Fearless Federer

I came back from lunch with Debs and turned on the TV to the Australian Open Tennis and a quite stunning sight greeted me. Roger Federer, Mr Cool, Mr Nearly Unbeatable, a man who has participated in the last 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals (winning eight of them), was down two sets to one in the third round of the tournament.

Sure, there was talk of the illness that forced him to pull out of his usual warm-up tournament leading up to the Open, but he had absolutely demolished his previous two opponents, Diego Hartfield and Fabrice Santoro, for the loss of a mere three games in each match. His imperious displays had led to the possibility of him repeating his 2007 feat of winning the Australian Open without dropping a set.

Instead, when I picked up the action at the start of the fourth set, Federer was looking far from cool and he was down 6-7, 7-6, 5-7 against Jarno Tipsarevic, an unheralded Serb. Federer soon set things aright by taking the fourth set 6-1 after a few lapses in concentration by Tipsarevic, but the match soon turned into an almighty struggle.

Tipsarevic was taking the match to Federer, showing a complete lack of nerves, saving break points with huge serves and huge forehand winners, painting the lines and showing no fear at all. It was supremely telling that Federer had 25 break points by the end of the match, succeeding on only 5 occasions. Federer was often impregnable on serve, hitting well over 30 aces and winning 90% of his first serve points, but Tipsarevic was able to make the big points count and took all 3 of his break points.

In the fifth set, the match turned into a marathon battle of wills. From 1-1 when Federer had break points on the Tipsarevic serve till 8-8, i.e. for 14 consecutive games, both men stared each other down and neither deigned to blink. There was not a single break point in those 14 games. Lesser men than Federer would have become disheartened as opportunity after opportunity was either squandered, or more often saved by a terrific Tipsarevic winner. But he is a man already considered one of the all-time greats, with one eye on history.

The end of the match was a tribute to Federer's refusal to give up and his determination to play every single point. Tipsarevic was leading 40-0 on his serve and anybody would have been forgiven for giving up and having one eye on the next service game. Federer somehow managed to claw it back to deuce, and on a second break point in the game (and the umpteenth of the match) things finally went his way when Tipsarevic dumped a lunging backhand volley into the net. Federer naturally closes the set and match out 10-8 on his serve but not before exhibiting nerves (yes, even he is capable of them!), ending the nearly four and a half hour marathon.

The relative rarity of Federer's involvement in five set marathons - he quipped that he isn't often involved in five setters unless it involves Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon - is a testament to just how good he is. Federer involved in an almighty struggle, now that is a rarity given that he more regularly crushes his opponents, and it made for quite the spectacle. The crowd certainly appreciated it, giving both players a relentless standing ovation when the match was over. This was tennis of the highest quality, a true test of will and determination, profoundly captivating.

Take no credit away from Tipsarevic who played bravely, and often brilliantly, but faced with the relentlessness, the confidence and the coolness of Roger Federer, the bets were always on him to crack first, no matter how much he played outside of his skin. Because, at this rate, this is now about a battle between Roger Federer and history, and there is only ever going to be one winner there.

Transportation Rant; Dinner at Au Petit Salut

It was Qiuyi's birthday and I was invited to dinner at Au Petit Salut at Dempsey's. Maxie, Preema, Alvin and Koh Ping were the others that attended. I hadn't seen them for the most part since I left MFA so it was good to catch up. Unfortunately for me, I was very late after getting delayed leaving the house, and then being unable to board over three buses from Orchard MRT towards Holland on account of them being completely jam-packed.

Ironically, our Transport Minister gave a keynote speech the following day outlining our future transport strategy with public transport as the centerpiece - apparently he wants to make taking public transport as convenient or more so as driving a car. Try packing yourself into a jam packed bus only to connect to a jam packed MRT train and see how comfortable (let alone convenient) that is!

In addition, Orchard MRT now suffers from a major human traffic flow problem due to the moving of the main exit from the MRT station to Orchard Road. The old main exit next to Wisma is now closed, and instead commuters have to exit through what will be the future Ion at Orchard residence/shops. The only problem is, the passageway to the new exit is very narrow and off to the side of the ticket booth, and it crosses with the path into the underground tunnel towards Tangs/Shaw. The net result is a huge jam of bodies.

Suffice the say that the planning regarding the human traffic flow has been non-existent and the situation is most unwelcome. Almost as unwelcome as the horrendous advertising on the Ion bombarding us on on the way up to Orchard Road. This is corporate branding and advertising at its most odious.

