Friday, May 25, 2007



[Edit] I want to start off mentioning about the loser who's been spilling dirt in my tagboard. Hello there. We all know that good people have stalkers right, so I'm officially part of that club. Big thanks to that lunatic loser. [/Edit]



Today was a big day for me. For one, it's the American Idol (Season 6) Grand 2-Hour Finale and I have to watch it live. Eight in the morning, I was already tuning in Star World (Thank God for cable and live-via-satellite technology) and watched various performances from my Mum's type of music up to today's biggest hits. But sadly, on my part, I did not have the chance to finish the live 2-Hour Finale because I had to attend the M.O.V.E. FORWARD: G/J GATHERING sponsored by Kumon. At 9:35, I had to hit the streets on my way to MMLDCI, Antipolo. Once I got inside the lobby, I had some sort of andrenaline rush (the one you feel when you see your crush pass by you) because of too much nervousness. I mean, what the heck, I am going inside a room full of strangers. Beat that! [EDIT] Only two representatives per center are allowed to attend-- one for reading; one for math. Fortunately, I got to represent math. [/EDIT] True enough, there was no single person I know. Good thing though, they had the groups arranged before hand, so all I had to do was take a seat in the table I'm assigned to. That was the good part of it. I mean, at least I did not have to make friends or start a conversation with a complete stranger. Whew.

So, it started with the registration (duhhh), opening speech by Ate Jacq, then came the "Getting to Know You" activity. It wasn't really some grand ice breaker, but for a starter, it was pretty good. Afterwards, we had the break. Had some Filipino Native Food served-- sapin sapin and the like. Then came the "Team Building Activity" which was in the form of an "Amazing Race." We were provided with maps but the thing is, no one in the group knows how to read it. Hah! So, we just ended up looking for facilitators because (obviously) where there is a facilitator, there is a station. Unlike the other groups, we did not run.. well, we did but just a little bit. We were so calm and did not even think of finishing first. What we had set in mind is that: "as long as we finish, we succeed-- it doesn't necessarily have to be first." So, we walked all the way from the entrance to the other end of the campus, slowly taking note of the landmarks we passed since it indicated where we were in the map. We hopped from one station to another, desperately finding one that is unoccupied. Well, that was the tough part of it because there were only ten stations and there are about thirteen groups.

I guess I really enjoyed the station wherein we had to jump rope, three representatives in the group [EDIT] I was part of it ;) [/EDIT]. All the three of us had to complete three consecutive jumps. According to the facilitator, we did a great job because we were fast. Well, maybe, if we just ran instead of walk, we could have reached about 3rd place instead of 5th or 6th.

After the tiring Amazing Race, we had lunch break. Fortunately, by then, our group has already bonded so it was not really hard to converse with any member. We had a satisfying meal during lunch (or were we just too hungry?:P) consisting of fried chicken, bland tasting mixed-veggies and rice. There was soup served and chocolate cupcake for dessert. After all the eating-slash-bonding moments, we had the Group Discussion. We talked about everything that happened during and after the "Team Building Activity." Then came the Open Forum, another break, speech (by Mr. Nakamura) and the most dreaded, "Commitment Ceremony."

Overall, I cannot believe I actually enjoyed this event so much and this allowed me to develop more confidence in myself and the things I am capable of accomplishing. Moreover, the room full of strangers became a room full of friends.