Thursday, November 01, 2007
scribbled by anna katrina
7:02 AM | 2 comments
7:02 AM | 2 comments
NDC = Reality Check
Just got home from NDC, and it's a bit sad that my Mom and my two sisters weren't there to welcome me back. They went to Leyte yesterday and totally didn't tell me. Hmpf. Well, at least my Dad was able to pick me up from the airport.
Initially, I thought that the NDC was my worst tournament ever. I felt like my debates were awful and that I wasn't in my 'element,' whatever that means. After three rounds, I was tempted to just pack and go home... seeing as I wasn't enjoying the rounds at all. And odie and I were off to a really rough start.
In hindsight, I guess it wasn't that bad. Sure, I didn't really reach my expectation of myself (yuck) but I'm glad I was able to break in my first NDC. Not only that, I was really able to bond with the other debaters and get to know our kids much better. =) The biggest challenge I faced, though was having to deal with early morning baths of ice cold water. Yep, no heater everyone. Que Horror!
Ok. Since I'm much more comfortable making lists, here are the reasons why I LOVE the PMA NDC:
1. We broke into the Octos! (sorry, i guess this was already established in the previous paragraphs, but hey) I couldn't really ask for anything more than that. ^_^ Plus, three Silliman teams broke! Last year, we only had two. Now THAT is an achievement. =)
2. Moments at NAKAR... I guess Room 18 (the boys' room) would be forever remembered. We bonded so much there - talking, eating, laughing, hitting on each other (wahaha), seeing Biatch naked, etc. etc. Sure it wasn't some fancy hotel, but we had so much fun together, i would not have minded sleeping in tents. hehe.
3. Psycho stalker. Enough said. Sa makasabot lang!!! wahahaha. Great laughs. ^_^
4. The debate community is awesome! Debaters are definitely the best people I know. Got closer to the Mindanao people - especially ADDU, ADZU, MSU-M and XU. They're really cool. I can't wait to debate with them in VISMIN again. And since ADDU won the bid, we're bound for Davao next year... yay! Go South!
5. Baguio is to die for. Kristi, Odie, Noel and I spent hours over coffee kanina, just talking about how much we would love to go back to Baguio and just ditch Dumaguete. Noel was close to tears. Hehe. Just kidding. ;p
6. Cadets are hot. haha. Seriously, I wasn't really boywatching or anything but someone caught my fancy! heehee. I am SO not telling. And to those people who know, SHHHHHH. It's just a tourney crush anyway - nothing serious. I have one or two every single time. Blah.
7. Adrian Rabe gave me a 76! Sorry - this is a feat for me already, considering that it's THE Aids Rabe we're talking about, and round 6 was just awful. Hehe. Toinkz. =)
8. The lessons learned. I'm forever going to treasure them talaga. Going up against the best debaters in the country just made me realize how much passion people can have for the craft. And I thought I was an addict, hehe. I'm sure I emerged a better debater (and person) after the tourney. =)
And here are the things I promise to do after PMA (because I didn't expect NDC to be THAT HARD):
1. Brush up on my construction. I was such a bad constructive speaker in the tournament - all the low scores I had were when we were opening. Hmpf. I just don't get it. Before, the guys kept telling me to stop whipping (I originally preferred to be whip when I was starting out) and start being a constructive speaker because they say that my whip speeches were better off constructive. And when I finally shifted, I kinda liked constructing na and even had a knack for meta arguments. And now that I'm back to whipping, it's like I completely lost touch of the constructive speaker in me. UGH. must.do.better.
2. Ok. I know that a lot of really good debaters have their 'hated' positions (except for Noel who can do anything, BLAH) but they could still do very well in tournaments. I, however, am not so good yet and still have to learn everything there is to learn about debating. And so, even though I completely detest it, and it has been proven that I suck at it SO BAD, I'm going to start training as a Prime Minister. WAAAH. (I can hear the other debaters laughing at the idea right now... Yes, I am THAT BAD.) Wish me luck.
3. I need to save up... probably look for a job or something. Gosh - Baguio was just too expensive, I had barya for pocket money. Debating is such an expensive vice. But I'm not quitting it. ^_^ I need to scrape for moolah!
4. I'm going to train our kids like crazy! I just realized how much the debate community has grown, and has changed. Before, you know who to expect in the finals (they are now dinos who still show up every now and then) - but last NDC, the tournament was just filled with so many new faces... rookies who KICK ASS. It was scary. Gica Mangahas is the 3rd Freshman to win the NDC... after Bobby and Leloy. And you know how the latter two performed for the rest of their debate careers. Definitely a new era... WAAAH. I hope I can keep up. =)
Anyway, that's all for now. I hope to see you all in the next NDC!
