Talent Vs Commitment

I was reading Paul Parker's most recent article on "United Must Keep Tevez" in Yahoo! Eurosport and felt really sorry for Tevez. It seems like Sir Alex is not going to sign him afterall despite him giving his all for United in every match he plays.

Tevez embodies United's spirit like what Paul has mentioned in his article. He scores and creates goals, he is not afraid to get dirty by dropping deep and tries to win the ball back when United loses possession, and he possesses amazing skills that terrorizes defences in the Premiership. Such commitment and enthusiasm are very rare in football these days especially when a player does not get to play regularly.

Frankly speaking, Berbatov and Rooney's recent forms are not justifying their starts ahead of Tevez. The reason I could think of is because Tevez is contractually on-loan and United could not afford to pay for his 30 million pound transfer fee. Sir Alex will not play him as he does not want the team to rely on a player who will be moving off during the summer, and also he needs to keep playing his "permanently-signed" players to justify their huge transfer fees as well.

This is really sad to see, especially when Cristiano Ronaldo has been speculated playing with the idea to join Real Madrid. His recent antics does not impress me especially when he has many times tried to kick out on opponents when being tackled. He is also not taking on opponents like he does in the previous seasons. His actions are rather clear to the general public.

I really hope Sir Alex will let those who wish to leave go and keep the players who play with their heart. Tevez wants to stay and United fans wants him to stay as well.

Japanese Drama: Hotman 2

I know this might be a little late but a good show is worthed watching over and over again no matter when it is being released. Don't you agree? Today's Japanese drama review covers Hotman 2 featuring Takashi Sorimachi as Enzo the big brother of the Furiya family. This is a 2004 TBS production and the sequel of Hotman which was first shown in 2003.

Here is a brief story of the first series of Hotman for the benefit of those who have yet to watch it:
Takashi Sorimachi plays a school art teacher Enzo Furiya (降矢円造) who takes care of his 5-year-old daughter Nanami Furiya of whom he has no idea who her mother is. He also lives with his four siblings whose fathers are all different. Enzo’s daughter suffers from severe atopic dermatitis, so he throws himself into managing her diet to alleviate her condition. He is so determined to raise the little daughter well, he doesn’t appear to have any spare time for a girlfriend. And yet Enzo finds himself drawn to Misuzu Kaneko (played by Akiko Yada), a health teacher at his school. Enzo pursues life passionately for his little girl and his family. This is a story about how desperately Enzo tries to hold his family together in spite of all the hardships.

The second series (i.e. Hotman 2) starts with all the family members segregated and then they meet again and begin to make a family. Enzo Furuya returns to help his family once again. Enzo transfers to a primary school in a small seaside town in hopes to improve Nanami's allergies. The eldest sister Shima opened a natural foods store, Hinata took a job as a nurse while Haiji and Ryunosuke set out on their own.
One day, Shima visits Enzo but seems a bit perturbed. Enzo goes back to Tokyo to find out what's wrong only to discover that the house is up for sale and that Shima's food store failed. Enzo decides to help Shima by finding a way for the family to live together again.

Actually to be frank, I still prefer the prequel as maybe back then Nanami (Enzo's 5-year-old daughter) is cuter when she was younger. Nevertheless the acting by all the casts in the show is decent. 3.5 stars out of 5 to this show.

7-Up for Manchester United !!!

This is certainly the best European Champions League result which none of Sir Alex Ferguson's previous teams have ever done before. Tremendous fight back from a 1-2 lost at Roma's ground, Man Utd is simply FABULOUS at Old Trafford. Don't believe it? Watch this to see for yourself!

Grip! by Every Little Thing (ELT)

Every Little Thing a.k.a. ELT is a Japanese pop group which I like (and still like) a lot during my younger days. Kaori Mochida - their lead vocal singer in particular, has a very powerful voice that is able to capture her audience. Even though their popularity might have declined over the years, ELT is one of the few old bands that are still together and is currently in their 11 year anniversary. Here's a song which I like a lot. Its called "Grip!" and is also one of the seasons opening theme in the Japanese animation Inuyasha. Enjoy.

Job Satisfaction: Considering Your Approach To Work

More often, people tend to approach work in three different prospectives: They view work as a job, career or a calling. Usually all three perspectives are important but one is the main priority.

Job. If you approach work as a job, you focus primarily on the financial rewards. In fact, the job nature may hold little interest to you. What's important is the money. If a job with more pay comes along the way, you'll likely to move on.

Career. If you approach work as a career, you are interested in advancement. You want to climb the career ladder as far as possible or be among the most highly regarded professionals in your field. You're motivated by the status, prestige and power that come with the job.

Calling. If you approach your job as a calling, you focus on the work itself. You work less for the financial gain or career advancement than for the fulfillment that the work brings.

Have you found your approach? Though one approach might not be better than the other two, it is helpful to reflect on why you work if you are currently unsatisfied with your job and are ready to move on. Do you recall what drew you to your job?

Job Satisfaction: Are You Happy At Work?

You may have dreamed of an ideal job in which you are motivated, inspired, respected and well-paid. But in reality, you've had to settle something less of your ideal. Maybe in the beginning it started as your dream job and for a period you loved it. But now you find it harder and harder to get through the day, and you eventually find yourself looking at the Classified Ads on a Saturday morning, insearching for a better prospect.

According to Wikipedia, Job Satisfaction refers to how content an individual is with his or her job. A lot of things play a role in your job satisfaction besides the actual work itself. Your emotions, skills, financial needs and performance are just some of the factors that make or break a job.

• Conflicts between co-workers
• Conflicts with your manager or supervisor
• Not appropriately paid for your work
• Lack of employee welfare
• Lack of opportunities for promotion
• Having little or no say in decisions that affect you
• No direction from the higher management
• Downsizing or outsourcing
• The job nature is boring or not suited to your interest
• etc...

These are just some reasons why you may not be completely satisfied with your job. Remember not everyone loves every aspect of their job. Its a matter of finding those good points that you can focused on.

Take some time to think over what gives you satisfaction. You may even want to look for a career counsellor to complete a formal asssessment of your skills, interest and passion. Then explore some strategies to increase your job satisfaction.

However, if you feel like you do not have any positive aspects of your job and your job is making you physically ill on a regular basis, maybe its time to abandon ship and search for a better one that will kick your negativity and gives you the challenges that you have been looking for.