OH DEAR...

Interesting day!

Thanks to all well-wishers out there! Much appreciated and thanks for making it a memorable day for me! At breakfast I actually got blindsided by one, coz I wasn't even aware this person knew. Needless to say, I was very much delightfully surprised.

There's a fair bit of development going on, and I hope it all goes well! I'm not sure what to write here, so I'll just leave it as it is... Oh well, magickal day over in 20 minutes...

Catching up!

Went over to Mr. Mad Magic's house yesterday around 7+. Seems like ages since we last gathered at his house for our nationals preparation. I still remember the dinner and draft combo we used to have at his place! It was pretty cool reminiscing about old times and keeping up to date.

Met his son, Azam, a one-and-a-half year old who loves smiling. 16 yrs down the road (if not sooner), he's gonna charm his way into every schoolgirl's hearts if he keeps it up! He also did not appear to be the type that shied away from strangers easily.

In any case, i left around 9pm coz I had ANOTHER appointment with my old BBBangi schoolfriends back in BBBangi (incidentally Mad himself was my school senior!).

Six of us, and gee, I was the only one still not married. Why am I not surprised?

I admit though, I was still annoyed with one of them (for reasons that are as yet unsettled) so I made it a point to talk about football as much as possible just so that he couldn't participate in the conversation. (cause he wasn't a football dude himself). Yeah, I can still do this kind of nonsense if I want. I'm typically not one who holds grudges, but when push comes to shove, yeah, I can be low if need be...

Still, it was good times. We did talk about other stuff too, normal guy talk, cars, costs of living, fuel, sex, porn, etc....

Now if only I can find a DVD copy of Arma-get-it-on... ha ha...

The Return... of the Sleepy Jedi

More weekend happenings!!! Yes there's more!!!

Considering I had to work Saturday morning, a weekend could not start any worse. Fortunately, I got the things I wanted to complete done by 1pm, and zoomed off together with Fendy (mere coincidence really). Since my favourite office person was on leave, there was no reason for me to linger at all!

I don't go often, which would probably explain things, but MidValley seems to morph everytime I go there. When was this Boulevard Hotel built, for example?? Anyways, I got there in time for the 2nd session, and registered quickly.

2nd session of what, you ask??? Well, it's the Magic CCG: Dissension pre-release, and it signals my return to pre-release events. I had originally given up on pre-release events coz I found it quite a fair bit of money to spend, even if playing only one session (there are four). At RM60-RM70 per session (cheaper if you play more sessions), and only four rounds/session, it seems rather hefty. Typically, a PTQ or GPT limited at around the same price would last you the whole day!!!

So, if that's the case, then why am I back, aside from my Magic Reawakening?

The answer: The WGS contingent!!!!

Wolf's Game Shop has grown. In numbers, in business, in reputation. As such, we numbered 20+ during the weekend. And we are, hands down, one of the most happening groups in Magic today!!! We've even converted some CC faithful, esp. after they saw just how fun we were!!!

With so many interesting characters, how could you NOT want to be part of it?

Let's find some examples of peeps in our squad:

1. The loyal Chelsea man who calls himself "the diamond of the industry" and "the king of bling bling"
2. SUPERMAN
3. A father-daughter gaming duo!
4. The loud dude who talks so much crap an opponent can a) forget to look at his (or her, ha ha) cards before start of play, and b) forget it's a serious match entirely!!! If you can't hear him, he's probably asleep!
5. Hot girls with lesbian tendencies... say no more...
6. The Sleepy Jedi who believes in a a mana-God named Barry (and, as a result, calls his name in the middle of tournaments for land)
7. A pirate in every sense of the word!

Of course, having a monopoly on the female gamers is a plus too... ha ha...

Anyways, I recorded an impressive 3-1 result, although I admit, my deck was fantastic. I can't complain anything about my deck, despite the even 3-colour split + 1. My only complaint of the tourney would be that I didn't score anything valuable of note. Nope, no dual lands...

But it was a great day out and enjoyable no less! Looking forward to more tourneys as part of the WGS contingent!

Oh cripes, I haven't gotten to Sunday evening yet!

Wishes DO come true sometimes...

... as long as it has nothing to do with what YOU want that will improve YOUR life!

In one case, I was hoping that West Ham would be the ones to advance from the other semis. Well, lo and behold, it was them all right!

Even more glaring was the fact that the match turned out to be a 1-0. The Liv-Che had more goals in it!! Shocking, but I'm glad to see now I realised I watched the match that really mattered!

Oh, other news during the weekend, STEVEN GERRARD voted by his fellow footballers as Player of the Year. So many scoffed when I flatly told everyone that Stevie G would win. While coming from me, the scoffing was understandable, given my bias, but coming from the footballing world??? I rest my case.

C'mon REDS!!! Let's get the FA Cup!!! 13th May, be there!!!

NEWSFLASH: Reds WIN!!!

La la la la la la la la la... it's been a good football weekend, despite my Yahoo team racking up yet another piss-poor performance (29 with 5 players to go), but, more importantly, LIVERPOOL are in the FA CUP FINALS!!!

