Friday, March 24, 2006

Confessions of a Half Baked Champ: Gutted, Wrapped and Flattened

Among all the stories that I'd tell my grandchildren (yep, thought that far ahead), I'd probably tell 'em bout the time I took part in a Scissors Paper Stone contest by 98FM's budget department. Hardly a shoestring budget cos they sure upped the ante on rewards, winner walks away with 3K hard cash and 2k worth of prizes. It was the first time such a contest has ever been carried out and since, I needed the moola, and for the love of the game, why the heck not?

Of course in the end, only my sister's boyfriend, Rudy and myself joined the contest, my sister having succumbed to the dark side, fooled me bout joining but emphasised that she would be offering strong moral support and game strategies along the way. Yan was no different, insisting on offering moral support :) Right.

So on a bright Saturday morning, We headed down to Wisma for me to sign on for the game. I received my Power 98 goodie bag containing lotsa discounted freebies and a red Power98 tshirt. Participants had to wear the t-shirt. I was Contestant 007. That brought a measure of relief cos if the powers that be were to be relied on, 007 was and still is, the number of a good agent in the making and a lucky, heavenly number. Rudy was no. 017. Manz pretty cool cos 7's always good. Early birds below No. 50 who came down to register received a so-called immunity where if they get kicked out in the first round-they'd get a second chance through a lucky draw.

It was kinda nice to see a friendly crowd of participants, who still smiled even though it was a very hot day and we were all donning thick t-shirts. The atmosphere was buzzin with excitement cos they were bringin to life a childhood game! I was part of the first group to start playing the game in a group of 10. My sparring partner was this Chinese guy with a friendly smile but pretty intense frown (yeah smile and frown imagine that?)


We were all lined up to face opposite each partner with a score marshall attached. At the word STONE, we had to display our choices and any delays would be considered a foul. The person who scores 4 points first (after or before 7 rounds) will be the winner. At first it was a tie, but he pulled ahead with 2 points ahead. I thought i was a goner but with a sudden burst of energy, I hit a straight set and got 4 points first. He was good but not good enough :)Phew. With beads of perspiration rolling down my back, I wasn't gona go off without a fight. 6 more rounds and 90 over participants to go. Manz, the odds of winning this contest, you have got to be downright lucky.

Rudy won the first round too so that means our sparring partners got kicked out and had to depend on the lucky draw to get back in. We waited for our turns and with bated breath, round 2.

Waiting around in the hot sun for the next round, I realised that if i lost the next round, that was it cos the immunity was only for round 1 and getting half-baked by the maddening sun was not gona be worth it.

I wish I didn't get into that mindset but I did. I lost to a hulk of a man with a sweet smile but a lethal Stone strategy. Crapz, shoulda thrown out a paper. I was so gona throw a paper but when the time came, I went blank and bleated out a stone too. So it was a draw for like 4 times, before he scored 1 and I scored next. Forgetting that it was a 7-round thing, I was shocked when the next time he scored, the marshall announced him as the winner. Yeah, easy but a deceptively tough game.

Sore loser? Naw, I congratulated the guy cos he deserved it. His eyes were half-closed the entire time and I thought he was in a trance like them MOS people. Yeah he played good. Ironically Rudy lost Round 2 as well and even more ironic, was that the two sparring partners we kicked out in Round 1 got lucky in the lucky draw and got back in. *Grin* I swear powers that be were tuggin at my chains.

Lest you think I didnt get the main feel of the game, I did. It was fun and all in the name of good experience. I'm glad my sis made me join the contest. I woulda shoot myself in the foot if i didnt join cos it was darn fun cos for once, Scissors Paper Stone counted for something other than settling a sibling squabble *lol*. Best of all, was having people who i care about there to see me in action (and also squawk later about how I shoulda thrown a paper).

Kudos to Power98 for thinkin and actin out loud this game. Hope its gona be a yearly event with an even BIGGER Budget to spare :)

1 Comments:

At 11:24 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey there,

Thanks for coming to the event and I'm relieved to hear that you had fun as well (you can never tell when there is actual sunlight involved).

And also, I have a feeling it will become a regular feature on the Singapore calendar.

Just wondering - was the hulk of a guy you mentioned, the one who won in the end?

 

Post a Comment

<< Home