Reaching Goals and Setting New Ones

Last year, I set a goal for myself. 

"Do something great before I turn 20."

 It was a very vague goal, with no measurements or events that would let me know if I've definitively achieved it, just "something great". I found out a few month later, however, that setting a goal so figuratively wasn't the best practice one should use but i decided to run with the idea and, with or without me knowing, the decisions I made from then on would lead me to achieving this goal a year early, at least in my standards.

Ideaspace #Technopreneur Bootcamp Bohol 2014

Just recently I had had the privilege to once again work with the wonderful startup community that led me to this path. Our friends at Ideaspace, after witnessing the success of Startup Weekend Bohol, wanted to hold Bohol's first Ideaspace #Technopreneur Bootcamp. Naturally, the local tech community and organizers of Startup Weekend Bohol _{(i.e. the TechTalks Tagbilaran community)} were contacted and tasked to be field organizers and prepare the group before Ideaspace arrived from other engagements.

Meeting New Friends

Much like our experience in organizing SWB, there was a deep low on the number of participants. Working with my friends in TTTagbilaran was clear as a whistle as everyone had the right connections and drive to push through all the technicalities and logistics needed for the event. Giving it our all, we only managed to get 15 to 20 pre-event submissions. 

Ideaspace arrived, the venue was set for an assumed 115 participants and the TechTalks Tagbilaran team were internally screaming. But lo and behold, 135 participants showed upa nd idea submissions bamfed up to 41 before the mentor's Cafe started, which immensely delighted our friends from Ideaspace. "You seemed like you weren't worried at all! You were so relaxed!" One organizer said to us, core organizers, referring to our mental and emotional state a day and a few hours before the event started when things looked grim. We awkwardly laughed and replied "It's because we couldn't do anything more to make the situation any better."

Startup Weekend Bohol 2014

The situation was just as grim in before Startup Weekend Bohol opened a few months ago with a high number of "free" participants and a low number of "participants who would pitch". Mentors and Judges, both local and international, were there at the opening night looking forward to hearing Bohol's bright ideas while the organizers and I looked at each other in the sidelines with weary eyes about the number of people we expected to actually go up front. Much of our efforts in pre-event bootcamp sessions were, although fun, only attended by a handful of people. We thought the event would be a bust since nobody had an idea to share but the people of Bohol thought otherwise. One stood and pitched, then a group of two then a third and the next thing I knew half of the seats were empty because everyone wanted to stand up and share!

My first ever Press Conference

So much to say, the experience of going out there and engaging with the local community opened my eyes and taught me many lessons. To never underestimate the ability of people and to never ever give up when a challenge has been put in front of you.

Hanging with the big leagues

Being able to organize two such prestigious events was such a mind-blowing thought to me when I realized I had actually reached my goal. Hopefully, I am proven wrong and another bigger chance for me to "do something great" presents itself in the following five months but basking in the afterglow which was the Symph experience, I just wanted to look back at the things I was able to do in just a year following my decision to make myself better and man did I do a lot.

Chilling at Geeks On A Beach 2

One of which "lot of activities" I got to do was attend my first ever Geeks On A Beach at Mactan, Cebu. I met new friends and reconnected with old ones and once again learned so much that my experience at GOAB2 deserves a separate post on its own.

All the reflection and self-praise aside, being exposed to these events and communities of such crazy and passionate people, you get to look deep into yourself and makes you think about what part you play in all of it. Saying that, I think it's time to set another goal for myself, with output i can actually measure this time so I can't cheat.

"Symph has to be a purely startup driven/developing company before I turn 23. By then, I also have to be an expert at Rapid Prototyping and reliable at Growth Hacking. " 

And when I say "purely startup driven", I mean "purely startup driven". No client projects, no odd jobs, just purely the team around a table working together to solve the world's problems.

That was quite an intimidating dream actually and I'm very tempted to change it, but setting such a high standard for myself will only benefit me in the end, I think. "It won't be too bad, I hope", says the idealist me as I type this last sentence sealing my fate to this three-year commitment.

Bon Odori Cebu 2014: A Japanese Summer Festival

Bon Odori last Friday and Saturday _{(August 8 and 9, 2014)} went better than I expected! It was fun, had really authentic booths and Cebu's Japanese community were very accommodating and fun to be around.

Me with the guys and the pair who led the Bon-Odori dance

We first arrived on the first night of the event on Friday and my honest first thought as i entered the areas was that it desperately needed more lights in the field. We'll get back to the importance of that _{(at least in my opinion)} later in the post. 

