To all TPA members, home is no more. Although TPY safra has been demolished, the bonds and memories forged will forever remain.Part 1 of a 3 part series.
Excerpts from Shark Hexun's blog, the most naturally gifted player in TPA history. It is a pretty long text, but it really does bring back what the TPA was about.
(i) - Secrets of Pool revealed
Pool is a gangster's game, a common misconception which is more or less true, haha. I thought so too actually. But if you watch real competitions on tv, westerners wearing vests and tight pants looking really serious, you will change your perception on pool. So how did pool start for the 5 of us? Wei Zhou, Kenneth, Teck Siang, Yuan Hong and me? It all started at sabrina's house. At that time, we were all still nerds, it was only me, kenneth and shi xiong then. And at that time, shi xiong was a hero to us, a hero we all looked up upon. We were all noobier than noobs can be. Few trips to her house later, i figured that i wasn't a pool player, this is not my thing, so i stopped. A while later, they invited wei zhou to play and this was where wei zhou started to love the game, his father was a pro but he never had interest in it. In the months that followed, wei zhou was in a pool frenzy, the seed of pool was planted in his heart and the roots have taken hold, paralysing it...forcing him to PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY!!! So he was crazy and his skills escalated as he took courses, had a coach and constantly played, he invited several people to safra where they started to go to play. One fine friday afternoon, teck siang asked me if i knew how to play pool. As i thought i had much more experience although i was a nooby noob then, i said i knew and i could even play better than him. So he and everyone else went to safra. That was my first time, and my last time, of my noob career. Teck siang thrashed me like he could never have thrashed me before. I was throwing a tantrum then, haha, i was pissed, dumbfounded, and pissed. The cocky me thought that teck siang was a new fry to fry, so i underestimated him.....So i continued to believe that i was not a pooler.
Many months later, in june 2005, my family went out to have lunch. My father then took up his handphone and called someone, he then told me he'll be going to some warehouse to look at foosball tables. When we went there, i saw a lousy pool table but still it was a pool table!!! So i begged my father to buy it. In the end, he bought one foosball table and one pool table. This was the beginning of my unnooby career. For days and days and weeks and weeks i trained myself at the table, lousy, yet it built my basics. In the middle of the summer of july, i decided to move on to my No1 target, Lee Teck Siang..a.k.a Teck Tea Siang. I challenged him, to one game of pure pool. That day, several people went, and i played. While we were travelling on the bus to safra, because murali was taking the same bus home, i stressed to him the importance of me winning teck siang that afternoon, i said that if i didn't win, that month of training at my home proved worthless and futile, then i would still end up the worthless lousy nooby player that i once was.
The game started and me and teck siang were neck to neck, pocketing balls after balls, there was definitely improvement in my game. Alas!!!! Teck Siang was down to his last ball, the black 8, and he missed. I had 3 striped balls and one 8 to hit in. I was stressed. Very stressed. first hit, pot, second hit, pot. third ball was sticking to the cushion, small roll, pot, and with ease, 8 ball, pot. I was happy.
I HAD FINALLY WON TECK TEA SIANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, he smiled at me, the usual dirty smile, but by the looks of his defeated face, he was depressed. Word travelled fast, i had evolved from noob to not noob, a miraculous evolution. Teck Siang was pretty sour about it, ok maybe not that sour, but he definitely wasn't that happy was he? So Wei Zhou invited both of us to his house to play. So, it wasn't nothing really, i only beat teck siang 6-0, so that wasn't much...haha....sorry teck siang. I promised him i wouldn't tell everyone the following day, but when i got to school, everyone asked me whether it was true in disbelief, hey ah teck, you told them yourself! HAha.
So that was how we began, and as the days went by, the ranking was: 1-wei zhou 2-kenneth 3-me 4-teck. We began to go more frequently, and the numbers lessened to the 4 of us, plus yuan hong. Teck was wei zhou's disciple, he had a huge advantage and he went to safra more than me. I learnt and trained myself and my table sucked. So that was how we were, although we were still quite amateurish.
As the months went by, i slipped in to the great depression, I felt i wasn't a good player, teck siang beat me game after game and proved that he was stronger in terms of his skills. To tell you the truth, no one knows who is better. People say he is accurate, he makes good shots, people say i have a great stance, accurate, make good pots...hhaa, isn't that all the same? But i'm an emotional pool player, emotions affect my game. When i'm in a good mood, i'll play relatively well, if i am not, i'll just get thrashed round after round. One thing I admire teck siang for is how relaxed and cool he is. HE IS EMOTIONLESS!! But he psyches alot!! He'll just have to make girly noises and give a dirty look on his face...that's enough to make me miss...Back to the depression days, I couldn't believe it but i accepted the fact as i kept losing. I realised that i was too rushed, too nervous, and too eager, when i am losing, i can't keep my cool and that spoils that game, and the game after the next, and the game after the next, in fact, it spoils every game for the day. I changed, i started to cut down on saying shit after missing balls, i started to praise opponents, laugh more, joke more, encourage more and be more quiet. But under such hostile environments when i sometimes feel left out, i can't help it. Wei zhou's always siding and giving tips to teck, and kenneth can be quite sarcastic at times, haha, which demoralises me and i feel alone many times. But teck can keep his cool quite well except on times when i'm on a run and teck goes crazy... In these few weeks, i proved to teck siang again i was the better player, always beating him, because of the improved way i played the game, but because i didn't want much competition among us, i told him that i'd settle for equal...But actually, i always seem lousier, i never keep my form when i play with people looking at me, i feel that they expect something good, something i can't deliver when i'm pressured to.
