VERIA - LEVADEIAKOS - Football miss of the year!

From the MiB school of finishing..

Spiderman spotted at NUS central library 23/04/09

Check out the date.. Riz Birthday..

SPECIAL1 TV (S2 EP08) Christmas special & a special guest

Abracadabra Rafael Benitez returns to Anfield

SPECIAL1 TV (S2 EP07) Leaks, Sven & Big Boss

SPECIAL1 TV (S2 EP06) The Truth The Whole Truth & Wenger

Plastic Bag Man signs for Man City!!!!!

Yes it is THAT cold in UK right now, as Adam Johnson proves.

Impressive 2-0 Win For MiB

Lionel Messi. Wayne Rooney. Steven Gerrard. Zinedine Zidane. Luis Figo. All great players who have made "playing in the hole", behind the striker, a form of art. Well you can add one more player to that list now, and it's none other than our MRJ, ala Rizvi. With talent and a stomach bursting at the seams of his jersey, he led the attack brilliantly as MiB overcame a dogged team at Greendale Sec.

The weather threatened to ruin the game even before it started. Riz was praying for rain so that God could spare MiB's dying reputation. But as usual no one listens to Riz, and despite the dark clouds looking so black that at one point Harvey started building a wooden boat and collecting animals in pairs, the game went on and there was even bright sunshine in the middle of the match. Like they say, it never rains on Rizvi...

Harvey started in goal. Right back was bionic-leg Harish, Faizal fresh from Old Trafford and Vana started as centre backs, while SK was at his "favourite" left back position. Navin KK was in front of him, while Sat and Chan were in the centre. Maran right wing, and Riz the man in the hole. It was literally a hole because MiB started the match with only ten men, but Riz was so effective he kept heading on and playing one-twos with hantu.

The opponents also had only 11 men, but they looked fitter than MiB. To be honest the Old Folks Home veterans team looks fitter than MiB at this moment, but oh wells thats another story for another day. They started well, a few long range shots not troubling MiB. Chan and Sat were trying to orchestrate some moves up front, and from a couple of corners MiB did threaten.

Shyam came in halfway through the first half and played right wing, while Maran moved forward to partner Riz. Navin KK had a good run which brought a smart save from the keeper, while Shyam's left leg was not working so he couldn't score when presented with a good opportunity. Half time ended goalless, with Sat moving to centre back and Zal moving up to partner Chan in midfield. Chan did have one free kick that he kicked so far wide that it almost deflected off the corner flag. But he was only practising for a second half blockbuster to come.

Second half started with MiB upping the tempo and creating good chances. It needed some creativity to break the deadlock and that's what happened. The opponent striker was caught offside, SK quickly put the ball down and Harvey rushed a goal kick. Ball fell for Riz who cushioned it for Chan, who played Maran through on goal. Maran ran with the ball as though he was running barefoot on broken glass, such was his confidence, and tried his best to miss. Unfortunately for him, the keeper dived when the ball came straight to him, and the ball rolled in for 1-0!

Navin KK then had a great chance to finish the game. Again Chan put him through. He broke the offside trap, had enough time to stop, do a forward roll, comb his hair and walk the ball in. But the gentleman that he is, he decided to pass it straight into the keeper's arms.

The opponents then tried to launch a few attacks at MiB's goal, but the defence and Harvey were relatively untroubled. Vana tried a new form of defence that ultimately proved very effective. If the ball is played to you and you know the striker is behind you waiting to tap the ball into the empty net, immediately swerve your body so you miss the ball, shout "HARVEY" loudly so you panic him and the striker, so that the goalie can just about scramble the ball away and create excitement in the game. FIFA is checking whether we can patent it results will be out soon.

Man of the match Riz then made some lung bursting runs (some even claiming he actually did burst his lungs), trying his best to score but to no avail. His best moment came when he slipped in behind the defence and in a 50-50 battle with the keeper, stretched out his boot with his laces untied, just reaching the ball before the keeper. The ball trickled into the empty net but the defender just managed to hook the ball clear. Another cross by Maran flew agonizingly past his head and it looked like it was not going to be his day.

