Fireant

Taliban Singles Online

Contained in an email i recieved 1 year ago:

Too fast, too furious

4.5 years!

Numb - LP

"Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you

..

And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you"

Touch in the Rain

ha! We played Old Timers, currently 1st on the table. Halfway thru the first half rain pounded the playing field, causing the refs to cease play. We were hesitant and lacked any continuity on attack.

The funny bit was when, after all the handshakes and signing of the scorecard, the refs were informed that games were to continue! An extended second 'half' begun and our team looked (if anything) shakier. Some may say the rain was a factor, but in my opinion, alot of the team members really don't give a shit.

Things that irk me. I pay my fair share of team funds to have people essentially wasting my time and money. A few lack commitment and any decent desire to win.

I don't get to play my game. Since the beginning, i've always been in the centres acting as dummyhalf/playmaker. Im not super fast, i shouldn't be on the wing. I talk, alot. Centre is where i belong! However the past 3 games, i feel that i've been forced to play on the wing simply because no one covers that area, everyone is within a 10m radius, EVEN AT KICKOFF!

So what can i do about it? Not alot. I know (backing myself here) that i have the experience and skills to do an excellent job, but i won't go as far as telling everyone to get outta the area..... why not? I guess i lack confidence at this point in time. There's alot of chiefs on the team as well as alot of duds. What i've done the past week or so is to tone down my commitment to this team. Quite frankly the way i percieve it, its about self preservation. Why should i waste my energy on people who dont care (to improve)?

Score was 0-8. Tone had a mad run down the left wing, stepping 2 defenders reaching top speed! It was awesome to watch, however the rain musta made the ball greasy :<

Thinking about tone's game and tries he runs thru, when we're in their 20m, tone will run sideways LOOKING and willing to give runners the ball. The brilliance with tone is that he's also working the lazy defence picking the right spot to dart thru. Brilliant! I guess thats another play we can work on.

Chinese studies. The past 4 weeks, this has been my #1 commitment. I have dedicated 6 hrs a week outside of classes to revise the work - but clearly this isnt enough :< Frankly, my laziness has compounded my memory as well as my intensity to grasp new 'concepts'. Hopefully in due time things will be alot easier!!

Updated internal and external weblinks.

Sydney Kings

3-peat! Esther (my cousin), my brother and i witness history in the making as Kings took game 3, taking out the NBL Championship. The game was rather lopsided right from the start. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two teams was the fact that they Kings had many options for three pointers, they sunk them when the pressure was on. Not that im a massive fan or anything, but it was good to see a decent ball game live.

Manly, Second on the NRL Table, go the mighty eagles! What was Hoppa thinking? tehehe

UNSW Touch footy. Tone and Peters had a blinder. INthe peltering rain, the tries constantly came in. Although we played 4 against their 7, out teamplay was the difference. gg boys.

Steamboat

Last sunday Faviloro arranged for Steamboat at Whitewater. A fancy restaurant located just off South Steyne, Manly - Fav wanted us to try their steamboat before they remove it off their menu.

Steamboat is an asian concept where utilising a gas stove, dinner (seafood, noodles, meats, veggies, eggs) is boiled as the container full of water/stock provides the ideal medium. Meeting up with Faviloro (Mark!), Dott and Keiryn it was an excellent experience. Whilst it was alil strange having anglo/euro ppl dishing up an asian experience i must say they did an excellent job.

Ambience: 8/10, Bang for buck: 4/10, Experience: 7/10

Here's what others had to say: http://www.eatability.com.au/au/sydney/whitewater.htm

Whitewater is the new home of Dean Keddell, who Sydneysiders may remember last from mu shu in Bondi. Here, he combines his mod-Asian and mod-Oz inclinations and delivers a menu packed full of promise. It's early days - some things could be better -but there's enough to make it worthwhile right now.

positive + negative

After a hectic week at uni, come friday i was ready to kickback and chillout. Met up with Sai and Aloe(sp?) for dinner. We got into Mammas kitchen and had luscious italian food. Following the meal we went for a walk around Darling harbour. The atmosphere that night imo was great. Home hadnt pumped up their music by this stage, the only background sound cascading down upon the harbour was the sounds from the Western distrib. Time for Aloe to go came, departed and met up with the boys and girls from UNSW.

lol, its a combination of things, just being around these guys makes for good times. I think a strong factor is the fact that we're very similar in cultural, attitudes and tastes. The asians, whos primary language is english, who value good things, have that same upbringing. It was Jason Ang's 21st at Olivers (located just off Piermont Bridge). A nice place where the italian resturant come bar strikes up a swish sorta appeal to it. The after gathering ended up outside Veranda Bar just on Elizabeth st.

In what can be described as.... increased alcoholic stupor, a fight broke out that sprawled onto the street. It all started out when a lil asian girl came in from behind for a cheapshot at a taller.. filo/wog (sorry the lighting was bad!) chick. Erupting into a mini fight, another asian girl got involved and it seemed to have died say 1-2 mins later. Still in the queue, i did not see the cataylst of the bigger fight. Basically the guy friends of the girls thought they had some business to sort out, fists flying in the air, bodies going here and there. It was really dispicable imo. The bouncers of the Veranda bar did a good job protecting the place, as well as attempting to break up the fights. Full credit to their professionalism. As usual, the police turned up when all had calmed down.

