Now that was quick wasn't it?

Felt like we just celebrated the dawn of 2012, slightly nerved by the possibility that the world could come to an end (RIP Mayans). But here we are still standing, breathing and watching football.

If I could put a theme to 2012 for me, it was a year of change. Lots of it. Personally, professionally, physically and even spiritually. While they say change is the only constant, and often for the better, it is always accompanied by some sort of draw back and discomfort.

My dad once told me, 'you can't build a new house, until you tear down the old one'. Imagine the process of deconstructing an old house or rather, bulldozing through it. Debris, dust, in short, chaotic. No one wants to live in that sort of environment.

But in its place, you now have a blank canvas to start over and design a brand new spanking home to fit your exact whims and fancies. Yes, I'm talking to you Brendan Rodgers, sir. Liverpool are in a rubble, so please take this January transfer window as an opportunity to bring in your dream strikers/attacking midfielders that we desperately need.

On that note, for 2013, lets all aspire higher. Aim for the moon, and even if you fail, at least you'll land among the stars. That's like poaching for Messi but reeling in Franco Di Santo instead.

A girl can dream.

Happy 2013 everybody!

xo Reem

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGDfOeLemyA&w=420&h=315]

xmas wishlist

It's that time of year again, Christmas is just around the corner making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Now, we may not have snow or a big tree like the one at Rockerfeller Center but we do have beautifully decorated malls (Pavilion wins hands down this year) and a Home Alone DVD to dwell in the festivities.

I did my Christmas shopping today, which is possibly my favourite part of the season. Or any season really, not that I need an excuse to shop but it's more fun shopping gifts for others and relishing in glee at their reaction (hopefully a positive one) when they unwrap it.

Which got me to thinking about the perfect gift(s) for the Kop at heart that I assume are absolutely fail-proof.

1. LFC Official Membership

Nothing says you're a truer fan than this. Plus you get a member's pack which comes with a cute scarf that you can wrap around the lips of your loud, proud, swollen headed United fiends  friends.



2. Liverpool FC Heroes

More than just an official coffee table book, it gives insight on the personal lives of legends who've played for 'pool the past 50 years. A great addition to any Reds' collection.

Take it to another level, and get 1 of the legends featured to sign off, like this one I received on my birthday :)



Aside from those 2, most importantly what every Kop living in the 21st century needs is...

 

 

 

...a Survival Kit!

The hardest thing for a fan is to watch your team lose. Constantly. Especially, at home ground.

Brendan Rodger's crest fallen expression. Gerrard shaking his head. Suarez arguing with the refs for not penalizing a defender's blatant foul. The team walking back to the tunnel with their heads down. Devastating stuff.

But as fans, you suck it up, continue giving moral support and hope for the best. We'll get our pot of gold eventually.

In the mean time, give a Kop a fun and resourceful kit to cheer them up. Let your creative juices flow with this one.

1. Kleenex: to dry your tears

2. Panadol: to numb that painful feeling in your gut

3. ear plugs: to block out the never ending wisecracks. If I had a penny for every history channel joke I hear...

4. a tub of Baskin-Robbins' Pralines & Cream: because from young we were taught that ice cream makes everything better. Warning: may cause weight gain

5. rubber band: to keep you bouncing back

6. and lastly, this video: to remind you, that you'll never walk alone

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU1MdjFDke8&w=560&h=315]

 

Have a holly jolly Christmas this year everyone! :)

xo Reem

building teams

I haven't posted much on my 'day time' job lately with the big red flying machine that makes traveling around Asia feel like a domestic journey.

Over the weekend, some of us from Branding & Ancillary were whisked away to Phuket for a team building session which I felt eclipsed into a beach getaway with 30 friends instead of your work buddies. Nothing too surprising, as the work culture built around AirAsia injected with Tony's personality was not meant to be too rigid or formal. As the saying goes, we work hard but play even harder.

There are few things in life worse than a 6am flight. Watching the sun rise made up for it though.

