Yesterday was the second day of this weeks sporting heaven/hell. And so far, I've been doing surprisingly well.
As you may recall, I played badminton last night. I haven't played badminton in almost a year (ever since I sprained my ankle really badly last year) and I knew I was in for trouble. Sure enough, it took me a good 20 minutes before I managed to get back some of my timing.
However, this wasn't what surprised me. I figured that after so little strenous exercise (although I play squash occasionally, I'm not very good hence the lack of strenous exercise) for a year, I would really struggle to last the distance. However, despite being really tired, the adrenaline was just enough to last the whole 3 hours.
After I got home last night, I immediately took a hot shower and liberally spread Bengay over my muscles. Bengay is an analgesic heat rub used to reduce muscle pain. If you have never used it - then either you don't do much sport or you are extremely fit! Anyway, after spreading Bengay, my arm and leg muscles felt like they were on fire. If nothing else, this is a real indication of how much punishment I had put on my muscles.
So far, the above hasn't been too exceptional (and if I'm being honest, I would say it was what I expected). What happened this morning was unexpected.
When I woke up, other than my arm muscles feeling a little tired and stiff - I felt fine. This was wholly unexpected. You may recall this post in January detailing the pain when I first started playing squash. In fact, I was expecting something similar today after such a strenous badminton session last night.
However, I was fine. I guess the squash games have been doing me more good than I realised.
Can't wait till Friday now where I can round off this weeks sporting bonanza and then brag about how fit I am that I can play 3 nights of sports in 1 week.
:p
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Sporting Heaven/Hell
Today marks the first day in what will likely be a week from sporting heaven/hell. First off - fair warning to those who don't like sports - you may want to skip the blog entries for this entire week as they will all be sports related.
So why do I call this week sporting heaven/hell? Well, this week, I finally get to have a game of badminton. I haven't played badminton in about a year - ever since I sprained my ankle (and this doesn't count!). By the time my ankle got better, the club I normally play at was full so I couldn't get back in. Ever since then, I have been in badminton limbo, lost in the desert of the interweb, screaming futilely in my blog at anyone who will listen about how unfair life is etc etc etc.
How come I finally get to play badminton? Well, one of my friends has been in the club all along. He is going on holiday this week and so I can take his place for a week. Just goes to show that he hasn't been on holiday in a year! Luckily for me, his girlfriend is part of the same club (but on a different day). As they are going on holiday together, I get to take her place for a week as well! Cool huh?
So if I finally get to play badminton, why am I describing this week as sporting heaven/hell? Why all the melodrama and need for this long post? And why am I asking myself so many questions? And while I'm at it, do I know why I'm here - what my purpose in life is???
Sorry - got a bit carried away there.
Anyway, the reason that I also call this week sporting hell is because after doing very little exercise for a year, playing 3 days of sport in 1 week may very well kill me! I just finished an hour of squash today (luckily, it wasn't particularly strenous). I will have 3 hours of badminton tomorrow followed by another 2 hours of badminton on Friday.
Lets hope I'm still around to blog next week!
So why do I call this week sporting heaven/hell? Well, this week, I finally get to have a game of badminton. I haven't played badminton in about a year - ever since I sprained my ankle (and this doesn't count!). By the time my ankle got better, the club I normally play at was full so I couldn't get back in. Ever since then, I have been in badminton limbo, lost in the desert of the interweb, screaming futilely in my blog at anyone who will listen about how unfair life is etc etc etc.
How come I finally get to play badminton? Well, one of my friends has been in the club all along. He is going on holiday this week and so I can take his place for a week. Just goes to show that he hasn't been on holiday in a year! Luckily for me, his girlfriend is part of the same club (but on a different day). As they are going on holiday together, I get to take her place for a week as well! Cool huh?
So if I finally get to play badminton, why am I describing this week as sporting heaven/hell? Why all the melodrama and need for this long post? And why am I asking myself so many questions? And while I'm at it, do I know why I'm here - what my purpose in life is???