About 15 mins from the end, a throw from Shyam into the box brought a graceful dive from Chan. As he was diving to the ground he quickly flashed his IC and when the ref saw the magical name, he had no hesitancy in pointing to the spot. Rizvi's moment had come! But like all wonderful and magical strikers, Riz then clasped his hands together, and decided he had left his balls at Bishan MRT station. Some reports say that they were last seen in Phillippines. We have made the police report and they said they will hunt for the black hairy pair after they clamp down on the gangster situation in Singapore. He started running away from the penalty spot. Up stepped SK, confidently. He shimmied to the left, shimmied to the right, looked one way and the other, then totally miskicked straight down the centre. The keeper by now had adopted a praying mantis stance and so could not save. Unbelievable penalty. Unbelievably bad. But it was 2-0!

By now MiB was in cruise control. Maran was having some good runs and the defenders were struggling to keep up with him. In one tackle, the opponents best player, the centre back built like Heskey, threatened to perform a magic trick. He wanted to kick Maran and split his body in half. Unfortunately for him, Maran did not know it was a trick and so felt the full force of his knee in his hip. After that Maran did not know whether to dance or play soccer, so he was effectively out.

There was enough time for Navin KK to repeat his earlier trick. Again through on goal, he felt that one good turn deserved another. This time he had even more time. The opponents had given up and started to shower already, but he decided to again kick it early and pass it to the keeper. Not to mention Shyam did his best to miss on 2 glorious openings.

All in all a good performance. It has been a long time since we played field soccer, and it was good to get a win. Riz came out of the match saying he could not hear anything anymore. Don't know if he was tired or if Chan's shouting had made him deaf.

Man of the match was definitely Riz. For his determination, heart, courage and never say die attitude. And I am only describing him waking up from his bed that morning.

The Future

Match on 28 November 2010

Date: Sunday 28 November 2010

Time: 3pm kickoff. You are all adults so be there with enough time to spare to at least stretch your mouth.

Venue: Greendale Secondary School. Edgedale Plains Block 172 (In Punggol)
For exact location click here: http://www.greendalesec.edu.sg/contactus.html

Attire: White top, black shorts, black socks. Bring black just in case.

Line Up:

1. Harvey
2. SK
3. Harish
4. Prak
5. Riz
6. Sat
7. Chan
8. Faizal
9. Navin KK
10. Maran
11. Shyam
12. Vana

Doubtful:

1. Bert (no sms)
2. Kumaran (no sms)
3. Navin PP (work)
4. Puvan (overseas)

Teamtalk:
This is our first game in a long time, and probably our last for 2010. I arranged the game with a friend of mine from reservist. Their team is similar to us, friends hanging out to play. You might see a couple of familiar faces from CJC.

Award Winning Director

SPECIAL1 TV (S2 EP04) Cabbage Man Under Pressure

The Imam and the Pastor (10 Minute clip)

I was lucky enough to attend a conference recently where I heard from these 2 guys. They're just awesome and inspiring in real life. Brilliant.

Cristiano Ronaldo Disallowed Goal VS Spain

SPECIAL1 TV (S2 EP03) Waynes Radical Treatment

MrBrownShow Army Fighting Language

A post from Sat 6 years ago..

Ok guys, the Madam Halimah Yacob Tourney is almost done. Congrats on a job well done. Last year we ended the season without any points and only 2 goals scored by Faizal and myself. This year has been a start improvement. Before this tourney began, Faizal and I sat down and discussed on what should our goal be for this season and we decided that we should aim for 5 points and keep a clean sheet for a game. On hindsight, such an aim was very humble.

We've ended the season instead with 13 points. We scored 15 goals and conceded 17 goals. Of the 17, 12 goals came against the Thai Eagles and the Malaysians from Jurong Shipyard. We only conceded 5 goals against Singaporean Opponents.

We've done a great Job Lads. Alot is due to the improved team we have this year. Guys like Previn, Indi, Harry have proven to have helped us alot. Also, we'd like to thank Chan for not taking part in this tournament too. Your absence made a world of a difference to us la macha...
Poor Poor Marcellus didn't even get a game. We've missed on qualification as 3rd in our league. 4 points behind Jurong Shipyard. The 2nd half against the jurong shipyard lads cost us the season but its ok.

For the sentimental ones, you can go to www.geocities.com/mhy_tournament2004 if you wanna take a look at the table and you can print it out and keep it for your memories. They also have all the team photo's and results in that website.