On the steps of our hotel. Way before the island's charm turned me into little Lilo (of Lilo and stitch)

Somewhere in between checking-in and the Aston Villa match (worst. result. EVER) we rode on ATVs across a 50 acre plantation and competed in a few team building activities. Unfortunately I have no photos, since I stored all my stuff in the locker, which was a good thing since it rained 5 minutes into our ride. It was cold, it was muddy, but most of all it was fun. You haven't lived if you haven't done this once in your life.

Watched first 15 mins of the match in a bar at Patong. We soon left for a foot massage, saving me the agony of Benteke's first goal.

C'est la vie.

Go on a boat ride and heal your wounded football heart.

Or have lunch by the beach with a bunch of friends

Soon enough you'll be back up on your feet again. Or in an inflatable canoe taking silly photos

xo Reem

from blogs to vlogs

Since I haven't had much luck (read: bad time management) with blogging on a regular basis, I thought why not record video logs?

I'm not shifting completely though, because I still enjoy the occasional writing.

So here goes nothing...

xo Reem

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knzxc4liYUM&w=560&h=315]

jenny from the block

Don't be fooled by the rocks that she's got, JLo will perform for you rain or shine - living up to the phrase, 'the show must go on'. It was crummy weather for a concert (in an uncovered stadium) but I think after Urbanscapes, Malaysians have embraced rain to incorporate colorful raincoats and wellies as an extension of their style.

The minute Miss Lopez stepped out though, it was more like, rain? what rain?

There's no other way to put it, I loved the show. Love love love. 4 days on, I'm still trying to find a cure for the inevitable symptoms of JLo withdrawal (on loop on my phone, laptop and car).

The concert was split into 4 parts: Old Hollywood Glamour, Back to the Bronx, Love (my fave!) and Partying complete with videos and choreographed dances in transition. Every element was thoughtfully placed, and nothing was put on without purpose. Above all she mastered her connection with the audience. Sort of makes you feel you're at a mamak having tehtarik with an old friend who's confiding in you. Okay, maybe more like cocktails at a bar with 'On the Floor' playing in the background.

There was plenty of entertainment, pyrotechnics, confetti, eye candy (omg her dancers are hotter than the hottest hot I've ever seen - *swoon*), energy and not forgetting booty action!! The lady can move! Her energy levels are insane.

Oh I could go on singing praises about her but here are a couple of snapshots from the concert;







Although the concert's known as the Dance Again World Tour, its underlying theme was essentially, love. In between songs, she asked the audience what is love, what it means when you find it, and what it personally meant to her.



About an hour into her set, she delivered a moving performance of 'Until It Beats No More' set against a video backdrop of her playing with her twins and gushed that “she finally found true love”. So sweet! We love you JLo, we do. Wouldn't put on a RM8 plastic raincoat or ruin our sandals walking in mud otherwise.

xo Reem

when the week ends...

...we all cheer and chant TGIF!

I don't know about you, but what I look forward to most when the weekend comes around is the chance to catch up with my family, friends and of course football (Check, check and check).

Last weekend though was not your typical average ordinary weekend because Malaysia beat Indonesia for a spot in the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals! (also, the one and only J Lo graced our shores with an amazingly, superb, fantastic performance that I'm still gushing about to everyone 2 days later - which deserves a post of it's own that I'll update soon).

I had the pleasure of being at Bukit Jalil to support our boys along with a crowd of about 70k others. 70k! Can you imagine? The stadium was filled to the brim, save for 2 columns which were evacuated, and lined with police, as a buffer and safety measure between Harimau Malaya and Indo fans.

We were so happy jumping all over the place after Azamuddin Akil's first goal, but when Mahali Jasuli doubled the lead 3 minutes later we went craaazy. It was as though we'd won the whole tournament already!

Thoroughly well deserved, despite a shaky start but they defended well throughout the second half to finish off with a clean sheet.

Best of luck to the team for their next match against Thailand. Let's defend the title!



Met the ever pretty national bowler, Zandra Aziela (who was also a guest on Football Overload last season) at the match.

A little inside story on a minor jersey dilemma I had before the match.

I had planned to wear the latest edition, courtesy of the kind peeps at Nike, similar to the one Zandra had on initially.

