B B A L L B O Y .

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Envious of love.

Wow, these few days happen alot of things that made me think a lot. One last thing happened that made me think alot. I read a manga called "Midori days" lawl. I don't really like to read what everyone is reading, so I buy different mangas at my own pace. I especially like to buy a whole manga series in bulk, and read them all in one day. The effect of the last volume works better this way. You can really feel the characters as though you're reading the novel. My kind of mangas are romance, basketball, fantasy, and total unrelated humour. MidoriDays is a romance manga=P. Anyways, after reading the final volume, alot of phrases came through my head, as the feeling of emotions swept through my body. Man I envy the characters of all the mangas I read.
Here are some of the phrases and things I thought of after reading it.
Time floated away, leaving our cheeks with the lovely scent of the sun.

With every ending, a new beggining is formed.

Smiling through the tears of sadness, with a whisper, she disapears with the wind. A cherry blossom petal lands on the right hand of the broken hearted.

Three words can make the greates impact known to mortal man.

We were put here with no purpose. We live, is so that we can search for it. Our purpose in life is to find it.
This requires explaining. kinda like when a scientist experiments with something just to see what it would do.

There is no power greater than the power of love. It can change hearts, It can create passion, it will protect. It is ever lasting and never changing. Love longs and waits. Love? Love is its own reward.

A mask of laughter hides the crushed heart from the oblivious soul. A street lamp shines down. Tears glisten as they slide down the face of the broken.

Life is really what we expect it to be. But sometimes, life hands us our head on a platter when we fail in love. ( below is all quotes from wikiquote.)

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love." as quoted by Neil Gaiman.

When that time comes, we just need to pick ourselves up and move on. Love is a wonder, without love, life is dull and meaningless.

"Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are. "

Honest to goodness, you have to admit this is true. I swear, I would still be a lazy ass fat bastard is it weren't for love. You know what else is true?

"At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet. " as quoted by Plato.

I was just innocently surfing the web, when I thought of her. Every boy has his her, you know who I mean. Which led me to think, what is love? After trying myself to give a good defination of it, I go to my almighty source of information: Wikipedia. Sooner or later, I found a whole list of quotes of love, or what it is like.

Well, I'll end off with these last phrases. Think about them.

All our young lives we search for someone to love. Someone who makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope. All the while wondering if somewhere, somehow, there's someone perfect who might be searching for us.

Today I begin to understand what love must be, if it exists. . . . When we are parted, we each feel the lack of the other half of ourselves. We are incomplete like a book in two volumes of which the first has been lost. That is what I imagine love to be: incompleteness in absence.

Love is a minefield. You take a step and get blown to pieces, put yourself back together again and stupidly take another step. I guess that's human nature. It hurts so much to be alone that we'd all rather blow up than be single.

[Keith wrote this, thanks for reading! =D]Y,
10:05 PM

Our big and vast world.

Alot of things happened in these oh so very few days. It really made me think alot. Feeling frazzled. And you know shit is bad when you start using the word "frazzled".
Anyways, start off, friday. W00t Ivan came back to GM yesterday. Never seen him in a long, long time. Anyway, keep it short, me daniel daryl alvin went to gym to workout. Surprisingly, my Gaydar(radar gaydar) didn't go off, lawl. Ivan couldn't go in, cuz as always mysteriously there will always be some fat lady to ruin everything, so he and joseph went to play Bball. After that, we all went to the CC find Ivan. Anyway, he showed us his school Bball jersey, which would mean that he would get to compete next year. I have many dreams, and that happens to be one of them, to represent my school in basketball and actually compete and get into the nationals. Or at least I hope i get to play in volleyball, I don't wanna train hard for the school for 3-4years just to not play when east zone comes around. That's just not right. When you realize what your dream is, then it's time to make it a reality, but it's far too late for mine. I want to compete in volleyball and win for the school, if not for all the sweat and blood i shed for it. That's kinda one thing i envy about Ivan, he got to follow a dream. Anyway, sooner or later, time flew by, and it was time to go. You know, one of the hardest thing in life is to say goodbye, even though you know you can always see those people the next day. Everyone goes to take the bus 26 opposite the 7-11, but i go a different way, alone. But then, it's not anyone's fault either. That way is their way home, and another way is my way home. It just so happens that their way happens to be many people's way home, and another way is only my way home. From school to home, it's barely a 5min walk, but it feels like 5hrs. This is usually why i hate going home, it's a major feeling of lost and loneliness. I know of a few people who happens to go my way, and in my heart i feel kinda happy, cause to me, it implies that we both have something in common, we know that the way we go is a very lonely way, and since we know the other is feeling the same way, a common bond is formed. I miss the time when I was in P6, that was absolutely the best year of my life so far. Everyday, going home was a happy occasion. Me and two other guys were the closest buddies ever, there was never a dull moment. Then there came the time of PSLE, we all got totally different marks, with me getting 235=) and them getting 202 and 180. Despite that, they chose GM as their first choice, and my second choice. My first choice was St Andrews cause they knew how much I wanted to go there, and they understood. Sadly, when i got to GM, which i didn't mind much, one got to Bendemeer Sec, and another to Mansjusri. We didn't dare to opt for transfer, so our butts stayed put. From what i know now, the one who went to Bendemeer Sec was kinda a girl magnet now, with lots of close friends. The one who went to Manjusri kinda the same, was able to pursue a relationship with a girl and was popular so to say, everyone knew him. Me? I have a hard time talking to girls, get looked down upon literally because of my height, and being emo about no one going the same way as i do. Then again, it was my fault really, I could have transfered but i didn't. Aw well. The mask and cape of emo-ism has been donned, kinda like when venom latched on to Spiderman, and spidey trying his best to push it out. Life goes on, time stops for no mortal. Moping and fretting over stuff gets no one anywhere.

