had it with losing...

They say that breaking a habit is no an easy thing to do; once you're used to it, it's hard to stop it. In physics it's momentum, once you get on a roll, it's hard to stop. When it comes to the J-League it's Urawa; and it's all for the wrong reasons too. As the weeks go by, so do the lost count for the season. I think we're up to about 7 losses in a row now, but really who's counting? Actually I am. Did you know that if we drew all the matches we have loss the past 7 games, we'd still be sitting third on th table, instead of 9th, which were we're currently sitting at.Our most recent defeat was away to Vissel Kobe, losing 3-2. It shows that our attack is improving, but our defence still has plenty of room for improvements. Haraguchi and Umesaki had good games and continued to be the "bright spot" for the team. Next up we have a week off where hopefully we can regather ourselves again; before our game against Yamagata @ Saitama 2002 on the 13Sept09.

a collection of jersey...

Well I was finishing my unpacking tonight and began to put away some of my cloths. One of the things that I put away was my Sydney FC jersey; I noticed just how many jerseys I have, quiet a few actually. There are Urawa Red jerseys, Brisbane Broncos jerseys, FC Barcelona jerseys amongst others. Actually I added an extra jersey from my recent NZ trip, a Canterbury Rugby Union jersey.I don't really know what it is, but I think I have somewhat of a fascination when it comes to team jerseys. They are mainly the team jerseys of the team that I follow (or have followed at one stage or another), but there are also others that I have just because. Below is the list of my jersey collection.

2009 Urawa Red Diamonds Home (#7 Umesaki)
2008 Urawa Red Diamonds Home (#7 Takahara)
2007 Urawa Red Diamonds ACL
2009 Urawa Red Diamonds Goalkeepers
2007 FC Barcelona Home
2009/10 FC Barcelona Home (#11 Bojan)
2008/09 Sydney FC Home
2008 Brisbane Broncos Home
2002 Brisbane Broncos Away
2002 Collingwood Magpies Home
2007 Australian Rugby Union World Cup
2003 Japan Rugby Union World Cup
2009 Canterbury Rugby Union (Air NZ Cup)
2000 Phoenix Coyotes Home
2002 Stanford Cardinal Basketball Home
2003/04 Orlando Magic Home (#1 McGrady)
2003/04 Houston Rockets Home (#11 Yao)

I think that's it. Pretty extensive; it covers a variety of sports from various corners of the earth.

bloody nor-westerlies...

Well I'm back from my week away in the "snow"; but it wasn't really a week of snow. I think I spent more time looking at the sights of Christchurch and it's surrounding area then up at Mt Hutt; that was not the plan. Out of the 5 days I had planned to "snow it" we only managed to have 2 days at the snow plus 2 runs. There was snow, plenty of snow. I think from memory there was a snow base of around 160cm, so there was no problems there. The weather alone was also gorgeous, blue skies galore! The only problem was the wind! Now a small bit of wind is alright, the ski lift can handle up to 70km/h, but the "2 run day", they had recorded gusts of up to 170km/h; let me tell you that ain't fun! The days we didn't head up to Mt Hutt because the road was closed, they reported to have wind gusts of over 200km/hAll in all though, the two days that I did manage to "snow it", it was amazing! The snow quality is definitely, in my opinion anyways, better then Thredbo and Perisher. Actually, from my limited experience of snowfields, overall I'd prefer NZ snowfields over those of Oz. I'd like to head up to the snowfields of Japan, Canada, USA and of cause Europe, but yeah as for the snowfields in the southern hemisphere NZ is for me. I might blog more about my NZ09 trip in due time and when I get the photos from Ci's camera. I only manage to snap 19 photos in the one week span; where as Ci's camera took 600 photos. Mind you we did use Ci's camera a majority of the time.

On other news, namely Urawa news, there's nothing new. We lost last weekends game 2-1 to Hiroshima. So our losing streak continues, but looking at the positive. Again I'll update more on Urawa at a later date. We do have a game tonight against Vissel Kobe. All I can do is hope for a win and believe it! Go Reds Go!

we're almost there...

