, and came back and plan to study until midterm tomorrow. Since the class is my last class of the week, I can relax and sleep in the afternoon tomorrow. This midterm is crazy, worth 25% of my mark and its a 20 question multiple choice..yikes! As you can see I'm nerding away as I type this...yeah right.

First "official" game for me with some of the guys up here in Kitchener/Waterloo. Bad conditions with heavy rain and strong winds. There was some thunder mix in there too, but managed to get in 6 innings. We got destroyed 17-2, but it was a fun experience. Our team is probably at the lower 1/3 of the league, while the team we played against was probably in the top 1/4, so there was no competition. It was just fun going out there, getting some exercise, and just having a good time. Hopefully next week the weather will cooperate a little more. Personally had a decent game, still not used to having 12 feet arch pitches and having to be selective with which ones to swing. Went 2/3 with a single, a double, a rbi and a groundout. Also played CF for the first time since Lumas 2004, nothing really came in my direction except for a few singles up the middle, which is a good thing, since the lights, along with rain on my glasses, add in strong winds, would've made catching flyballs alot more difficult.

Had an awesome time at the Jays game last Saturday, their third last home game of the season. Thanks Matt for hooking me up with the tickets. Went there with a friend, and met up with someone who works on Game Day with MLB.com. He got the whole package that every broadcaster/media personnel gets, and that package is a fantasy player's dream. It was literally an information overload when I was going through it. As an example, for those who know their stats, it contained stats for each player in various situations. No man on with 2 outs, no man on with less than 2 outs, runner is scoring position (RISP) with 2 outs, RISP with less than 2 outs, RISP with no outs, bases loaded with 2 outs, bases loaded with less than 2 outs, bases loaded with none out. And that is less than 1/5 of the package I received. Maybe I should find a job with a MLB team. I'm allowed to dream aren't I? =D

Last "exciting" thing recently was that I met "The Golden Jet" Bobby Hull last Thursday. He was in Toronto for an autograph signing, and I decided to go pay him a visit. He was a tremendous individual, a class act. He took his time to speak with each guest in line. Unlike many professional athletes and their autographs, he took his time signing, his signature was very clear, along with the inscriptions. The signatures of many professional athletes in today's world could barely be recognized. A prime example would be Alexander Ovechkin's. After his signing, you can only make out the A out of his entire name. I wish more of today's athlete would follow the "old-timers" tradition in regards to their signature, but thats entire story altogether.

With the MLB season winding down and the playoffs starting in a week, I might do a recap of how my picks did this year. Albert already ripped me for picking Detroit to finish low in the standings, but honestly, who would've picked Detroit to have the second best records in the AL? I really think this year is the years for the Mets to take it down. They seem to be the team that is the most complete, with excellent batting and pitching. A subway series is very possible.

Enough procrastinating...back to studying!

TTOW!

"Hacked"

Jeeez....I got hacked....shucks!

Laugh of the day

Came across this one, thought it was pretty funny. Enjoy!

Four students didn't study for an exam on the following day. They go see the professor in the morning and tell him that they were driving and one of the wheels broke off and they crashed, and they ask if they can take the exam the following morning. The professor agrees. The next day the four students are placed in four diferent rooms so as to prevent them from cheating. The professor hands them each a sheet of paper with a question worth 5%. The students glad they studied all night answer the question with no difficulty. The professor then hands them a second sheet of paper with a question worth 95%: which wheel broke off on the car?

Thank You, and Lumas

Hats off to everyone on Lumas this season for a wonderful season. Words can't express how thankful I am for all of you this summer, for all the great efforts everyone put into this season on and off the field. You guys made this summer a great one, all the time we spent on the field together at games and practices, all the dinners/bonding time we have, these are memories that I will cherish. It was amazing to witness the growth of all the players on the team, both on the field and off the field. Seeing them fellowship with one another, and more important continue their walk with Christ.

Most importantly, I want to thank our Almighty God, whom have been SO faithful throughout the season. He have shown me so much, taught me so much throughout this season. I'm constantly blessed by so many others on this team, and those on the other teams. The support both from other teams we play with was overwhelming, and the friendships that were formed as a result of this ministry is such a blessing. While I have my time of weakness during the season, times when I get frustrated with myself, lost patiences with others, but He remained faithful.

While the season has ended, everything that I experienced this season, will not be forgotten. While I don't know what the future holds for me in terms of next season, but I know this season, has been a blessing. This is not the end, there is still the banquet on Thursday, and the year-end party on Sunday. Looking forward to it guys!