So, enough of boasting about myself, i ain't that good, the fact is, i am amazed the 5 of us 14/15 year olds can attain such a great skill of this game...really, i think we're pretty good for 14/15 year olds. No one has ever expected us to be good before, besides wei zhou, everyone knows he's good. Although, there are still alot of 14/15 year olds in this school or outside better than us, but that's the minority of singapore, and we belong to that minority of average 14/15 year old pool players in singapore. But many of them aren't good people to mix with, people who just play pool for the friends they make. That's why people always get the misconception that pool is a gangster's game, but for the 5 of us, we are the absolute opposite, haha. We're quite decent actually, although the other 4 do splurt vulgarities, haha, but we aren't bad, if not how do we get to e1 and e2? The thing that keeps us together is our spirit and our togetherness. For example when we play tag with strangers. It's really hard to keep your cool when you play with strangers, especially tag games, on top of feeling the pressure to win, you feel the pressure to make good shots so as not to cause the team to fail, and you will feel bad if you make bad shots. But our team has worked pretty well thru the months. The first thing kenneth says after he misses a shot is, '' Sorry hexun, sorry.'' Haha, that explains the pressure. But the trick is to boost the morale of your team mate, make him know that you don't mind him missing shots, and when he feels that, you enter his heart and you assure him, he knows that now you're with him 100%. When you're playing tag, your friend is somewhat like your enemy, i mean, in the sense of missing shots, you are afraid your friend blames you. So, make him know that you're rooting him 100% and he will do it. That was how we did it, and because the other team from another school couldn't do it, they lost 3-0 to me kenneth and yuan hong. Sometimes, one just feels proud of what he is today, honestly, we aren't bad for kiddies. Like last time at my friends house, there was a snooker table there. An old man challenged me to a game of pool on that table. I was so scared i wanted to pee in my pants for 1 hour. On top of that, there was a group of foreign teens watching us, on top of that there was a bunch of 6-7 year old kids, where one of the boys was boasting to his friends how well he could play and criticizing how i played, seriously, i felt pissed he was criticizing me, he kept snorting at every stroke i made and laughed at me. I told him i was sorry for being such a lousy player. Until i did a masse for him, wei zhou taught me this, the ball curled...that shut them up..haha. So, back to the game and by the look at his stance, i knew this wasn't an amateur, he was good. I didn't lose my cool, i just played how i usually played, in high moods actually..and also because my church friend was by my side. So in the end, i lost, he hit the black ball first...it was a close game. And luckily for him he won, could you imagine how embarrased i would feel if i was 70+ and i lose to a 14 year old? Haha, but nevertheless, i congratulated him and told him it was a good game, he just nodded and walked off.
So, pool isn't about the atmosphere, how it is always filled with undesireable characters, it is about the adrenaline rush, about the feeling of people behind you eyeing your every stroke, your movement, your execution. It's the sense of achievement. But to some people, it's a chance to get back or show people who's the boss to people they don't like. Sometimes, you don't really like a person and by peaceful ways, like playing pool, he steps back and respects you, and in some cases, it works for me, haha.
So this is my pool, not the cursing, not the fights, not the bad sportsmanship, not the gangsters, not the undesireable characters, but the sport, the adrenaline rush, the game.
(ii) - The Importance of the Wizard and the Battle of the Gangs
So i was quite in a dilemma at the cross roads, my old gang imran, ray, latif, avinesh and murali was standing on one end. And my academy was standing at the other side, wei zhou, kenneth and teck siang.. And poor me was in the middle, and i was in a huge dilemma, to play pool or my old passion? And both gangs were pressing me for an answer, if i joined soccer, wei zhou would be hugely disappointed because he's pretty interested in me lately, but if i joined wei zhou my old gang would feel very downcast for some reason, because i left them for pool... So i decided to play soccer and i promised wei zhou i would meet him in Safra afterward.. We left each other's hands in tears, and Wei Zhou couldn't bear to walk away, but i could..
So, we toured around toa payoh finding a place to eat, and my mind was wandering towards wei zhou... We finally got to the street soccer court, it wasn't very fun today as my heels were killing me, and it was really hot.... After a few short games, i changed to my uniform and took a cab to safra to see my beloved. There, Aaron called me while i was on my way in, and he told me i had a nice friendster profile, and that he would challenge me one day.. I felt pretty afraid and intimidated, how many people out there thought the same way as he did? Any way, the only showing off line was '' Every week we go to safra to hone our already great skills.'' hahaha, its all a joke, although its partially true, but i wonder how many people out there want a piece of my head..so i put on my really really nice E-journalism shirt over my uniform, (Its M-sized, borrowed from Faizal [faezah] ) Then they almost burst out in joy and relief and happiness when they saw me enter the battle arena. So, i played many games, it seemed that everyone wanted a piece of my head, everyone wanted to battle me today, but i played exceptionally well today, although wei zhou was busy psyching me with his voodoo rituals, i still managed to win him for a few games but i know i shouldn't be too proud because Wei Zhou wouldn't play100% with us, i've seen him in action against strangers and he's a powerhouse... Wei Zhou's playing style is the joking and play play type, then when we gain confidence and lessen our balls, he'll just come up and kick our puny butts.. So i played well today, drawing with the veteran player Kenneth... At three, i decided to leave and take a bus to school for the annual awards ceremony.
(iii)- Tight Fit
And after school the kind teck siang waited for my 163 as he made me miss my previous 163, so we talked about pool and how i'll avenge them by challenging the SA boys next time.. It seems that the SA boys have gained confidence after luckily beating us a few times and teck told me last thursday they walked up and challenged teck and wei zhou.. so brave!! Its usually us that do that! So Wei Zhou, being Wei Zhou cleared the table easily and left the boys dumbfounded, i wonder if they'll be brave enough to challenge us next time...
(iv) - The Tainted world of Man
And before we end,
A Tribute to the late, Joey Tian Wei Zhou, founder of Tian's acedamy, person of great knowledge, person of incredible pool skills, the person responsible of breaking one of safra's pool cues, the person responsible for our enjoyment, while we sat back.. watching his trickshot videos.. doubting his skills, doubting the genuineness, he put in a lot of hard work into the videos.. for what? For your enjoyment! So doubt his skills no more, do not doubt his authenticity or i shall smite ye with me staff, and me sword, and me cue, for he hath the skills you hath not. For he is my master and my chalk...He is the one, the one who led me to this path, where i constantly see my wallet empty.. We remember, Tian Wei Zhou, and although he isn't here with us today, Tian's acedamy will go on, Me, teck siang, kenneth will lead the noobs..
13/04/06.. Tian Wei Zhou wasn't with us today, but we will continue.. although we'll all see him next monday, but we will all remember this day, 13/04/06, the day, we lost our master..
(v) - The world's ending and the Wizard's scarring
So, me, my master ( wei zhou), kenneth and teck siang took a cab to penisula. When we arrived, we saw a S.E.X and the city store there, and the 5 of us were like standing outside the store, frozen, we were staring at it, not me, but they were guessing what was inside that store, boys would be boys.... So we searched the whole penisula plaza and i spent 9 dollars on pool cue tips.
