Theater of Dreams

I had this goal since I was 9.

That was to step my foot at one day.

It’s been a long 17-year wait to finally get there last week. And I felt really, really good and excited as though I was still 9 (too bad I’m not!). If you’re not a big time or 17 years Manchester United fan, then being at is just like it’s another stadium or another tourist destination.

I’ve been to other grounds (Hertha Berlin’s Olympiastadion and Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena) before, but what I felt there were nowhere near what it was at .

was different.

It’s the ground the club I supported since I was 9 plays. I’ve been seeing it in magazines and TV for the past 17 years and didn’t get to go there until recently.

For a mere 12 pounds, I get to visit the museum (talk about that later), players’ changing room, players’ lounge, walk out of the famous tunnel, sit at the dugouts, see where the WAGS sit on match days, walk along the pitch and see Stretford End, where the most loyal supporters sit on match days.

Things could even get better, but this time it didn’t. It’s okay.

It would be even better if I could catch a match there, but that didn’t happen. It’s almost impossible to get a ticket for a Premier League or Champions League match at nowadays unless you’re a season ticket holder or you buy the hospitality package which starts from 299 pounds.

Another option is to buy from outside the ground on match day for prices up to 5 times the original price with the risk of getting a fake ticket.

Only tickets for low profile matches like Carling Cup will reach General Sales. Other tickets are usually sold out before it even reach General Sales.

So, the next goal (as far as Manchester United is concerned) is to watch a match there!

December 4, 2008 | Filed Under Sports, Travels | Leave a Comment 

Simply Beautiful

I had to make sure I had everything with me before I go.

5 batteries for camera, 2 sets of rechargable AA batteries, 16gb of storage, polariser, lenses and camera sensors cleaned, and I’m set to go.

And after 12 hours of night train (one way!), 2 hour of hiking, 100 euros spent on transportation, and this was where I got myself to over the weekend.

Konigsee

Simply beautiful isn’t it?

This place is in Berchtesgaden, a small town 3 hours train away from Munich, very near to the German-Austrian border. The main attraction of this place if of course, aka the cleanest lake in . I was hoping that there will be blue skies on that day, but for once the weather forecast was spot on. Previously, it wasn’t reliable on a few occasions so I was hoping for the opposite when it shows cloudy day.

is a damn small, dead town and everyone who’s there are only going to 3 places; , Eagle’s Nest (Hitler’s summer vacation home) and the Salt Mine near Austria. I think the majority of them came from Munich for a day trip.

There’s nothing there besides these 3. The town is as good as dead during day time. Forget about night time.

The mountains were really beautiful.

Snow mountains in the background, reflections on the lake, plenty of foreground objects but minus the blue skies! *sigh* But it was well worth the trip all the way there to enjoy the scenery. It would definitely look much better next month towards the end of autumn and the lake will freeze during winter.

Probably I should drop by again for a day or two during winter.

Here’s how Konigsee and Berchtesgaden looked like.

September 23, 2008 | Filed Under Sports, Web | Leave a Comment 

The Rocket

I was spot on with the TV last night.

Turned on the TV once I reached home and they were showing the reply of this year’s 888.com World Snooker Championship where Ronnie O’Sullivan was playing Mark Williams.

It was the 20th frame and Ronnie was leading 12-7 in a best of 25 match.

I always watch with enthusiasm whenever Ronnie plays. I do watch other players, but Ronnie is simply a genius when it comes to . Even those who know nuts about will love watching him because he pots balls after balls, effortlessly.

They don’t call him The Rocket, the most naturally talented and genius player for no reason.

You can read yourself for more about him here.

The first time I saw him on TV 8 years ago, he was playing well with his left hand for the entire match. So, I thought he was left handed. The next time I saw him play, he was playing with his right hand. And when I asked others about it only did I realized he was right handed and he could beat any top 16 players with his left hand as well.

Here’s a video where Ronnie made a century, left handed.

O’Sullivan is right-handed, but can play to a high standard with his left hand. While not quite possessing the same power in his left arm, being ambidextrous enables him to attempt shots with his left hand that would otherwise require awkward cueing with a rest or spider. O’Sullivan sometimes plays with a variety of bridge hands.

When he first displayed this left-handed ability in the 1996 World Championship against Alain Robidoux, the Canadian accused him of disrespect. O’Sullivan responded that he played better with his left hand than Robidoux could with his right. O’Sullivan was summoned to a disciplinary hearing in response to Robidoux’s formal complaint, where he had to prove that he could play to a high level with his left hand. He played three frames of against former world championship runner-up Rex Williams, winning all three. The charge of bringing the game into disrepute was subsequently dropped.

Here are all 8 videos of his 9 147’s.

  1. 2008 World Championship Last 16 vs Mark Williams
  2. 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy vs Ali Carter
  3. 2003 World Championship Round 2 vs Marco Fu
  4. 2001 LG Cup vs Drew Henry
  5. 2000 Scottish Open vs Quinten Hann
  6. 1999 Grand Prix vs Graeme Dott
  7. 1999 Welsh Open vs James Wattana
  8. 1997 World Championship vs Mick Price (fastest 147)

Couldn’t find the 9th one. That happened when playing Stephen Hendry in 1997.

July 29, 2008 | Filed Under Sports | Leave a Comment 

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