Playoff Thoughts

Don't waste energy and time focusing on the "we can't"s, rather use that time and energy to focus on the "we can"s. While the playoff bracket was not within our control, to say the end result was disappointing to me is an understatement. The energy and hopes of seeing the preliminary standings were replaced with frustration and disappointment.

While that might be the case, our focus should not be over the "should have"s or the "could have"s, our focus should be the accomplishments, the big strides that we have taken this season. Seeing many players come a long way from the start of the season, not only skills-wise, but also their attitude off the field is a victory on its own. Hearing from friends on other teams who have told me about the positive impact our games had on various players on their respective teams is another victory. With the fellowshipping, the unity, and the bonds that were created and strengthened throughout this season, regardless of the end result of the weekend, I firmly believe, we have fought a winning battle. While at times we focus on the victory on the field, that is only secondary, secondary to other accomplishments along the way. Despite the tough road ahead, there will never be something called "for sure" in sporting results. But one thing that is for sure, is that we can put our best effort into the games we play, regardless of the actual result. Maybe despite our best efforts, we fall short, but the only thing that matters, is that we gave it our all. Don't focus on what we can't do, but rather focus on what we can do.

"just do your thang boss, do your thang." Well said..

Thanks W. Leung, what you do does not go unnoticed bro.

Don't take things/people for granted

Not too many people know, but my grandfather passed away exactly 3 weeks ago. I was very fortunate to have returned to HK earlier this summer (in April and May) to not only visit, but spend time with my grandfather and celebrated his birthday with him. At the same time, my uncle, who originally planned to return to HK with me, was unable to do so as a result of work committments, and decided to postpone his return until October when it would've been my grandparents' 60th anniversary. When the news of my grandfather's death reached my uncle's ears, he broke down. Why? He was probably the closest son to my grandfather out of all the sons in the family. My uncle did not even have the opportunity to see his father one last time before he moved on. He is still blaming himself for not being able to go back to HK in April, therefore not having the chance to spend time with him. No body expected this to happen, it was very shocking to all of us. My uncle never had the chance to tell his father how much he loved him, how much he cared for him. It reminds of an event that happened a few years ago. The father of friend of mine passed away suddenly one morning of a traffic accident. There are many things, many events, that none of us can ever expect to happen. Many times we think "it can never happen to us", but accidents happen. Theres a reason why accident is called "an accident", if someone can foresee an event, it won't be called an accident. Many times in our lives, we take the people for granted. We take having our parents for granted, we take our friends for granted. We take having food on our dining table for granted, it seems such a normal event to be able to see your friends each weekend on the baseball diamond, or talk to them over the phone. We take our parents' love for granted. Sometimes, accidents happen, and suddenly, the person we have taken for granted for so long is no longer with us.

While we have faced many times where we wished our parents will stop nagging us, or the times we wished our friend was better at math so he can help us in our homework, take this time to reflect on your relationship with everyone around you. Have you taken their prescence for granted?

Take this opportunity, tell your parents you love them, how much they mean to you, thank them for everything they've done for you. Thank your friends for being there when you needed someone to listen to you rant, or the time when you needed help for a particular assignment, or thank them for staying up with you until the next morning when you had to get something done. Because you just never know, when that opportunity of telling them you love them, and appreciate what they've done for you, no longer exist.

Other matters:
I just realized this has been one of my longer blogs thats not sports related. Anyways, I'm still struggling, still learning, and still seeking God's direction. Many things have happened, but the most important lesson I'm still learning, is to wait and seek God's timing. In many things I've done in life, I have done things on my own timing. I have hurt myself, and I have hurt others along the way. I wish I can take back alot of the things that I've said or done, but I can't. As I move along in this journey, I've discovered many things, many weaknesses that I struggle with. I've come to a realization that many of these weaknesses, all these struggles I have, result in the lack of trust towards God, the lack of patience towards Him, and more importantly, relying on my own strength rather then relying, trusting in Him. As I continue on this journey, learning and seeking for His wisdom, I know I will encounter many more obstacles, but I pray to be obedient, to be patient, and to be humble. While I'm sure I have many other weaknesses, and I will encounter more struggles, I know that God will always be with me.


Hmmmm...it seemed like all these things just rushed out of me....does it even make sense? Oh wellz...its my blog, so I can put whatever I want on it =þ, even if it makes no sense at all!