But it didn't occur to me that I'd sent the jersey to the laundry which was ready for pick up over a week ago and because I had to babysit my nieces that afternoon, when it was time to get ready to leave for the stadium it was too late to get it.

Can you spell avid procrastinator? I even downloaded an app called 'Do It Tomorrow' from Play Store. Unfortunately the app doesn't actually do your chores for you.

In hindsight though, it was a great move since the team played in their away jerseys too. Reem 1 - 0 Universe.

It was a great weekend for football (sorry goons and blues - we've all been there) as Liverpool also clinched a winner over Southampton! Do you realize how they always win when the match is on a Saturday? Coincidence no? Yes? Yes. Let's wait until the end of the season before we persuade the F.A to move all our matches over.

xo Reem

baby madu

Have any of you attended a baby shower before? If you're above 25 chances are you've been to a few already by now and if you haven't, go crash one (please don't quote me on that, I refuse to be held responsible when a hormone enraged woman comes after you).

They're extremely fun, not to mention funny (one of the girls actually strained her neck and took a Panadol from laughing too hard). If anything baby showers are just an excuse to gather your closest girl friends and act silly before you lose them forever upon baby arrival.

Our very own Hunny or better known to the world as Hunny Madu, is about to undergo a life changing experience from peace to no sleep, smelly diapers and shrill screaming all day everyday in just a few weeks so we thought we'd throw her a special going away party before the storm hits. Since she's weird, wacky and acts like a monkey it was only apt that the shower was themed Animal Safari.



One of the games we played was Kiss the Owl. How it works is that, an owl is passed around the table and each person had to kiss a part of the owl and remember where they kissed it. Simple right? Here's the punchline: Hunny now becomes the owl! So wherever you kissed the owl earlier, you now have to do the same on the mummy to be. Needless to say, there were a few lip locking and bum kissing involved.

And no baby shower is complete without some diaper action! Which I graciously lost, I might add.

Animals of the enchanted Madu Forest

Funny how 'ROARRR!' was behind the owl instead of the panther. Or just art imitating life? She is the feisty one. I'm just a little kitty. Peace!

Told you she was a monkey. M for monkey, not madu.

Hehe. Monkey with the biggest heart. Baby madu is going to be one lucky girl. We're counting down the days!

xo Reem

rip blackberry

Once upon a time, the Blackberry was the holy grail of phones. I felt so privileged to be able to ask someone 'what's your pin?'. Owning a berry was your golden ticket in to a clique where communication barriers fail to exist, opening you to a whole new world of gossip and TMI (too much info) chatter. Stuff that was sacred and limited to the confines of that sleek black device. Whatever happens in BBM, stays in BBM. Even the first few generations of the iPhone did little at best to put a crack on the BB anarchy.

And then it lost all relevance. A little perspective? If you accidentally left your phone at a restaurant, the waiters chase you to return it. True story.

For the past few weeks I've been complaining and whining about my primitive ol Blackberry. I've been waiting, and waiting and waiting for the release of the iPhone 5 in KL to no avail. It always made sense to expand my existing happy little Apple family with a sibling, hence I never considered an Android.

Good things come to those who wait, they say. They never had friends who've ignored them over tea because they were too busy Flipboard-ing or posting that same #tea as #foodporn on Instagram. Smartphones are supposed to enhance your life, not take over them (yes I'm talking to you. Don't shake your head).

So I waited indignantly, and then just about everything about the berry began to irritate me.

Like how it was so run-of-the-mill. The internet browser is a joke so funny everyone forgot to laugh. 'PING', period - possibly the most revolting thing about the berry. More so the personality of someone who would actually use it just because you took all of 30 seconds to reply. It had no Live Score app for the Liverpool matches I missed (more than half already this season). That everyone who messaged me on BBM were people I didn't want to talk to anyway (ex boyfriend, ex bosses, annoying colleagues).

"It's shit. My Blackberry is shit", I used to say to people, to myself, to my cat.

The universe heard me, alright.

On a recent work trip to Jakarta, I dropped the berry into the hotel lobby's toilet bowl.

