Out of luck when luck was doing alright

iTunes' party shuffle is playing a copy of: Paper Thin - John Hiatt - Slow Turning, of which I have the original CD and therefore didn't steal music.

You cannot place bets using your Singapore-issued credit or debit card at any online betting shop or online casino that's located overseas. And I didn't know if Singapore Pools, one of the many, many betting agencies in Singapore, offered odds on yesterday's Melbourne Cup - The Race That Stops A Nation, so I asked a friend in Sydney to go to her local TAB and place $55 on various horsies for me, LMD and my friend Steve (who thought it might be a good idea to distract himself from his woes). Now, I'm not a gambler by any measure, and I don't watch the soccer (yes, it's overseas soccer, so don't ask me why I watch overseas horseraces and overseas cricket and overseas rugby union). Here, it seems as if every other guy and the occasional girl watches soccer. They get all worked up about it, place large amounts of money on bets based on what the New Paper says, and then lose a bundle to either Singapore Pools or one of the many other local betting agencies. But I like wagering with people who I know are a tad too emotional about the sport they're watching, like the time me and a friend won a small but handy sum from someone who gets all worked up about her soccer. Then there is the spooky coincidence of licence plate numbers of cars involved in accidents, no matter how minor the accident, and the winning 4D number. I've never won 4D, and I was beginning to think it was because I seldom bet, and when I did, I never bet on the numbers my friends told me to. So when the one true love told me she dreamt of the number 1117, I thought, what the heck, let's have a flutter. I went and placed $5 (I think) on 1117, and the next day, 7111 was published as one of the Starter numbers, and it was then I learnt that there was such a thing as an Auto-Pick-Combo-Thingamajig. I also told the one true love to make sure she slept the right way round next time. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not a gambler by any measure. Else I might actually watch the soccer or risk life and limb travelling to Genting, because I can't place bets using my credit/debit card on overseas online betting shops and casinos. Yesterday's flutter was a flop. Me, LMD and Steve lost our outlay of $55 (My bookie friend in Sydney lost $6 herself too, so make that $61 lost to an overseas economy). None of our horses came within coo-ee of the placings, and Steve is blaming the girl he's seeing but not quite seeing for his run of outs. She called him yesterday, you see. Stupid, stupid horse!

Surf stop: Lactoso The Intolerant