-wes

International Flavour

A short sports update with more to come later. The Raptors' announcers are going to have a fun time this upcoming season (and seasons to come) in terms of pronouncing players' names (maybe even more so for those who announces the games for the other teams). The addition of Spanish forward Jorge Garbajosa to the team, he will join the first overall pick of 2006 Andrea Bargnani, former Spurs Rasho Nesterovic as the new international players the Bryan Colengelo added to the Raptors this off season. Imagine a fast break with Jose Calderon, Jorge Garbajosa, Nesterovic and Bargnani involved. I imagine it will go something like this:

Nesterovic with the defensive board, quick outlet pass to Calderon with Bargnani and Garbajosa on the wing with him. A 3 on 1, Calderon with the bounce pass to Garbajosa, and Garbajosa tosses it up to Bargnani for the two handed jam, are you kidding me?!

I bet you can't say that 5 times fast! =D Have a good one!

-wes

Refocus

I think I've been learning alot lately, and going through so many things leads into frustrations. Some that may have been caused by the actions around me, and more importantly, I think I need to take some time and really discover myself again. I think its more along the lines of re-discovering my motives, and my intentions in this ministry. If I'm going to contribute positively to the ministry, should I really care about things I can't control, or should these things even matter at all? At the same time, taking the competitiveness away is really ripping away the core of the activity. Should it really come down to something so small, if the difference isn't that big? If my motives is contribute to the ministry in a positive way, should I even be having these thoughts and feelings to begin with?

Need to spend time to refocus and really rediscover my motives again.

-wes

World Cup

This world cup has quickly turned into one that I don't really care about who wins anymore. Nothing against Italy and France, but their play so far this world cup haven't convinced me (and alot of other people) that they are worthy of being the world champions. I guess this applies more to France, since they barely got into the 16 with a win over Togo. I mean in a group with Switzerland, Togo, South Korea, they were able to manage 5 points? A little disappointing for sure. Italy's defence has been impressive as always, only giving up the one goal, but their road to the finals isn't exactly a tough one facing Australia in the 16 and then Ukraine in the quarters. In any case, I don't even know who I am cheering for in this final. On one side, it is ZZ's final game, and he has got to be one of the best players to have played the game, and as a soccer fan, I would like nothing more but to have this world cup be his swan song, leaving his final match of his career holding the trophy above his heads. On the other hand, I just cannot justify cheering for an Arsenal player, as good as Henry is..lol. Seriously though, lets hope we see some scoring, having a game of 0-0s isn't helping this game at all, despite the suspence of penalty kicks. After all, this is a team game, and using penalty kicks to resolve the finals takes the entire team element out of the sport. How about a prediction of a balanced, well-played, no-diving *cough Italians*, exciting match.

I'm sorry ZZ, as much as I enjoyed watching you throughout your career, I really can't bring myself to cheer for France, so Italians it is...I think. On the side note, with the Italian win over Germany, I officially became the winner of the World Cup pool that I played with a few (few being 35 other..I think) friends. I am tied with the league leader in match outcomes correct, but a couple of ties and correct scores I got launched me to the top of the leaderboard. Now I have the bragging rights for the next 4 years =D. So yes, predictions..

Finals:
Italy 2 - 0 France
3rd Place:
Portugal 2 - 1 Germany

Semi-Finals

One of the most disappointing days with Brazil and England losing in the same day. Now my #1 and #2 team is out, my emotional ties leads me to cheer for Germany. Klinesmann was one of my favourite players during his playing days, and nothing is stopping me from cheering for them now.

Semi-Final predictions:
Germany 3 - 1 Italy
Portugal 1 - 1* 3 - 1 France

Quarter-Finals

Here we go!
Germany (2 - 2, 4 - 3* Argentina
*that means 2 - 2 after 90 minutes, 4 - 3 on penalty kicks
Italy (2 - 1) Ukraine
England (1 - 0) Portugal
Brazil (2 - 1) France

Had a really good round in the sweet 16, went 7 - 1 with 3 correct scores. But decided to go with some exra time/tie predictions for the rounds that are coming up. As Albert said, most of my predictions for the round of 16 were the favourites, so nothing to brag about, but the 3 correct scores was pretty nice.
Anyways, more sports stuff coming up.

Knockout Round

My sincerely apologies to my dedicated readers who anxiously await new predictions each day (haha..yeah right), been busy lately and this just haven't been at the top of my priority list (sports not as one of Wesley's priority? lol). Anyways, for the past few match days, I've been hovering around the .500 mark also, with a couple of correct scores (ex. France 2 - 0 Togo, ).

Now is the time for the sweet 16 (stolen from the NCAA =D). The most intriguing matchup looks to be the Portugal vs. Holland match on Sunday, with Spain vs. France next Thursday not far behind. So here are my predictions for the 8 matches.

