Ekka - a place where dignity and money are lost

Went to the Ekka today. Don’t ask me what that means, but the only thing I know from it was that it’s a name that developed into what they call a Royal Queensland Exhibition Show or something similar. It all about bringing the country life to the city. This ‘festival’ goes on for a period of 10 days starting 11th August, and it’s declared an Ekka holiday today, so got the chance to go. There’s all the farm animals, bush-type performance, games, rides and shows. Entry price was $20 per adult.
Animals from cows, pigs, horses, deer, llama, camels, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, birds, are on display and each have some sorta competition and prizes were given accordingly based on the category they are in. It’s a real eye-opener to see so many farm animals at a single place. You’ve never would have imagine that cows could have grown so big, and I was trying to imagine how much pork-chops can that pig produce. It was actually rather educational.
Then there were the games, I was actually looking forward to that coz I was anxious to win something big as I’ve been looking at alotta fella parading these huge plush toys. Well, apparently I found out that a lot of those games were kinda rigged in a way. It requires certain technique to win. Like the ball that never gets to stay in the bin coz its too bouncy, or the hoop that can never get into box coz its just the right circumference size, or the ring that never goes down the bottle neck as you shoot a rifle with a cork, coz its angled such that it deflects your shot, and the pyramid of cans that never topple coz they’re weighted and positioned such that your ball only hits the top can. Man…was I real disappointed. Well I tried a few of those even though I knew I suck at it, and yep, lost. Well eventually we reach this place where they had some sorta bowling thing, and you just have to ‘roll’ the ball in a weird angle so if you get a strike, you win a jumbo prize, and if you got a spare, you win a medium prize. First two tries I didn’t get anything, and I was really feeling crappy now. Make me feel like I’m an incompetent guy with no skills and abilities whatsoever. I was ready to give up when my friend insists that I give it a go again. Reluctantly I agreed as I thought it’ll just be more money washed down the drain, and another opportunity to prove my worthlessness. This time round I managed to get a spare and I really heave a sigh of relief as all the stress was on me! Everybody behind was just watching me! The attendant was a very nice girl and she gave a Kermit the Frog to us. But apparently my girlfriend wasn’t satisfied until she gets that jumbo size Bart Simpson. The attendant made a proposition to us, that if we get another spare, she’ll change the Kermit to Bart. That sounds reasonable. But it also meant another chance to lose my dignity if I failed. We opted for two tries again (coz it’s more affordable for $5 than $3 for a game). The first game I was left with 2 pins on the 1st roll. I decided to roll again trying my best to aim at a strange angle so as to hit both pins. As I let go of the ball with all my might, the ball missed the foremost pin and hit the back pin, but it bounce back and touched the front pin. It wobbled…and it stood. At this moment, everybody around me was going “aawww...” I was actually afraid to do it the second time round. There was just too much pressure on me. But was already paid, so its all or nothing. The attendant even hinted to me that she really want us to win, judging from our faces of despair, I guess she must’ve felt I’ve disappointed everyone. This time round, I decided to just throw the ball so hard that it’ll bounced off every wall to hit all the pins down. I was furious that I couldn’t win anything for my girlfriend. It sucked! So with all my concentration I aimed, and with all my might I threw! The ball went so fast that it ricocheted around hitting most pins and toppling all…but 1 pin. Everyone was gasp! That last pin wobbled as if dancing for joy at my wimpy throw. I swear I could’ve climb on the game stall and beak that pin in half. But I didn’t. That last pin was standing on the right most corner furthest from me. Suddenly everything was quiet. It was battle between me and that pin, and the last one standing wins. My heart was racing and I could’ve choke on my own saliva from the tension in my throat. All eyes were on me, the ball in my hands, and that pin. I stared hard at it, trying to make sense of some Pythagoras theorem that might help me imagine the best possible way to aim for it. My hand went to and fro, to and fro in preparation to let go of the ball I clench so tightly. As I did, I can hear the silence within me…I didn’t look back for fear it’ll wreck my concentration, but I felt as if everyone was just placing their hands on their face, covering half their vision. As the ball rolled out…my eyes widen in anticipation that if I lost my aim, I hope it’ll ricocheted off to hit the pin…those milliseconds seemed to pass like minutes in my mind. And then…a miracle…the ball hit dead-centre on the pin and sent it flying across the board…I was scared shitless…but I picked my jaw up from the ground. There was joy all around as if I’ve slain the dragon as the shouts of “winner! winner! winner!” rang over me. I finally won the Bart Simpson she wanted…it was a real relief that I didn’t have to do it again. In the closing moments of the day, they had a fireworks display. And as we sat there watching the sparks in the sky, I smiled not at the beauty in the sky, but because I was glad I recovered my dignity I lost at the games stalls.