Ran into Thuey! Quite random.

tehehe! Joke of the year

steve - fireant: AERMEN!
steve - fireant: we have trivia coming tuesday?
ACJ: STEVE!
ACJ: not that I know of.
steve - fireant: hrm ok :<
ACJ: you can organise if you want.
steve - fireant: hehe nah im over all the 'organising' stuff
ACJ: haha nice. I was never "under" it as it were lol.
steve - fireant: tehehe!

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."
Yoda

Stuff

~Touch records now within forums.

~Knees - apparently all intact. No visible signs of wear/breaks. Seeking knee specialist assistance.

~Chinese studies - Like a mini version of The Amazing Race, the teacher informs the class of 40 students: There are only 16 remaining textbooks left at the specialist Chinese bookstore. Told that the next batch of textbooks to arrive would be in 2-3 weeks time, everyone is raring to hit the roads to the city.

In a cheeky tactical move, i decided to catch a bus from Anzac parade as opposed to the closer Gate 8 Bus stop. Running all the way to x.Sussex/Goulburn/George St, tactics pay off as i am the first to arrive. Accepting cash only (dodgy asians!) i bolt to the STG just down the road. Running into the backlog of other students, thankfully the bookstore owner holds his words and issues me the books i placed on hold. haha!

End of february, negative vibes

It has been two weeks since my last post. During that time, progress has been made with the dustmites, touchfooty, uni and girls however self development has been of insignificant proportions.

Dustmites. Not informed of a meeting between Cathy, Van (both SafetyServices CML) and Megan, i was pleasantly surprised when instead of being bored shitless on the selling floor i was to join them in the meeting. Meetings are meetings, not alot happened however i was informed that test sites will be confirmed, justifying the costs for conducting the tests. Showed the ladies around the reserve, introduced them to other staff who had experienced irritations. A week later, i am informed from Menswear staff that they have conducted the tests and that the results are pending. On top of that, i was informed that Karen (store manager) was part of a committee setup to address this problem and that plans have been layed to adress the situation. This is fantastic news for me as it reflects taht its acknowledge that there is a problem going on. A far cry from the days when she cried 'it must be you, not us'. Yesterday (sunday) she was doing a tour around the store, i was minding my own business when i was greeted by her big smelly presence. On top of that, Ros Fletcher was with her looking the part: professionally dressed - neat and presentable. Karen on the other hand had the most aweful messy hair, buttons undone, jacket crinkled, just outright an inappropriate site for a sunday.

Sunday morning was a very weird day. I swear, all the freaks/idiots/assholes venture out sunday mornings. Evan and Joseph agree. Mentality in mind: to return all unwanted goods, then do some shopping, then bugger off to home or to .

First customer was a young couple in their early 30's. A faulty blender without a receipt, problem being the blender produced smoke after a few minutes. I explain that it isn't unusual from my experience, and other customer feedback, that smoke occurs on start up of a new blender. The first thing he says is 'No.... No.....(shake of the head) that is not acceptable, how can you say that.... that is just not right......' After shaking his head he continues by saying 'My father works with motors and alot of electrical goods and it is not right when motors smoke like that'. Rather stunned and personally taking his comment, it was if he was my father telling me off! I then told him in a firm direct tone that what i just said was from experience and is not meant to say that he is at fault, or that it is acceptable that it does smoke'.

I think the couple we're expecting me to be an easy push over so they were taken back from my venomous bite back. He then proceeded to tell me that his father works on the farms and that he knows all about motors and that is not right, i asked him in a fired up way 'oh so you live on a farm now?'. Im not too sure what i meant of that question, but it got him to backtrack his tone of voice and attitude. He said no and that it was just the case. So no receipt in hand, i proceeded to give them a hard time with non-constructive questions: Have you filled out your warranty card? (No) Do you have a bank statement with you (No) In that case do you have a current photo identification such as a drivers liscence (Yes). Still cooling down, i proceeded to drag out the situation by calling up Jason (an experienced small appliance assistant) and ask him if it was ok to swap the goods. Exchange all sorted, the wife in a very sweet sorta way TELLS me to have a wonderful day so rather melodramatic and too cheerily i tell them that i wish that they too have a wonderful day. Im such an asshole aye... lol!

Customer 2. Mother and Daughter (60ish and 35ish resp) wishes to buy a microwave. I scan the item, total the goods and ask for method of payment. A MYER Returns card is present along with $50 cash. Unfortunately the Myer computers are alil silly in taht you can't check how much credit is on the returns cards without trial and error. So asking the customers what was on it, the daughter firmly states '160'. I put thru 160 worth of credit thru via the returns card, leaving an outstanding amount of $58 odd dollars. Rather confused the daughter pulls out a $10 note and wishes to have the remaining paid by cash. This is completed, and upon looking at the receipt i notice that there is a remaining $12 odd dollars on the card. I tell them that i can undo it, take off the remaining credit such that they don't need to lug around the card, then pay the rest of by cash: the mother obviously confused says (in a way only a mother can say it): "No, listen, what is going on? Why would we want to do THAT?" Already pissed off from the first customer, it was clear that she didn't understand so i was patient and calm in explaining what i could do.... she still didn't catch on however her daughter did and told me to do so. I redo the whole thing which involves voiding out the previous sale and repurchasing the goods and typing in $172 odd by Returns card. The whole duration of voiding and repurchasing the goods, i copped a massive earful from the mother. By this stage, i told them in a obviously strained controlled manner that i was doing it in her own best interest. The daughter displayed her sense of sympathy with her own remarks to her mother that itwas all for the better.

