Mancunians from around the world

Warning: this post contains talk of matters pertaining to football.

*both all my readers exit the window*

Being a Manchester United fan can get annoying at times. Although they win a lot, you often find yourself noticing that when they lose, even people who don't support the opposition are happy about it. It's similar to supporting Miami Heat, or The New York Yankees. In more local terms, it would be like someone watching Origin for the first time in the last 4 years and declaring themselves a die hard Maroons fan. Because you support such a big club, you get labeled as a "glory hunter" who cares nothing for the beauty of the sport and only for teams that always win.

This isn't true; not in my case anyway. First of all, anyone who knows me knows that I stick by my teams whether they dominate or they are being useless. I'm not abandoning The Blues for example, although I do wish teams could withdraw from a season and wait until the next one. I support Sydney Roosters too, and I had a bit of a whirlwind with them recently; wooden spoon one year, runners-up the next, back to bottom half finish the year after that, and this season has yet to really gain any momentum at all. The point is though, I'm not ditching them, and I never will.

In fact, when I first started supporting Manchester United, they were in the middle of a trophy drought, having not won the Premiership for 3 seasons. It was during a time when people were questioning the continuing management of Sir Alex, and all the talk was that this was the end of the footballing empire known as Manchester United. And, if you must know, the only reason I started supporting them in the first place was because a friend of mine showed me a video of a goal Ryan Giggs scored over 10 years ago, and my first thought was "Well, I don't know who this guy is or who he plays for, but I like him." Actually no, I lie, my first thought was that he looked a lot like Leon McDonald, but that was a close second.

Now, I've never been to Manchester, but I can tell you that I'm more than just a plastic fan. I'm not just a guy who looked up the Rooney bicycle kick just because it was on the news; I was up watching it live when it happened in the early hours of the morning, as I always am when United games are on. I'm not someone who ditched them after they sold their best player ever Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, because I knew that no one man is bigger than the club, and I stuck around through fruitless times before United won back the League without him.

So why am I saying all this? Simple: Manchester City won the Premier League in the season just finished, and they did the double over United in the process (every team faces each other twice, and City beat United both home and away). One of those two games was the one now dubbed by many 'The Demolition Derby', where City spanked United 6-1 on their own ground. City have more money, an all-round better squad, and all the momentum. All the talk now is about the new kings of Manchester. City are now officially the favourites in the Manchester head-to-heads, and no one can really argue with that. In the process, people expect all the glory hunting plastic fans of United to fall away, and magically become City supporters because they are the new big boys in town.

Haven't we been here before though? When the "Arsenal Invincibles" conquered England, that was supposed to be end of United. And when Jose Mourinho's powerful Chelsea dominated the Premier League, everyone agreed that Sir Alex's time as a winning manager had come to an end. But time and time again, we see Manchester United bounce back, and so they shall again*. And more to the point, time and time again, the real United fans (whether they are Mancunian or from anywhere else) will be there through the good times and the bad.

Maybe it's true that for every proper fan there are 9 plastic ones, but if I'm not one of said fakers, I'm fine with that. Bring on the new season.
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* In any case, my opinion is that the new threat posed by City is not as great as past obstacles. They won the Premier League on goal difference, with the best team they've had in years, against quite possibly the worst Manchester United team in years (Rooney is world class, most of the rest are either too old or too young). Now that Financial Fair Play will be put into effect, City have to cut their spending. On top of that, most of United's players are young and growing; this is a squad built for the future. City may soon have their hands cuffed when trying to buy superstars, but nothing will never stop United's ability to breed them.

Fiasco, Lupe

I miss the days when Lupe Fiasco just rapped about random stuff that no other rappers were talking about. His subject matter was never too mind-blowing or anything, but his geekiness always found a way of showing up from time to time. Skateboarding, robots, cheeseburgers, comic books, and dead hustlers coming back to life are just some of the subjects of my favourite songs from him, classics in my mind. Now all he can talk about are his anti-establishment views; the government sucks this, freedom of speech that.

Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with him or anything, and he's always sung about this so it's not anything new as far as subject matter goes. Now though, it seems like every track he puts out contains that message. Here's hoping the new album isn't all like 'Around My Way'. I actually like it; I've been playing it a lot the past few days, and he's lyrically sounding very sharp again, but I'm not sure I can sit through a whole double album of him telling us to free our minds and crap. Especially because 4 albums into his career, he still hasn't learned how to write a decent hook.

Songs I'm liking a lot right now

Hah. Already resorting to the old "list" posts aye. Nice start to the new blog life. Well hey don't knock it, you might actually find something here that you'd like. And to show that I'm not being lazy, I'll wrote little blurby thingimajiggies to go with the songs.

Old or new, here are some songs I'm really feeling right now.

song title - artist
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My faves right now:

The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts - Sufjan Stevens

2005 was a good year for music (Kanye West, Maximo Park, and Gorillaz all dropped masterpieces, while Oasis, Foo Fighters and Coldplay turned in assignments good enough for pass grades), but I definitely missed out on this little golden nugget during then. Having only discovered the music of Sufjan a year ago, I've gone back and dug up a few goodies of his, and his album 'Illinois' is full of them. This isn't technically my favourite off the album, but then again, I don't know which is. This just happens to be the one I'm listening to the most recently. Read into the Superman/Christ imagery what you will, but there's no denying that the music itself catches the ear, and even though the song is over 6 minutes (an absolute marathon by mainstream standards), it does feel too short.

Princess Of China (feat. Rihanna) - Coldplay

It's tempting to brand myself a REAL Coldplay fan, call Chris Martin a sell-out for including Rihanna in the album, accuse them of bowing to the mainstream audience who are baying for catchy tunes, and top it off by saying I once followed them when they were "good". The problem is though, that this song is just too damn good. The melody of the chorus (which is heard just once) is perfect for Rihanna's voice, which in turn is perfect along Chris Martin's voice. The other members of the band hold up their end and them some, brilliantly building up a menacing backdrop of synth, dark bass and thumping kickdrums, all culminating in the two vocalists final lament. Which reminds you that it's actually a sad song.

Beth/Rest - Bon Iver

The closing track of one of my favourite albums of all time, this is simultaneously my favourite track on the album and the most different. It starts big, which is unlike an album closer; these things are meant to build to a crescendo right. But when listening to this album as a whole, you understand that this song is the album's crescendo. It starts loud, but not abrasive. It isn't the Muse definition of big however. It doesn't bombard, but it doesn't let up either. There's a soothing way to how it begins without asking for permission, but almost instantly makes way for the true star of the song, and indeed the album: Justin Vernon's beautifully autotuned vocals. Yes, beautiful autotune. Kanye West may have made it acceptable to lament in this form, but Vernon has made it into an art. I've never heard a song sound so uplifting and so sad, all at once.

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

Not quite sure why I like this song so much actually. It's cookie-cutter pop, with verses and a bridge that go absolutely nowhere, lyrics that are so simple they make Ke$ha look like a prodigy, and vocals that are indistinguishable from the thousands of other artists of the current Top 40 mold, all who will be forgotten before Carly realizes that she should have saved every penny she made off this song. Even the end is below par, stopping abruptly after the last chorus, seeming unsure of how to finish off, before simply dying. But I'm listening to it now, as I'm typing this. And I'm smiling. Because my jam is on. And I love it. Sigh, I give up. This is 'Nothing In This World' by Paris Hilton all over again.

