...livin' the low life and lovin' it!

2008-09-01T22:41:00.001+08:00

11 years ago

The moon hides itself behind the clouds
The stars are veiled with night
Its been almost 11 years
Since he went into the light

Some people said he shouldn’t go
But he could not understand
Why he shouldn’t come and see
Where he took his final stand

The night is still and quiet
No breeze to ruffle his hair
Then he looked up on the hill
And saw it standing there

The building from dreams come and gone
In the shadow of street lights
Its presence soft and haunting
As it sat there in the night

Its all too nostalgic now
He’s been in there before
It was such a pain to visit
His bloodline was a chore

His young mind was restless
As was the youthful trend
All while the others new
His journey was at an end

Then it happened suddenly
Twas just another day
The angel came to stop the pain
To take it all away

Earthly loved ones shed a tear
But all were cried in vain
For they all knew deep down inside
They would not meet again

He should have been there by his side
He should have gone to sit
If only he knew how much he loved him
Every single bit

Time heals all wounds they say
Well some just never close
What would have transpired had he gone
Only heaven knows

But he knows this one for sure
He remembers every floor
Up the three flights of stairs
To room twenty four

There’s no one in it now
Its empty and its bare
But only he can see
His father lying there

His mother right beside his side
Clutching his withered hand
His eyes pouring his soul to her
She nods and understands

She knows he cannot win this fight
His time with us was done
It’s just up to her now
To raise their only son

A blessing she will bear with joy
A promise she holds true
The same she swore on her wedding day
“I will always love you”

I tear rolls down his cheek
He dries it with his sleeve
Its too much to bear to watch
He turns his back to leave

Before he goes into the night
he takes just one more glance
If only for a moment
If he had the chance

He has so many questions
So many things to say
“Sorry I wasn’t there” to start
“I thought it’d be okay”

Life is fragile, live it well
You only get one chance
You either sit out on the side
Or you get in and dance

The past is gone and buried
The future is bright and new
But whenever I think of it
It leads me back to you

How proud you’d be of me dad
Of what I will become
Of all I will accomplish
When all is said and done

But what you’d say I’ll never know
Until we meet someday
In heaven on a cloud up there
It seems so far away

The last chance I had for a chat
Was back that very night
But how was I supposed to know
You’d be taken to the light?

As he leaves he glances back
His heart still wants to know
What exactly would He have said
11 years ago

Always missing you Dad. In my mind and in my heart always

Spread the lovin’

Rob Valentine

2008-08-30T08:27:00.002+08:00

hahaha!

back blogging baby! phelps is a multi million dollar plank ;) tee hee hee, print that CNN!

so whats been up lately? wait I'm having a conversation with myself again. fuck

in sociology class now, talking bout bush and his anus acts. hahahehe. this week make many money i am very very happy. soon my $250 losing night at JJ's will be a distant memory. *fingers crossed*

putra cup this week went our way. noice. but choo lost the indiv on countback. wtf. why in blazes is the fucking putra indiv title decided on countback. thats the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard. thats so not a way to win a tourney...

oh wait...

i beat joshua for the DBS on countback...erm...well...lets move on.

somehow i need to find a way to stream my barrage of incoherent thoughts into a legible and understandable scroll of knowledge to facilitate the easy reading of my blog...again

fine, i'll organise things and blog again later...

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2008-04-08T23:08:00.000+08:00

I’m severely annoyed this week and I really have no clue why. I’m bored, lethargic, edgy, cranky, almost always in a foul mood and in a constant state of maniacal homicidal contemplation. The past few weeks have been totally brilliant and there’s no logical explanation for my about-turn change in emotional state. Well actually there might…

I’m burned out from golf, I know I’ve been on a rush lately and things have been really sliding into place but I think I just pushed a little too hard. I mean on one hand results are streaming in and I’m getting the feedback I’ve been searching for for so long so I try and work even harder to get them out faster. At the same time I’m trying to compete and validate my work with results, a mixed bag here but overall it’s on the right track. But an 83 on Sunday, not a great result by anyone’s standards, good God Stevie Wonder could have managed better around that track with nothing but a soup ladle and a crowbar, that was embarrassing. I’m not one to blame the uncontrollables in such a volatile sport like some of my salad tossing colleagues so I took it upon myself to take a few practice swings with my putter on my way home when I lamppost got in my way, go figure. But truth be told I was probably not in great shape to play, I was there technically and physically but mentally I was spent, the proposition of looming presentations, assessments and assignments the following week surely drained me even before I ventured out of bed.

Poker the night before also probably wasn’t the brightest of ideas, swamped and tired from the week I wasn’t really ready to break the game and really should have stayed at home doing the responsible thing for once and contributing to my management project. But no, I went anyway. I mean I had a wonderful time as always but sitting at a table with a cunt who thinks he plays like Hellmuth and looks like the bad end of a hemorrhoid ridden donkey really brightened my day. Dropped $10 to boot, card dead, dead tired.

Then I return home with the honest intention to work the night through until my share of work for the management project is complete only to find a nasty e-mail from my partner telling me to “quit the excuses” smoke billowed from my ears and I then proceeded to take out my rage on a passing noisy biker by stretching a piece of cheese wire across the road. After I dumped the body I resumed operation good intention then fell asleep at 3.

I wake up in the morning only to discover that I have a presentation due in 3 hours, so I scurry about like a beheaded chicken and work on it while packing for school. I manage to clumsily smoke and mirror my way through as always but the lack of effort and the absence of perfection annoys me greatly. I bang about some weights in the gym but its no use, my biceps don’t seem any bigger, my boobs any manlier and my legs still look like tree branches.

Night class did little to liven my mood; in fact it grossed me out so much I took a full 1 hour extra just to fall asleep. I mean try closing your eyes trying not to picture a female athlete who was so bent on getting stronger she injected herself with male hormones only to discover a few years later she couldn’t’ identify her sexuality anymore and decided to become a man named Harold. Or the woman who wanted to be a man, injected herself with manly hormones but accidentally forgot to alter the slight details of her genital group, a few years and an uncomfortable marriage later her, his…erm its partner inseminates it with sperm and this she-male becomes pregnant. I’ll spare you the details about the man who wanted masculinity so bad he injected fluids from animal and human testicles into himself, it made him buffer but personally I’ll just stick to the gym thanks. I’d rather have sore muscles than rat seamen coursing through my veins.

Who knew drugs had such drastically detrimental side effects, I mean seriously, on one hand they give you all these wonderful things, euphoria, increased focus, slower heart rate but conversely they also cause women to grow facial hair, men to grow boobs (don’t judge me), the ever popular death and even worse still, a shrinkage in the size of your gentleman vegetables. Steroids have therefore been struck off my birthday wish list.

Today I had more management project grinding with the odd uninterrupted intrusion from an uneducated, loud and rather odious soccer mutt every fucking 5 minutes. This is why I hate studying in the library.

I’ve also been roped into being an emcee for some stupid principal conference held in the school next week on the same day as my management test. Here’s the best part, its only going to be 15 minutes long and it’s basically a workout session to keep them entertained on break. Surely there’s some uber-enthusiastic crack high teacher with shrunken privates to do this. I’m un-flattered by the offer and am desperately trying to get out of it; I might even have to resort to staging my death in a horrible plumbing accident.

My day was so boring I actually slapped myself when I snapped out of my cyborg like suspended reality and found myself horizontally positioned on the couch watching darts. Embarrassed I went out in the pouring rain without an umbrella to punish myself by eating KFC, oh heaven forbid…saturated fat. My only meal of the day and it had to be that, God damn it.

Presentation tonight was more smoke and mirrors and I’ve still got a heap of things I’d rather not have to do this week. We’ll start with having to coach 22 secondary 1 neighborhood school girls for my coaching practical tomorrow, my assessor the ever boring Ms Mae. She’s so boring she could talk the paint off the wall and often I’d wish I was a goldfish in her class so I could fall asleep with my eyes open. For 30 minutes I’ll have to be enthused about spending time that I’d much rather be unconscious with 22 children. Happy birthday to me indeed

Let’s end with an appropriately themed sour note. One of the school’s adopted kittens Amber was found mutilated at the bottom of a staircase this morning, her precious little head smashed into mush, her fragile body broken and blood streaming out her bottom. Her brutal murder sent shockwaves through the school, all of us having grown accustomed to her were in shock and some tears were shed, most notably by the English teachers who had cared for them for the better part of the last couple of months.

That was just sick, cruel and un called for. Nothing should ever be treated like that and heaven help the S.O.B who did it when we find him. I personally would like to gorge his eyeballs out with barbeque skewers, stuff his nostrils with iron wool, stick his tongue to a cold lamppost, fry his nipples with jump leads, snip off his rod with garden shears then stuff an air hose up his jacksie where we’ll pump him full of air and watch him rise into the sky before gunning him down with a machine pistol before he wasted anymore of my precious oxygen with his pestilent existence.

Sure it’s extreme but it’ll be therapeutic. And God help me if my dorm mates don’t can it soon I’ll make a pipe bomb and shut their dirty loud mouths for good. I can’t stand Chinese but I hate it when it comes over the wall at a volume that will make my ear drums bleed, the fact that every sentence is punctuated by an expletive doesn’t make my life any easier.

So I can only pray that life as an 18 year old will be a little easier, a little brighter and a little quieter.

Hopefully I only have to wait 50 minutes to find out.

Spread the lovin’

Rob Valentine

2008-03-05T23:01:00.002+08:00

Oh my God its been ages since i blogged.

so so so sorry

i know its cliche but i've been busy.

hmmm whats been my life in a nutshell since the last time..

-6th at sentosa ranking (73-78)
-10th at raffles ranking (69-80) argh
-series with justin 8-7 in my favour
-golfs been good, getting there and its exciting :) workin hard
-jonny leong and i have established that i'm turning into him...haha, honestly i wouldnt mind :D
-i know what my first cars gonna be and when ill get it
-i'm not blonde no more :( curse you peggy tng
-i'm not head of the editorial team...hmmmm...responsibility (attempted to write spiteful first article but peggy loved it instead and praised wildly..oh well :))
-possible radio job for me? haha

yeah thats about it.

will TRY and update more frequently now. anyway im off to bed.

nicks twisted his knee and i gotta look after him now...haha, like a good roommate

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2008-01-13T00:32:00.000+08:00

Match Report:

LowHan vs CheokKoh = LowHan wins 1up!
timmy vs leftie = timmy wins 2up!
timmy vs leftie birdie differential = timmy has +2 birdies

total record for team LowHan : 6-13 (won 5 of the last 6 matches)
2008 series record vs leftie : 2-1 (in favour of yours truly)

so after flattering myself with them impressive numbers its back to the business of blogging.

but to be perfectly honest it was a rather impressive exhibition of golf out there today. hit off at 845 am. nice and early, well not quite compared to mom's start time of 7.43 but what the hell i had a late night.

had my individual series match with jus and valliantly attempted to partner him against gab and natalie giving nat 3-3 off the whites while we braved the gold tee's.

armed with my trademark rubber duckie and a gradually rising tank of confidence i flew out of the gate with a birdie on the 10th (we started on the back-side) before slamming my ball into the piss on 11, a bogey ensued and i quickly rebounded with birdies on 13 and 15 to turn -2 (33)

on a side note farizah (God i hope i spelt that right) made a hole in one today so ROCK ON GAL! :) you owe me drinks now

back to the action, a birdie at 2 had me to -3 and in unchartered territory off the gold tees. a short series of choke holes insued with 2 pretty good but nonetheless costly bogey saves on 3 & 4 then a horribly sloppy bogey on 5 to drop all the way back down to square 1 at EVEN par.

bugger.

then a birdie at 6 had things back in the red digits before a ridiculous shot landed me in the Godforsaken banyan tree on 7, me misadventure led to another bogey before birdieing the 8th to get back to -1 on the day (and -4 on the par 5s today! yahoo! Angel Cabrerra indeed)

then came the 9th, smoking it down to just a flick 9 iron it i duly hit the gas pedal and chopped out a hosel draw left of the green, behind the traps, short sided with no room to work and increasingly building pressure.

from there i exercised superior tactical expertise and played it to the fat of the green before draining a 25 foot bomb with 6 feet of slide across the hill to sign off for a brillian -1 (70) and the match. talk about riveting that was edge-of-your-seat caliber golf.

and not just from me, jus played solidly too and we were -6 (65) as a team in better ball.

then it was on to more domination for the lowhan academy in the pool room. our complimentary lunch followed after the small issue about our prize money was settled. all in all a good day. how can you have 6 birdies and not have a good day :)

well at least up to the part where i take mommys car key to put the stuff in the car then accidentally leave the club with it, take the train all the way to jurong east before realising my costly blunder. then, like a fool, having to return to choa chu kang then take a cab to warren to drop the keys off before taking the same cab home

the cab driver was an absolute motherfucking fruitloop. i mean he was off the chats on the weird scale, even if somehow a dyslexic anal retentive chimpanzee with a catarac and a hernea the size of a dinner plate were driving me home i'd still feel twice as safe as sitting in the cab with his most disturbing realisation of the potential horror mankind face when siblings produce offspring.

sorry for being mean or presumptious but if you went through what i went through in that 20 mins of diesel powered hell you'd understand.

but thats another story all together and if i have the time i will gladly recall all 20 minitues of that ordeal for the amusement of you sadistic sods.

well thats my life aint it. and like i always say, wouldnt have it any other way

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2008-01-11T22:32:00.000+08:00

ah yes, finally returning to the hallowed institution of learning and sporting excellence after a 2 month absence sure seems like an exhillirating concept. i mean really, how cool does that sound

well cooler than you think.

here's why

back in boarding, new roommate, the incomprable mr. nicholas paul de cruz, former byte world champ and close confidant. not to mention the fact he bears an astounding resemblence to "the boy who lived". to which he's always quick to rebut "that makes you the boy who lived...next door" yes things are going to be interesting this year.

lecturers are awesome, well half of them are national sporting heroes/icons. mr. C.Kunalan and ms Prema Govinan. they're not only brilliant athletes but well prepared lecturers and all round great people. who could ask for more? well maybe the test answers and A+'s at the end of the semester but hey, you can't have everything...

i'm actually back in the gym, yes...working out. and mighty effectively and intensively too i might add. well its hard to slack off when georgie's there barking up your arse to keep going. but hey its good and i've worked like a dog this week, i'm stoked

golfs been great, greg got back down to some solid training at the range and the new additions to the training room sure are swell. I HAVE A MIRROR IN MY BAY AGAIN! yesh! hard work here i come...all i need's a functioning iPod now.

so yes, i'm settling back in fine. and my room's actually still rather neat and tidy after the first week. thats gotta be a good sign. but honestly i'm getting good vibes about this semester, just gotta keep going and make 'em proud.

so fyi here's a typical night in boarding.

2130ish: lectures end
2200: supper (prata and such) at Al-Hameen's
2300: shower
2315: Poker or Mahjong on computer while nick and the others go on DOTA
0100: order in mcdonalds for post-supper-pre-breakfast meal
0200: sleep while the boys continue their DOTAing

*side note - throughout the night there's music coupled with chinky china chit chat from the room next door, nothing offensive or intrusive, just slightly annoying as you all should know I HATE CHINESE. but what the hell, its fun and wouldnt wanna be anywhere else

it's late and i so have to defend the honour of conniewhackers around the world tomorrow so ta ta and i'll cya soon

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2008-01-06T00:57:00.000+08:00

it just felt right.

church with the grandparents, giggling like high school girls with grandma at fr.josephs constant slips in the pronunciation of words in his sermon, belting out hymns with zeal and gusto with the awesome choir and just being in the presence of God for a good hour on a cold, dank and depressing saturday evening.

but its never depressing in church these days

then on to warren for dinner with mommy. she'd been there all day, at the club playing golf then parking herself in a little chair at a mahjong table in a cloud of whirring smoke in the dimly lit card room. its her escape, no complains from me, what the hell, everyone needs something to do to unwind.

it also helps when one's up about $150 for an afternoons work. its not exactly get-up-and-quit-your-job money but its money nonetheless. a depleting resource these days, its nice to know theres a little extra coming our way.

so after dinner we left her where we found her, washing away her cares and sorrows in that little musty but cozy nook in warren they call a mahjong room. i watched a couple of hands then left deciding i was gonna figure out and beat this game eventually, could be tomorrow, could be next week, could be next chinese new year, could be hand in hand with my first WSOP bracelet.

lets face it, gambling runs in my blood. and when i figure out how to beat the game i'm gonna run with it.

but an unscheduled stop at the png home for a last minute invitation to join them for their choir party would prove to be the highlight of my day...

wait a minute...i'm not in the choir! oh well, they must like me :)

sat there watching cartoons on the disney channel then walked out with some of the kids and their hyperactive canine gavin for some daily scoop ice cream. fyi, if you're considering trying the "buttery avacado" just because it looks potentially revolting yet devilishly interesting save your money and your tastebuds and don't.

just ask nicky

after that it was some rum, burbon on the rocks and caviar. nothing like it. and what choir party would be complete without singing. afterall the pngs are a family band and it aint that hard to whip out some songs and jam out with musical geniuses like them. so off we went into an era of afro's and bell-bottoms, where you could dress like a homo and fit in with everyone else...ah yes the disco 70s and the retro 80s.

twas a blast to say the least. and for a moment there it felt like i belonged. i felt what being with family should feel like. i've known most of these people for just a couple of months, some only a year, yet there was a warmth that radiated from within that made me feel like one of the guys...one of the kids...one of the family.

to put it mildly it was nice, special and very soothing. i felt loved

after shrugging off a couple of requests to sing solo and re-perform my loved (but personally loathed) solo number from Ashira --- the perfect way. "Who Are You Looking For?" i decided it was best that i gulp down my burbon and head outside for some fresh midnight air.

chipping with jon and nicky in the front garden. peaceful, quiet and totally relaxing. its like my family i tell you and i mean that with every fibre in my body. if i had siblings i wish they'd be just like that. but i dont, life's a bitch sometimes...

but God's always gotta plan and for now i'm just gonna stick by and trust the big guy

a perfect evening with wonderful company. nothing more i could ask for really. except maybe mom. i wish she'd grow with me and my new church ~~friends~~ familia but i can only pray and hope she finds her way back to God again.

its late and i've got the gold medal to win tomorrow.