Over dinner, the conversation centered quite naturally on work, with the usual complaints about the long hours, the secretarial nature of the job and limited opportunities for research and so on. I guess discussing what is going on at the place makes me regret leaving a lot less - I doubt that I would have wanted to stay there for the long term given the status quo, and I highly doubt things will change in any fundamental way. It still pains me to hear of old friends and colleagues going home at midnight for a week or more on end, though.

Au Petit Salut itself was a nice enough place. I had seen it on numerous times passing by on Holland Road, standing alone and aloof from the dining and nightlife boom on Dempsey Road. The building alone was a bit of an oddity, a small three storey slightly run down looking thing. It was certainly interesting walking up the pathway from the bus stop and finding it blocked with leaves and ending up right by the windows to the kitchen.

Overall it was a nice enough dining experience. The service was good, the restaurant interior itself what one would expect from a fairly high class French place. I ordered a steak (felt like some meat) and it was done a nice medium rare - just as I had ordered. I passed on desert, but what the others ordered looked quite delectable. As far as French restaurants in Singapore goes, Au Petit Salut is definitely a better bet than say Sebastian's at Greenwood Ave or some of the other establishments I have tried.

Ice Skating and Bowling Nostalgia

The past two days offered me a chance to re-live more stuff from my teenage years. After my interview at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (see previous post), I caught a cab that was just leaving NTU (after trying in vain to find the bus stop) and decided randomly to go to Jurong Entertainment Center. Out of a pure sense of nostalgia I ended up heading up to the ice skating rink. I used to go bowling at the alley opposite that rink (it has since closed down and a KTV joint was set up in its place).

Ice skating has always held a special place in my heart since I picked it up as a little kid in Canada before returning to Singapore. It is a sport I imagine I would have continued given the opportunity - and continue I did for awhile. I took lessons when I was in Primary 3 and 4 every Wednesday at the old Fuji ice rink at Dhoby Ghaut (now closed down and turned into a club). But the reality was that the rink was too small and too crowded and the pace of the lessons were too slow. So I stopped.

I still went ice skating now and then after that with friends, occasionally even alone. Back in Oxford there are a few memorable trips to the ice rink. In one, it was for the inter-college ice hockey tournament (at beginner's level - plastic sticks, no shooting off the ground and playing the rink breadth rather than length wise). We did fairly well considering that our goalkeeper - poor old Sam Geen - could barely stand up and used the crossbar of the goal to keep his balance.

I hadn't been for been a year at least, probably more. The rink was mostly empty save a young girl practicing beginner figure skating moves, and two teenagers doing the usual showing off and horsing around. It was probably nostalgia that inspired me, but I decided to give myself a go on the ice. It was odd skating more or less without company (the rink is usually crowded) and it was even more odd skating completely alone when the scant company decided to take a break. Soon the teenagers were replaced by two cute little kids whose Caucasian mom went in to closely watch over them.

It was a nice feeling being out on the ice. But I soon found that it just didn't have the same thrill for me as it did in the past. I guess it is inevitable that you feel a bit pointless doing circles round a rink for two hours, and this is accentuated when you are the only one doing it. The cut up ice didn't help at all - and it was just my bad luck that my two hours expired just when they resurfaced it.

The following day, I met Victor and Nic to shoot some pool and bowl, again activities that used to occupy me back in Secondary School (oh my wasted youth). Victor and me were clearly rusty compared to Nic (who was in the midst of his wasted youth and thus playing pool far more regularly) and we missed a number of simple pots. My problem with pool was that I could never pot the ball all that well, even if I were able to see the shots that I wanted to play (I'm not even all that great at that). I do enjoy watching the professionals on television and I marvel even more at their ability to clear up all the balls effortlessly when my simple shots rattle out, forget playing for position.

After Victor got thoroughly frustrated when I managed to snooker him thrice (two times through pure luck), and I won the match after he gave me a free shot on the black after a fluke foul, we decided to adjourn to the bowling alley. I went through a bowling phase when I was in secondary school, when I used to go about once a week to the lanes, knocking off a significant portion of my pocket money in addition to pins. I even went so far as to get myself a cheap bowling ball and a pair of shoes - something to call my own. But it had been ages and ages since I had stepped onto a lane - bowling just isn't popular in the UK at all.