Next, we took a cab to safra. There, we didn't have any tables, and we played snooker first. When we finally got a free table, it was snatched away from us by the same st andrews boys we beat earlier this week. Then, me and teck siang couldn't stand it anymore, we went forward, riding our dark steeds with speed, and we confronted them, we challenged them, but they stood strong, and they fended us off and they told us, our doom will come not at this time, but at a later period. Disappointed and rejected, we rode back to our castle snooker. I kept telling teck siang how scared they were, they were hum ji bangs, to people like kenneth, he would say hum ji, but i said hum ji bang, which is some biscuit in mandarin. I wasn't satisfied at all. To our enormous surprise, those noble knights kept true their words, knights of honour, they rode bravely to our castle snooker and they boldly invited us to battle at their grounds.
Me and kenneth followed them to their castle table four pool. That was where the fierce battle started, we were ambushed by 7 other knights. We fought well in the first match, but a fatal mistake by me and i accidentaly potted the black. We lost round one of sparring. Round two was coming up, they had the confidence, it was home against away, and they had support, we were a lonely evil force. They cleared their balls and we had four left. They only had one black. It was my turn, i potted one, stunned the shot, then potted the next one, a screw, then i potted the last of my balls. It was time for the black, and i told them the final destination of the black, and i hit it, it rolled, slowly, slowly, and boom, it droped in to the desired pocket. We won, i redeemed myself.
(vi) - The end of my days
Today's wasn't satisfactory pooling for me, i haven't been performing up to my standards, emotions are affecting my game, kenneth is affecting my game, teck siang is affecting my game. EMOTIONS... too much of it, too competitive, to much hatred, too much jealousy, too much anger.. But at least wei zhou told me something that i wouldn't stay here... and i think, its time for the return of my pool table to my hall again, its time to practise..
(vii) - The world's ending
So after school, i just told the yh kenneth and teck siang i was in a pooling mood because i watched the mosconi cup yesterday night and i've got the feel. When we went today, yuan hong beat my surprisingly 3 times in snooker. This was his day. Then kenneth proceeded to challenge some students from st andrews sec, a tag team game. I played horribly, that's why we lost. I knew although kenneth didn't say so, he blamed me for it. Then kenneth decided to tag with teck siang instead, and he said i wasn't on form today. But i told him i needed to redeem myself after showing everyone how nooby i was. But it was only appropriate for kenneth to decline tagging me and tag teck siang instead. I was definitely unhappy of being left on the bench, on the sidelines. But it turned out teck siang suffered the same fate as me and he played horribly as well, thankfully, they won, but just by luck. I decided to set a game for myself and asked them for a last game, this time, i decided to tag yuan hong. Yuan hong is a good player, but he doesn't seem to play seriously, he laughs all the time. But because of this wrong perception, that he isn't a good player, you feel pissed when he beats you, because he is quite a good player. This time, with an element of good playing alongside me, we played very very well, and i told yuan hong he was playing great today. He almost got the last ball in but it unluckily hit the jaw of the mid-pocket and missed, but it was great effort. They missed a couple more and it was my turn this time. The eight ball was right down the bottom half of the table. And my cue-ball was at the top half of the table. The eight ball was in the middle, and near the cushions. For this kind of shots, people like kenneth, teck siang and yh would surely try to double it. but i tried to go for the cut. I positioned myself and feathered a few times, then positioned my cue to the left side of the cue ball to create a left spin, then, the final draw back of my cue and i struck the cueball, it spun leftwards and so thinly sliced the eightball, sending it rolling sweetly into the bottom left pocket. WIOWWWIWWW, ok we won.
(vii)- General Elections
Today is General Elections day, George yeo must win, because my mum told me we are analogous, we are thinkers=))) So, elections day is really cool, politics is really cool, and i'm gonna be a candidate one day, vote for me.. So lately i haven't been doing much except studying and playing pool. The more stress we get, the more we wanna play pool. For example, last week i wanted to quit pool so much that i wanted to quit pool, i promised not to go this week, but i ended up playing after every paper. So last Friday was the Pure Geography examination day, it was relatively easy, compared to the previous papers, although they weren't that hard either, but they still weren't that easy... but i don't think i'm gonna nail the A1, although, A1 for all humans is a must, i didn't put in much effort for that paper.. After the paper, me and Teck siang followed the e2 pure geog girls to have lunch at the lousy coffee shop where we've eaten everything almost 1000 times... So Teck Siang was there busy critisizing everyone and i was there minding my own business quietly until he had to blue toot everyone my bee song.. That bee song was recorded by me at the safra toilet when teck siang taught me that kiddie song.. I attempted my gayest tone at that time and only he, wei zhou and kenneth had possesion of it.. now, teck see ang had to SEND IT TO EVERYONE THERE!!! And they were laughing at my sick gay voice over their loudspeakers...That was quite embarrassing.. I thank You Teck Siang... So our good master called us and he told us to rally to him, at his castle at serangoon, so we obediantly listened.. After we reached, we immediately engaged in battle after battle and we displayed all our sublime cueing and superb shotmaking skills.. So, i was the sole survivor and teck died a miserable death, my honorable master promoted me to the level of 2.5, the highest among all TPA members.. So, me and Teck Siang got a sneak preview of the impending completion of TWOT 6.. TWOT 6 will be great.. trust TPA, we only produce quality pool.. For the past few days, i have been focusing more on pool than on my studies, every 30mins, i'll run down to clear the table at least once, and my dad would keep nagging at me for playing pool all the time.. And lately the San Miguel Asian 9 Ball Tour is airing on tv and its incredibly exciting.. Francisco Bustamante v.s Efren Reyes! It was a great match.. I've improved my pooling style lately at home but i find it difficult to display it in Safra, its a different feel.. but i'm determined to kill off Lee Teck See Ang once and for all, although we're forever in equilibrium.. This should be my last post before the exams die off.. and i must nail my A1s this time... goodbye.