Saturday
Played basketball at 108 in the morning. lol, played really well. Went to KCC in the afternoon. Ivan said that if i wanted to improve, I had better go 108 less and KCC more. I didn't believe him at first though, I mean, there are still people I have a hard time going up against at 108. It rained when we got there though. So when Ivan left for church, we waited till rain stopped and went to play with the wet floor. Lol, they kept disturbing me about my height. It even got to a point where it was 4 vs me. I swear, if it weren't for the wet floor, I would've scored more against all four of them ( yes I actually went along with it), at the very most maybe even win them. I was confident of the two asumed results by me. I only scored two or three though, like I said, wet floor. I emphasize on speed in my play, whether sloppy or not, I emphasize on it. take away my speed, and i got close to nothing. I was kinda determined to win, or at least exceed their expectations to the limits of a vertically challenged. Disturbing someone about height is a sort of discrimination. I emphasized the important parts of being tall in previous posts. Just because I'm short doesn't mean I can't do what you do, if not better. Basketball is really the sport where even the little man can soar. Anyway, later on, people came, and i played a two games with a bunch of people. MAN, Ivan was right. They pawned. I sucked. I scored only two baskets. There was this guy who was shorter than me by a little, but he pawned. So I was pumped up for the second set, now way was I going to lose to a guy shorter than me. Man was I so wrong. I got past him less times than he got past me. I managed to guard his way and make it hard for him to shoot. He didn't score much when I got on him lol. I didn't score at all when he got onto me=P. I got past him a few times, BUT the ball was hit out of my hands everytime. He managed to get his shot off, I didn't. I had utterly lost to a guy shorter than me by a few cm. That just hurt. If he was taller, he would have the advantage, but he wasn't and he got past me and scored. I was on the losing team twice, cuz i was the weak point offensively and defensively. After the match, it dawned onto me, the world was really big and vast, with players playing different styles I have never even seen before. I want to improve, so I am sincerely thinking about Ivan's suggestion to come to KCC more often. I'm not gonna let people think that just because I'm short I suck at basketball. I want to improve, and prove all those jerks wrong. Height does not tie anyone down, but lifts them up. If you don't have that, screw it, you can be better than those who are taller in other ways.If you're tall, give people a reason to look up to you. You're already making people look up to you; give them a reason to. If you're short, give people no reason to look down on you.

Well, thats it for now. Blogging alot lately cuz nothing to do.

[Keith wrote this, thanks for reading! =D]Y,
7:50 PM

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Lay your hands.

School's been getting kinda depressing for some reasons lately. Aw well. The comfort I have in listening to my favourite songs. Dunno whether anyone heard of this band called "The Calling". Tried finding it in iWebmusic but no luck. They're lyrics regardless of songs are meaningful in some deep way. Some songs like "Wherever you will go", "Believing" and "For you". Anyway, the song in my blog now is still really nice. Simon Webbe is an ex-member of BLUE.

Simon Webbe"Lay your hands"

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Sometimes life can be a burden

Try'na stay one step ahead

I feel the world upon my shoulder each time

I’m standing out on the edge

And all my hopes have all deserted me

Like they washed away in the sand

And it’s hurting my pride, try'na survive

But I know I stand a chance

When you lay your hands (Oh yeah)

`Coz it’s the only thing I have that still makes sense

(Oh baby, when I’m calling out) Give me love and affection, Keep telling me, showing me the way.

