my stories to a perfect pirouette: Spring Carnival: Derby Day

It's the Spring Racing Carnival season here and the entire Melbourne has dolled up for the season. Fascinators and hats can be seen in all the window displays in the city.

As part of a work function, I went to the races for the first time yesterday. AAMI Derby Day to be exact. This race day has a traditional black and white theme; more classic than colourful. I spent hours over the past weekend looking for a fascinator from Myer. There were thousands to choose from. I didn't want one that was too big and getting a hat was wayyy too expensive (they cost around 250-300 dollars).

Days before Derby Day, all everyone could talk about was the terrible weather that was about to hit Melbourne. "One months rain in 24 hours" That is A LOT of rain for Melbourne in one day. Considering that the races is an outdoor event, the bosses made sure that Vitality got geared up for the day. They made sure there were enough marquees to cover our booked lots at the races. Considering what we were going to be dressed in, it would be terrible if we were drenched in our stilettos.

The first race started at 11 on a Saturday morning. It was meant to rain the night before and all Saturday morning. When I woke up, I looked out the window and realized it wasn't raining. I thought to myself, wishing that there might be a chance the weather would be better than what we expected. We are in Melbourne after all. We made it to the races by train and got to our lots just as it started to drizzle. An hour later, the rain started to pour. Not just rain but heavy 'Malaysia-like' rain. Such a terrible day for the races. By the afternoon, the temperature dropped and the ladies started to take their coats out of the car. Even the suits were not enough for the men.

Nonetheless, it was a great day. Rain and all. Everyone had plenty to drink and after a few glasses of champagne, wine, beer and food, the rain did not bother us much anymore.

I managed to take some pictures.