Canaries Go Down To Clarets

In the English Championship, Norwich City FC was wasteful in their match away against Burnley and lost 0-2. This almost put paid the Canaries' chances of a play-off spot. In the EPL, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool all won.

Liverpool Lock Horns With Chelsea Again

In the English FA Cup draw released last Friday, Liverpool is set to battle Chelsea in the semi-finals. This is a repeat of last season's clash at the Champions' League semi-finals where the Kops triumphed by a solitary goal. In the other semi-final, West Ham United will meet the winners between Charlton Athletic and Middlesborough.

Kidnapped!

I would like to relate an incident which truly happened recently.
My wife is a baby-sitter. She takes care of a toddler girl who is a year old. Two weeks back, a single father sent his two-year old daughter to my wife for baby-sitting. Naturally, my wife and I welcomed the extra income it will generate. However, it lasted a day only! The father owns a computer shop at Low Yat Plaza, Kuala Lumpur. He had divorced his wife of Indonesian decent some time ago. On that fateful Sunday, my wife told the father to send his daughter to our apartment to be taken care of. The father did not do so. We were very shocked and surprised when the father informed us that his daughter was kidnapped by his ex-wife's co-hoots. Personally, I feel that the real loser in this case would be the poor two-year old child. I sympathise with the father who was trying his best to raise his daughter and take care of his business at the same time. I had been through a divorce...my parents', when I was only eight years old. It left a deep scar in my life and partly affected my future. The moral of the story is that do not seek a divorce with your spouse whatever the reason. Make it work and life will be much kinder then.

Canaries Blunt Blades

Norwich City FC did very well to beat high-flying Sheffield United 2-1 courtesy of goals by Leon McKenzie and Robert Earnshaw at Carrow Road in the English Championship. While in the EPL, champions Chelsea fell to a shock 0-1 away defeat at Fulham in a match which saw William Gallas sent-off in injury time. Liverpool were comfortable 3-1 away winners at Newcastle and Manchester United also recorded a 2-1 away win at West Bromwich Albion. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs also won, while Portsmouth won again to revive their battle to avoid the drop.

Champions League Draw Released

The draws for the quarter-finals and the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League are as follows:

ARSENAL VS JUVENTUS

LYON VS AC MILAN

INTER MILAN VS VILLARREAL

BENFICA VS BARCELONA

First legs are to be played on March 28/29, while second legs are to be played on April 4/5.

>Semi-finals...

ARSENAL/JUVENTUS VS INTER MILAN/VILLARREAL

LYON/AC MILAN VS BENFICA/BARCELONA

First legs are to be played on April 18/19, while second legs are to be played on April 25/26.

Canaries Unlucky In Draw

After two goals from Andy Hughes and Paul McVeigh, English Championship side Norwich City FC were unlucky to see Leeds United draw level at 2-2 from a free-kick in injury time. The Canaries were left looking for their first away win of 2006. In the EPL, leaders Chelsea are destined for the title after a hard fought win over Tottenham Hotspurs. The Red Devils piled up the pressure with a 2-0 home win over Newcastle United. Liverpool lost 1-2 away to Arsenal with the Kops skipper Steven Gerrard making an error to gift Thierry Henry with the Gunners' winner. In the relegation battle, Portsmouth snatched three precious points with a 2-1 win over Manchester City, while fellow strugglers Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion drew 1-1. Elsewhere, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic and Everton all won as the race for places in Europe hots up.

Canaries Triumph!

In the English Championship, goals from Leon McKenzie and Jonatan Johansson helped Norwich City FC to a 2-1 victory over Stoke City at Carrow Road. In the EPL, Chelsea edged further ahead with a 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion, while Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Charlton Athletic. In a relegation battle, Middlesborough beat Birmingham City 1-0. Also, Arsenal trashed Fulham 4-0 at Craven Cottage.

Fuel Hike In Malaysia

The Malaysian government recently made an unpopular decision to raise the fuel price by 30 cents. It represented almost a 20% increase over the previous price. The whole Malaysian population was shocked and taken aback by this move as the announcement was made without any prior warning. However, the government promised that the RM4.4 billion that would be saved would be put back to improve the transportation in the country.
As I do not own a car, I would not feel the impact of the raised fuel price immediately. I have depended on public transportation all my life and I purposely choose to stay near a LRT station for my convenience. Yes, I do pay for an above average rental, but the location of my home is very strategic because all amenities are available within walking distance.
However, I am starting to feel the pinch of the fuel hike. Yesterday, my wife went to the local pasar malam (night market). The price of a simple burger had went up by 20% to RM1.20! Malaysians are bracing for an increase of almost everything, but very sad to say that the level of wages earned had not increased correspondingly.
On my part, I will be more frugal in spending and try to change my lifestyle. However, there is only so much that we can do if we are still earning the same level of wages, while the prices of goods keep on spiralling. The Malaysian government has to look into this matter seriously and I know I have the backing of all suffering Malaysians!

SurfJunky Is A Scam!

Sorry, guys! I just found out that SurfJunky is a real SCAM! Out of curiosity, I made a search through Google putting the word "SurfJunky". And the truth came out. Apparently, they have not been paying members who have reached payout level.

Planning And Succeeding

They say many people who "fail to plan, plan to fail". Success has a lot to do with planning, be it short-term, medium-term or long-term. Short-term plans are necessary to make both the medium and longer ones successful. However, sometimes even the best of plans fail. When this happens, it is fate.

When I left my job as executive secretary of VIOBA for a construction firm, little did I realize that I would regret the decision I made. This construction firm is owned by a close friend of mine whose company is working on a multi-million ringgit project in Pahang, Malaysia. However, things turned sour when the company's cashflow went from bad to critical so much so that I had to take a few weeks unpaid leave. Until today, this construction firm still owes me remuneration that I am entitled to.

Then, I had a sales and marketing job. I planned to give it my best shot. But in the end, I failed miserably. Only then did I realize that my sales and marketing skills are nothing to shout about. I have learnt my lessons.

Yesterday, my good friend Sean contacted me and informed me that he is trying to get VIOBA to accept me back into their fold. This is really good news as my jobhunt is really going nowhere. I have not had a job interview for ages. Anyway, I hope to be gainfully employed in the immediate future. This is what I plan and this time I am planning for success.