(vii) - The hustler's temptation
I'm a hustler, wei zhou calls me that. So lately teck siang went crazy and scolded Master Tian.. Teck, having violated law number 12a of the TPA: Disrespect to the coach/instructer, received an indefinite suspension from Master Tian. Teck was pissed and he quit TPA. I was largely influenced by Teck and was in a dilemma.. To quit pool totally or not? I, being ranked 2.5, am the best player yet in TPA, surpassing veteran Kenneth. And wei zhou has been so good to me, should i renounce my citizenship? Yesterday night i decided to take a 2 month leave away from my stressful job of hustling gullible youths. Then today, Wei zhou showed me so much love, always emphasizing on the fact that i'm ranked 2.5 and i'm the best student, he wanted me to go home to play, (home, being 3rd home, wei zhou's home) But i had already taken leave and for the first time i felt so carefree.. In the end, i gave a straight NO. But wei zhou, being a great actor, gave me a face of pure disappointedness.. being a sympathetic person, i could not forsake my Master, i followed, and teck followed too. There, wei zhou suddenly became hostile and i wasn't playing well against kenneth, my heart sank to the stage of depression, i told wei zhou i quit, and i formed my own Lee's Pool Academy, Teck Siang immediately joined, both of the political parties engaged in raging battles, and we were doing very well, Lee's Pool Academy has been placed on the map, we've made a name for ourselves, seeing how well our party was doing, darren decided to join our party. Then all of a sudden again, i regretted quitting TPA, but it was too late. So smart me devised a two way plan, i organised the Word Pool Finals against Wei Zhou, the loser's academy was to cease function and disband, then, all of its members was to join the other academy. What a smart plan! A win-win situation. Look! if i lost, i would be back in TPA! If i won, better yet! It'll be LPA!
Of course, i lost the race to 3 expectedly, and i was glad to resume my position as 2.5. Then, Wei Zhou brought me to a corner and told me that what i did earlier on hurt him, that i was his favourite student, i was touched to tears and i promised never to forsake my master again, not until i become a master at least.. But what i said still stands, i will take a 2 month leave and after my exams, i shall not go to safra, but instead i'll follow xuan xuan to Changi to buy chocolates...
(viii) - I'm a nice hustler
Basically what a hustler does is to misrepresent one's ability in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling, in our case pool, we've seen the ability of Wei Zhou, he hustled some guy for ten bucks, even my bro's somewhat hustled, someone challenged him for 20 bucks a game and he won 3 games, he didn't keep the money of course, his friend took it. Let's face it, how can Lee Hexun be a true hustler? How can i gamble? Tian Wei Zhou, i was born one but i cannot be one, i cannot gamble.
I congratulate Kenneth for making his first professional hustle today. Kenneth was hungry at safra today, as so he reports, he wanted to buy the special maggie mee, but was short of 30cents, he glanced over at table 11, where 3 guys and 2 girls were playing. He walked over, he told a guy that they (Wei Zhou and Teck Siang) wouldn't let him play for he was too noobish. So the guy agreed to one game, kenneth told him to punch first, but he refused for he was too lazy but he suggested that he let kenenth play for free. So kenneth said it wasn't fair, then kenneth suggested 10 cents for each remaining ball and the guy agreed. According to kenneth's mind blowing 8000 page report, the guy was a noob and kenneth cleared the table easily in 3 turns! He left him with 5 balls. But the guy didn't have 50 cents, so he gave kenneth 30 cents. Mission Accomplished! Kenneth got 30cents for his maggie mee! Good job Kenneth.
Then another report came from Wei Zhou, he lost terribly in a money game, Wei Zhou profusely apologised to me for his poor display today, tarnishing TPA's record. He stated his reasons.
1. Exccesive use of mental trickery by opponent
2. Being sick
3. Physical fatigue ( 4 hours of playing )
" I apologise for the shame brought unto TPA due to my loss." Master Tian
That was my day, if only 2.5 was there to being TPA further glory, you guys will see at the School's Pool Tournament.. oh no, we doubt we'll win, but we'll put up a good fight..
(ix) - The Houses of Healing
I did nothing much for the rest of the day until my family went out for a pot luck at my church friend's house. So, knowing that i was keen about pool, my friend heng yi's father booked the snooker room just for us, then, i informed Wei Zhou about my impending pool tournament. Omigosh, is it really a big matter? Wei Zhou called me four times that night to confirm me and to ensure i do TPA proud, i mean, what do you expect Master Tian? I'm ranked 2.5!!! And Teck Siang also expressed concern and wished me luck... this wasn't what i quite expected, must every match be a MUST WIN match? I'm on a two month leave!!! Two months vacation!!! Yes well, when i got into the snooker room, i didn't play well, i didn't score 100 points as i thought i would, i was focusing on getting the points, not snookering heng yi or my brother, they weren't that good. The best i managed was a 50, while my friend and my brother were like in the negative section of the scoreboard. But still, i'll state my reason as i should:
1. No cuetip, the table was 900 years old, the cues were rotten and all the tips came off, except the one i was using, but i was busy masseing till the tip came off =(
2. Excessive use of deep mind trickery by the user, too much backfires..
3. Bent cue, my cue wasn't exactly straight, i had to aim left to get a stun shot.
4. Colour blindedness, the balls were not easily distinguishable
5. Lack of interest in opponents, they only seemed interested in seeing me trying to get my 100 points, while they were stuck at negatives.
So that was my interesting day..
(x) - A tribute to Ashworth
So at Safra, it was full house today, and i wasn't playing pretty well. Then, Desmond, the ex-beattyian brought his ite friends over, and he took over my table for his said they weren't staying long. I asked him if he wanted to play with me, he said he didn't have money, so i went back to master tian. There, i kept telling wei zhou that i wanted to hustle them, but they were a big group, 4 girls, 2 boys, and one tank top dressed ''muscular'' desmond. I was a little intimidated, actually, i only wanted to challenge desmond. Then wei zhou and kenneth kept telling me to go over, but i was a little afraid. Then, with my ultra high frequency tone that only dogs and desmonds could hear, desmond ran over, i begged him for a game or two, but he rejected me flat. Wei Zhou kept telling me to challenge his friends, for he hated nooby guys who teach girls pool, so he kept forcing me to go, but i couldn't find that courage, for desmond already rejected me and i feel quite embarrased to challenge his friends. Then kenneth and wei zhou decided to go and play with them, and lose tragically on purpose, this was to give them confidence, so i could solo with them next, and thrash them, but sadly, as we were about to carry out our plan, they left.
So today, while being off form, i played straight pool with wei zhou, won him, and got an unexpected promotion to the level of shark, at lvl 3, i was surprised. Kenneth seemed to be a pro, in fact, he's the veteran, but how come a youngster like me can be promoted so fast? Maybe i'm really good but i don't actually realise, while teck is ranked 2 and kenneth at 2.1. So, it was a satisfactory safra visit, i don't really regret breaking my 2 months leave promise, but this shall be my 2nd last before the hols...Happy after exams to all you guys with fat wallets in your butts!!
