The Treasure Hunt Weekend

Saturday didn’t start off well.

My mates left late [they earlier promised to pick me up] so I had to make my own way to the workplace, yes, with my luggage and bag containing dictionary and food. Grrr... and as luck would have it, there were no cab in sight – where was one when you needed one? When I don’t have the need for them, they usually zoom by and some actually slow down and even stop to ask if I need their service. Then I saw a bus coming and hailed it. And what do you know, the bus broke down near the Parliament. Tried calling my mates but got through the voicemail instead and the other didn’t answer. I even contemplated going down but with my heavy-duty stuff, I’d probably faint by the time I walk a hundred metres. Grrr grrr...

The driver and conductor somehow managed to fix the problem later and got the bus moving. By the time I reached workplace, I was in a fine temper... especially since my mates were nowhere to be found – that despite having told them to wait for me so I could load my stuff into the car. Grrr grrr grrr...

There were 80 participating cars altogether and because my mates were late in arriving, we were among the last to be flagged off. But each car was allocated 8.5 hours so it really didn’t and shouldn’t matter much. But this time around, we were in a Savvy [rather than a Chevy!] so gaining some ground would definitely be helpful. Oh, btw, we discovered much later that evening as the organiser went through the answers that there was a phantom car, i.e. a car that didn’t register to participate in the hunt and yet was there, helping some team. Some people are just sneaky and would go to any length to win, I suppose. But that’s definitely not fair play.

But the day turned out better as it progressed. Oh, the inevitable usual shouting, arguing, bickering and hollering at each other ensued of course as we played devil’s advocate to each other in determining that we had taken the right route, answered the questions correctly and guessed the treasure rightly [actually, I prefer that than being in a quiet car where everyone just keeps to himself/herself]. Feeling hungry and tired didn’t help any but we just couldn't afford to stop for food. Oh, yours truly was the navigator for the day [and for previous hunts too!]

We spent wayyy too long at Seri Kembangan area and Finally, I told my mates to just leave. They agreed, reasoning that two points ain’t worth the time we spent. So we drove on, heading towards Seremban, and all along the way thinking out aloud, discussing, arguing and evaluating the potential possible treasures that we had to buy and furnish at the finish line.

From Seremban, we drove on to Kulai and we got caught in a bottleneck – there were some road-works and we started getting panicky as we still had quite a few questions left to answer, yet to buy any treasures, and it was raining cats and dogs too. And the drawback of using a small car is that just as we thought we were gaining speed, suddenly we had other competitors overtaking us, and at breakneck speed too. Just as we were starting to get comfortable thinking we were leading our partner team, they zoomed past us – yes, in the brand new Beemer – and we could just watched them in silence with our jaws dropped until the Beemer became a smaller and smaller speck on the horizon and we could see them no more. It took us a while before we found our tongues again and remarked, ‘Wow, that was done without much effort,’ and ‘Whaddya mean, without much effort? That was effortless driving!’. Not a very funny situation to be in actually when you’re being overtaken and have your lead being reduced and feeling like you’d just been chopped like vegetables [on the other hand, it was such a joyous feeling to be catching up with a competitor team - driving in MyVi who sped past us like some crazy, deranged, possessed team - at the toll plaza as they didn’t have Touch ‘N Go].

So we quickly re-strategised and decided that when we finally exited the highway, we should just cruise along the route quickly and not even bother to get down from the car to look for clues/answers to save time. To be honest, I think we did pretty alright, just sitting there in the compact car, looking all around and stretching our necks about. But we eventually had to buy the treasures anyway and my friend and I were running here, there and everywhere, crossing the road like some mad, headless chicken.

Traffic got heavier as we neared JB and it was a good thing we didn’t miss any turning – some teams missed some vital turnings and this resulted in them arriving late. Now, there is a penalty imposed for every five minutes or part thereof if you arrive after the 8.5 hours allocated. And if you arrive beyond 30 minutes, your team would be disqualified... I heard one team [which is renowned for their treasure hunting prowess] got disqualified.

There was a traffic jam going into the hotel lobby and I [yes, me again!] ran out of the car all the way to the lobby all hungry and breathless and exhausted. For that effort [and me nowhere being fit], our team managed to reach the check-in counter with a minute to spare - this had never happened, usually we'd be busting the time limit and incurring penalty! Talk about reaching the finish line by the skin of our teeth!

We had to do a mission a la The Amazing Race after that [no rest for the weary yet!]. After that, we decided to go for a well-deserved meal at Danga Bay. It was pouring again then but we were too famished to care.