Them Kids - Sam Roberts

Songs about nostalgia are a funny thing; most of the time, they are written for a market that didn't even live during the times the singer is referring to. In the case of this song, it doesn't pine after a certain era of music in terms of genre, but rather attitude. "I just don't understand why the kids don't know how to dance to rock and roll" is the hook, over and over. It's not exactly that kids don't dance; I've seen kids dance, although said kids were either annoying attenttion-whores or extremely wasted. It's more that no one dances to a rock song just because they are happy. Forget moshing, forget horny grinding, Sam laments the loss of just dancing because you're happy and the song you like just came on, a-la the 50s. The song rides a single guitar line and doesn't let up, merging old school rock sensibilities with some 21st century production. It's curious that he talks about "the golden years" being under attack; mate, that attack ended a long time ago and the golden years lost. It was a first round knockout. No matter, in our own little way, we can throw songs on and reminisce about days that existed decades before we did, and just dance to rock and roll. Or at least nod along and think about dancing to it. Sorry Sam.

Tale of two captains

After the final whistle of the 2012 Champions League Final, among all the Chelsea celebrations and Bayern Munich sorrow, two very striking images stood out to me. They showed everything that was wrong with football, as well as the beautiful side to it. No, it has nothing to do with how anyone played, because I don't buy into the school of thought that Chelsea won when they shouldn't have. They didn't break the rules, and in the end, within the limits of the rules of football, they won the football match. It wasn't pretty, and Bayern Munich really let themselves down with shoddy finishing, but Chelsea still won, and they still earned it.

No, the good and evil of football was shown in how the captains reacted, in two photos that I will remember for a long time:

You can't see it in this photo, but he even put on his shinpads

John Terry, the captain of Chelsea, had been suspended for the final, after a stupid foul he committed in the semis. According to UEFA's own rules, if a captain doesn't play the final due to suspension, then he isn't eligible to lift the trophy. It's part of their philosophy to promote good sportsmanship, and the reward of winning and winning fair. However, after denying Manchester United's suspended captain Roy Keane the chance to lift the trophy in 1999, they saw fit to change the rules in this case, allowing the man who almost cost the team the chance to even be in the final to celebrate as if he'd won it himself. Although he deserved his medal for his performances throughout the tournament, I find it ridiculous that he would be allowed to be the one to lift the trophy first, after Lampard captained the side heroically on the day, as well as for most of the semifinal after Terry's early dismissal.

There is something unsettling about a man grinning like he had worked hard on the day to earn it, when really he had made it harder for his team than it needed to be. Keane famously said in 1999 that he was ashamed to wear the medal that he wasn't there to earn on the final hurdle. Terry felt no such shame, making sure he was surrounded by photographers while still holding it up. However, there was still class to be found.

Lahm stands tall after his teammates lose control

It must hurt to lose a final. It must especially hurt because they were the strong favourites. It must surely be worse to lose it by conceding a last minute goal, before losing a shootout. It must be even worse because it all happened at their home stadium, the beautiful Allianz Arena. And yet, in all that despair, Phillip Lahm never lets his head drop, never lets his himself lose control, and never stops being the captain. He led the way during the match, and in despair he doesn't stop. A true leader on and off the pitch, Phillip Lahm represents all the sportsmanship and strong nature that UEFA claim to be keen to promote. In this one photo, he shows his class, class that came after a performance worthy of more than a runners up medal. He dispatched his penalty coolly, and must have thought that his teammates would follow suit.

As it turned out, even though he defended stoutly, his strikers and midfielders ahead of him didn't put away enough of the countless chances they had to win the match before extra time and penalties. But after all that, after heartbreak in the German Bundesliga, German Cup, and now Champions League, he shows true character, telling himself not to lose it, even when all his men around him break down into tears. He reminds me of Richie McCaw circa 2007. And that's always a good comparison.

Posting right now

Hey readers. Lawl, "readers". I can count them on one hand, even if I'd had a few fingers servered off. The world has gone on just fine without me blogging, but I have missed it.

So: hello.