I was quite surprised at how bad I had become though, spraying balls everywhere except at the middle of the pins, and scoring an abysmal 58 pinfalls in my first game, losing even to Nic. Victor scored above a hundred after hitting a few spares. The second game turned out a lot better for me, and I was in the lead most of the way until Victor caught up with me and we entered the final frame level on 91 pinfalls. Victor then hit 9 pins in his last frame meaning I needed to spare the last to win. I was left with a relatively straightforward 1-2-3 spare but missed it meaning I didn't even break 100 in my second game with a 97.

Again, it was nice going out bowling again after so long, but I can't help but feel that I will never have the same enthusiasm for bowling as I did when I was younger. An occasional game here and there with friends, for fun but nothing more. To round off the day we had a go at the arcade on Daytona. I trailed most of the way after crashing in the opening lap, but snuck into the lead entering the final lap. Sadly, I smashed my car into the wall after being nudged by Nicholas (the bastard!) and ended up last.

It was fun though, doing all the things I used to do in the past, in younger, freer days. But it solidified the certainty that I had moved on to other perhaps more intellectual and challenging things.

A Job Interview

I went to the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) this morning to interview for a job as a research assistant. I will be working directly under two professors, and this job might well give me the stepping stone towards doing a Phd and an academic career.

Things were going pretty well (I think) until the following exchange:

Professor One: "One question, if I may, and please answer honestly - how is your mandarin chinese?"

Me: "Well honestly speaking it is pretty dire."

Professor Two: "Spoken like a true ACS boy!"

Professor One: "What do you mean by dire? Can you read chinese? Say would you be able to read a short newspaper article in chinese?"

Me: *shakes head vigorously from side to side*

Professor One: "Ah I am glad you are honest, it is just a minor issue but it would have been better for you to be honest now than for us to find that Chinese is incomprehensible to you later."

Me: "Well I actually failed Chinese at my 'A' levels despite having a Chinese teacher won had won the most inspiring Chinese teacher award."

I am still naive to be hopeful about getting the job?

Just Like Old Times

I went over to Victor's place again on Thursday, just as I have been doing for the better part of a decade now. We were classmates in Secondary 2, 3 and 4 at ACS (Independent) and both went to ACJC (he to do triple science, me to do pure Arts). I used to go over to his house during the holidays to chill out, play badminton and changing generations of video game consoles. I remember watching the amazing 1999 Champions League final, when Man Utd defeated Bayern Munich with two last minute goals at his house (I missed seeing the winning goal live because I went to get a drink, thinking extra time inevitable).

Of course, we subsequently went our separate ways - to different units in the Army and then off to our respective Universities - Oxford in my case, Adelaide to do medicine in his, and differences in Hemispheres meant that our vacations hardly overlapped (I chose not to come back during my winter break, he was often just returning to Australia after his short winter break when I returned to Singapore in late July). We managed to catch up very occasionally, maybe once a year, but those visits to his place started to become a distant memory.

The opportunity to re-live the good old days came about because Victor is back on his summer break. I of course am currently out of a job, so I have time on my hands. It a scary thought that Victor's brother Nic, is now awaiting his 'A' level results. When I used to go over regularly, it was me and Victor that were doing our A levels and Nic had barely started secondary school. In one of those supremely random twists of fate, I ended up as Nic's GP teacher when I relief taught at ACJC from July to mid-October 2007.

So it was off to the old Siglap Community Centre and their old indoor badminton courts (bring your own net) for a round of doubles badminton. We were joined by one of Victor's friends from Adelaide, now working back in Malaysia and here in Singapore for a holiday. Vic proved once again that his height and long reach were a definite advantage while Nic showed an amazing ability to hit himself with his own racquet. It was definitely fun, and I really should make use of the new modern indoor courts at the Bishan sports center more often. It's a pity I don't really have anyone to play badminton with regularly.

Having seen some young boys playing football over at the futsol court nearby, I endeavoured to arrange an impromptu 4 a side futsol match. We began well at first, taking a 2-0 lead before letting in a soft goal. But as the game went on it became more an more obvious that we were tiring (I choose to take 2 hours of badminton as an excuse, but no doubt a general lack of physical exertion in recent times had something to do with it). We couldn't put the game away at 4-3 up and they eventually won 5-4. I wonder which was the greater humiliation - losing to a bunch of 10 year olds. Or wheezing from exhaustion by the end of the match.