I'll always say this before our games and i'd like to say it again now.. The rest of the teams we've played against are just people who become friends playing soccer. We are not. We're a group of brothers and best friends who happen to play soccer in the same team. Thats the difference and thats why MIB has been around for almost 7 years now.

In 3 years time, most of us would graduate, some of us would be coming out of national service, some of us would be flying back to singapore from aussieland, some of us would still be smoking, some of us would still be eating prata, some of us would still be visiting staircases, some of us would still be fat, some of us would still be gay, some of us would still be growing a bush in their chest, some of us would still be going after chinese gals, some of us would still be flying in the sky shouting "kaakaa", some of us would be getting engaged and getting ready for their wedding, and some of us would still be missing and awol till we bumo into them and they exclaim "Wait, i can explain..." Whatever the case, come 2006 its time to celebrate our 10th year as best pals and come 2007/08, its time to celebrate our 10th year together as MIB. I'll be planning something huge....

well, our 21st bday parties are about to end soon... its been a year to remember... Take care lads.
And for those who are wondering, no i am not drunk right now.

We're Getting Too Old For This Shit

MiB put ourselves on the podium of a tournament for the first time in 4 years as we finished 2nd in the NUS-ICS Futsal Tournament at Turf City Futsal Pitch today. It was quite a remarkable achievement considering we were the oldest team there, and most of us have seen fitter days. Vana was fasting too and there was a strong smell of Chivas emanating from Prak, Sat and Maran's mouth, all of which just add to the wonder of how we managed to come in 2nd and bag $200 in the process.

It was a weird tournament. We won 3 and lost 3, yet we finished 2nd. No wonder everyone was equally as puzzled. We kicked off the tournament against a team called Indian Boyz, who showed us a lot of respect and we dominated the early possession. But having watched too much World Cup, MiB decided to pass in front of goal instead of shooting. The highlight was an attempted overhead kick by Sat that ended up hitting his head. Try that at home, it's a lot harder than you think. The opponents grew in confidence, and MiB decided that Harvey was too clean so we let the opponents straight through and after a great save, the rebound was knocked in. 0-1. MiB then tried to rush the game, with Harvey being the biggest culprit. Off a counter, he decided to run out with the ball and instead of shooting, squared the ball to Vana. Unfortunately it was intercepted and despite Sat's heroics on the line, it duly finished 0-2.

Our next game was against Dorset Boys. They are good. Very good. Imagine 7 Chandras. MiB decided to play an organized, disciplined formation and it was working well, till a speculative shot from long range slipped through Harvey's hands ala Robert Green and it was 0-1. We tried to fight back, but to no avail. 2 defeats already.

But the way it panned out, all we needed to do was draw the last game and we were through. Don't blame us, it was the organizers brilliant planning. Prak decided to play after all, and he ended up putting MiB 2-0 up, before Navin KK and Maran finished the job. Maran was extremely pleased with his goal. The corner was looped over, the keeper flapped at the ball and even if Maran urined on the ball it would have gone in, but he disagreed and insisted it required a great degree of technique to sneeze the ball in from 0.25 yards. 4-0 and MiB into the 2nd round!

In the 2nd round, teams were divided into groups of 3 and the winner of each group would make it to the semi. MiB was up against 2 fit and strong teams and it seemed only a matter of time before the nearest swimming pool welcomed us. But somehow, somehow, the old spirit of MiB, the kind that used to see every team fear and envy us, from Toa Payoh to Bukit Batok, suddenly came back. We defended tenaciously, ran even when we had nothing left, and finally decided to play like men. The opponents started off well, and peppered Harvey's goal with shots, to which he dealt with fairly comfortably. MiB kept fighting and pushing, and quite against the run of play, Vana robbed their defense and squared for Prak to finish. 1-0! MiB then fought on and dug out the win, knowing one more win would see them finish in the Top 4.

Next game was against an old opponent, Safa and his NUS boys. They were much fitter than us and had to beat us, as they lost their opening game. Once again, MiB, marshalled by Satheeish at the back, dug in and refused to succumb to our younger and faster opponents. And once again, through sheer determination, Maran brilliantly robbed their winger, dribbled another opponent and squared unselfishly for SK to finish. A brilliant team goal. The opponents then threw everything at us, but we refused to budge, and even after Sat tripped Safa when he looked certain to score, the ref did not give them a penalty and MiB was through to the last 4!

