Has Wenger lost it?

I remember how my love for Arsenal
begin? Back in the early 2000s,
Man Utd was really on form;
in the UK, they won it all.

I was an anti-Man Utd fans because
I find the fans annoying and
arrogant. At that time, I
was always rooting for
the underdogs.

Soon I started supporting Arsenal as it
is the only realistic competitor
to Man Utd. I also think that
it is funny that the manager
of Arsenal has about the
same name as the club.

So, that was how it begins. The beginning
of love is always simple, yet
rather magical, sometimes
you forgotten how it
all begins.

But that said, the beginning of nightmare
is also the same thing. You never know
how one thing can lead to another
and like a rolling ball, the
disaster never seem
to end.

In the early half of 2000s, Arsenal fans
were spoilt. Watching Arsenal at
that time was really an
exhilarating experience.

The players were enjoying themselves and
they have confidence, spades of it.

As Arsenal moves to Ashburton Grove and
Wenger started on his youth policy,
things take a 180 degrees change.

The trophy cabinet has been barren
for years. For me, it's absolutely
fine to be without trophy.

But, it's not alright to not do anything
about it. I feel rather disappointed
that Wenger is hurting his
legacy by being
stubborn.

I feel for him greatly because he gave us
fans so much joy and fun watching
the team played in the past.

Good times might be transient but
deep inside I hope Wenger
will have a happy ending.

The youth project is a failure
because the players don't
feel enough for the
club.

The only redemption I feel is to
cut loss and move on. Some
of the players must go.

When I see Wenger in so much pain,
I also feel terrible about it. He
sacrifices his reputation for
his players . Do they
seriously feel
a thing?

_______________________________________

April is finishing & I think I have a decent
April as far as this month is concerned.

But I really need to slow down, I feel
my engine is being overworked.
But I really hope to get some
of the urgent issues settled.

I feel I really can't live
the sort of life that I have
lived for the past 4-5 years.

On the plus side, I think I have and continue
to have good friends around me. As for
a romantic partner, I believe that
the day will come when I find
someone which I'm compatible
with.

________________________________________

Research has been something I wanted to
do. However, as always I felt it will
not dominate my whole career.

The colleagues I met are very nice indeed and
I appreciate their kindness and
generosity. My boss also has
been kind and he gives me
a lot of freedom to design
my project.

The past 4-5 years have been v painful because
I was very new to research & there
were so many hiccups.

Yesterday, I have my presentation just before the
defense. As a undergrad, I used to be quite
fearful of presenting. But, I usually
"volunteer" because my group
was mostly girls and I felt
obliged to present if they
don't wish to do it.

But presenting for postgraduate is different as
you are expected to give a longer presentation.
On my first presentation in
2007, I was sort of reprimanded by
one of the examiner for giving
a poor presentation.

That time, I was quite sick and my runny
nose was giving me loads of problems.
I have problems speaking out and
halfway through I felt kinda tired.

Yesterday, was different altogether. I think I have
improved by quite a lot as compared to 2007.
I have more stamina and I think I can
deliver a long presentation than back
in 2007. Postgrad was tough, very
tough, I am glad I am close to
the finishing line.

____________________________________________
At the moment, I have plans to start revenue-generating
websites while looking for my job. One will be on
financial investment while the other will
be on wellness.

One of my website has been launched recently,
http://www.health-beautyblog.com. But,
it will take time for the website to
generate revenue. At the
moment, I am focus on
improving the content
of my website & driving
traffic to it.

Doing a website is very fun. This time it takes a much
shorter time for me to launch the new website
as the internet publishing is now more
mature.

Phase 1 of my investment website will also
be launched in 2 weeks time. It will
start with a blog interface.

At the moment, I am also very pleased with my
investment portfolio. It's not that I have made
a lot of money from it. But I feel my choice
of stock picking has improved and
now I am much more calmer in my
decision making.

My investment style is different from my
mum as well as a lot of people. I don't
get a lot of satisfaction from making
20-30% profit within a short
period.

It is counter-intuitive but I prefer to
see my stocks doubled or tripled
after a few year of purchase.

Different people derive satisfaction
from stock investing in different
ways. Most people are interested
in the money that comes with
in. I love more from satisfaction
knowing that you have made a
very good decision.
That to me matter more than
the $$$ itself.

