Sunday, August 16, 2009

15 Aug 2009 - J.I. Race. The day we pulled it off. Alright!

Yes, we did it! Papillon did it again.
That's thrice in a row -

The 1st time, jostling in the wrong lane;
The 2nd time in the right lane and clearly the winner;
The 3rd time, heartstoppingly close.

Jurong Island Race 2009
Mixed Category
Champions

Heats 1:25:26
Semis 1:25:44
Final 1:26:08

Special note: Believe me - the stunned silence and confusion between euphoria/dread that follows a close finish between the first/second-placed boats is one of those rare, defining moments which one experiences only a few times in life.
(For our own longevity's sake, I do not recommend such exotic sources of thrills. But who cares - Papillon will still rejoice and celebrate, once we get over the shock. Or sooner, when we emerge with the favourable outcome! :)

And celebrate, we did.
The bushed but jubilant Papillon army sought refuge at a cosy home in Ang Mo Kio with the permission of our gracious hosts Su Li & Jui Goy, and fresh water and food supplies promptly arrived in the form of KFC and Pizza Hut. (Nope, this time we didn't have no 933 golden pillows that took forever to arrive. We do learn wisely from past experiences, you know.)

A great race, harrowingly close, but all the same, a triumph that deserves to be celebrated and treasured - for it didn't come easy. There were bouts of uncertainty, major disruption from turnarounds, erratic attendance at trainings (both land and water), rare was the training with all 10 on board, we shifted Paps from left to right to left just to balance the boat, and occasionally even had to borrow supersub rowers (dear Freddy, and also Ben CH(i)ONG-ing between Houston and Singapore but still making it a point to join us whenever he could).

As with all teams, there are bound to be movements and changes - we saw Pierre, Yen Nee, Christy and Marilyn sitting out to pursue various endeavours ; but we also saw our newly-minted Papillons - Xiuhuan, Lin, Kenji, Yan Geow - rise admirably to the occasion.

And that's the true mark of Papillon - though individuals may evolve, but the Team will stay strong, and will collectively give our best fight, no matter what challenges we face.

So be very proud of yourselves, be very proud of Papillon.
As our wise grand advisor Vincent Teo always says (something of the following essence, cannot remember exact words because every time I hear it, it sounds slightly different yet same same),
"If you win once, it could be luck. Twice, people might say you are good. Three times, no need to say already!"

= Chief Editor D.L. signing off =