God Bless

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2008-01-04T22:05:00.000+08:00

new year = new skin (cliche but so true)

fyi i've taken the autoplay, loop function out of my blog song. i know i know it gets old after a while and for all those who simply cannot listen to michael buble, mack the knife or stacy's mom i apologise but hey we're all human

so yes, nice new layout, nice new song (bowling for soup -- high school never ends), nice new year, same old life

slightly tiring, occationally annoying, frequently rewarding but always exciting. wouldnt have it any other way.

resolutions all done, goals all set and we're off! 2008 hopefully will be a breakthrough year in more than 1 area of my life.

so as usual i shall attempt to keep all you lovelys updated and keep taggin'! so here's to a great new year and twill see you all real soon

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-12-31T09:37:00.000+08:00

maybe my vindictice blog entry sparked some massive change in the forces of the universe cause for the last 2 days I've actually spent a fair bit of quality MOMMY time.

who knows, maybe christmas magic really does work, i believe.

anyway its off to I AM LEGEND today, from what i hear its not the best but hey, i'll give it a shot. besides its on Gold Class and i'm gonna be with mom. sweet enough for me

correction sunshine: due to taxi cost inflation its gonna cost wayy more than $5-$6...haha but thanks bro, but i'll still *in the way only sunshine knows* take yer mooneh :)

happy new year folks, much love

spread the lovin'

Rob Valenitne

2007-12-29T20:24:00.000+08:00

i'm sick and tired of it all.

forgive me, this will be one of my hissy bitchy rants, so if youre in no mood to sympathise with me or simply cant take any misery or grief right now you should probably just tag and leave.

Christmas, its a holiday for the family. time spent during Christmas is supposed to be with FAMILY. Christmas is a time to take time off to re-connect and enjoy the company of your FAMILY. Basically its a holiday for the FAMILY...

do you see where I'm going with this..?

if you can't. to hell with you, i'm still going on...

for those of you who i havent been speaking too lately i apologise but i've been attempting to make time for FAMILY during Christmas, and since i'm an only son and my father's no longer walking on this earth that would mean just mom. yes my mom, she who i love and adore.

but those of you who have spoken to me during the past week or so would know that my christmas (save for christmas eve) has been spent pre-dominantly NOT with FAMILY but very much ALONE!

yes, miserable isn't it? But everyones got their own opinion and if you disagree than thats okay with me, just go fuck yourself or the nearest tree...moving on

i spent christmas morning ALONE, christmas afternoon with an UNCONCIOUS NAPPING mother and christmas evening with friends while mom chatted at georges house with her adult friends, save for the occational proud mother going "this is my son" that was about it.

boxing day, she plays golf in the morning and proceeds to spend the whole day at the club after that. knowing this i play golf in the afternoon with friends, rack up some cash but no FAMILY time. maybe save for my late late night chess game with nigel, run with nat and nigel and chat with them afterwards...but really thats about as close as it got to FAMILY

27th i wake up and she's gone again, golf...bloody golf. So there i am ALONE at home. So knowing full well the night before i managed to snag my dear bestfriend benji for breakfast, so it wasnt a total blowout. thats about as close to FAMILY as i got. afternoon went downtown for what i thought was going to be a fun day of shopping with mom (finally?) and aunty jenn but aunty jenn brought aunty lucy along (which was fine) but mommy decided to bring uncle IVAN along...not that i have anything against uncle ivan but when he and mom get together they're in their own little world and little timmy doesnt seem to exist anymore. so off i go with jenn and lucy. finish up and head to Dog & Bone for a drink.

that was about as connected as i got to mommy the whole day long. on the way back she whines about how its annoying when she takes aunty jenn and i out because we seem to get along really well and i agree with 90% of her opinions...is that so wrong? well to her it is, its her way or the highway. i've managed to live with it for the past 17 years of my life but its starting to annoy me...still its christmas so i let it slide

28th, she's promised to go to church with me for PARISH friday night. thats a hope. wake up and big surprise...SHE'S NOT THERE. out to take her 2 friends gillian and daphne to the chiropractors. then out for a golf game at raffles.

which means she wont be able to attend the church session. way to go mommy! you're words as good as gold these days.

so all alone at home AGAIN! i begin to lose it. called up grandma and went over to her place to spend some real quality FAMILY time...a rare occurance during this holiday week. it was refreshing, had a laugh, watched TV with her, took her out to Fosters for dinner then went to church with her and really had a nice refreshing spiritual evening, walked her home and felt good again.

then i get home and find mommy having a drink with her two new girlyfriends gillian and daphne on the balcony. she's happy and laughing like the fact she totally went back on her "golden word" to go to church and spend time with me didn't matter at all. but 'tis the season and i'm just letting it slide.

she then asks me to join them for drinks. not number one priority on my list at 11pm on a friday night but i begrudgingly oblige, thats been family time...get the picture.

today? she golfs in the morning and i golf in the afternoon. i ask to play poker tonight at jonnys place and she (without anyone to keep her company) says no and that we should spend time together, after all shes "had a really hard day playing golf, wrapping gifts for new years countdown and just had one of her agents resign...so no she wants me home.

FINE! i'm a fucking CONVENIENCE NOW AM I! car knee nar. i'm steaming i really am. but she's my mom, i cant tell her in the face it'll break her heart. thats not me but holy shit am i pissed.

she's got time for her friends at my expense. gee sounds like the fucking argument she dumps at me when she's in a mood. that i spend too much time with MY friends and dont spend time with her and that she's a disposable resource in my eyes...well hows that for irony

i can understand why my friends couldnt hang out with me over the week, they're with family.

benji (new family, spending time bonding)
little nicky (off with the family on a short holiday trip)
aly (spending time with mom)

the list goes on...they were doing what they're supposed to be doing...spending time with their FAMILY!

all i had was sparky, and he was a gem.

i'm just on major tilt now but not showing a bit. honestly i cant wait to get back to school...mom's changed, she's different...all i wants my mommy back.

fuck this all

come to think of it i've got 2 words for ya...

merry christmas

hope yours was better than mine

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-12-26T23:05:00.000+08:00

Christmas, ah…nothing quite like it. Yultide carols echo through the air, reverberating throughout the city to the point of annoyance, but still you cant hate it. It’s after all, Christmas.

How would you spend it? With family of course, piled into a caravan of cars headed for church, where they enjoy the children’s Christmas pagent, celebrate mass together then return home for eggnog and merrymaking. Familiar faces gathered round the table, feasting on turkey, ham and log cake. Well at least a normal family would.

How does mine do it? Well about as unconventional as anyone else. After decending on about 4 different churches from 3 different denominations we all converged in grandmas cozy 5 room flat at dover, the nerve-centre for all activities Khoo related in the world, for dinner. Yes all 20+ members of my dysfunctional but highly loveable family attempting to squeeze comfortably into her flat, but hey we’ve been doing it for years.

On the dinner menu…Babi Ponteh (Stewed Pork in an awesome ginger and garlic gravy like only grandpa can make) Steamed King Prawns, Thai Fish Cakes, Chicken Curry, Flower Crab Meatballs and lots of hot soup, all lovingly prepared in the kitchen that’s fed our family for the past 30 add years.

I mean come on…what says Christmas better than grandma’s piping hot chicken curry eh?

Does hearty conversation among family members fueled by rum, whisky or other forms of hard liquer ensue around the table after the scrumptious meal? No…not at the Khoo’s Christmas party. That would be an insult to tradition for nothing could ever replace…

Mahjong

Ah yes, good old mahjong, is there anything more Christmassy then a game where the 3 oldest cousins in the family sit bare-bodied at the same table with a revered mahjong queen like Po-Po-Vera, small in stature but great in skill she’s beat the pants off us year in year out? Not in my books no. So off we go, stakes are small and we’ve each got a notoriously dangerous mahjong playing family member behind each of us barking out orders and complex money-making strategies that I’d never hope to fathom in just one session. Behind Seth is Jiggs, Ethan has Glenn and I have grandma, no one better than grandma, who seems to have x-ray contact lenses.

And to the delight of the crowd after 2 hours of play I somehow emerge the winner, $10 richer and hero for the night.

Alas, midnight comes and goes, hugs kisses and well wishes later we’re all on grandma’s living room parquet floor for another tradition, the distribution of gifts. A responsibility charged to the cousins of 2 generations to perform we sit back and let Glenn and Alan take care of this 2007 batch.

It never fails to amuse us, Glenn’s incomparable present giving comedic monologue as he circulates the presents round the room is no less than side splitting and a refreshing change of pace from frantic, stress-ridden mahjong.

Soon enough the presents are opened and so is the alcohol. Wine, champagne, whisky and rum, I’d take the latter any day. More Christmas log cake, kisses, hugs and before we know it I’m home.

The clock reads 2.21am

Spread the lovin’

Rob Valentine

2007-12-22T10:29:00.000+08:00

yes! my internet is up and running and my house is finally done! well save for the tonnes of boxes, furniture and empty paint cans scattered throughout the place its as good as gold.

who am i kidding, its been a really weird and indifferent holiday season for me. filled with totally crack-like highs and rock bottom with a shovel lows. but hey, its my life and i wouldnt have it any other way.

gees, i'm like totally blog dead now, cant think of anything to write that'll be interesting enough for mass consumption, all i can do is just hope you guys have a blessed holiday and i'll promise i'll update more when my house and other bits and pieces of my life have returned to somekinda normal...correction, whens anything in my life ever normal? i mean previous state of operation.

on a personal note to you know who...yes you...

fyi i HAVE moved on, i'm OVER it...not being BITCHY about it but i'll just wish you the best and yes i'll still be here if you need a friend so yeah...bless you.

that about sums it up really. i'm not gonna pretend like it didn't hurt. it did. but for those of you who know me e'll vouch for the fact that i get up and get on with it faster than anyone else so yeah. i'd just wish ye all the best and all the happiness money can buy...

and one more thing, you're better than that. i'm not gonna stoop to your level, its bitchy and beneath me...besides the fact that my back would hurt. ;)

ok there i said it. anyway i got stuff to do and less time to do it in, so i hope to see you all soon but if i dont just know my love's always with you peeps :)

so till next time, happy holidays!

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-12-02T23:16:00.000+08:00

moms going on about my hair to one of her girlfriends again. please like shut up already. you're like the only person who thinks its off so far. gees.

anyway i'm not gonna dwell on that. haha, its so not me.

got to chat with ALY yesterday! yayayay! haha i miss my beetch! hehe but she'll be back soon so yayayay! :))

what else. oh yeah, spent like 4 hours yesterday clearing up my room. sheesh theres a whole pile of junk in there. painters coming to fix up the house so needed to get my room cleared a little too, so didnt hurt to toss out about 2 rubbish bags filled with crap too. i'm pleased and i'm way ahead of my "miss-perfect" mother in the clearing department. chew on that!

didnt go to church today (argh) cause MOM was lazy. figures, i'm prob better off going on my own. ah well, guilt trip for me i guess, need to get back there again. spiritual direction never hurt.

went to see aunty jenn in the hospital after her knee surgery and she's still happy and bouncy as ever. cracked us up as usual, and she thought the hair was the SEX! heard that? the SEX! and she's a former FASHION EDITOR! take THAT!

sorry if i'm being a petty bitch but i'm just off my head about the way moms handling it. argh

got down to more clearing today, slept for a while then literally bit my nails off watching the final round (in particular the final few holes) of the million dollar golf challenge in south africa. i mean holy shit that was some nervy stuff, go trevor go! way to choke and pull it off! haha

kinda makes me wanna get back there and play at that level again, ooo that would be so awesome if i can put myself into that position next week at sicc. i'd love the thrill of it agian.

anyway i gotta crash now. got dental tomorrow, gym in the morning and attempting to watch HITMAN in the afternoon but like anyone wanna watch with me? call! haha

or if that fails i could plop myself down at starbucks and write or go hang out with aunty jenn and plan her A-WARD-PARTY! tee hee hee

lovin you guys

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-12-01T00:28:00.000+08:00

hello my loveleys.

as usual my day was bi-polar. allow me to explain.

went down to training at warren early in the morn, that was nice. still a little seething from my auditions yesterday but thats all in the past. put in a decent practice session, not mindblowing but not sloppy either.

then rushed (like really rushed) down to mahogany for facial and hair.

my facialist was terrible. i mean just shocking. she waxed my moustache hair all wrong, wound up plucking out half of them cause the wax missed those spots. noisy in the room, left the lights on, seemed to rush through the whole thing really. urgh

but nonetheless i tried to enjoy the pampering.

when my ordeal finally ended i went out to get my hair done by roy. now roys a great guy and awesome hairstylist but i think he went a little wonky today. well the idea seemed fresh and funky enough...Ash hair...so i mean comeon it sounds good enough so yeah. go ahead.

takes like 3 hours, a burning scalp, 4 issues of golf digest and a little shuteye but finally its done. i did get a little concerned halfway through when he finished bleaching it (looked like yellow yellow mc.donalds french fries so yeah) but i still boldly pursued...had come too far now..

after all : Fortune Favours The Bold ---alexander the great

so yeah. eventually wound up with a head of ash hair, with brownish into black blending on the sides. it took a little looking at to get used to but i fancy it. i mean its new and its fresh. and i've got the balls to do it.

so it might be a little garish and so what if i remind the odd person about their favourite japanese anime charcter...its me *for the next few months at least*

anyway went to jons place for poker after that. got felted early for $50 when i put a wrong read on ken lye but then reloaded and doubled through when i flopped the ace high straight and pushed all in. continued to play solid thru the night and wound up up about $36 so yeah. good night

then mom picked me up and wasnt pleased at all about the hair. and being a mommas boy i have to respect her opinions. in hindsight it was a little rash, letting him do it without thinking too much about it but it was a mistake on my part and i'll have to live with it

its gonna change my image but hey, nothing i can do now.

looked in the mirror and hey. if this is gonna be me for the next couple of months. i'm gonna have fun being me cause thats what i'm about. its not gonna be a total smash everywhere i go but hey its my hair and i'm pleased.

upload a pic soon i guess. haha

anyway will cya all soon

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-11-30T08:42:00.000+08:00

i'm not hungover, i'm not hungover, not i'm hungover, hungover not i'm...

ok kidding really. haha, all i did was down 2 scalding hot latte's in the span of 20 mins. then 2 magharitas in 15 mins. then another half bottle of wine in half an hour. i'm doing good.

why the drinking? well went out with mom and aunty jenn la duh.

the auditions werent great. dont think i got it though, not gonna depress myself trying to explain it again here. just know it wasnt good enough and yeah...oh well, i'll learn and move on better than when i walked in for it.

some kid recognized me as xiao cao and soon like 4 other people recognized me too. argh, haha one moment of stardom lives on :)

anyway gotta train now so yeah. gonna DO MY HAIR TODAY!!! yay :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-11-28T22:16:00.000+08:00

69 baby!

i mean the score you dirty buggers..sheesh.

had a pretty decent day out at OCC today in the ranking. 6 birdies, 2 bogeys and a double so yeah. missed a couple of golden chances but sheesh did i make some sick putts. damn it was pure!

Eugene had 67 so hats off to him. georgie and i tied for 2nd and josh was a 2 farther back at 71 so yes i was pleased overall. who's complaining? :)

won my cab fare back from bhanu and another 5 of kaiwen so plenty of green on my excel betting/gambling spreadsheet this week. haha.

got the boys over after the round for some POKER! muaahahha..itchy fingers la

trying to lighten the mood with Mr. Quacky

josh steaming slightly...mate if i had a haircut like that i would be too...trust me.. :)

do not fuck with the duck :)

so anyway the boys left around 8ish then i decided to decorate our new sofa console. and so with the spirit of christmas and some inspiration from everyones favourite whoopsie interior decorator david tutera i produced...

so yeah. ended the day up about $20+ so yeah cant complain. Its my life auditions tomorrow. really cant wait! should be fun so yeah. anyway i so gotta crash now.

timmys on the market again :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-11-27T22:00:00.000+08:00

its been a refreshing past 2 days for me.

yesterday i finished practically all my christmas shopping and i'm still on budget, got some writing done, met up with uncle gary to discuss BASIC. taught bhanu and eugene sim texas holdem. went to greggys bday party and just chilled for the most part.

today i had every intention of going down to warren to practice and train a lil bit but got a call from uncle harish who told me to cab down to sicc and play with him, a friend and geju. so off i went blowing about $20+ in total cab fares for the day so far down to sicc.

actually enjoyed myself out there. felt good playing again. maybe it was the $20 a six game with the guys or my incessant prop betting with uncle geju, whatever it was i was totaly refreshed and relaxed out there.

made about $100+ too so that's always nice.

but i'm still fighting demons within. i'm bordering maniac-depression and those close enuf to me will understand. its a tough time for me but thanks for sticking around for the show.

benji you da man. thanks for the treatment.

but hey i gotta keep my head screwed on right for the rest of the week. NRG tomorrow at OCC and It's My Life auditions on thursday. nicky gets back sunday and damn does that feel like an eternity away right now...

call me

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-11-25T22:29:00.000+08:00

its been a kinda grindy week for me. crappy performance at the faldo. really a wasted tourney for me but hey its coming back bit by bit.

staff day on friday was substandard at best. i know this may sound bitter and arrogant but seriously it wasn't even bearable at all. poojaa and the silat performance really saved it and i just wanna personally say thanks to them for making it worth the 20min car ride to school.

played the club 9 ball today and finished 1 match short of the money but i had a good time and i'll be back to try again next year.

been having alot on my mind lately so yeah. forgive the substandard quality of blogging.

and my dear *insert you know who here* still hasnt called...argh

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-11-14T22:05:00.000+08:00

hey ya'll!

great great day for old constantine today. till about 5 mins ago but still great great day...

trained in the morning, pretty good productive 2 hour session i must say. took mommy along for her lesson and greg was pleased with us both so yes i was happy to start with. although the pissing downpour would have been much more enjoyable from my bed though...ah well

then back to shower up and change. down to mommys special doctors office for some appointment she had. omgawsh he's got a totally righteous name! Valentin Low! ahhh! its sexeh beyond belief.

then met aunty jenn at starbucks then gallavanted around town. everywhere from marina square to paragon to the westin. then met the grandfolks for high tea at the equinox which was pretty good. view was awesome as usual but food was nothing to brag about...

but...

