The one with the 20-20 game

I enjoyed a great game of basketball last night. Even though the numbers were way short. It was still good fun.

Only 5 players showed up to court - Mark, Lim, Andrew, Adi and myself. So we ended up playing 2-on-2 basketball for the entire hour. We rotated the match-ups to keep the game interesting.

All in all, I played 5 games, and accumulated 21 points, 21 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block and 2 steals.

Since it was 2-on-2, I saw the session as an opportunity to find some offence which is long gone since my college days. Also, with the others tiring down, I put it on myself to just score. Manage to score with a vast array of moves; a left layup, skyhooks, up-and-under moves, jab-steps-in-your-face-jumpers, runners in traffic, tear-drops, put-backs, finger-rolls and off balance jumpers. Was really pleased with the performance and felt good about it. Found confidence in my game again.

Now, lets see if I can keep this going.

The one where I'm still here

How do midgard-ians. Its been 4 months since my last post. A lot has happen, see if I can remember all there is.

After my last post, my wife went for fibroid removal surgery. Upon a post-surgery check-up in March, we found out she was pregnant and just went through her first tri-mester. And nobody knew. Now she is 5 months pregnant and so far it seems OK.

My sister got married last weekend, to a dude who now joins my basketball Wednesday sessions. Well, he is making his return tonight after a layoff before the wedding.

I (sadly) am still stuck in the same place at work. The rewards for last years efforts sucked. My plotting an exit scheme doesn't seem to be going well.

Okay, that's a brief update. Need to post more regularly.

The one with another emo-sith rant

I work on Sundays. I work on public holidays. I cover day plus night shifts. Even when I'm leave work comes a calling. Even when I'm at a weekend getaway with my wife, work calls. And I'm not even fairly compensated.

I don't even have time to spend with my wife or even get proper rest. Any break I get to recharge is a joke as someone from the office will call. 24 days into 2011, and I'm already going through my annual mid-year burnout.

I'm stuck in a place where work owns you. So my next move? To plot another exit.

The one with my first basketball game in 2011

My first basketball game for 2011 didn't really go too well. Not much improvement from last year. Still in need of better shot selection and consistency. As well as off-the-ball movement.

At least I had a couple of moments of sheer Jordan-esque. A cross-over drive to the hoop and a spin move for the game winner.

From 4 half-court games, i accumulated 7 points 7 boards 8 assists and 1 block.

The one with the stats

Here is something to keep my mind going while playing. Keep in mind the stats of my games. See how long I can keep it going. Plan to do this for all the games I play.

So last night was my first futsal game for 2011. Didn't score any goals but still managed 1 assist. I had a lot of shots on goal, but none went in.

Tonight is basketball, now that is a whole lot of stats to keep track of.

The one with the year that was 2010

Happy New Year to all. Three days in, only now i plan to post my story in 2010.

Well the highlight of the year was of course, me getting married. I got married on 10 July 2010. It was a simple occasion with close relatives and friends. It did felt strange that the cameras were on me. The whole event itself was a whole lot of work but I believe the hardest is for the groom. He must show up and say the right name.

On a serious note, my relatives and close friends helped make the occasion memorable. They put a lot of work as well as sleepless nights trying to get the whole thing together.

My wife herself, is a very Lois Lane type. Which kind of fits my Clark Kent-ness. A strong determined woman with a tall bumbling nerd.

If I were to ever do a 'How I Met Your Mother' if i have kids, it will be ' there a two big days to my love story - the day I met your mother and the day I married her. (cue theme song HIMYM).

The year 2010 was also the year I played basketball again. I joined a weekly half-court session in the middle of the year. It was nice to just be on the court and play the game which I love. The game is still fun although I feel out of place at times as most of the group are regular ballers who play in social leagues. They are players who have solid fundamentals. Unlike me, who did not have any formal training, only relied on my talent, height and videos. I myself have been out of the game for so long, trying to get into rhythm took some time. Still, I always look forwards to Wednesday 9pm to just shoot hoops.

Also 2010, was a great year for my Spurs. And I still have trouble trying to pick out my favourite moment for 2010. Believe me, its been a while that Spurs fans have anything to celebrate. Definitely makes a change from all the red teams and a blue team making noise on the social networks. The champions league qualification does take centre-stage in our favourite Spurs moment, but I would also like to add the emergence of a young athlete who I knew would be great when he first joined. He was unlucky with injuries and trying to get consistent playing time, but once he started turning on the afterburners, there was no looking back. That young man's name, is Gareth Bale.

On a sad note, 2010 was the year which I have attended more funerals and burials than I have had my entire life. And probably it hit my dad the hardest. He lost one brother and 2 sisters in the space of 5 months. Siblings who took care of him when their parents passed when my dad was still a baby. Also a close friend of mine lost his father on the 2nd day of the Islamic calender. And I realize that I am a 'crier'. I cry with people who are crying at funerals.

Well that was 2010 for me. Here's to a better 2011.

The one with Football Manager 2011

Again, one of my favourite games has come out with a new edition. Football Manager 2011, packed with a whole lot of improvements after last year's stagnant edition.

Among the features are revamped training as well as real-time conversations with players, the board and a new feature the agents (they make a lot of money from football transfers).

This time around, I will be taking over my Spurs again. Last years edition I went continental as there wasn't much improvement on gameplay.

I've just went through the pre-season, and will start my first league game later.