Mea Culpa

I might as well shoot myself in the head. I fumbled when it mattered the most, and of all papers, it would have to be Public Law, a subject, notwithstanding its bulkiness, I could really handle. I have failed everyone around me; my family, my lecturers, my classmates, my friends and most importantly, myself. Murphy Law: when one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong as well. Many areas which I have put so much effort on did not come out as a question, such a reforms of the House of Lords, House of Commons, European Union, Separation of Powers, Royal Prerogative, Ministerial Responsibility, Grounds for Judicial Review, problem question for Judicial Review.

But I only have myself to blame. The questions were not hard; standard Rule of Law and Parliamentary Sovereignty question, which I attempted as my first two questions.  My time management sucks! I only have a little bit short of one hour for the last two questions; Then, I panicked and I could not even properly structure an answer for an easy question in support for a written British Constitution. I was left with ten minutes for the last question, and I had to skip Human Rights Act 1998 which I am familiar with for due to lack of time and settled for a very specific question on the two of the seven preliminary requirements for judicial review, ‘sufficient interest’ and ‘public bodies’, as it requires little introduction and I can immediately jump into my points. One and a half page was all I could muster within that time. How pathetic. I am officially doomed!

I pray that my first two questions will be able to compensate the marks I lost in the final two. This is definitely a lesson for me NOT to SPOT! That means I have to cover two remaining areas of Common Law which I have previously intended to leave out.

I should be studying now, but I need to get this out of my system. I have NEVER felt so disappointed at myself in the last 22 years of my life.

I seriously should stop watching football.

I could have had a heart attack yesterday. I think my blood pressure was at all time high at 200/180 mmHg  as Chelsea and Manchester battle it out to be crowned the Kings of Europe. After 90 minutes of missed chances where United dominated the first half and Chelsea the second half, both teams were inseparable at 1-1 score (Ronaldo for United and Lampard for Chelsea). Extra time could not settle the game as the only drama was Didier Drogba’s sending off for slapping Nemanja Vidic and John Terry’s “spitting in disguise” incident. (watched the video, he did not do it. sorry Terry)

Then, came the penalties. How ironic it is for Cristiano Ronaldo, United’s player of the year, to miss the penalty that could have lost the team the trophy. John Terry then had the chance to give Chelsea its first Champions League trophy by slotting in his penalty, but how twisted can football be, when he slipped and hit the ball away from goal. Both teams scored their following two penalties, and then, a moment of heroics by Edwin Van de Sar as he palmed away Nicolas Anelka’s shot. Game over for Chelsea. Manchester United crowned the Kings of Europe for the second time in nine years, fifty years after the tragic death of eight of the legendary Busby Babes in the Munich disaster and fourty years after they won their first European cron. What a fitting tribute to them.  

A couple of afterthoughts:

- The pitch in Luzhniki Stadium was horrible especially with the rain. I lost count of the times the players have slipped.

- I hope…..Avram Grant would not blame Drogba’s sending off four minutes from end of extra time as the cause of their loss . Oh and please do not suggest for second leg play off for Champions League Finals that end in draw.

- I kinda suspect that Ronaldo may miss his penalty just to spice things up and make the match seems a little dramatic

- This is the second Champions League title for is Edwin Van der Sar (won it in Ajax), Owen Hargreaves (in Bayern Munich), Wes Brown (Manchester United) and Ryan Giggs (Manchester United). Unfortunately for Michael Ballack (previously Bayern Munich) and Ashley Cole (previously Arsenal) , this is their second Champions League Final lost.

- What’s in store for  both teams next season in the Champions League? It will be hard for Chelsea to reach this stage of the season again if the news on the exodus of their players are true. As for Manchester United? Well, I expect the crux of the team to remain with the obvious exception of Louis Saha (and maybe Silvestre). It will be hard to retain the Champions League title, but I expect and hope that United is capable of it.

- Back in 1998/99 season, United won the treble of EPL title, Champions League and FA Cup. I would call this year a “Treble Season” as well; EPL title, Champions League and FA Community Shield . And it’s such a coincidence that in three of those competition, Chelsea had to play second fiddle.

*updates: Henk Ten Cate (Chelsea Asst. Coach) and Petr Cech (Chelsea’s goalkeeper) was reported as saying that Chelsea should have won and deserved to win as they were the better side. Obviously it’s not entirely spot on, but yet again…it does not matter isn’t it?