Have you ever had the anticipation so much so that you couldn't sleep? Well this happens most of the time when I travel. For me I think it's more of a fear of not waking up in time and finding out that "you've missed your flight". This morning it's more so that I've awoken early rather then not being able to sleep. My destination this time around Christchurch, New Zealand.Last night had dinner in the city. In terms of food and service; it was very average and that's me being lenient. Sorry W; I know you chose the place, but there was no Chinese people dining at a Chinese restaurant, you know it can't be good. Anyways I had dinner with Ci, W & the umm... "friend" W is always in the city with. Was a good night, got the chance to meet W's friend. She seems nice & my first impressions are good. But I kind of feel sorry for W; straight from his own mouth, "you know when you think that you can't get any worse... you always seem to find a new low for me".

That's what friends are for?

why do I bother sometimes...

You guessed it. Another game, another lost. That's how many lost now in a row, I think I've already lost count. The total scoreline during this period has been something ridiculous like 1-13. It's quiet frustrating actually. I know it shouldn't really bother me, but it does; I've become somewhat attached to them and when they lose I feel it.The latest lost came at home against Kashiwa. The final scoreline 1-4. So at least this week we did manage to score one goal, but then again that means nothing when we let in four goals. The only good thing that I see come out of the game is Tsukasa Umesaki (picture) is getting more game time. He came on at half time and was pretty impressive considering it's only his second game back. A combination of Umesaki, Haraguchi and Yamada (Naoki) in the midfield would be quiet impressive; I'll get into that some other time though.

I wont sulk anymore because I got one more day (or in my case night) of work left before I jet off to Christchurch and a week of snowboarding. I'm excited!!!

snow-ward-bound...

Snow-ward-bound. I'm not to sure if that's a ward or not; but it makes sense to me. It describes me actually. Next week I'll be heading across the "ditch" for a week of snow snow snow. I so can't wait; I've been waiting this entire snow season for my turn and now that it's near the end of the southern season, my time is almost here. There were several times during the past few months were I've been tempted to head down south to the snowy mountains for a "quick" trip, but for various reasons I have held out. But now it's Christchurch here I come!

Mount Hutt

a modern amusement...

You know there is a time in a man's life when you have to "ummm... go to the city to visit a friend". Now this may have various connotations and meanings for different peoples, but for me, and a few others, when we hear this only one person comes to mind, one very special person at that. We have heard him say this now famous line various times in the past month or so and we know what it means. Mate you don't have to beat around the bush, we know. When we look back years from now, he'd probably have a few good laughs about it, because I know I have a good laugh about it now. It's not because of what he's doing, it's what everyone goes through at least once in their life, but more because it's him. Only a few would understand what I mean. Love you man; very happy for you!On a different note, some might know this already, but I have somewhat of an obsession with Modern Amusement tees. I love wearing t-shirts along with a nice pair of jeans. Previously I've been given the moniker "a knight in jeans, t-shirt & havaianas". Now days I don't wear havaianas as much as I did before, but I still love my Modern Amusement T-shirts. To the extent that I think at the moment I have at least 15 Modern Amusement tees and one of my highlights (of many highlights) of visiting Japan has got to be going to the Modern Amusement stores. Sad I know, but it's true. Anyways, the reason I say this is that David Jones just got the new season Modern Amusement tees. I thought at one stage they weren't going to get the new season stock. I was happy because I know I wont be spending my money, sad because I wont be able to purchase Modern Amusement easily and happy because it would give me a reason to go to Japan ( not that I'd need another reason to go). But it wasn't meant to be. All I can say is self-control, need to save money.

on the bright side...

Sorry Nat, this is going to be another "Urawa" blog.

With that out of the way; all I can say is another week, another heartache, caused by another lost. That makes it over a month now without a win, and from what remember we haven't scored any goals either during this rough period either. Gamba won 1-0, thanks to a 89th minute goal by Bando, which was largely due to an error by Tsuboi. The only good news from this match was Umesaki's return from injury. He came on as an 83rd minute substitute. Can't expect too much from Umesaki for the time being though, he's been out of football for almost a year. The good thing was seeing coach Finke putting him on whilst the game was still in the balance.