My soul spiraled down the black hole briefly too. And pride - yes I dived in after it, but not before assessing the situation - it was clean, relatively. I mean, don't hotels clean their toilets every hour, on the hour? I don't really want to know the answer to that.

Moral of the story is, law of attraction isn't just some wish-wash theory! Wish and repeat a certain mantra often enough and the universe will conspire to make it happen.

For about 12 long hours I was phone-less and utterly gutted.

Until I got myself a new toy - Samsung Galaxy Note 2 - to play with. Granted, it wasn't my first or second choice. Or third now that I think about it (iPhone 5, S3, 4S - all unavailable at Maxis). It was the Note or no phone at all. A girl has her needs.

Though it took awhile to figure my way around the Android OS (I didn't know how to pick up a call!), baby now, I'm hooked on you.


All dressed up in a pink sleeve and a crystal jack too. Love!

My friends say I need an intervention. Tweet me with the hashtag #reemneedstounplug and maybe I'll take notice, guys.

xo Reem

j-town

Every time I return home from a trip, I feel cultivated and enriched with new experiences no matter how near or far the journey was. The chance to explore a new destination or revisit an old one is a passion shared by almost everyone I've ever met and spoken with. I personally don't remember ever coming home from a business trip or holiday thinking, 'that was the worst experience ever!'.  Because it never is.

Okay, maybe it sucks a little that I haven't watched a proper Liverpool match for 3 weekends in a row. Derby, Newcastle and Chelsea. But thank technology for all its binary greatness, I was with you all for every dive, offside and goals both for and against. Case in point, I was midway through dessert at Union (in Plaza Senayan) when I got the devastating news that Terry had scored. I squealed a loud 'NOOOO' and pushed the rest of my cake aside. I never push cake aside okay? Especially not my birthday cake. That was brutal.

We did manage to salvage a point from that game, and all was not lost. Aside from that temporary heartbreak (a positive sign that despite these
trying'developing' times for the club, I'm still firmly enthused) I had an amazing weekend in Jakarta full of laughter, food plus a session at the spa.

I've been to  j-town plenty in recent years but mostly for work and with family, so I never really got around their social or culinary scene much like I did this time. The interiors of the restaurants we went to had character, and were thoughtfully designed - elegant yet casual - a scenic and relaxing ambience just screaming to be photographed. Every last detail had purpose, as opposed to an after thought. And where we stayed, was just as charming.

Stumbled upon Ocha and Bella, an industrial-chic eatery by the hotel that I absolutely adore!

When I have my own home, my dining room floors will look exactly like the one from Ninty-Nine at Grand Indonesia

The mini heart attack, no thanks to John Terry, at Union in Plaza Senayan

I can safely say that I've fallen in love with j-town's New York meets Asia vibe. Will be back there in less than 48 hours for a business trip. But not before I catch the Wigan match in KL, KL.

xo Reem

movember

Can't believe this is only my first entry in Movember, the month formerly known as November.

Movember may be a cultural phenomenon for men to grow out their moussies (formerly known as moustache - no, not really, i just made it up) but for yours truly, it's literally the month to 'move-it, move-it...'.

I've been moving it up the past week from Sabah to Manila - a separate post for later, just to provoke those with obsessive chronological compulsive disorders - to Bangkok and then Jakarta. Which explains the lack of updates.

In aviation terms, the past week for me looks something like this: KUL-SDK-KUL-CRK-KUL-DMK-KUL-CGK-KUL.

Have I lost you yet? Those letters/initials put together to confuse you are simply standard world airport codes.

In an attempt to achieve a sense of purpose while getting out of my 10km rut, plus the opportunity to run in unfamiliar terrains - I jumped at the opportunity when our culture team (Human Resources) invited me to run for MAA (Malaysia AirAsia) in Bangkok.

Thai AirAsia recently moved (there goes that word again) its operations and services from Suvarnabhumi (BKK) to Don Mueang (DMK) in its efforts to maintain operations at a low cost. So what's the best way to raise awareness for this big move? An even BIGGER fun rally!

No other airline, in fact no other company that ever came to be does fun the way AirAsia does. NONE.

