Friday, July 23, 2010

Three Weeks Later

It's been three weeks since my last post, and the World Cup is now over. My absolute confidence about Brazil making the semi-finals has been crushed, and Spain is now the deserving world champions. The heartbreak I suffered after Brazil's loss will not be understood by many, but it was so great that I didn't watch the World Cup with much enthusiasm after that. But I was very happy that Spain won, mainly because Netherlands kicked Brazil out, but also because I think they're a very talented team, perhaps the most talented aside from Germany. And I like the fact that all of the starting 11 during the final match play in the La Liga, a trait similar to the German team, where most members of their squad play in the Bundesliga. I think having domestic players in your country's league is extremely important, not only for national pride but also because having talented local players in your league would mean that it's much easier to find talents for your national squad. This has been proven through the success of Spain and Germany, and explains the failure of the English team, where the EPL is overflowing with foreign players brimming with skill and talent.

I think that South Africa did a fantastic job with this World Cup, an amazing feat considering that they suffered from the cruelty of Apartheid and segregation only 20 years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the African-ness of the tournament, and felt so proud of Ghana for reaching the quarter-finals, despite their painful exit in (literally) the hands of Uruguay. I'm now looking forward to the 2014 World Cup which will be held in Brazil. I can't imagine the amount of pressure there will be on the national team though, I'm sure not only their own people, but the whole world will be expecting nothing less than a win from them. Hopefully they get a really good coach who will be able to channel that pressure positively, and build a more complete squad that knows how to play like a team. Can't wait :D

College is now well underway, and my third and last semester is going okay so far, although Lit worries me more than the other subjects due to the fact that we have to squeeze in three crucial units, with no chance of re-sitting anything. The thought is quite frightening, but I keep telling myself that thinking and moping about it isn't gonna make anything better. Instead I have to get off my ass and get to work real soon, or I will definitely regret it later. Economics Unit 3 seems kinda dry after the extremely 'global' units 2 and 4, and I think we're all still trying to adjust our brains to Microeconomic theories. I hope to do well, since Econs is the only subject I have this semester which only involves one unit.

Our semester 2 exam results will be out in about three weeks. The success of my UCAS application will depend on this results, and the thought of that is really scary. To think that a few letters and numbers on a computer screen will determine your future. I keep trying to guess what my grades will be, and everytime I do that, I get scared and try to push the thought out of my head. Flying to the UK for my Law degree seems like a faraway dream still, and I think it will always feel like that until the day when I actually get onto that plane. I don't know why, but its so hard for me to have that confidence. People might think I'm a pessimist, but I think I'm just a realist. I've had enough of setting up sky high hopes only to have them crash down onto my head and knock me upside down. Until my results come out, I don't dare to dream too much.

College has made me realize how much I treasure and cherish my high school life, my high school friends. They're the ones I turn to when I'm happy, sad, bored, or when I need someone to hang out with. We're all in different colleges now, and I miss them everyday, though I'm not sure if they miss me too. But that doesn't matter, because somehow I know I'll always be able to call them my friends :)

Been reading Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and I think I love it even more than Pride and Prejudice. It's subtlety somehow showcases the novel's issues perfectly, and as usual, Austen's satirical humour is genius. The manners of the people during Regency England will never cease to amaze me. Since Austen is renowned for writing about the world she knew, I'm sure the people during that time really spoke to each other like that, Austen didn't make it up. The way men addressed women, how they communicated with each other, is just so beautiful to read. The lack of women's rights during the time was compensated by the manner in which they were spoken to, the ways in which their honour was respected. Of course I'm speaking of mannerisms here, as women's honour were violated in many ways in those days, and Austen even portrays examples of it in her novels. But one needs to look at 'respect towards women' in a different light whilst reading Austen. The emancipation of women, while it gave women the rights to receive an education, to work, to vote and all that, has somehow eroded the finer things that women used to receive; kind words, good manners and the feeling that they are well protected by men. Somehow men nowadays feel all that is unnecessary since women are now 'free' and 'liberated'. Hmmm, what a shame, don't you think?

Haha such a long post, as usual. Doubt any of you read all of it! But that's fine, I said everything I felt like saying :)

Take care everyone.

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