Dinner was held at an adjoining building and after the inevitable speech, we helped ourselves [ladies first!]. Results were only announced after 10 pm or so. Well, there were 80 cars altogether so you can just imagine the organiser having to sift through 80 answer sheets before determining the winners. To my surprise, there were prizes until the 17th spot. As they began announcing the winners from 17th to 11th spots, I got pretty confident we'd get top 10 [our team deteriorated to no. 11 last year from no. 6 previously so it’d definitely be a boost factor if we improved not only last year’s placing but also maintained or improved our placing two years ago].

10th up to 6th place winners were announced and yet they hadn’t called our team. A novice mate [we just recently recruited him to join our team] was already feeling pessimistic but the driver and I were confident as we basically knew how many answers we got wrong. When the 3rd place winner was announced, I got really excited and whispered to my driver friend, ‘If we got first place, I’d really scream the place down!’

It turned out that there was a tie in points for 2nd and 1st place winners. So they called us two teams up on stage. Unfortunately for us, they had to decide somehow and we were tied in every way: no penalties incurred, the exact number of treasures submitted, the marks scored for the mission, which all resulted in the tie in points. But a decision had to be made somehow and because our team made our very first mistake as early as at question 4 [yes, the one at Seri Kembangan], we had to settle as runners-up. But hey, that’s like the best placing we’ve ever attained in our short treasure hunt history together... ! Since we formed an alliance with another team, we decided to split our winnings together [as we did previously].

Sunday Morning, after breakfast, we checked out and made our way back to KL. We made stops at Batu Pahat for its famed Biryani Gam and then at Muar [at my mate’s parents’ place]. Alas, it was getting late so we didn’t stop for the famed Mee Bandung Muar after all ;( but drove on to Ayer Keroh for another brief stop. It was 7.30 pm when we reached the work place and 7.50 pm when I finally got home, knackered and famished.

Moral of the story: actually it doesn’t matter what car you drive for a treasure hunt [as long as it’s not a two-door car like Satria and not too small that it can’t gain speed. Because even our partner team was late and got penalised even though they were in a Beemer; actually quite a few cars were late and got penalised and we didn't despite being in a Savvy!]. And have like-minded individuals in your team please or it’ll be a miserable journey. Oh, and have a good navigator too ;) who can also double up as treasure buyer, among other things [oh yes, I was bullied alright].

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It’s hard, for me at least, to be enthusiastic about work at this time of the year. They should just outlaw working in December. Oh, and January too. I can’t wait for the year to end yet January is Always a chore – all that planning for the year’s projects, the targets to be reached, and you are supposed to be all geared up and enthusiastic about work. After all, it is supposed to be a brand new year. New ambitions, new resolve to work, new energies... what a lot of bull! Same employee, same work [some carried over from previous year], same lousy pay...

Or maybe it’s just me. Maybe I don’t feel happy or contented about work anymore. Maybe I no longer feel like I care about this field I’m in. Maybe I need a change, of career, of bosses, of work scope... and I can’t even contemplate discussing this frustration with work with my parents. Because I know what Abah would say, that he loved his job and his career; that he looked forward to going to work every day when he was still working; that he hardly ever took a day off for leave or even sick leave unless he was really ill. He’d frown upon me having frustration with work, being disillusioned that this is I want to do and where I should be for the rest of my life, and having second thoughts about staying on. And Mummy would point out that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side and it'd probably be the same anywhere else. But Sometimes it feels like I’m just here for the dough. And I feel it’s time I do something I really love and be passionate about rather than going through the motions.

But I’m too chicken shit to take the risk into the great unknown. How long can I survive on my paltry savings? As it is, I give my parents a monthly allowance and I can’t simply stop that. Maybe for a month or two, I could, but not for long. I have to sustain myself too [and I am high-maintenance - not that that's wrong or anything]. And you need loads of dosh before venturing into something, just in case things don’t work out, a Plan B [or even a Plan C]. I’m not some legally kept girl who can just quit my job as and when I fancy it and lead a life of leisure.

And the thing is, being in this job for some time makes one feels complacent. And I wonder about my marketability. I’m also not mobile and highly dependent on public transportation and rides from considerate colleagues. So yes, the outside world is a big, scary place. But I don’t want it to be such that I suddenly tender my resignation on a 24-hour notice because I can no longer cope or stand or be arsed about my job. And that would be a shame too because a 24-hour notice means that I would not be paid for that month as compensation to the organisation... but to tender your resignation three months in advance would (normally) mean you have somehow secured another job first. Hmmm, decision, decision...

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On another note, we got a new King today! And he’s young and handsome too! Long live the King!