BACARDI RUM CELLAR! ahhhh....heaven...

mom spewed at the management over some problem with her discounts and the billing system and she totally went into a very minor but nonetheless very scary yet amusing B.F too...haha. i love mom

more shopping at great world after that! so i got a couple of christmas presents already. yes i plan way way ahead to avoid everyone's last minute shopping.

and i found this!

COLOUR FOR THE HAIR DOWN THERE! HAHAHA!

anyway i'm a very very happy duck i got shopping done today :) both for Christmas and ME so yesh i'm happy.

but i fucked up the confi class chalet dates and i cant make it. bugger bugger bugger

to linus: totally absolutely sorry bout it bro i really am. :(

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-11-12T23:13:00.000+08:00

today was the best day i've had in a while...actually considering what the past couple have been like i'd even dare to state that it was awesome. 2 words: AUNTY JENN! :)

yesyes so i did manage to finally get my NEW D2 driver for acushnet this morning so i'm totally pleased about that too. gone are the days of my cwappy soft spaghetti shafted 983k and hello totally sweetly orgasmic pure D2! happy driving to me!

then pumped a little in the gym and did some putting practice at home before going out to meet AUNTY JENN! hee hee

met at the usual joint and had coffee and cakes. expressed to her my griefs and confided some of my personal fears and worries to her. she spoke her mind and was totally honest as usual which i totally appreciated and needed. talked about everything from my golf, to sponsors, to musicals, to my mom, to re-doing my house and getting a fresh image for december and 2008 :)

then off to far east SC for golf shopping. found her a new driver and scouted a totally awesome pair of shoes for myself. found killer cut sex-god white pants for my golf and chatted with marko about the new IJP stuff coming in next season.

then off to taka for more shopping. found an absolutely gorgeous swatch watch I WILL GET! gonna pick up some really awesome Bvlgari perfume along with my DKNY delicious one soon too. found some other cool stuff and just had a ball of a time trying to find the new ME or just ME in stuff... :)

gees i sound like a diva don't i

oh well...

went into house of condom after that and found christmas presents! yes i found nice presents in HOUSE OF CONDOM! tee hee hee. so if yours looks a little dirty you know where to look for the pricetag :P

then walked around and chatted with little nicky when i got back. so yes, perfect ending to a great day. i feel so totally alive again. can't wait to get back to training tomorrow. gonna have a ball..

so..things i gotta get done:

get hair cut and coloured
paint pinky nails black
get white leather jacket
get more pants tailored for golf
pick up new golf shoes
clear up room
clean and sell clubs

oh and thats just the tip of the iceberg baby...but i wouldn't have it anyother way :)

p.s. THANKS ALY YOU DA BOMB MA BEETCH! :D

and to youknowwhoyouare: call me soon k? :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-11-11T20:59:00.000+08:00

ok, so karaoke was brilliant...no pun intended. yes yes it was a ball. the high point of my week. just me and churchies having a ball singing songs that were never meant for us, laughing and partying the night away...

saturday gave me some hope for golf. went to the range in the morning and worked on a couple of things, finally started to click back into place again which felt good. uploaded tonnes of silly videos justy and i took from friday (yes they'll be up on facebook and youtube soon)

actually struck it fairly decent out there. got some confidence rolling and save for my quad and my double on par 5's i had my fair share of highlights...5 birdies, knocking it on 13 in 2, going birdie-birdie to finish my day with a chip in on the last to win the mountian dew challenge. hahaha! yeah. putted and chipped with leftie and fraser after that then went back home...

but...my FUCKING STALKER found me in church today and sat next to me for mass. tried to ignore her but it IS RATHER UNCONFORTABLE having someone totally FREAKY STARING at you for the better half of mass.

so using espionage like tactics i slipped into the crowd after communion and lay low till mass ended. then went back to putt a little before catching mom in great world for STARDUST.

actually kinda fun show. not exactly oscar material but hey it was fun and a helluva lot better than NARNIA or ERAGON.

and yea had dinner with mom and just chilling at home now. had a minor tiff with her just now so still a little steamy but hey thats been the theme for the week hasn't it...

so about my current state. i'm not totally thrilled to be alive exactly. its been a rough and bumpy week...might be mommy's nagging and fighting, might be the golf, might be not talking to a particular special someone for a while, might just be me trying to find me inside me...who knows...

all i can hope for is that you guys have had a better week than I did. and to ":)" thanks...i hope it gets better too...you're a real pal

well thats it for now and for the 47th time this week...fuck me...

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-11-09T17:17:00.000+08:00

hello my pretties sorry for the sloppy updates but its been a bad week

actually its been an awful week, absolutely awful. i've actually argued with mom like 3 times in 4 days which is a new record. i've absofuckinlutely chopped it like a friday hacker the last 3 games i've played. lost about $60 in the process and yes its been very tough. fell so sick wednesday night i was puke-ing buckets...and yes its been a real grind.

just cant wait for karaoke tonight...

sheesh.

fuck me.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-11-03T23:36:00.000+08:00

hey there...mommys out clubbing. yes my MOM + CLUBBING...harhar

but yes, slightly hectic, slightly chaotoic, slightly useless but ever so slightly productive week for me.

barclays singapore open pro am was so totally awesome. I MET ADAM SCOTT! he was like standing there and i was like OMYGAWSH, and i did the whole little chat thing then took a pic with him. then saw PHIL MICKLESON! OMYGAWSH again...said hi and good luck then left.

pro am was fun. played with adam le vesconte. nice guy, played okay, actually made 5 of the 8 birdies my team made. he complimented on my great putting so yes im actually starting to believe and accept that i am the best damn putter in the world...wish i could read greens though :

anyway halloween poker was great. had loads of fun with everyone and it was a success. played a little bad at the start and shit the action was fast. silly me thinking 10c/20c blinds would keep the action small but what the hell. everyone was loose and willing to gamble with any 2 cards. got stuck about 80+ halfway through but played a little better and played really good shorthanded towards the end and wound up with like $155 so yeah twas a good day. thats $55 more to spend for christmas :)

other than that its been quite uneventful, just loads of mundane stuff inbetween, really looking forward to getting back to work with greg next week. faldo and sicc *which i'll have to submit entry form asap* coming up soon and id best be starting work seeing as how the singapore opens sparked me passion for the game again

yeah...thats about it from now but first...

yes aly and grace i love you two too :) shoutout to my beetches. harhar... <3

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-10-29T21:31:00.000+08:00

mommys in shanghai...i'm all alone.

sigh

did my facial and hair today. roy and i have figured out this brilliant plan to do totally awesome stuff with my hair. gonna dye it ash and do something else :) yay. one more month and it will be the SEX!

did chiropractor today as well, feel all adjusted and straight.

gonna crash soon, barclays singapore open pro am tomorrow afternoon. should be fun. poker on wednesday! yay

i want my chipmunk! i mish my chipmunk! argh...lonely i'm mr lonely...

<3

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-10-25T22:55:00.000+08:00

so i missed the cut at the amateur. bummer. but i've grown up, get back up, learn your lesson, move on. there's always next week, no point winging about it like a spoilt brat its over.

yeah. i think im growing up :)

made money off uncle charles, lawrence and vincent today :)

and yes i've got stuff lined up for the next couple of days, dont forget to book me in advance guys and girls...

oh yes and time for quick tag replies:

*: dude...seriously i'm not exactly top of the list of the worlds 100 easiest people to spam cause people despise them cuz if you havent noticed...people actually like me, some love me :) but i feel sorry for you i really do...if you really need a life i can ask my neighbour if her female dog is tired of living...i'm sure it'll fit you just perfect. we'll be in touch

my supposed gal fans: well thanks for tagging again my beauties. good to know you're still there and yes i was wearing a yellow shirt that day thanks for noticing...see you guys soon yeah :)

annonymous: yes i know who you are my friend. and thanks for the protective threat thing, really appreciate it. but you might wanna stick a punctuation mark in there somewhere so people dont mistake you for wanting to shoot me too ;) cya soon

grace: down tigress...sheesh. back up girl! dont go slamming everyone at once. thanks my dear but as i've stated above, my dear annonymous tagger is indeed a friend not foe. but thanks for anyway :) and yes guns are BADDD

well thats it from me. i need to sleep so badly now

cya when i cya...

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-10-22T21:00:00.000+08:00

its freedom! sweet freggin freedom! and its mine all mine! muahahahahaha!

and that signals the resumption of my daily columns on the blog :) thanks for understanding my little hiatus but i needed it.

3 weeks of incessant mugging later here i am back and happy. oh yeah and did i mention totally FREE! hahaha! for the next 2 and a half months at least

so hmmm. whats been happening in my life...

nothing really major, since lectures ended i've been attending the friday night parish faith formation sessions and helping out with the kids when i can. its been kinda fun and the whole bonding thing with my fellow churchies young and old...haha...and i'm now officially a members of the catholic moms union. haha.

but notice. i'm catholic but neither a mom nor even a woman. but hey, thats who i'm with now planning for the friday sessions. and yes they're all wonderful and treating me like their own overgrown kid.

managed to spend quite a bit of time with my fellow members of "the twelve". spiritual and prayer life growing stronger everyday so i'm totally pleased with that. have had a heap of time to bond with my unofficial adopted Godbrothers (linus and little nicky) and its been great for that older brother inside of me :) of course 3 people would really bond and shit when walking all the way back to sunset way from wheelock place at 11pm at night

and yes thanks to nick i've been watching soccer every now and then and i've been asked to issue this statement publically on my blog (even though grandma's gonna be very upset)...i support liverpool. haha...i dont know half the players but yes...i am now a occational liverpool supporter. haha

sigh so much to update, so little time...singapore open amateur tomorrow. feel as ready as i can be (played 3 times in the last 2 weeks but coming off a 73 at the warren charity yesterday) so yeah, i'll have fun...but dun again when DONT i have fun ;)

more gossip tomorrow night i guess ;)

p.s. i <3 my darling chipmunk :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-21T07:33:00.000+08:00

ok my pretties...

sorry but i'm afraid i'm going to have to go away for a while. quit blogging temoporarily, at least until i get my life back in order and my stuff put straight.

thanks for all the lovin' and tagging

will see you when its all good and better

but in the meantime

spread the lovin

2007-09-20T22:12:00.000+08:00

another tough grind today for me again.

kinda a slap in the face really. my life looks pretty but hey anyone who knows me will tell you underneath it all i'm barely holding it together. now its starting to crack and i need to do something before everything caves in.

had a chop 81 today. 9 over on the front 1 over on the back. shit it sucked out there on my home track chopping it around like an ape with a stick. slightly ego-damaging but really i wasnt in the mood to play.

comeon, who would. i was drained.

its been a hard 2 weeks. accomplished most of what i needed to get done but shits still out of line and its hard to give 100% when you know that all ISN'T totally well in my life. fuck

for a moment lets ignore the good and face the bad...for a moment

10,000 word essay and project presentation due for management tomorrow
midway thru club championships (yes i'm in semis but i'm entertaining thought of a finals defeat to one of two very on form very formidable opponents in jus or jon)
i've messed up 2 straight weeks of sponsors invitations to professional events
i'm still in the unpromoted zone of the youth squad
i'm way way way behind work and lectures in applied anatomy AND freggin nutrition
exams are a month away and closing fast
i NEED to pass to advance in course
my golf games been shiet (due to my out of place life)

i'd go on if i could but i might wind up on the floor 7 storeys down so i shant

so yes. chatted with greg and its good to know he still cares and understands what i'm going through. he's given me tomorrow and the weekend off to chill and re-focus before resuming work on tuesday

its never a comfortable thought when you're lagging behind and playing catch up. i GOTTA start mugging NOW if i wanna go into exam week feeling confident and secure. i gotta get my lazy arse moving and start FUCKING MUGGING!

just got off the line with mom and yes she's a naggy old crow sometimes but she does it out of love and yes she's always right. i'm wasting precious time doing shit that doesnt need to be done for the world to continue revolving.

so yes its in a bit of a mess right now and until i get things straightened out. or at least begin to straighten them out its not looking to get any better.

and the badminton boys are back. welcome to my nightmare, more nights of chinese, hokkien and other incomprable yelling in my dorm till the wee hours of the morning. rowdy kids having their fun and causing me incurable insomnia.

and you bastards wonder why i'm crazy

well i'll stop here before i depress you farther. wish me luck, pray for me and God i hope you're listening...I NEED HELP!

p.s. dear flourgirl, thank you for keeping me company on msn all these miserable nights. you've been a doll! thanks WHANK! :)

ooo i smiled. whee

spread the lovin'

2007-09-19T22:31:00.000+08:00

its been another grind of a day.

up at 6. on the road at 7, breakfast at 730. warm up, hit the ground running. miserable chop today. played solidly but mucked up 2 simple holes with a triple and a double. finished off with sloppy bogey bogey and shot 78.

rather pissed but surprisingly everyone gassed it and i'm lying 4th 2 shots off the lead with 1 round to go.

had lunch with the guys then played pool. justin and i owned the rest then i attempted to play a heads up game of "pineapple hi/lo" (an exciting new form of poker) with josh. 10c/20c stakes actually kinda fun. perfect combo between Hold'em and omaha. final had saw me push all in with trip 8s in the hole after joshua flopped a flush, turn and river brought no help and i lost $10

but i actually won $10 from ken lye earlier so i robbed peter to pay paul. haha

chipped with the guys for a couple of hours and owned them all. muahaha. putted a little until 5ish then cabbed back with nicole.

i'll save the funny story about our cab driver for a time when i'm more in the mood.

plunged right into work when i got back. skipped dinner and just kept trying to force stuff out for our marketing project. damn it was hard. cracked a headache while at it so skipped night lectures and kept trying

pissed the hell out of me but i'll make it. at least i hope i do.

i so need to sleep now. but quick shoutout to linus and nick my beloved godbrothers for keeping me cool and collected when i was gonna lose it at one stage or another tonight via sms or msn. thanks guys. thats what family's for ;)

tomorrow's only a day away

spread the lovin'

2007-09-18T23:09:00.001+08:00

heritage game tomorrow

i should be sleeping now. but high stakes poker season 4 is so exciting.

zzzz

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-17T22:20:00.000+08:00

hey all!

timmy here. shagged but satisfied

had a helluva grind today. played gab in the quarter finals of the matchplay. mentally, physically exhausted from the long week i just endured. sleep deprived but hungry for victory i wandered into the club just before 11, dumped my barang in my locker then went for an early lunch.

timmys fried rice and a glass of apple juice, the usual.

went downstairs and found gab there all ready to go at the buggy bay. warmed up at the range then headed out to the first tee. took a little while to get the rhythm going but that soon clicked right back into place.

putted like a whore though. i mean seriously it was shocking. speed was way off despite being spot on with the lines.

such fumbles gave gabe some glimmer of hope. but i got a 3 up lead after 6 only to watch it evaporate into nothing after a ghastly error on 12 squared the match up. then a mis-step by gab at 13 gave me the lead again.

some clutch putts later i stood on 18 with a 10 footer for birdie to end it all. finally it found the cup, the only birdie i made all day was the one that mattered the most. 1 up over gab, a hard fought match and a well earned win

honestly he played great today, kudos to him. but my streak lives on.

so mentally drained i returned to woodlands to try and get some work done. to no avail.

out to causeway for dinner with bestie benji. its been so long since i had decent humor in my life and evidently he hasn't had much good reason for a giggle in his either.

caught up and were joined by the girls shortly after. KFC! hahaha. no more ASHIRA diet!

class was ok

i'm just so in the mood for unconciousness now. so yeah thats about it.

me sleep now

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-17T07:49:00.000+08:00

totally amazing, simply unforgettable, truly wonderful

the toil and grind of the last couple of months has finally materialised into one truly memorable weekend of performances. its given me beautiful memories of love, plenty of laughter and laid the foundations for some long lasting friendships with my fellow parishoners.

at least going to church will finally feel more like going home these days.

from the make up ladies, to the stage crew, to the lights people, to our mic folks, madam director, monseiour producer, the cast and everyone who made it possible. thank you thank you thank you.

of course whenever something like this comes to a close you're relieved at the fact you'll never have to sing those darn songs again, repeat those lines and remember the movements around the stage ever again.

but I'll surely miss:

sunday full cast rehearsals
jabbing marcia about how we could have turned it into slapstick comedy
the times the cast broke into the song "the lion sleeps tonight"
having to stand in for them people who couldn't make it for rehearsals (and giving their characters weird and wonderfully different accents)
soloist rehearsals in the awesomely cool jamming studio
sanchia and candice's looks at me every time we did our scene
the countless times i've spilled my "wine" on my costume
the many many MANY jokes and totally random moments in the mens dressing room
the choking toilets which induced a multitude of cocroaches to evacuate their holes and in doing so scare the living daylights out of fully grown men
the awesome theatre at CJC
winstons constant reminders VIA sms
celeste's constant reminders VIA email
and all other spontaneous moments we've shared together throughout this entire production
Our (nick linus and I) FAN CLUB! thanks girls, you da BOMB! we felt so pretty and popular

thank you everyone for the memories

we created something really special in this and thank you for letting me be a part of that. so many new faces to look forward to in church now :)

and thanks for loving the goofball :)

see you guys in church

or at least at the DVD screening

oh yes, and one more thing. i'll compile all the pix and put them on one of my famous picture slideshows and stick em up on my account at youtube. will send you all the link when its there!

for the last time this is your fairly inebriated angel saying farewell, God bless and from the bottom of my heart I LOVE YOU ALL and THANKS!