Not sure how long this phase of wanting to blog again will last though. It will probably rely on how many interesting thoughts I think I have. Which doesn't bode too well, because usually the things that occupy my mind aren't overly newsworthy, things like "Ehh... time to go to work", or "I need new pants", and "Why don't they ever show other rooms in the Tardis?". So we'll see. I have high hopes though, because I have given up on Twitter (before I had a real go at it, I admit), and I should have more computer time available for it now that the European football season is over and I'm not wasting ridiculous amounts of time reading articles on whether or not Messi actually is better than Ronaldo.

(He is.)

A stitch in time

A few days ago at work, me and my mate spent all day cutting and grinding and welding together one long piece of stainless steel pipe, one that snaked around a few corners, went through a hole, and then ran along a wall. At the end of the day, we fit the pipe into the brackets and realized that it didn't fit, and the whole day's work had been a complete waste. There's a quote:

"Measure twice, cut once."

New philosophy in life: whatever I am doing, whether it's fitting a pipe, or writing an essay, or compiling code, or planning a wedding, I will over-plan and get it right, however long the planning takes.

Except for when I'm rapping of course. My lyrical wizardry really shines when it just flows from the top of my dome.

Nice guys finish last

"Take a look at them. They're all nice guys, but they'll finish last. Nice guys. Finish last." - Leo Durocher

Bollocks.

My jam right now

Metric. No coincidence that the name of the band rhymes with epic. Well, not really, but close enough. Mean band, wish I heard of them ages ago.

Some survey from Laura's blog

If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say?
....

Do you trust all of your friends?
Like, hardout trust trust? Definitely not.

Would you move to another state or country to be with the one you love?
You know it.

Do you believe everything happens for a reason?
I don't think so.

Can you make a dollar in change right now?
Never carry cash, but in EFTPOS I can.

Which one of your friends do you think would make the best doctor?
Carroll Ching. Because he's brainy as.

Are you afraid of falling in love?
I have already fallen in love, and the thought of a life without her scared me a lot more than letting her in.

Whats your most favorite scar?
Don't have any, aside from the one by my shoulder from some injection when I was a baby.

When was the last time you flew in a plane?
Last year, I went to Samoa.

What did the last text message you sent say?
Babe? Are you awake?

What features do you find least attractive in the preferred sex?
Being loud.

Fill in the blank. I love
Doctor Who.

What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future?
I would like to be leading my Premier League fantasy league by Round 4.

If you were to wake up from being in a coma for an extended time who would you call?
Amy.

Would you make a good parent?
I would make a slightly kick back one I guess.

Where was your default picture taken?
In the back yard of my old place.

Honestly, whats on your mind right now?
"Honestly, what's on your mind right now?"

If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be?
I would go back and make sure I kept taking Japanese class in high school, and I would have dropped History. Being a tri-lingual kid would be awesome.

Did you buy something today?
A Big Ben's mince and cheese pie.

What was the last TV show you watched?
Doctor Who.

What are your plans for the weekend?
Whatever, usually Saturdays are quite mellow and I hang out with Amy, maybe I'll go to the movies. Then Sunday it's church, and maybe some Doctor Who mini marathons. Or a Lost marathon.

If your significant other asked you to marry them TODAY what would you say?
I would say, "I kind of thought we already going to... I'm confused now baby..."

Progress

My fear of slugs and snails has been well documented on this blog, but it seems recently that I'm kind of a little slowly growing out of it. Last night, I saw one outside of the garage when I went outside looking for Bash (my cat), and instead of flinching like a man and gapping it the opposite way, I flinched like a man, picked up long leaf, and proceeded to slowly prod it away from the door.

Prod.

Prod.

Prod.

Next thing you know, it was 5 feet away, not 2. I went back inside, with a big grin on my face, but it was definitely one of those moments that I didn't want to share because, well, prodding a slug then still running away from it doesn't exactly sound like a victory.

But it was. It really was.

