Mid-Autumn Festival is happening here in China.
... I'll leave that for another blog.
In the meantime, the point is it was an auspicious full moon last night (upon which the holiday is based). Three of us went to a huge sports bar for their famous spicy chicken wings but it turned out it also happened to be BINGO NIGHT, something I haven't done since I was a child and even then only a handful of times, none of which I specifically remember.
The deal was, every certain amount of money we spent, we get an extra bingo card, so we came a couple of hours early and ultimately collected about 16 cards between the three of us. Statistically impossible to lose, we thought. Largely because none of us are any good at maths.
We got more by ordering cookie ice cream we were 200% too full to even eat, but hey
Wrongly thinking it would be nice and slow as was tradition -
-- Two fat ladies, 88! Two fat ladies, 88! Legs 11, legs 11!
It was actually pretty intense. In the 'blackout rounds' where the entire card had to be filled, the guy would speed up to say a number every 1.5 seconds or so. You can imagine my panic every time 27 was called out, given all 5 of my cards had that number on and I had to mark the whole lot off in 1.5 seconds.
Well, despite us doing mighty well at keeping up, the rounds kept passing and we kept coming up empty handed. Gone was the suitcase, the VIP tennis tickets, the cider, the pint glasses, the mooncakes and mystery boxes, the children's t-shirt and lipstick.
The one prize we were looking forward to, the clearly undersized, low quality BMX, was given away to somebody who clearly never rode a bike in his life, regrettably wheeling it to his table without even riding it there.
All hope was lost with but a single prize remaining, the grand prize of a 60-inch TV!
Interestingly, a browse gave us no clue as to what the brand was. The box had a picture of the TV on it, but no actual brand. How mysterious.
Well, this round got intense. There was no single-line round, just a straight up blackout round. None of us had even gotten particularly close so far.
But then...
'BINGO!!!!'
-- shouted my friend. Could it be true? There were so many failed call-outs thus far by others, to which the entire room were encouraged to Boo! wildly whenever it happened.
But nay! It was confirmed with a thumbs up - we won the TV! The grand prize!
What a beauty, eh?
Well, I helped my friend get it in the taxi home and awaited a report as to what TV it actually was inside.
I could not have been happier at what I saw next:
Never heard of a SAIVISUHG, eh? Allow me to suggest you move away from your screen and take a look at the brand name from a distance.
Recognise it yet? I think you'll find it's actually a very famous product, SAMSUNG!
This was the epitome, an absolute golden example of Chinese fraudulence. quintessential Made in China (or possibly Russia).
The colours are apparently all washed out and the standby button is absurdly bright, but hey, it's a TV.
A bit of online browsing seemed to suggest this one cost about 700RMB (about $100) but I reckon it was probably cheaper.
Well, with the TV and spicy chicken wings out the way, I consider this weekend even a resounding success!
🤣🤣🤣 hahahaha, I am almost crying 😂. Yes, that can be clearly seen - SAMSUNG lol
I should play bingo or the lottery. This week I keep finding money (forgotten money) in the pockets of jackets and trousers 🤑
I'm impressed you still use cash money! I haven't used paper and coins in more years than I can count... I kinda miss finding drenched notes in the washing machine haha, always a nice surprise... worth more than a SAIVISUHG, at least
Yes, we still use it :)
This is Spain, where the people have a lot of time and no hurry at all, even to adopt some different ways of playing :D
Lol, that logo is such a laugh. I could see it immediately. I haven't played Bingo in years (the last time was when I was about 6 years old) and the prizes I won were better quality back then it seems. Either way, it sounds like you had a good time which is the main thing. Thanks for the laugh 😁
Haha, the funny thing is none of us actually noticed for a good while haha... But there if no surprise in the end. Pretty sure I haven't done bingo done I was a kid too. It was huge in the 70's and my early years, but randomly died out pretty sudden, I wonder why?
It's such a fun game, but I suppose the prizes do have to be worthwhile. You still got a TV so at least you didn't leave empty handed 😊