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-16T00:03:00.000+08:00

sorry if this is a little short but i'm dead beat exhausted.

opening night went great. couldnt take many pix cuz my cam was locked in nicks moms car for the whole day. sigh

but WILL get pics tomorrow for matinee show.

this whole experience has been amazing so far and everyones been just fantastic.

will tribute and detail you guys tomorrow.

i will crush david sze tomorrow then perform in the matinee like nothing ever happened :)

so long for now from the fairly inebriated angel

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-15T10:27:00.001+08:00

its opening night...erm morning. yeah

its so exciting. madam director has given me the go ahead to do a little video featurette for the dvd. "the angel backstage on opening night"

yay

i'll attempt to keep you posted as the day goes on

if i cant wish me luck.i mean break a leg.

you get the drift

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-14T23:42:00.000+08:00

shit.

played the ASM today with 2 very nice pros. derek and mr.tan. had 76, was soft i guess, made very sloppy bogeys with wedge in hand but i guess thats primarily due to the re-calibration of my new distances so yeah. pretty pleased in general though.

save for the 2 hour long weather delay which left me soaking wet and not feeling very good.

went home and just slept, so tired and sore throat wasnt feeling too good so yeah. woke up with a cold, runny nose, a raspy "sister jen" cough AND the sore throat.

and i was late for dinner.

so off i went to the 24 hour clinic. begged the doctor for the strongest shit he had in the cupboard. gave me like 5 different things to fix me up. after first dosage was feeling a little better. guzzled down water like no ones business thru mass and yeah that was that.

mass with the others was nice. a beautiful catholic fellowship we've formed over the last year or so and i'm truly thankful for it. its refreshing to know that at the end of the day we can all sit down and really talk about deep catholic stuff and other business with each other. something thats been missing in the last couple of months in my ever hectic schedule.

went to holland v with sean, linus, nick, venetia, randee, nicole, christelyn and elanie for starbucks coffee and some light hearted chit chat.

shared a cab home with the other sunset way(ers) and it just cost us $1 each.

so now i'm drugged and drowsy and ready to crash for the night. i'm no longer just the fairly inebriated angel...i'm now the fairly inebriated AND heavily medicated angel :)

so yeah, opening nights tomorrow and i'm pumped. should be a great day

god bless all

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-13T22:16:00.000+08:00

quickie from robby.v

played pro-am qualifyer this morning. chopped it around and i'm sticking to the excuse that this is my practice round for tomorrows main event. played with uncle david this guy called Yip and a pro called Albert. nice enjoyable hack around and we had a ball. i got a little good mojo going coming back and signed off with a 79.

cabbed back and watched day 3 of this years WSOP and some S4Ep3 High Stakes Poker on the com before knocking out till 6ish.

got ready and got on the bus perfectly at 6.28pm then realised i left my phone at home. rushed back but bus was gone. argh. taxi was the only option and thankfully God was merciful enough to send one my way.

dinner with candice and sanchia today. enjoyable conversations, light hearted humor with a tinge of bitchy sarcasm always makes for good family entertainment.

finally got to work out the blocking for our (and my only in the whole musical) scene. ran through it a couple of times, incorperated some ideas and tadaa! nice tight good lookin scene. the fairly inibrieated angel finally has something good to do :)

ran thru it repeatedly and then helped the girls with their scenes by standing in for the missing characters in the stereotypical accents of various countries. finished off at 10 and now i'm trying to fall asleep and get psyched up for the main event tomorrow

big shoutout to RUSTY! thanks for agreeing to bag for me tomorrow on such short notice. you're a real pal! :)

and for those of you who havent seen it yet...

WATCH MY FREGGIN VIDEO!

love!

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-12T19:45:00.000+08:00

I WON MONEY TODAY! muahahahahhaa

won $50 from uncle brian! :) yay

and i shot 69 too. had 5 birdies including birdies at 17 and a 50 footer on 18! i am KING! KING KING! muahahahhaa

:)

ok thats it for now. check out the awesomely cool vid i made on my friendster page. or you can just click the youtube link at...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlkCwJJ3Fmg

k

gtg now

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-12T12:08:00.000+08:00

time for a quick blog entry.

sitting at the golfers terrace at warren, just finished lunch, enjoying some gossipy conversations with uncle brian. teeing off at 12.51 for a hopefully rather enjoyable afternoon on the links.

warrens always been and forever will be like a second home to me. everyone knows my name. most hail me as the champ or good lookin'. an ego boost i know but hey, you'd like it too wouldnt you.

its probably the one other place in singapore i'd rather spend my hours than home.

there's nothing like speding a day here with great staff who treat you like family.

its an honour to be the champ here

and it's gonna be so special when i can lift that trophy again this year for the 3rd time

it's all mine baby...its all MINE

:)

life's lookin up again

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-11T19:15:00.000+08:00

ok. looking forward after last night i knew this week was gonna be hell tough to get through.

but thank God for the friends that offer me love and support.

Linus, Sonia, Jonjon and Lefty.

i know i can make it through. its gonna be tough but hey. nothing comes easy around here.

see ya'll soon.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-09T23:12:00.000+08:00

hey all. i'm back, another emotionally moving weekend at confi camp.

but from different eyes.

its not as easy as it looked last year. things screwed up, equipment refused to co-operate and it just seemed for some reason that the confirmants weren't as open and responsive as last years batch.

prayer was needed, and much of it at that. 10 mysteries of the rosary, countless spontaneous prayer, singing and silent prayer sessions later it worked. they opened up and were genuinely touched by God.

whether it was as powerful as what we experienced last year we'll never know but the effect was the same. not a dry eye in the house. God was truly in our midst again. and we all felt so special and blessed to be there at that time sharing that moment together again.

we bonded a great deal over the weekend. like long lost brothers and sisters drawn together by the love of God and the fervent desire to spread that love as others had done for us the year before.

thank you Linus, Bertrand, Sean, Leon, Elaine, Venitia, Rainer, Natasha, Clarice, Randee, Joel, Julian, Sonia, Crystal and Louis for re-kindling the love of God within me and the love for each other we haven't experienced since last june. it was truly a special weekend fellas, dont ever forget it and we'll do it next year for sure.

but still, its been a long long day. i just got back from a ridiculously 7 hour long tech run as CJC for "the perfect way" musical. opening next week and we're still lagging way behind. but we know God will lead us through.

i'll leave you with one of the 2 most endeering memories I'll treasure from this years camp.

as the youth went through the washing in the room as we had done a year ago i was asked by eric not to help in the washing as i was originally instructed to do. Instead he asked me to pray, to sit behind the rock feature and pray for the confirmants. I swallowed my mispleasure and moved to pray, sensing there was a purpose to everything i sat there and asked God for grace and wisdom to help in whatever way i could.

i prayed passionately and deeply, trembling at times, crying all the way. touched by God's love yet again. truly feeling his love once again flooding my being and returning to my soul as it did last year. the peace and calm i needed engulfed me as i continued to cry and pray for continuous love and strength for the confirmants.

then venitia, one of my old confi-mates found me sobbing like a little girl in the corner of the room praying my butt off. she sat down next to me, tapped me on the shoulder and hugged me tightly. her eyes too moist and running over with tears from prayer and Gods love again.

i dont know how long we held each other. venitia, a girl i had only come to know relatively well during the weekend was embracing me and holding me as if we were family. i believe we are.

we just held each other and cried and cried and cried. it seemed like forever and the love from each of us and God just ran on and on through our bodies, it must have been at least 5 mins before we let go and she offered me a tissue. i smiled as i wiped the tears that ran down my cheeks.

linus and sean then came in and we hugged each other as we had done last year and throughout the weekend. it was special. a deep special feeling that no one can ever take away.

i can only hope and pray that you my dear reader will get to feel that kind of love sometime in your life before it is through

God Bless you All

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-09-03T22:10:00.000+08:00

2 in a row i've done 2 in a row...its not impressive but at least i'm back in motion

nutrition test today! argh! aye caramba i felt so dumb. aye yae yae. well in my defense it was almost impossible for me to study in the cab on the way there today. i mean really, its bucketing rain and visibility is in single figures and my cabby's whizzing down the BKE at a 120km/h swerving in and out of traffic on slippery asphalt threatening to spin out of control any second and therein making the world a quieter place.

comeon, i had to at least look up every now and then in fear of my life. gees.

so yeah, test went bad. waited in the ESC for 2 hours before we finally had everything settled and moved on to causeway for very early dinner at pastamania.

nickers and george wanted to go for confession so we headed down to novena but couldnt find a priest in a confessional for them. darn. so george convinced us to go for weekday mass which honestly is rather lifeless, everythings spoken not sung and it took like half an hour. but hey, the company was enjoyable and the atomosphere was peaceful.

my soul had its peace for the day.

headed home by 166 after that. took helluva longer than i thought. watched the good bits of RENT on my laptop while on the bus before cabbing back from clementi mrt.

had a nice run with nicky and chatted about the usual bullshit and dates! hahaha *points and laughs hysterically at nick* then went back for dinner at my place and 100+, watched the nanny and walked him back out where i continued to incessantly tease him about *points and laughs like a hyena*

haha.

ok thats it for me now.

gotta nap

cya peeps

spread the lovin'

2007-09-02T22:07:00.000+08:00

hey all!

i know its been so long since i last updated but thats how busy I've been.

and yes, ironically i'm still very busy right now. but i took precious time to change my skin and change the song. if its jerky thats your internet not the song. hah!

been chockers with training and schoolwork and church stuff but as usual i'm having a blast doing everything i can cram into a day before passing out unconcious after 11pm.

golfs been good. played solid at the 100+ in malaysia and gotten that much needed jab of confidence already. gotten a sponsors exemption to play in the asian senior masters at jurong and my title defense at the club championships is coming up soon so yee haw!

schools been a grind but trying to enjoy myself in classes. mugging like hell for nutrition tomorrow so yeah i hope that goes well and i can mug a little harder before the finals. marketing projects just bumping along but the point is its MOVING!

playing alot of poker lately, lots of heads up practice with me good mate josh. lots of ring cash games on the road and my kor kor jonnys place so yes its getting better and i'm improving gradually. and income is flowing in steadily now thank you

church life has been on the rise lately, attending masses frequently and going for confessions on a bi-weekly basis now. "perfect way" coming along slow but we've all got hopes that it'll pull together perfectly for opening night in 2 weeks time.

if you havent got your tix to see timmy prance around on stage muttering out 4 lines and a song and dance number for approximately 5 minutes then go grab them now theres still plenty left!

confi camps coming up and i'm gonna be helping out which is gonna be very cool so yeah i cant wait.

and yeah thats my life since i last posted.

i'll try and keep you fellows abreast of my supercharged fastpaced (yet extremely entertaining life) as much as i can yeah

thanks for dropping by and i'll see you all very soon

spread the lovin'

2007-08-04T22:06:00.000+08:00

its been a shit day.

lost cash playing today. $30 to be exact. hit it alright but putted like a spaz. but i still believe i can do it in indo

then mom forgets to take my sticks home. argh.

then i met roger and cyrus downtown but forgot to talk to him about the stuff i wanted to talk about. argh.

then the apple shop guy tells me my iPod warranty is expired and i gotta go to sim lim and fix it. lovely. now i dont have no ipod for indo. fuck

then i go for mass and father val IS LEAVING! to go to some church in toa payoh. argh!!!

then dinner with family. mom's at some wedding dinner. food was good. whew

then had to drive back to warren to get my sticks. argh!

then my phone fucks up again! before i leave! double argh!!!

and yes i just finished packing and i gotta be at the airport tomorrow at 8.30. whee

i cant wait

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-07-29T21:36:00.000+08:00

ok. heres my week in as small a nutshell as possible...

played alot
won a fair amount from golf
high stakes putting games with justin and boys were highly stressful but rather profitable
78 at raffles was a fucking chop
spent plenty of time with my mother and aunty jen which was a scream
went shopping for mommys SPECIAL and rather pricey present :)
won actually a fair bit of money this week, could have been more if not for my screw up yesterday
i had my first ever winning trip to jons home poker game last night hahaha. i'll be back baby
yeah. so i'm shagged
got my pinky nails painted black
attempting to set up another fulltiltpoker.net account with jon jon

yeah thats about it

i'm zonk tired now

bye lovelies

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-07-22T21:30:00.000+08:00

pretty good week i suppose.

played SICC with the indian sponsors thursday. played $50 a six and i was down $100 with 6 to play. won the last 6 and doubled or nothinged the last hole and won that to break even for the day. i really DO enjoy high stakes action.

btw i shot even with a bogey down the last. confidence is definitely getting back

friday was average. chopped around in the afternoon with jonny. played 5-5-10 but was 5 down after 13 in pissing rain. ray and i were raindancing the whole way and finally got pulled off the course just in time to save our bets. whew.

rain at warren with jon and way only means 1 thing. POKER!

haha. 3 handed play probably favours me. i generally prefer shorthanded tables, plays to my agressive pot-stealing style. played for a while and managed to make about $5

went back for night lectures and then got a ride to tanah merah MRT from uncle Paul (nickers dad) before jonny picked me up to watch the brit open at his place. couple of more guys came over and we played some poker till late.

unfortunately i busted out and re-loaded but held it there for the night. wound up watching a couple of sick hands and great play. lost only $30 so was pretty pleased, honestly could have been alot worse.

no question i was outplayed a couple of hands. been to the east twice and lost both times. i'll re-assess my game and get better no doubt. will get into the green numbers soon. just you wait. i'm still profiling :)

and i've decided to keep track of all my betting and gambling exploits on an excel file so i can track my progess and improvements :) i feel so...erm...RESPONSIBLE

but managed to break even for the week saturday. chipped $20 of raymond and another $10 from leftie off the gold tees. hit it pretty good and had a blast out in the rain grinding out pars and playing solid steady golf. typical day at the office for the grinder :)

shot 75 off the tips with 2 three putts.

hit the gym hard for 2 and a half hours today. worked on my putting and putting stroke for another 2 plus hours.

now watching the open and just chilling out

hols next week. NRG wednesday. clubfitting with kim tomorrow so yeah. it'll be a good week. gonna be grinding at the range the whole way through.

till next time

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-07-19T07:18:00.000+08:00

and so it has come to pass, that on one gloomy wet and wild wednesday afternoon in the midst of bucketing rain and the intense pressure of the SGA vs MGA matches at seletar country club that my amazing run in singles matchplay has come to an end.

a 1down loss to malaysia numero uno edmund au. the 6th match that came up the 18th hole over the past 2 days. the 6th match to go malaysias way.

like the americans at the K club in the '06 ryder cup we were fucked by the home hole.

but boy did we give them a run for their money. needing 5.5 points out of the possible 8 to win the cup again our front 4 matches blitzed the competition and we had a 7-5 lead going into the 2 hour weather delay.

but of the remainig 4 matches, 2 were 3 down, 1 was 1 down and i was all square after 9. made a few soft losses and halves but still all square.

2 hours of rain later we were out on the course, still pissing rain i might add. the bumpy and crappy greens costing me 3 early holes on the back nine.

my 5 footer for birdie on 10 wobbled offline. halve

my 6 footer for par on 11 wobbled offline then lipped out. loss.

my pitch on 12 landed on a bare patch of sand and stopped dead. loss

standing on 13 tee 2 down was not a good feeling. leaked one a little right of the fairway into the rough. but when we got there the ball was no where to be found. plugged somewhere in te thick soggy ground.

pissed i was.

but nonetheless i sucked it up and managed to make a bogey after re-loading from the tee. forced edmund to make his par. sent the message that i wasn't just going to roll over and die. gave myself a glimmer of hope.

i was back in the zone.

