In Continuum.

Twenty to None

The score is nineteen to zero,and there is 6 months left on the clock.He catches the ball,he dribbles and he bounces.The time is running out,but he knows he can get this ball through over the line.The opposition are closing in,they are closing in fast!Oh no,he trips and the ball sails out of his hands.The oppositions dived towards the ball,they fought and the scratched,now who is going to get it?Who is going to get it?2 months left to go,2 months left till the end of the game.He still has a chance,he still has a shot!He takes a last desperate grab at the ball,and he misses!Oh what a great tragedy for this young rookie,fresh out of college and trying to show off his talents,only to lose to an even younger rookie of the opposition.

The opposition is not holding the ball,and he runs down the field towards the finish line.Less than two months away now,and he still chases after the opposition.But no,he is too slow,and the other has already crossed the line.

Score,twenty to none and game!He lost it once again,right at the last moment when hope was at need!What an awful day for him,yet another crushing defeat.Yet another awful year for this young rookie...

Yet another.

Valentine's Day,yet again.It's funny how every single bloody year,i sit in front of this computer and complain about the same old thing:How over-rated this whole day is.Strolling through the mall at Jurong Point,you see hints of the dawning of the day everywhere.In jewelry shops you see celebrities looking deeply into the core of diamonds and rings,while at the side of them a big sign writes "Valentine's Day,special promotion!" Then on the other side of the mall where a line of pillars were,artificial flowers spiraled up the pillars and up to the top of the ceiling high above.Worst of all,red and pink everywhere.Just...everywhere.

It's funny how the origin of Valentine's Day was never exactly known to most,but celebrated by all.The word "Valentine" belongs to the name of Saint Valentine,who was a kind-hearted Roman priest.Against the wishes of Emperor Claudius he married a lot of young couples while he was alive.However,there were not just one but three Saint Valentine,mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February.Saint Valentine,due to his defiance of the Emperor was deheaded on February the 14th.

Contrary to common beliefs that this day is full of love and romance,it is really kind of bloody,really.Which is why i think,pink shouldnt be the chief colour of decoration in malls and shops,but the colour red.Blood red.

Anyhow,you must be wondering what the hell i am doing back home on a Tueday night typing a blog entry.Oh well,it is Nights Off night,and the boys from camp were given a chance to just...hang out outside of camp.So due to the lack of locations,and date,i came home and enjoyed the comfort of it all.Just in case anybody feels a tad bit sad for me,don't.I have already convinced myself to be completely self-efficient,liberated and utterly unavaliable.

Anyway,let's face it.I walk on the street and i see pictures all around.Everybody say "Cliche"!Seriously,if you want to get a girl a bunch of roses,get real ones.Dont get the paper ones,the plastic ones,or if you are cheap enough,the ones folded from a McDonald's napkin.Because really,if you want to get her flowers,make it big.Dont do it for the sake of doing it,it just doesnt work out that way.

A friend of mine on the other blog recently talked about how Valentine is just another day to exploit customers,just like any other celebrate-able festivals.Like Joel from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" said,as he waited for his train to go to work.

"Random thoughts for Valentine's day,2004.Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap."

Or,his pathetic neighbour Frank,who said this as he meant Joel while collecting mails from his mailbox on Valentine's Day.

"The only Valentine's Day cards I get are from my mother.How pathetic is that?"

While a whole bunch of love birds are holding hands,jumping around in their cirlce of joy somewhere on the same island as myself,and whole lot of bachelors and bachelorettes out there,there are a bunch of people because of this overly-romanticized occasion,are beating themselves up about it.

Im not saying that i am,but i know of a lot of people.Just looking through my MSN contact list made me come up with a few names.A friend of mine was sitting on the steps in came one day before lunch with me,when he suddenly,out of nowhere,told me a strange thing.He said,"Man,this is the twentieth Valentine's Day that i am going to spend alone.Twenty to none,how sad is that?"

Well,my theory is this.Imagine yourself twenty years from now.You are still not married,not attached,not in any physical or emotional contact with any female organisms in this universe other than your mother,your sister,your female dog Jane and your nightmare-ish landlord Mdm Tan.Now,you are living in your own little apartment,surfing the computer for potential dating partners on Friendster while talking to a horny friend of yours,telling you how amazingly vibrant his sex life has been for the past thirty years of his life,and getting a little tired about it.You,on the other hand is what they call a "Late Starter",somebody whom everybody likes to use this famous quote upon,"The longer you wait,the harder it gets".

Now,you are feeling bad about yourself,because of this self-proclaimed sex machine friend of yours.You feel bad,terribly bad,but one day you meet this girl whom you really like.Mdm Tan's daughter,and she is the biggest female nerd you have ever encountered in your bloody life,you half expect her to take off her human disguise and declare her citizenship of Ozratora,Mars.

How amazing is it going to be for you,a first-timer as compared to Mr. Sex Drive?I mean,it's just like Tiramisu,right?The more you taste of it,the more bland it gets.The more clubs you go to in one single night the more similarity you observe,then it gets boring and even more boring.

It's just a theory of mine,friend.How the world "I Love You" will eventually become a punctuation if your future wife declares her love for you every five minutes.Wouldnt it be better,or more special,if she doesnt say it at all?Or,when it comes to showing her feelings towards you she becomes this laconic person?Then one day,at this very rare occasion,she tells you silently as she leans close to you.

"Hey,i love you."

I promise you friend,you will be sky high on cloud number nine,tasting the sweetest of Cupid's arrow,sleeping in a bed of roses that night.

So screw Valentine's Day,if you really have to spend it with yourself.Comon',you are your own's best partner.After all,you are supposed to live with yourself for the rest of your bloody life,get use to your own's existence.