The rally route began at Suvarnabhumi Airport and progressed along the Airport Rail Link (Suvarnabhumi to Phaya Thai), connected to the BTS Skytrain (Phaya Thai to Mo Chit), included an RC hunt game at the Chatuchak Train Yard (I almost threw in the towel here. The glittering markets had my name all over them) and ended with a 12.9km (we did our own calculations and our pacers all recorded 14.9km) marathon from the yard, down Vipavadee Road to the finish line at AirAsia’s counter at Terminal 1 of Don Mueang Airport.

In Thailand, this is how you dress when running:

We obviously didn't get the memo. 'We' the reps from Indonesia AirAsia & MAA

While about 1000 odd runners were warming up before the race, we thought it'd be better to conserve our energies and play fashion police instead.

'She's running in 4-inch heels? Crazy!'

'Did she eat make-up for breakfast or what?? It's starting to grow on her face'

'Is she even a she?'

Soon after the race took off, we were full of optimism happily snapping photos away

After about the 3rd km, my photos started looking like this, having lost all equilibrium:

1528283 hours later, we crossed the finish line! *beams proudly* (still haven't found equilibrium at this point)

On my bucket list: Run 14.9km. Check!

Visit (Soi) Cowboy town? Check!

Er, there were no horses in this town. Only horse noises that don't come from actual horses. Leave the rest to your imagination.

Found my equilibrium though!

xo Reem

borneo sevens

There's something about men and balls.

The sporting kind, snap back to reality, this is somewhat your typical family friendly blog written by a girl.

This general fixation with all things round have you guys chasing, hustling, kicking, hitting, bouncing and largely fighting (in every sense of the word) each other to essentially prove who has the biggest *ahem* balls. This time I refer to the junk.

I'm sure there is an existential theory out there that has some proven relativity to this ongoing obsession, but I've decided long ago that there's a huge probability I got some version of testosterone that relishes field balls just as much.

Football's a given, and a few others I favor include tennis, basketball and rugby. Which isn't basically American football without the pads. I don't consistently watch rugby aside from the bigger events, and when I do, I usually wonder why I don't make it a habit to watch it more often. The set plays and formation are lovely to watch. It may seem like an oxymoron with the amount of contact in the sport, however the passing in reverse laterals come off as somewhat, graceful.

So I had the pleasure of working over the weekend covering the action packed Borneo Sevens International Club Tournament hosted by the Sandakan Rugby Club, home of the Borneo Eagles and Sabah Eagles.

The team hard at work to bring live streaming of the entire tournament. They did such a brilliant job, so proud of them! All I did was finish those pack of Chipsmore cookies you see on the table there. Now you see it, now it's in Reem's tummy.

My vantage point

One of my most favourite pictures ever, that I took on my iPad *pat on back*

The Borneo Eagles were runners up in the competition, second only to the Fijian club Daveta.

I even managed to get Adam (also known as ACDC) to put on a my favourite piece of clothing. How? Now that story deserves a whole other post. If I ever feel the need to justify it. Because essentially, no one and I mean no one, needs a reason to don a Liverpool top.

xo Reem

oh fowler

Let me take you back to the exact moment I discovered my heart belonged to Anfield...

It was when I visited Anfield.

It was like how Newton discovered gravity, when he sat under a tree and an apple fell. It's really quite unremarkable. But its effect and consequence are profound.

As profound as it gets in football anyway - a vow to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part (which in today's climate refers to: until you get relegated to the championship).

That was back in 1996. I went along with my parents to visit my uncle and cousins who lived in Loughborough and because mum was a die hard Liverpool fan (I must reiterate though, that I'm not a fan by default) we went on a road trip to Anfield, Goodison Park and surprise, surprise, Old Trafford too.

We didn't catch any matches though, just checked the grounds snapped some photos and shopped for souvenirs. At that time the Shankly statue wasn't even erected yet. There was an air of unparalleled heritage, glory and nostalgia. A feeling you can't really explain or comprehend without experience.

