Hello, Hive!
We all have heard of the proverb “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” at some point in our lives. And as cliche and rhetoric as it may be, there is a little truth to it (at least to some extent).
That is why whenever time — and money — permits, I always try to do things that spark joy into my life. Like spending a weekend hike/camp with friends, hoarding books (hopefully I'd get over my reading slump soon), going to thrift stores/malls, or just having a peaceful, lazy day in my room watching Netflix or listening to music. On very special occasions, I also tend to visit my family who are living oceans away from me in the province of Leyte. In fact, I will be going on a trip later to celebrate my mother's birthday.
But before I go on LOA here, I'd like to share with you my quick weekend getaway with teammates. And I'm not talking about those I've recently swayed into hiking. I'm talking about the AMS team.
Our first team outing post-pandemic
With most people shifting to a work-from-home setup during the "new normal", our team rarely see each other now. Interactions lessened and connections dwindled. Good thing, we had some budget for a weekend getaway to break the ice.
The AMS team booked a Saturday at the Mariegold Villa Resort. Located in Suba, Bas-Bas, Lapu-Lapu City, this resort mainly caters large gatherings such as birthday parties, corporate events, team buildings, and even wedding ceremonies.
Leslie, 
Cai (our supervisor) and some other teammates were already there when we arrived. While waiting at Cafe Maurice, one could really tell the eagerness in their eyes to hear about each other's life happenings — what's new, what's changed and what's the latest chismis.
Pool Day: Fun games, music, and food
After a few minutes of waiting, we headed to the activity area by the pool. The team didn't waste time and started the fun games right away. There were three competing groups and yours truly just got lucky to be in the winning team. HAHA!
The first game we played was Stack Attack where we had to stack a tower of cups, tests our hand-eye coordination. The fastest group to finish wins.
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The second game we played was still a cup race. This time, each group must fill their assigned cup with water from the pool. The team with the most water filled after 5 minutes wins.
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The last game we played was a Minute-To-Win-It game. Each group races to blow up a balloon and use the air inside to blow all of their paper cups off of the table. The first team to finish in a minute wins! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take photos of this game. So here's a photo of me fooling around with a balloon instead. LOL!
After draining our energy from the games, it's time to fill our stomachs with food. Of course, a Filipino gathering is incomplete without lechon and Eggy made sure he took the first bite!
The rest of the afternoon was spent with swimming in the pool and doing some TikTok challenges.
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The girls also had a blast singing our hearts out to Taylor Swift's songs, while the boys were content with either just lazing around or playing billiards and pingpong.
Overall, it was a fun way to reconnect with people I spend my work life with. Looking forward to more away-from-keyboard moments like this! 😁
Maria is a hopeless romantic who travels in pages and places. She is an INFP who loves sunrises and moonlight nights and reading books in between. On weekdays, she works for a self-publishing company as a copywriter. On weekends, she lives for life as a poet or hiker. She hopes to share her love for words and the world with you here on HIVE.
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