Time really flies and the first quarter
of 2011 is less hectic than
2010.

In January, I finally completed my
final draft and a month later
I succeeded in pestering
my boss to finish
reading through it.

Reservist was directly after my
thesis submission. I wouldn't
say it's a welcome break but
at least I don't really
detest my reservist.

Thankfully, 3 weeks of reservist
passed by rather quickly.
Waking up at 5:15 am everyday
need some getting used to.

Ever since, I started postgrad,
time seem to pass by v
fast. I wish things & time
could slow down.

There is still a lot I want to
explore. I hope my body
won't deteriorate as
fast. My hair is
getting lesser by the day,
but thankfully my energy
level is still quite good.

____________________________________

2011 is like a starting on clean slate
for me. If given an opportunity,
I will move away from
academic field.

Academic field doesn't feel like
the perfect fit for me. In the
past few years, research
is more like a learning
process, so it's still
acceptable.

But as a career for the next 10 years,
I fear I might not find it as meaningful.
Research to me is like being
sold the future, u delay
your happiness for

the future. If the
future doesn't arrive, there is a
nagging thought that you have wasted
your past 10 years.

Perhaps I have neither the passion
nor the guts to bet my 10 yrs
of my life in research.

But all careers have its snake pit, it's
just whether you can accept it
or whether it's still worth
it in spite of that.

I have been thinking about it &
I got a feel that I'm very
close to finding the
answer.

The memorable part of postgraduate
years is perhaps the colleagues, without
their support, I don't think I can finish
it.

But postgraduate is very tumultous. I didn't
know the enormous challenge was
part of the package. It was
problems after problems,
uncertainties after
uncertainties.

The best thing I learn though is to focus
on what I can do and to forget thinking
about the uncertainties.

So much has happened in the past 5 years that
I really feel I need a rest of some sort.
My engine can't continue to work
at this intensity.

In my 30s, I aim to be more efficient. I hope
I can earn much more $$$ and has
more personal time at the
same time. The challenge
is to establish the foundation
for this to happen.

____________________________________

Would you rather has an exciting life but with
its share of down or you much prefer
a stable life?

My mentally is naturally geared towards the former.
But, it's not easy living that kind of life.

Sometime when you are down in the dump,
you really desire more peace.

I also think my viewpoint on certain aspects
of thing is flawed and might
not be doing me any good. I
think in the past I complicate
people life especially
those v close
to me.

At least my dealing with people has started to
become more consistent. I'm feeling very
healthy and happy about various
aspects of my life.

_____________________________________

Election is around the corner. The last election
I was starting my postgraduate year.

And in May, KaChing!!! Another round
of cash hand-out. I love cash
hand-out, who doesn't, haha.

My army khaki jokes whether there will
be a day when Singapore Pools allow
pple to place their bets on
election results.

After many years as part of Sembawang GRC,
my area is finally craved out to form
the new Nee Soon GRC.

Doreen always said that I like to gamble. I'm not a
fan of casino although I think Russian roulette
is one of the best invention.

You can lose money very fast playing Russian roulette.
You can also make a lot, if the ball
ended up in the right place. My advise is
with whatever 'investments' always
think about the potential loss.
Don't be blinded by the
returns.

As for me risk-taking does give me the adrenaline.
But I'm not an avid gambler. I like to make
'bets' in which I feel I'm in control. Like
spotting test questions & investments.

Spotting question is very fun. As you obtain
the test paper, you glance at the
questions and in matter
of secs, it's either
ecstasy or misery.

In my first three months in Sweden,
my spotting was as worse as it
gets.

But old habits die hard, I think the
best way to prepare for exam
is to spot question.

_________________________________

I have a lot of seafood in the past few
weeks. Wow!!!
Cockles, Crabs, Prawns,
Squids, Fish, Oyster, I
eat them all.

There's a place in Sembawang,
opposite Sembawang CC. The
salted-egg crab is very good.
The shell is thin & the
chef has got v
good skills.

I think the many meals of seafood
seem detrimental. My heart
was beating fast for
no reason for an
entire week. Wonder, whether
it's the seafood.

Mum said cockles are now more
expensive. Cockles are as
good as prawns.

On Saturday, I introduced an
HongKong dessert place to
Kian Leng. He was so
amazed by the
siew mai. Haha, I have never
met someone who love
siew mai so much.