I find it funny that Justine was offered a place in the Bollitieri Academy many, many years ago. She said no because it meant that she had to go to Florida. LOL.

Imagine if she did go.

She'd have that awful-looking forehand (Like Sharapova's, Jankovic's, Vaidisova's, etc) and her agents would've been, like, IMG.

I LOL at the prospects.

I haven't quite had the time to sit down and type about recent activities.

I guess I'll write about Justine first, since I know I'll be squealing more about House, NY and ReGenesis next week. After all, there's no more squealing-about-Justine's-amazing-matches and annoying the hell out of people by blabbering about Justine almost 24/7. At least the worst was over. I think I reached the peak of obsession around Form 2/3. LOL. OH, and last year.

So, bear with me what will probably be the last long post about Justine and how awesome she is to me, blah, blah, blah. You guys have gone through it for at least 4 years, now. Why worry? Hee.

Justine retired a World Number 1, the first to do so, and only the 4th Top 5 player to retire. She had 117 weeks at the top of the tour (Counting this week, the last week in which her name will be in the rankings), 41 titles (Which include 7 Grand Slam titles, 2 YECs and an Olympic Gold Medal) and is holding on to 2 titles this year, and still holding on to another 7 from last year.

There are people out there who think that Justine's retirement isn't worth anything. There was this person who commented on an NY Times article saying that, 'Sure, retiring when I'm 25 with about 20mil USD in my pocket's really hard, after a decade.' But I guess what people doesn't realize is how hard it is to stay at the top for such a long time. (Don't even talk about Federer. He's just... ew.) I'm sure it's even harder to retire when you're RIGHT AT THE TOP, with a 1700+ point advantage to boot. Why retire now? Why not stay on for a few Grand Slams, one last ditch at winning Wimbledon for the Grand Slam?

However, when the passion isn't there, it's gone forever. And for someone like Justine, who's been so dedicated to tennis all her life, losing the passion for the game is quite big a deal. It's like running out of gas petrol when you're driving in the middle of nowhere on your way to, say, Singapore, and there's absolutely no one around. I find it ironic, since just the day before her retirement, I had been making a banner, adding her quote,

"I've hung on to tennis. I've done so for the past 20 years. It is something that is in me. It is me."

If that's how she's looking at tennis, I don't doubt that she probably has lost some sleep over considering whether she wanted to continue her career or not.

It is admirable that someone so young, and yet so old can walk away from the trappings of fame and fortune, just for the simple pleasures of life. She certainly has learnt how to live in the past year or so.

I will, though, miss waking up in the middle of the night just to watch her play a match. I will miss seeing her slide on clay. The beauty and the fluidity and focus of her tennis. Hell, she was unique among the top players, and she sat right above all of them. I will miss her nailbiting matches, those days when someone would tell me halfway through a match, "Pfft. She's going to lose," and I could say, "You wait and see," as we watch Justine claw her way back. I will miss that oh-so-awesome backhand (No words can describe its lethal and aesthetic values), and that lethal forehand, which has been developed over the years to become on of her greatest weapons.

She was definitely a first for me. One of the first individuals I actually, properly admired as they are. And she was definitely the first person I saw grow on the tennis court. Not just age. It was her playing style. How she matured over the years, strove to overcome the barriers of her relatively-small physicality. How, as I remembered when I first saw her play, she barely had a forehand (It was this strange, bouncy thing that was just... bizarre). Her serve was more pathetic than it is now.

Over the years, we've seen her change her serve, add more variety to her game. Improve that forehand to the lethal whip we see today. The rackethead speed she produced every single shot was just amazing, putting her whole body behind that one shot. The sublime dropshots (Which are especially wonderful to see on clay) and those overheads.



Now that she's retired, there's no one to fill in the gap she's left. No one as of now who has as beautiful, technical, tactical tennis, or even as much focus she has in every single match. It's not just a big loss to tennis. I think it is also a big loss to sports in general (And I haven't even talked about Annika Sorenstam retiring yet. Damn.). As Billie Jean King had said, Justine was, pound for pound, the best athlete out there.

All I will do now is sit back, take a break from watching tennis, wait until another day comes that another girl would come along to take my breath away with such beautiful, perseverant tennis. I hope, too, that one day, the graduates of Justine's academy can bring back the beauty of tennis.

The beauty of the one-handed backhand.



But that is only hope. And every individual is unique. And Justine would be one in a million.

However, thinking of her spending time, devoting herself to new loves and new life is quite interesting. The simplicity of life, life off the fast lane, life with her family, life with friends. Going back to study and fulfill the promise she made to her mother.

9 years on tour. 7 years I've been a fan. I've enjoyed every minute of it.

All good things must come to and end, people say. Justine's career ended. But I personally think that her life just started.

Thank you, Justine, for being someone I could look up to for inspiration.



(I have this gut feeling that this post has been quite repetitive. Forgive me. It's 2.30am. Coherent thought = Not there)

Lack of coherent thought after watching the first part of the House finale.

It's just... akldjf;aoweiu;aj sa;!!!1!!11!!