Dorset boys were waiting for us, and so we needed a lucky draw to avoid them in the semi. Harvey was called up to draw lots, and in his most telling contribution of the afternoon, separated MiB and Dorset Boys. And in doing so, we picked, what seemed to be on paper, the easiest opponents left.

The semi was as predicted fast and frenetic, with MiB enjoying good possession, whilst the opponents always looking threatening on the break. But both teams seemed to be cancelling each other out and it looked like penalties were inevitable. But suddenly out of the blue, the opponents scored from an impossible angle, beating Harvey and 3 MiB defenders surrounding him. MiB was stunned and it looked like we were going to go back emptyhanded. But like I mentioned earlier, that never say die spirit that seems to be hibernating somewhere, came back to drag MiB back into the game. From a goal kick, Harvey drove the ball to Maran, who managed to get a shot on goal. The ball broke to Navin KK at the edge of the area and with a sweet left foot finish tied the scores! We were back in it. And we were not done yet. Not wanting to settle for penalties, we launched attack after attack. In one such move, Prak robbed the opponent defender with a sliding tackle, and then pinned him to the floor. Ball broke to Maran who rolled it across the keeper perfectly for Sat, who ran from last man position to tuck it in nicely at the near post, with a trademark WOO to boot. MiB was in the final, and whatever happened, were going to make a 200% profit!

The final was a none affair to be honest. Dorset Boys were a class above us and duly hammered us. They were fitter, technically better, and they are still at the stage of their lives where winning tournaments means everything to them. MiB has moved on from that stage, and with all of us holding jobs and thinking about marriage and the next pay cheque, it was almost impossible for us to match them.

All in all, we went home with money, trophies, and some of our pride restored. We had the biggest stomach, the slowest players, and the most reciding hairlines. But we also have the MiB spirit, that saw us somehow grind our way to 2nd.

Congrats Boys!

And special thanks to Riz for coming down to support and coach us. He is well on his way to emulating his idol, David Moyes.

Upcoming Tournament Organized by NUS ICS

Ok guys thanks for reverting with your availabilty for the tournament. Here are the players registered:

1. Harvey
2. Sat
3. Maran
4. Vana
5. Navin KK
6. SK
7. Puvan

General things to note:

1. It is 5 a side. The field is artifical grass like Khalsa, but the layout is different! It is much bigger and there are out-lines. So there will be kick in and stuff. Go see the pic: http://www.thepitch.com.sg/index.php/about-us/about-the-premier-pitch

2. 8 min per game, no halves

3. Goalkeeper only can use hands in the D.

4. Anyone can come into the D. Goalkeepers are also allowed to leave their D.

5. Registration cost is $70. So that's $10 per person. SK, can we use MiB fund for this?

6. First prize is $300, 2nd $200, 3rd $100. As this is being organized by NUS ICS, they want to cap the number of teams at 24.

Finally, the most important; admin details: tournament will be held on 15 August (SUNDAY) at 12pm. Reporting time is 1130am. Venue is Turf City at Turf Club. Venue details here: http://www.thepitch.com.sg/index.php/facilities/find-us Also note that there have lots of buses serving the pitch and also FREE shuttle buses from AMK interchange and Toa Payoh, subject to timings of course.

For those not registered, you are welcome to come and support, disturb us and join us for swimming thereafter. Riz you can come and stare at girls. You can also bring some fans for us if you want. Sunday is normally off day for Filipinos.

Please sms me if you have any questions or last-minute stuff.

PS. Thanks for your support Chan. Didn't even get a reply sms from the slut.

Memories.. October 2006..

It's amazing how different we all looked..

What Are They Looking At?

Just look at the smile on Navin's face.

I knew THAT photo seemed awfully familiar...

I guess you never know what you have till it's gone..

Have you ever felt really excited? No I mean really really excited? The kind where you know no fear, no worry, no stress, you're just happy, and geared up to have fun. Nothing can weigh you down. On top of the world. Imagine that feeling. Now imagine the total exact opposite. That's how 8 guys felt last Sunday afternoon.

Phuket was a whole lot of fun. I don't even know where to start. Excellent accomodation, great food, hot girls, go karting, massages, hot girls, tailors, starbucks, water polo and did I mention, hot girls..

Here's a little journal of the fun we had, so when we look back at this post in time to come, we'll have a smile on our face remembering the fun we had in Phuket. And for those that couldn't come, just an insight into what happened there..

