The Fried Rice Incident

1999, Parap Village Apartment, Darwin Australia

The team decided that in the midst of all the actions at the Arafura Games, we shall have a picnic outing at a lake park (can't remember where exactly) to release some steam. And to prepare for the picnic, everybody had to prepare something for the potluck.

The whole team occupied a total of 3 double-storied townhouses and the officials at an apartment within the same compound. Being mainly Singaporean girls, most of us were probably best at our studies or career, but were clueless about cooking. Amongst the 3 houses, there were only about 2 girls who knew how to cook. And just happened that they were in the two other houses other than mine. What tough luck, especially when each house was supposed to prepare their own meals throughout the whole 2 weeks in Darwin (anyway we survived... surprisingly).

As my house was cracking our heads on what to prepare for the potluck, we decided that the easiest thing to do was fried rice. We were quite sure that whatever Home Economics taught us in school were still applicable, and come on...fried rice seemed easy enough.

So there we were, cooking the rice and then were all ready to start frying. Conccurrently, we took turns to shower so that we could make it in time for the team to move off (nobody dared to be late..as that would subject us to ridicule and the "team fine". That is another story altogether).

So there, was the wok with the rice and all the necessary ingredients..eggs and such. Someone started first. And then the person took off to shower. The next person took over. And then another person took over when the bathroom freed up, so that the second person could go shower. Of course the first person didn't want to go near the wok again cos she just showered. So the fourth person took over when it was the turn of the third person to use the bathroom.

Seemed smooth enough. And the fried rice looked quite good actually. And then it was time for the team to meet. So we quickly packed the rice, met with the rest of the team, with their own delicacies, and headed off to the lake park.

What all these persons forgot to tell one another was....all of them thought the fried rice looked quite plain, and added salt or soya sauce to the fried rice during their turn at the stove.

Naturally nobody touched the fried rice at the outing.

But everybody had fun nonetheless :D

That was the year when we won the gold at Arafura Games despite all odds, beyond everybody's, even our own expectations, against the stronger teams in Northern Territory under Coach Zhang.

xxxxx

Nearing 13 years on, and we could still remember the fried rice incident, as we were talking about our friends and their lives nowadays, which inadvertently could had been shaped by certain events then . And so many things that happened during that trip, including the break-in into one of the other townhouses, the highlight of weekend markets across the Parap apartments, the tears, pains, sorrows, laughters and exhilarations.

Sometimes I do wonder how my life would turn out if I hadn't gone through that stage of my life. Not that our sense of self or identity were still tied what had happened during those years of our lives, I think we have moved past that. But undeniably, our moral values, principles and outlooks in life would have followed a different course if not for those experiences we had in our lives. The bodily pains, the heartaches from ridicules from the coaches, the ever balancing acts of juggling studies and work..but we still forged ahead without hesitation. And that made us a bit unsympathetic sometimes towards people with very narrow views of life, and our criticality on seemingly trivial matters.

But probably its time to realise that in a way, we were privileged to have gone through those experiences as a team and learning how to live with 20 other persons for extended periods of time. And what life long friends those times have given us.

If given a choice going back in time, I would still choose the same path without a doubt.