The first thing you'll notice at the event is the colorfully decorated stage at the center which we later learned was called the Yagura. For a little history, the yagura was originally a storehouse for bows and arrows or a fort during the feudal times. Now, during the summer festival, it is used as a stage where the musicians play Obon music and is the centerpiece that people dance around in a counter-clockwise direction. 

That's us dancing around the Yagura

Nanaho-san, the beautiful Japanese lady in the first picture, was someone Dan, Sym.ph's lead designer, introduced us to and was one of the dancers that led the Bon-Odori. The dance was very elegant and graceful and not one person in the audience did it justice. We were flailing our arms around like monkeys desperately trying to figure out how to work it. My friend, Clint, eventually found a pattern and translated it for us simple-minded folk. "Dive, dive, wave left, wave right, wave left, wave right, clap - clap - clap" and you had to repeatedly do that in a loop until the music ends, which was a pretty long time. In time with the beat, dancers would yell "A Sore!" _(ah-so-re) as a sort of "yell of encouragement" the Japanese call a Kakegoe. If you're new to the tradition and in the spirit of experiencing the culture, you would have so much fun dancing around for good fortune, which I did with a friend. We danced around for at least a good thirty minutes even though the circling crowd was thinning. 

It disappointed me, though, that most of the people who attended the event didn't have enough spirit to enjoy and experience the culture the Japanese community tried sharing with us. The simple yelling of the kakegoe and clapping of hands should have had life and joy and would have added so much more to the event had everyone participated.

After dancing the Bon-Odori the Mikoshi were brought around the yagura while everyone yelled "Wa shai!", another sort of kakegoe. The mikoshi were portable shrines believed to be vessels of the deities as they were transferred from one shrine to another. Yelling and volunteering to carry these shrines symbolized respect for the ancestors and good fortune for the year. Four mikoshis were being carried around, two for adults and two for children with both sets being carried by volunteers _{(not to mention the big-ass fan that followed them all around)}. Anyone could ride on the adult mikoshi which was a lot of fun. Carrying it around also gets you in the spirit of the event but it was hard reaching the poles when everyone else carrying it were at least two heads taller than you _{(the pains of short people)}.

Children's mikoshi

Adult's mikoshi

There were a lot of fun booths around in the field ranging from food stalls to festival games. Many of the goods sold at the festival were  pricey but I assumed that was because of the rent. A lot of them were good though and offered either Japanese food or products. There was also a CosCafe in one corner where you could pay for some cosplayers to dance for you.

Catch a ballon by it's string with a small hook and you get a water yo-yo

Chimpa's shop. Cebu's official association mascot

Catch the most fish with the least number of poi _{(paper nets)}

The CosCafe with the event's cosplayers

Levi in his cleaning weirdness with Haruhi

I'm honestly not quite sure which anime they're from but I found them really cute

The Bon-Odori, the booths and a beautiful fireworks display symbolizing the end of each night were constants on both nights, all being the best parts of the two-day event for me. 

There were more programs though like the Yukata/Cosplay competition _{(that I missed huhu)}, a Wind Instrument children's orchestra, a Taekwon exhibition and a song number from Aisaku Yokogawa, a Japanese Original Pinoy Music singer. All of which were amazing to watch, for the ones that I managed to come across. And before I forget to mention, they threw Japanese-blessed candy at us taht would grand us good fortune! The experience was a lot like the mochi-throwing scene in the anime Barakamon for those who can relate with me _{(I feel you, Sensei)}.

I only caught one :(

Speaking at a technical point of view, a few suggestions I could give to the event organizers are 1) As I mentioned earlier, it would have been better to brighten up the field with proper lighting. Probably cut the costs from the fireworks display and spend it on the in-ground lighting. It'll give more spirit and energy to the people sitting on the field and the brightness would make event attendees more participative adding positively to the experience and 2) during the Bon-Odori, it would have been nice to have a few organizers in the grounds to help facilitate and start the flow of the circle surrounding the yagura. The reason many didn't participate long or didn't participate at all was that the circle created at random by the crowd was rowdy, had no sense of order and was quite dangerous for children to join in with the bodies squished together. Also, nobody could properly see the steps being demonstrated by the people on the yagura since the perspective was awkward and the decorative lanterns were in the way.

Overall the event was really fun for me and I feel really grateful to be able to experience the culture the Japanese community were so willing to share with us. It definitely fueled my inner otaku and made me appreciate the Japanese culture even more. I've always wanted to spend a year or so in japan to study their culture and language and hopefully that'll come true but this experience was pretty close.

And for you fujoshis out there, I just found my Bon Odori Cebu 2014 OTP.