3 down with 5 to play. with the fate of the matches on the line, scoreline 7.5/7.5 wouldn't that be one for my personal amazing stories collection.

so in now pouring rain and annoyingly strong wind i stripe one down the par 5 14th then pound a 3 wood from 230m to about 8 feet for eagle. edmund then stiffs his 3rd shot to 2 feet. my eagle's now a must make. i dug deep and holed it. my "gallery" went wild and all the course knew i had started the comeback

we both his great shots to 10 feet on the next but could only manage a halve.

down 16 a dodgy chip left me with a 10 footer for the hole after edmund found trouble off the tee. again i dug deep and buried the sucker in the back of the cup. 1 down 2 to play

of course through all the intensity i just looked over at my buddies kun yang and kaiwen and mouthed "how fucking awesome is this?" to which kun yang replied "you having fun?"

i grinned. "you have no idea"

again on 17 i was put to the test. 6 feet for par to halve the hole and send the match up 18. miss it and the cup went their way without a grandstand finish. i had fought too hard over the closing holes to let it go now. yet again i dug deep within and drilled it in the back of the cup for the halve. game on

on 18 an indifferent shot left me farther back than i had hoped. with a tough back right hole, rain, wind and a stupid tree to get over i had to hit my hybrid flush. i did just that, maybe TOO flush. it flew to the right level but released past the flag leaving a tricky downhill putt. edmund chunked it onto the front edge of the green before hitting a great lag putt to about 3 feet.

mines a must make now. i'm torn between a chip or a putt. i putt it but no where near hard enough and it slithers away. a short while later the malaysians celebrate their 8.5/7.5 victory while i seeked comfort and congratulations from my teammates and coach kim.

everyone said how proud they were of me and how well i played under the pump. i don't doubt that, but maybe it wasnt my play under pressure that let me down. maybe it was a few little mistakes early on which cost us the cup. nevertheless i had given my all and then some, if there was ever a way to go down, that was it.

i couldn't be prouder of the way i had played and how i performed under pressure in must make situations. it just goes to show how far i've come since making my swing changes and i'm so excited to see everything slowly coming together.

i told you i was getting close :)

anyway i just wanna say a bunch of thank you's:

to kim baldwin: who supported me and helped me out tremendously with trusting my rhythm and feel throughout the week and trusting me with the responsibility of anchoring the team in that all so important last match

to jonathan leong: my big bro for all the love, support and cynical trash talking throughout the week. keeping me cool and singing the necessary patrizio buanne songs when needed. and last but not least..."FUCKING WITH THEIR MINDS" :)

to kun yang and kaiwen: for staying out there in the rain to watch me play and support me over those crucial last few holes

to gab: for being such a vocal supporter and being there to cheer us all on

to the rest of the team: for doing such a wonderful job with what we had. i know it was close but hey, we did awesome and there's nothing to be ashamed about. they got lucky ;)

to God: for helping me stay in it throughout the entire week and never once give up or stop believing in myself

Will I be remembered as the one who lost the cup or the one who fought till the very end i'm not sure. we'll live the world be be the judge of that

all i know is that i played my guts out there. i poured my whole soul into that match and if a 1 down loss is the best i could do then so be it.

and if u think u can do a better job. you stand out there and try to not wet your pants while you're at it :P

but be warned my fellow golfers. timmy's back baby...timmy's back

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-07-17T20:58:00.000+08:00

5-3 in favour of malaysia.

the got lucky...it was really closer than it looks.

the 5 matches we lost all were just by 1 hole. youth squad boys did good in the afternoon.

i paired with kor kor jonny in the morning fourballs and actually played pretty good overall, just ran into some tough luck but made enough putts to stay in it. actually quite happy with the way we excecuted our gameplan :)

operation FUCK WITH THEIR MINDS

step 1: profiling... fuck around a little, try to profile edmund and andy (yeahright)
step 2: i hold off the malaysians in the early going while jon chops around and tries to get his groove going
step 3: i then have a chop around and let jonnys birdie barrage wear them down.
step 4: just when they think they're home free I start whacking them with birdies over the closing stretch again
step 5: shake hands and take home a point for singapore

well 4 out of 5 aint too bad right?

ah well. what ya gonna do. we're still in it with a pretty good chance so yeah, anything could happen.

come out all guns blazing early and get the 5.5 points we need to pull off the biggest underdog win of the year. 'aint that hard, trust me.

getting up and down out of a lunchbox on a rock under a coconut tree in a hazard for birdie one the index 1 par 5 in the final round of the OCC Junior Invitational 2006 is much harder...

i'm just saying ;)

and i'm looking to keep the undefeated matchplay singles streak to 10-0 so yeah. i never like to lose.

it's gonna be a blast out there tomorrow :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-07-09T22:37:00.000+08:00

i'm giving in to my darker side so live with it.

the growing schizophrenia in my life continues to ravage my soul but its doing wonders for my creativity.

been working my little tail off at my game as usual

mga vs sga comin up soon

moved back into boarding today. super shagged today

aye. will just knock off and continue my rantings tomorrow i guess

night

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-07-02T22:46:00.000+08:00

an exasperating day.

went to the gym this morning with mom. ok, that was good. worked out a bit and felt pretty good and raring to go.

so mom dropped me off at the station and i made my way to sss. walked from woodlands mrt. whew. got there and lo and behold it was YOUTH DAY! so there was NO ONE FREGGIN THERE TO SIGN MY BOARDING APPLICATIONS.

right. so i just wasted my time going all the way down for squadouche. nice. but at least i got to get in my session with nance about planning my year so that was rather helpful.

then i left at 1 to head down to town to meet my dear old friend gollum (aaron) for a movie in town. so i dragged myself downtown and found myself waiting outside LIDO at the designated time. only one problem, no aaron.

so i called him. apparently i was supposed to confirm about our movie today so he wasnt intending on showing up. argh! *bangs head against wall*

but he suggested that we go down to bukit timah plaza to shoot some pool. figuring that i had nothing else to do i agreed and hopped on number 7 which took me down back home. from which to took a $4 taxi ride to BTP.

but when i finally got there and called him he said he was going to meet some friends at KAP first before heading over to play pool.

that was all i could take. so i cancelled and offered to re-schedule. accepted his apologies then had to decide whether to go...

a) home
b) gramps place
c) school

if i went home. i could chill out, take a bath after running around town like a headless chicken, surf the net, play with my doggy, prac my piano...BUT i'd have to find my own way back to school.

if i went to grandmas place there'd be good food, plenty of love, all the massage equipment in the world and someone to send me back to school...BUT there'd be no internet connection

if i went back to school i could use the internet, and wouldn't have to travel to get back to school in time...BUT i'd be bored to death.

so i settled for option B.

lecture was ok. so tired though and i've got plenty of stuff left to do in the week. just thinking about it makes me wanna..

zzzz

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-07-01T22:17:00.000+08:00

i hit one of most amazing golf shots yesterday.

ball embedded on a 35 degree slope in a bunker. very very deep in, all i could see were 6 dimples. with one mighty swat and a gargantuan effort i managed to extricate it from its sandy entrapment and advance it all of 2 feet. the longest 2 feet of my life. one of the best golf shots ever.

and its on video :)

had a pretty good weekend actually. managed to contact my dear old bestie from gmss days, gollum. and we're heading out for some catching up monday so that shold be fun. just an hour with him on skype reminded me of where i got my ridiculous sense of humor and accute sense of lameness from. how'd i ever live without him.

woke up very late but managed to hit the gym again.

watched transformers with momma today. that show never gets old. its awesome! in total we got about 4 dirty looks from couples who probably assumed that we were an item as we strutted around town.

made fun of 8 people including the indo guy serving us at dome.

attempted to trip 1 old man and 2 children.

and yes i bought her the movie tix and drinks :) for once i paid

grandma's birthday dinner tonight. the mafia clan got back together and for the 2nd straight birthday dinner the 3 cousins were at the VIP table. somehow i get the feeling we're first in line for the company and heirs to the khoo family erm...if its not a fortune its a...erm...well that kinda stuff.

its been a long day and i got stuff to do so i will catch you all soon.

love!

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-29T19:32:00.000+08:00

a very very good productive day today.

why?

broades came to singapore so had the whole day with him and the other guys. got his opinion on the state of my game and where i'm at with the changes I'm making and if he had anything else for me to work on.

so yes i'm very satisfied with the day.

but i'm running on emo juice again. i know i know its my standard mid-teen-life-crisis-post-holiday blues. nothing unusual.

anyway aunty jen's back in town. just the person to see for good advice and the right connections. looking forward to our date on tuesday :)

oh yeah. transformers is awesome, you should catch it! i'm going to AGAIN

and i got a new modelling gig and this one pays very nice so yeah.

well i guess i'll crash now. back to the grind tomorrow...

dreams will become reality someday...

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-26T22:52:00.000+08:00

Chris benoit, one of the greatest wretslers and entertainers of all time died yesterday. and took his family with him. another fatal tradgedy. Am i just paranoid or is death really getting in my face?

i had a freakish dream last night about my own death. not the actual process of the exact moment when i fail to respire but the events that followed. i shant disclose it here. only to the confidants i trust.

played well today. 74 at TMCC, not fantastic but its getting back on track. i've been selected to play in the SGA vs MGA game in july so i'm psyched about the opportunity to play for my country like that.

lectures where ok today. lectures will be lectures. enjoyed the company of friends and just let another day slip by.

i can't help but sit and contemplate how lucky i am for the gift of life, for the present from God that is opening your eyes to a new day each and every morning (or in some cases, afternoon).

but you know you should really live it out to the max. cause you never know when you're not going to wake up from your sleep. its not morbid, it just makes life worth more living

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-25T22:45:00.000+08:00

death seems to be everywhere these days. an inevitible fate we all must suffer but why so prevalent now, at this point in our lives, in my life? another innocent young life lost. but not someone i know personally.

you all must have heard, the triathlete. Thaddeus Cheong. RJ kid, smart, intelligent, successful, a fellow catholic brother in christ one of those perfect angels. Gone. Just like that. life's short no?

I mean going out doing the thing you love sure sounds poetic, but this isn't a book. it's real, perhaps too real for his family and loved ones. they're feeling the sting of lost love, i know the feeling. its come far too often in my young life. but i pray for them and his soul that God's love will flood their hearts once again and let him find peace and them acceptance. its tough, but it has to happen.

i've just combed through a couple of blogs. heart wrenching accounts of visiting the wake and other such events. the pain from my past surges once again through my being and i can't imagine what they must have felt when the experienced it for the first time.

i can only stop and wonder what would it be like if i was suddenly taken without warning.

would you still love me tomorrow

i would still love you

life is short. live it the way you should.

spread the lovin'

RobValentine

2007-06-24T22:06:00.000+08:00

I'm back after a long long break without an update.

i've been working my tail off at the range. gregs found new thing-a-ma-gigs to fix my swing again and i actually think this ones working. its getting very close with the drills, all i gotta do is to put everything into one motion and we're golden.

played about 5 games of golf this week. ok i guess. cashed $10 of DA KOR JONNY! :). hit it okay i guess. won the medal with a 74 :/ played just like Tiger. couldn't make a single stinkin birdie putt but all the must makers i holed out. so there's alot of hope left for me.

poker was good this week. cashed $2.60 off jon and ray thursday, despite losing a huge pot to Ray when i flopped a full house then got sucked out with a higher full house on the river. stayed over da kors place last night and there happened to be a poker game down the street at his neighbours place. so off i went and lost another huge huge pot to raymond when my pocket kings ran into his pocket aces. I just run so bad sometimes.

so i reloaded and proceeded to chip back my major deficit and by 4am in the early morn i had clambered my way back up to just losing a measley $2. thanks to good play and timely pot steals I avoided having to avoid shopping today. whew. look forward to playing again soon

went out with rae and her 1.93m tall bf Anttie today. had a blast as always.

anyway i gotta get back into the grind of my school life tomorrow. i'm attempting to get organised but i reckon I'll be back in the groove by weeks end.

oh yeah. and the fucking boarding people cleared out all...ALL my stuff in my room. including my golf shoes, backpack, hi-fi set, fridge, textbooks, bible, watch...but most importantly my PICTURES! SOME OF THEM THE ONLY ONES I HAD OF MY DAD AND I.

i hope and pray that they've been stashed away in my cupboard somewhere cause if they're not and they really were heartlessly and moronically disposed of there'll be hell to pay.

I will NOT be a very happy camper.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-19T22:12:00.000+08:00

Late one Sunday in dark of night
A stranger wanders through, out of sight
Weaving through the paths of stone
To a sanctuary for him alone

The birds are silent, the candles dim
A peaceful night, just God and him
On a seat he takes a rest
He tries to be silent, he tries his best

As he prays the wind blows chill
But in his heart his soul is still
He sits in front a slab of stone
A niche carved out for one alone

Its been 10 years since that day
The God he loved took him away
Why he did the child could not see
But trust in his Saviour he let it be

By why of all nights he came to pray
This night my friends, is fathers day
A day to show thanks and love
To the fathers sent from above

But this child surely cannot know
The father dear that loved him so
For he seemed to know his face
No recollection of memories, not a trace

Still their love would grow in time
For everyday he carried a sign
Of undying love no one could take
A golden chain around his neck

The touch of it brings peace at last
Memories of family from the past
He came to his place on this day
To say what he had to say

In his heart he could only dream
Of what life with a dad could have been
Peace tonight does he seek
Another tear rolls down his cheek

For an hour does he stay
He would have it any other way
But the night is late and he must go
There are things that must be done you know

He speaks for the first time out loud
“Dad I hope I make you proud”
And with that he leaves his place
Wiping the tears off his face

The candles die and darken the night
And soon the church is out of sight
But he would go through hell and pain
If he could just dance with his father again

Happy fathers day Dad.

I love you

You never know how much you miss something until its gone

Take care guys

Spread the lovin’

Rob Valentine

2007-06-15T22:18:00.000+08:00

there's nothing witty or poetically sarcastic about this post.

this post is simply dedicated to a good friend and mentor uncle simon gwee who passed away 2 days ago after a lost battle with cancer.

i know i didn't know him as well as some of the other national boys did but I still had great respect for the man and a good friendship with him. simple but straight shooting. never one to back down to comprimise his integrity or beliefs. he was a REAL man.

but if there was one thing i think i'd want to take home from this mans life was the fact that he believed in me. he saw something inside of me and whenever he can, egged me on to keep grinding and keep believing in myself.

surely at this very moment in my life thats all I really need to do. just believe in myself.

his passing has surely cast a mournful shadow over us all for a brief moment, but he wouldnt want us to grieve for too long. there are better and more important things to accomplish in life and he knew it.

you're one stand up guy uncle simon. i really am going to miss you.

God Bless and Keep you always

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-14T21:54:00.000+08:00

i've been a good boy lately. honestly

prayed dilligently every day. done my penance for confession. practiced hard at the range. called my mom and offered her love and support everyday. continually told my loved ones how special they are to me...yadayadayada...list goes on.

i should be in the mood for blogging now but i'm not.

i'm sick and dead tired from hours of aimless walking round orchard.

and i've got training and a game tomorrow.

i shall entertain you all with my usual super long wordy posts when the words actually do hit me...

oh well. nite

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-08T20:24:00.000+08:00

to whom it may concern.

it's come to my attention that i am addicted. ok VERY addicted to my computer/laptop. upon further examination of my soul and current life situation i realise that my life at present certianly is very (how should i put this?) directionless.

i refer you to one of my favourite movies of all time - Pirates of the caribbean. jack sparrow has a compass which always points to the thing you want the most. Juxtapose that image but replace the loveable capitan sparrow with me. thats my life for you.

today summed it up really. wandering into my house aimlessly at 1am in the morning after a night out on the town following a days work of grinding out at keppel. only to be awoken at 7am by my ridiculous body clock which never seems to re-set.

my first instinct? computer. i'm online, watching youtube videos and playing poker for the whole damn morning. 5 hours of my life gone.

then comes brunch (yes i'm too lazy to even have 2 meals, it's just mushed into 1) followed by an hour of television, entertaining thoughts of a possible afternoon workout. then its back to my computer with some other unmentionable vices thrown in for added guilty pleasure.

end result? another 5 hours of my life spent. dinner time. a movie while downing pasta and a bottle of F&N orange.

what's my life become? i mean really. i used to have a purpose in life. now its just a blur.

i've always advocated living for the moment but not literally squandering precious time away on things that dont further any part of my life.

and i'm addicted to more than one evil vice. yes, evil vices that will drag my sorry arse into hell if I don't get them under control now.

I need help. so i prayed.

and with fedex like swiftness God answers.

so boys and girls i'm gonna be spending the rest of my weekend over at grandma's place where there's never ever a shortage of love and excellent peranakan cuisine made with love care and a genuine passion for satisfying any culinary desire you might have

a weekend at grandma's. a chance to think about my indifferent choices i've made so far this year that've gotten me into this predicament and to think about what i gotta do to get me back out again.

i know God's watching out for me. i felt it walking down the fairways yesterday. and I know there's no better place to quieten down and listen to God than at grandma's, after all they're the closest thing i have to him.

so pray for my my dear friends. pray that i'll iron out my life, dump the addictions and start living with a purpose and burning passion for enriching lives again.

i know i will

God Speed

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-08T19:34:00.000+08:00

george anthony gabriel foo yong guang. i'm very proud of you.

barring a phil mickelson at winged foot meltdown with a double double finish, he won by one. barely a win but a brilliant win nonetheless. he's worked so hard at his game over the past couple of years and suffered heartbreak after heartbreak when he'd come so close so often but never seal the deal.

i would know, i delt a few of those heartbreaks to him personally.

but being the plucky fighter that he is, he never lost sight of the bigger picture. he never let go of the belief that he knew what he was doing would eventually surge him past his peers and into the spotlight he so greatly deserved.

i truly admire his hardwork, drive, work ethic and courage to pick himself up after each and every defeat and try even harder the following week. but most of all i admire the belief he had in himself. unwaivering and true, that belief has brought him to the pedestal on which he stands today.

truly the best damn junior golfer in singapore.

i mean that from the heart.

but one burning question remains in my heart...

if he's never lost his drive to succeed, his purpose to practice and his belief in himself.

where the bloody hell has mine gone?

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-06T21:40:00.000+08:00

83. fuck. meltdown.

yes i cried my eyeballs out today and no i'm not ashmed about it. go through what i've been through in my life and golf game over the past 6 months and see its cumilation in a single shot splashed into a pond on one of the longest days of your life and you then you can judge me.

thats if you don't jump off a building or stand in front of a bus first.

one more round before i take some time off to think about it all.

feel my pain...all of it.

hey, at least i dress well..

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-05T22:11:00.000+08:00

well done.

i'm not praising myself, just checking how cooked i am. yes it was THAT hot out there today.

and now i've got a nasty abrasion in my nether-regions. aye!