A botz post about rugby and stuff

About a year ago, I wrote this on my blog:

"Rugby is truly on it's way out. At least, in this country. Once the All Blacks fail to capture the Rugby World Cup next year, everyone's gonna be moving to league and soccer (if they havn't already). Not that I care, as long as the Springboks continue to dominate, couldn't care less what people here think about union."

Well, a few parts of this paragraph are no longer true. The most obvious difference is that Springboks are anything but dominant; if memory serves right, they came last in the Tri Nations last year, being outclassed by even Robbie Deans' uncertain Wallabies. Ten man rugby no longer serves as a suitable method for dismantling the All Blacks, and the Boks must evolve quickly in order to realistically retain their coveted World Cup. Although, if Super Rugby is anything to go by, Stormers and Sharks do offer some backline creativity; whether or not this can be replicated in a green jersey, time will tell. Time and a staunch Sonny-Billed-out opposition.

Something else that has changed is that most people aren't moving to soccer; the All Whites' World Cup campaign is a distant memory already, the novelty has long since worn off. The controversey surrounding their New Zealand Team Of The Year doesn't help. The reality is that if you weren't already into soccer before the FIFA World Cup (which any football fan will tell you wasn't the exactly the best advertisement for the sport), nothing is going to change your mind any time soon.

If status updates and awkward subject changes in conversations are to be believed, then I can accurately claim that most people my age favour NFL, NBA, and tennis to rugby, as opposed to my proposed soccer move.

However, the one part that I still believe to be true is that rugby is definitely on the decline; not the quality of the players, but in popularity, especially among my generation and the one under it. It lacks the aesthetic pleasure (and entertainingly argumentative commentary) of rugby league, the pizazz of the popular American sports, and the worldwide reach that would really allow the game to grow.

All this is made certain by my unwavering belief that the All Blacks will, like the other great and dominating All Blacks sides of recent past, choke. Sonny-Bill or no Sonny-Bill, we should all prepare ourselves for chokiest choke since... well, since the last time All Blacks choked.

Guide to making people feel old using movies

This is so true right. I may only be 20 but the above movies all do have that effect on me. Especially "The Matrix". Like, that movie will always feel like it just came out 5 years ago right.

Few thoughts 18

Samoan se'evae kosokosos are the shiz. Straight up. Stuff this "jandals" crap. Thick and ugly and durable is the only way to roll. To Eros, the man who bought me a pair back from Samoa, thank you for providing my footwear for every single ocassion I attend for the next 3 years.
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The Killers will never write a song as good as Mr Brightside. Which is fine, because falling short of a brilliant song with great songs is enjoyable for the listener, and they have released some very very good ones since then (Spaceman comes close), but Brightside is pure pop rock goodness; it is their masterpiece.
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The new Dr. Who is fricken awesome. Straight series linking it.
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One of these days, I will listen to that Rebecca Black song. I'm just biding my time and waiting for the hype (mostly really bad) to die down. You never know, I might like it right. Also, the jokes about killing Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black are getting a bit out of hand. I'm PRETTY SURE that you wouldn't actually shoot any of these guys over shooting Hitler or something... I call bollocks on that.
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Manchester United have made it to the Champions League Final! Bring it Barcelona, we got this.

I predict Rooney plays a deep lying striker in the hole to help out midfield, while Fletcher and Park hassle and disrupt any link between the midfield and Messi. Van Der Sar, you shall retire from top flight football in winning form; as a Champions League and Premier League winner! Glory Man United!

Songs I'm liking a lot right now

After having done that 30 Day Song challenge for the past 3 weeks or so, I'm really starting to appreciate all my music again, because scrolling through my extensive library reveals so many songs I've forgotten about. If you're not doing the song challenge on Facebook, I recommend it; it's like educating yourself on your own music.

