2015 Asian Cup FINAL~~

the perfect final has been setup for the 2015 asian cup between Korea and Australia...

two notable players for both Korea and Australia are the aged veteran players in the squad.

There already huge respect for Tim Cahill and Cha Duri... who both could have just retired after the world cup last year, but both not only took the field one more time, but were clearly one of the best players in the team.

Cahill scored the best goal by a socceroo that i've seen during the world cup... the wonder goal against netherlands.... and he's now scored the 2nd best goal i've seen by a socceroo... the bicycle kick against China. Clearly, he's still got it to score a swagful of goals~  it'd be nice to see him wrap up his career with a few seasons in the A-league... Wanderers maybe?? =)

Cha Duri is another inspiring story altogether.... he was snubbed in the World Cup squad last year... could have called it quits then and there.... but he stuck with it, and still answered the call after the world cup when the national team wanted him.  Now he's pretty much shat all over the farce of the team selections last year... and its not that he's in form now, but he's been doing it week-in, week-out....

Kudos to the German coaches who reformed him into a new player by making the transition from a Forward to a Right-back... his speed and dribbling skills from the right corner is pretty much the strongest attack that the Korean team possesses.

During the pool match, i went for the socceroos... and they lost...

I dunno.... I still feel that Cahill has the more legendary status...and I hope that he goes out a winner~!!  For Cha.... at least he has the 2002 world cup glory to retire with ^^

Soccerooooooooooooooo~~

Mental Strength....

Just 2 weeks after the tragic death of Phil Hughes, David Warner steps out into the middle of the first test match and puts on a 100, with Michael Clarke scoring his 50 a short time later....

The Phil Hughes incident was strangely powerful..... whether it was the power of today's media... or because of Phil Hughes' character, but it somehow made so many people sad, including me.... and i dont think he was the best player, or people's most favourite player.... the circumstances of his death, and his cricket career.... which was so up and down, and just as he was back on the up... with this summer of cricket coming up.... it was such an unfortunate event....

for david warner to come and pound on 145 after his week.... well done.

it was such a brilliant innings and im sure it will be remembered by many for many years to come...

congratulations David Warner, RIP Phil Hughes~

FINALLY~~~!!

after 8 series loss in a row... NSW finally got one back~!!

1 in a row!!!!!!!!

Awesome effort from the Blues... two massive defensive efforts~~

and... the bulldogs halves~ Reynolds and Hodkinson~~ just awesome in both matches~

This is the first series that NSW has won since I've started writing this blog.... the first series win since I left sydney in 2005..... =)

the bad news (?) if there is any.... is that now the bulldogs will have to probably go without their halves during this origin period again next year....

after winning 8 matches in a row, the doggies are struggling to win during this origin period...

i've been so lazy with the blogs these days....

new job, newborn, and a whole heap of sports... after the winter olympics... awesome origin series... world cup soccer... commonwealth games, and the asian games in korea... coming up~~

so much to do~~ haha

the next intersection...

a lot of things happening in 2014.... nothing bad~ just turned 30... a little one on the way... and while my mind is just up in the clouds, an opportunity for change in my life has come in the form of employment as well....

its new work in the same industry... to be honest... any new job is going to be a new style of work... unless 30 is the age where one's adaptive skills start fading... i should be alright.... im pretty sure i will be able to adapt~

moving to china, moving to teaching, moving to korea, moving to the IT industry.... i think i've adapted rather well... i wouldnt say i passed with flying colours... but i dont think it was a 'crash and burn' either...

i'll be right~~ there is always going to be priorities... and i think the little one will always be higher on my priority list than employment~

it's going to be a big change... looking forward to it~~ ^^

The Urn is back~ Five-Zip~~!!!

The biggest small trophy in cricket is back in the hands of the aussies~

the ashes series was sealed before xmas.... but i didnt want to jinx the winning momentum, and waited till the 5-0 series whitewash was completed~~ haha

since i left australia after uni... 1) australia never won an ashes series; 2) australia never won the bledisloe cup; 3) NSW never won an origin series....

one down... 2 to go~~ 2014 is going to be different...

however... the downside of the aussies dominating the poms is that... the 5th test was supposed to finish TOMORROW....

so im at work today... and tomorrow.... and i had planned to just watch the cricket both days.... now i gotta find work.... ^^

looking forward to 2014~

still a few more days left in 2013....

Boxing Day... the worst day to come to work in Korea, knowing that everyone back at home have the day off, in the sun... watching cricket....

yet its cold here... and i have to pull my big butt out of bed and crawl into work... and just check-up on the cricket... without beers....

it's such a slow day too... coz since im working with so many overseas people... they are usually all on vacation between xmas till new years....

well... looking forward to the new year... i can sense its going to be good... it should be good.... 2013 was quite memorable too seeing that i did the march down the aisle... and in 2014, i have a mini-me to look forward to... could be one of the more 'tiring' years of my life... but nevertheless, im looking forward to it....

on a career side of things... its the 3rd year in this company... the 3rd... i guess 3 is somewhat the minimum number of years u'd want to be in one place... but having said that... i guess i dont think im really keen on moving to a entirely new industry.... i kinda like this "mobile security" work.... maybe if i keep grinding it out here, i'll see opportunities within....

i guess i'll just keep doing what im doing.... being very australian in a korean company environment... just let time tick over while i just do my thing, and keep myself busy... why stress, why worry... looking like ur stressing and worrying doesnt mean ur doing meaningful work... (despite what so many here believe)....

i know a lot can be done without having to stress and grind... 2014... i'll stick to that belief~

world cup 2014 pools

For a FIFA world cup group to be called the "group of death"... there really needs to be 4 competitive teams.....

In the case of Group B.... Spain, Netherlands, Chile... and Australia.... that is the 'group of death' just for australia....

Luckily, Korea has had a relatively good draw, with Belgium, Algeria and Russia... there are no easy wins in that team... but at least Korea can go into each game knowing a win is as probable as a loss.

It should be an interesting World cup to watch.... the time difference... well, i guess its better than being in Europe since i can sleep and wake up for the matches, rather than staying up and feeling crap in the mornings...

Let's hope the stadiums are ready, and no construction cranes fall on the stadiums again ^^ fingers crossed~