78 wasnt as bad as it sounds. just 3 sloppy bogeys and a trip with wedge in my hand. that'll fuck up your day anytime.

but hopes are high. only 8 back, if i can just get putts to fall i'll definitely be in the picture during the final round.

had a lovely evening just hanging out with benji. it's been ages. dinner at KAP macs. chatted about stuff. went back his place and watched stupid videos online and chatted somemore. it's not often you're gonna find a friend like that who would actually listen and take interest in what you really feel and really wanna say.

it's just what i needed.

well back to business tomorrow.

i AM going to win.

wouldn't that just fucking break your heart? :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-04T20:48:00.000+08:00

there might just be some hope for me after all.

prac round today was okay by most standards. just got it around trying to formulate some kind of gamplan as i went around. obviously with jerome and i on the same flight, plenty of laughs to be had.

the lunch was miserable save for the many laughs and great conversations at our table which included chewy among the rest of us. coffee cream puffs at the buffet were to DIE FOR! omg they were great.

just a quick shoutout to chewy. thanks for helping me out with my putting! if i pull a win out of this week i'll buy you dinner. hell if i crack top 5 this week i'll buy u dinner :) rock on big guy

cabbed back and re-packed my golf bag for tomorrow. then engrossed myself in some very concentrated fulltilt poker. just trying once again to slowly improve my game in hopes of cashing out some dough for the weekend.

so i'm all preped, psyched and ready to go for tomorrow.

just gonna let it go and have a blast.

current iPod selection "EYE OF THE TIGER"

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-03T21:59:00.000+08:00

emoness was on high alert around 11.13 pm last night due to an unforseen moodswing. so i bummed myself out with highly emo love songs until sleep settled in.

awoke this morning to a surprisingly empty house. mom was out golfing, maid was out visiting her sailor uncle who had popped into port for a visit. dog was unconcious before 10 as usual. decided to get my grub down then play some serious poker on fulltilt.

spent sometime improving my game and trying to sharpen my reading abilities. snagged a couple of more chips and brought my grand total bankroll up to $256k (would have been more if i hadn't squandered away multiple stupid bluffs and semi bluffs post flop...argh. but i'll learn

got dolled up and trotted over to catch the 11am shuttle out but alas there WAS NO 11AM shuttle out. so i walked in the blistering heat until a nice cab stopped next to me and offered to send me to my destination while i was airing my armpits. oh well, lucky day eh?

end result? getting to church half an hour early. didn't think it was so bad being caught between parishoners leaving the 10am mass and those attending the 11.30am mass until...

*jaws music*

SHANNON. yes shannon, the very creepy sorta screw loose (one card short of a full deck, easier to count the bricks that are there than the ones that are missing...you get the drift). oh yeah. she's also my STALKER! *AHHHH*

I'm in fear of my life that she'll want to sit with me for mass again.

so i blatantly lie that i already went for mass and was simply waiting for a friend...i lied in church. yikes!

so she tries to make small conversations with me, asks if she can listen to my iPod to which i reply by blasting "Move Bitch Get Out Of The Way" which draws the response "its an angry song". then she enquires if she can have my ring to which i politely reject before bolting off into the basement toilet to hide.

when i emerge from my subterranian hideout SHE'S STILL THERE!! after dodging her several more times she catches me red handed in front of the confessional booths and innocently enquires if I've found my friend yet.

I lie AGAIN and say that i was going to go for...erm...(words eluded me at that stage, then looking to my left I found the answer...) CONFESSION!

so having talked myself into a corner i figured it would be a good thing going to confess my sins and get a clean slate again. all i had to do was to re-live each and every dark, painful, embarrasing moment in my life over the course of the past 8 months and share them with a wonderful gentle priest (in this case sweet father franz) who would then use the power of the holy spirit to absolve my sins.

well i had come this far hadn't I?

so i confessed. poured my heart out. teared a little here and there but held it in like the macho man i am. had a good heart to heart with God and Fr.Franz and life seemed clearer after it all.

hey. if i had never run into shannon and been so desperate toe avoid her i would have never wound up going for it now would I. a good confession, just what my aching soul needed.

funny how God sends us presents these days.

either that or he's got an awesome sense of humor. :)

musical rehersals after that was fun. i expected a drag but actually enjoyed myself. wound up standing in for the roles of James (the one i initially wanted to play), Joshua (the main character) and Patrick (???) besides having to perform my own role of the ANGEL...stop laughing i know its ironic.

had a gas as always.

nothing really exciting after that i guess. dinner with the family. prac round with the boys tomorrow.

the biggest week of singapore junior golf is here. I'm ready. Are you?

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-06-02T20:45:00.000+08:00

the great saga that is my 17th year of existence on this wretched but at times infinitely wonderful planet continues along its bumpy and twisting road through the fabric of space and time.

great! now i've got your attention that above paragraph has done nothing to improve your life :)

watched POTC again yesterday with sunshine. it gets better and better each and every time i watch it. and if you thought its sucked...walk the plank

practiced this morning with the leftie. pretty good session i guess. only putting (which was rather abysmal till the end) and chipping (we're like freggin walking highlight reels, one awesome shot after another). followed by lunch and a speedy ride back in mommas car.

sat in my bed thinking about my fate next week. the flagship event of the singaporean junior calander, radical but rather effective game plan, and a gradually filling tank of confidence. how's it all gonna play out i wonder. will i lift title number 4 and my 2nd major championship or will i have to settle for 2nd best...for the umpteenth time this year.

i dont like that.

actually i LOATHE that fact.

dinner with the folks was nice. i still find it amazing how grandpa seems to be the close personal friend of every single resturant owner in singapore. thereby getting premium reserved parking lots right smack in front of the establishment, unreasonable discounts, excellent service and glorious food.

must be a khoo family thing.

well its time to scare my piss dry with 2 hours of horror flicks with mom so yippee.

life's looking up for the first time in a while. i might actually start to do happy things again soon.

ASHIRA rehersals tomorrow. time for my 4 liner 1 song(er) showstealing performance (if I can actually find a suitable costume for the character)

now i just wonder when mine will be produced...

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-31T22:04:00.000+08:00

an 85 yesterday. +4 with 5 to play then a royal fuck up followed.

it should surprise me but it didn't. games been like that alot recently. just little or no confidence left in the tank. and thats not a good thing...

hit the range with coach and felt a lil more comfortable. he's got this way of putting things across that everythings gonna be okay. i have a gut feeling that it will, the only question is "how much longer do i have to wait?"

77 today wif leftie, pinched some cash off him though. but still dissappionted with my game.

mom's on my case about my life again. must be still pmsing from being awoken from her afternoon sleep by grumps.

honestly i'm not in the mood right now.

won't waste my time and yours. good nite and stay safe darlings

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-29T22:35:00.000+08:00

sweet day.

miss japan won miss universe. GO ASIA! =) but i'll always be a Venezuela supporter thru and thru.

facial today was agony. oh my GOD!!! Venus was off today so i had to settle for some chinky fart (i suspect she's done my face before. i think it hurt) so she was like clumsy and dropping things. not enough cream/oil. not very soothing massage and the blackhead extraction which my dear usual Venus does with such tender loving care was just sheer torture.

off she went with the pinching (no idea why she couldnt just stab them out), and the digging (like they're THAT deep in) and the twisting (way too much...) and if that wasn't enough she was chiseling off my freggin nose! literally! just 20 mins on my nose. it hurt so much i was tearing and didn't even know it. wimp i know but fuck that hurt.

thank God it ended...

2 hours later.

off i went for haircut & colour with Roy. he works wonders i tell you =) took a helluva long time but he convinced me it was gonna be worth the wait. totally! :) i look like a rock god...its freggin awesome.

anyway. all the pampering resulted in my missing 20 mins of shrek 3 with the girls (nic and val) at plaza sing. but wth, the rest of the movie made up for it. very very noice =)

quickie dinner at KFC before browsing thru books at TIMES for our childrens names (but the real reason we were in there was cuz the girls horoscopes said that theyd find their true loves in a bookstore this month, but all we found were geeks and geezers. anyway the child name picking might have scared any possible guy off. who would have guessed?)

then the girls dragged me to watch "bridge to tebirthia" honestly i wasn't exactly in the mood for secondary 1 fantasy literature but the tix were bought so i had to go right?

freggin awesome movie. absolutely amazing. honestly, just what i needed in my life...just that wee bit of hope and a message to take home. glad i went

bussed then cabbed back home.

got NRG tomorrow at jurong (havent swung a club since friday) then training wif coachie after that. it's gonna be some serious work on my game before next week. gotta keep grinding

i'll never take my friends for granted. love you ALL

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-28T20:27:00.000+08:00

an interesting day of sorts.

had alot of time with my thoughts. perhaps too much time.

pirates yesterday was awesome! i've never seen anything like it. it was like lit class all over again! so many storylines to annotate! (thats a good thing. unless you've got teeny weeny lil bwain) *makes insulting finger gestures*

spent the day out with mom talking about my life. for some reason only when WE talk about it it seems so..erm lost? yeah, thats the word. she's so well planned out and i'm a live for the moment, make it up as i go kinda guy. so yeah. go figure

but dinner solves all problems. nice big fat steak, piping hot lobster bisque, a bottle of nice red wine, mom's dinner conversations and a big fluffy sofa at fosters in holland village (you damn easterlings have no clue what i'm talking about! *points at nic, nickers and fendi)

gymed myself back into shape today. busted my arse. i'm going to be in pain tomorrow.

watched more pirates and constantine at home then went out for dental. quick touch up for the braces before popping by plaza sing to check out poker chip sets. got down to boarders at wheelock and browsed for a while before 4 o clock finally rolled around and i scurried over to forum.

not before stepping in wet paint and leaving a trail through orchard road at the expense of my adidas superstars. *boo hoo hoo*

cracking only took a while. cabbed back where i had a friend from youtube send me the sheet music for the theme song from pirates.

attempted it on piano and made resolute decision to lick it before the end of the year.

well thats about it. got facial and haircut (and possibly highlight) tomorrow. with very strong possibility of watching pirates again to get my 2nd dose.

i think i'm at a stage in my life where i'm on a path and theres a fork in the road. i've got options now. i'm not really sure what i want in life anymore. and i gotta make a decision quick or i'll run out of road.

way to go talking yourself into depression champ!

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-26T23:18:00.000+08:00

so my life's hit a couple of bumps in the road lately. so what

to quote one of my dear friends. "your life can't always be perfect"
to which i replied "exactly, thats what keeps it interesting, thats what keeps my blog readers entertained"

pirates tomorrow!

my dreams are hanging out there. all i need is a shot.

just one fucking shot

is that TOO much to ask?

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-25T23:14:00.000+08:00

finally back home again.

exhausted.

so it was a pretty good trip i guess. considering the wave of emotion and pathetic state of my game i was riding into one of the toughest courses in asia with a stellar field i really cant complain.

hit the ball surprisingly well, overally i felt it was decent golf, nothing fantastic but decent. missed it in a couple of dead spots but other than that and some shit luck today i was pretty pleased.

81-79-84. i know. not as impressive as it sounds but i'll take it. making the cut's always a good thing. and i had a whole lotts fun out there and really felt relaxed. a quiet confidence is building inside, i know its getting closer each day.

on the sidelines there was hot hot poker action all the time during the trip. played 6 games in all. 2 of them 7 handed which is the biggest i've played live before so it was a new experience and alot of fun.

played some pretty solid poker, made a couple of pretty good gutsy bluffs and only one very ill-timed one which cost me about $25. but all in all i think the tilt boys did pretty well.

joshua finally cashed out for the whole trip at about $103.
I cashed out for the whole trip at about $125.

not too shabby i gotta say.

so yeah. thats been my week, tiring, rewarding but hey. its the life i choose to live and i wouldnt trade it for the world.

homeboys coming over for drinks tomorrow so looking forward to that :)

what you see isn't always what you get. everytime i try to step into an open door it just shuts in my face, it's frustrating, it's annoying, but i want it too bad to quit now. I'm going to keep knocking until i find one that opens up...the dream CANNOT die! it WILL NOT DIE!!!

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-20T22:27:00.001+08:00

i think i'm going to puke.

so close yet so far

looks like i dont have all the answers after all

just another brokenhearted teenage boy.

i'm NOT that special after all.

who would have guessed.

if you did. to hell with your fucking life

since i aint' getting none you kids just run along and do what old valentine always says...

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-19T22:36:00.000+08:00

i've poured my heart and soul into my dream
a fools ambition it may seem
but charged by God i know i was
to help fight for a worthy cause

the nights are cold and days are long
yet no one has yet heard my song
as time trudges on i begin to doubt
what my dreams were all about

my purest intentions have now been blurred
demons of rejection begin to stir
am i in it for fame and glory
or just to tell a love story

my doors are closing one by one
and soon i fear there will be none
to give me that look, that single chance
to show my stuff and sing and dance

but the light is fading into the night
and there isn't much hope in sight
but my fight's not over it cannot be
at least i hope its not, we'll wait and see

After all I know it was he
who came in my sleep to inspire me
but i know to them a fool i must seem
after all it's just a dream...

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-19T09:14:00.000+08:00

2 decent rounds of golf, 4 poker games, 2 days and 13 hours and a hot bowl of ramen later i'm feeling quite a bit better.

airports are my 2nd home

a pair of 73s saved some pride (and my scoring average)

finished 17th. not exactly what i was hoping for but ah well considering my wonderful start i guess it's acceptable.

played with miko the last 2 days, speed golf really but enjoyed myself out there. actually, i ALWAYS enjoy myself out there.

chinese taipei folks were a gas last night, good bunch of lads. me speak many mandrin with them around. mr. tok would be proud of my efforts ;)

so all in all i guess i'm satisfied. boss says i should just change my putter just to try something new and different. dont even have time to see him before i leave on monday.

ah well. thats my life for you. on the move all the time.

ahh..should colour my hair soon :) anyway i gotta go now. shit's gonna come out of my bottom at any point in time and if i dont move soon it'll

*sploosh*

fuck.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-16T18:35:00.000+08:00

i know the psychological mojo jojo.

just because you fuck up your golf game doesnt mean that you're a bad person.

but i just feel like a cunt.

a really big one.

2007-05-16T16:02:00.000+08:00

well it was better. but not much, to say I'm pissed off is like saying osama's evil, bush is a dickhead and that angela's a bitch. so yeah, you get the drift.

so off i went out in group 1 (for those who don't golf that means you're one of the 2 worst scores from day 1) and yes i played with a fucking stoning twat who couldn't see 2 feet in front of him and yet attempts to pursure playing a game like golf. go figure.

so off i went at 7. i go to the range and they havent even set up our range balls yet. so i cant warm up. knock a couple of balls aroud on the green and that's it. off i go.

i miss it...note the use of the word MISS it around the front side for a very respectable -1 (35) so i'm like "well i got the hard part done, now i just gotta find a couple of birdies on the back nine, post a score in the red, get the 83 out of my (and everyone else's minds) and it'll be happy days."

yeah right.

snipe hook off 10. and here's the beauty. i decide to chip out of the trees to the fairway so i tell my dumbwit playing partner to watch my ball. i hit it pretty good so it SHOULD be out there.

when i get out of the woods my playing partner's enjoying a nice refreshing look at the fucking pidgeons in the trees. when i ask him if he saw my ball he just shrugs it off and goes "nope sorry."

fucking cunt.

so that started my downward slide. eventually couldnt find my ball and wound up taking triple. dropped a shot at 12 before missing a short 4 footer for par on 15. i bomb 3 wood down 16 so i've only got 176 into a par 5, so i'm like yeah...we can still get this one together.

in your dreams.

airmailed it over the back into a tree, chipped it on then 3 stabbed it for a bogey. flushed a wedge on the next over the back. absolutely dead spot. chipped it on to 20 feet then three putted again.

at this moment in time, the screws came off, my head blew off and i was seeing RED.

flung my putter 30 yards off the green and repeatedly told myself that i was an absolute fucking dickhead and that i couldn't hole a put if my life depended on it. i was tilting, and tilting bad.

wrapped up my splendid outing with a sloppy bogey at 18 before signing off for a 78 (+8). one under on the front, 9 over on the back.

somebody please shoot me.

i have no idea what the fuck to do about my golf game. its a wreck. i'm embarrased beyond your wioldest dreams and i've still got 2 rounds to go.