(i) - Secrets of Pool revealed
Pool is a gangster's game, a common misconception which is more or less true, haha. I thought so too actually. But if you watch real competitions on tv, westerners wearing vests and tight pants looking really serious, you will change your perception on pool. So how did pool start for the 5 of us? Wei Zhou, Kenneth, Teck Siang, Yuan Hong and me? It all started at sabrina's house. At that time, we were all still nerds, it was only me, kenneth and shi xiong then. And at that time, shi xiong was a hero to us, a hero we all looked up upon. We were all noobier than noobs can be. Few trips to her house later, i figured that i wasn't a pool player, this is not my thing, so i stopped. A while later, they invited wei zhou to play and this was where wei zhou started to love the game, his father was a pro but he never had interest in it. In the months that followed, wei zhou was in a pool frenzy, the seed of pool was planted in his heart and the roots have taken hold, paralysing it...forcing him to PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY!!! So he was crazy and his skills escalated as he took courses, had a coach and constantly played, he invited several people to safra where they started to go to play. One fine friday afternoon, teck siang asked me if i knew how to play pool. As i thought i had much more experience although i was a nooby noob then, i said i knew and i could even play better than him. So he and everyone else went to safra. That was my first time, and my last time, of my noob career. Teck siang thrashed me like he could never have thrashed me before. I was throwing a tantrum then, haha, i was pissed, dumbfounded, and pissed. The cocky me thought that teck siang was a new fry to fry, so i underestimated him.....So i continued to believe that i was not a pooler.
Many months later, in june 2005, my family went out to have lunch. My father then took up his handphone and called someone, he then told me he'll be going to some warehouse to look at foosball tables. When we went there, i saw a lousy pool table but still it was a pool table!!! So i begged my father to buy it. In the end, he bought one foosball table and one pool table. This was the beginning of my unnooby career. For days and days and weeks and weeks i trained myself at the table, lousy, yet it built my basics. In the middle of the summer of july, i decided to move on to my No1 target, Lee Teck Siang..a.k.a Teck Tea Siang. I challenged him, to one game of pure pool. That day, several people went, and i played. While we were travelling on the bus to safra, because murali was taking the same bus home, i stressed to him the importance of me winning teck siang that afternoon, i said that if i didn't win, that month of training at my home proved worthless and futile, then i would still end up the worthless lousy nooby player that i once was.
The game started and me and teck siang were neck to neck, pocketing balls after balls, there was definitely improvement in my game. Alas!!!! Teck Siang was down to his last ball, the black 8, and he missed. I had 3 striped balls and one 8 to hit in. I was stressed. Very stressed. first hit, pot, second hit, pot. third ball was sticking to the cushion, small roll, pot, and with ease, 8 ball, pot. I was happy.
I HAD FINALLY WON TECK TEA SIANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, he smiled at me, the usual dirty smile, but by the looks of his defeated face, he was depressed. Word travelled fast, i had evolved from noob to not noob, a miraculous evolution. Teck Siang was pretty sour about it, ok maybe not that sour, but he definitely wasn't that happy was he? So Wei Zhou invited both of us to his house to play. So, it wasn't nothing really, i only beat teck siang 6-0, so that wasn't much...haha....sorry teck siang. I promised him i wouldn't tell everyone the following day, but when i got to school, everyone asked me whether it was true in disbelief, hey ah teck, you told them yourself! HAha.
So that was how we began, and as the days went by, the ranking was: 1-wei zhou 2-kenneth 3-me 4-teck. We began to go more frequently, and the numbers lessened to the 4 of us, plus yuan hong. Teck was wei zhou's disciple, he had a huge advantage and he went to safra more than me. I learnt and trained myself and my table sucked. So that was how we were, although we were still quite amateurish.
As the months went by, i slipped in to the great depression, I felt i wasn't a good player, teck siang beat me game after game and proved that he was stronger in terms of his skills. To tell you the truth, no one knows who is better. People say he is accurate, he makes good shots, people say i have a great stance, accurate, make good pots...hhaa, isn't that all the same? But i'm an emotional pool player, emotions affect my game. When i'm in a good mood, i'll play relatively well, if i am not, i'll just get thrashed round after round. One thing I admire teck siang for is how relaxed and cool he is. HE IS EMOTIONLESS!! But he psyches alot!! He'll just have to make girly noises and give a dirty look on his face...that's enough to make me miss...Back to the depression days, I couldn't believe it but i accepted the fact as i kept losing. I realised that i was too rushed, too nervous, and too eager, when i am losing, i can't keep my cool and that spoils that game, and the game after the next, and the game after the next, in fact, it spoils every game for the day. I changed, i started to cut down on saying shit after missing balls, i started to praise opponents, laugh more, joke more, encourage more and be more quiet. But under such hostile environments when i sometimes feel left out, i can't help it. Wei zhou's always siding and giving tips to teck, and kenneth can be quite sarcastic at times, haha, which demoralises me and i feel alone many times. But teck can keep his cool quite well except on times when i'm on a run and teck goes crazy... In these few weeks, i proved to teck siang again i was the better player, always beating him, because of the improved way i played the game, but because i didn't want much competition among us, i told him that i'd settle for equal...But actually, i always seem lousier, i never keep my form when i play with people looking at me, i feel that they expect something good, something i can't deliver when i'm pressured to.