Germany 3 - 1 Sweden
Argentina 2 - 1 Mexico
England 2 - 0 Ecuador
Portugal 1 - 0 Holland
Italy 3 - 1 Australia
Ukraine 1 - 0 Switzerland
Brazil 3 - 0 Ghana
Spain 2 - 1 France

Next world cup update will be next Friday after the completion of the sweet 16.

The Sports world
But thats not all for sports. A HUGE week coming up in the world of sports. NHL draft tomorrow morning, and Wednesday the NBA draft will take place. Also, a huge trade was just annouced seeing T. Bertuzzi going to Florida along with A. Auld and another player for R. Luongo. Also rumours are floating around that C. Pronger wants out of Edmonton. More thoughts on these and more this weekend, along with another rant about the Leafs management, or should I say mis-management of the Leafs.
In the mean time, I'm extremely excited for this weekend.

TTOW!

Match Day 11

My bad for missing today's games. Cut to the chase. Surprise draw between Japan and Croatia, I was expecting another blow-up sort of match from Japan. I expected a Brazil win, but their performance is still not up to par yet. And another somewhat surprising draw between France and S. Korea. France is once again could be eliminated in the group stage after two draws.

Predictions for match day 11:
Togo (0 - 1) Switzerland

Saudi Arabia (0 - 2) Ukraine

Span (3 - 0) Tunisia

Thoughts

You know the feeling you get after you did something, and then when you reflect, you wonder what could've been if you did it differently, or simply not did it at all. Wondering if things would've be the same. Maybe you ponder whether making the decision to act now would cause the same effect now if you were going to act a few months/years down the road.

Is it regret? Not totally. In a way, it is because of how things turned out, losing something that I cherished, something that I would probably do anything to have back. I guess I didn't expect things to turn out the way they did, but at the same time, risks and rewards. I guess in this instance, the risk was big, but the reward could've been bigger, who knows (well, God knows...) At the same time, losing what I had, in a way, taken for granted, really put things into perspective. While it will probably never be the same, I can only pray and hope that one day down the road, maybe things will somehow right itself. I keep reminding myself, can't lose what I never had, but at the same time, if I let you go, will dreams come true? Maybe tomorrow, when you tell me you love me, maybe the puzzle of my heart will be solved. Am I being a fool again, but it seems loneliness knows me by name, while world of our own seems so far away. One day, hopefully, if its written in the stars, you'll find out why do I love you, and never having to feel I'm missing loving you again.

While its been rough, extremely tough at times, maybe its just the way I need to be taught, learning that its not on my timing and in my will, but rather in His timing. It is not about writing my own story, but giving Him the pen and paper for Him to mold me. I pray that I will continue to seek to know Him more and to be more like Him.

Match Day 9

Match Day 8:

Argentina (2 - 0) Serbia & M (6 - 0) =) WOW

Holland (2 - 0) Ivory Coast (2 - 1) =)

Mexico (2 - 0) Angola (0 - 0) =(

If anyone tell me they knew Argentina was going to win 6 - 0...get in touch with me.

Match Day 9 predictions:

Portugal (2 - 0) Iran

Czech Republic (3 - 0) Ghana

Italy (1 - 0) USA

Match Day 8

I'm getting good at this! 2 correct scores in the same day! Well, those score wasn't very likely until the 10 minutes of the game for both games. So far I'm 10/20 for winning teams, and out of the 10, 3 of them has been correct scores. Not bad.

Match Day 7

Ecuador (1 - 1) Costa Rica (3 - 0) =(

England (2 - 0) T&T (2 - 0) =D

Sweden (1 - 0) Paraguay (1 - 0) =D

Match Day 8 predictions;

Argentina (2 - 0) Serbia & M

Holland (2 - 0) Ivory Coast

Mexico (2 - 0) Angola

Match Day 7

Day 6:

Spain (0 - 1) Ukraine (4 - 0) =( WOW

Tunisia (0 - 1) Saudi Arabia (2 - 2) =(

Germany (2 - 0) Poland (1 - 0) =)

Day 7 Predictions:

Ecuador (1 - 1) Costa Rica

England (2 - 0) T&T

Sweden (1 - 0) Paraguay

Match Day 6

Match Day 5 predictions:

South Korea (0 - 0) Togo (2 - 1) =(

France (2 - 0) Switzerland (0 - 0) =(

Brazil (2 - 0) Croatia (1 - 0) =)

Match Day 6 predictions:

Spain (0 - 1) Ukraine

Tunisia (0 - 1) Saudi Arabia

Germany (2 - 0) Poland

Match Day 5

Can't believe Australia came back and defeated Japan. Japan looks like a team thats not playing as a unit, especially after the comments from their star a couple of days ago. Also can't believe the Czech destroyed the US, but we'll see how the "real group of death" plays out.