By then I'd already had an inkling towards this great British pastime, introduced by mum having friends over on weekends for good food and well, the opportunity to shout at the TV. So this fascination was not entirely foreign, but standing at the legendary grounds, I fully understood.

(I'm still trying to locate a photograph from this trip to insert in this space).

When I got back to KL, I got a copy of the official LFC magazine, saved up 10 pounds (about RM40 at that time), got my mum to prepare a bank draft and sent in my application for an annual club membership. I also decided Robbie Fowler was my favourite player. His statistics speak for itself, but I held on to the fact that if I suffered from mild dyslexia, he'd be a flower. Michael Owen hadn't debuted at that point.

The rest as they say, is history.

Fast forward to 2012:

It was just another Thursday for them.

For me, a childhood dream manifested (and trying hard not to stumble on pronouncing Henchoz or saying flower out loud)

xo Reem

10 lies i tell myself

You know how writers always stumble upon writer's block? Yes it happens to non-writers too.

I'm not a writer, professionally - although I had hoped to be at one point or another growing up - but I have some sort of block. Or an aversion to form an opinion on anything of late, just because. So I came up with a list of lies to excuse myself from posting -


1. When I'm not writing up a post, my thoughts are engaged in writing, thus I am writing. You just can't see it

2. Just a few more minutes on Zalora, Net-a-porter, Fashionvalet etc

3. Just a few more minutes on anything other than Wordpress


4. I need a new camera. I need a new phone. I just need the iPhone 5

5. I can't decide if the Samsung S3 is indeed better than the iPhone 5

6. Snapping photos and making mental notes at an event to blog about later robs me from the experience to fully indulge in the moment

7. Liverpool are still at the bottom half of the table

8. My hair is too long and I need a hair cut (???)

9. I'm turning mid late 20's in 15 days, and aging just means more cellulite (double ???)

10. I don't need to reveal every detail of my life on the Internet because a) everyone will read it, b) no one will read it

And there you have it, today's random thought.

xo Reem

priced

Does anyone else remember growing up watching 'The Price Is Right' game show on TV, back in the day when Astro was a mere morsel of idealistic thought in someone-who's-now-a-billionaire's mind? If I'm not mistaken the show is still running in the States.

I used scream at the TV (much like one does when watching football) along with the contestants to guess the value of the items which range from cars to holidays packages.

What does the game show have to do with anything? Nothing really. Just that it popped into my mind  when I was invited to be one of the faces of 'Priced', a brand new coupon booklet that will be released in the market soon.

That's my best impression of the models on the Price Is Right, as you can see, I was totally inspired.

They say that you are the sum of your experiences. My mum should be proud at all the times I maxed our her credit cards as it has prepared me for this role - the discerning shopper (for today, at least).

Members of the 'Priced' family

The coupons on Priced are based on 1-for-1 offers for products and services from well established brands. It's all about saving money and maximizing your dollar. Coupons are so popular these days that even celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and Sarah Michelle Gellar are doing it!

Little Zara by far stole the show. She's such a natural talent with the camera, making the rest of us look like amateurs. But I bet you can't beat my shopping ways little darling. Not at least until you turn 12.

xo Reem

italian job

If we get booted at group stage, I will be bitter.

"It is a lesson – you have to earn the right to win the game but we didn't do that at the beginning of the second half. Maybe we thought the game was too comfortable but at this level it never is. We need constant reminders and constant work that you have to maintain concentration and earn the right to win. You can't keep having to score two, three or even five goals just to win a game" - Brendan Rodgers
Bite the bullet, trim the fat and learn to park the bus. D-E-F-E-N-S-E!!! (me, in a cute cheerleader outfit).

xo Reem

pause button

We're over a decade into the 21st century, and the time machine is still as mythical as EL James' (read: 50 Shades) take on relationships.

The average daily experience today consists of work, family, household chores, errands and a social circuit to boot. These of which are considered as commitments/responsibilities to others. Then there's the commitment to yourself, your well being, your self development. For a girl this includes salons, spas, pedicures, gym, a good book (preferably not 50 shades) and most of all, SLEEP. For a guy this includes a round FIFA 13, a 6-pack + pizza. Just as time consuming if not more. 24 hours a day simply does not cut it.