Day 1:

Prak, Riz, Vana and Chan were the recce party, arriving early and settling all the admin issues. Villa was checked into, cars were rented, Coke was bought, and there was still enough time for a dip in the pool and a nap while waiting for the others. Sat was the next to arrive, about 4pm and soon enough, he too got into the groove of things. All this time, Harvey, Puvan and KK were making their way to the airports, toes tingling with excitement over the times to come. They landed about 7pm local time and recce party picked them up and headed back to the villa.

Now I have been fortunate to stay in some 5 star hotels in the world, and I have to say, this villa stood out as being really classy and nice. It was really an awesome pick by Vana, or should I say Michael. Beds were big, aircon was shiok, you had ladies coming every morning to cook breakfast for a bunch of Indian guys, and then tidying up the place for them, this was as close to MiB heaven as you could get.

We then wasted no time, heading to Patong, and the revered Bangla Street, which had appeared to Rizvi in a dream, beckoning him to come and fulfill his destiny. Superman had Krypton, Frodo has Mount Doom, Moses had the Red Sea, for Rizvi, it was Bangla Street. We had dinner at a Cairo restaurant recommended by Puvan. That was the first and last time we listened to him.

We walked around, washed our eyes clean, got groped, hugged, nipples pinched, all in the name of good fun. Good shopping and reasonably cheap drinks.. If at this time you're not jealous, then read on. Riz, Harvey, Prak and KK then found a tailor shop and made suits and shirts for ridicilously cheap prices. 1 suit for 130 sing. Can't be beaten. And the tailors were friendly folks too, great combination. Hong Kong Street Fashion I think was the name, you guys should recommend it to your friends.

We ended the nite at a club where a girl literally walked home with Harvey, but he had to break her heart, and Riz's somehow?, by turning her down. No MiB holiday would be complete without the card drinking game, and we duly obliged when we returned back to the villa.

Day 2:

I mentioned the home-cooked breakfast that we got every morning. After whacking that, we headed to the pool for what we call a MiB version of water polo. 8 guys in a small pool. 2 chairs at each end with their legs forming the goalposts. One rule: no running with the ball. That's it. Everything else goes. Pushing, grabbing, tugging, slamming, hugging, biting, scratching, elbowing, swimming, running, hanging on to each other to move, you name it this game had it. It was SJI old boys vs the rest. Sat had no goggles so had to use his Oakley sunglasses in the water. Prak tried his best to be a one man goal machine, but lacked the service he needed to carry his team to victory. After a gruesome game, SJI old boys lost 15-9. The feeling when we came out of the water was as though we just played an entire tournament in the hot sun. Time to shower and get ready to head out. Sat spent 30 mins in the shower.

We then headed out to the factory outlets which were so-so. If you were filthy rich like Chan, then it's a good place to come. For the rest of us, it was more of a sightseeing trip. And then we headed to go kart. MiB lined up to settle a decade old grudge match. I have never seen Sat this geared up. And he duly obliged, coming in first to take home the chequered flag. There were protests that his car was unfairly fast, but that's life and Sat had his moment of glory. Vana was 2nd. Chan 3rd. Harvey 4th. Prak 5th. KK 6th. Puvan 7th. And then there was Riz. Have you ever seen shit twirling around in the toilet bowl? Well that was faster than him. His engine started to go up in smoke cos he was just too slow. They wanted to close down the go kart business but we convinced them otherwise. There is a full video of what we did but that will come later.

It was then back to Patong for some Thai Food, though all Harvey wanted was some authentic KFC. The guys whacked so much food for just $10 sing a head, again unbelievably cheap. It was then time to shop and go for massages. Let's just say the massage bit cannot be discussed here, we will tell you more when we meet you.

Most of the guys headed back to the villa with our tapao-ed food to catch the opening match of the World Cup while some of us stayed back to enjy Bangla Street a little bit more. The night ended there, or did it?:)

Day 3:

Breakfast on a plate again. And back to the swimming pool for Round 2 of MiB waterpolorugby. Sat had goggles this time so he could see clearly underwater and make sure his team won. Wrong. SJI old boys lost again. 5-4 in a tight encounter. Vana threatened to take off his shorts, it was getting that intense.

