Finally back online after a hard week of no computer and no communication. I took the Machine of Overheated Death to an admittedly unauthorised mechanic [I think, but it is more than likely that that is the case. Hey, I'm Malaysian.] who rather skirted the problem instead of dealing with the actual situation. Rather than tightening the cord socket, which would have been a lengthy and rather expensive procedure, the mechanic fixed a bigger head to the cord to lessen the jiggling. If the mountain won't come to Muhammad...still, it is a partial solution. I'll just hope this holds out until December when I get home.

Finally after a win and a draw, the Offsiders have won big! 6-0 to be exact, giving some poor hapless yet somehow superiorly complex team the hiding they deserve. It just had to be the Socialists at the end of it, really. Coming up against what was supposed to be our toughest opposition [same number of players, same white Aussies, different uniforms] the team finally answered all the questions asked of it. Of course it helped that some of the players who helped answer those questions weren't even in the original team, but fed up of being perpetually short on numbers, we finally made the decision to draft in outside players, Gabriel asking two Peruvian friends whom we knew from the field to help bolster the squad.

Being truly blessed in turnout, we had eleven players to toy with, and with skill to match we were able to run the opposition ragged by continually bringing fresh feet into the game. Change of tactic also helped our cause. Playing a considerably faster-paced game featuring three attackers and continuous running we managed to outpace the lumbering Aussies, who were reduced to frustrated tactics and a single shot on target, a weak long range shot which a cross-eyed ADD-suffering leper on hallucinogens would've saved comfortably bobbling neatly into our keeper's arms. With the pace of our three forwards, and a cohesive midfield-defence, the Socialists had no answer, and we were 2-0 up by halftime, both being scored by Gabriel, who went on to score another two. It might have been seven, but the ball was going in as the referee was blowing the whistle so I doubt it counted.

It feels good to be part of a winning side. To get all hippy about it, it's nice to see a collective effort pay off. No one is bigger than the other in a team, and it's good to see we now have the best possible platform to build on for the next game. Finally I can put up the squad team picture. Without further ado, I present The Offsiders.