First and Last of January

FNM Promo Card for January

Manage to get this beauty during the first week of January during FNM when I didn't manage to win it but manage to get it via Lucky Draw. During the second week when I faced Eric for the finals, I was 'offered' (not exactly offered, I keep pestering him about the match to give me the Chalice, so it was due to my persuasion that Eric actually offered that :p) if I would give up the boosters for winning the FNM for it, as he didn't care about winning, just the extra boosters. I decline as I somehow feel bad if I was declared 'winner' just by that. Lost 1-2 though, so eventually not getting it.

Levi had one but traded it with me since he needed an Inquisition of Kozilek and he hates foils. I eventually traded one Inquisition of Kozilek and my only Textless Mana Leak (Which I love so much! This was my first MPR card that I received from WoTC). In the end after a sad parting, I got the chalice but it is going to Tzong Tay. Why you may ask? First, it was his Birthday and 2nd, I wanted to keep a Wild Nacatl FNM Promo for memory of my first FNM victory (Since I traded mine away as an add on for a trade which includes a Textless Damnation.)

Wasn't looking forward to tonight. Tried boarding in Perilous Myr but decided they really should be just in the sideboard. Went 2-0 or 3-0 depending on how you look at it. First Match was against David Newton but he was missing so it was basically a bye. Second Match was against Kat Donohue, one of the very few female Magic Players that we have in Manchester (A very good one as well!). Game one sees me blowing off with guides and chimeric mass as she couldn't 'bounce' my creature (all has haste and Chimeric Mass is not a creature until I animate it). Second game I manage to bring her down to 5, but she locked me out of red mana source with Spreading Seas. If I had red mana she would have loss as I got 3 burn spells and 2 Goblin Guides with me. She ended it with Genesis Wave into Titans, Lands, Lotus cobra etc :p. Third game was a little better for me as 2 Guides and 3 Bushwhacker came down earlier.

Third match is where i like it the most, very intense albeit how short it was. For the 3 rounds we played (Went 3-0, third round for casual), he was always one turn before dealing me with lethal damage (28 via valakut) before he dies and game 2 and 3 was via Mark of Mutiny! Game 2 interesting thing that after having 6 3/4s plant tokens with Avenger of Zendikar, he swing me for an almost lethal forcing me to block my 3 1/1 goblins otherwise i would be dead. I had Jinxed Idol in play one me as well and that left me with 4 life. He had a bolt in his hand but I got a Galvanic Blast (For 2) and Mark of Mutiny (Stealing the Avenger and hitting for 6), just nice as his life total was 8. Had he lay back a blocker, he would have won the game.

Stopped at 3 round as it was getting late but if pairings were gonna go on. I would face Alex (Running Boros Landfall). In my mind its the most top tier aggro deck in standard at the moment, with consistent damage and card advantage as compared to Kuldotha Red. Took game one easily but loss game 2 and 3 as he got more burn spells and recover via card advantage from Squadron Hawks. I foresee this coming and as this was for casual so I was very happy despite my loss here.

Thats all for my report on this week's match up. The interesting thing to report is that my cards actually went missing. When I was playing against Alex, David came with my Textless Zendikar Mountain. The sleeve was obviously mine and game me a shock. Was i playing with 59 cards in my deck? (I would have gotten a gameloss for not playing a full 60 deck if this was discovered earlier.) I chcked my land count, it was 19 so this was an extra mountain, probably the one I lost earlier this week (I  had discovered that I was only playing 18 lands when i was tweaking it yesterday.)

Matters aside, I continue with the game but when Dave came and ask who's Spikeshot Elder is this? I gasp! The card sleeve was mine, I checked my deck in which I normally run two Spikeshot Elder. I was clearly missing one.

Boo! I actually lost two cards tonight O_O? Dave came and asked, was Adrian 'cheating' by not playing a 60 card deck? He returned the card to me, I conceded to Alex due to superior board and began analyse my situation, checking my deck list.

My feelings at this point was a mixture of both being puzzled and angry. Puzzled at how on earth did I lose those cards, and angry for two reasons: 1) Accused of cheating although it was a mistake although by DCI Floor Rules I did 'cheat' if I wasn't playing a full 60 card deck and 2) Why wasn't I paying more attention to my cards? If I had, I would have realised that it was lost in the first place!

Left Fanboy3 feeling bad, puzzled and angry at the same time. As I walk away I realise that I had left my jacket in there! Grrrr!

Then on the way back I was looking for my phone. Wanted to text Tzong Tay but where the hell was it? Did I actually left it at Fanboy3? OMG Why am I so careless about my stuffs? ='(

I really need to be much careful!