We then headed back to Patong for more tailoring and massages. And then Rizvi's moment came. All I will say is that he now needs to eat a heavy-protein diet because of all the fluids he lost that day.

We then tapao-ed food, Harvey finally getting his KFC, before heading back to the villa to catch Argentina and England games, though Prak and Puvan were doing meditative pooja while watching.

Day 4:

We grudgingly made our way back. Riz was uncontrollably sad.

So all in all a fantastic trip. Here are my awards for the trip:

Man of the Trip: No doubt it was Vana. For his excellent organizational skills and fantastic one on one action. He was born to score.

Close second: Rizvi. He fed Thailand and Thailand fed him. Enough said.

Disappointment: Prak. We never got to see the real magic, though he was awesome in the pool.

Now to the photos, there are just too many for me to upload all, so this is what I propose:

1. Sat, can you burn your photos into a CD. Puvan you can send yours to Sat please. Then pass them all to me. Include the DVD of the go kart so I can edit it with music.

2. I will combine them with mine so it fits chronologically.

3. I will organize a party one of these days for us to look back at the memories and have a good laugh.

Here's to our next trip boys!

Great Advice

In Tribute to the late Dr Goh Keng Swee..

This blog is full of rubbish sometimes, but I would like to share something with you all regarding Dr Goh and his life. Something for all of us to emulate and hopefully one day leave our own legacies behind. Click on image to enlarge it.

For you my friends, I hope points 1,2 and 3 will be especially pertinent, and would give you hope no matter how dire or impossible a situation. Hang in there and have some faith.

Home Team Convention 2010

http://www.hometeamconvention.sg/

Come and Support! 15 - 16 May 2010 at Suntec City. It's FREE and you stand to win lots of freebies and prizes!

It's World Cup Fever Baby

Prak even you must agree this is TOO much..

Rizvi in Phuket

Rizvi in NUS

Malaysia Cup Days Goals

Sundram skill at 1 min mark will take your breath away..

La paja de Benzema

Stoke Vs Arsenal Aaron Ramsey Horrific Injury

NAVIN PP WENT TO AMERICAN IDOL!!!!

Let's Prep for this Guys..

Click to enlarge.

Team we should pick from: Harvey, Sat, SK, Vana, Chan, Riz, Prak, PP, Zal.

Participation is FREE. 1st Prize is $500.

Gucci Mane - Spotlight (feat. Usher) [Official Video]

The Next BIG song..

Jeff dunham and Walter New

DAMN SOLID!!!!

Akon - Oh Africa - World Cup 2010 Official Song

Mad Tv - IPad

The Many Faces of Mr. Senthil Kumar

My apologies for this late post... it should have come out on the 22nd of Jan...

this is the tribute to our versatile utility star... i give you... the many faces of Mr. SAS!!! Happy Birthday!!!

the decent boy

the star left back

the shy guy

a bit psycho

the real mr. senthil kumar

Aquarius 2010

Happy birthday to our one-legged star...

and Happy birthday to our slim and fit Zizou...

Aquarius 2010 Career and Income Horoscope

Career people will have rollicking time during most parts of the year. The first quarter is a great period, when most Aquarians will taste success. In fact, they may start the New Year with a big bang, possibly with a long awaited promotion or even a pay hike. Repeated success and workplace peace are two biggest benefits for Aquarians. Sudden gains are in the air for those Aquarians who are in business. However, the second quarter may indicate some sort of problems in the workplace, especially in the personal relationship with coworkers. However, their personal relationship skills will help them solve any problems within no time. Some Aquarians may change their jobs and homes in search for better positions. They may face some unexpected expenses beyond their income.

Traveling to other countries is a distinct possibility for career Aquarians. The second half of the year is beneficial in a number of aspects. They will show their abilities as a very good office worker or as an innovative entrepreneur. The New Year 2010 Aquarius horoscope will see these people solve all pending problems with a sense of purpose and determination. The last month of the year may see some unexpected problems related to relocation to a new place. This may take some time to solve the problem, as the situation will be fresh and new.

Aquarius 2010 Love, Family and Social life Horoscope

The 2010 Aquarius yearly horoscope is satisfactory for most Aquarians. Relationship between people will be good, while the personal equation between spouse and lovers will be very pleasing and devoid of any problems. Material comfort, peace and relaxation are three import bywords for most Aquarians. Social life will be normal with coworkers and superiors, although minor problems may appear during the fag end of the year. The end of the year may signify some sort of problems between spouses because of the relocation-related financial problems. Unmarried couples may hope to tie their knots especially in the last quarter of the year. In essence, the whole New Year could be devoid of any major problems.

