Break from Yunnan Mama...world cup returns
got this from mr sibei sian's blog...the post is sibei funny...confirm u laugh till u beng4
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Coming to you soon in the not-so-distant future:Brian Richman: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Hello and welcome to the live telecast of World Cup 2010: Singapore vs Brazil.
Brian: We are very happy to have with us here tonight, ex-national skipper Mr Fandi Alamak, as my co-commentator. He will not be skipping tonight though. Haha. Over to you, Fandi.
Fandi Alamak: Hello everyone, I am Fandi. *Flashes megawatt smile*
Brian: Tell us Fandi, what do you think of the tournament so far?
Fandi: I have only three words to describe it: Very amazing. Everybody was saying it was impossible for Singapore to qualify and realize our dream of Goal 2010. But not only did we do that, we also managed to wrestle the rights to host the games and edge out Argentina, Italy, France and Germany along the way. I am now overwhelmed with emotions by the sight of the full 3,900 capacity crowd here at Toa Payoh Stadium.
Brian: I am very touched too Fandi. A pity the National Stadium has been booked for the Kylie Minogue concert already, otherwise more could have enjoyed it.
Fandi: Not to worry Brian, I’m sure most Singaporeans will get to enjoy the match in the comfort of their home after paying the affordable $50 surcharge, on top of what they are already paying for their cable TV.
Brian: Well said Fandi. Indeed, it was widely reported that entrepreneurial Singaporeans living in the nearby high-rise HDBs have rented their rooms and binoculars to visiting ang mos, so that they too can enjoy the great spirit of the Beautiful Game, ‘live’.
Fandi: Exactly. We Singaporeans are very friendly. Since they are here already, I hope they will also spend some time and money at our world famous zoo, bird park, night safari, Orchard Road, Sentosa, Chinatown, Little India and. . . eh. . . Sembawang. Not forgetting our casino. . . eh, I meant Integrated Resorts too. *Flashes nervous smile*
Brian: By the way, there have been some heated discussions over the inclusion of players such as Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney in our national squad. What’s your take on the issue, Fandi?
Fandi: I think the comments are completely unjustified. We paid dear money for them to stay in our sunny little island and even gave them our much coveted citizenship, so they are perfectly legitimate to be our national players. It’s a lucky thing nobody knows how much we paid that retired botak French player to be the national coach, otherwise more people would have complained, haha.
*Uncomfortable silence.*Brian: I so agree with you Fandi. Let’s stop for a short while here because it’s time for our national anthem.
*Both stand at attention while Mari Kita is being played*Fandi: Sh*t!
(fumbles with his suddenly ringing handphone). . . .
Brian: Welcome back to the live telecast of World Cup 2010. We are just a few minutes from the kick-off, and before we begin, Fandi and I have this very important reminder for all of you.
Fandi: Yes. My fellow countrymen, please be reminded that the actual performance of both teams only accounts for 30% of the final score. The remaining 70% comes from
you.
Brian: If you don’t want to see your favorite soccer team get eliminated, please call or SMS generously. If you are rooting for Brazil, call 1900 111 1111 or SMS ‘Brazil Boleh’ to 9111.
*camera pans to the Brazilian team, who grins madly at the camera and started showing their index fingers to make a ‘1’. Meanwhile, Ronaldinho cartwheels in the background*Fandi: If you are supporting Singapore, call 1900 222 2222 or SMS ‘Singapore Tok Kong’ to 9222.
*camera pans to the Singaporean team, who smiles broadly and start making cheesy ‘V’ signs. The more creative Rooney raised both middle fingers*Fandi: Remember, your vote matters! Do be reminded that the Results Show will be telecast ‘live’ half an hour after the final whistle, during which voting will be closed.
Brian: Ok, the match is about to start now. But before that, here are some words from our sponsors. Stay glued to your TV set because you can catch the remaining 85 minutes of the match right after this commercial break.
