Friday, January 21, 2011

Tennis


I slept through most of today.

Maybe because of the weather, hot and humid.

Maybe I was tired from work.

Or maybe I was just bored because there was no internet to keep me entertained.

Our AAPT home phone and internet service was officially terminated around noon today.

I know this as a fact because I actually woke up early around 7am and still managed to surf, check emails and watch a few Youtube video clips before the line was completely cut off.

At one point, while I was still able to use the internet, I even doubted AAPT's efficiency. Like, maybe they did not key the correct date for service termination into the system, even after my 500 phone calls to them over the last week to confirm that a cancellation notice has been ordered in place.

These days, you just can't trust anyone to do their jobs right anymore. Somewhere and somehow, mistakes are bound to be made. Human errors (mostly), computer errors, system failure and the likes, sometimes beyond your wildest imagination. Hence the key is to double check, triple check, quadruple check and check again AND again.

Sounds tedious and lots of hassles, but hey, it's the only way to get things done nowadays. Sad, but true, how incompetent people can be.

So yes, I'm pretty sure you'd agree that my doubts were justified.

But no, AAPT came through, and our service was terminated as scheduled.

I'm not too sure if I felt disappointed or relieved though.

Maybe more of the latter. At least it saves me time and energy from having to get on the phone again next week and hassle them to rectify the mistake, not to mention there will be lots of other problems settling the bills and stuff.

And a little of the former, because we are now left with no internet access. :|

Anyway, I overslept and only woke up around 5pm when Wen called me.

Bee and I were supposed to meet her and KT around 5.30pm for the match at 7pm, but I completely lost track of time.

So Bee and I got changed in nano seconds, jumped into the car, and headed towards Melbourne Park rightaway.

Good thing the traffic on the freeway and exit to the city wasn't as heavily as expected on a Friday evening, so we managed to arrive just before 6.30pm, with still a little spare time to walk around, visit the kiosks and got something to eat.

The atmosphere was lively and vibrant as usual, with an enthusiastic and cheerful crowd to boot.,

The matches, on the other hand, were a little underwhelming.

Well, a little is an understatement actually.

In Rod Laver Arena, Venus Williams retired without even completing the first set in the 3rd round of women's singles.

Things are slightly better in Hisense Arena, though Kei Nishikori was clearly no match for Fernando Verdasco, currently ranked number 9 in the world and the second most celebrated tennis player in Spain after World number 1 Rafael Nadal.

Not sure if it he was feeling intimidated, but Kei Nishikori didn't even put up a good fight. Verdasco won by three straight sets - 6-2, 6-4, and 6-3 for 3rd round of men's singles.

But the crowd was still in good spirits nonetheless and cheered on for both opponents throughout the whole match.

Also, not to play the race card, it was refreshing (and funny at the same time) to hear people yelling out "ganbateh" in the crowd.

And by people, I was referring to yours truly as well. Haha.

The match between Kei Nishikori and Fernando Verdasco was still showing on TV when we got home, because there was no match to broadcast from Rod Laver Arena. :|

Oh well.

All in all, it was a pretty fun night, despite the short matches.

Good atmosphere, great company, and a glorious summer night with cooling breezes.