scrabble
Scrabble mania comes to Singapore! Mini mania, actually.
Today marked the inter-school Scrabble championship held at Suntec City.
While checking out the competition (GOD! 10 minutes passed and that kid's STILL trying to stareburn a hole in his tiles; now what the fuck is 'tine'?) - I recall how a passive game like Scrabble can break boundaries and make connections.
From as young as I could remember, I have been and still am utterly attracted to words (I think my mom overdosed on alphabet soup or something when she was pregnant).
It helped when 2 P3 and S3 teachers prescribed Julia Gabriel-style and Boggle word games instead of boring spelling during English lessons. Coupled with the kindness and encouragement of an S4 linguist turned teacher, I read the dictionary. The OED. Literally. Damn it, I can't remember every word so drop the challenge but I ABSOLUTELY completed the whole damn thing, so there.
Anyway. Scrabble boasts such versatility. Many hours were spent with friends by the checkered board. Many more hours were also spent without friends, by myself, with the board.
Sometimes I even connect firsts with Scrabble. One unlikely place is Zouk.
The first (and last) time I ever partied at Zouk was on its 8th anniversary (just don't ask me which year).
Vin, a foulmouthed and equally foulbrained failed-officer pilot-aspirant brat rolling in his dad's dough, had comp tickets and invited me and Jay, a rotund and bitchy gay crossdresser with a sharp tongue and sharper brains who channels Monroe with beaucoup makeup, for some jive time.
After getting fabulously drunk and having my eardrums fatally funked out, 3 totally wasted stoogers wobbled into a cab at 2am-ish that brought us to seedy Jackson's Food Centre, with Jay puking his guts and liver out IN THE CAB (and still failing to lose his pounds).
Supper was a spinning blur. Plates of food were swimming on the table. The Indian rojak mountain heaved and gurgled. Chicken wings flapped. I heard the cockles snapping a lewd tune. Vin swayed and smiled dreamily at nobody passing by. Jay kept picking up his shirtfront trying to smell his breasts and belly. My face was in the teochew muey. We were in the Afterwaves.
After demoleculising our food but hardly eating much, we pooled coins and took sticker photos in one of those booths. Just enough coins for 3 strips. Each of us took one for keepsake.
Back at Vin's semi-d (his parents conveniently on vacation), more hours were spent chatting, bitching and then we slept... (INDIVIDUALLY, do you mind.)
...All the way till the next mid-day. No breakfast or lunch. Sitting bleary eyed and zonked out at the dining table, not hungry but wondering what to do next, we eyeballed Vin's Scrabble set on the table together. It was a unanimous flash.
I scored my first 7-word hat trick there: 'decided'. 50 points. The mood was just so right -- arguments and jibes, lots of banter. It was therapeutic and relaxing and we had great fun. Jay trumped us all. It was the most blissful game I've played. We nailed 4 sets and left for home.
After that day, we never played another Scrabble set together.
Since then, I've lost touch with the 2 fellas.
Today marked the inter-school Scrabble championship held at Suntec City.
While checking out the competition (GOD! 10 minutes passed and that kid's STILL trying to stareburn a hole in his tiles; now what the fuck is 'tine'?) - I recall how a passive game like Scrabble can break boundaries and make connections.
From as young as I could remember, I have been and still am utterly attracted to words (I think my mom overdosed on alphabet soup or something when she was pregnant).
It helped when 2 P3 and S3 teachers prescribed Julia Gabriel-style and Boggle word games instead of boring spelling during English lessons. Coupled with the kindness and encouragement of an S4 linguist turned teacher, I read the dictionary. The OED. Literally. Damn it, I can't remember every word so drop the challenge but I ABSOLUTELY completed the whole damn thing, so there.
Anyway. Scrabble boasts such versatility. Many hours were spent with friends by the checkered board. Many more hours were also spent without friends, by myself, with the board.
Sometimes I even connect firsts with Scrabble. One unlikely place is Zouk.
The first (and last) time I ever partied at Zouk was on its 8th anniversary (just don't ask me which year).
Vin, a foulmouthed and equally foulbrained failed-officer pilot-aspirant brat rolling in his dad's dough, had comp tickets and invited me and Jay, a rotund and bitchy gay crossdresser with a sharp tongue and sharper brains who channels Monroe with beaucoup makeup, for some jive time.
After getting fabulously drunk and having my eardrums fatally funked out, 3 totally wasted stoogers wobbled into a cab at 2am-ish that brought us to seedy Jackson's Food Centre, with Jay puking his guts and liver out IN THE CAB (and still failing to lose his pounds).
Supper was a spinning blur. Plates of food were swimming on the table. The Indian rojak mountain heaved and gurgled. Chicken wings flapped. I heard the cockles snapping a lewd tune. Vin swayed and smiled dreamily at nobody passing by. Jay kept picking up his shirtfront trying to smell his breasts and belly. My face was in the teochew muey. We were in the Afterwaves.
After demoleculising our food but hardly eating much, we pooled coins and took sticker photos in one of those booths. Just enough coins for 3 strips. Each of us took one for keepsake.
Back at Vin's semi-d (his parents conveniently on vacation), more hours were spent chatting, bitching and then we slept... (INDIVIDUALLY, do you mind.)
...All the way till the next mid-day. No breakfast or lunch. Sitting bleary eyed and zonked out at the dining table, not hungry but wondering what to do next, we eyeballed Vin's Scrabble set on the table together. It was a unanimous flash.
I scored my first 7-word hat trick there: 'decided'. 50 points. The mood was just so right -- arguments and jibes, lots of banter. It was therapeutic and relaxing and we had great fun. Jay trumped us all. It was the most blissful game I've played. We nailed 4 sets and left for home.
After that day, we never played another Scrabble set together.
Since then, I've lost touch with the 2 fellas.
posted by logomancer | 11:47:00 PM
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