Match Day 4 predictions:

Japan 2 - 1 Australia (1 - 3) =(

USA 1 - 1 Czech Republic (0 - 3) =(

Italy 2 - 0 Ghana (2 - 0) =D
*weeee! first correct score prediction too! =D

Match Day 5 predictions:

South Korea (0 - 0) Togo

France (2 - 0) Switzerland

Brazil (2 - 0) Croatia

Match Day 4

Match Day 3:

Serbia & Mont. 0 - 2 Holland (0 - 1) =)

Mexico 1 - 0 Iran (3 - 1) =)

Portugal 2 - 0 Angola (1 - 0)

So far, I am 5/8 in predicting the winning team, with no correct scores so far.

Match Day 4 predictions:

Japan 2 - 1 Australia

USA 1 - 1 Czech Republic

Italy 2 - 0 Ghana

Match Day 3

Pretty boring match between England and Paraguay. Besides the opening 15 minutes or so when England had the pressure on Paraguaym, the whole match felt like it was a battle of the midfield. I hated how the ref called this match, calls that should've been made were not made, and calls that shouldn't have been called were called. Crouch and Owen were non-factors in this match, even though Paraguay's defense paid alot of attention to Crouch.
What a game between Sweden and T&T. Hislop was definitely the reason T&T was able to hang on to the 0 - 0 draw after going down to 10 men for almost half the game.

Matchday 2:

England 2 - 0 Paraguay (1 - 0)=)

Sweden 1 - 0 T&T (0 - 0)=(

Argentina 3 - 0 Ivory Coast (2 - 1) =)

As you can see, the correct winner will be represnted by the "=)", while the correct winner with the correct score will be represented by "=D"

Matchday 3 predictions:

Serbia & Mont. 0 - 2 Holland

Mexico 1 - 0 Iran

Portugal 2 - 0 Angola

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Match Day 2

Hmmmm...day 1 didn't go too well it seems.
Germany's offence looked alot better than I expected, even without Ballack. Their weakness in central defence were definitely exposed by the two goals scored against by Costa Rica. What a goal by Frings and Labm, both could possibly end up being top 5 goals in this world cup.

Germany 1 - 1 Costa Rica (4 - 2) =(

Poland 2 - 1 Ecuador (0 - 2) =(

Day 2 predictions:

England 2 - 0 Paraguay

Sweden 1 - 0 T&T

Argentina 3 - 0 Ivory Coast

World Cup Predictions

With the kickoff of the first match less than 12 hours away, I "have to" do some sort of predictions. This tournament is only the most watched sporting tournament in the world. So here we go.

Group A: Germany, Poland advancing
Group B: England, Sweden advancing
Group C: Argentina, Holland advancing
Group D: Portugal, Mexico advancing
Group E: Italy, Cezch Republic advancing
Group F: Brazil, Croatia advancing
Group G: France, South Korea advancing
Group H: Spain, Ukraine advancing

The knockout stage prediction will come when the group stage is complete.
Look for a daily prediction on each match day's matches (finally a chance for me to blog something every day..lol)

Enjoy the games!

Match Day 1

The sporting event of the year (with no disrespect to the winter Olympics) is upon us. While I am not going to bore you all with predictions and player/team analysis, I will do a daily prediction on the winning team and the score. Hopefully I will be right more than half the time, but only time will tell.

Here we go!

First game:

Germany 1 - 1 Costa Rica

Poland 2 - 1 Ecuador

Fundraiser Tournament

Come one...come all!!!

Sports Blurb

Ok...it has been way too long since I have made a post with sports content. So if sports bore you, stop reading now!

- HOW ON EARTH did i crack a Louisville Slugger Catalyst..that bat is supposed to be a tank! (i'm SO SORRY albert!)
- i realized i have too many pairs of soccer socks. i have 2 white, 2 blue, 1 black...hmmm...how did i end up with so many pairs?
- can't find my old pair of shinguards, so now have to break out the new pair..might as well since its been collecting dust for the past couple of years
- so unofficially, my Envy is named "Kiwi", and my C4 is called "Candice"
- i will have 3 big equipment bags in my room this summer...1 for soccer, 1 for softball and my bady bag...there goes 1/4 of my floor space