Up next we got Kashiwa @ Saitama Stadium 2002 on Wednesday. Come on boys, I really want that winning feeling back. GO REDS GO!

this is my looong weekend...

There's no public holidays or any special occasion, there really isn't a reason for it except that, in my opinion at least, I deserve it! So what is it that I deserve? A weekend, but not just any weekend, no my friends, these are the special weekends, they are what we call a long weekend.

To be honest with you, I'm pretty sure that I had one of these long weekends 2 weeks ago, but I don't really care! Working in hospitality, I tend to work most weekends, and hardly if ever get the "allocated" long weekends that everyone else gets. So I'm happy that this weekend is my loooong weekend.[rant] Another reason why I'm happy I get this weekend off is that certain co-workers whinge and complain that they don't get weekends off & haven't received a weekend off in three months blah blah blah. All I can say is SUCK IT. I know I have my stretch as well having no weekends off, and you know what yes it does suck, but it's the industry we work in. Also I don't request soo many RDO days. [/rant]

and we're back...

I've been fairly silent about Urawa this past week, but silent no more. The J-League is back after a weekend off & we're facing the might of Gamba Osaka. Lets hope we can break this winless streak this weekend with a good win. Not going to be easy playing away though, but who knows, it could be what we need. It's been a while since we've had that winning feeling. Here's to having that feeling this weekend. GO REDS GO!

Expo '70 Stadium

all I do is sleep...

At times I do feel like I'm in hibernation, because on some days all I do is just sleep! Like for instance yesterday, I woke up at around midday, then by 16:00 I was already asleep again. Well I did have to work the overnight shift at work, but still, it does seem that I have wasted the day by sleeping.I do wish I had somewhat of a regular sleeping pattern, but working in hospitality, that really isn't a possibility. Some days you work mornings, then some you work in the afternoon and other times you work the overnight. There wont be any regular sleeping pattern for a while. Perfect example is right now. It's only 11am in the morning & I'm getting ready for bed. Why? Because I have to work tonight; doing the good ol' graveyard shift, so basically my life is flipped in to darkness, literally.

Have to make the most of what I have.

doing because of seeing...

The various European football seasons are starting again this time of year, so there is a fresh sense of anticipation in the air. As you all might be aware my loyalties when it comes to European football is with FC Barcelona, so there will be sporadic updates of there progress here (don't worry it wont be anything like my Urawa weekly updates).But when it comes to English football, I don't really have a team that I support. I've always wanted to support a team in the lower leagues, but I haven't been able to "connect" with a team as yet. Some of the teams that I've liked includes Southend United, Cheltenham, Leyton Orient, Nottingham Forest, Coventry City, Reading, Charlton Athletic; that's just to name a few.

Why do I have this need? I don't know, well you can read on my previous blog; I have a need to support.

Ci said something to me, which should be something I stick with. When I told her how Bayern Munich went in their first game of the Bundesliga, her response really made me Wow. She said she only had time to follow one team, and that team was Kawasaki Frontale. Here I am trying to follow a team in every League in the world, but the realisation I had is that if you follow so many teams, how can you truly follow all of them.

As I have said in a previous blog; I'm hoping not to add anymore list on the team I follow. Heck, I've barely kept track of how the Broncos are doing; actually I kind of know that they aren't performing too well this season. During the past year or two, I've been leaning towards following football (soccer) more then rugby league, mainly because it has a more "international" feel.

Oh there is one team that I might add to the list of teams I support; that team is Sydney FC. Why? Because they are my local A-League team and because of FIFA09; that last part would only make sense to one person!

something to do with nothing...

I really can't think straight lately. Seems I'm easily distracted. Either that I'm off in my own little world & not quiet aware of what's happening around me. So what has been my escape? Well for the past 6 days it has been work. Sad but true; it's something that keeps me in the now, cause when I'm not in the now I start to think about the future and the past and that's where all the trouble seems to be.Why is it trouble when I think about the past and the future? Well because I can't control it; and you know what that scares me. I think up to know I can "bluff" my way through. That's what I did, pretend I know what I'm doing. It seems to have got me this far; but now, with the next stage of my life, I don't want to bluff my way through and now I'm starting to ask questions, "can I do it?" " do I have what it takes?"