God spare my soul.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-15T16:17:00.000+08:00

i played like a fucking blowjob today.

yes it doesnt get any worse than my situation right now.

shot83. found parts of the course no ones ever found before. can't get any worse? of course i'm 15 back and 2nd last.

fucking peachy 'aint it.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-13T21:35:00.000+08:00

hello bloody darlings. i'm in HONKIELAND!!! muahahahaha..and you all have EXAMS! muahahaha...oh no please don't leave...

ok, on to more serious stuff. flight was good. indian in front of me was asshole. kept reclining so fast and so far, then ask me not to kick his chair...bloody pundeh! but i seriously love indians, just not that guy.

plane was nice. indian movie was awesome ;) haha. funny shit.

hotel room's ok. bunkin in with johnson & eugene. ok. the rooms really big but hey, we're big boys :)

ok. so it was a boring first day. i almost grouped a mans testicles inadvertantly but these things happen sometimes. *gulp*

at least theres internet. well i'm off to poker, then eat then bed. need to sleeep. oh my god! --- jonwoo

prac round tomorrow. whee. l8er lovelies.

ok, forget i said whee. thats gay. :)

stop laughing. i like WOMEN!!! not

not WOMAN...WOMEN! :) :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-11T22:26:00.000+08:00

its over. at last we can all breathe easy and enjoy the next 7 weeks of schoolless pleasure.

the final paper was tough, exercise principles. but hey, at least i felt relatively prepared for it.

cabbed back to my crib after the ordeal with nickers. watched life of brian and ate wonderful KFC for lunch. then headed back out to town to meet up with the others to watch SPIDERMAN 3.

nic, nickers, jov, the fendaminator & i

well i'll be the first to admit. i'm no big spiderman fan. but the movie was pretty good. 8 bucks well spent. actually quite enjoyed it, but really cant wait for pirates 3!!! and i got volvo club tix to watch thanx to uncle steve ;)

but thats after saujana so yeah. it'll be worth the wait.

dinner at cine after that. did the evil spiderman tobey mcguire walk down the streets of orchard with fen. looking like posers but getting attention. lol. like john travolta from grease baby!! :) smokin'

got stopped again by some model scout at the mrt and gave my number...again. gees, the things i do for a job eh? well at least its fun. we'll just have to wait and see about this one.

dinner and convo's were nice. had an enjoyable evening in the company of my wonderful friends.

waited forever for a cab at taka and cabbed back around 9.

tilted for a while and gotta knock off soon. shiet tired. hitting the gym tomorrow then flying off on sunday.

life's tough, wear a helmet

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-08T22:44:00.000+08:00

lack of blogging due to exam week.

its been a test on my nerves and very rusty mugging abilities but with the help of my dear friends nothing is impossible.

mugged like hell over the weekend. fendi came by my crib sunday with sunshine and we poured into coaching while engaging in several variations of poker to kill our boredom. watched rent and ate KFC before zonking off.

as far as the paper goes. it was alright. nothing spectacular despite the fact that when going through the questions i felt strangely prepared. i fucked up one or 2 i know but hey. i SHOULD be able to pass.

more mugging then ensued at nickers house afterwards. actually only about 2 hours of mugging took place cause we were too busy entertaining outselves with magic, card tricks, poker, DOTA and LOTR. but the bits we did mug were relatively productive.

today was for golf. played 9, shot -1 with a water ball and 2 birides. hit about 100 balls after that then pumped a little in the gym before joshua showed up to mug management.

did enough work to satisfy my concience then played some heads up poker till he left.

trying to get out of spaced out zone now but its a little difficult. finally decided to concentrate on some poker on fulltilt just to try to take my mind off the paper tomorrow.

it should go fine so i'm just gonna chill and let it take care of itself.

right now though my primary goal is to get back to 180,000 chips. sitting at 140,000 now.

just letting it go. just letting it go.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-06T00:00:00.001+08:00

today was a good day. variety of reasons really.

in the morning i made yet another long trek deep into the eastern lands of singapore in pursuit of revision. to fendi's house, with nicole, nickers and val. but the first 1 hour was aimless yet enjoyable.

of course there were inspired spurts of mugging amongst the constant chatter and joking. there was also pizza. nice pizza, and hot dogs. yum. and obviously, fulltiltpoker.com which by the way i am finally doing decent in.

i'm up to 128k. the exact spot i was 4 months ago before joshua killed it all. feels good to be back ;)

so we managed to finish revising all the notes for EP and i'm feeling a little better about it. fen was kind enough to photocopy his notes for coaching so i can mug properly and effectively.

cabbed back to dress up for pappy's 70th b'day.

donned the zara outfit complete with experimental hair concoctions and heavy dosage of polo blue perfume. manly i know :)

the gathering was wonderful as expected. the it really hit me how blessed we all are to have such a wonderful person like grandpa in our lives. there were speeches throughout the night. photo montages. heartfelt wishes and laugher. and of course, soya sauce.

what an honour for the 3 cousins to be at the VIP table with grumps, gramps and the rest of khoo family "royalty"

there were aknowledgements to us in almost all the speeches and it almost felt like a scene out of a mafia movie where the don would pass on the empire to the grandchildren to run. cool.

grandpa ended his speech with everyone singing a resounding version of "To God Be The Glory" which brought me to tears.

everything was just beautiful in that instant.

the evening progressed splendidly with drinks and dancing. 2 glasses of brandy for me will do it. a little samba and a little rock and roll and i was set.

grandpa's an awesome individual and i wish him all the best and a long happy life. the father figure in my life has never looked better.

to my grandfather! The greatest of the lot :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-06T00:00:00.000+08:00

2007-05-02T22:32:00.000+08:00

another relatively productive day for me again. and yes i'm pleased.

prepared?

far from it...

going in the right direction?

no doubt about it...

another lazy morning spend dawdling about the house with a strange reluctance to head on down to the gym. which i will get down to tomorrow...can't not have 300 body. must feel pain. pain good.

got a lift from mom afterwards to clementi mrt where i then started my arduous trek my train over to the freggin other side of the island. this time further. changi airport. sheesh, the things i do so i can get motivated to study.

so i got there trying to be fashionably late but wound up the earliest. hmph. walked around aimlessly before finally settling at a table at burger king.

for the next 4+ hours we mugged. joked. laughed and tried to motivate each other to work. all in all pretty good day i guess.

although i did see countless numbers of fashion disasters strolling around the airport. argh. i cant stand fashion disasters! just awful! you cant wear a CK top with black tailored pants with a white belt and slippers! SLIPPERS! argh!

anyway today finished up my mind maps for EP. and combined with those from the rest of the sometimes only crew we'll have the whole thing ready for examination domination. got the articles for coaching done and cast out votes for who we'd thing would top the class for the various subjects.

Coaching --- Joel
EP--- George
Management --- Jovina

so yeah. then plodded my way home around 7. dropped by clemeti macs for dinner b4 watching american idol. bon jovi nite!!!

well i'm shagged. tomorrows "work" day. gym in morning then prac till dark. study afterwards. lets ride my wave of momentum shall we

God Bless

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-05-02T08:33:00.000+08:00

Find Your Grail --- Monty Python's Spamalot

If you trust in your soul
Keep your eyes on the goal
Then the prize you won't fail
That's your Grail That's your Grail

So be strong
Keep right on
To the end of your song
Do not fail Find your Grail
Find your Grail Find your Grail

Life is really up to you
You must choose what to pursue
Set your mind on what to find
And there's nothing you can't do

So keep right to the end
You'll find your goal my friend
You won't fail Find Your Grail
Find Your Grail Find Your Grail

Find Your Grail Find Your Grail

When your life seems to drift
When we all need a lift
Trim your sail
You won't fail
Find your Grail Find your Grail

Life is really up to you
You must choose what to pursue
Set your mind on what to find
And there's nothing you can't do

So keep right
To the end
You'll find your goal My friend!
You won't fail Find your Grail
Find your Grail
Find your Grail!

2007-05-01T20:36:00.000+08:00

ok. thru stubborn persevereance and good solid peer pressure from my sailing brethren i've managed to save my left jugular. thank God. for the sake of the continuation of the low family line.

knocked out till late thus morning before finally deciding to get my bum out of bed at around 8.30.

got on my famed public transport and had my usual escapades on our fabled MRT lines. anyway took way too long to get all the way to freggin tanah merah. cabbed from the MRT station to nickers place (which i then realised was just around the corner)

and i studied. actually studied! yes!!! PRODUCTIVITY!

ok. so there were glitches in the day including an hour long break to watch the various good scenes off monty pythons holy grail. another 2 hour break to watch the brilliant movie THE GURU while simulteneously taking on an 18 player 2k buy in poker tournament on fulltilt which by the way i won ;)

and yes. other than that very productive day.

finished up ALL yes ALL of management. a wee bit of coaching and yeah thats about it.

happy yes.

tomorrow gotta drop by easb to get met card. then gotta go and study with the rest of the sometimes only crew (nickers, val and nic) somewhere out there, beneath the clear moonl...*music cuts*

so yeah. a big big thanks to my sailing homeboys for helping me get my arse down for some work todae.

so fendaminator and nickers...

thanks bros ;)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-04-30T20:23:00.000+08:00

i'm so far out of it i'm beginning to get worried. well ok, just a little.

woke up late today, watched the finals of the dance floor on smart TV. thank God Vas and Pris won. whew.

went down to training at around 9.30. chipping practice today. wasn't too bad. actually was quite a good practice session. grinded it out but still got a ways to go with my pitches and bunkers. other than that i was very pleased.

grabbed a quick lunch then headed out for a game. played with georgie greg and aunty esther. side betted about a box of titliest pro v1's with trent (thats in the $70-$100 ) range of balls. and side betted 1-1-2 with george and long drive for a coke. not to mention partnering aunty esther against george and greg.

so off we went and i was just off the rocker today. couldn't put for a dime. hit some awesome golf shots but just couldn't put the putts away. and that always annoys the piss out of me. really i was just livid about my game. well for the front side at least. turned in like 42 and was spewing.

kept it together a bit better on the back side and hit pretty good golf shots. its definitely coming around and i shall just stick to my usual excuse that the greens were horrid to keep me happy. but seriously they were shocking.

long story short i wrapped up my day getting up and down to beat george out of $5 on the last hole and picking up a coke from him for long drive. trent absolutely smashed me so I'll be down about a dozen pro v1's

got back around 7.

I'm really not sure what to do now. i might sleep early and hit the gym tomorrow. which is by the way going to be solid work day. so i'm going to say it right here that i swear on my left testicle "thats the bigger one" that I will get work done tomorrow. i will. i must!

anyway i'm off to find something productive to do now.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-04-29T20:49:00.000+08:00

i'm not going to lie.

i havent been exactly myself during the last couple of days. i really dont know why. i just havent been me. not completely brain dead, but not high as usual. i'm suspended, lets leave it at that.

friday was VJ drama nite. great fun got to catch up with the guys again. realised how much i miss all of them. its always a bummer when you gotta leave great friends like that but hey thats the way life goes eh? at least we spent some good quality time together and had a blast.

3/4 of the show was brilliant. enjoyed it and started getting me pumped up to finish up my plays and stuff so i can get 'em out there too.

saturday was nothing special. oral presentation. choked on that, gassed it. screwed it up. maybe i should have prepped more, but thats a decision i chose to make and i'll live with it. had lunch with nicole and val at causeway after that and talked about what life would be if we weren't in the SSS.

kinda makes you wonder.

did nothing productive that afternoon. for some reason i was completely spaced out. i just sat there stoning for once in my life. yeah i tilted a bit and wrote a little bit here and a little bit there. chatted on msn but did nothing productive and nothing inside of me bugged me enough for me to get any work done.

drowned myself in phantom of the opera music on my piano. fell into my own little world of the music of the night and drifted off into the depths of my imagination.

church today. preist made no sense. or maybe i was just tuned out. ashira rehearsals after that. was nice to see the cast again after a while. its like family to me despite my pathetically small role in the whole show.

got back and just felt no motivation to do anything again. nuah basically. tilted again and wrote spurts here and there but still nothing remotely productive.

mugged a little management but my brain kept screaming at me to stop.

but the exams are just a week away. i need to get down to business soon. hopefulls its just a phase.

maybe i'm just shagged.

but why?

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-04-26T20:21:00.000+08:00

day didn't go according to plan but hey. my life doesnt go according to plan ;)

in case u havent noticed, ive changed my skin :) appropriate no?

absolutely flogged it in the gym today. pumped hard and i'm feeling good. exercise principles class was aite today. was not lost, actually understood the bulk of the lesson. just gotta mind map and read up for the test and i'm good as gold.

lunched with the sailors at vista point before slacking till sarah showed up. hung out with biobabe for a while before cabbing down to seletar for training.

my cab driver was a first class moron. chinky moron may i add. oh well

plugged in my iPod and did my own thing for 2 hours just grooving it in. grinding it out. basically just working hard. chatted with greggy bout wednesday and he's proud of me. just gotta keep doing what we're doing he says. just gotta keep grinding.

dinner with yu khing at pasta fresca. good catching up and talking bout my game. gave me some solid advice and i'm looking forward to putting that into place.

basically trying to work out a formula for success within the next 2 months with 4 events coming up.

there's always hope.

training tomorrow then VJ drama nite! :) yay. its the best excuse to get together with the old sec4 bunch again. cant wait.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-04-25T23:08:00.000+08:00

fulfilling. my day in one word for ya.

ranking game today wasnt pretty but for some reason i managed to hang in long enough for a 73. it might have been the home course advantage, it might have been my bright yellow pants, it might have been the air, it might have been the countless games i've had this year where disaster springs upon me round every bend to the point of utter exhaustion and frustration strong enough to will my ball into the hole.

it might have just been the sheer grit and determination to just get the bloody thing in the hole.

whatever it was it sure worked. like i said. it wasn't pretty but it worked. and thats all i need i guess, something that works. something that produces results. i need to start PLAYing golf again.

post game activities included lunch with the boys. several games pool, snooker, card ball and 7 hands of hold'em poker. relaxing and enjoyable. trust the boys all had a good time.

chipped round with sunshine and george after that. havent had a good compeditive practice session like that in a long time. satisfying.

cabbed back and had pretty good dining hall food before heading up to the IT room to study with foo, JP, richie, lingling, jov and nickers. mucked around with youtube a bit first but eventually got some work done. relatively productive but its more than i would have done by myself.

richie, jov and linling left around 9.30 leaving us to study for a little longer.

3 catholics and a christian. all God fearing teenagers with real issues and real things to talk about. havent had a conference conversation with that much meaning and purpose in a very long time. it felt good to finally get down and talk some very real and personal issues out with everyone but at the same time it was like reality giving a little slap in the face to say "wake up dude. straighten up and get life back on track"

conversation topics ranged from...phantom of the opera to constantine (the movie not me), exorcisms to the liturgical calander, Christian denominations to the order of the Catholic mass, popes to satanists, gangsters to sex, parents to siblings, gossip to death and everything in between.

how long since i had a good heart to heart conversation with 3 awesome guys like that?

too long...

how long till the next one?

hopefully soon ;)

to the boys: i couldnt have asked for a better way to cap off a great day. thanks guys :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-04-24T21:43:00.000+08:00

lying in my bed at home now. nice and comfy. air-con. nice...very nice.

can't get into the sometimesonlysometimes blog. grr. was going to change skin but i guess that will have to wait.

ran through new gym program this morning and experimented with some golf specific stuff. exercise principles lecture was a blur. i sat there saturated for the most part. argh. but i'm still hopeful of doing good in the tests.

didn't hand in my EASB met. card in time so now i gotta run all the way down to EASB headquaters to get the new one sometime before the tests. grr. but at least nickers' gonna keep me company on the long journey. so sweet hah :)

chopped around with jerome and george today. broke even on bets. some asshole today pissed me off while playing. wanted to punch the fucker in the nuts but figured since he was old there might not be anything left to knock.

dined with big foo, small foo and big momma at yan palace for dinner. yummy as usual. conversations were brilliant as expected and got lift back from uncle larry after that cause mom went off to practice at the range.

NRG tomorrow. my ranking's been fucked up cause of them. need to start burning it up again. hitting it good but driving it like a wank so it'll be interesting tomorrow to say the least.

anyway i got sleep to catch

love

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-04-23T19:48:00.000+08:00

i had a rather productive day today.

dropped off stupid spextag form @ SGA already. can't believe they're making us do so much writing and shit just for freaking 100 bucks a year. assholes.

actually studied today. worked on exercise principles for about 4 hours today. yay. i'm so proud of myself. and i did study very very hard. i just might be growing up. tee hee hee.

queenie found out about my "secret place" so i'm just hoping that she lets it slide.

anyway ben came by for dinner. chucked down ice cream and cordial. still not in an eating mood.

anyway its time for more muggin.

yes muggin

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-04-22T16:41:00.000+08:00

countdown to my prof studies presentation...6 more days to go

work done. quite a bit but i'm not out of harms way yet. finished about 4 and a half slides. got the major bulk of my presentation ironed out. just need a little more substance to give it that extra oomph that will knock angela off her feet (and hopefully kill her). its mostly points so i still got a heap of elaboration to do.

photoshoot with mommy for the inside golf edition for mothers day. very nice.

church back to normal. looks good for initial stages of work. choir was absolutely awesome today. rendition of "O King of Might and Splendour" was just amazing. blew the roof off. i'm starting to get back into the spiritual side of things which is probably a good thing. no...it IS a good thing.

sent po nik off today. she's going gallavanting around europe for 3 months. damn its good to be retired.

actually had a very enjoyable day out with mom. no arguments, no fighting and most importantly...no talking about my golf. yes! i think it's a landmark day as far as thats concerned. that would probably explain the lack of fighting today :) i'm pleased.

work to do tomorrow. back to gym.

nickers woman won our pathetic excuse for flaunting brainless bimbos around in swimsuits and evening wear - miss singapore universe and he didn't even get a photo op with her. some way to treat an escort...oh well. you're a hero to us all bro :) just sometimes

anyway its late

Godspeed

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-04-19T20:10:00.000+08:00

today was a good day.

nothing really special happened.

thats probably why. ;)

flogged myself in the gym again. damn it feels pretty good to get back pumping again. back on track for the 300 body i'm so desperate for. onward brave spartan!

coaching was ok today, had my practical assesment. felt i did ok, not the best but it'll do.

lunch with the sailors at banquet, nothing new really. settled for some good old wonton mee. no aussie fish and chips will ever beat the great taste of singapore food

cabbed down to training after that. damn i really think taking yesterday off was a solid idea. felt recharged and ready to go. all by myself up there with my balls. iPod on, grinding away. there's no better feeling for me. worked hard and just kept grinding away. chipped and hit some bunker shots for a bit before wrapping up around 5ish.

a very productive day at the office.

cabbed back. dinner with ben twice in the same day. good to catch up with the old boy who's forsaken his better half (waves enthusiastically) in search of a better life and hotter chicks in RP.

now i sit here fully engrossed in poker trying to concentrate and improve my game in hopes of one day winning a WSOP bracelet.

i'll probably write after this. so many projects i've already started. whee

God Bless

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-04-18T11:39:00.000+08:00

ah yes, the great rolling roallercoaster soap opera of my life continues along its merry way. the jekyll and hyde story that constantly engulfs me in various polar emotions of love and hate for my reflection is an ever present leech that drains me of my energy when down and perks me up like an energizer bunny when i'm high on endorphies.

it's both a joy and a curse but it makes me what i am...different.

but right now I wouldn't mind stepping into a normal life...at least for a week or 2.

i've spent the better part of the last 3 years jet setting around the globe and around asia playing the game i love and finding new experiences everywhere i go. its brought me much joy and excitement, some new pieces of hardware, and memories I'll treasure for the rest of my life.