Old or new, here are some songs I'm really feeling right now.

song title - artist
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My ultra favourites right now:

Such Great Heights¹ - The Postal Service




In Your Atmosphere - John Mayer




The Switch And The Spur - The Raconteurs




After Hours² - We Are Scientists




Other songs I'm playing heaps:

Down³- Blink 182

Decent Days And Nights - The Futureheads

The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails

Jenny Don't Be Hasty - Paolo Nutini

Phenomena - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Helicopter - Bloc Party

Till The World Ends - Britney Spears

The Glass Prison - Dream Theater

We Are Golden - Mika

Hey Julie⁴- Fountains Of Wayne

The Galway Girl - Steve Earle

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¹ I described these guys to Laura as a more snerious Owl City, but I guess since this album came out in 2003 that I should be saying Owl City are just The Postal Service-lite. Love both though.

² This music video makes the song 10 times cooler than it already is. The dude in pink is a douche.

³ I'm actually bracing myself for the possibility of a really disappointing comeback album, but at least I still enjoy the older stuff right. Listening to +44 and Angels & Airwaves makes me nervous about combining those sounds.

⁴ If you know this song (and you watched Scrubs), you might like this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExFIrV4QpXY

Donatello and Raphael

I can't remember how, but while hanging out with Amy a few days ago, the subject of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came up. I was a big fan on the animated TV series while I was growing up, so I wanted to take down memory lane, busting out the TMNT nostalgia sentences, but Amy was quick to tell me that she'd never really gotten into them.

So I began to explain to her what the show was about, and while I was explaining her their personalities, I started wondering which of them I was most like; likewise, I started wondering which of the turtles Amy was most like. This was quite an easy activity seeing as the four turtles were very different, and their personalities were quite distinguished and unsubtle. For example, there was "the leader", the "comic relief", etc.

With little thought process needed, I determined I was most like Donatello. Wikipedia describes him like this:

Donatello (Don or Donny) - The knowledgeable scientist, inventor, engineer, and technological genius, Donatello wears a purple mask in some versions and wields the bō staff. Donatello is perhaps the least violent Turtle, preferring to use his knowledge to solve conflicts.

Well, I'm no technological genius, but the rest fits. Or, as my mate Dan once said, "Bro, by personality, you're the only guy I know that in the world of Avatar would be an Air Bender."

Now the interesting bit is when it comes to classifying which turtle Amy is most similar to. Seeing as she doesn't know what they're like, I decided (much to her amusement) that she was most like Raphael. For those who don't know his personality, here's Wikipedia again to share that maaain knowledge with us:

Raphael (Raph) — The team's bad boy, Raphael wears a red mask and wields a pair of sai. He has an aggressive nature and seldom hesitates to throw the first punch. He is an intense fighter. He would usually speak in a Brooklyn accent. His personality can be alternately fierce and sarcastic, and oftentimes delivers deadpan humor. Still, he is intensely loyal to his brothers and sensei.

I'm not sure if Amy does a good Brooklyn accent, but aside from that, even she smiled sheepishly as I read out the description to her, and she didn't argue; she is Raph.

If it's true that opposites attract, than we are the perfect example. If it's true that opposites are best for each other too, then well, good, because I wouldn't have it any other way. Me and Amy have been through a lot, and a lot of our growing as individuals and as a couple has been born out of the vast differences in our personalities right. It goes deeper than the fact that she watches E! and I'm always watching... well, pretty much anything but that channel.

No, through my relationship with Amy and our love that has come out of it, we have both learned to be more patient, more understanding, more compromising, and less naive. It is an ongoing process of trimming the fluff to see the true beauty and true ugliness of true love. And most of all, it is a mission to get her to watch all the movies that I love. But for me and my sai-wielding Raphael of a girlfriend, it has been an intro worth having. Why do I call our first 2 years together an intro?

Because it is.

An old Facebook note

I'm feeling a bit lazy today so I wasn't going to post today, but I upon scrolling my past FB notes, I came across this one, and I thought I'd post it again on my blog.
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25 Random things about me
by Jesse Toailoa on Friday, 20 February 2009 at 12:44

1. I'm a very strong Springboks supporter. (2007 World Cup winners!!!)

2. When I adjust the volume on TV, it has to be an even number or a multiple of 5. I can never leave it on something like 11.

