Pooling for Pooh

Ah... Haven't felt such a sense of achievement for such a long time. Went out with Mq, Boon, Goon, Nick and Dom. They've finally booked out after an arduous 3 weeks of confinement.

Their hair is a little longer, and they all look fitter hehe. The same which cannot be said of me unfortunately. We had dinner at Ding Tai Fung, the food was marvelous. We all had beef noodles, worked out to be $26 each. Pretty steep, but worth it I believe. Was not overtly full, so didn't feel queasy, which was good. We wanted to get a place to sit and chill, so we went to Starbucks at cineleisure, but it was full, so we headed to Coffee Bean at Taka. I got a peach smoothie, which was not bad. After sitting for a while we were informed they were closing soon, so we had to leave.

After that we headed for Heeren as they were looking for a bag. Dom joined us as we were walking towards Heeren. The shops were closed, so we just kept walking. They wanted to get a drink and watch soccer, and we headed towards Prinsep Street. My ankle and foot was hurting from all the walking already, but I just tagged along for want of distraction. Most of the talk along the way revolved around army life, which was pretty depressing. Especially since our perspectives are somewhat different; them being bound to the thing called pride, while I adopt a more cynical view of it. Guess it's what seperates the officers from others. Also, hearing what they say of people who they dislike, I concluded that I wouldn't be very popular if I had made it to OCS. Maybe that's why I didn't make it there. God has a plan for all of us, and I guess mine is not to be a soldier, though grandiose plans of such had frequently popped into my mind during my adolescent years. Must be all the action movies and fantasy books.

All the above is pretty much my musings and filler text for what I really wanted to blog about. An unforgettable experience that I shall cherish for quite a while.

The guys went to drink somewhere at Prinsep Street, while me and Goon decided to head over to the Macdonald's and grab a bite. I was initially thinking of devouring a Big Mac, but I considered my stomach's inadequecy and the pounds I've been putting on (which definitely aren't sinews of new muscles) and thought better of it. The arcade was within sight, so I headed over to it, having been inspired by a variety show displaying the mastery of a Japanese lady at catching soft toys from those machines. The segment of the variety show had been shown during one of the signals lectures, while each platoon was taking turns practising the assembly of the pc 840. Or whatever the designation of it. The show revealed the trick behind it, which was hooking on the the tag using claw, and the gist of it was to make the claw, when vertical, pass through the string securing the tag to the soft toy. So I told Goon of my inspiration, and asked whether we should try. He was excited as well, and after he ate we headed over to try our skill.

I changed 5 dollars worth of 50 cents coins, and it was $1.50 per try for the musical Pooh bear. It was addictive, and I thought of giving up and cutting our losses a few times. But Goon had the vision with him through out, cock sure that the method would work, simply trusting in what I had seen on a segment of a variety show. So we kept trying, and we managed to finally pass the claw through the thread, and crossed our fingers as it lifted off.

Ooooo... It came up, but dropped short of the exit point. Goon got fired up, while I got doubtful, as the direction of the hole of the thread had changed, and I wasn't so sure if the claw could fit into it anymore.

We tried a few more times, then decided to move to a easier(cheaper) machine, which had a small furry Pooh bear up for grabs. It was a dollar, but instead of one try, we found to our surprise it yielded 3 tries! After a while, our perserverence finally paid off, and we managed to grab a bear up, and it almost got to the exit point. We were all excited and elated, and then fate decided to play cruel joke, and the toy got stuck as there was a high barrier around the drop point, and by grabbing the toy by the thread, it dangled and so it wouldn't pass over the barrier. It got stuck, and I decided to go try our luck with the arcade custodian (an amiable old man), and he was kind enough to grant us our prize. After that I was glad enough with the achievement, and was ready to call it a day.

But Goon, all pumped up, was all set to catch the first one, which had been so capriciously denied us so that I could have a bear of my own too. His enthusiasm was infectious, and the hope he effused got to me too. As they say, a little hope is a dangerous thing, but after a few tries once again our efforts paid off and this time it was a clean drop, with no assistance from the custodian. We were both overjoyed, and I whooped out loud.

Somehow I felt more pride and joy at having caught a musical Pooh bear than most moments spent in the army. I don't know why, but somehow there was just a great sense of achievement when I caught it. It was just an inexplicable feeling of happiness that washed over me, a sensation that I haven't felt in a long time.

Today there was Tug of War and the company was short of people, and though I put my name down I just felt lazy and tired, sick of the long 4 which was the attire. They came in second, and I reflected and tried to figure whether I felt regret at having given up a silver trophy. The answer that came back was no, or maybe just a little. I think after BMT and all the reflection I did inside I've somehow partially nullified the "regret" region of my brain. I think I would have had a sense of achievement if I had participated in the tug of war, but I have a feeling that it would be overshadowed by what I felt when I caught the Pooh bear.

Oh and sidetracking a bit my choler was brought to the fore today due to the poor planning of the Games day. There was a schedule at Delta notice board that said it would end by 11.30. The games were still going on till 12, after which was the road run. It was drizzling by then, and the rain was getting steadily heavier. It ended near 12.25, after which was the prize presentation till 12.40. By then it was pouring, and we just sat in the chilly rain getting wet as they gave out the prizes. I was bloody pissed, cause in the first place it was supposed to end by then, and secondly they should have just cut the road run due to the weather. We booked out at 2. I got soaked, and now I wonder how I'm going to dry my shoes in time to use them. Whatever happened to wet weather planning? Argh this is frustrating.

What a funny race humans are. Or maybe just me. Life is a intriguing concept indeed.

And I must offer my thanks to Goon without whom I would have given up catching the Pooh.