- what on earth is Detroit Tigers doing sitting with the best record in the MLB?
- how about Arizona Diamondbacks with a winning record? but then again, that is the weakest division in baseball
- it seems the Royals just can't win a game. going into the 9th inning ahead of the Yanks 7-5, the game goes into a rain delay
- the Hurricanes are definitely alot better than I expected them to be. but its hard for the Sabres to play without their top 3 defencemen..Canes in 6
- Roloson has finally been exposed, giving up 9 goals in the past 2 games. still think Oilers will be good enough win win at least 1 game out of the next 3
- looks like the Mavs/Suns series will be a good one. could possibly be another series that goes to a game 7. suns' lack of depth might prove to be their downfall.
- heat/pistons, should be an interesting series. pistons don't have the depth they had when they won a couple of seasons ago, but they are still a strong team. heat was built to beat the pistons, could be another series that will go to a game 7.
- world cup starting in 2 weeks!!! enough said

Soccer season kicks off tomorrow morning, and then got relatives visiting this week. Hopefully I'll find a job shortly. Otherwise...thats all for now.

TTOW!

HK Pictures

So first time I've visited HK in 5 years, and probably won't be back for awhile. Nothing really special, alot of dinners with relatives, and did a little bit of "sight-seeing". Here are a few pictures.


The view of the mountain that looks like a lion. Stupid pole right in the middle though.


Good old food and beer...can't complain!


Old elementary school...it has certainly changed


At Sha Tin Racecourse for Champions Mile Day


Go horse go!


At Sha Tin Racecourse (night races that night)


The ferry that takes people across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island


Silent Witness - the favourite for the Champions Mile


Bullish Luck - the winner of the Champions Mile (trained by the same trainer as Silent Witness)


The BIG Buddha


I LOVE this shot, evening shot of the skyline of Hong Kong Island


Inside of the Disney Train


The main entrance of Disney Land


The outside of the Disney train


"This is NOT a spring roll"?!?! Then WHAT IS IT?!


The fountain at the front of Disney Land

Update Soon

Well, it won't be that big of an update. Will post some pictures of my trip to HK shortly, and thats pretty much it!

It's time to unpack and organize everything (including stuff I brought back from rez), and go job hunting (anyone got connections? =D).

Had my first practice with Lumas the past weekend. The weather wasn't the best, but it was awesome to be reunited with the team, and also meeting all the new players. This is going to be a fun season. With softball practices and soccer games, my constant soreness will again be back, and of course, radiating heat (harhar).

In the mean time, how awesome is it to have a Blue Jays game 2 game 7s, a NHL playoff game, a Memorial Cup game, 24 season finale and Alias series finale in one night? Awesome enough to keep me at home!

TTOW!

The aftermath

Wow, its been 10 days since my last post? I guess nothing really has really happened, or has been "thought provoking" recently. I guess this will be a pretty random blog.

It has been a month, and I guess all the "studying" I force myself to do has made this month go by faster, and I gues somewhat easier. Still struggling at times, and just really sadden by how some things have changed. Still praying and hoping it would go back to the way it was, but I have a feeling that it won't, but who knows. Just still praying and seeking for His comfort and directions, and more importantly learning to trust in His timing more than my own.

Last exam on Wednesday, been trying to focus, but with the nice weather outside, its hard!

Leaving in a little less than 5 days, which means I will miss the Lumas orientation...hopefully I can still fit in when I return =D. Looking forward to this softball season. Congrats to Mr. Head Coach (Darren) for getting baptized today.

Random sports thoughts:
Jays are off to a decent start, nice to see the offence really coming along. The pitching staff has been struggling, but hope that will come along slowly with Halladay and AJ in the rotation now. Chris Shelton is absolutely destroying every ball he sees right now, Wells is getting off to a good start for once, and Johan Santana is off to his typical not-so-impressive April starts.
Interesting run the Leafs had to try to make the playoffs. Wonder where this type of play was between January and early-March when we only won a whopping 3 games in regulation. Interesting how the team really came together when the guys acquired in the off-season are out of the lineup (Lindros, Khavanov, Allison, Czer got picked up by Boston). Looks like Pat Quinn will be given his papers in the off-season, even though I think Richard Peddie and John Ferguson Jr. should be the ones going. Lets hope the Leafs can do something decent in the off-season and rebuild the team. We got some decent building blocks but won't be a contender for at least a few more seasons.
How about the Raptors, losing 10 straight after CB4 went out with an injury, and then defeating the Pistons (granted, Pistons were playing with their reserves majority of the game). I think Sam Mitchell will be around for next year, and the team's performance next season will dictate whether he stays or goes beyond next season. Hopefully next year will be a better year with the rookies having gained experience this season. With a thin draft this year, doesn't look like we will be getting any immediately help with our draft picks. With the addition of GM and President Bryan Colangelo, hopefully we will gain some creditibility back, and maybe get a couple of free-agents this off-season to play with CB4, and maybe even resign Mike James.