*Cristiano Ronaldo was reported by Marca, a Spanish newspaper that he has agreed terms with Real Madrid. I hope he does not betray the club that has given him so much and dragged him out of vilification after the 2006 World Cup. Ronaldo to Real Madrid will be acceptable by the fans a couple of years from now, but not now.

Pre-Exam Post

A trivia for you:

Do you know that there is close to 273 important Criminal Law case laws and principals in English Law?

And do you know that you would only need an average of 10 cases per question when you are answering your Criminal Law paper?

Which makes it 10 x 4 (for answering four questions), meaning that an average of 40 case laws will be used, which simply means (without taking into account statutes): IT TAKES LESS THAN 20% OF YOUR WHOLE CRIMINAL LAW KNOWLEDGE TO DETERMINE YOUR FINAL SCORE.

Isn’t that comforting? Blame it on the British education system.

In essence then, whether you pass or fail; and get a second class lower or upper score; 80% of it is generally dependant on the following:

1. Your wits in playing with your words.

2. Your luck in getting an examiner that agrees with your train of thought (remember, you only have one chance of justifying yourself).

3. The mood of your examner (I was told that we should count ourself lucky if they are not drunk when marking our papers).

4. Plain good ol’ hardwork. Can’t argue with that.

5. Your mental and physical condition on the day of the exam.

6. The fact that your handwriting should be legible.

7. And other reasons unbeknownst to us. This is from some of the seniors: they claim to have aced Criminal Law in mocks only to have faltered in their finals without knowing where they have gone wrong.

Yup. Can’t wait to “vomit” out my Criminal Law tomorrow. Wish me luck!

The Devil that Consumes You: 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione

That my friend, is me having my daily shots…….of coffee. (could have fooled you that I was taking some drugs, right?).

I have been trying to stay off coffee to no avail. One cup used to do wonders for me. One cup will keep me awake for hours as I burn my midnight oil. Thanks to the constant dose of caffeine by McDonalds, the college cafetaria and Nescafe 3-in-1, my life will never be the same again. Even two cups of coffee, plus a glass of Lipton Tea and one can of Coca-Cola in a day could not take me through the night.

In view of that, I have decided to go cold turkey on caffeine. Withdrawal symptoms include easily irritable, crankateous mood, mild headache and constant exaggeration of situations (hence, the blog) and sleepiness at 12 am. But.. I think we all see that coming.. I stayed off caffeine for two full days. TWO.

There you have it people…my one and only vice: Caffeine.

Picture courtesy of my fellow Coffee fan club member, Dev (in Vitya Curry House, Taman Desa)

p/s: FYI, 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione refers to the IUPAC name for caffeine (taken from www.wikipedia.org)  

 

I am in a state of flux…

metaphorically speaking.

I am a juxtaposition of my other self.

My non-stop endevour in correcting my frailty and achieving perfection sometimes drives me crazy. Yet occasionally, I would leave things unattend, unfinished and imperfect.

I read too much into people’s reaction that I felt as if I am in paranoia. But at times, I can be so ignorant of people’s feelings and I would not give a damn. I can be oversensitive, and insensitive.

I can be full of confidence and self-assured; yet at times, I am insecure and self-doubting.

I like companies of friends, and I do not mind being in the centre of attention once in a while; but, every now and then, I wish that everyone around me would just vanish, and I would turn invisible.

I have dreams, I have visions, I have missions which I intend to accomplish; but occasionally, I can be so unsure where I am heading or where I should be heading.

I am considered to be a responsible person, and someone who takes concern of things that happened around me; yet I can be nonchalant and non-committal. 

I want to stay grounded, I like to stay grounded, and I would like to think that I am grounded; but why do I feel like I am standing in an Ivory Tower at times?

I prefer the night, but I love seeing the sun rise…

I am in a state of flux, and there is only one constant… I am only human

The season ain’t over yet…..

Moscow is looming.. But it would not do much harm to strip down and celebrate now wouldn’t it? :D

There you have it guys, the 2007/2008 Barclays English Premier League Champion, the one and only, Manchester United. I would here, take a ten-minute break from my revision to recount the team’s assent to the top of the league after their worst ever start to the season since 1998/99. 

Two draws and one loss against unfancied opponents in their first three games was hardly reflective of a reigning champion. But United fans scoffed off suggestions that the season may not be United’s as they were reminded that the last time they started so badly, the team won the treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in 98/99.

The season really started for United when they scrapped to a 1-0 win over Tottentham Hostpurs, and how ironic is it that it was Luis Nani, Spurs’ target in the pre-season transfers window, who scored the amazing goal. Here comes the acrobatic back flip. Game on.

