My sentimental side.
written: 8:08 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009

My brother enlisted in the army today, and Rafael Nadal continues to advance in the Australian Open without dropping a set.

What a great, fabulous day.

I'll bitch about tennis first; it's much easier. I don't know why I suddenly feel a sense of trepidation that's making me quite moody. The thought of Nadal winning the Australian Open instead of Roger absolutely kills me, in ways I cannot possibly describe. There is nothing right about that scenario - nothing at all. The trophy belongs to Roger Federer because he is still the best player, even if he's temporarily #2.

Thing is, I know Roger at his best, even at his very good, can beat anyone - including Nadal - on any given day. The problem is, he's been rather inconsistent lately. He'd play terrific tennis one day (Qatar Open Round 1) and average tennis the next (Qatar Open Round 2). Although his tennis was absolutely, ABSOLUTELY perfect and magnificent against Del Potro, he doesn't play like that all the time - not even in his dominating years. I know that Perfect Tennis Roger can beat anyone with his eyes closed but that Roger doesn't always show up. Sometimes we get the Roger that took five sets to beat an opponent he's beaten in straight sets over their last seven meetings (Tomas Berdych). If that Roger shows up against Nadal, I honestly don't think he can come back from 0-2 and win.

And Roger not winning? That's just not an option. I know this is a Grand Slam, and that he's done it 13 times, and that he's just set a record for making his 19th consecutive Grand Slam semi-final. I know he's Roger Federer.

But oh my god, I can't help but worry. The Federer/Nadal final is looking more and more likely, as I don't expect Fernando Verdasco to be able to beat Nadal at all. I'm hoping he's the Surprise Finalist, but it's scant hope at best. I hoped Gilles Simon could beat him today, or at least take a set off him, but it was not to be.

Well, on the bright side, Simon put up a REALLY tough fight and he could've taken the second and third sets. He had set point in both, but unfortunately it was on Nadal's serve. And, credit where credit's due and all, Nadal doesn't do stupid things when he's trying to win. He doesn't get anywhere near break points when he's serving for the set/match. When he wants something, he goes all out. He's been doing this for years, chasing Federer for the #1 spot, and now he's chasing a hard court Grand Slam.

GREAT. I wish I could like him, but it's hard to like him. Even if I weren't a Fedtard, there's just nothing about his tennis to like. It's just not tennis as it should be played. Tennis is a dignified sport, not a brutish one; it's a game of elegance, not one of power and sheer strength. Roger makes it look easy; Nadal makes it look like weight-lifting. Roger does it with elegance and quiet power; Nadal grunts his way through his shots.

I'd hate to see brute force win over elegance and grace. And yeah, I suppose I am really worried. Of course, there's still the Roddick round to get through, but I have full confidence that Roger will get past it. It's the Nadal block that strikes fear in my heart. Nadal, being a lefty, constantly attacks Roger's backhand which is his weaker shot, and usually it breaks down after a while - which is why he slices so much.

Well, on the bright side, Simon at least showed today that Nadal can't bulldoze through all his matches the way he's been doing against non-competitive opponents so far. Simon was his first real competition, but unfortunately, he warmed up too late. 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 - says it all. I'm glad Simon made Nadal work for it, but I wish he'd won just ONE set. ARGH.

At times like these, I even wish Murray hadn't been knocked out. He was the only one whom I thought could eject Nadal from the competition before the final. And honestly, of all players to lose to, he chose a SPANIARD? Nothing against Spanish players; it's just that Nadal is the Spanish God of Tennis and Spanish players bow at his feet and I just can't see Verdasco winning, or getting anywhere CLOSE to winning.

On a slightly cheerier note, I love how the Fedfans on RF.com refer to Nadal's "unique" forehand as "Vamos topspin" and to Nadal, "Vamos Barbie". HAHAHA. I love Fedfans.

*

I sent my brother off today and it hasn't actually sunk in yet that he won't be around for two weeks.

Touring the camp site was...interesting. It was largely boring and filled with waiting around doing nothing, but that feeling of being on an island away from civilisation and the life that you know is pretty sad. I didn't have my phone with me as we mistakenly thought we couldn't bring them in, and in those 5-ish hours I felt SO isolated from everything else. I can't imagine what it's like to be in there for two weeks, seven weeks in total.

I can't wait for my brother to get out of there. I think in some sense it'd be good for him to get some discipline and live a life where he doesn't get everything done for him. It might toughen him up and teach him not to be so damn spoiled.

And yet, at the same time, it seems so lonely for him there. I always felt lonely when I was away at some three-day camp shit back in secondary school/junior college - and they were just some chicken feed (for fuck's sake it's NOT chicken FEET) three-day camp shit. I really hope he's made some friends by now; otherwise, it's gonna be a hell of a lonely two weeks before he gets to come home.

I told him, after the oath taking thing was over and he joined us again, "Hey, you get free New Balance shoes! Not bad!" He laughed at that, the same way he laughs at all my stupid lame jokes.

Oh fucking hell, I miss my brother.

*

The whole tour thing was quite a waste of time and I wouldn't have bothered if it weren't for the brother. The video presentation was hilarious with two really badly written and badly sung songs (the second one was an upbeat song! OMG!) chucked in somewhere for good measure; the commanding officer (I think; they kept throwing around abbreviations as if they were universally understood. I was SO tempted to raise my hand and ask one of the army dudes doing the issued items presentation what the fuck 'PT' was, since he didn't state it in the beginning, even though I know it's Physical Training. Though it begs the question - the fuck is 'PT Training'? Physical training training? I hate Singaporeans) made a passing mention of "checks" in place to make sure that the officers or whomever don't go beyond the regulations in meting out punishments, without actually saying what these "checks" are; and I really don't understand why it is that seemingly every single person in that place talks like this: "This is the fitness area where they do their - " pause after upward intonation of "their", as if asking a question and expecting an answer in response - "physical training."

Er, seriously. I really don't understand why ANYONE talks like this. It bugs me like you wouldn't believe; makes me want to slap them and say, "If you want to ask a question, at least have the decency to wait for an answer."

Another thing that got on my nerves - Singaporeans. Oh, my god. I think I can't be around too many Singaporeans at one go or I'll lose my mind. The queue for the bus to the ferry terminal was super long, and we were stuck behind this family of four. It amuses me to no ends when average Singaporeans attempt to dress up and act classy, because the attempt falls flat and they end up looking quite hilarious instead. High waist shorts and a tucked in shirt is great, but not so much when the tucked in shirt is billowing at the waist. A tube dress is great, but not so much when the hair is so curly, it looks like instant noodles, and the make-up is so thick and badly-applied that it just looks cheap, like some low-end cabaret singer.

Oh shit I'm so bitchy. Karma is so going to get me.

But I REALLY don't understand why people just can't dress like themselves. Of course, the argument could be made that that's just who they are...but I'd rather bitch about their bad dress sense than to believe they really are unclassy.

On second thought, that's kind of two sides of the same coin. Okay, I concede: I'm a horrible person. I'm going to be unlucky in love forever; that's my karmic payback.

Oh, what a tragedy.

before sunrise // before sunset


Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010