(Oh, if you see me falling down)Lift me up from the shadows, Will you take me away to a better place?

(And when I’m in my darkest hour)You’re by my side, to turn the tide, until the suffering fades.

When life is getting me down, getting me down, I’m close to defeat,

Come and lay your hands on me.

Feel this road is getting longer now

And I’m too far away from home

Still I gotta keep on moving on

But I can’t do it on my own

Baby keep my head above water, help me swim for my life

`Coz the game is getting harder, The strain is getting stronger

And I can only face the fight,

When you lay your hands (Oh yeah)

`Coz it’s the only thing I have that still makes sense

(Oh baby, when I’m calling out) Give me love and affection,Keep telling me, show me the way.

(Oh, if you see me falling down)Lift me up from the shadows, Will you take me away to a better place?

(And when I’m in my darkest hour)You’re by my side, to turn the tide, until the suffering fades.

When life is getting me down, getting me down, I’m close to defeat, Come and lay your hands on me...

`Till I’m healed again, rediscovered my strengths, those bitter blues are gone...

Oh, gone...

(Oh baby, when I’m calling out) Give me love and affection, keep telling me, showing me the way.

(Oh, if you see me falling down)Lift me up from the shadowsWill you take me away to a better place?

(And when I’m in my darkest hour)You’re by my side, to turn the tide, until the suffering fades.

When life is getting me down, getting me down,
I’m close to defeat, Come and lay your hands on me.

Come and lay your hands on me.

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Thanks for reading this post lol. Here's a nice phrase to think about.

We all want what we can't have from time to time.

But the truly pitiful man(or woman) is one who doesn't see that his/her dreams have come true.

[Keith wrote this, thanks for reading! =D]Y,
7:38 PM

Sunday, March 25, 2007

The wonders of NS.

Lawler, came back from my grandma's house at 8. Used to not like going there when I was young cuz i was so used to fast food that i kinda didn't like the food there, but I'm used to the food now. Anyway, my cousin who's in NS came today. He has a 3week MC lol. I remember the first time when he came back, everywhere he went he wore a cap. Anyway, most of the time when he came, he comes back with hilarious NS stories. This time, he told about when he and some others were stripping a comrade. Shit you not, they were stripping him. But then he said,"Wait ,wait! I not wearing any underwear!" (insert what the fuck face here.) ABORT MISSION! I REPEAT, ABORT MISSION! lol.

[Keith wrote this, thanks for reading! =D]Y,
9:32 PM

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Brb.Back.

Haven't posted in a month lawl. My record of three-four months not blogging still stands.
Alot of interesting things happened in the span of this one month, all of which i forgot. Typical me lawl lol loller. I mostly blame it on two weeks of no internet, router somehow spoilt. Again, basketball=P. I've been using wikipedia alot recently, and well, I looked up alot about basketball. Turns out there were a few un-named positions that players can play, not only the normal 5 positions of center, power forward, small forward, shooting guard and point guard. Well, these un-named positions are mixtures of the current five positions, but still interesting to know as not everyone can play the prototype of these positions.

Those who don't want to read about basketball (lol), please slide on down to the end of the post. These are not for your eyes. It's all about ballin' from here to the end of the post.

Players who play mixed positons are called Tweeners. A tweener in basketball is a term, sometimes used derisively, for a player who is able to play two positions, but is not ideally suited to play either position exclusively, so he/she is said to be in between. This term is most commonly used only at the highest level of basketball competition, where players must combine extreme physical talent with specialised basketball abilities. A tweener has a set of skills that doesn't match the traditional position of his physical stature.

Center/Power Forward
This tweener plays both the Center and Power Forward positions. Many C/PF tweeners are usually taller or stonger than traditional PFs and quicker than traditional Centers. Many times C/PF tweeners are used to create match-up problems. Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Amaré Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Jermaine O'Neal and Kwame Brown are examples of PF/C tweeners.

Power Forward/Small forward
Traditionally a PF/SF tweener refers to a basketball player whose physical attributes and skills render him/her unsuited to play either the power forward position or the small forward position. For example the player may be too short, or lack sufficient strength, to play power forward effectively; while being not quick or athletic enough to play the small forward position.Many players have made successful careers out of being able to successfully interchange between the small forward and power forward positions in order to create matchup problems. Some of these include Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Lamar Odom.