The following month saw the team winning three out of their four League with similiar scoreline of 1-0, safe for the decisive 2-0 win over Chelsea The attacking flair was there, but a good last touch was missing from the team, they were a shadow of themselves compared to last season. The defence needed to step up, and they did.

In October 2007, the Ronaldo-Rooney-Tevez axis started to work. The team scored four goals in each of their four games (three in the EPL and one in the Champions League). Welcome back, beautiful football.
Other than two minor blips against Arsenal and Tottenham, the team won their games convincingly all till April 2008 (including a 6-0 and a 5-1 wins against Newcastle home and away).

However, as everyone was concentrating on the Man United-Arsenal duel, little did people realise that Chelsea was slowly ascending to the top two half of the table. All of a sudden, Arsenal was no longer a threat, and Chelsea was just three points behind.

Then the Chelsea game in Stamford Bridge. We were cursing, heck we were. Was it a penalty? Hell no! The ball was still in active play heading to inside the penalty area. There was no inteference of play. Guessed the team was plain unlucky. The title race became all exciting then as Chelsea levelled on points with United ahead on superior goal difference with two games remaining.

Both teams won their next game. It was going down to the wire, with United away at Wigan, and Chelsea at home to Bolton. The title was United’s to lose.

Both Wigan and Bolton, having guaranteed safety from relegation, have nothing to play for. But Chelsea decided to start palying the mind games, by pleading Steve Bruce (a United legend and now Wigan’s manager) to play fairly and not to favour United. A normally arrogant Chelseas who brushed their opponnets aside, all of the sudden was showering Wigan with praises, saying how good the team is. Strangely, no one was saying anything about Bolton, until Sir Alex spoke up; and Avram Grant responded by stating how disrespectful Sir Alex was to Bolton for speaking up. *cough*cough*

Yes. Chelsea was relying on Steve Bruce, Emile Heskey, and JJB Stadium’s infamous horrible pitch to win them the title. Avram Grant even went on to suggest that there should be a play-off to decide who’s the champs if two teams were to finish level on points in the future. And they keep on harping on how United will only be winning on goal difference if they were to win the EPL.

How incorrect as it turns out. United overcame a stubborn Wigan side to secure a 2-0 win. Honestly, it wasn’t the firm United side that we have all came to know. Most of the time when they were 1-0 up after Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty, there was always a minute chance of Wigan equalising. Then, came No. 11, Ryan Giggs.

It took just one excellent pass from Wayne Rooney, and Giggs, slipped into the middle of Wigan’s defence stealthly, picked up the ball, and put it pass Chris Kirkland. How befitting it was for a United legend, who was making his 758th appearance equalling Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time record to score the goal that effectively hands United the trophy. At Stamford Bridge, meanwhile, a heart-broken Chelsea choked when it mattered the most as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Bolton in their stronghold. Title no. 10 for Sir Alex and Giggs. Title no. 17 for Manchester United.

I think what Ronaldo (United’s and EPL’s Player of the Season) said during the after-match interview sums it all. When asked about his contribution, he attributed the team’s victory to his team mates: Edwin Van de Sar, Tomasz Kuszczak, Ben Foster, Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Mikael Silvestre, John O’Shea, Gerard Pique, Cristiano Ronaldo, Darren Flectcher, Michael Carrick Anderson, Luis Nani, Park Ji-Sung, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney. And for me, one unsung hero, the team’s captain, Gary Neville, who has been injured whole season, but no doubt playing a part in pushing and supporting the team. 

What’s next for the team? Many have said that Sir Alex will retire if the team wins the Champions League. I hope he doesn’t. I would like to see him eclipsing Liverpool’s collection of 18 titles.

I am turning into a…

…ZOMBIE…

Thanks to the amazing weather in KL during the days (Gee… the sun must have doted on KL)..

It is 5.55 am in the morning now and I am at an Indian restaurant near my apartment doing my revision with my equally Zombie-esque housemate. The weather has been sickeningly hot for the past couple of weeks and we have strategically moved our revision hours to the wee hours in the morning.

After months of being in the pink of health, I finally fall sick… real sick.. I have been coughing for the past three weeks. Sorry if I infected anyone with my virus.

Twenty more days to D-Day. No, I don’t mean the Chelsea v Manchester United Champions League Finals. EXAMS!! BLOODY EXAMS!!

Darn.. I feel like burning those books and notes of mine and drink it together with my coffee.