Initially, I thought that the NDC was my worst tournament ever. I felt like my debates were awful and that I wasn't in my 'element,' whatever that means. After three rounds, I was tempted to just pack and go home... seeing as I wasn't enjoying the rounds at all. And odie and I were off to a really rough start.
In hindsight, I guess it wasn't that bad. Sure, I didn't really reach my expectation of myself (yuck) but I'm glad I was able to break in my first NDC. Not only that, I was really able to bond with the other debaters and get to know our kids much better. =) The biggest challenge I faced, though was having to deal with early morning baths of ice cold water. Yep, no heater everyone. Que Horror!
Ok. Since I'm much more comfortable making lists, here are the reasons why I LOVE the PMA NDC:
1. We broke into the Octos! (sorry, i guess this was already established in the previous paragraphs, but hey) I couldn't really ask for anything more than that. ^_^ Plus, three Silliman teams broke! Last year, we only had two. Now THAT is an achievement. =)
2. Moments at NAKAR... I guess Room 18 (the boys' room) would be forever remembered. We bonded so much there - talking, eating, laughing, hitting on each other (wahaha), seeing Biatch naked, etc. etc. Sure it wasn't some fancy hotel, but we had so much fun together, i would not have minded sleeping in tents. hehe.
3. Psycho stalker. Enough said. Sa makasabot lang!!! wahahaha. Great laughs. ^_^
4. The debate community is awesome! Debaters are definitely the best people I know. Got closer to the Mindanao people - especially ADDU, ADZU, MSU-M and XU. They're really cool. I can't wait to debate with them in VISMIN again. And since ADDU won the bid, we're bound for Davao next year... yay! Go South!
5. Baguio is to die for. Kristi, Odie, Noel and I spent hours over coffee kanina, just talking about how much we would love to go back to Baguio and just ditch Dumaguete. Noel was close to tears. Hehe. Just kidding. ;p
6. Cadets are hot. haha. Seriously, I wasn't really boywatching or anything but someone caught my fancy! heehee. I am SO not telling. And to those people who know, SHHHHHH. It's just a tourney crush anyway - nothing serious. I have one or two every single time. Blah.
7. Adrian Rabe gave me a 76! Sorry - this is a feat for me already, considering that it's THE Aids Rabe we're talking about, and round 6 was just awful. Hehe. Toinkz. =)
8. The lessons learned. I'm forever going to treasure them talaga. Going up against the best debaters in the country just made me realize how much passion people can have for the craft. And I thought I was an addict, hehe. I'm sure I emerged a better debater (and person) after the tourney. =)
And here are the things I promise to do after PMA (because I didn't expect NDC to be THAT HARD):
1. Brush up on my construction. I was such a bad constructive speaker in the tournament - all the low scores I had were when we were opening. Hmpf. I just don't get it. Before, the guys kept telling me to stop whipping (I originally preferred to be whip when I was starting out) and start being a constructive speaker because they say that my whip speeches were better off constructive. And when I finally shifted, I kinda liked constructing na and even had a knack for meta arguments. And now that I'm back to whipping, it's like I completely lost touch of the constructive speaker in me. UGH. must.do.better.
2. Ok. I know that a lot of really good debaters have their 'hated' positions (except for Noel who can do anything, BLAH) but they could still do very well in tournaments. I, however, am not so good yet and still have to learn everything there is to learn about debating. And so, even though I completely detest it, and it has been proven that I suck at it SO BAD, I'm going to start training as a Prime Minister. WAAAH. (I can hear the other debaters laughing at the idea right now... Yes, I am THAT BAD.) Wish me luck.
3. I need to save up... probably look for a job or something. Gosh - Baguio was just too expensive, I had barya for pocket money. Debating is such an expensive vice. But I'm not quitting it. ^_^ I need to scrape for moolah!
4. I'm going to train our kids like crazy! I just realized how much the debate community has grown, and has changed. Before, you know who to expect in the finals (they are now dinos who still show up every now and then) - but last NDC, the tournament was just filled with so many new faces... rookies who KICK ASS. It was scary. Gica Mangahas is the 3rd Freshman to win the NDC... after Bobby and Leloy. And you know how the latter two performed for the rest of their debate careers. Definitely a new era... WAAAH. I hope I can keep up. =)
Anyway, that's all for now. I hope to see you all in the next NDC!