Customer 3. Mentally challenged/incapacitated customer enquiring about a Braun juicer.

Customer 4&5, the types taht cant make up their minds. 25 minute sales pitch each resulting in 'oh i'll be back later, i just need to think about it'. Figures, customers 4 and 5 DID return taht afternoon!

After tonights touch footy game, upon reflection i realise i is still give too much of a damn about other people and their feelings. To the point, i need to give more time to myself and put myself before others.

Knees. Both knees have been rather tender since the last post. As a consequence of wearing tight soccer boots, the feet have not had the luxury of cushioning contact. As a result, the knees have been working over-time. the sensations experienced are as if theres a constant burning behind the knee caps, movement results in gas 'popping' as if it is entering gaps (worn cartilage?). I had an x-ray taken this morning (monday) and hopefully the results and diagnosis given tomorrow points to happier days ahead.

First day back at uni, lots of people about. Wide eye bushy tailed first years combined with returning 'vets' truely creates an interesting, uni campus feel. Hopefully with my reduced load (18UOC) i will be able to cope with uni demands coupled with other life commitments.

Railfare. Talk about incompetence on both sides! Living on the Northern beaches i rarely catch trains. This arvo at Central i asked for a 'Single CONCESSION to chatswood'. The dude behind the glass counter LOOKS at my new, blue, university student and CONCESSION stickered card. He asks for $3. After querying him, he verifies that yes, that is concession rate... Still not feeling right, i ask the gate operator if i had been charged concession rates, of Russian decent - she runs my ticket thru the machine. I see on the display 'ADULT', however she confirms it is concession rate....

Arriving at Chatty, i ask the gate operator there and she points out that no printing in the bottom right corner (signifying concessions rates) implys that i had purchased an Adult ticket... To be frank about the situation, W T F! Trust yourself steve.

Leading off this tone, i'd like to bring up touch footy. Last week Team Suss had a brilliant game taking it out 9-2. I will recall the tries later on, however long story short our attack and defence was of a good standard, everyone talking. People were running onto the ball, the initiative was there from everyone. Tone and Quek took alot of pressure off my game and as a result i was lucky to pick a few gaps and score.
However, tonight we went down 7-5. We definately did not deserve to win as we weren't talking, weren't running onto the ball, were shooting and not returning to help the line, etc etc. We are 'newbies' so we will learn from it, however relating to my self-development, im still mighty pissed off at the team effort that went in.

Why am i? Is it becos im damn competitive, Is it becuase i can't handle incompentency? perhaps its becuase i rate myself too much, thinking that if i were in the situation i wouldn't have bombed it???
Anyhow, things such as people not marking up, no one talking, no one going to dummy half, no one running onto the ball, people not sliding, people being too lazy on defence. lol, i realise how pathetic this sounds but understand this IS my passion.

I like to think im a logical, fair kinda guy. We've been thru all the basics at training over 5 times. However, the simple things still aren't working :< This game i was out on the wing majority of the times. We like to spreadout the girls between guys.
I'll back myself here and say that my position on the team is the dummy-half/organiser. However, the less experienced guys have a tendency to gravitate to the ball ( i am guilty of doing so too!) so there is no one out on the wing.

What do you do, when people say 'i know' how to do a paticular thing, when u try explaining how to do the particular thing correctly because they failed to do so in the first place?? For me, i don't know how to react, i am bamboozled. If you know, then do it! lol

Ah and finally on this bitchy mood. Heres a story i was recently told. There is a crown prince whos day of 'induction/annotment/promotion' to king is fast approaching. The crown prince does not know that the special day has been set, it is a surpise for him. The Queen is organising the surprise special day along with the crown prince's loyal advisor/entertainer/jester. The loyal advisor/entertainer/jester is a new adition to the prince's ranks, relative to the crown prince's long standing friends from his early days. Anyhow, granted permission from the Queen, the loyal advisor is in charge of inviting the prince's long standing friends to the surprise bash, however only 1 long standing friend is invited (out of 5). The reason being, the other 4 do not get along with this jester.

So, after the Queen consorts the lone long standing friend whether there are notible absences from the guest list, the friend points out the other 4 missing friends of the crown prince. The Queen states that she would rather not invite the 4 as the trusted jester does not get along with them.

The lone friend thinks to himself, Isn't the surprise party for the prince? So after name dropping the four to the Queen, a few days later the jester invites the remaining four friends. Essentially all is good..... How should the original lone loyal friend feel (with respect to the jester??)