It's A Busy Period

It's a busy period

There's so much to do

Busy is good

It could be bad too

It's a busy period

There's so much to pack

Moving can be a chore

Can't afford to be slack 

It's a busy period

This move better be good

Getting the right school

Will surely brighten my mood

It's a busy period

There's so much bad press

No such thing as bad publicity

That I can attest

It's a busy period

Yet no bonus to share

All that good work done

It's our worst nightmare

It's a busy period 

Running out of dough

Cash flow is tight

Resources running low

It's a busy period

Thinking of two years from now

Two big tickets to clear

I wished I knew how

It's a busy period 

This year is about change

Trying to take calculated risks

Hope that doesn't sound strange

ACL Rehab Day #209

Having abit of difficulty breathing these days. Must be all the fat clogging up my heart arteries.

I felt very determined to go for a jog late last night which I did. And boy it did wonders.

Again did the same route of running to Fernvale and back. Didn't stop at all once again. Arm muscle toning exercise was reduced to 2 sets of pushups as one of the station is broken! And then a walk up 15 storeys.

I'll really need to work on exercising much more. At least I've done two workouts in less than a week, compared to it being a once-a-month thing!

Gotta keep up them resolutions!

#2015yearofchanges

My zodiac doesn't speak well of my fortunes in the year ahead.

Hopefully 2015 passes without major negative incidents.

I will do my best to be cautious.

This is a year of changes. Hopefully most positives than negatives.

God bless me and my family.

ACL Rehab Day #205

This is unfortunately, indeed turning into a once a month exercise! My goodness!

I seriously need to have more resolve!

Again did the same route of running to Fernvale and back. Didn't even stop this time. Same 2 sets of static stations for arm muscle toning and then a walk up 15 storeys.

Truly, I need more discipline in my life.

#2015yearofchanges

Personal Financial Investment Seminar 2015 Review

Last year I attended the Value Investing Summit 2014 and decided to give it a miss this year. In it's place, I chanced upon the Personal Financial Investment Seminar 2015, organized by Wealth Directions and cost a mere fraction of the VIS 2014 price tag. This was held from 12pm to 6pm yesterday at the NTUC Auditorium (Raffles Place).

Was it worth it? Hell yes it was...follow the rest on my other blog...

QPR 0 Manchester United 2

A win is a win. But problems still remain...

1) What's With 3-5-2?
LVG just seems to be too stubborn sticking to his favoured 3-5-2 formation. It is tough for the players to adjust, and very labourous to defend. We just seem to have a knack of trying to make 30 passes in midfield followed by one or two forward passes, and then back to the midfield again, without taking any shots on target. It was only after Fellaini came on and we switched to 4-4-2 that we won it.

2) Poor Players' Performance And Passing
Something is not right with a few players. Rooney's passing was so terrible yesterday that he seemed to lose the ball each time he made a pass. Johnny Evans is now a one blunder a game player, Angel di MAria is a shadow of his Real Madrid self, and Juan Mata looks to have lost his mojo. Something's gotta give and if these players cannot perform, then we really are better giving our youth academy a chance.

3) Good Performances
Good performances last night includes Blind, for doing all the dirty work and looking splendid in tidying up even though he's just back from injury, DDG for being outstanding in goal once again, Rojo for playing like a rock in the heart of defence, Fellaini for changing the game at halftime, and James Wilson for scoring his first EPL goal of the season. These players have to continue taking their chances as they come.

4) What Of Falcao?
Such a high pricetag. A commendable performance. Incredulous weekly wages. Half a season left to prove himself. I think this guy's got fans split right down the middle on whether we should keep him or not. Sure he's probably better up front than RVP right now, but given his astronomical wages and price tag, I'm not sure if I want him around for another season. He does sometimes come off as trying too hard as well.

5) Yawnz
Another game, another borefest. LVG needs to wake up his idea and get his players playing more exciting football, otherwise the fans with almost certainly turn against him.

