A Very Packed Weekend

This was one of the most busy weekends I have ever in quite a while.

-= Saturday =-

Today was the day of Singapore's very first VS 10k. As usual, I cannot wake up early (it starts at 10 am), so I arrived there at 11 am. My true purpose was only to take the Level 2 Rules Certification exam anyway. The room was crowded; there was close to 90 people playing in the event. Strangely, this was the first time I have seen a VS tournament without much of an audience; I was the only guy standing there, walking around, doing my own thing. I saw two guys sitting at a long table with several albums laid out. I realized that the man owned a card store in Yishun and began going through his stuff. I saw several cards at crazy low prices (especially the EAs) and when I saw that I wanted quite a lot of stuff, I left to find an ATM machine to withdraw money.

By the time I returned, the room was full of busy players who were making the best of the time between rounds to do some buying/trading. Unfortunately for me, they invaded that Yishun seller's album and took most of the stuff that I wanted to buy. Darn, I should've at least asked him to reserve some for me. I didn't think it would be like this, especially since ten minutes ago, I was the one & only person standing around. Oh, well. It was crowded, so I went to sit down and returned later again when the next round began and I was the only free guy again. I had no other company, so I chatted with the Yishun shop guy. He said that he started selling VS a very long time ago; back when Garth was only $5 and he had 60+ Savage Beatdowns. He also added that, although VS is a good game, the bad thing about it is the lack of a younger play crowd. The VS community are mostly young adults (18 years & over), and from a business standpoint, younger players make up the bulk of the gaming population so VS isn't a lucrative business since the young ones don't play the game.

While going through more of the seller's album, one of the judges passed by. His name tag had "Adrian" printed on it, and I remembered Uncle Chris mentioning that he was the guy overseeing all VS operations in Singapore. I felt this might be a good time to ask about the judge exam. I pardoned myself and asked the Adrian guy for any details of the level 2 certification that he could tell me. Somehow, he didn't react in the way I expected.

"If you want to take the level 2 exam, you must first be well prepared for it," He replied in a rather condescending manner. "It is a very difficult exam that tests your knowledge on the more advanced rulings of the game . You should go study the VS Comprehensive Rules PDF first." I didn't like the way he was putting me down, so I blurted out, "Yes, I have been studying it before I came." He was treating me like some joker who was there to waste his time by coming unprepared to take the test just for the heck of it. He continued, "When I said 'study' the Comprehensive Rules, I mean, really study; as if it were for a big exam at school. Like I said, it is truly very difficult; like taking the DCI exam for Magic: The Gathering. But if you are still interested anyway, go give your name to that Caucasian guy. We'll probably hold it today if we have time, but more likely tomorrow."

After being lectured like that for no reason, I felt fed up and didn't feel like taking the level 2 exam anymore. I actually felt I was kind of ready. I had adequate personal experience from playing the game. I have read & understood most of the VS Comprehensive Rules and I was the sort who could reason rulings out so long as I can read the text. It was just too bad that the Adrian guy was too stuck-up to give me a chance. Perhaps I'll take the test elsewhere when he is not the one in charge; maybe like the Malaysian 10k or something.

The Yishun shop-owner nearby heard our conversation (it was hard not to pay attention since I was the only guy who was not playing in the 10k). When Adrian walked away, he took out a pen & paper, "You want to be a judge? How about you give me your contact information? I am looking for people to run tournaments for me." It was a very kind offer after being blasted by Adrian and I felt kind of flattered, but I feel that my allegiances are with AMK, so I politely turned him down, giving some other excuse.

Since I was done at the tournament, I left for AMK.

At AMK, I played VS with Kyo & friends, and then drafted Raw Deal with Miya, Darius and Shoujing at night. It will probably be the only time I can draft Raw Deal because drafting requires buying a starter and it is just nice the new ones were out. It was quite a demoralizing draft for me; in both my matches, I only managed to play 2-3 cards before I lost. I just didn't know what cards to pick during the draft, I guess.

When the shop was about to close, Miya's friend arrived and they bought bought a DS. Miya even bought a DS game and a GBA game. This was the first time I have seen Miyamoto spend so much on goodies for himself. hehe.

I went home later and prepared the necessary things for Sunday's graduation day.

-= Sunday =-

I woke up at noontime and prepared my things to go. I was actually kind of irritated; I didn't want to attend the Commencement in the first place; it was my parents who wanted me to.

I arrived at the Universtiy Cultural Centre at 2 pm, went to change into my graduation gown (the mortar board was heavy and gave me a headache), and went to get sitted. After that, the graduands just applauded whenever someone went on stage. I checked the program sheet and noted around 800+ graduands. That was a lot of clapping to do. Some guys behind me whispering suggested that they might have recorded some claps beforehand to play. At the end of it all, we were invited to refreshments outside, but the hall was packed full of students and their friends & family. I had a few quick photo shoots with some of my old friends before I left with my Mum. I changed in the car while she fetched me to AMK.

At AMK, I played cards as usual and whacked Raw Deal with Andy and Miyamoto at night. I managed to get enough cards to make a newbie deck and that was it for Sunday.