Meet a friend, or someone special ...

Before proceeding to read the article below, I'll have my say.

I was quite surprised when Ee-Lyn called up to inform me that I was one of the 5 chosen guys for this event. Honestly, It took me a while to recall "Table For Two" while on the phone with her, exams just finished the day before when she called, I call it post-exams effects.

I have to make things clear here, I'm just a certified fitness trainer by my college, yet to be ISSA certified, But will be one within this 4 months for sure.

It's an ankle surgery due to ligament tear and chipped bone to be precise. I didn't really gave it up, but just lost interest during my recovery period and started to play basketball after that. My ankle wasn't much of a problem compared to my knee that ended my career prematurely.

This article was published in The Star Education today
(10 February 2008) so I thought I'd put a copy up here before its lost to the archives.

StarEducation will play matchmaker to 10 lucky guys and gals in “Table for Two” this Valentine's Day.

By EE-LYN TAN and SARAH CHEW

ON FEB 14 candy, cards, flowers and gifts are exchanged every year in the name of St Valentine. But who was St Valentine?

According to legend, Valentine was a priest in Rome under the rule of Emperor Claudius II. The latter decreed that single men made better soldiers than married men so he outlawed marriage.

Valentine realised the injustice in this and secretly married young lovers. When the emperor discovered this, he sentenced the saint to death.

But while imprisoned, Valentine fell in love with a young girl who visited him. Before his death, he wrote her a letter and signed it “From your Valentine”, which is an expression still used today.

In conjunction with Valentine's Day on Thursday, StarEducation has chosen 10 finalists for its “Table for Two” competition.

They will meet for the first time over a sumptuous and romantic candle-lit dinner at Cafe Serena Brasserie at Hotel Nikko, Kuala Lumpur on Jalan Ampang at 7.30pm.

They are the lucky ones from over 70 entries we received. Other than going over their entries, we took the time to meet those in the shortlist personally.

However, they will not know who their blind date will be until they actually meet their respective partners on the night.

Dress to impress, dress to kill, or just dress smart casual if that's your cup of tea.

Who knows, you might meet that special someone. If not, there will be nine more friends to add to your network.

Do bring along a little something for your date, if you can – it is Valentine's Day, after all.

Tang Sue Yee, 20,Taylor's College, School of Communication

I have a passion for photography and I previously worked for an advertising agency and a talent agency, taking shots of models. I want to be a photojournalist, as I love travelling.

Sometimes I travel alone when I need time to think or go for trips with friends to look for good food in places like Klang, Malacca and Penang.

I also like to cook, but from the can! My idea of 'whipping up a meal' usually means adding in mushrooms and tomatoes and I often burn my food. The worst dish I've ever made was Coca-Cola chicken, as it came out burnt and sticky!

I'm on a four-month break from studies now, and am gardening and working.

I've just finished my third job working at a hardware shop.

One of the reasons I joined “Table for Two” is to prove to my mom that I like guys She is glad that I'm going to have a date with a guy.

Pang Chuin Keat, 22, International Islamic University Malaysia

I am a third-year law student studying both civil and syariah law.

What's unusual about me is that I'm the only Chinese and non-Muslim student in my entire batch of 300 students.

In my free time I enjoy swimming, which I do almost every day at the pool on campus.

Otherwise, I spend a lot of time reading. I'm a very big fan of motivational books especially the works of Dale Carnegie.

I also love to travel and my favourite destinations are Pangkor and Redang, in fact my grandfather lives near Pangkor.

I'm very interested in meeting new people so I can make more friends.

Eknaswaran Matandor, 19,Limkokwing University of Creative Technology

I've never been on a blind date before and I am nervous and scared but decided to take a chance.

I think what's unusual about myself is that I can speak Cantonese fluently - even better than Tamil. (laughs!) My friends, who call me “Vickey” or “Eky”, are mostly Chinese so that's where I picked up the language.

I also love to watch Hong Kong television series, which helped me improve my Cantonese.

I also love to cook, especially Chinese food. The dish that I cook best is baby kailan with oyster sauce.

In my spare time, I am learning to dance, both break dance and hip hop.

I've been doing it for four years now.

Jasmine Ong Kim Li, 20, Brickfields Asia College

I'm a very outgoing person so I don't mind doing crazy things.

Once, when I was 14, I jumped on stage during a Disney Channel programme without being asked.

I also stalked a guy my friend liked and asked him for his phone number, but hey, I was young!

I have two acoustic guitars and a five-piece drum set that I play by ear.

I play netball, shot putt as well as attend dance classes and kickboxing.

I like watching lots of DVDs, mostly chick flicks or horror movies, but not the gory ones as I can't take too much blood.