Turn out it was in my room and I was just forgetful that I absent mindedly left it there to charge. =/

I can blame it to the fact that I've been awake for the past 24 hours so I wasn't thinking straight but I think I am really responsible for my clumsiness. It was lucky that it was only a Spikeshot Elder and Dave found it. If it were a Koth or Masticore, I would faint if I realise at any point that it was missing from my deck!

But matters aside, to wrap up, I now got 3 Everflowing Chalice at the moment :p (Haven't pass one to Tzong Tay yet). Makes you feel like wanna get a playset! Although among our group, we do have a playset with me having 2, Tzong Tay 1 and Ming Ken with 1 as he was the lucky person this week getting the lucky draw!

=) FNM been good so far, going for 3-1 each week except once where I actually went 4-0 ^^". Way better than in 2006 where it was a lost at almost every FNM :P. Soon, my ratings will go up. Soon! :p

FNM Report?

I seriously need to change my Mindset. I CAN BEAT ERIC! For goodness sake why do I keep making silly mistakes when I face against Eric?

Game 1 : Valakut Ramp 2-0 (The only guy apart from Tzong Tay running Valakut)
Needless to say Kudoltha turn 1, bushwhacker turn 2 and goblin chieftain turn 3 for the win. Manage to Kudoltha T1 both games though. Went safe dropping just one goblin guide instead of 2 on Turn two just incase of a pyroclasm. When I was sure he didn't have it, I drop another one + bushwhacker for the win.

Game 2: Pyromancer Ascension 2-0 (Jamie)
Kudoltha Rebirth and and solid pressure for the win since he was lacking of burn spells. Game 2 lasted a bit longer as he kept burning down my creatures and pyroclasm my rebirth tokens. He then later on proceed to drop a Frost Titan Turn 6. He was at 5 life with me hitting with and equiped memnite for 2. Since he was tapped out, I devastating summons for 5 allowing me to have 2 5/5. He conceded after that.

Game 3: Titanz Revenge 2.0 (David)
Round 1 ended quickly with a Kudoltha Rebirth and a quick finish with 3 Bushwhacker in hand and a Goblin Chieftan.

Game 4: Caw Go [U/W Control] (Eric) 1-2
Round one sees him controlling the board via Counterspells and Journey to Nowhere and landing Jace TMS Fateseelng me for the win.

Round 2 I started the game with Goblin Guide and it reveal that he had a Jace TMS on his next draw. Turn two I lay down a Spikeshot Elder and Teetering Peaks. Koth was in my hand but I knew he had a TMS so I was waiting for him to tapped out before I land my Koth. He Ratchet bomb my land that I turned into a 4/4 creature via Koth as he was on 3 life. I hit with a Memnite, then sacrifice it to give him the Idol I just played to him sealing the game as he was on 2 with no creatures to give it back to me.

Round 3 was rather stupid. I wanted to prove a point and avoid the mistake that I did last week mulliganing to 5 with plenty of lands so I kept a 5 land hand. I manage to draw creatures and spell and the game lasted pretty long with me Arc Trailing his Squadron Hawks and trading spells via counter magic. He was finally on 3 life left, I attempted to Mark of Mutiny his Squadron Hawk so that he will drop to one but he blocked it via an activated Collonade. =( Then for the rest of the game, I couldn't draw a lightning bolt OR burst lightning even when I had all of them still in my Deck.

Eric said that if I had mulligan I would have win as the last 3 damage would come pretty swiftly as he didnt have counterspells. Though I really hate Journey to Nowhere and Ratchet Bomb but it couldn't be help.

Though I should have notice that he didn't fateseal me on his last turn before I conceded and instead choose to brainstorm. But I drew a Memnite and that was it, I extended my hand to him and say good game. Only later revealing my starting hand :p.

The person who was at 9 point as well lost in his last round to Rick. I was 2-0 all the way and unless he was 2-0 as well, it would seem reasonable for me to be 2nd place. But it appears that he was 2nd and I was third. Next week, I shall try to record 2-1 instead and try to fight a 6 pointer instead of a 9 pointer. The strategic play would be that, but I think I just want to beat Eric.

Final game count : Eric 3 : 1
2 Loss to his RDW
1 Win and 1 loss to his Caw Go

Though I must say, His RDW is much build towards beating control and mine towards a more stable play beating Aggro decks and control in the sideboard.

Impian

Seseorang pernah berkata kepada aku bahawa manusia harus mempunyai impian dalam hidupnya.

Seseorang yang mempunyai impian akan bekerja keras untuk mencapai impiannya,

Seseorang yang mempunyai impian, mempunyai hala tuju dalam hidup,

Dan seseorang yang mempunyai impian, tahu akan erti mimpi dan fauna.

