O.K., this has happened to me too many times - I must blog it! Let me share with u a very common conversation I seem to have in my life (dun know why!) and u tell me if it’s happened to u:

Me: “Can we meet this Wednesday at the usual time?”
X: “No, I’m not free on Wednesday”
Me: “How about Thursday?’
X: “Thursday also I can’t”
Me: “Then which day of the week can we meet up?”
X: “This whole week I cannot”
Then….why didn’t u say so from when I first asked the question????

As Phua Chu Kang would say….”Use your blains!!” Haiz!!

Ever wondered why “through” is spelt that way although it’s pronounced as “thru”? Why, indeed, are words spelt the way they do? “Accommodation” could well be spelt “acomodation” and still hit the mark. It’s little wonder the Americans decided to do things their way by dropping some redundant letters from words, such as “honor” instead of “honour”, and “esthetic” instead of “aesthetic” (although it must be remembered that the Mississippi is located in the United States). Can we call it the “Misisipi”?

Here’s another head scratcher - ever wondered why “crypt” is spelt that way? It could well have been “kript”. Maybe “crypt” just looks more clever spelt this way - a word without a vowel. I imagine that the way a word is spelt is decided by the person who coined it. Then I really salute the creator of such word as “asphyxiate”….it just seems and sounds so appropriate. I wish I was part of that age when new words were coined daily. I’d bet I’d have a blast phorming new spellingx and creatyng a whol neu languige rejim dat’d meik me veri pheymus.

Joe

I was chided today by a colleague at work for something I never thought anyone would (or should) be chided for - giving someone another chance to prove herself. O.K., so this someone has made many mistakes at work and probably (even by my own admission) has taken advantage of my kindness too many times. But she’s a good person and hardworking, if only perhaps immature. I decided to give her one more chance. That was when my colleague blew her top, saying I was “fixated” in my thinking. In fact, she even accused me of playing the “gracious” card as if it’s a crime to be gracious. It upset me. But I was determined to be who I am. After all, one day, I too will fail and would need another chance to prove myself. Doesn’t everyone?

Joe

O.K., so coffins are not “in” anymore because of land shortage. Or maybe it’s easier to just burn our body when we pass on. But the idea is that we should think about what we wish we could do when we’re gone from this life (other than wanting to breathe again), especially when death comes suddenly. Besides the usual (making a will, donating your organs to save antoher life or your body to science, etc.) here are some ideas you may like to consider doing while you can still breathe:

1. Write a letter to everyone who means something to you in your lifetime (provided they dun expire before you lah) to be distributed to them upon your passing on
2. Make a list of all the people you’ve offended or had a fallout with and go make peace with them
3. Start hugging the people you love

If you have any more ideas to share, do drop me a note.

Joe

I have followed Singapore football for…what….20 years now. There are some things our national football teams - from the recent AYG (under-14) team to the senior one - haven’t quite got right all these 20 years. Here are my observations:
1. First touches - this is when the player first receives the ball; they are very poor. This is important because when you have a good first touch, you bring the ball under control right away and hence have time to decide what to do with it. Most times, the players’ poor first touch meant the player had to waste time trying to bring the ball under control first. By that time, the opponent had swarmed all over him.
2. Passing - I often wonder why our national teams of any age like to punt the long ball forward. This is Sunday football stuff. Good teams keep the ball, do interpassing and play into positions when the moment is right. Our national teams just kick the ball forward (most times as high as possible) and hope for the best.
3. Confidence - we seem to lack this most times. How else do you explain midfielders and defenders heading a high ball forward when there is no one challenging them? By chesting the ball and bringing it under control, they could instead start a new attack or at least ensure they keep possession.
4. Positional play - players often don’t run into position to allow the player with the ball options to make the next move. More often, after a player passes the ball, he acts like he has “done his job” and doesn’t move to the next position.

Joe