Swingman. Shooting guard/Small forward
Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions. He/She may be too short to play small forward, but lacks a guard's jumper or ball-handling skills to play the two-man. The best swingmen use their "in-between" height and athleticism to exploit defensive mismatches: they will run past bigger players, and post up or shoot over smaller players. Some swingmen have been known to play both the small forward and shooting guard position effectively, having the size and strength to play the small forward position, as well as the outside jumpshot and quickness to play the shooting guard position. These tweeners are known to cause matchup problems, and have proven to be very difficult to guard. Some swingmen who have successfully played this role are Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady.

Shooting Guard/Point Guard (combo guard)
The most common occurrence of this phenomenon occurs in basketball players who considered too short to play shooting guard, having played this position previously in their basketball career. Conversely, they are unable to play point guard successfully due to a lack of the mental specialisation and understanding of the game that this position requires. These players are often referred to as being "a shooting guard trapped in a point guard's body." Current examples of NBA players who may be derisively considered 'tweeners' in this context are Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis. However many successful NBA players have overcome early criticism on the basis that they are point/shooting guards to forge successful careers. Some of these include Allen Iverson, Gilbert Arenas, Ben Gordon and Chauncey Billups.

Lastly, the position of Point Forward. ( the one i have a liking to.)

Point Forward ( Point Guard/Forward)
Point forward is an unofficial playing position in basketball for those who share the best attributes of both a point guard and a forward.Larry Bird was a great Point Forward, having very good passing skills like a point guard though his position was small foward. Players used in that capacity were few and far between until swingman Scottie Pippen popularized it with the Chicago Bulls of the late 1980s. He secured his position as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All-Time by combining great athleticism with scoring, passing and the ability to defend the opposition's best player, including the opposing point guard, as he demonstrated in the 1991 NBA Finals by flustering Magic Johnson. Over the past decade, notable players who have taken on the role of point forward. Kevin Garnett is also widely known to possess an uncanny dribbling ability for a 6'11" (2.11 m) power forward, and filled in the role of point guard in the 2004 playoffs when starting point guard Sam Cassell was injured.Other point forwards today include LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mike Dunleavy, Jr. of the Indiana Pacers, Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns, Tracy Mcgrady of the Houston Rockets, and Lamar Odom of the Lakers. (Dirk Nowitzki could be added to this list due to his very effective dribbling, and at the same time his rebounding abilities, but he rarely brings the ball up the court.)

Okay, so in summary, a forward playing the role of a Point Guard.

Point Guard (PG), also known as "the ball-handler". Typically, being quicker and shorter than even a shooting guard, the more speed a point guard has, the more likely he/she will be able to create separation and space off the dribble, which allows the guard room to work. A true point guard's job is to create scoring opportunities for his team. He does this by passing, setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate that he feels is in the best position to score, and dictating the tempo of the game. A truly great point guard will more or less control the game by how effectively he runs the offense. They are often vocal floor leaders, at times discussing rule interpretations with officials. He must always know the time on both the shot clock and the game clock, the score, the number of time outs for both teams, and whom to foul late in the game. If a point guard has more size (height, muscle) compared to the prototypical point guard, it is considered a plus, but size is only secondary to knowledge of the game and skill. After an opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down court to begin an offensive play. For this reason, passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are pivotal. Point guards are often evaluated more on their assist totals than on their scoring. Still, a first-rate point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot.

More or less so, now when someone says a point guard rules the game, I tend to disagree a little, cuz in my opinion, it's really the point forward who rules the game. Think about it, a point guard's main and first responsibility is to create scoring opportunities through passing to his team mates. A point forward on the other hand, (since a forwards' primary responsibility is to score or get points for their team), main responsibility is over the whole team's scoring including himself. See, point guard= score through passing to team mates, forward= score at all costs. Therefore, a point forward is directly AND indirectly in charge of all the scoring of the whole team! Of course, if there's no point forward, then of course the point guard would rule. Like it was written before, Point forward are few and far between. One last thing to add, since a point guard plays from outside the 3point line, a point forward therefores plays the point guard position from inside the 3point line. That just rules.

End of Basketball Fanatica. Whatever that means.

Lol, this feels like writing an SS essay. More like, copy and pasting an SS essay. What, you think I'd be as hardworking to type out all this facts, when I could do it few times as fast with a few clicks of the mouse. All the things about basketball you read here are from wikipedia. Feel free to thank them by messing up one of their articles.

[Keith wrote this, thanks for reading! =D]Y,
6:31 PM