We watched at the Section 14 mamak, me, Andy, Wolf, Swedish and Bryan. I hadta admit that I previously stated that I'd rather watch the other Semis than this one coz it'd probably be a lot more entertaining. But having seen it, I'm glad I did, coz it was not the borefest of previous Chelsea-Liverpool meetings, but was ended up being great to watch, and even Swedish (who wasn't exactly a football fan) actually enjoyed it.

Once again, Garcia scored a spectacular goal to send Chelsea out of the FA Cup! Riise scored with a screamer that went through Chelsea's defenses (LITERALLY), before Garcia's attempts finally broke through.

What mystified me were Chelsea's tactics really. Playing their recent 4-4-2 formation which seemed very easy for Liverpool to stifle, with the absence of wingers like Cole, Robben and Duff (huh? Shaun who??) . They were only introduced in the 2nd half, which enable Chelsea to pull one back, and it was clear, to EVERYONE watching, whether at the stadium OR at home, that the 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation was VERY hard for Liverpool to handle...

But who cares??? Sorry Hafiz, no Chelsea double for you (heck, weren't ya all entertaining dreams of winning all 4 competitions a while ago???) . Now all we gotta do is wait for tonight's other FA Cup semis and see who we have to face... Frankly speaking, I hope it's West Ham and not come-back-from-the-dead specialists Middlesbrough!

P.S: On a related note, I think the current trend of managers not shaking hands with each other at the end of the match is pathetic. It's a football match, f'r crying out loud, and you lot are as childish as can be... Yest, Mourinho refused to shake hands, and so did Wenger... screwed up, you ask me...

YFF week 37!

It's almost to the end of the EPL season, and it looks fairly likely that Liverpool are going to finish 3rd, whilst my YFF team looks set to be runner-up, unless I do a Charlton!

I'm actually quite happy with the way Liverpool are going, although I admit there are STILL a few loose ends. The striker department, f'r instance, needs work. The thing is, by reputation, Morientes is a revelation, yet his performance this season has been mystifying. Yet, at the end of the day, I'm not sure I'd want to let go of any of the strikers, even Cisse.

Okay, my team as it stands, I've gone for a 3-5-2 lineup, coz I wanted to fit in an attacking Bolton player in, and I despise Davies.

Adebayor: He's stayed in my team last week despite the single match for the simple fact that he's not involved in the CL, and his physical. The only reason i can come up with him for not starting the last match is because of the double match week in the previous week, where he started both games.

Baros: Haveta admit some uncertainty with him due to a sad performance against Wigan. I've kept him coz I got him cheap, plus Man C are generally pathetic away from home, and with Milner around, he's generally a good buy.

Gerrard: My captain has returned, although I'll need to watch the FA Cup first before deciding whether I should keep him. Incidentally, DIE CHELSEA!!!

D'Alessandro: The Harry Redknapp find of the season. Portsmouth are gonna go all out to survive relegation, and D'Alessandro is going to be key to that.

Dyer: He's here coz of recent injuries to Newcastle's frontline, giving rise to the possibility of Dyer being used as a support striker, if not outright. I wanna be part of Newcastle's resurgence, 4 wins on the trot is no joke, and Dyer's a cheap pick if you wanna join in!

Nolan: The rot has got to stop, and at the Reebok against Charlton is the right time to do it, esp. with Young, Spector and Hreidarsson out. I originally wanted to get Stelios, (despite getting screwed for it last week) but Nolan's come out on the Bolton website vowing to get back into the scoresheet. It might not necessarily translate into goals, but it should definitely translate into SOTs.

Solano: The free-kick/corner taker of Newcastle is sky high at the moment and totally enjoying his football. Hopefully I'll cash in here AS well AS Dyer.

Bridge: Needs to continue to prove his worth to Sven Goran Eriksson, and after a week of rest, he should be raring to go.

McCartney: Sunderland's defenders have generally done fairly well recently points-wise, mostly coz they have to fend off onslaught after onslaught, but McCartney's the only guy I'm confident will start. That being said, this pick is anything but final.

Scharner: This guy goes up and down like no one's business. When he score, BOY he scores. When he doesn't, BOY he doesn't. That said, this week should be the "BOY he scores' week.

Reina: Hey I had the funds, so why the heck not??

My main dilemma now is whether I should convert Reina to Kiely, giving me the funds to upgrade Dyer, depending on his starting status. Other than that, I'm pretty happy right now!

Full Circle

April 9 signalled my full return to tournament Magic, after more than a year's hiatus. And I enjoyed it every step of the way!

What made it even more ridiculous was the fact it was a TEAM tournament! And for that I thank Rizal and Ida for graciously allowing me to be a part of their team, despite not playing for ages...

We turned out a very satisfactory performance at the end of the day, with 3 wins 2 losses and a draw, finishing 9th overall, 2nd from our WGS squad. I myself had 2 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws (yes, I hadta go up against all those control decks and I couldn't finish in time...!)

In any case, the pre-release for Dissension is this weekend, but I can't attend the 1st session (work), so it'll either be 2nd session on Saturday, or TWO sessions on Sunday. Haven't figured out which one yet though... but funds running out for the month MAY be a factor... ha ha...

Hmm, I should check when my daughter is going, coz i'll probably head there at the same time!!!

See yaz...