Ancora imparo

I am still learning.

This beautiful sport of treasure hunt.

(Flash back to immediately after theSun Hunt 2008 Leg 2 submission)

I was asking myself, "Did we do enough this time?" "Did I do enough this time?"

Every time we joined a treasure hunt, I always remind the team, that the one competitor that we were up against was the CoC. It was the CoC that we were supposed to beat.

I knew we didn't manage to best the CoC this time. We didn't solve all questions. We left money on the table.

I did everything that I could to motivate the guys since the day I enrolled the team for the hunt. The aim, this time, as I put to them, was to win it, and the message was, "We can win it."

I was in pensive mood. I didn't talk much. It was the guys who came to me and said, "Just chill." "We have done our best... given the limited time that we need to manage in the end."

(Flash back to the year 2006)

In 2006, we got an opportunity to form a team to represent our company in the inaugural Corporate Hunt. This was the first time Sath, Raj, Doug and I worked as a team. It was the strongest team combination I could thought of at that time. I remember that was one of the toughest hunts we have ever been to. We started the hunt with high hope but received a baptism of fire in open hunt and was placed 18th.

Although we were well-defeated in the Corporate Hunt, but I felt that the team could perform better. In that same year, I got to know theSun Motor Hunt. I convinced the guys to join this hunt. Contrary to Corporate Hunt, the team morale was pretty low before the start of the hunt. I wanted to motivate them and promised to bear the entry fee of RM360 if our team finished in the top 10.

-The prize for 10th place in 2006 was a DVD player each.

The team did well to finish 10th among more than 200 teams in the Open category. I could see the happy faces and confidence grew.

(The year, 2007)

That year we joined quite many open hunts. We were selective on which hunts to join mainly due to team members availability issues. Competing in the field of masters, we managed some top 10 finishes in open hunts. The team confidence was high and we aimed to better the 10th place finish in theSun hunt the year before. We were looking at a possible top 5 finish. This time there was no need for me to promise any incentive like the year before.

We finished 9th and left pondering what could have been in 2007.

We finished the hunt in 9th place. In terms of points scored, we didn't improve. We made mistakes that we shouldn't have. We could have been in the top 5 or even top 3. And we were left pondering what could have been.

(Fast-forward to the prize giving ceremony, theSun hunt 2008)

"The runner-up in the Open Category is... Micro Focus" announced Dom.

It was a special moment for me and the team.

I was holding back tears of joy, and Sath was quick to notice and say, "Hold it..."

It was a special moment for me and the team. I did promised the team, after the heartbreak in theSun hunt 2007, that as long as they believe in me, I will captain them to an open hunt champion one day. That day has come.

"...and the champions in the Open Category, Lanun Inc."