So, enough of boasting about myself, i ain't that good, the fact is, i am amazed the 5 of us 14/15 year olds can attain such a great skill of this game...really, i think we're pretty good for 14/15 year olds. No one has ever expected us to be good before, besides wei zhou, everyone knows he's good. Although, there are still alot of 14/15 year olds in this school or outside better than us, but that's the minority of singapore, and we belong to that minority of average 14/15 year old pool players in singapore. But many of them aren't good people to mix with, people who just play pool for the friends they make. That's why people always get the misconception that pool is a gangster's game, but for the 5 of us, we are the absolute opposite, haha. We're quite decent actually, although the other 4 do splurt vulgarities, haha, but we aren't bad, if not how do we get to e1 and e2? The thing that keeps us together is our spirit and our togetherness. For example when we play tag with strangers. It's really hard to keep your cool when you play with strangers, especially tag games, on top of feeling the pressure to win, you feel the pressure to make good shots so as not to cause the team to fail, and you will feel bad if you make bad shots. But our team has worked pretty well thru the months. The first thing kenneth says after he misses a shot is, '' Sorry hexun, sorry.'' Haha, that explains the pressure. But the trick is to boost the morale of your team mate, make him know that you don't mind him missing shots, and when he feels that, you enter his heart and you assure him, he knows that now you're with him 100%. When you're playing tag, your friend is somewhat like your enemy, i mean, in the sense of missing shots, you are afraid your friend blames you. So, make him know that you're rooting him 100% and he will do it. That was how we did it, and because the other team from another school couldn't do it, they lost 3-0 to me kenneth and yuan hong. Sometimes, one just feels proud of what he is today, honestly, we aren't bad for kiddies. Like last time at my friends house, there was a snooker table there. An old man challenged me to a game of pool on that table. I was so scared i wanted to pee in my pants for 1 hour. On top of that, there was a group of foreign teens watching us, on top of that there was a bunch of 6-7 year old kids, where one of the boys was boasting to his friends how well he could play and criticizing how i played, seriously, i felt pissed he was criticizing me, he kept snorting at every stroke i made and laughed at me. I told him i was sorry for being such a lousy player. Until i did a masse for him, wei zhou taught me this, the ball curled...that shut them up..haha. So, back to the game and by the look at his stance, i knew this wasn't an amateur, he was good. I didn't lose my cool, i just played how i usually played, in high moods actually..and also because my church friend was by my side. So in the end, i lost, he hit the black ball first...it was a close game. And luckily for him he won, could you imagine how embarrased i would feel if i was 70+ and i lose to a 14 year old? Haha, but nevertheless, i congratulated him and told him it was a good game, he just nodded and walked off.
So, pool isn't about the atmosphere, how it is always filled with undesireable characters, it is about the adrenaline rush, about the feeling of people behind you eyeing your every stroke, your movement, your execution. It's the sense of achievement. But to some people, it's a chance to get back or show people who's the boss to people they don't like. Sometimes, you don't really like a person and by peaceful ways, like playing pool, he steps back and respects you, and in some cases, it works for me, haha.
So this is my pool, not the cursing, not the fights, not the bad sportsmanship, not the gangsters, not the undesireable characters, but the sport, the adrenaline rush, the game.
(ii) - The Importance of the Wizard and the Battle of the Gangs
So i was quite in a dilemma at the cross roads, my old gang imran, ray, latif, avinesh and murali was standing on one end. And my academy was standing at the other side, wei zhou, kenneth and teck siang.. And poor me was in the middle, and i was in a huge dilemma, to play pool or my old passion? And both gangs were pressing me for an answer, if i joined soccer, wei zhou would be hugely disappointed because he's pretty interested in me lately, but if i joined wei zhou my old gang would feel very downcast for some reason, because i left them for pool... So i decided to play soccer and i promised wei zhou i would meet him in Safra afterward.. We left each other's hands in tears, and Wei Zhou couldn't bear to walk away, but i could..
So, we toured around toa payoh finding a place to eat, and my mind was wandering towards wei zhou... We finally got to the street soccer court, it wasn't very fun today as my heels were killing me, and it was really hot.... After a few short games, i changed to my uniform and took a cab to safra to see my beloved. There, Aaron called me while i was on my way in, and he told me i had a nice friendster profile, and that he would challenge me one day.. I felt pretty afraid and intimidated, how many people out there thought the same way as he did? Any way, the only showing off line was '' Every week we go to safra to hone our already great skills.'' hahaha, its all a joke, although its partially true, but i wonder how many people out there want a piece of my head..so i put on my really really nice E-journalism shirt over my uniform, (Its M-sized, borrowed from Faizal [faezah] ) Then they almost burst out in joy and relief and happiness when they saw me enter the battle arena. So, i played many games, it seemed that everyone wanted a piece of my head, everyone wanted to battle me today, but i played exceptionally well today, although wei zhou was busy psyching me with his voodoo rituals, i still managed to win him for a few games but i know i shouldn't be too proud because Wei Zhou wouldn't play100% with us, i've seen him in action against strangers and he's a powerhouse... Wei Zhou's playing style is the joking and play play type, then when we gain confidence and lessen our balls, he'll just come up and kick our puny butts.. So i played well today, drawing with the veteran player Kenneth... At three, i decided to leave and take a bus to school for the annual awards ceremony.
(iii)- Tight Fit
And after school the kind teck siang waited for my 163 as he made me miss my previous 163, so we talked about pool and how i'll avenge them by challenging the SA boys next time.. It seems that the SA boys have gained confidence after luckily beating us a few times and teck told me last thursday they walked up and challenged teck and wei zhou.. so brave!! Its usually us that do that! So Wei Zhou, being Wei Zhou cleared the table easily and left the boys dumbfounded, i wonder if they'll be brave enough to challenge us next time...
(iv) - The Tainted world of Man
And before we end,
A Tribute to the late, Joey Tian Wei Zhou, founder of Tian's acedamy, person of great knowledge, person of incredible pool skills, the person responsible of breaking one of safra's pool cues, the person responsible for our enjoyment, while we sat back.. watching his trickshot videos.. doubting his skills, doubting the genuineness, he put in a lot of hard work into the videos.. for what? For your enjoyment! So doubt his skills no more, do not doubt his authenticity or i shall smite ye with me staff, and me sword, and me cue, for he hath the skills you hath not. For he is my master and my chalk...He is the one, the one who led me to this path, where i constantly see my wallet empty.. We remember, Tian Wei Zhou, and although he isn't here with us today, Tian's acedamy will go on, Me, teck siang, kenneth will lead the noobs..
13/04/06.. Tian Wei Zhou wasn't with us today, but we will continue.. although we'll all see him next monday, but we will all remember this day, 13/04/06, the day, we lost our master..
(v) - The world's ending and the Wizard's scarring
So, me, my master ( wei zhou), kenneth and teck siang took a cab to penisula. When we arrived, we saw a S.E.X and the city store there, and the 5 of us were like standing outside the store, frozen, we were staring at it, not me, but they were guessing what was inside that store, boys would be boys.... So we searched the whole penisula plaza and i spent 9 dollars on pool cue tips.
