Day 18 @ Care Corner 28 May '06

Family Day! Woohoo!

Before the actual day, I had doubts about the turn-up figure. It seemed like many people bought tickets but may not turn up. But I was wrong!! For about the first one and a half hours, the flow at my game stall was almost non-stop! Thank God for the YW@P volunteers who came later to help. And I found out that one of them is studying at NJC. NJC life will always be very special to me. =)

Right, you know, when I saw the parents how to balance cards at my station, I felt like almost all the frustration faded away. I wonder if parents consistently guide their children in that loving way I witnessed that day. If they do not, then that day must have been a very special one for the kids. And I think, Santha might be right in alluding to the fact that richer kids might not appreciate such mini-funfairs. Just a sense that I get, I don't know how to explain that. Anyway, since I'm a very quality time person, I think a child who speaks this love language would feel very loved! Like you know, my dad actually spent time playing games and catching fish with me. I think that would do alot for their identity and self-esteem as a child.

I'm supremely happy that all the game stalls are pretty well-liked! Esp the communication game which WP and I thought of! Hooray! And ya, the fish game was so smelly!!! But the kids loved the game.

Learning points:
- It is absolutely necessary to be very detailed in the planning stage of events. Who would be doing what and when? Where would the money be kept? Would receipts be printed? When one needs to leave his designated post, who does he inform? Who takes over? Who should I ask instructions from? Are the elderly rehearsed for their performance? Who fills the gap when the DJ leaves early? (Having said that, I think the DJ that day was pretty charismatic. Just his voice la. Oh well, that's why he's a DJ).

- Expect much frustration and last-minute bombs in planning events like that. They're not fun to experience, but inevitable.
- Never belittle the ability of a group. Wow! It's team work that made things happen in this Family Day event!
- I must learn to separate personal feelings from work. Again, this is based on the assumption that work and personal life are two separate, distinct spheres, with no possible spill-over. But it's tough. Yea.. must find a way to work around that.
- Be all things to all men.

I'm superbly thankful for the sups' effort in processing the process with us on Mon! THANK YOU! It helped in that I felt that I can open up a little on the negative things I felt. It's just scary to share negative feelings with people I hardly know. For me, I felt like it put me in a very vulnerable position. But I think it did alot in helping me put things into perspective. This whole experience cannot be learnt through classroom tutorials.

Agency planning module did not teach me how to manage conflicting expectations and ideas. It did la, but sometimes textbook stuff seems so sterile and oversimplified. But application is so difficult. Agency planning can't teach me how to pick up my boss' mood within a short span of 2 weeks. No wonder Dr TS said the beautiful thing about social work is that some things cannot be taught. I agree with that! No lecturer can teach you how to/not to show face!!