More to come later when I decide to procrastinate again.

Planned

So its all planned out...Comerica Park, Wrigley Field, US Celluar Field. 3 stadiums, 3 games, in 4 days. Now we'll see if this thing call a job will get in the way...oh yeah...and this other thing known as money.

Its surprising the amount of things that can be accomplished while I'm procrastinating. =D

National League

Unlike the AL West and Central, this will be a very short preview and prediction of the National League. Not that they are inferior, but I'm just getting too lazy to do a team by team analysis.

NL East:
Losing pitching coach Leo Mazzone to the Orioles this offseason, it will be interesting to see how the Braves pitching staff perform. It is no fluke that Atlanta has won 14 division titles in a row, and they are still the team to beat. NY Mets have closed the gap with signing of Billy Wagner and the acqusition of Carlos Delgado, but their starting rotation will keep them from overtaking Atlanta. After their fire-sale, it won't be surprising to see the Marlins at the bottom of the standings after 162 games.

Atlanta
NY Mets
Washington
Philadelphia
Florida

NL Central:
St. Louis is still the team to beat in the Central, but it will be alot closer by September, expect the Cubs, Brewers, and Astros to be within striking distance of the Cards. The health of Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and Carlos Zambrano will be key to the Cubs success. The Brewers have a very bright future, with the right side of the infield anchored by Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder. Ben Sheets must remain healthy, Chris Capuano and Doug Davis must put up similiar numbers for them to compete. Look for the Brewers to be contending in a year or two. With Roger Clemens' future still up in the air, Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte will have to repeat last year's success. With majority of last year's conference winning team returning, Astros will again be one of the teams that will likely be a buyer at the trade deadline.

St. Louis
Houston
Milwaukee
Chicago C
Pittsburgh
Cinncinnati

NL West:
The worse league in the whole MLB again, a team with a .500 record will probably take down the division title. A healthy Barry Bonds and Jason Schmidt should carry the Giants to the top of the standings, but San Diego and their ace Jake Peavy will also look to repeat as the division champions. The return of Eric Gagne, as well as the addition of players such as Rafael Furcal will give the Dodgers a chance at title in this weak division.

San Diego
San Francisco
LA Dodgers
Arizona
Colorado

AL Central

The defending World Series champions, the Chicago White Sox, will again be the team to be beat in this division. The White Sox would've had the division locked up by September if not for their late season collapse which almost cost them a playoff spot. As it turns out, Cleveland could not capitalize on the White Sox's collapse and fell just short. This year will again see the White Sox and the Indians battle out for the top standing.

Already a championship team from the year before, the White Sox's GM Ken Williams had one of the busiest off season, with adding various players to the team to make a run at repeating as the champ. With a 40 HR hitter already in the line up in Paul Konerko, the White Sox added a former 40HR hitter in Jim Thome. While Thome is going to spend majority of the season as the DH, the pair of Konerko and Thome is possibly just behind Manny and Big Papi in the most dangerous 3-4 hitter in baseball. The pitching was also improved in the offseason with the signing of Javier Vasquez. A already stellar starting rotation got better with the addition of Vazquez. With a starting rotation of Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Jose Contreras, Jon Garland, and Javier Vazquez, any of these 5 pitchers are all capable of reaching 15 wins while throwing 200 innings. This rotation can potentially be the deepest one in the majors this season. Their pitching staff will be able to hold off opponents while the offense look to score a run or two in close games. The biggest question mark will come from the centre-field position, as there is a big uncertainty for the replacement for the departed Aaron Rowand. Look for the White Sox to make a solid run at repeating as champs this season.

The Cleveland Indians had a shot at overtaking the Whote Sox for the division title last season. But they were unable to capitalize on the White Sox struggle in the stretch run, as they hit a road block themselves towards the end of the season. Anchor by the best catcher in the league, the Indians hope to make a run at the White Sox this season. With a core group of young players, Cleveland will be in the playoff mix for many years to come. However, while their young players develop, they will still be unable to take the extra leep to take over the division from the defending champs.

Despite having the best pitcher in the league, the Minnesota Twins should once again finish behind the White Sox and Indians at the end of the season. A small budget team, the Twins haven't had the chance to bring in key free agents to play the supporting role behind Johan Santana. Joe Nathan will again be one of the most underrated closer in the league, while Johan Santana will make another strong bid to win his 2nd CY award. A healthy outfield, as well as a healthy Justin Moreanu, will be key to Minnesota's success this year.

