Carry me home.

Sigh. I lurve my Spanish boys, they have done me proud. They fought so brilliantly against Russia this morning, in a match that only heated up in the second half. In hindsight, my initial uncertainty about how they'd perform against the team that beat Holland was sooooo unnecessary - now I actually feel guilty about even doubting them :p - the Russians were in pretty bad form and gradually ran out of steam as Spain continued to score goal after goal (the final result was 3-0). Hours before the match over MSN, while Sponk was saying that she had complete faith in our Spanish team to advance to the finals, I had others reminding me about Russia playing beautifully this season and of course the "don't forget they beat Holland recently" warning, which saw me literally tear my hair in frustration - just WHAT exactly should I bet on??!!?! A straight Spanish win, a draw, Russia to win, Russia advancing to the finals, or what????

But despite all that, I threw in my blind faith and went ahead with putting my money on a Spanish victory (it is ALWAYS about the betting), fingers crossed and heart beating fast whenever they came close to scoring. I lost the bets on Villa (poor guy got substituted just 35 minutes into the game due to a muscle injury T_T) and the draw result at full time, but what the heck, Spain is in the finals with Germany and I am so pumped!!!!!!

And the beautiful San Iker, who has saved Spain's arse twice in a row now ;)

I now have a two-day break before the Spanish boys meet Germany on early Monday morning. Meanwhile it is time to catch some sleep, lead a normal life, and of course, analyse some odds. :p

Viva la vida.

This is Lynnie reporting 'live' at 5.24 am, Monday morning, from SCV Channel 30 - Spain WON Italy, albeit a little unexpectedly, and through a penalty shootout with a result of 4-2.

My energy level is at its highest despite the unearthly hour!!! It has been an excruciatingly long match with 1001 heart-stopping moments, but I can now rest my heart at peace, because it doesn't matter even if they lose their next match; they have broken the record of never beating Italy before in the World Cup OR Euro Championships... and for that, I will be a happy and contented Spanish fan girl! ^_^

And can I just say... that Casillas was an absolute star in the match. Now I know why his golden hands have to be insured for an astonishing FIVE million pounds?!?!?!?!?! O_o

Sorry if all this soccer talk bored you. :p Off to catch some sleep. I can't believe I have to wake up for work in just a couple of hours... o_o

If I could take you away.

I am halfway through reading Laura Florand's "Blame It On Paris" (nothing too intelligent or deep, but a lovely true story nonetheless) and there were certain passages in the book that simply jumped out at me because they speak the words in my heart - I am in awe of how the exact same concept of love and relationships can be expressed and repeated in so many different ways, whilst retaining the beauty behind its meaning.

"So how can you go at this no holds barred like that?" I asked Sebastien. "Doesn't it scare you, to know I'm leaving in August? Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?"

"Of course, I'm scared. But I know what happens when you rein yourself in," he answered. "I've seen lots of my friends do it, and I understand they want to protect themselves, but they miss so much. When you block a relationship out of fear, you lose out on the world. I've taken some knocks, and I got really hurt with Claire, you know. But I would still rather lower my defenses and risk things than block out life." -- pp. 116

X X X

Maybe the breaking and making points of a relationship are the same thing, and it just depends what you do with them. If you're going to let go of that bush halfway down the cliff, maybe you just have to fall and not keep clutching at any root or branch to stop you on your way down. Maybe, when it comes to relationships, you've just got to risk it all with blind faith, even when it seems crazy and impossible and like you have too much to lose, including your familiar life. Everything, after all, is crazy and impossible, especially romance, which makes no logical sense whatsoever and seems to require an extraordinary belief in something intangible. It's just a thought. I have them occasionally. -- pp. 186

X X X

My yesterdays are all boxed up and neatly put away
But every now and then you come to mind
'Cause you were always waiting to be picked to play the game
But when your name was called, you found a place to hide
When you knew that I was always on your side.

Sheryl Crow feat. Sting - Always On Your Side.

Euro fever.

I am addicted to soccer for all the wrong reasons.

I will confess that I am no soccer fan and I know close to nothing about soccer, apart from the fact that the game involves 22 men chasing after one ball with the aim of kicking it into the goalpost. I am pretty familiar with the basic terms like 'penalty', 'foul', the 'yellow' and 'red' cards, and the concept that was most difficult to remember - 'offside' (I finally drilled it into my head) but that's about it. I never follow the EPL or other comparatively 'smaller' events, but I very much adore following the World Cup and UEFA Euro, especially the part where I place my bets at Singapore Pools/TAB, depending on my physical location. :D And of course I watch soccer for the eye candy, duhhhh. ;)

The last few days have been absolute madness, with the start of the UEFA Euro Cup over the last weekend. My soccer obsession has seen me cough up $20 for a very exclusive "Euro Channel" on Cable TV, which will last me throughout the Euro season this month. -_- Which means I have to watch as many matches possible to make the money worthwhile... even if that translates to staying up till the wee hours of the morning and panda eyes the following day.

Euro 2008 made me realise how much I miss being a student. I remember the World Cup two years ago, when I used to make frequent trips to TAB in Melbourne with Piggy/HJ during the exam period to "de-stress". :) We lost a shitload of cash betting on supposed soccer powerhouses such as Japan and France, but somehow we found a great deal of excitement in persevering with our bets and staying up REALLY early (think 7am) to watch the 'live' matches. I must have written all my final assignments and studied for all my exams in front of the TV that semester. :D

So back to Euro '08. I'd just finished watching the Spain-Russia match and oh. my. GAWWWD, I was once again reminded of how much I LOVE the Latino boys. Torres, Casillas, Fabregas, and Villa from the Spanish team, and C. Ronaldo (raaaarrrh!) who plays for Portugal. Having eye candy as motivation to stay glued to a game close to 100 minutes long definitely helps, ha!

Pics of my favourite Latino soccer boys in the next entry! Panda is off to bed now.

Summer dies here and so could I underneath
So much like the ones in and on my skin and somewhere in between
This opaline is everything I see
Your opaline brings me to my knees.

Dishwalla - Opaline.

Forever love.


I saw this banner at church on Sunday and decided that I HAD to take a photo of it. Check out who the "main speaker" is!!!

If only! Then I would be the first to sign up! :p