I like intellectual arguments or discussions and I'm not a 'mushy' kind of girl.

Lee Kang Xian, 20, Tunku Abdul Rahman College

I'M crazy about sports and fitness. I can't explain it but it's something I'm very passionate about.

I'm currently pursuing my diploma in social sciences though I will be transferring to another institution soon to pursue my degree in psychology.

Once I've completed my degree, I'd like to move on to pursue my masters in sports psychology as it combines both my interests.

I'm also a certified personal trainer having completed my qualification from The International Sports Sciences Association.

In my free time, I'm still honing my skills in photography and recently purchased my first professional camera, a Canon 400D.

I'm a former district basketball and taekwondo representative but I had to give it up when I ruptured my knee ligament and have had to undergo two surgeries to have it fixed.

When I was younger, I was also a district football player in the under-12 category but had to abandon that as well when I injured my ankle.

I'm nervous about what to expect, as this is my first blind date so we'll see what happens that night!

Esther Wong Shuey Wye, 22, Deakin University, Melbourne

I'm currently doing a Bachelor in Applied Science majoring in Food Science and Nutrition in Melbourne.

I will probably work in my mum's cake shop after I graduate because I like to bake.

Last year, my course had a project in which I had to invent something, so I made a savoury Swiss roll with spinach and cheese.

I also like Formula One racing, I've watched it since I was 12.

My dad and I root for Kimi Raikkonen.

During my free time, I go shopping mostly for bags and shoes – I have probably more than 20 bags and 30 pairs of shoes now!

I've done some travelling and went on an exchange programme to China last year for my Chinese language elective.

Whenever I meet guys, I'm usually always the one asking questions so hopefully my date won't be too shy!

John Chang Shang Hao , 24, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman

As a journalism student, I've got aspirations of writing for a travel magazine one day.

Just last year, I spent five months backpacking through the United States.

I worked at Cedars Point theme park in Cleveland, Ohio, as a lifeguard and later became a ride operator for a water coaster.

After my working stint, I took time off to travel and visited Niagara Falls, Detroit, New York, Los Angeles and San Diego.

I also paid a visit to Disneyland and Universal Studios in Los Angeles and also the San Diego Zoo.

Before returning to Kuala Lumpur, I also made a nine-day stop in Japan and Mount Fuji, visited Sijuku to see the Harajuku girls, and stopped by Tokyo Disneyland.

I stumbled upon “Table for Two” by chance when I was flipping through the newspaper. I can't wait to meet the others as I enjoy making new friends.

I'm planning to make my date's gift as I feel it should be something from the heart.

Darren Dinesh Navaretnam, 22, Limkokwing University of Creative Technology graduate

AS a big fan of 1980's rock music, I started taking lessons to play the electric guitar, a year ago.

I'm a huge fan of music acts such as Bon Jovi, Motley Crue and Deep Purple, just to name a few.

They've all got great guitarists and I'm working towards being able to play Bon Jovi's “Halfway There”.

I'm a recent creative multimedia graduate who is currently looking for a job.

A month ago, I completed my six-week internship at Codemasters, which is a British video game developer.

While there, I worked on video games development where I helped with several upcoming games.

In my free time, I'm an all rounder and love to indulge in photography and video games consoles.

I also enjoy playing football a couple times a month with my neighbourhood friends.

With this being my first blind date, I'm going in with no expectations, and plan to just go with the flow!

Josephine Chin Fong Leng, 23, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

I study law and I'm the type that likes debating, so I join moot competitions.

I discuss human rights, politics and current news with my classmates but I usually talk about music and movies with strangers.

I like the outdoors and a group of friends and I do things like jungle trekking and rock climbing but I don't have time for it anymore!

I'm quite active in the Asian Law Student Association. I just came back from a conference in Bangkok, Thailand, and I've been to others in Singapore and Hong Kong under the association.

I hope to be surprised at “Table for Two” this Thursday and meet someone compatible.

I can't possibly describe the ideal guy until I meet him, because I believe it boils down to the chemistry between two people.

Amanda Wong Shan Ming, 20, Kasturi School of Accountancy

During my free time, I do arts and crafts such as making bracelets, cross-stitching and drawing on T-shirts.

I'm doing an accountancy course because crunching numbers is like a hobby to me, so my sister thinks I'm weird.

I just became president of my college Student Council and I'm also the external vice-president of the ACCA Student Ambassador Network.

I like my independence and running around, so I guess my ideal guy would have to be understanding because I wouldn’t want him to breathe down my neck!

I've never had a boyfriend because my parents believe I should only start dating at 21.

But I joined “Table for Two” to meet more friends and if something happens, I'll take it from there.