Contra (NES) - Part 1 of 2

MEMORIES

Happy Birthday Dinesh!

Memories.. for those from SJI

"Why people believe Americans are Stupid"

Kylie Minogue: Agent Provocateur Commercial

To all the guys in MiB

Happy Birthday to Rooban!

Many Happy Returns to Rooban, Our Senior 'Uncle'


To put things in perspective, here are some of the less famous people who were born on the same day...

1. Louis III, last king of Bavaria (1913-18)
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Sammo Hung
4. Emiliano Insúa,
5. Bipasha Basu
6. Nicholas Cage

I don't know about you, but i would be proud to know i share a birthday with Sammo Hung.
Anyway, to round things off, let me end this post with some birthday advice for you...

"You can only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime."

From MiB FC

The Emotional Bank Account

The Emotional Bank Account is a metaphor describing relationships and the P/PC (Production versus building Production Capacity) balance for interdependence. It describes how trust is built on a relationship. Stephen Covey (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) uses the metaphor of Emotional Bank Account to describe "the amount of trust that’s been built up in a relationship" (p. 188).

Positive behaviors are deposits building a reserve. Negative behaviors are withdrawals. A high reserve balance results in higher tolerance for our mistakes and more open communication.

There are six major deposits we can make to the emotional bank account:

1. Understanding the individual. An individual's values determine what actions will result in a deposit or a withdrawal for that individual. To build a relationship, you must learn what is important to the other person and make it as important to you as the other person is to you. Understand others deeply as individuals and then treat them in terms of that understanding.

2. Attend to the little things, which are the big things in relationships.

3. Keep commitments. Breaking a promise is a major withdrawal.

4. Clarify expectations. The cause of almost all relationship difficulties is rooted in ambiguous, conflicting expectations around roles and goals. Making an investment of time and effort up front saves time, effort and a major withdrawal later.

5. Show personal integrity. A lack of integrity can undermine almost any effort to create a high trust reserve. Honesty requires conforming our words to reality. Integrity requires conforming reality to our words, keeping promises and fulfilling expectations. The key to the many is the one, especially the one that tests the patience and good humor of the many. How you treat the one reveals how you regard the many, because everyone is ultimately a one.

6. Apologize sincerely when you make a withdrawal. Sincere apologies are deposits, but repeated apologies are interpreted as insincere, resulting in withdrawals.

Often we are stuck in our own way of thinking and look at the world outside in the same way. To understand the individual means to consider the difference and to cultivate a genuine interest.

Do we ask questions with an open mind and heart?

The love and care we feel for another person is expressed in little things, small gestures, courtesies. It is important not to underestimate those. When we consciously set the intention "to be kind" on a daily basis, then our actions are influenced by that. What are the aspirations and intentions that guide us?

We need to be careful when we make commitments. Not to keep them is a major withdrawal from our emotional bank account. What are we really able and willing to commit ourselves to?

Unclear expectations can undermine our communication and trust. "The cause of almost all relationship difficulties is rooted in conflicting or ambiguous expectations around roles and goals." (Covey, p.194) What are our expectations? Do we communicate them with each other?

We show personal integrity when we "walk our talk". We also manifest it by refraining from talking badly about someone else, by being "loyal to those who are not present" (ibid. p. 196).

When we make a mistake and someone else gets hurt, it is important to sincerely apologize, from the heart. This is hard to do for people with little inner security. Covey quotes Leo Roskin saying: "It is the weak who are cruel. Softness can only be expected from the strong." (ibid. p.198)

As we become more loving with ourselves, it is easier to be loving with others. This process can be supported by both partners in an intimate relationship.

We often suggest to couples we work with to cultivate good will by taking time for each other, focusing on what is good in the relationship, and sharing at least one praise a day with each other. It doesn’t have to be big. It may be something that you got used to and took for granted. Notice! Be thankful!

Of course, we can also offer a smile, a kind gesture, a friendly comment to people we work with, to our neighbours, the man/woman in the shop. Just notice how it makes you feel, and observe how you become more and more wealthy on all your emotional bank accounts.