Whinging and whining aside, on a personal level I feel that I've put my 24 hours to good use in maximizing my collective experience.

The past 7 days since my last post, in no chronological order I've - traveled to Bangkok, recorded an episode of  FO, shot with some Muay Thai experts at a gym on Jalan Alor (for FO), a trip to the salon for some much needed hair treatment, hit the gym twice, finished reading the 3rd and final book in the 50 Shades trilogy, ran 7km at the PJ Half Marathon, attended my boss's farewell dinner and swung by the launch of Marinis in KL. Not to mention celebrating Liverpool's first win of the season with a hat trick from Suarez and a goal each from Captain Numero 8 & loan transfer, Sahin. All that plus the usual daily grind from 9am-6pm at AirAsia.

What a difference a day makes - 24 little hours. How precious they are, so make the most of it. Even if it's just spending some time playing with your cat.

Sweaty & satisfied at the PJ Marathon...

...to suiting up, way up at Marini's on 57th

Cats need attention too. Meet Lola, everyone!

xo Reem

darkest before the dawn

I write that title with much optimism towards Liverpool's future despite last night's result. 5 games with no win, made even more frustrating by the fact that their overall pace and performance are evidently better than it has been all of last season... Whilst listening to the Florence & The Machine song of the same title.

Although it can be argued that referee Mark Halsey played a crucial role in United's win for those 2 undeserved fines, the Reds simply wasted too many good opportunities that could've easily won them 3 points.

Even with 10 men, they where threatening as Gerrard and Allen dominated midfield. Substituting young Suso was a good move in reshuffling the formation after Shelvey's dismissal (and for the record, it was a one-footed challenge on Evans, who should've also gotten a red in my opinion). Suarez, always resilient but often too enthusiastic, got the better of him - again. He needs to look up more when he's dribbling the ball around! And RVP, where were you before that penalty? Non existent. Barely a threat to our defense. All that plus home ground advantage, victory to the Reds was just as disillusioned as a mirage is to a weary traveler under the baking sun in the expansive desert.

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert in the technicalities of football, in fact, part of the reason for me starting the blog was to improve my understanding of the game and to be a better writer.

This article by Chris Bascombe pretty much nails it though.

Keep the faith Kops!
xo Reem

tee time

Whoever said golf was the most boring sport ever, has obviously never played mini golf!

The Bee, Publika recently hosted a mini golf competition on their usual BBQ Sunday lineup with the good people from Green Putters. I love their tag line - bringing the grass to you. In case, you know, the cows got to them before you.

I've turned out to be somewhat of a house cat lately, having lost touch with the cool and happening reality taking place outside my doorstep, because The Bee is all the buzz these days.



See what I mean. Everyone's cool and totally hip, effortlessly grasping a putter in their casual Sunday dress.

I on the other hand am neither hip or dressed appropriately. Nor do I know what to do with a putter, apparently.


To be fair I swung by from an open house.

Lucky for me, those heels tuned my center of gravity just where it should be, to put me on par for the first 3 holes!

The aim of the competition was to stay on par (Par 2 per hole, 4 holes altogether) or less in the least amount of time and you'll walk away with a digital camera. I had my eyes set on a higher purpose though - bragging rights!

I was up against 6-7 guys from Sayfol (ex-school mates) who were sooo confident I'd mess up my shots. After my 2nd par they were in awe. The first they thought was a fluke. By the 3rd par, their jaw literally dropped. How could a girl who didn't know how to hold a putter beat them?!?

Thank you heels. *waves hand in the air* "Thank you, thank you very much..."



Watch out, Michelle Wie!

The glory lasted all of 3 holes. On the 4th, I got all jittery from the pressure and scored 4 over par. I blame the course - it was impossible to get the ball through this itty bitty obstacle.



So close. My overall score was 12. No camera, no bragging rights but enough to rival the boys' score.

It was heaps fun despite my dreams of joining Ms Wie on the LPGA Tour, shattered...

Maybe I'll apply to be her life coach instead, and teach her to wear heels on the green.

xo Reem