What I've learned from chasing my tennis idol

For most people, I'm a crazy 30-year-old who chases her idol. And in this particular case, I wanted to meet my tennis idol, Rafael Nadal.

However, to me, it's not just about meeting Nadal. I admire his fighting spirit in the court but that's not the main reason why I started a campaign to meet him.

To meet the world no. 2 tennis player in the world who hasn't come to Southeast Asia before is hard. And to get to take picture with him is even harder. But now I have to say that anything is possible.

When you are driven by a goal, work your way (legally) towards that goal and you'll eventually get what you want. And perhaps visualization is important too in making yourself believe that you are able to accomplish what you have started.

Welcoming Rafael Nadal to Malaysia

And to Richard Gasquet too!

I was at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at about 5.30 p.m. waiting for my tennis idol, Rafael Nadal to show up. Earlier on, I was in KL to pick up my TGI Friday's winning voucher before proceed to Ritz Carlton Hotel. To my disappointment, a friend from Astro who apparently preparing for the brief appearance told me that event at the hotel has been cancelled.

I called up Anna, the organizer, and she has been very helpful by letting me know that Nadal's flight has been delayed and I would be in time to catch him at KLIA. Hence I drove all the way to KLIA and waited for hours at the arrival hall. Nadal and Gasquet did not appear at the arrival hall but instead proceed to the VIP lounge where all the reporters and TV stations are there for a press conference.

I managed to get to know the location of the lounge and waited outside. I did get some footage where Nadal and Gasquet walked out from the press conference.

I also managed to get a photo with Nadal but the one with Gasquet didn't work out. And I got Nadal's signature on my ticket too!

What a day! And my dream and campaign finally realized. Thank you guys for your support. Now I don't need to put a fake picture with Nadal anymore. As for the number of comments 'Vamos VMY2007', I've received 22 of them (out of the targetted 200 comments) which means worth only RM22 for charity. Anyway, I will still donate RM200 for charity, which I will keep you guys updated in this blog very soon.

By the way, I was too busy chasing for Nadal, I've forgotten about Richard Gasquet.

Who says age is catching up with Nadal?

Rafael Nadal has proven a lot of critics wrong by continuing his quest to win the privileged Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Send Djokovic packing will definitely give Nadal psychological boost as Djokovic has been such a stiff competitor to all the top players this year.

Now that there are two Spanish players in the semifinals (Nadal and Ferrer), I am confident that Nadal might be able to win this high profile tournament before he comes to Malaysia next week.

And speaking about Nadal's visit to Malaysia, he will be arriving with Richard Gasquet. However, flight schedule has yet to be confirmed until Monday. I predict that Nadal and Gasquet will arrive in the evening and will proceed straight to the Ritz Carlton Hotel for brief appearance. There will be no tennis clinic or whatsoever activities, according to the organizer.

Will Uncle Tony, Nadal's uncle and coach, coming to Malaysia too? Let's just wait and see.

Rose Rose I Love You

I'm going to make this short as I need to leave for work soon.

I was at the Rose Rose I Love You pop musical last Friday and here's my brief comment about it:

What I like about the musical:
1. It is free.
2. Thumbs up to the costumes designed by Melinda Looi for Tin Tan and Carmen Soo.
3. The pop songs used in the musical such as Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston) and Like A Virgin (Madonna) are well arranged and blend well in the musical that sets in the nostalgic era.
4. I am impressed with the storyteller for her powerful voice!
5. Tin Tan is really good in pole dancing and credit must be given to Tony Eusoff for his great acting skills!

What I don't fancy about the musical:
1. I understand the musical is for the 18-year-old and above but KK Wong (the DJ on Chinese radio channel 98.8) doesn't have to use foul language several times in the show to make his character works. It's such a turn off!

2. The tickets which ranges from RM68 to RM118 are rather pricey.
3. The props look cheap.
4. Tin Tan made some minor glitches on her dialogue.
5. Overall, this is only a mediocre local production. Probably I came to this show with high expectation after reading from local papers about how good this show is. Well, sad to say, it's not.