Whoo, the promos are finally over, and the standard has certainly gotten a whole whole lot tougher than the CTs, especially Friday's chem which was just a mental blow.

Oh wells, I'm glad it's all over, and I'm glad that this time, I did not suffer from any insomnia or extreme stress which plagued me badly for CTs. That extreme stress was due to the fact that I just didn't study enough and couldn't get everything into the brain by the night before the exam, and that leads on to insomnia with one half of you knowing that doing well for any paper requires a focused and relaxed mind which has had enough sleep, and the other half knowing that there's no excuse for not being able to answer a question cause the notes weren't thoroughly read through. At least with the Sept. holidays and the 3-day study break getting the knowledge into the brain was fine, although as usual the greater difficulties were application and time management, which I still struggled with. So, yeah, while it's a sure bet that the promos will be a lot worse than the CTs, at least I think I have progressed in my mental state of health for exams, and really the next step is balancing speed and lack of carelessness. Oh, and I am starting to embrace and fear less of the challenge that is economics. Heh.

I guess the salvation I felt after promos ended wasn't as great as that after CTs, but it isn't in any way unexpected. After all, the great relieving feeling we have is the release of pressure, long built-up pressure, and really this time there wasn't as much pressure I suppose, for me at least. This is typical Mourinho, but seriously, pressure is what's happening in Myanmar right now.

I think the country is one that seldom comes to mind when dictatorship and Communism is mentioned, and the recent protests really just go to show how much we have overlooked it in place of North Korea and Cuba...etc. And while there was (still is?) the nuclear weapons factor in North Korea, there wasn't any for Myanmar and yet, there is no doubt of sympathy from people all around the world, including me. It's been mentioned in the papers, the role the media has played in (I won't say exaggerating but) increasing the awareness of the struggle that the Burmese have been facing. And really, at the end of all this the same feeling is in me, that of how fortunate I am to be in Singapore. We felt mere tremors when the 8.5 (or higher?) earthquake hit the region, we have police who we can rely on, a government as well, and the element of bribery, offering 'tips' when going to hospitals, schools, etc. to get (not better) but normal treatment. In no way is the last point criticising the American tradition of giving tips at restaurants and to taxi drivers, it is referring to the state of affairs in some countries around the region.

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The next few days will be great sleep and great enjoyment. It's a champions league week, although what would have been better if it's not Arsenal being marginalized yet again. Looking at the way united are playing now, there is no doubt that Arsenal are (and have been) playing the most visually attractive form of football for quite some time now. Yes, the team is finally putting a good run together and getting good wins at home instead of always having to wait for late goals. But, the results are one thing, and yes, ona penultimate weekend, of course it is the title race that has to be focused on. For now really, there is no reason why their matches should not be broadcasted. Arsenal may not be the first choice of the majority of Asians, but second choice? They have to be. And apparently, all the talk by pundits and commentators about how Arsenal is the team to watch can't have any influence on broadcasters. It's appalling really. The week before last, was a champions league week too. Arsenal played Sevilla, the same day that United went to Sporting Lisbon and Barcelona hosted Lyon. And sure enough, because ESPNSTAR can only broadcast 2 matches, Arsenal were left out, despite many pundits saying that it is the "match of the matchweek". Sure enough, Barcelona impressed against Lyon and yes, I do like the way Barca play with or without Henry there. But, Manchester's match in Lisbon was as boring as matches could get. Non-english stadium, poor atmosphere, and poor football. Yes, United fans must have been screaming in delight when Ronaldo got a miserable header goal to scrap a win, and they say it is 'the form of champions' to eke out victories, but surely it is Arsenal fans like me who are simply purring over the ease in which the team outplayed Sevilla. And unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy it LIVE.

Don't think this marginalization is only in Asia. In the UK too, apparently Man U and Liverpool have a bigger fan base, and so SKY SPORT's top commentary pairing are ALWAYS sent to their matches. Arsenal-Sevilla would have saved them a few air tickets as it is a home match in London where they operate, but no, they had to send Andy Gray and Martin Tyler to Lisbon to make sure the United fans don't get too bored with over-exaggerations of saves and shots. It's like so obvious-the last match they commentated on Arsenal in the champions league was during the 2006 run to the final in Paris. The year in which they were the only English club to get past the first knockout stage.

Certainly, this issue of fan base and democracy is intriguing. All I hope is that Arsenal's fan base will build up and up - which is has been. Arsenal's tickets are the highest of any Premier League club and yet they are still able to fill the Emirates for every single match. It's just laughable when you see Chelsea's stadium so empty for a champions league match against the lousiest team in the competition, a clear sign that their fans doubt the team's ability to run riot over them (which they won't be able to do now that The Special One is gone).

So yes I will continue to voice my frustrations over this but at the end of the day it's just a show of how democracy impedes the purity of the game. The Beautiful Game, as what these very people call it themselves.
Nevertheless, it's still enjoyable to be an Arsenal fan and while it lasts, the view from the top over Chelsea , whose 55M frontline of Drogba and Shevchenko (who can't score a goal against a rubbish Fulham team) can pay for all our transfer dealings since the start of the millennium, and of course Man United, the team who suddenly decided beautiful football is what they want. Speaking of which, Shevchenko is really looking like a real-life example of the liability that I faced over PW. Forced to play by the Boss, gives the ball away so easily, lags in reacting to corners, hated by his teammates, only compatible with one club, and is the most (and only?) unsuccessful of the 3 Ukrainian players in England. The only difference is, Shevchenko managed to make Mourinho leave Chelsea, I do not have that option.