One of the common features of my company's annual dinner is the lucky draws. It is almost like our annual dinner would be incomplete without the lucky draws. I haven't been able to attend all of the annual dinners throughout the over 20 years I've been attached to this company, but I've attended most of them. In some of those dinners, we have had so many prizes to give away that perhaps up to 60%-70% of those who attended could win something. I guess the respective organizing committees were just trying to make the majority happy.
However, throughout all those years, I can't remember ever winning the lucky draws in any of those dinners. I sometimes found myself wondering what's the odds of not winning from so many, many chances; and when will be the day I would actually win something.
Actually, except for the very few grand prizes at the end, most of the other prizes are usually cheap items, nothing to shout about. And I'm not so overly desperate to win a RM10 KFC coupon. But winning something—anything at all—is exciting. It's not about the value of that something, really. It's just that "feel-good" thrill that is hard to explain.
I have since long given up hope on my luck when it comes to lucky draws—I suppose it's just not my thing! As far as I am concerned, perhaps winning a lucky draw at an event where there's a 60% chance of winning, is still comparable to getting struck by lightning! I marvel at how some people keep winning lucky draws year after year at our annual dinners.
A few weeks ago my brother, Harry, and his wife, Buddy, became a daddy and mommy for the first time. But for some reason I couldn't find the time to visit them and the dragon baby, at the hospital. Then recently, Harry and Buddy invited me to a dinner party to mark one-month old of the baby's arrival, and I said that I would attend.
Then about a week or two ago, my partner asked me if I could attend a dinner invitation on his behalf. Forgetting that I've already committed to attend Harry's party, I said yes to my partner. It wasn't till the last minute that I was reminded of Harry's party. By then it was too late for me to find a replacement for the other dinner. In the end, to compromise, I decided to attend both!
What I did was to attend the other dinner first. It was a formal dinner, and I had to appear in a black suit. The Guest of Honour was the Chief Minister of Sabah. Halfway through, however, I sneaked out and went to Harry's party.
Little did I know that while I was at Harry's party, a lucky draw was conducted at the other dinner; and of all those years, and many, many lucky draws that I've been at where I failed to win anything, this had to be the lucky draw that I would win a Samsung digital camera! According to 3 friends who texted me, my name was called out several times, but because I was not personally present to receive the prize, it had to be forfeited!
That's Murphy's Law, I guess, but what's the odds of it happening? So that's a digital camera down the drain for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. And it's kinda frustrating that it had to be a camera, especially at a time when my own Sony camera went dead recently and I'm up to buy another soon.
But here's the thing about brotherly respect. My siblings don't necessarily like me as a brother, but I'd like to think that they respect me. And respect has to be earned; it doesn't come automatically. I have committed to Harry and buddy that I would come, and no amount of digital camera would prevent me from coming. If I have to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.
But dammit!... I could sure use a new digital camera for free!
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