GGMU!!!

Kids Talk III

The boy is hearing stuff he doesn't like from his friends dad.

Me: You like T?
W: Yes, but I don't like T's papa.
Me: Why?
W: Because he laughs at me.
Me: So you don't like T's papa?
W: No.
Me: Do you want me to talk to T's papa?
W: Yes.
Me: Do you want me to scold T's papa?
W: No.
Me: Why not?
W: Because T likes his papa, so I don't want you to scold him.

Heart meltz.

Next day I told T's papa to stay away from the boy.

Manchester United 0 Southampton 1

So poor were they last night that I can't even be bothered to do a review.

Everyone played badly, at home, and no matter how delicious the line-up was, it never mattered when no one wanted to try.

Kinda sad sight to see.

Hopefully we see an improvement in performances otherwise LVG might be in trouble especially when we drop out of the top 4.

Kite-flying @ Marina Barrage

Sometimes we just need to sit back and appreciate our scenery a little bit more.

There is just so much in Singapore that we tend to either take for granted or not seem to have time for.

Oh plus we saw Ben Yeo the pseudo celeb and his family haha.

Clash Of Clans Addiction

I find it absolutely amazing how such a simple game can save me so much money.

It's so darn addictive and it seems to have enough longevity to sustain my playing of this game for quite awhile (I'm onto my 3rd year for The Simpsons Tapped Out).

Let's hope it saves me money by preventing me from making unnecessary FX trades!

Huat ah!!!

Singapore Flyer

Brought the kids to the Singapore Flyer last week since they've been bugging me to go there for the longest time.

This is actually my first time on the SG Flyer since it was built.

Great views for half an hour, plus a cheap $78 family package!

Yeovil Town 0 Manchester United 2

So there was no EPL action this weekend as the FA Cup 3rd Round gets underway. Always a good chance for the fringe players to grab some game time.

1) Players Not Taking Chances

Sadly when players are on the fringes or reserves you'd expect them to play harder to show the manager what they could be missing. Last night Fletcher got this chance but he failed the audition so badly that it wasn't funny. I've always had abit of a soft spot for him given that he's an academy product, but last night's performance was really terrible. Shaw as well was quite bad, so much so that he was substituted at halftime citing injury. 

2) Players Disinterested

Not sure if the players weren't keen on playing in the FA Cup or this was another away game syndrome. The players looked really lackluster and disinterested. But for Herrera and ADM's goals, the rest of the game was such a yawn. Hopefully they will show more enthusiasm as we progress further. Rooney in particular looked like he couldn't really be bothered until late in the second half.

3) Defence Showing Signs Of Life

As I've said, a back trio of Blackett Smalling and McNair was way more dependable. Later on, Evans came on and we looked even tighter at the back. Hopefully this has an impact on our EPL performances.

Next up, Southampton at home next Monday!

GGMU!!!

Resolutions 2015

Haven't given this that much hard thought as I did a year ago. Maybe because in the last few days I've been left feeling as though the more thought I put into it the more disappointed I feel when I don't achieve the desired outcome. And that's coming off maybe the worst non-fulfilled resolutions last year.

But anyway, here goes.

1) Have 6 Month's Pay In Cold, Hard Cash
It's a known fact that I throw too much money into various investments. So much so that I do not have sufficient rainy day funds. Henceforth this is something I am very hopeful of achieving. It won't be easy, by way of cash savings and resisting the temptation to commit funds into the next great idea, but it is about time I did this, and have it properly locked up somewhere in some untouchable account.

2) Achieve $500/mth Dividend Income Stream
This resolution is exactly the same as last year's. I have had an overall decrease in passive income stocks PLUS I didn't achieve even half of this target last year! So how am I gonna achieve it this year? Dunno. But setting an ambitious target is what resolutions are all about right?

