Family Day

It was a bright Saturday morning clad in purple shirts and caps when the whole of RECSAM traveled to Holiday Inn, somewhere in Batu Ferringhi, to celebrate the annual Family Day, 4 November 2006.

Familycan be defined in two ways here: RECSAM members together as a family or members ofthe family of each staff gather together for this once a year celebration.The activity is a breather for everyone who has worked so hard for the year and an opportunity to meet and mingle with my colleagues' family members.

As I am one of the newest members of the family, it was my first Family Day experience in RECSAM. Indeed, I felt like I belong to a family. The day started with a sumptous breakfast of noodles, sandwich, tea or coffee. Followed by games played alternately by children and adults, the whole RECSAM and its extended family were grouped into different colors: green, yellow, red and blue. The teams competed in various games some of which were very challenging. I enjoyed each of the games: ball killer, wheel barrow, skate boarding and lay the egg. Children had their own games. Each team was given points for its rank in each game. Adults and children's points were added together. In the end, the green team won with a hundred points ahead of the next team, followed by yellow, red and blue. I belonged to the winning team, of course. The games were played on the beach as the sun hovered brightly while the waves softly kissed the shores.

I had much fun that day, not minding that during a game I was striped off my pair of jogging pants showing my undies in full view of those in attendance. How could I forget that! Good thing I was able to move fast to cover that part of my body, otherwise the exposure would be sexier hehehehhe.

The lunch was superb. There was something for everybody as the family is composed of members with different food requirement. I had to choose from a variety of dishes: vegetarian, salads, Malay, and dessert. After eating a good meal, there was the draw lots for thegifts. I managed to ger a rice cooker and a set of cookware. Oh Mom would just love it! As if I am being coerced to learn how to cook.

Zamani and his staff had done a good job of organizing the event. It was really fun-filled and the place is quite relaxing.

The games are meant to develop camaraderie from each one other than the fun itevoked.At the end of the day, everybody wins as each one of us gets a gift.

Whatever each of us gets does not matter, what counts is that each year a day is observed for being family. I believe that it is significant for an organization like RECSAM to truly foster that spirit. And glad I am they do.