Sorry - got a bit carried away there.
Anyway, the reason that I also call this week sporting hell is because after doing very little exercise for a year, playing 3 days of sport in 1 week may very well kill me! I just finished an hour of squash today (luckily, it wasn't particularly strenous). I will have 3 hours of badminton tomorrow followed by another 2 hours of badminton on Friday.
Lets hope I'm still around to blog next week!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean
Sarah and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End last night. Which is surprising when you consider that we never actually went to see either of the first two films.
Despite not seeing the first two films, I knew enough about the plot to understand the bigger picture of what was happening in this movie. Having said that, you have to give credit to Hollywood writers sometimes. Watching the movie last night, it would have been enjoyable and still made sense even if I hadn't known the back story - a credit which goes solely to the writers in my opinion.
Anyway, the movie was funny (Johnny Depp at his unique best if you ask me) although the action sequences were a bit cliche (Still, it is a Disney production so I guess this is to be expected). Actually, considering how funny Johnny Depp is, it really makes me want to watch the first 2 films in the trilogy as well.
By this point, I guess most of you are wondering why we paid good money to see the third film in a trilogy if we hadn't seen the first two. Well the answer, my dear Watson, is elementary. We didn't.
We got the tickets as part of our Companies SRC (Social and Recreation Club). Occasionally, the SRC actually organises something which I'm interested in. Although to be fair, it was Sarah's idea. I wasn't that eager at first (as I hadn't seen the first two movies) but Sarah really didn't want the opportunity to watch a free movie pass by. In hindsight, its lucky that she insisted we go see it.
In unrelated news - :(
Despite not seeing the first two films, I knew enough about the plot to understand the bigger picture of what was happening in this movie. Having said that, you have to give credit to Hollywood writers sometimes. Watching the movie last night, it would have been enjoyable and still made sense even if I hadn't known the back story - a credit which goes solely to the writers in my opinion.
Anyway, the movie was funny (Johnny Depp at his unique best if you ask me) although the action sequences were a bit cliche (Still, it is a Disney production so I guess this is to be expected). Actually, considering how funny Johnny Depp is, it really makes me want to watch the first 2 films in the trilogy as well.
By this point, I guess most of you are wondering why we paid good money to see the third film in a trilogy if we hadn't seen the first two. Well the answer, my dear Watson, is elementary. We didn't.
We got the tickets as part of our Companies SRC (Social and Recreation Club). Occasionally, the SRC actually organises something which I'm interested in. Although to be fair, it was Sarah's idea. I wasn't that eager at first (as I hadn't seen the first two movies) but Sarah really didn't want the opportunity to watch a free movie pass by. In hindsight, its lucky that she insisted we go see it.
In unrelated news - :(
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Liverpool vs AC Milan
Beer? Check!
Snacks? Check!
Cheesy football music? Chi lai, chi lai, chi lai, chi lai! Check!
The footy fans amongst you will know that tonight is European Champions League Cup Final night. Liverpool take on the mighty AC Milan in a repeat of the final 2 years ago (which Liverpool won - yay!).
Due to the nature of the defeat, AC Milan will be desperate for revenge and this could be a real grudge match. Even if I weren't a Liverpool fan, this would still be a game worth watching.
The game is taking place in Athens and kickoff is in the evening. Which roughly equates to sometime in the early morning in HK. However, in view of the above - who cares! This is a game worth staying until the early hours for. In order to watch a game like this, I am willing to forego computer games for the duration of the match (and trust me, that is a huge concession on my part).
Except for one small problem. The game isn't being shown on terrestrial tv. And I don't have cable.
FCUK!!!!
>:(
Snacks? Check!
Cheesy football music? Chi lai, chi lai, chi lai, chi lai! Check!