Namun begitu, untuk orang yang masih tidak mempunyai apa-apa impian, adakah ia bermaksud mereka hidup tanpa makna? Adakah mereka seperti robot yang dicipta, menjalankan tugas masing-masing tanpa berharap?

Untuk aku, impian merupakan satu punca kekuatan untuk orang mencapai hasrat mereka. Dengan arah tuju, makna kehidupan mereka lebih jelas. Namun kadang-kala, hidup yang nampaknya agak jelas sebenarnya kabur jikalau kita terperangkap dalam persepsi masing-masing. Kita gagal melihat alternatif kepada apa yang berada di depan mata kita. 

Dahulu kala, aku terperangkap dalam impian yang aku cipta. Aku inginkan ia begitu saja, mudah dan tidak sempurna. Aku terlalu terkongkong dalam pemikiran yang sebegitu, sehingga aku alpa akan apa yang penting pada masa itu. Boleh dikatakan permikiran aku terlalu cetak dan terlalu pentingkan diri sendiri.

Namun begitu, aku tidak pernah menyesal pilihan aku. Jikalau semuanya sempurna, aku tidak akan mengerti apa itu erti kegagalan, erti berputus asa ataupun erti untuk mencari kekuatan supaya aku dapat berdikari.

Untuk aku, dengan mempunyai impian, kita memperolehi seorang guru yang mengajar kita erti kehidupan. Dari yang salah kepada yang benar, dan dari apa yang nyata daripada mimpi.

Untuk aku, impian hanyalah impian jikalau kita tidak cuba sedaya upaya untuk mencapainya. Namum kita tidak seharusnya berfikiran sempit dalam proses untuk mencapai impian,kerana ia membuatkan kita alpa akan persekitaran kita.

Impian boleh menjadi sumber pendorong, dan ia just boleh menjadi suatu sumber kealpaan. Jadi, adakah impian baik, ataupun sebaliknya?

Untuk aku, impian hanyalah kata-kata, yang diberi makna oleh tuannya.

只能说再见了

当你喜欢一个人，
但你从来没有表现出来，
他们也许永远不会知道你的真实感受。。

爱是一种难以启齿的感觉，
点燃了人，随着距离微光，
幸福真的那么简单吗？
希望在一个飞机上，
希望爱会消失。

现在我很痛苦，
一个一个慢慢地消失，
回忆过去，
我不记得。

只能说再见了，
再见了。


'One more month to go. Will I have the strength to move on? Metamorphosis like, slowly adapting, but the door still creaks, without a doubt, hope nor faith, slowly falling and falling... 


Just like Midori's music box, open and close...'


This thought creep into me as I was watching 18 禁不禁. High School memories is really that sweet eh? The inability to confess one's feeling, the opportunity to experience rejection, acceptance, joy, sorrow, tranquil, comfort, secure, anger, jealousy, restrain, fuzzy, villain, hope, anxiety, worried, lost, defeat and peace are all that I have been through.


When I observe the drama, many of its scenario reminds me of what happened in my schooling years. The rivalry between male and female, falling in love with the person you hate, the need to just fit in, those rebel transition, and definitely those awkward silence when you just don't know what is on the other person's mind.


Sometime we just need reflections of what we have been through, and I am happy that this is one of it. Years from now on, there will be a trigger for me to look back, to indulge in the 'me' that I once were and to see that I have then moved on forward to become a new person and also to where I am standing now.


所有的记忆，
直到我们再次见面，
现在我说再见..

One down one to go

I remember this time of the year, it was one down FIVE more to go.. *HORROR*

I am pretty lucky this year eh? So today was Foundation of Finance and its at Sackville Stree Building and what was the best thing to do? Almost arrive late for an exam of 20 MCQ (1 Hour Paper). Did some miscalculation and arrive just on time for the exam to start.

Did quite all right I guess, skipped two question cause I mixed up the formula and didn't want to risk it due to negative marking. So far got 1 wrong so the rest should be fine =) Need 15 correct answers and 3 wrongs to still get a First and 13 correct answers and 5 wrongs to get a 2nd Upper. And this is just 20% of the overall course so should be alright. *Fingers cross*

Been the same since I am back from Scotland. Eat, Sleep, Watch Dramas, Play Magic. I've been watching the MTG Broadcast lately. I guess its something to fill the void. Some people ask me am I seeing someone now, the answer is still no. Although I am getting used to being alone, at least in the state of mind (last year physically was no different).