3. I keep dumb-bells by my bed that I never use. Maybe one day when I'm feeling inspired I guess.

4. Amy reckons that I'm too cheesy.

5. Group situations/discussions are dumb because I never have anything to say that doesn't stop the conversation awkwardly.

6. I never know what to say when people compliment me. 'Thanks' seems weird, and complimenting back for the sake of replying doesn't work either.

7. Although I try to act like I only listen to 'good' music, I listen to so much crap that ruins my music cred. High School Musical, Metro Station, Shania Twain, Paris Hilton etc.

8. I was in the 'brainy' class 3 years out of 5 at high school. Year 10 I was in the 3rd brainiest, and year 13 doesn't have a brainy class.

9. Somehow I became a prefect at school. They must have had an islander quota to fullfill.

10. I have a hard time trying to tell when people are being serious. I'm always the idiot who makes the joke at exactly the wrong time.

11. Even though I'm a hardout christian and I hardout love music, I dislike most christian music.

12. After writing these 25 things I will remember something that I KNOW I should have written. But alas, by then it would be too late.

13. For about a year I carried a guitar around school to make myself look cool. It stopped when people asked me to teach them how to play it.

14. My favourite TV show of all time is Lost. Haters keep hating, you just know that the show is too cool for you. Also, if you say "they're STILL on the island???" I might punch you in the nose.

15. Will Ferrell is my favourite comedy actor. Step Brothers = crude but ridiculously funny.

16. I'm part Chinese but I can't fight like one.

17. I hate getting 20 new notifications on Facebook and none of them is a comment on my page.

18. My earliest memory was running to hug my mum when she was pregnant with my younger sister Laura. I'm too lazy to run the calculations on how old I must have been.

19. I like to run after cats when they run away from me. Not too sure why.

20. It seems that every time I put my iPod on shuffle 'Spaceship' by Kanye West comes on.

21. My Samoan name means 'tree in the valley'. My English name either means 'gift', 'god exists', or 'wealthy'.

22. When I watch Laughing Samoans with my family I pretend to laugh at everything. I think they might disown me if they found out I don't find it that funny.

23. I am terrified of slugs and snails. I know they are really really slow and they can't harm you, and that it's an irrational fear, but there you go. Hold one up to me and I'll run screaming like a girl in the other direction.

24. I love walking long distances alone with my iPod.

25. I love Amy Klootwyk.

Soul Soup

There's randomly a Chicken Soup For The Soul book in our car. No idea how it got there or who owns it, but I havn't seen one in ages, so I decided to flick through it and read a few stories. When scrolling through Chicken Soup books, I just skim through looking for stories that fit my reading criteria, which consists of 2 points:

- It can't be longer than 4 pages.
- The title can't be too cheesy.

The second point is important. Something about some of those titles just really puts me off. I just don't ever feel like reading a story called something like really cheesy like "I Called Out Again", or "Passionate Pursuit Of Possibility". I can't quite put my finger on it, but maybe seeing the moral of the story from the outset also makes me less inclined to read those kind of stories.

On the other hand, I'm all about the vague-ish ones that could be about anything, like "My Dad". It's like... ooohhhh... what about your dad? Sure we know it's about the dad, but what does he do? Is he the man? I bet he was the man! Time to sass up this story...

*reads*

Bro, your dad IS the man!

I have found though that my cynical soul is a lot less affected by these touching tales than it was back when I was 15 or so. Back then, every little story made me want to give my kidney away to a sick strange-looking man with a good heart. Or write a sweet quote every day for my neighbors without them knowing it was me. Or do the dishes. Or something.

Not now though.

Injustice

You didn't win, and I'm not saying you should have, but Paul, you made this season that much better. I'm probably going to stop watching now.