The footy fans amongst you will know that tonight is European Champions League Cup Final night. Liverpool take on the mighty AC Milan in a repeat of the final 2 years ago (which Liverpool won - yay!).
Due to the nature of the defeat, AC Milan will be desperate for revenge and this could be a real grudge match. Even if I weren't a Liverpool fan, this would still be a game worth watching.
The game is taking place in Athens and kickoff is in the evening. Which roughly equates to sometime in the early morning in HK. However, in view of the above - who cares! This is a game worth staying until the early hours for. In order to watch a game like this, I am willing to forego computer games for the duration of the match (and trust me, that is a huge concession on my part).
Except for one small problem. The game isn't being shown on terrestrial tv. And I don't have cable.
FCUK!!!!
>:(
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
War on Terror
From looking at the title, most readers will probably guess that this post will be talking about the USA's war on terror (despite the fact that I am way late to the party!). And most readers would be wrong. I'm actually talking about Australia's war on terror.
Hold on - did Australia have a war on terror? Well, apparently they did. However, either no-one ever heard about it (due to all the noise from the USA) or I really need to keep more abreast of international events (which admittedly, is also true). Of course, the more likely explanation is that there is no Australian war on terror and I am exagerating for the purpose of a good headline!
Anyway, as with the war on terror in the USA, there are plenty of opportunities for jokes and hilarity. Check out this video link.
Obvious message to terrorist - don't look like an arab.
PS I deliberately used singular for terrorist (as opposed to terrorists) because I'm guessing there is only 1 terrorist in the entire world who is stupid enough to scout out your target dressed as a cliche from a comedy show!
Hold on - did Australia have a war on terror? Well, apparently they did. However, either no-one ever heard about it (due to all the noise from the USA) or I really need to keep more abreast of international events (which admittedly, is also true). Of course, the more likely explanation is that there is no Australian war on terror and I am exagerating for the purpose of a good headline!
Anyway, as with the war on terror in the USA, there are plenty of opportunities for jokes and hilarity. Check out this video link.
Obvious message to terrorist - don't look like an arab.
PS I deliberately used singular for terrorist (as opposed to terrorists) because I'm guessing there is only 1 terrorist in the entire world who is stupid enough to scout out your target dressed as a cliche from a comedy show!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Male = Macho
One thing you can pretty much guarantee is that most men are macho pigs. We will do any stupid thing if we think it makes us look like big macho guys. I was reminded of this yesterday during dinner.
As you know, some of my friends are over from the UK. Yesterday, we went to Balalaika - this russian restaurant located in Knutsford Terrace. Now, one of the more unique features of this restaurant is that it has a cold room. Basically, the room is set at -20 degrees. Once in there, the idea is that you can have a shot of vodka and appreciate why the russians like drinking vodka so much. The restaurant provides you with furry hats and jackets and you can put these on before going into the cold room if you are afraid that it will be too cold.
Except, one of the guys, being from chilly Glasgow, said that "-20 degrees? Thats not that cold - I can go in just wearing my short sleeved shirt".
Game on baby!
As a result of this one statement, the four of us trooped into the cold room without putting on any of the furry hats or jackets. At which point, we all started to shiver. We have photographic evidence of this as we tried to take a picture - didn't turn out too well though as the photographer was shivering!
Not long after, one of the guys immediately rushed out to put on a furry hat and jacket. Naturally, being macho guys, the rest of us immediately slagged him off silly. I tell ya - you could cut the testosterone in there with a knife - admittedly, mainly because it had frozen ...
At that point, it became a contest to see who could shiver the least. You could see everybody eyeing up the other person to see how badly they were shivering. Luckily for me, I had a t-shirt and long sleeved shirt on (what I wear to work) whereas the others were all in short sleeved shirts.
I was able to tough it out until the wimps said "okay, lets go back out now". Losers!
Victory for moi! Me is lion - hear me roar!