Next, we took a cab to safra. There, we didn't have any tables, and we played snooker first. When we finally got a free table, it was snatched away from us by the same st andrews boys we beat earlier this week. Then, me and teck siang couldn't stand it anymore, we went forward, riding our dark steeds with speed, and we confronted them, we challenged them, but they stood strong, and they fended us off and they told us, our doom will come not at this time, but at a later period. Disappointed and rejected, we rode back to our castle snooker. I kept telling teck siang how scared they were, they were hum ji bangs, to people like kenneth, he would say hum ji, but i said hum ji bang, which is some biscuit in mandarin. I wasn't satisfied at all. To our enormous surprise, those noble knights kept true their words, knights of honour, they rode bravely to our castle snooker and they boldly invited us to battle at their grounds.
Me and kenneth followed them to their castle table four pool. That was where the fierce battle started, we were ambushed by 7 other knights. We fought well in the first match, but a fatal mistake by me and i accidentaly potted the black. We lost round one of sparring. Round two was coming up, they had the confidence, it was home against away, and they had support, we were a lonely evil force. They cleared their balls and we had four left. They only had one black. It was my turn, i potted one, stunned the shot, then potted the next one, a screw, then i potted the last of my balls. It was time for the black, and i told them the final destination of the black, and i hit it, it rolled, slowly, slowly, and boom, it droped in to the desired pocket. We won, i redeemed myself.
(vi) - The end of my days
Today's wasn't satisfactory pooling for me, i haven't been performing up to my standards, emotions are affecting my game, kenneth is affecting my game, teck siang is affecting my game. EMOTIONS... too much of it, too competitive, to much hatred, too much jealousy, too much anger.. But at least wei zhou told me something that i wouldn't stay here... and i think, its time for the return of my pool table to my hall again, its time to practise..
(vii) - The world's ending
So after school, i just told the yh kenneth and teck siang i was in a pooling mood because i watched the mosconi cup yesterday night and i've got the feel. When we went today, yuan hong beat my surprisingly 3 times in snooker. This was his day. Then kenneth proceeded to challenge some students from st andrews sec, a tag team game. I played horribly, that's why we lost. I knew although kenneth didn't say so, he blamed me for it. Then kenneth decided to tag with teck siang instead, and he said i wasn't on form today. But i told him i needed to redeem myself after showing everyone how nooby i was. But it was only appropriate for kenneth to decline tagging me and tag teck siang instead. I was definitely unhappy of being left on the bench, on the sidelines. But it turned out teck siang suffered the same fate as me and he played horribly as well, thankfully, they won, but just by luck. I decided to set a game for myself and asked them for a last game, this time, i decided to tag yuan hong. Yuan hong is a good player, but he doesn't seem to play seriously, he laughs all the time. But because of this wrong perception, that he isn't a good player, you feel pissed when he beats you, because he is quite a good player. This time, with an element of good playing alongside me, we played very very well, and i told yuan hong he was playing great today. He almost got the last ball in but it unluckily hit the jaw of the mid-pocket and missed, but it was great effort. They missed a couple more and it was my turn this time. The eight ball was right down the bottom half of the table. And my cue-ball was at the top half of the table. The eight ball was in the middle, and near the cushions. For this kind of shots, people like kenneth, teck siang and yh would surely try to double it. but i tried to go for the cut. I positioned myself and feathered a few times, then positioned my cue to the left side of the cue ball to create a left spin, then, the final draw back of my cue and i struck the cueball, it spun leftwards and so thinly sliced the eightball, sending it rolling sweetly into the bottom left pocket. WIOWWWIWWW, ok we won.
(vii)- General Elections
Today is General Elections day, George yeo must win, because my mum told me we are analogous, we are thinkers=))) So, elections day is really cool, politics is really cool, and i'm gonna be a candidate one day, vote for me.. So lately i haven't been doing much except studying and playing pool. The more stress we get, the more we wanna play pool. For example, last week i wanted to quit pool so much that i wanted to quit pool, i promised not to go this week, but i ended up playing after every paper. So last Friday was the Pure Geography examination day, it was relatively easy, compared to the previous papers, although they weren't that hard either, but they still weren't that easy... but i don't think i'm gonna nail the A1, although, A1 for all humans is a must, i didn't put in much effort for that paper.. After the paper, me and Teck siang followed the e2 pure geog girls to have lunch at the lousy coffee shop where we've eaten everything almost 1000 times... So Teck Siang was there busy critisizing everyone and i was there minding my own business quietly until he had to blue toot everyone my bee song.. That bee song was recorded by me at the safra toilet when teck siang taught me that kiddie song.. I attempted my gayest tone at that time and only he, wei zhou and kenneth had possesion of it.. now, teck see ang had to SEND IT TO EVERYONE THERE!!! And they were laughing at my sick gay voice over their loudspeakers...That was quite embarrassing.. I thank You Teck Siang... So our good master called us and he told us to rally to him, at his castle at serangoon, so we obediantly listened.. After we reached, we immediately engaged in battle after battle and we displayed all our sublime cueing and superb shotmaking skills.. So, i was the sole survivor and teck died a miserable death, my honorable master promoted me to the level of 2.5, the highest among all TPA members.. So, me and Teck Siang got a sneak preview of the impending completion of TWOT 6.. TWOT 6 will be great.. trust TPA, we only produce quality pool.. For the past few days, i have been focusing more on pool than on my studies, every 30mins, i'll run down to clear the table at least once, and my dad would keep nagging at me for playing pool all the time.. And lately the San Miguel Asian 9 Ball Tour is airing on tv and its incredibly exciting.. Francisco Bustamante v.s Efren Reyes! It was a great match.. I've improved my pooling style lately at home but i find it difficult to display it in Safra, its a different feel.. but i'm determined to kill off Lee Teck See Ang once and for all, although we're forever in equilibrium.. This should be my last post before the exams die off.. and i must nail my A1s this time... goodbye.
