Broken Shoes and Melon Candies

On March 1, 2012, I gave a talk on Building Game Worlds at La Salle University Ozamis. This was my third talk this year, and my first trip. My talk was at eight in the morning, and I was a bit concerned about people showing up at such an early time. Many of my students at the College of Saint Benilde came in an hour late when I used to have 8am classes. But to my surprise, the auditorium was just about filled to its 200-people capacity. Some of the attendees had come from as far as Bukidnon for the conference. I had given talks to bigger crowds before. The Y4IT Conference at the University of the Philippines two years ago had a crowd of about two thousand. But here in Ozamis, it was my first time to give a seminar-workshop to a group of this size.

Thankfully, the talk went quite well. The students seem interested. One of the participants even had this in this notes:

But all the while, I was battling not to feel very conscious about something... My shoe had broken. And I could see some of the students looking at it! I couldn't very well leave the university to go buy new shoes in the middle of the 3-hour workshop. And no super glue was in sight. So I had to ignore my smiling shoe and pretend I hadn't noticed. I thought it more prudent than to go, "Oh look, my shoe broke!" to the entire assembly.

But the workshop went well. I was spent, though. I made it a point to check each table and answer all their questions. And I found that the most effective way to make a group enthusiastic is to be enthusiastic yourself. That took a lot of energy, though. But I think it was worth it. If even just half of the assembly learned something, it would be worth it.

After the talk, I went back to the hotel and had lunch. After lunch, I went to the department store nearby and bought myself a pair of sandals to replace my damaged shoes. They didn't have a lot to choose from, but I found something decent. So I went to pay for my purchase. My change was supposed to be P20.25. And this is what they gave me:

And I was, "This is vaguely familiar."

All in all, it was a good day. It's not over yet, though. We're going to a beach resort tonight for Socials Night (yes, as part of the 3rd ICT Convention), where the guest speakers would choose the King and Queen of the night.

Lord, thank You for all this. It's an experience.