futsal action

Yes, it's been awhile since I updated my life story here.

Thanks to the new 'additions' in my life including one of the latest craze on FB known as 'Castle Age', procrastination has been my middle name as I've been sitting on heaps of photos to be shared with stories to be told...(guilty)

Like this story when my company organised our inaugural inter-floor Futsal Tournament in Sports Planet Ampang.
A story which you would be able to relate to better, if you are my colleague. Otherwise, I don't think you'd even care who wins the tournament. LOL. If I was playing in it, now THAT'S a different story altogether. In this case, I was just a supporter. You know me, the only sports I play is when I'm treading up the steep hill leading to my condo.

So, the battle was on between the team from our Ground Floor,
our 27th Floor (with 3 of them from our top-management level),

23rd floor (wearing vests that make them look like traffic wardens...coincidentally I was googling and stumbled upon this - ARORA stands for 'Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency' (?)..what gives, guys??)

and finally the power team from 26th floor..MY floor! (At least I thought we looked the most 'pro' here)

Futsal......yet another game of ball-chasing and a lot of banging here and there.

Futsal is a quick-paced, exciting form of indoor soccer, often played on a basketball court, with five players per side. The game is a sprint. Plays get set up instantaneously, with quick, controlled passes and close-range shots.

Both teams try to kick the ball into the opponent's goal. Only the goalie can use hands, and possession goes to the other team if the ball goes out of bounds. Futsal is played with a smaller ball with less bounce than a football. The emphasis is on improvisation, creativity and technique, something I think I'm better at on paper rather than on the field/ court. tee~hee.

So you think it'd be easier since the played space is smaller than a football field?

Na-ah, the game can get really rough at times.

While some were gleaming with joy after having scored a goal for their team,

some just couldn't take the shoving and pushing and 'accidental' grabbing of b***s, they wanted out.

And then there were the few who were busy with some serious male bonding stuff.

Midway through the games, injuries starting kicking in and my colleagues were proudly showing off their battle wounds.

The match was getting more and more exciting.....and scoring was deemed sooo crucial,

until apa gaya pun keluar (check out the style of playing!).

ni futsal ke bowling?

And then there was the one guy who got so 'high' with all the action around him, he jumped in the last minute as a substitute, with 'borrowed' shoes, jersey and socks!

With 6 games played in about 2 hours, even I was exhausted from all the cheering. And jeering.

Lunch was served (luckily even for the supporters) as the final scores were being counted and recounted.

Kah Mei and Mark

I had forgotten to take photos of my lunch, until this was what's left of it...

Time was getting closer to announce the Futsal Winners, and everyone was eyeing

the Medals

and the Champion's Trophy...!

(not bad looking huh the trophy...)

(drum roll....)

3rd place went to 27th Floor..

Guess the 'power' team ain't so powerful on the court. hehe.

Sidetrack a bit, this guy with our Ceo has a name so similar to mine, it's unbelievable.

His name's Sylvain and he's French.

Does this mean I'm Sylvia and I could be French too?

26th floor (MY floor) clinched 2nd placing. yiipee!!

(umm Mark, it's not real silver, bro)

Thanks to our top scorer, Mr Rama, ex-national player.

Elly too was someone you wouldn't want to mess with in futsal.

The champs turned out to be from Ground Floor.

Kudos to them....Actually, if it weren't for a goal difference advantage by them, we'd be tied champs with them too.

Someone's little girl soaking up the jubilant moment as well.

Somewhere in the background,

With all the excitement going on, I had forgotten to take pictures of myself and only had this to show.

Belinda and I

With the games over and the court empty, this beckham-wannabe entertained us.

As he sets his ball right for his free kick,

He moves into position.

He takes a deep breath and crosses his fingers,

He lunges forward towards the ball...

He kiiiiiicks the ball with all his might...

....and he MISSES!!!!

Maybe he should have worn branded shoes.

alexis, the gardens

Tonight I bought my housemate, Pauline her birthday dinner at Alexis. It was a pre-celebration since I would not be in KL on her actual birthday this Friday. Besides, haven't had a proper sit-down meal with her for ages, so it was a good catch-up session. It was very quiet when we arrived at this cosy simple looking restaurant, but in no time at all, people started coming in, filling up almost 80% of the tables. 'Looks promising even on a weekday', I thought, nodding (It was my first time trying out their meals, usually I just go for their cakes).

After hearing out the waiter's recommendations, we decided to settle for this instead, (not in his recommended list, mind you)

Chicken and Mushroom Pie (8/10 partly due to my fave shoestring fries) - RM 20

Pauline adores mushrooms and so do I, so obviously we couldn't get enough of them.

Hence, we got this too:

Thin-crusted pizza (so crispy, I like!) topped with mushrooms (lots of them!), feta and mozzarella cheese.

Al Funghi Pizza (9/10) - RM 31

We downed the food with a glass of iced cold 'Citron Presse' (sounds glamour, but it's merely Soda+Lime w/o the sugar so it was just...sour?) and Peach Soda (just peachy for Pauline).

Dessert has definitely got to be their best-selling Tiramisu (RM 15), though I swear their slice has shrunk a bit since my last visit here about a year ago.

Drat, should have also gotten the Alexis staff to sing Pauline a birthday song.

Everything was great, food and service up-to-the-mark and we were so engrossed in our bubbly conversation,

when all of a sudden Pauline let out a shriek while pointing past me.

I screeched in my seat at the horrid sight of this six-legged brown-winged pest which was scurrying on the cushioned seat towards my direction.

EEEEKKK!!!

now, if only it looked this friendly.

let's go hakka

There's somewhere I go to every Sunday (well, almost).
Nah, I don't go to church.
Even better, I drag my lazy ass on an even lazier Sunday to this particular makan-place in Pandan Indah (row of shops opposite the police station).

And it's SO worth every sluggish muscle in my body.

Not having THAT many places to compare with, this is the best HaKKa Mee I've ever tasted.

The homemade noodles are so good without that kan-sui (alkaline) taste, texture springy to perfection and not too soft. You know it's good when they sell even their raw noodles.

Topped with scrumptious minced pork and a wholesome dollop of diced spring onion, can you believe I can even eat it just like this, even though it looks a bit bland?

Looks dry but it's not!

My very first time having this reminded me of the wan tan mee in Melaka. You know, the 'white' kind (the very famous on Jalan Bunga Raya) with the exact same chilli sauce as seen below.

This is my friend showing how best to enjoy your mee.

Make it redder if you like it spicier!

Request to change to their Pork Ball, otherwise, the little bowl of soup that accompanies your noodle comes with the normal fishball (by default). If I'm not mistaken, they charge an extra 20 cents for the pork ball and that suits me fine... :D

You get 3 humongous balls!

Only after numerous visits, I discovered that the mee I've been eating all this while was called 'Fine Noodle', instead of the 'Hakka Noodle'. Ironic?

Whatever, it's easier to just go by the shop's name. lol.

Look at how red the remaining sauce is! haha..like I just had curry noodles right?

I can proudly say this is one of my favourite food where I WILL eat to the last bit!

(guess the other one!)

So there! FOC publicity for this fineeeee place.

Not to mention, I also just revealed what a laaaazzzzzzieee girl I am on the weekends.. :P