GrEen SeCreTs

Just one more day before the BIG day… the youths have all been working hard and long to make Sunday happen… to make it an event that runs smoothly… and an experience that will be remembered by the public (… for how fantastic it was, of course) =)

Although none of them have complained YET, it definitely shows on their faces that they are all stressed out having to do so much under such a short time frame. I guess it doesn’t really help either that Johnny has such high expectations of them =P OK guys… he’s only playing the “bad guy” here because he has to… he wants all of you to remember your CYX experience for the rest of your lives =) I mean, how else would you have learnt so much from this programme, right? (… Johnny made me say this =P LOL, just kidding! It’s my honest feelings =D)

Having said that, Johnny knew they would need a good stress reliever before the big day, so he invited Aaron and Ix back to GardenAsia to lead the youths in their morning exercise… To give them that additional endorphin boost for their final lap in CYX!

Come on guys! Let’s get those muscles working!!!>_<

What is Aaron and Ix doing with them this time?

Ah…. Tai Chi. Or should I say… contemporary tai chi =D

Looks easy when Aaron and Ix does it, don’t you think?

*giggles*

Ok… maybe it’s not THAT easy -_-

Nevermind… let’s move on to the next move… this should be easier.

Whew… ok, that second move wasn’t too bad =) YAY!!

OK… what’s next…

Whoa…. looks like some David Blaine trick… are we REALLY going to do that?

I guess so…

Phew… ok, we survived that!

Give me more!

OK… that looks easy enough.

Maybe not… ok, I take that back =P

Come on… give and take… why can’t I give and take… balance…

*Tai Chi session ends*

Remember those Osmoxylon Lineare plants they planted on the first day and took care of throughout the CYX? Well… it’s time to get feedback on how their plant is doing =)

First, Aaron and Ix talks about what he observed from the body movements of the youths during the tai chi session. In a nutshell… he felt that the youths were not willing to give, and did not dare to accept. Lesson to learn here is for us to offer unconditional help to people, and to accept help and advice graciously when we need it.

Moving on to their plants… Johnny “summoned” Kenny with his powerful handphone, and called him to BlueSky =P

With his expertise and experience in the gardening and landscaping business, Kenny shared with the youths how he felt their plants were doing.

“Did you know that plants have MANY roots that spread out like this? (hand gesture)”

 

“Look at that tree over there… how big do you think the roots are? A plant has many roots, and through these roots, they absorb various nutrients from the burnt soil and top soil mix. Unlike humans who only have one source of nutrients (eating through their mouth), besides obtaining nutrients from the soil, plants can also produce their own nutrients if they receive enough sunlight.”

“However, plants are similar to humans in a way, they need space to grow too. We hate being confined, so do the plants…. so remember to give them plenty of growing space.”

“These plants are growing this way because they are in a pot. Plants take the shape of the pot they are in. So, sometimes… they have a narrow base, and a bushy top.”

“Make sure you look into these conditions when taking care of a plant.”

“I think all your plants are growing well, good job! Of course, it has only been 11 days… so all you had to do was water your plants to keep it healthy. However, the nutrients in the soil will only last the plant a few months, so you have to re-pot and change the soil in a few months to keep the plant growing healthily.”

Hmm…. will the youths continue to take care of their plants religiously after CYX? We shall see, hehe!

Time to show Aaron and Ix their chairs…

As part of preparing for tomorrow, Aaron and Ix offered to help the youths with the dry run for the event.

First, they had to learn how to present their chairs to the guests in an appropriate manner… In a way that will keep the visitor interested in what they have to say. They were taught how to create a story to introduce their chair, how to give the chair more character by adding the designer’s personality to it (“giving a piece of you to the chairs”) , how to stand and move around their chairs when presenting, and also to be mindful of their body language… like Aaron said “movements NEVER lie” =)

Everyone gathered for some general feedback from Aaron, Ix and Johnny

Before meeting Aaron and Ix, I never knew there was such a thing as a movement specialist. When I first saw it in the CYX handout, I was like “What is that? What do they do? Tell you that you are moving wrongly and teach you how to move properly? Is there even such a thing as moving wrongly? Huh?”

Now, that I’ve met them, I think what they do as movement specialists is extremely interesting and very unique. I’ve learnt alot from them, and one of the things I’ll remember as a student doing marketing is: “when people buy things, they want to buy a story, something different that they don’t already have.” I thought that made ALOT of sense =)

Oh ya… here’s a random picture I took while I was looking around…

(Ix’s uniquely shaped back pack =P)

Next part of the workshop… Aaron and Ix made them figure out what are the 3 most comfortable ways to sit on their chairs…

… everyone looked like they were posing for a photoshoot… here’s Mikko =P

Happened to catch Admira while she was sitting on her chair… she looks REALLY comfortable, doesn’t she? Chill Bill was made specially FOR Admira because she fits on it perfectly ^_^

After a morning of moving around and learning… it’s time to take a break…

BREAKFAST TIME!!

Fueled with food… the youths head back to work once again…

“Come on guys… let’s go!” says Yushan.

Back to the dry run…

Aaron and Ix pose as guests …

Everyone figuring out how to solve the ushering problem at the entrance as Johnny plays the “bad guy” again and tries to paint every possible scenario that could happen at the entrance… even the most unlikely and ridiculous scenarios were brought up!

“Oh my gosh… what if they start wondering off here… or there… or even behind here… what should you do?”

“No signages? Where are the signs? Your guests will be lost…”

“2 ushers for 80 guests?! Are your ushers going to be on rollers? Cannot lar…”

Very real problems they would face, all pointed out by experienced event planners Johnny, Ix and Aaron.

OK, the stressed out youths FINALLY came up with a solution to ALL the problems raised by the “bad guys”… moving on to the museum…

Johnny continues to challenge them with every possible scenario that could happen on the actual day…

Everyone joining in to give their opinions and to help perfect every little detail and aspect of the event =)

Finally, the dry run ended at Kranji Loft with a final debrief by the 4 mentors …

Managed to get a picture of the 4 mentors in one shot… As you can see, Johnny and Kenny are STILL looking very serious… thinking of other things that could go wrong… not an easy task because you have to PRE-EMPT everything and anything that could happen =)

 

 

 

 

 Johnny and Kenny are the 2 people I admire for their foresight and ability to plan WAY WAY ahead… I need to learn to be more like them and think ahead =D