(vii) - The hustler's temptation
I'm a hustler, wei zhou calls me that. So lately teck siang went crazy and scolded Master Tian.. Teck, having violated law number 12a of the TPA: Disrespect to the coach/instructer, received an indefinite suspension from Master Tian. Teck was pissed and he quit TPA. I was largely influenced by Teck and was in a dilemma.. To quit pool totally or not? I, being ranked 2.5, am the best player yet in TPA, surpassing veteran Kenneth. And wei zhou has been so good to me, should i renounce my citizenship? Yesterday night i decided to take a 2 month leave away from my stressful job of hustling gullible youths. Then today, Wei zhou showed me so much love, always emphasizing on the fact that i'm ranked 2.5 and i'm the best student, he wanted me to go home to play, (home, being 3rd home, wei zhou's home) But i had already taken leave and for the first time i felt so carefree.. In the end, i gave a straight NO. But wei zhou, being a great actor, gave me a face of pure disappointedness.. being a sympathetic person, i could not forsake my Master, i followed, and teck followed too. There, wei zhou suddenly became hostile and i wasn't playing well against kenneth, my heart sank to the stage of depression, i told wei zhou i quit, and i formed my own Lee's Pool Academy, Teck Siang immediately joined, both of the political parties engaged in raging battles, and we were doing very well, Lee's Pool Academy has been placed on the map, we've made a name for ourselves, seeing how well our party was doing, darren decided to join our party. Then all of a sudden again, i regretted quitting TPA, but it was too late. So smart me devised a two way plan, i organised the Word Pool Finals against Wei Zhou, the loser's academy was to cease function and disband, then, all of its members was to join the other academy. What a smart plan! A win-win situation. Look! if i lost, i would be back in TPA! If i won, better yet! It'll be LPA!
Of course, i lost the race to 3 expectedly, and i was glad to resume my position as 2.5. Then, Wei Zhou brought me to a corner and told me that what i did earlier on hurt him, that i was his favourite student, i was touched to tears and i promised never to forsake my master again, not until i become a master at least.. But what i said still stands, i will take a 2 month leave and after my exams, i shall not go to safra, but instead i'll follow xuan xuan to Changi to buy chocolates...
(viii) - I'm a nice hustler
Basically what a hustler does is to misrepresent one's ability in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling, in our case pool, we've seen the ability of Wei Zhou, he hustled some guy for ten bucks, even my bro's somewhat hustled, someone challenged him for 20 bucks a game and he won 3 games, he didn't keep the money of course, his friend took it. Let's face it, how can Lee Hexun be a true hustler? How can i gamble? Tian Wei Zhou, i was born one but i cannot be one, i cannot gamble.
I congratulate Kenneth for making his first professional hustle today. Kenneth was hungry at safra today, as so he reports, he wanted to buy the special maggie mee, but was short of 30cents, he glanced over at table 11, where 3 guys and 2 girls were playing. He walked over, he told a guy that they (Wei Zhou and Teck Siang) wouldn't let him play for he was too noobish. So the guy agreed to one game, kenneth told him to punch first, but he refused for he was too lazy but he suggested that he let kenenth play for free. So kenneth said it wasn't fair, then kenneth suggested 10 cents for each remaining ball and the guy agreed. According to kenneth's mind blowing 8000 page report, the guy was a noob and kenneth cleared the table easily in 3 turns! He left him with 5 balls. But the guy didn't have 50 cents, so he gave kenneth 30 cents. Mission Accomplished! Kenneth got 30cents for his maggie mee! Good job Kenneth.
Then another report came from Wei Zhou, he lost terribly in a money game, Wei Zhou profusely apologised to me for his poor display today, tarnishing TPA's record. He stated his reasons.
1. Exccesive use of mental trickery by opponent
2. Being sick
3. Physical fatigue ( 4 hours of playing )
" I apologise for the shame brought unto TPA due to my loss." Master Tian
That was my day, if only 2.5 was there to being TPA further glory, you guys will see at the School's Pool Tournament.. oh no, we doubt we'll win, but we'll put up a good fight..
(ix) - The Houses of Healing
I did nothing much for the rest of the day until my family went out for a pot luck at my church friend's house. So, knowing that i was keen about pool, my friend heng yi's father booked the snooker room just for us, then, i informed Wei Zhou about my impending pool tournament. Omigosh, is it really a big matter? Wei Zhou called me four times that night to confirm me and to ensure i do TPA proud, i mean, what do you expect Master Tian? I'm ranked 2.5!!! And Teck Siang also expressed concern and wished me luck... this wasn't what i quite expected, must every match be a MUST WIN match? I'm on a two month leave!!! Two months vacation!!! Yes well, when i got into the snooker room, i didn't play well, i didn't score 100 points as i thought i would, i was focusing on getting the points, not snookering heng yi or my brother, they weren't that good. The best i managed was a 50, while my friend and my brother were like in the negative section of the scoreboard. But still, i'll state my reason as i should:
1. No cuetip, the table was 900 years old, the cues were rotten and all the tips came off, except the one i was using, but i was busy masseing till the tip came off =(
2. Excessive use of deep mind trickery by the user, too much backfires..
3. Bent cue, my cue wasn't exactly straight, i had to aim left to get a stun shot.
4. Colour blindedness, the balls were not easily distinguishable
5. Lack of interest in opponents, they only seemed interested in seeing me trying to get my 100 points, while they were stuck at negatives.
So that was my interesting day..
(x) - A tribute to Ashworth
So at Safra, it was full house today, and i wasn't playing pretty well. Then, Desmond, the ex-beattyian brought his ite friends over, and he took over my table for his said they weren't staying long. I asked him if he wanted to play with me, he said he didn't have money, so i went back to master tian. There, i kept telling wei zhou that i wanted to hustle them, but they were a big group, 4 girls, 2 boys, and one tank top dressed ''muscular'' desmond. I was a little intimidated, actually, i only wanted to challenge desmond. Then wei zhou and kenneth kept telling me to go over, but i was a little afraid. Then, with my ultra high frequency tone that only dogs and desmonds could hear, desmond ran over, i begged him for a game or two, but he rejected me flat. Wei Zhou kept telling me to challenge his friends, for he hated nooby guys who teach girls pool, so he kept forcing me to go, but i couldn't find that courage, for desmond already rejected me and i feel quite embarrased to challenge his friends. Then kenneth and wei zhou decided to go and play with them, and lose tragically on purpose, this was to give them confidence, so i could solo with them next, and thrash them, but sadly, as we were about to carry out our plan, they left.
So today, while being off form, i played straight pool with wei zhou, won him, and got an unexpected promotion to the level of shark, at lvl 3, i was surprised. Kenneth seemed to be a pro, in fact, he's the veteran, but how come a youngster like me can be promoted so fast? Maybe i'm really good but i don't actually realise, while teck is ranked 2 and kenneth at 2.1. So, it was a satisfactory safra visit, i don't really regret breaking my 2 months leave promise, but this shall be my 2nd last before the hols...Happy after exams to all you guys with fat wallets in your butts!!
- Shark Lee Hexun
To be continued...
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