Meet new people via Fanboy 3. Jem, Jonathan, Eric, Liam, Stephen, A. Lawson, David, Kathryn. Its always a challenging game against them (Especially Eric when we meet up in the finals if I manage to get there). Still nice though since he is at 1800+ dci points and I am only at 1600+ points.

Got my Everflowing Chalice for January's FNM, now onwards to get a playset of it. :) Might go for Grand Prix London in April if it allows. Clashes with the Royal Wedding. SIGH!

Anyway room's a mess (Well at least the table is!) but everything else is doing fine. Cutting down on outings to save money =/ but can't wait for the pre-release end of this month. Mirrodin Besieged! To war Mirrans against the ruthless mindless Phyrexians!

PS: I'm supporting the Phyrexians! :)

Ike' Ike

You, Yes YOU! (There's only 3 readers allowed to view this blog *apart from myself* ;p) so I DEMAND that you all watch this video!

Note: Mute the songlist on the right panel of the Blog first.

Ok the quality of this video isn't that good to be honest. There are some other (pure para para dance version) which looks better. *Hint, watch the Night of Fire Video where Kurikki stares in it. I was laughing all the way through..

So you might remember the era that I was really into Para Para Dancing ( Thanks to the Machine Para Para Paradise). Heck you might even remember the time I danced so hard during our escape trip from Mazuin at PISA to Gurney Plaza during the orchestra trip that I knocked one of the arcade supporting pillar and hurt my arm which forbids me to play my violin during THAT night's performance.

Or maybe someone saw me dancing in the dormitory when they are returning back from Friday Prayers. (Can't blame me, its less embarrassing when a: your dancing in a group or b: no one is watching. Of course I had to choose B!)

It was that era and while listening to some random Japanese song, some Eurobeat songs made their way in.

Memories is indeed sweet =)

Anyway the group is call Hinou Team. The leader is of course Asuka Hinoi :p The rest of the members were Keika Matsuoka, Hikaru Koyama, and Rina Takenaka. Why I used the word 'were' they are now disban sadly. Everyone move on with their life and Asuka Hinoi went solo for a while but I guess they just don't fit that much.


Anyway I admit and agree that Keika is the cutest in the group, but sometimes she's pretty stiff. Asuka reminds me of Yang Chen Ling for some reason but they way she dance, she really put herself into it. Rina is just simply plainly S-W-E-E-T! ^^ Hikaru although she has long hairs (A feature that I adore), something is just so not appealing or may I say not right about her. *Oh I get it, her here is just way too straight. In the Now and Forever video its slightly curl! :p Didn't anyone tell you whats better than long hair? Long hair with curls~


They just seal they deal, every time.


Spend some time downloading their songs and right now its on repeat on my IPod. Top song will be Just For Me. A pretty sweet song to be honest. Listen to eat and savour the lyrics will ya?


Till next time. Gotta grind for my meagre 2 papers >.< 

Sad news or Happy News?

When someone breaks up with another so that he could be with another, is it good or bad?

I recently come over a friend who has broken up with his girlfriend for over a year odd. Trust me, they were really sweet at all that I never foresee this coming.

I guess its only has LDR to blame.

Sometimes we get close to other people without us realising it, even when we are infatuate with our current girl/boyfriend. As time goes by, somehow something went off course and we seem to like the new person more. It may be due to more similar interest, the way they behave , smiles and act or maybe simply because our current girl/boyfriend are a bit too 'stale'. Harsh but face it, we get bored with people after the honeymoon period and facing them each day and uttering lovey goey sentences just become redundant, it become more of a need or routine rather than sincerity.

That's when we know we have to move on and leave that part of our life in the past.

But its harsh and break ups are never easy. I should know better =) I'm still in it. Just 2 more months to go after my 8 months rule and perhaps I'll feel better then. So far so good, I'm reaching maximum appraisal. What's left is to strengthen my heart and maybe fall into the diabolical cycle again. I've promised myself that I will not but well, let's us see.

So this new girl, I don't really know her. Apparently she resides in the same country and it is still LDR. However the special thing is that the two of them share the same birthday in the same year!

*Hypothetical Hypothesis Alert*

So maybe people who's born under the same stars, alignment etc etc yadda yadda a.k.a same day same time with you, might be plausible. After all, under astronomic approach, they share the same traits, interest and so on~

But for now, looking at the girl that got left behind. I feel sorry for her. She was hurt by her ex before, and lost trust in the male species and this friend got her believing that love is possible again. But in the end, its broken again.

Which brings us wondering after this double strike out, will she or will she not fall again? My bet is that she will, given time as the majority of the world isn't really immune to our hormones.

But then again, *sigh* I don't know to be sad or to be happy. Both of them are my friends.