Fandi: We will be right back. *Flashes megawatt smile*
*Choruses of ‘Nabeh!’s echo throughout the island when the score read 1 – 0 five minutes later*With Love,
Sibeh Sian
Yunnan Mama I
The glorious days of wiping LCDs have passed. For the last one wk or so, I've been on a 9 -5 job, 9pm to 5am, catching every single action of the World Cup on TV while fretting over how much I might lose for betting on matches. After placing more than $2,000 worth of bets over 56 matches of the World Cup, I am proud to announce that to date, I have made a satisfactory profit of $20.50. That's like slightly over 1 percent return from my investment. Tmd...I think putting money in the bank nowadays reap better interests and I would not have to go through the many heart-stopping moments when I seriously pondered if I would still have enough money left to go France after 9th July.
Today, World Cup takes a break. My daily routine of visiting asianbookie and awaiting the best kan tao to appear is pleasantly disrupted. Thus, I now have time to sit in front of my laptop, without having to have a single Mozilla tab on the singapore pools website. Instead, I am going to embark on a meaningful mental journey by recapping and writing on my expedition more than a year ago to Yunnan. Hopefully, my account will strengthen Shaopeng's resolve to go India, and perhaps touch and inspire a few other souls to do similar overseas community projects.
It was by chance, and a good deal of the karma I had garnered in my previous life, that I was brought onboard the Yunnan project. I was one of the last few to join the team and I remembered having my interview with my team leader, Katherine, over the phone midway through the Stardust competition, where Jiahao was to amuse us with his rendition of 'Small Town Girl'. Was it the interview that clinched me a place in the team? I do not know. My guess is that it was probably my friend, Loo's recommendation that secured me the place.
The group did not know each other very well before the trip but it was only to be expected. We had some team bonding activities pre-Yunnan - we had a barbeque session and a trek at Kota Tinggi. However, people are usually brought together during bad times, not good times. We acquainted but we did not yet know each other.
We left for Yunnan on 15 May 2005. Our project was to be carried out at Huang Ban Ping, a little hill in Ninglang, which is a little town in Lijiang, which is a little province in Yunnan. Basically, Huang Ban Ping is a very ulu place and does not support any direct flight from Singapore. Hence, we had to fly to Kunming first.
This is Kunming, the developing capital of Yunnan, from our hotel.
We knew on the second day that the project was not going to be all smooth sailing when the bus that was fetching us from the hotel to the domestic airport broke down at the traffic lights and some of us had to alight to do some pushing.
Anyway, from Kunming, we left for Lijiang on a domestic flight. We were to stay in Lijiang to acclamatize for one night before going to Huang Ban Ping.
Lijiang is, till today, one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in my life. Honestly, Paris can stand one side. Lijiang is well-visited by many tourists every year because of the Lijiang Gu Cheng, which has inhabited people for more than a thousand years and has survived, though barely, the onslaught of modernization. The traditional architecture remains but homes have been replaced by shophouses to cater to tourists' irrational needs for souvenirs. Nonetheless, Gu Cheng's beauty is simply quite extraordinary and Lijiang's charm is enhanced by the fact that the Gu Cheng and the Xin Cheng sit beside each other, separated by just one street. Hence, the title of One City Two Tales for one of Discovery's documentary on Lijiang. The photos we took did not do justice to Lijiang's beauty. Neither did my words. However, I have written and I will post the photos.
A view of Lijiang's suburbs while on the bus to Gu Cheng from the airport. The climate in Lijiang is the perfect climate for living...similar to that of Genting but not as cold.
Mu4 Lao3 Ye2 Ke4 Zhan4. The hotel that we stayed in.
The many faces of Gu Cheng in the day.
Gu Cheng at night.
Loo in our favourite shop in Lijiang. This shop has a salesgirl who is super music savvy. She recommends customers different genres of world music , plays it for you to listen and if you are satisfied, she will customize a CD for you. Basically, this shop pirates good music.
- to be continued -
I won't run away
Boys.
Honn and I have decided to give our treat (also the last PTW treat of 2006) on 8 jul, which is a Saturday. We would have very much preferred to have it on a wkday lunch, but since everibodi's interning, we'll dish out a bit more cash for your enjoyment on a sat afternoon.
Our proposal is to down some beer and finger food at Brewerkz during happy hour, so that it won't burn a hole in our pocket. You will be happy and we can be happy too.
I was there recently and absolutely love that place. I won't tell you the reason and leave some room for you to discover Brewerkz' beauty yourself.
So, pls tag if you're available on the 8th and how you feel abt the suggestion.