Victor wanted to take his friend out for a nice dinner that night, so we ended up dining at La Fondue over at Dempsey Road, one of the new hot dining/chill out spots in Singapore, picking up his girlfriend Daphne along the way. We ended up ordering two Fondue set (for two) with an additional portion, which included a salad each, cheese fondue (with bread), an assortment of seafood and meats cooked over a hot plate and in olive oil respectively and finally desert in the form of fruits dipped in chocolate fondue. It was definitely a pretty fun experience, if rather expensive - the sets worked out at over $75 per head. Probably nice for a birthday or some other celebration. I probably wouldn't go again as I don't like fondue quite that much.

The evening entertainment turned out to be a full round of mahjong. I had decent luck this time, winning around 10 bucks (we only played 10 cents/20 cents) but given Nic's lack of finances, I naturally didn't collect. We were falling asleep by the end of it as the last round was only completed around 4am. Quite a day, just like it was in the good old days.

A Tremendous Threesome

It was just Dave Sowden, Marty and me for the pub quiz this week (my first of 2007). Keith Prince was called in for emergency quiz master duties so he couldn't be part of the team - not that it mattered in the long run! There was a bit of a debate as to whether to play our joker (earning us double our points in that particular round) on the round featuring questions on "Movie Title Actors" or "Writers, Composers and Artists". Marty insisted that the movie questions were usually piss easy. Arty fellow that I am, I fancied my chances on the latter one. In the end, my arguments won out.

We lead most of the way, and the pressure was definitely on me after we scored a perfect 10 out of 10 on movie title actors (without having played our joker of course). With a slender lead, a good score on our joker round was essential, particularly as if we buggered that one up, I would be severely dealt with by my two team mates. Lucky for me the questions were piss easy, including such classics as: "who wrote the novel Pride and Prejudice" and "who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel". The only remotely tricky one was the last question: "who composed Appalachian Spring"*. I quickly slammed down the answer sheet the minute the questions had been asked - an easy twenty points.

Ultimately though you have to beat what is there and two other teams had also scored highly. We struggled slightly with a 7 in the final round including one of those annoying anagrams which refused to get solved. Thankfully, that was enough for a one point win which meant a bottle of wine and $60 each for Marty, Dave and me. Definitely, a enjoyable evening!


*Appalachian Spring was composed by US composer Aaron Copland

Dover Close East Adventures and Eastern Promises

I ended up making a visit to ACJC today. This came after I invited Mei out to watch a movie, which turned out to be Eastern Promises. She mentioned that a group of recently graduated students were making a trip back in order to attend a KI lecture (Mei, Charmaine and Deborah) and I decided to tag along.

Upon arrival, we were given a task by the great guru Mr Daniel Tan himself. Apparently, he was giving an introductory lecture on knowledge, and he thought it a good idea to do the whole Matrix red pill/blue pill thing. Having had our idea of using Panadol Menstrual tablets for the 'red pill' (apparently the pills had to be properly edible), Char managed to obtain breath mints that were pinkish and light bluish respectively. I couldn't help but note that the blue pills were very similar in colour to Viagra (thank you Rob Linham for this horrendously inappropriate and useless piece of knowledge).

The lecture went on well enough and I curbed my enthusiasm for heckling Mr Tan (why else would one go back to attend a KI lecture?) I instead managed some asides to Debs and Char instead while attempting not to be too much of a nuisance. It was also nice bumping into some of my former colleagues in the staff room, including Candida and Wendy, though I wish I could have spoken to many of the others. I did manage a few witty and sarcastic remarks (one hopes!) to Miss Ganga J in passing.

Then it was off to watch the movie. Eastern Promises was violent and shocking. That was hardly surprising given director David Croenenberg's B-grade horror background. I saw poor Mei cover her eyes with her sweater during some of the more realistic scenes, and I don't blame her. A full review of the movie will be put up at City Flickers.

