Unorthodox

2 days ago, due to some miscommunication, I had a fun-filled badminton game with Zhun Jeat, Chu Kin, Steve, Rafiqu and Kok Chuan. The catch was that I had only brought with me a spare t-shirt. So I played in a t-shirt and formal pants and shoes. (I usually bring along a spare shirt just in case I decide to be hardworking one day and go exercise)
I must say it was an interesting experience but of course it affected performance.

Later Eve invited me to go for a so-called 'Night-Walk' in Bukit Gasing. Apparently it was some Adventure Club thingy. I agreed, mostly since it would be so near my house. Besides what's a little frolic through a secondary forest which I've been to a few times already?

Some time back in secondary school, I used to join the annual camps to Taman Negara, where we were clearly told in black and white, what to bring along. It included 2 pairs of jeans for trekking (presumably one to wear while the other dries back at camp) as well as trekking boots. The problem was that I didn't have jeans nor boots. I hated jeans - the material made me itch, and the boots...what was I made of? Money?
Anyway I went for the camp regardless, equipped with my trusty khakis and my badminton shoes and stoicly trekked along with the others. I got some comments from my friends, including why I didn't wear jeans, why jeans are superior, whether I was sure the shoes would last etc.

In the end, I had the last laugh. My khakis were as tough as their jeans for the trek, my shoes survived without problems and almost everyone else complained that their jeans were SO heavy after wading through a river. In fact, until very recently my badminton shoes have faithfully served me, albeit having lost their grip (leading to me doing sliding stunts on the court).
I learned from that experiece that nothing is really hard and fast. There are always alternatives - sometimes even better than the norm...unfortunately we weak-minded humans give up way to easily, but that's a topic for another time.

Back to the present. I realised that since my t-shirt was as of now unwearable and I faced the quest of trekking in my entire formal wear. I also realised that I could simply go home and grab a spare shirt and my somewhat holey badminton shoes...but where's the fun in that? After all it was kinda wet that night.

And so clad entirely in formal, to the surprise of the guide (who was a friend of the Adventure Club guy who got us involved), I went through the forest.
Emerged unscathed, not that we would be anyway since it's devoid of dangerous animals, but somewhat muddy and sweaty. It was a mediocre adventure - nothing to shout about. It might have been more fun had the guides not stopped every 5 minutes or so for 5 minutes or so, to break open dead tree barks to admire little white insects or stare at a spider the size of half a thumbnail.
No offense but if you had mentioned earlier, like before we entered the forest, that you were on some biology hunt I might have had second thoughts about it.

Well, it's water under the bridge now. Pretty sure I've gained something from it even if I dunno what it is yet. Besides we had fun in A&W afterwards :D