Frank Lampard has been ruled out of England's Euro 2008 qualifier against Andorra tonight.

It is believed the damage was done after the 29-year-old got in the way of a Wayne Rooney shot during training.

My gosh, they really are their own worst enemies.

Lunch with someone I met for the first time during ZoukOut '06 but haven't seen since went bizarrely well. Both he and I were commiserating over how we're both sick of Singapore, and how he'd been coping by getting out of the country every other weekend.

He invited me along on a couple of trips - to Redang over the Easter weekend to go scuba diving, and to Australia during the winter to snowboard - both of which I declined on account of not doing either activity.

Then, I began bitching about how I can't do anything much until after my CFA Level II exam is over, and so, he asks the natural question, "when is it over?"

"June 3rd," I reply.

"All right," he says, taking out his PDA. "You are coming away with me on the weekend of June 15th."

Taken aback by his infectious enthusiasm, I agreed.

And then he proceeded to seal the deal by well, diarising it, as we say in the corporate world.

And so, it would appear, I am going away for a weekend in June with arguably one of the nicest and sweetest guys I have met in a long long time.

Just like that.

You know who I really envy? The people who've gone through quite a fair bit in life, and yet, manage to get over the pain and anger, and continue to move on, still full of hope and optimism.

I've gone through so much less, but I think I've let it affect me more than it should have.

I purchased the Best of New York '07 by New York Magazine from Borders yesterday for S$11. I'm not going to New York anytime soon (although my summer vacation plans are still up in the air as it's a tussle between San Francisco/New York and London/Ibiza at the moment) but it seemed a small price to remind myself of the dream I've had for my entire adult life: that I really want to live there one day.

I used to want to do that before I turned 30, but with that milestone coming in about 3.5 years, I'm not sure if that's a realistic goal to aim for anymore.

And while my preferences have changed over the years, and with those, my goals, the one goal that has remained constant has always been New York.

I just wish I knew what to do to get there.

Two fish are in a tank.

One says to the other "I'll man the guns, you drive."

Ba-dum-TISH!

I went through a shotgun marriage earlier this week.

My company gave me a Blackberry.

The Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra performance on Saturday night was fantastic. I don't think I've ever been to a concert at the Esplanade where the crowd was so enthusiastic from the get-go. From the moment the band started up till they played the final song of the night, the audience in the stalls were standing up throughout and jumping/dancing the night away. As for me, stuck up in the front row of Circle 2, all I could do was dance in my chair while crazily waving the lightstick all audience members were given upon entry.

I hadn't heard of the 10-men band prior to the Mosaic Music Festival and certainly didn't expect them to have that huge a following in Singapore. And yet, this turned out to the most awesome performance I'd ever been to, at least in the history of all the Mosaic performances I've been to.

Every member of the band was very... Japanese. From the way they danced to the way they moved when they played their instruments to the way they spoke and sang. "Good evening, Singapore, tonight we exchange energy. You give us good energy and we give you big energy back!" the lead singer said by way of introduction. It was just so Engrish, it made me giggle. Hee!

Was the exchange of energy good? It was very good indeed. I'd been drinking right before the performance and, in fact, had been fairly inebriated right before the show, but all the dancing and the moving sobered me right up. Playing a mixture of big band, jazz, soft rock and of course, ska, the TSPO never failed to keep people entertained. Every moment, something would be happening. Either the lead singer would be hoarsely shouting his way through a song, or the saxophonist would be indulging in some crazy dancing, and so on and so forth.

I'm really glad I took a chance on this band. I'd never left a concert feeling so energised yet exhausted before.

I've been getting a few calls since I sent my details out to recruitment firms in Hong Kong, which is good, because, obviously, my CV is grabbing attention. The only thing is... whenever I talk to them, I feel so damn guilty, as if I'm betraying my boss and my company by entertaining the thought of leaving.

I have said that if I can make something happen faster for myself, then that's better for me, but still... I've been given what my company has promised to give me so far (as opposed to given me everything I've asked for which is a whole different ballgame) and I realise leaving will put them in a more difficult position, but still... if I can get to Hong Kong this year as opposed to next, or whenever the powers that be see fit to approve my request, then shouldn't I choose that path?

Man, I'm half hoping that an opportunity from a company not like my current employer comes through even though it isn't the most desirable of employers... just so in the event of my resignation, I would be moving to a non-competitor!

Man, Facebook is incredibly addictive. It's pretty user-friendly and it's really easy looking for people you're connected to in some way or another. Already, I've come across friends from university who I've lost touched with, while at the same time, stumbling across people I was never quite certain I actually wanted to stay in contact with.

My brother is on the site as well, and we spent one night sitting next to each other on two different PCs, trying to see if we could find our relatives on the site, and then poke them (equivalent to an MSN Messenger 'nudge'). For one night only, our cousins got the combined onslaught of my bruv and me.

At first I thought you were one of the more interesting people I’d met in recent memory.

Now, I see that you’re just an egotistical man who doesn’t give a crap about anything or anyone else. I realize I’m being a little harsh on this front (after all, you did say you care about my workaholic tendencies), but really, what did you expect given your behaviour? You don’t have any patience at all with regard to anything I say.

That’s funny… you're the only one with this problem. You really are.

We’re not interested in the same things, you say, as if that’s a legitimate explanation for why you don’t want to speak to me. However, we’re still friends, according to you.