And, after watching the 416 promo, there has got to be more between 13 (As much as Hadley's a nice surname, I'm still attached to 13 xD) and The Answer (Keeping dearest Min Shen spoiler-free), because, well, there are, like, two moments where she looks like she's going to cry/has cried.

I like Amber's street clothes, though. Much better than those short skirts she's worn mostly throughout the season.

And, hur hur hur. Is 13 with Cuddy? That look she gives Cuddy, and then when she says 'Sorry'. FINE. I've been reading too many fanfiction.

Argh, there's so many things happening now, and time is flying by so fast. So little time to absorb whatever's happened to me. Now I think I know a fraction of what Justine feels.

Anyways, I shall start with some stuff from 2 weeks ago or so. Eh - sorry. Last week. The April-May week.

Okay, I know many of you don't like Pn Asmahan - I personally don't mind her - but think about it - Last year, when the 4 teachers retired/left school, they had their ceremony on teachers' day. When Pn Wu retired this year, there was this uber big ceremony (With white lilies which are actually for funerals). But did you realize that Pn Asmahan didn't have a ceremony? Bet that didn't cross your mind.

Nomination's begun. It's pretty insipid/uneventful/boring/disappointing so far. The nominees are too timid right now. I think I'd be a bit depressed when I retire from the prefects. It's been such a big part of my school life, and honestly, the last 2 years have got to be the best years of my life, so far.

Justine's had a bad, bad start to the year. Nevermind the 2 titles she's won. But I don't mind. I mean, she's been on an uphill climb since 02/03 (Apart from that pithole in China labelled 'CMV' in '04 - but she still managed to get the Gold Medal in Athens) and at the end of the day, she's human. Her body's not as strong as it used to be, her asthma's getting worse, her knee's not as good as it used to be. It's all life. When I first became a fan of hers, I knew she'd be a great player. But she was more than great - she won 7 Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal, 2 Masters titles. Not a lot of people win 1 Grand Slam, let alone 7.

Exams - exams are just sucking my soul out right now. I wish there was something out there more freeing, something - nevermind. There isn't anything like that out there, so yeah.

I can't wait to have some alone time during the holidays. Being in school - people around you everyday. Going for tuition on a week day, seeing so many faces when sometimes, I don't want to see any at all.

I need a new phone. Ugh. It's so annoying when I'm trying to send a long SMS - but can't, when there's a 1 page limit on this one.

So many things to post about - but my thoughts are a jumble, so yeah...

Sometimes I wonder whether I'm suffering from depression, but there are always reassuring things that say I'm not.

And I wish I was more eloquent. *sigh*

Lasts:

Days of the Months:
- 31 Jan
- 29 Feb
- 31 March
- 30 April
- 23 May
- 30 June
- 31 July
- 30 August
- 30 September
- 31 October

School events:
- First Term Exam
- First day of school in the year
- First Perhimpunan of the year
- Sports Day

Prefects stuff:
- Marching Practice
- Prefects' Camp
- AJK meeting
- Major spotcheck

Things that are GOING to end:
- Mid Terms are our LAST internal exams. The next 20 or so exams we'll be sitting for are state/government exams.
- Being a prefect. Wow. Five years is really long, collectively 2 years of which were spent as a BOD, 1 of which was spent as an AJK. And 1 years' worth of being a prefect/probate.

We're growing too old, too quickly. It's already May.

*sigh*

Anna Belknap and Sherry Stringfield really, really, really look alike, especially with the shorter hair.

I know, I've been saying this since September.

Will post more about my past 2 weeks later. Dying in Physics now. Can't wait for the hols, and a day in college.

I was reading Television Without Pity the other day, scrolling forums.

So, yeah, there was Bionic Woman, and how Katee Sackhoff is a very cool villain, blah, blah.

And today, I go to CSI Files, and LOL. Apparently Carol Mendelson and Naren Shankar want Katee Sackhoff to come in as a character to replace Jorja Fox's Sara Sidle.

LOL. Sarah Corvus replacing Sara Sidle. Total pwnage. But I still love Sidle better. Sarah Corvus was just... twisted.

Made my day.

OH, and the Fox promo's for House 414.
(They're watching this General Hospital-esque soap opera)
Taub: There's stiffening of the tongue, could be neurological
13: It's not the tongue. It's the dialogue... ... I think I dated that nurse, though.
House: *WTF expression*

Since I'm online now, I might as well blog about ReGenesis.

After finishing House, my ReGenesis also was completed, so I finished Bio (Coronory artery! Subclavian veins!) and then watched ReGenesis.

Now that was one hell of a hard core episode. And I thought that the season 2 finale was so good that most of the later episodes paled. But... just wow. So, just because it was episode 409, the first thing that came to mind was 'Games', for some reason. Ah, well. House and its profound effects. But ReGenesis carries a lot more gravitas than House does this season. And I'm still annoyed with Danny in NY. Anyway-

Hee. When Mayko said that it was 'As cold as Edmonton' and she 'Needed a measly sweater', I figured it was those codespeak that only David  and Gang know of. True enough, they had David and Rachel think about it after that. I thought, measles! And yeah, Rachel, oh-holy-cow-hardcore-virologist-compared-to-Jill-Langston, figured Edmonston measles. I don't know what Edmonston is, I'm guessing a place, but measles - measles are bad.