3) Exercise Twice A Week
This is very ambitious as well considering that I am still recovering from my ACL surgery. However, at some point this first half of the year I hope to go back to playing my regular weekly Saturday futsal. Then all I need is to run my regular >5km run once a week to top that off. Meanwhile I'll just aim to run twice a week. Sounds totally doable right? Right?!

4) Spend Even More Time With Family
This being the only resolution I PASSED last year, I wish to top this off by spending even MORE time! I feel like the kids are growing up way too fast. The boy's in K1 and the girl's in PG2 already and before I know it they'd probably be shunning me like the plague for being uncool. And that will begin from primary school. So I have two more years to clock as much time as I can with them. Then I should spend more time pampering the wifey too. And of course, spending more time with my siblings and parents, who're not getting younger.

5) Maintain Social Circle
It's a known fact that the older we grow, the smaller our social circle shrinks. I guess what I want out of this year is simply to maintain my existing friendships with whatever close friends I have left. Hopefully I can establish a few new ones. At the end of the day there is a need to put in some effort and I guess it is high time I do my bit in this aspect. I have to be honest to say that this is the least prioritized of the 5 i have this year, but it is still something good to aim for.

And this is it! Hopefully when I look back at the end of this year, I can proudly say I achieved more than half of these tangible objectives.

Stoke City 1 Manchester United 1

Don't really know if it’s a Christmas treat anymore when the performances are poor and the results aren't coming.

Another away fixture without a win. As LVG himself said, “You cannot challenge for the title if you don’t win games like these.”

Here’re my usual five thoughts:

1) Shit Defence As Always
I’m writing this till the cows come home man. This is akin to the hashtag #moyesout last season. Basically a fixture on my blogs posts after every game. Last night we started with a back four of Jones, Smalling, Evans and Shaw. We weren’t particularly terrible when we have four at the back, but maybe we hadn’t awoken for the game yet and therefore conceded a lousy goal. Also we should have been familiar enough with Stoke’s modus operandi (setpieces) to defend better.

2) Substitutions Changed The Game
The key substitutions that changed the game was the double switch of Herrera for Falcao, Januzaj for Shaw. From 4-4-2 we also changed formation to 3-5-2. LVG probably wanted to attack the game and put Stoke on the backfoot. Instead, we got pegged back very aggressively and by the time Young pulled up with his hamstring injury, I honestly was happy to settle for the draw. Maybe Herrera and Januzaj weren’t match fit, but they certainly had an adverse impact on the team makeup.

3) Ashley Young
I have been giving this guy shit all of last season. But this season he seems like a completely changed player. Making the wingback position his own, he could play on both sides of the field and he’s finally finding the form that made SAF splurge to buy him from Aston Villa. So when he pulled up while running to try and reach a pass from Herrera when we were on the break, I knew the game was over for him, and for us. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.

4) Land Of Giants
It’s amazing how Stoke manages to accumulate these gigantic players. They have the tallest squad in Europe, and are menacing at set-pieces. The funny fact is that with all their height, they have also conceded just as many goals from set-pieces. Yet if you knew this, you’d have thought that our defence would have trained specifically to counter this threat. Instead, we were in bits and pieces each time there was a set-piece and Stoke really milked it for all it was worth. Luckily for us we have the rub of the green with one Crouch header hitting the post and a Smalling handball not given any penalty, and then of course Stoke’s poor accuracy with only 2 shots on target. Else we would’ve lost this game.

5) Poor Away Form Of Players
For some weird reason, our players are shit poor when it comes to away games. Maybe the boys are tired, maybe they miss home, maybe they are just not familiar with the pitch and atmosphere. Say what you want but 2 away wins all season long is simply not good enough. It is a reversal from last season when our home form was shit while our away form was superb. Rooney in particular plays very poorly when away. Evans last night was showing that he belonged to the bench, and Mata, while improving, had many periods of anonymity. Even the most constant of the side, Carrick and DDG were having pretty blah games by their standards. Hopefully things improve from here.

Next match, at home to Southampton next Monday.

Hope we can win that one.

GGMU!!!