Despite the off-season moves, Kanasa City will be locked in a fight for last place with Detroit this whole season. While signings such as R. Sanders, M. Grudzielanek, and M. Redman will hopefully help improve the team this season, they have not improved enough to threaten Minnesota for third place in the league. Once highly regarded pitcher Zack Grienke has completely fallen off the map.

Look in a fight for last place in the division will be the Detroit Tigers. A team which threatened to break the record for most losses in a season just a couple of years ago, should not be nearly as bad again. With several bright stars in the near future, it seems Detroit should only get better as time pass. J. Bonderman has emerged as the ace of the Tigers club, and should be the ace for many years. A healthy M. Ordonez and I. Rodriguez will be critical for Tigers to have a positive season. The signing of troubled K. Rogers should help the club if he doesn't have any on or off field incidents. He likely will not repeat his successful season from 05, but he will be a contribution in the development of Bonderman, and should be a solid #2 pitcher for this Tigers ballclub.

So while I am writing this before/during my lectures, AL Central looks to be the one of two division in which there might be a clear winner at the beginning of the season. Look for the White Sox to represent the Central in their attempt to repeat as the World Series champ.

Prediction
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals

Lets start things off - AL West

This is probably going to be a 3 team race in a 4 team division for the division title. Oakland, Texas, and Los Angeles Angels all have potential to win this division. However, LA Angels and Oakland are the front runners with Texas being the darkhorse.

Oakland's key to winning this division will be their pitching staff. Barry Zito, Rich Harden will anchor a solid 5 man starting rotation which finishes with E. Loaiza, D. Haren and J. Blanton. Rich Harden will be the key in this starting rotation, when healthy, he can potentially emerge as the ace for this ball club. The offence will not be strong, which means not only must starting pitching be solid, the bullpen must be able to hold off oppoenents and bridge the innings between the starter and Hudson Street. After coming off an very impressive second half of the season, Hudson Street must retain his top form.

Reigning CY Young winner Bartolo Colon (also the best smelling player in the league..harharhar) will need to maintain his performance from last season to anchor this pitching staff. J. Lackey is starting to emerge as a solid number two pitcher behind Colon, with a young, E. Santana slowly developing into a top tier starting pitcher. The Angels will again be a favourite to win the division, and there haven't been any reason to write them off to repeat as the winners. The bridge between the starters and one of the best closers (F. Rodriguez) will again be anchored by S. Shields. Vlad Guerrero will need to remain healthy to keep the offensive production for the Angels.

Signing Kevin Millwood and Adam Eaton this off-season, the Texas Rangers hope this will help push them to a division title this season. While they will continue to have one of the brightest youngstars in the game (M. Texieira, M. Young, H. Blalock), their pitching has not improved enough to overtake and win the division. After trading away A. Soriano, it remains to be seen who will replace him at 2B. While the offence will not fail to score runs, the downfall of the Rangers will come from losing high scoring games.

A year after exploding in stats, A. Beltre was a huge letdown to say the least. Ichiro also experienced his first decline in production, and the pitching staff just keeps getting older. Predictions will be consistent in picking Seattle to finish last again in this division. With an aging pitching staff (althought F. Hernandez is going to be the ace of the future for years to come), as well as an inconsistent offence, it will be another season before Seattle will return to the playoff picture

Prediction:
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners

Summertime!

The sun is shining, the birds are singing (insert other nature things that represent summer)

Popcorns are popping, peanuts are roasted, break out the pine tar, because baseball season is around the corner!!!

The once-a-year, baseball season preview/prediction will be posted soon (done while I'm procrastinating).

Phil 4

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Lord God, I don't understand why, but I know You are behind it all, and I pray that You help me understand that You did it for my own good. I pray You will grant me patience, and help me await for Your plans. I pray You will help me stop trusting in my plans, and allow me to patiently await for Yours.

Random Thoughts

The difference between the best and the worse can be just a matter of a yes or no.

Snow day!

Woohoo!!! extended reading week started today! =D

Procrastination

Istn ti fnuny ohw yuor bainr lstil unstdeanrd hwat im tpygin hree evne touhgh mi nto splelnig aceh wrod niocrerctyl?

Long Awaited

To my loyal readers:

Ahh..who am I kidding..with my irregular updates, and lack of content, I wonder if anyone still bothers to check this thing.

Anywho, the lack of updates, I guess can be blamed of the lack of brain activities in the last little while.

Either way, hopefully there is more to come in the near future. In the mean time, you know how to get a hold of me if needed.