So yeah, hostage situation, replicating RNA's and making different strains of viruses with their hands bound...

Oh, and I think I'm getting too used to the notion of "Main character can't die until the final episode of the entire series" - But then again, that's American TV. I mean, we've seen Flack with his stomach open and vein leaking, and Mac always escaping some ridiculous blowup scenario, and House - well, House can't die, or the show can't be called House anymore.

SO ANYWAYS, the last we see of Rachel is throwing some acidic mix to the guy's face. *sigh* She said she's shot guns thousands of times, she was the most hardcore of the group, she got to the frickin' gun before the captor did. Then we hear a ring of 3 shots.

And I thought that was Rachel shooting.

But in the end, there she was. On the floor in the conference room. Wrapped in that biohazard bag. Blood pooled around her head. Now, this scene is a lot more painful, because even if Caroline was one of my favourite characters, she got killed off, which was bad enough. They didn't show her blown up bits of body, though.

Now, the shot of Rachel's body was a serious "WTF." moment. (Makes it 2 in 2 days. I "WTF"ed when Amber opened her mouth when House stepped in Wilson's office)

Then SUDDENLY, we get a shot of David waking up in his bed. Now that seriously made me go "What the f-?! Oh, thank God, it was a dream", and sure enough, there was Rachel in his bed. Then he was whining about having nightmares, and they talk. He asks where Wes is, and she says Sweden, then she says, "And I died in the lab"

WHAT?!


WHAT?!


I mean, I didn't quite like Rachel in Season 3, but that's because I didn't watch much of that. But Season 4, oh Season 4 has so much Mayko and Rachel it makes me happy. And Wendy Crewson is good. Really good. How many times was Rachel on the brink of tears, nearly teetering over the edge of breaking down, but never did, even with a gun pointed at her chest.

The last... 4? 5? episodes of ReGenesis (I can't remember whether there's 12 or 13 in a standard Canadian show season. Season 2 had 13 eps, season 3 had 12, I think) won't be as cool without Rachel around.

But then again, maybe it was all a bad, fucked up dream. Gotta wait 'til Monday.

--------------------------

The Facts behind the Fiction

Edit: Rewatched the promo. Thaaaaat's it. They killed Rachel. David's already sleeping with the virologist he plans to hire. *sigh* Like Mayko said, he mixes work and personal life until everyone gets messed up, too. 

Oh, joy, it's May. *Is dying*

OTOH, new House! Amber really has GOT to GO. LIKE SERIOUSLY. I KNOW KATIE JACOBS LOVES HER. BUT SERIOUSLY. I TOTALLY DESPISE THE WAY ANNE DUDEK MAKES AMBER TALK. And all those YUK! scenes with Wilson. Ugh.

Old team + New team dynamics are really nice to watch. Although, of course, Chase enquiring Cameron whether she slept with House was really, very undiscreet of him. I mean, dude, you're in front of a bunch of House's current hires, they barely know you. Let Cameron tell you in private.

The whole Wilson/Amber arc is starting to bore me. Mainly because I'm not that much of a Wilson fan. And I miss the drama/ethical issues on House. Who has custody over Wilson at what time is NOT an ethical issue. But Cuddy making House and Amber clean that old geezer is classic.

And as I told Min Shen before I watched the ep, I get very annoyed with overly nice people - people who randomly come up to you and hug you. But after what the POTW's wife said, "You don't like the person - because they remind you of who you aren't", it's kinda true. People do get envious over people who are just so nice.

The whole neurosyphillis thing was a mess, but it did provide nice scenes among the teams. Yay. Performance review? Totally weird. Like when 13 went into the room and Foreman was being all wannabe-House-like, sitting in House's chair, and asked her to sit down and listen to his review of her.

And House pushing the chair to sit closer to 13. Hee. Her Kar Mun expression is nearly there. And all the voting. Strange.

Oh, and Taub's little speech on how you cheating on your spouse then finding out that your spouse was cheating on you sucked, was quite eloquent. Peter Jacobson is good at those kind of scenes.

Not to steal Kutner's thunder or anything, but I found him a bit strange this episode. Hm.

MAY be on hiatus 'til the exam's over.

I say MAY because I MAY want to rant about a *CERTAIN* person skipping school. Certain person being this CERTAIN person who slopped lipbalm on her face instead of face cream.

But then again, I do want to overwork my fingers' mitochondrion over Ms Pout. There's a lot of writing to do.

TO-DO LIST:

- Buy G1 refills for my pens (2 blues, 1 black)
- Buy school testpad
- Finish that pile of add maths homework
- Finish the other pile of Mod Maths homework
- Kill myself in Physics
- Finish History notes
- Update Bio notebook
- Laugh at things that aren't funny.
- Find out the nearest soap factory in the area for class trip in July
- Give Dhiv both last week's and this week's Laporan Tugas-es
- Continue scolding Li Za for thinking that, just because she's Secretary, means she can skip school.

Huh. Life.