There is a moment of confusion when you're suddenly CC'd into an existing email thread. The confusion is magnified when you see a large list of email addresses and you have to scroll down to see the initial seed message. Sometimes if you're lucky, the agenda of the chain is obvious - this email thread read "Monday night Touch Football @ Happy Valley". Monday nights would never be the same.
Hypothetically speaking, if I could engineer a perfect start to a week it would incorporate the elements of Monday Night football at Happy Valley. 8 pm, a group of 20+ people head down to Happy Valley Racecourse for a social game of pick up football. Let's breakdown why this works.
Firstly, it's Monday, and nobody looks forward to Monday. Any Hong Kong denizen will tell you that weekends in the Administrative Region are usually quite destructive; excess alcohol and consumption leave most feeling less than 100%. Combine that with the thought of having to endure another 5 days until the next weekend and Mondays really lack the redeeming qualities found in the other days.
One way to rectify the Monday slump is with exercise. Touch football is less about football and more about cardio. Don't let the adjectives "social" and "pickup" fool you. It's 60 mins of high intensity movements: sprinting, changing levels, moving laterally and constant back-peddling. My first night was a shock to my cardio-vascular system. The lungs, the lactic acid, my body was red-lining and exposed to some severe stress.
Secondly, the group of people who participate are really awesome people. Admittedly majority of them are Australian, but you do get the odd, English, South African and Hong Kong local. Best part is, you always get the odd random person who was "walking by and decided to have a go".
Finally, it's not just about the sports but more about the post game feed. On the first night I made the mistake of ordering a water and a grilled chicken salad. As anticipated, as soon as my order was brought out it received raised eyebrows and silent judgement. Healthy food has it's place, Monday night is not that place. I've since adopted a more rewarding/satisfying meal plan, some ale and a hamburger with a side of fries and a slathering of tomato sauce. Is Monday the new Friday?
"You don't win friends with salad" - Homer Simpson
