Monday, December 1, 2008




From here onwards I’ve changed to monthly entries:
4th – 31st October
· The two days that I had volunteered for to do backstage for the show ‘Jazzmatazz’ went extremely well. It was a bit tricky to place props in precise positions in the dark while trying not to be seen by the audience. The highlight of the ‘job’, however, was when we went the upper section that hung over the stage, unseen by the audience, and showered the performers in sprinkles for a special effect that was part of the performance. Apparently there have been supposed sightings of a ghost in this upper section so it was quite a novelty. I learnt some skills in planning in advance when it came to moving props. As well as that I learnt a few skills leadership and coordinating people to place different props at exactly the right time.

· The performance for UN day was to take place on the 10th October. We, the Sri Lankan party planned to perform a baila and a pot dance. I took part in the baila. This was a new and creative experience for me as I am not normally a fan of dancing. I was quite pleased that I managed to come out of my comfort zone in choreographing and performing the dance. It was also a lot of fun although we did have to sacrifice a lot of lunch breaks for it. So when the day came on the 10th October it went pretty smoothly with just a few mistakes. Most of all, the crowd was entertained and there was plenty of laughter which gave me a really adrenaline rush. My confidence on stage was greatly increased by this experience.

· I also volunteered to help sell brochures and programs at the’ Symphony Orchestra’ performance at the Ladies College auditorium on the 18th October with a group of friends. This was non-profit concert. Basically, we had to go around the auditorium before the performance and during the interval distributing brochures for 50/= each. We had to be proactive as most of the audience was elderly and we couldn’t just wait for them to look for us. I managed to sell around 50 programs.

· At our church I have been asked to organize games for the Youth Group on a few occasions, on Sundays. This tested my creativity because I’ve had to come with some rather unusual games as that is what the Youth group is notorious for. So far I, as well as Lenard, have managed to set up games involving water guns, wet sponges, dodge ball and shaving cream. I think I’ve developed a few skills in organizing large groups, especially with the younger ones who have tested my patience once or twice. I’ve also learnt how to think out of the box a little.

· This month it has been raining quite hard so I have not managed to get much tennis in. As for my aspirations to take part in a tournament I think I will concentrate on that during the Christmas holidays.

· I also did not manage to get into the Basketball Varsity team. However, I was not that disappointed as I did realize that I was not entirely skilled and experienced enough. However I am happy to play in the Junior Varsity team and develop my skills and experience so that I can have a better chance of getting in next year. I still go for practices when I can.

· For the cancer hospital we are planning a fund raiser in order to purchase Oxypura masks for the children so that they can go outside on trips with less risk of infection. We have planned to organize a movie night sometime in December. This is my first time organizing a proper fundraiser. We plan to raise 18,000/=. We going to play the movie: Madagascar 2. We have also been visiting the hospital to evaluate what aspects of it have to be improved. So far we are thinking about repainting the rooms.



· On the 11th of October I decided to attend the annual Alzheimer’s walk. There me, and a few friends, were assigned to sell a few raffle tickets to raise more money for the cause. Again, we had to be proactive, so we walked into the Cinnamon Grand hotel and began to approach people offering them the tickets. Despite a few rejections we managed to raise a considerable amount of money. We learnt a few organizational skills again as sometimes we had to split up to address different parts of the hotel. I personally learnt how to be more proactive as I may not have been so successful without the help of my friends. The walk itself was fun. We had to hold up banners promoting the cause.

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