Things To Try And Make Happen In 2008

As the title suggests, here are the following in no particular order:

• Find Another Job
• Learn How To Drive
• Pick Up Lindy-Hop
• Do More Physical Activities [That Exercises More Than My Eyeballs]
• Try Out Wall/Rock Climbing More
• Blog More [At Least Twice A Week]
• Get Movie Screening Thing Off The Ground
• Buy Less Books [Max 5 per month]
• Drink Less Alcohol
• Save More Money [Dependent On The Job Part]
• Walk The Dog More Often

And if I really have time and I am feeling particularly inspired:

• Figure Out The Whole God Question
• Learn How To Cook
• Learn To Design My Own Webpage
• Discover What I Really Want To Do With My Remaining Time On The Planet
• Pick Up A Good Cause
• Write Something Publishable
• Come Up With The Next Big Idea
• Find A Way To Get Competitive Quizzing Started In Singapore
• Find True Love [Or The Closest Approximation To It]

And of course, if I somehow managed to complete all of that I can:

• Figure Out A Way To End All Conflicts In The World
• Invent A Time Machine
• Become The Founder Of A Cult [And Convince Some Barmy Movie Star To Convert To It]
• Teach My Dog To Sing The Whole of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody
• Find A Cure For Cancer
• Clone A Super Intelligent Rat [That Will Take Over The World]
• Hell, Why Not Just Take Over The World Myself And Save Cloning The Rat?

Just To Attempt A Little Realism, In Order To Complete All Of The Above:

• Learn To Survive On Less Sleep
• Be More Productive

Things The Self-Help Books Tell Me To Resolve To Do [But Will Be A Real Dampener On My Style]

• Be More Positive and Think Happy Thoughts
• Keep Hours More In Line With The Rest Of Civilisation
• Avoid Sarcasm
• Don't Be Cynical
• THE SECRET (trademarked) Is That Like Attracts Like (copyrighted)

And If All Else Fails.........

• Screw It There Is Always Next Year

Movies To Watch from 2007

After browsing through a general overview of the film releases in 2007 (in America to date), I have made a list of the movies that I want to watch. A number of them have yet to appear in cinemas in Singapore.

Yet to Open in Singapore (if ever):
Atonement [seen]
Michael Clayton [seen]
Into the Wild [seen - DVD]
Eastern Promises [seen]
No Country for Old Men [seen]
The Assassination of Jesse James
Juno [seen]
There Will Be Blood [seen]
Sweeney Todd [seen]
In the Shadow of the Moon
This Movie Is Not Yet Rated (mid Jan)

Movies I missed in Theatres:
Flag of Our Fathers
Letters from Iwo Jima [seen - DVD]
The Lives of Others [seen - DVD]
Death at the Funeral
Hairspray
The Simpson's Movie [seen - DVD]
Becoming Jane
Sicko
Broken English
Deathproof and Planet Terror (Grindhouse)
Hot Fuzz [seen - DVD]

Last Updates June 2009

The Three Best Movies I Watched in 2007:
Pan's Labyrinth
Ratatouille
The Wind that Shakes the Barley

The Holiday

I must admit surprise that I actually willingly sat through the whole of The Holiday when it showed on HBO today. Holiday movies and romantic comedies are not my usual thing and this movie was both - in spades. I am often told I am a killjoy about the holiday season (but seriously, there are the crowds, the endless muzak versions of popular Christmas songs etc.) which really puts my watching this movie into perspective.

The premise of the movie is your run of the mill deux ex machina romantic comedy. Cameron Diaz's character dumps her boyfriend after she discovers that he cheated on her. Kate Winslett's winter descends into one of discontent (apologies to Richard III here) and desolation when her colleague at the newspaper where she works, with whom she has been madly in love for the last three years, announces his engagement to the girl from circulation (her rival in love).

Seeing the need to get away from it all, they contrive to swap houses (tiny rural English cottage for enormous Hollywood mansion) and in the roundabout fashion that is necessary for any romantic comedy of decent length, they contrive to fall in love as well. Cameron with Kate's brother, a widower; Kate with record producer Jack Black. There is a nice subplot about an old time Hollywood scriptwriter whom Kate stumbles upon (he's a neighbour) with plenty of nostalgia for the good old days and how Hollywood used to be.

The movie was enjoyable enough, but I guess personally it just reached a point for me when I just felt so blatantly emotionally manipulated that I just couldn't get round to enjoying the movie as much as I should. I guess the whole point of a romantic comedy is the suspension of disbelief - you know at the end of the day everyone is going to end up getting together so your job is to sit there and enjoy the ride.

The performances were appealing enough. Kate Winslett was charming and delightful as always, Jack Black was funny in a more subdued way than he usually is (which actually works better for me), and Jude Law does the whole sensitive new-age British guy and father of two widower with aplomb. Even Cameroon Diaz, whom I normally find annoying, was well-suited to her part as an obsessive go-getter unable to relax.

I guess I really didn't mind the movie so much. If only the script writers weren't doing their utmost to recycle every trick in the book to tug at my emotional heart strings.