I've also had a fine and dandy time trying to cram for school. mug tests and fuddle out crappy assignments just to scrape together enough points to make the grade. its a pathetic feeling for a perfectionist but its obviously not painful enough for me to wanna do something about it.

today's a fine and dandy example of what i mean.

i get back after 2 weeks on the road. i've spent my birthday away from my friends and family in a foreign land for the 2nd straight year. i've been sick as a dog during my 2 debut tourneys of the year (not your friday hack with the boys mind you) and screw up both of them mightily, something i do not take pleasure in doing.

mom's on my tail about my golf game again. when will it stop?

i'm pissed as hell that i've let another 2 good opportunities go by.

coach is optimistic, friends are supportive and i'm ready to move on and work hard again. step one. get back in the gym...getting fit again. illness drained me badly and i'm trying to work myself back up to 100%. so i pump as hard as i can yesterday.

naturally i ache like hell this morning. george's out doing his passport so i got no ride to seletar. i'm slightly concerned about the prof studies presentation next week and my coaching assesment tomorrow. not to mention EP work for tonights lecture.

so i make the call. no training today. finish work so i can get it all off my mind and just concentrate when i get back. and wasn't that supposed to be the theme of the year? compartmentailzation. focusing 100% on something at any given time.

so off i go. something completely irrelavent. i write a long overdue letter to flossie. its a start and i get something i've been meaning to do out of the way. off i go. finish lesson plan and stare blankly at powerpoint presentation for about an hour or so. brain dead.

do some EP work. worrying about the exam in a couple of weeks. sms back and forth with coach who for some reason doesnt sound very happy on the messaging. says he'll call later. talk to mom for inspiration.

end up getting slammed. about everything i've done in the last 24 hours.

bitch.

i mean really. damn! is my freggin golf the be all and end all of my life? fucking hell!
she's been on my fucking case since i stopped winning and started making adjustments to my game. she's never been on the level that i'm on so i've got no idea why she talks about the stuff that she thinks should help me.

it bugs me so bad.

ok, so i've got issues with time management. some of you out there can relate to me yar? but sheesh, try living as the perfectionist son of a very good perfectionist who keeps drilling me with everything she knows.

penknife looks good now.

i know i'm overreacting but thats the thing. everytime suicide comes into my mind i realise i've got so much in the world to live for i just cant kill myself. friends, family, projects, people. its all just too much. so i plug on.

maybe a need a break from the game. i think the subconcious is trying to tell me something like "get the fuck out for a bit and breathe before you wind up hating the game you love"

i've got some major issues.

and i gotta fix them up.

right now i'm blogging when i should be training...or working...or writing...

think its easy being me?

think again

constantine

2007-04-17T21:12:00.000+08:00

Its been a trying couple of weeks for me but hey. I’ve had worse right.

Think its easy being me? Think again…

In the last 15 days I’ve…

2 thai homo’s flirting with me
fallen sick not once but twice
Played well over 400 hands of texas hold em poker
Played a grand total of about 25 hours of texas hold em poker
Hit a grand total of 479 shots over the course of 6 competitive rounds of golf
Puked
Had very very bad dihorrea
Taken enough panadol to kill me
Had a jab in my arse for all the shit running through me
Had multiple bouts of incredibly high fever which has threatened to severely reduce my sperm count
Had 3 different birthday parties
Almost gotten in a bar fight
And shopped like there’s no tomorrow.

Need I go on?

Lets face it, I’m a busy man.

in other news...i've got tests comin up and i havent studied

happy days...

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-03-30T22:18:00.000+08:00

i've been teetering on the brink of the chasm of insanity but somehow managed through the last few days

act of God seems the only logical explination.

in short i've been tired. very very tired.

work, golf, working out, shopping...the works.

and my blog went dead for a couple of days

but i'm ready for thailand and aus. and i'm gonna tear it up :)

so shagged now.

got the bitch's class tomorrow.

then parteh

need to sleep.

"Haiku's are nice
But sometimes they don't make sense
refridgerator"

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-03-26T22:54:00.000+08:00

a mundane monday (alliterations are awesome)

watched tiger utterly dominate the world golf championships CA championship again this morning on tv. what else can you expect from the man.

did my usual (now daily) set of every single core stability exercise known to man continuing my efforts for the ever elusive spartan body. i'm not burning as easily anymore. i think its a sign to crank up the intensity. no pain no gain.

completed my management assignment and then headed off for training. was barraged by the usual interrogation of questions from mom about my golf game (not yesterday in particular) but the usual drilling of "media-like" interview questions. ALL THE WAY TO TRAINING. i narrowly avoided intense conflict several times with appropriately placed jokes and the saving grace of my shuffle setting on my iPod cartunes playlist. thank God for technology.

training today was primarily short game stuff. worked hard as usual and it was pretty productive overall. almost fell asleep waiting for georges mom to come. then worked out our transportational and logistical plans for tomorrow when we got back.

i think robbing the bank of england sounds easier.

anyway. class was ok. save for the usual barbs of humor here and there it was enjoyable as only alan chng can produce. a little dramatic when he and yusoph went at it which eventually wound up in yusoph being tossed out of the class like yesterdays trash.

in the moments that followed we all felt incredibly insecure about our own fates with "the alan" in such a volitile state. like nitroglycerin in an old water bottle he threatened to blow at any time.

but we were safe.

mom grabbed josh and i at around 930. gorged some hagen daz while watching shot pigeons limping around on hot coals on that wonderful excuse for television "ballroom bootcamp" i'd watch that over bloody "dance floor" anytime.

i've got a long day ahead and i need my rest.

forgive my boring entry today.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-03-25T18:57:00.000+08:00

today's round : a pair of 8s. something you'd raise pre flop with in NL texas hold'em poker but you'd hang yourself for in golf.

in short.

today i played like a motherfucking cunt bitch whore's slut whose arse was impaled on a lightning rod with one testicle frozen to an iceberg while the other rammed into my left eyeball causing my vision to be obscured, all this while having an angry ferret mud-wrestle a drunk beaver in my brain and attempting to house a family of hillbilly chinese phiranas in my rectum as several infected goldfish slid down my throat after being dumped on by a bird with the avain flu.

oh yeah, and it was bloody hot today.

if that picture wasn't visual enough for you i dont know what is.

come to think of it, i really didn't hit the ball that badly today. had some shit luck though. i mean like lion goh shit luck (it is his home track anyway). coupled with a severe lapse in concentration on 3 holes, a few loose shots at in opportune times and absolutely shiet greens...hmmm it all adds up now.

but an 88 is still an 88. whether you like it or not. that's all people see, thats all they care about. its cruel but its a fact. life goes on.

apparently i didn't have the worse day. edwin's whole flight got disqualified for playing the wrong hole. go figure huh? there's always someone who's had a shittier day.

at least i didn't lose my cool out there today. still looking for the positives and had plenty to take back from today

shared a cab back with sunshine (who's also chopped it but only had 80 so relax brotha) after amusing him with my usual vivid and comical description of my pathetic adventure around laguna and sharing the bitching with him about the whole day dropped him off at his crib.

our bet with the mullet hair is still on so yeah. first one to cut his back loses. long hair is COOL!

couldn't get either mommy or greg on the phone so i spent the remainder of my journey drowned in sissor sisters music.

i really felt so alone.

i mean really. look at me. i've been making changes to my game since late october last year. i planned for everything to settle in by late march this year. and it hasn't yet. my game's been streaky at best. highs are really high and lows are really low. i've had 4 high 80s this year which is a helluva plenty after just 3 months. i mean i know its getting to where it should be. i'm working super hard at it and grinding my butt off to get there sooner. but things dont happen when they should. i play well but can't score the way i should. little things are getting in the way and its starting to really piss me off. the only thing people see are the numbers at the end of the day. i'm not getting selected to play in tourneys i know i should be going to because of that and everyones beginning to count me out of the picture. this is just fucking peachy 'aint it.

but i'm going to keep grinding. i know i have to. i've given too much to give up now.

i gotta do it for me...

for mom...

for greggy...

for my brothers in arms who believe in me...

for God...

for narnia!

(didn't see that comin did you)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-03-23T22:56:00.000+08:00

spartan bloodlust continued today.

mom's come nice and early in the morning to grab me from school to play with her coach, hamz and her. so with the blessing of the mighty aussie powers that be i proceeded to hack a rather depressing 79 out of my home track. quite upsetting seeing as how i've actually driven the ball quite well (13/13 fairways), scrambled around pretty good (9/14 up and downs) and putted pretty well (25 putts). i just fuckin chunked like 5 shots today...5! mom didnt even dig up half as much dirt as me.

but i know its getting there. hit so awesome shots today and i cant help but feel its very very close.

and i beat neil! :) reported great success to the boss and the boys. met by cheers from teh guys.

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!

OI!OI!OI!

:)

quick lunch then played pool for an hour with mom. asked buan about where to get cheap poker chips and he says' he'll try and find 'em for me. the many uses of sweet old men with nothing better to do with the remaider of their lives :)

then proceeded to bust ass in gym again. 6 sets of 15 reps of... Leg Presses at 110kg. leg curls at 90. leg extensions at 90. machine bicep curls at 30. Lateral rows at 110. Chest presses at 120. and lat pulldowns at 110.

spartan like. not quite. getting there? hell yeah.

MRT'ed back and downed some delifrance in my room while defeating the hordes of gondorian scum in LOTR. this was followed by rather frustrating session of full tilt poker.

until i decided to start concentrating and playing properly.

cashed 2nd in a 2k buy in and now am sitting back at 4.7k. not exactly where i was 2 months ago at 225k before a particular someone ahemsunshineahem...made me lose all of it on a single hand. but i'll get there. i'll get back there.

management class was productive as ever. got a huge bulk of my assignment done.

caught my smartTV'ed Dance Floor while chugging down a reduced amount of cookies and cream ice cream. cringed at shockingly bad pronounciation and annunciation of the hosts, judges and contestants alike. they all need help. as far as the dancing goes, i thought it finally showcased some decent singaporean talent.

well its nightie night for me.

pumpin hard again tomorrow morning and i've got a full day so i guess sleep would be a pretty good idea.

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-03-22T21:15:00.000+08:00

overslept this morning. didn't go to the gym but wound up mugging madly for the EP test. trudged through stuff that you should know, and i kinda know but dont know well enough to stake my left testicle on. you get the graphic jist.

so there we were. the 20 brave AUTers confined in the quarantine area. like we had some horribly infectious germ within us. goverened by rules suitable for terrorists in guantanamo bay. and we still had a test. joined in the collective effort of mugging but before i knew it it was my shift.

in retrospect it all seems like a strange dream. everythings set up just as i imagined. we stroll around trying to identify the parts of the various muscular and skeletal models. i stumble on just a few but get the rest without much difficulty. part A ends and i'm assigned to gideon for my part B. the questions arent difficult but i stumble on a few. theres a gut feeling that i got most of them but i can't be sure. i'll probably (hopefully) pass. the only question is how well.

LOTRd till lunch time. hit causeway with linglin, joanne and yihong. had foodcourt stuff and saw dr.seet there too. tried hard to aviod him like spies on a dangerous assignment in a big budget summer blockbuster but just like spies on a dangerous assignment in a big budget summer blockbuster we were found out.

several awkward moments of chit chat follow followed by a quick evacuation of the facility when his back is turned. whew.

gelares next to get the usual fix of ice cream and waffles. bought the guy and girls ice cream then headed back to chill before training. 3 pm rolls round sooner than expected.

cabbed down there drowned in the sweet melodies of my iTunes. arrive there to the surprise that greg has JUST started running with charles. so i sit upstairs with a coffee and my iPod and just waited patiently. almost dozing off thanks to the wonderful weather for a late afternoon nap.

brian shows up and kindly unlocks the door. grab my sticks. pinch about 160 balls of aunty yen and proceed to grind my arse off with my drills. in the process of practicing however, something comes over me. like a throbbing obsession for perfection and pain. a deep burning desire to work harder than anyone else and set my game on the fast track to stardom.

in short it kinda felt like intense golfing bloodlust.

greg was freaked but totally stoked at the same time. anytime one of his guys busts his arse off you know he's gonna be freggin stoked. :) and when the coach is stoked. i'm stoked :)

the next 4 hours were a blur really. i was so focused and into everything i was doing that i only took a break to chat with jerome when he popped by. i just went through my 400 balls like a machine. ball after ball of intense concentration, bloodlust blinding the pain that a normal human would have experienced especially after doing 100 swings on the explanar, 100 swings with the fan and 100 woosh wooshes in between baskets of 100 balls.

i think bloodlust just takes over when i see golf balls at the range now.

:)

on the technical side its getting there. very quickly. i'm still gonna grind it out till i get there.

its possible that i hit so many balls and so hard that i was bleeding. even if i was, i didn't see the blood. freaky no?

anyway. caught mom for dinner at vista. had mee pok! talked and chatted before she dropped me back at school.

got a game with her and her coachie tomorrow (greg just rang me from brewerkz, sitting with the boys talking about the game tomorrow and apparently there's some pretty mean dirt on mom's coach. something about him owing higsy some dough, and since we all back higsy i have been charged with the assignment of kicking his arse so lets hope i'm up to the task)

and yes, my obsession with the spartan makeover is still going strong :)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-03-21T22:14:00.000+08:00

spartan training continued today with me stumbling half awake down to the gym for more body bashing. pumped, grunted and sweated my way through the hour and a half feeling like a million bucks. :)

showered then headed down to get my cab to seletar.

for once in my life i did the right thing when it comes to taxis. if you guys need a little refresher i'm the guy who impersonates other people, takes their cabs, then makes up some fictional but very believable tale about how my father just suddenly passed on, then proceeds to get the cab to make a detour from its booked route and hey, if i'm lucky the driver 'll be a sucker and gimme a free cab ride out of sheer pity for my sorry state.

but today i did the morally upright thing. the cab i booked wound up at the wrong roundabout and called to inform me that he was on his way back up. just as i hung up the phone miss nora emerges from a cab right in front of me...there it was, my taxi waiting for me in all its glory. no ridiculously high surcharges from booking and peak hour rates of $6. it was all there. but then i remembered...

i'm a good catholic schoolboy.

so i passed and hopped into my taxi. grumbling inside about the fact that at the beginning of the trip i'd be already $8.50 worse off. and he only spoke chinese. so struggling through directions he finally got it right and i reluctantly forked out $15.30 upon arrival after deciding that it would do me no good killing then robbing him.

i felt good inside. and my wallet felt a great deal lighter.

training was okay. save for the fact that i was zombified due to my beefed up trainig regimen and my lack of sleep last night. i lethargically trudged through my 200 balls. drill work on my swing kinda woke me up a bit and obviously 100 sit ups with a medicine ball with jolene got me right up and running. felt good afterwards and i gorged down my prawn mee at the terrace.

lid gave me a ride out to the base where i discovered a new budget way back. after several failed attempts to flag a taxi down i just hopped on bus 858 which said woodlands interchange. fell asleep on the bus as usual but awoke to the pleasant sight of causeway point. the publictransportarilly challenged timmy strikes back with avengence! :)

LOTR'd for a while before going down at 3 to mug for EP with fendi, fooster and linglin. after 3 hours of flexion, extension, hyperextension, cheese fries and mugging i felt good about my chances of acing tomorrows test.

dinner with fendi, jov and nickers at vista.

coaching formative test was a blowout. stared blankly at my ungraded chore for the night. blank stares from all who shared my fate. we're all doomed. i mean i answered the question "what is implicit learning? explicit learning" so you get the point.

pool with th boys in the rec room did some good for the nerves. got muggin to do tonight. got assignment to start and finish before monday.

got sleep to catch up on

got body to build.

got tournaments to prep for.

busy no?

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine

2007-03-20T22:42:00.000+08:00

the demons of sleep beckoned for more slumber but i insisted on dragging my sorry ass down to the gym all in pursuit of my "300 spartans" body. yeah right. its going slow, but the point is its actually GOING...

so yes, i busted my ass off then joined the boys for some soccer. yes i still play. not very well but at least i make contact with the ball every now and then ;)

breakfast with the boys then i spotted my dear better half benji kheng. went over and chatted up about movies and shit. good times.

contemplated going down to warren early to watch my cousins attempt to play golf for the first time in 5 years but decided to stay and study instead. how noble of me yes?

yeah right.

managed only some light revision of exercise principles between chatting with joel, reading his deathnote notebook, and watching bobby lee and edge on madtv youtube. yet another productive day in the life of the timmy.

MRTed down to CCK then chomped down a 2pc chik meal from KFC. note how i only had 2pieces instead of the usual 3. its the spartan diet. a little sacrifice...just a little at a time. then walked, yes walked to warren (note spartan walking exercise) then hit the range for about 2 hours.

battered them everywhere trying to figure out what was supposed to happen to my game with my drills. productive in the end but not enjoyable to endure. decided to hook up with someone and walk 9 (note walking again...i AM going to get that BODY!)

nice old fella named george. chopped it round in 35 (-1) but it wasnt spectacular really 2 bogeys and 3 birdies. but hey. games going in the right direction so i'm pleased.

after dinner mom passed me the change of dancing clothes dhey (maid) had packed for me and i was horrified to find that...

a) there was no underwear
b) there were no socks
c) she packed me a tee shirt that looked so bad it should be a rug

so i managed to work stuff out, please dont ask how.

dancing was righteous. rockin and rolling all night long.

gamed with the boys when i got back. pathetically attemped xBox racing, i'll spare you the details

gotta start grinding out the week tomorrow. EP test on thursday which i have to ace. attachment finale on thursday. management assignment due friday. i'm chockers

gym tomorrow. (vizualises spartan body)

spread the lovin'

Rob Valentine