What I saw myself doing in 5 years time 5 years ago (so 10 years time 5 years ago), is totally different to what I see myself doing in 5 years time now.

All I can do is live in the now, making the most of what's in my hands.

breaking the habit

Once you develop a habit, it's not that easy to break and the effect that these habits have on the people around you could be devastating. Yes these habits can lead on to addictions or in some instances are already addictions. For the ones trying to break the habit, it sometimes feels like it's a lonely battle. Everyone around you goes on with their life not knowing the battles you have with in.But you see, a habit isn't always a bad thing. There are good habits; like eating healthy, going to the gym etc; but a habit is usually associated with something bad and negative. So what's harder; breaking an old habit or developing a new habit? It seems that a bad habit is easier to develop and harder to break and a good habit is harder to develop and easier to break. Why is that? [/rant]

what about me...

So how's life going for you? For me it feels like it's a continual crossroad. Actually the more I think of it, I've been standing at this crossroad and haven't really strayed away from there. There are the choices in front of me; one day I would take a few steps in one direction, then take a few steps back to where I once was. I would give myself a "feel" of what that would be like, but to be honest it isn't really a feel of what it will be like, more like what I think. My mind would begin to conjure up ideas and play upon them. Actually I don't really think I take those steps in a direction; it's more like I look down the path and imagine what the outcome could be like.Why do I do that? Why don't I just step out there and go for it? Take that actual first step and follow through. What am I waiting for? What is it that I am afraid of? I know the next step that I need to take; all these other thoughts conjured up is just a distraction from what it is I know. [/rant]

four weeks of losses...

It's beginning to frustrate me and really getting under my skin. Ci has noticed it too. Why am I letting the outcomes of football games bring me down. Usually, if a team I'm following isn't going all that good, I tend to stop following them until they start winning again or find a new team. But for one reason or another I can't this time around. I can't just turn my back on them like multitudes of other teams I have in the past. Learning the lesson of commitment, commitment to one, through the highs and the lows, good times and bad times. But it should effect the rest of my life should it?

Anyways, as it has been for the last three games, I am here to report that yet again we have lost another game. Our forth loss in a row. Again we were also unable to score a goal. It seems like to be the same story again and again, week in week out. Don't know what it is, probably on of those bad patches. I think the picture below explains it all.Well the J1 has a week off next weekend for the JOMO All-Stars game; where the stars of the J-League are pitted against the stars of the K-League. Should be an interesting one. So the next time Urawa plays a game will be on Saturday 15Aug09, where we play Gamba Osaka. They don't get any easier for us.

state of affairs...

So am I staying or am I going? Actually the question is really what do I want to do? At the moment it feels that there are many options of what I can do next; I do want to do it all and I want to do it at the same time. But of cause I can't do it all at the same time because of time constraints, financial constraints and I can't be at two places at the same time.

Well I think in hindsight I will do all that I set out to do, but I really need to take it a step at a time, not try to accomplish it all in a single hit. I know it's not going to work that way. So whatever the next step is, I just need to take that step, not the next 10 steps in one giant leap, because I know I will fall short. One step at a time.

On another state of affairs, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has finally put pen to paper on his move to FC Barcelona from Inter Milan. This also means that Samuel Etoo is moving in the opposite direction. I have never been a big fan of Etoo, so I wasn't to upset in seeing him leave. One thing though, Barca has spent a lot of money bringing in Ibrahimovic, so I'm hoping that he doesn't disappoint. The option I would have preferred would have been David Villa; Valencia was only after what we paid for Ibra, minus Etoo. But I don't think it would have been a good thing still having Etoo around, so deal with Inter was a sure fire way that he was on the way out. Besides Ibra's ability is beginning to grow on me. (See below)Finally, Urawa has been disappointing of late, lets hope this time tomorrow I can report more encouraging news. It would be a good chance to close the gap on Kashima who lost 1-0 today to Hiroshima. Kashima hasn't been playing to well of late as well; if we were able to pick up wins the last few weeks, we would have closed the gap, but it wasn't meant to be. A win tomorrow would bring the gap back to 7 points.

Come on boys, lets go for the W!