Tonight is the INSEAD Monsoon Ball, which I am going to miss because I'm in Hong Kong.
Monsoon Ball is one of the annual traditions at INSEAD - it usually takes place in Singapore in November (the monsoon season), hence the name. (The Fontainebleau version, on the other hand, usually takes place in spring, in the classy Chateau de Fontainebleau where Napoleon once lived. Now that is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.)
At INSEAD, the Monsoon Ball is sorta kinda a big thing, though you can also argue that it's just one of the many nights where a bunch of 20's & 30's+ try to party and get drunk like teenagers. Only in a fancier place and in nicer clothes.
To me, however, the Monsoon Ball will always have a tender spot in my heart. It was where SB either (a) started to notice me for real, or (b) finally started making a move on me, after weeks of checking me out. I still don't know which one it was, but I know this much is true: the Monsoon Ball gave us the chance to really know each other, albeit in a somewhat funny and indirect way.
So when he was trying to chat me up that night (by bringing me round after round of desserts), I casually dished out an invite and said he should come along with me and my friends to our next trip. You know, we're in the middle of this conversation, and I was really just throwing it out there without meaning it, like I did with other people too. But this guy - he pulled out his smart phone immediately and started checking his calendar right away. Wow, he's serious, I thought.
And then after a series of fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it) events, the trip with my other friends ended up being 48 hours with just the two of us on a remote island in the Philippines. I think he probably talked for 40 hours out of those 48 - this guy definitely could talk.
But it was a good thing, I guess, cos I wasn't bored for even one minute during the trip. And it gave the opportunity for me to know him, and for him to know me. In the business school environment where most people are really just interested in, shall i say, results, it's refreshing to find somebody who is actually interested in knowing who you are (instead of just "networking" and getting potential business contacts for the future, or just trying to get into your pants, you know).
And so it's how it all started.
And now, whenever I think about the Monsoon Ball, my heart softens and I feel nothing but amazement, at how things have worked out for us. What if he had decided not to go to the Monsoon Ball that night (he's not a big fan of that sort of thingy)? What if I hadn't mentioned the trip and dished out the offer? What if he was busy during the days where we're supposed to go on the trip? There were so many moving parts in the whole process - from us meeting at INSEAD to finally dating - what if one of them had been missing? Would we still end up being together one way or another, or will things be completely different now? (Hey, maybe I'll end up going out with a billionaire and am already a tai-tai!)
Is it destined or is it purely accidental?
Either way, I'm just as grateful.
Happy anniversary (in advance), honey.
Photo: Top - Monsoon Ball 2008, Bottom - Monsoon Ball 2009; Both pictures stolen off Facebook ;)