And then, whenever I do ask about something I know you’re interested in, apparently, I need to substantiate my question. Not my answer, mind you, but the reason I’m asking the damn question. Being interested in your so-called ‘expert’ opinion isn’t a good enough answer for you. Like I have to be a damn expert in what I’m talking about before you’ll even deign to talk to me.

You say the only thing I talk about is work. Well, no f***ing wonder if I can’t talk about anything else in your presence. At least I’m trying. No, scratch that. At least I tried.

Everyone else says you’re a nice guy. The only conclusion I can come to is either everyone else is blind, or you reserve your worst side for me, saving up all your vitriol and sarcasm for use whenever I have the misfortune to be around. That must be it. Occam’s razor.

I used to like talking to you too, although I could never meet your eyes, as you’d noticed. It always felt as if you could see right through me. Now, I feel as if that film over my eyes has been stripped away. I can see clearly now, and I can definitely see through you.

There’s no room anywhere in the world for me and your ego.

Thank you so much for showing that to me. I feel as if I can finally move on from a friendship not worth saving.

I don’t know what I ever saw in you in the first place, but it definitely wasn’t the real you.

I went swimming yesterday, for the first time in a long, long time. It seems as if I go swimming once every two to three years ago, which obviously says a lot about my fitness level, swimming-wise or any other wise, come to think of it.

Anyway, there I was swimming in the centre lane of an Olympic-sized pool, doing the freestyle, which is the best of all the strokes I know, and halfway through the first length, I realise that my arms are really tired, I'm not getting enough oxygen, and damn it, I don't think I can get across to the end.

Yes, the very first length I swam.

I stopped three times, each time treading water, and just thinking, I can't tread water forever, it's just going to make me even more tired. I felt myself starting to panic and frantically thought through options, trying my best to keep from resorting to the embarrassing option of sinking to the bottom of the pool and having a lifeguard rescue me. I was just about past the 75% mark to utter and complete panic before I remembered, "hey, I can do the backstroke too!" and did just that to the other side.

After that, I mosey'd off to the side lanes and continued swimming, once I'd got my breath back, and recovered from the fear I felt at being stuck in the middle of the pool with almost no energy left. I even managed to feel a little pride at how I managed not to panic. I swam a further seven lengths after that, but man, did I feel out of shape. I can't ever imagine trying for an Ironman.

Happiness is putting on Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancing and busting out some of the craziest, silliest dance moves ever (like the evergreen English classic of "big fish, little fish, cardboard box") when your just-woken-up brother is staring at you, trying to figure out if he's really truly awake.

If I ever had a chance to DJ at a Mambo/retro night, this song would definitely be on top of my list of songs to drop. Was there ever a more exuberant dance song ever made?

My heart is a little achy at the moment because, of course, while I was in Hong Kong, I had to see he who is currently the great unrequited of 2007. ("TGU07" for short). It's been more than two months, and it sucks feeling as if I haven't quite managed to move on, while he's clearly been having the time of his life.

And because I feel I've been rejected for reasons which aren't entirely fair, I just feel like yelling at him. I don't know if he has any idea I still feel the way I do, and I've been expending some energy trying to ensure I don't go and spoil it all by doing something stupid like telling him that even though I think he's an insufferable bastard of a jerk, that for some stupid reason, I still like him.

It's just really annoying that moving on doesn't seem to become any easier with practice.

For the record, yes, I write about a fair number of guys here... if by a fair number, you mean more than say, three a year. I write about those who I've met who I think are cute and those who I fall really hard for. While there are a couple who fall into the first category, there are precious few that fall into the second. Unfortunately, TGU07 falls into the latter. Those don't come along very often, and given my abysmal track record with them, I don't know whether to be grateful, or to just cry.

And on an unrelated note, this comic really grabs me today. I guess it's because I'm so damn emo these days.

I missed feeling my building shake earlier today. Apparently while the rest of my team felt it, I didn't feel a thing. I guess I'm such a stable person that it takes a lot to rattle my equilibrium.

In other news, because the Channel News Asia site was down, we logged on to The Straits Times to find out more about what was causing the tremors. To my surprise, it had quite possibly the best description on what was going on (see italicised sentence):

A SLIGHT tremor was felt in Singapore on Tuesday. Tall buildings in Singapore’s business district swayed slightly, witnesses said. The tremor was also felt in other parts of the island. A spokesman for Singapore’s Civil Defence said his office was aware of the tremor but had no idea what had caused it. -- REUTERS

Every time I go to Hong Kong, I re-fall in like with the city.

Then the moment I get back to Singapore, I'm reminded of everything that I dislike about the place: the sheer human density of HK, the lack of nice big clubs and good house music, tiny apartments and clean air.

Still, I've renewed my efforts to look for that elusive overseas posting. My original plan was to wait until the end of this year and quit if nothing definite was offered, but after talking to a couple of people in my industry, and having them react in shock at how poorly I'm being paid (even though I think I'm doing pretty okay), I guess working over there wouldn't be very much different to working here. The hours would be similarly long, and the savings at the end of the day would probably be equal, but the main thing I realise is that I meet a lot more interesting people over there. True, there may be the foreign and hence, new element to all of them, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to survive over there now, in spite of my lack of Cantonese and Mandarin speaking ability.