>:)
As you know, some of my friends are over from the UK. Yesterday, we went to Balalaika - this russian restaurant located in Knutsford Terrace. Now, one of the more unique features of this restaurant is that it has a cold room. Basically, the room is set at -20 degrees. Once in there, the idea is that you can have a shot of vodka and appreciate why the russians like drinking vodka so much. The restaurant provides you with furry hats and jackets and you can put these on before going into the cold room if you are afraid that it will be too cold.
Except, one of the guys, being from chilly Glasgow, said that "-20 degrees? Thats not that cold - I can go in just wearing my short sleeved shirt".
Game on baby!
As a result of this one statement, the four of us trooped into the cold room without putting on any of the furry hats or jackets. At which point, we all started to shiver. We have photographic evidence of this as we tried to take a picture - didn't turn out too well though as the photographer was shivering!
Not long after, one of the guys immediately rushed out to put on a furry hat and jacket. Naturally, being macho guys, the rest of us immediately slagged him off silly. I tell ya - you could cut the testosterone in there with a knife - admittedly, mainly because it had frozen ...
At that point, it became a contest to see who could shiver the least. You could see everybody eyeing up the other person to see how badly they were shivering. Luckily for me, I had a t-shirt and long sleeved shirt on (what I wear to work) whereas the others were all in short sleeved shirts.
I was able to tough it out until the wimps said "okay, lets go back out now". Losers!
Victory for moi! Me is lion - hear me roar!
>:)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Wil Wheaton
Those of you who watch Star Trek: The Next Generation will already be familiar with Wil Wheaton. Wil is the actor who played Wesley Crusher - the annoying kid - in the TV series. Wesley was one of the universally hated characters in ST:TNG. In fact, for a while, this also caused a lot of hatred for Wil himself as the actor portraying Wesley.
Now, I have to agree that Wesley is one of the worst characters on the show. In my opinion, Wesley never got any decent shows until after Wil had already left the show as a regular (he got some great shows after he became a guest appearance though!).
Having said that, I have never understood why there was so much hatred against Wil as an actor. Everytime I hear criticism against Wil, it is always with regard to the shitty Wesley lines or the shitty Wesley stories. I mean, its not as if Wil is the guy who is writing all the shitty scripts and corny lines that Wesley has to speak! Remember, the guy is an actor.
The only criticism you can lay against Wil is that he isn't a good actor. However, bear in mind that during the TV series, the guy was a teenager. How many good actors do you see in their teens? And if you mention Macauley Culkin - I will never speak to you again!!
Anyway, recently, I came across Wil Wheaton's website. There is a link to his blog on his website which I recommend you read. The guy has a great sense of humor and this comes through in his blogs. In particular, he has started writing some reviews of the Star Trek TV shows. You can find them here and again, they are hilariously written.
If you only read one blog this year, then read mine! However, if you have time for another blog, give Wil's a shot - he might surprise you.
Now, I have to agree that Wesley is one of the worst characters on the show. In my opinion, Wesley never got any decent shows until after Wil had already left the show as a regular (he got some great shows after he became a guest appearance though!).
Having said that, I have never understood why there was so much hatred against Wil as an actor. Everytime I hear criticism against Wil, it is always with regard to the shitty Wesley lines or the shitty Wesley stories. I mean, its not as if Wil is the guy who is writing all the shitty scripts and corny lines that Wesley has to speak! Remember, the guy is an actor.
The only criticism you can lay against Wil is that he isn't a good actor. However, bear in mind that during the TV series, the guy was a teenager. How many good actors do you see in their teens? And if you mention Macauley Culkin - I will never speak to you again!!
Anyway, recently, I came across Wil Wheaton's website. There is a link to his blog on his website which I recommend you read. The guy has a great sense of humor and this comes through in his blogs. In particular, he has started writing some reviews of the Star Trek TV shows. You can find them here and again, they are hilariously written.
If you only read one blog this year, then read mine! However, if you have time for another blog, give Wil's a shot - he might surprise you.
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