So back to Dogathon! It was like I don't know 2 months ago? And oh well, who cares just freaking blog about it.
It happened on the 2nd Oct(freaking clashed with Adidas run WTHECK??!!!), and geez I'm telling you making the biggest event in UPM, and largest dog assembly in Msia is no joke.
Apparently all DVM1s are signed up automatically as volunteers to help out around the event before, during and after.
And yes, I was somehow selected for one of the programs.
Since the name of the event itself Dog-A-Thon, there's definitely a run prepared, being the 1st and main program of the event.
The run was given a fancy name, Race to the Wonderland, since the whole theme this year was based on Alice in Wonderland.
And heck I was being selected to be the Personal Assistant of the race's programmer.
What's worse, the race uses up the most time to prepare, most man power and guess what? It was the 1st event, and the fastest one to end among all programs.
Record was an hour only.
We spent, I don't know 3 days to prepare it?
my boss with his hauler sorting
Not to mention the previous endless nights trying to get timekeepers, track keepers, tags, mapping out routes, yadda yaddas, that tops up to like a few month's of total prep.And it ended, in 1 hour.
Oh well, I wonder how much of experience and $$$ we've generated.
Probably not enough to cover costs since we depended lots on sponsors.
Anyway, Dogathon was fun!
From prep to clean up, I totally enjoyed every single process of it, excluding the blisters caused when I hammering the "pacaks" to make tracks along Bukit Expo.
For prep, we started since Friday, and the event was on Sunday.
Most of us did preps our own division, and as for mine was setting up trails and signboards along them, including 5 different obstacles. Plus, lining up flags from sponsors.
Geez sponsors sometimes are cranky.
"I can't see my flags properly!"
"Get the flags in line, they don't look abundant!"
Bla bla blas~ you know the drill.
Trust me, preparing those trails weren't easy, I was still marring the last signboard 5 am on the event itself.
Talk about last minute work.
Then it was the day itself.
People started pouring in 6.30 am, with owh my Gourd so cute doggies!!!!!
From golden retriever to the siberian huskies, my my they all looked to magnificent!
Spotted a few familiar faces here and there, and that includes the CF instructor with his huskies.
A few more, but I guess a celebrity is much easily remembered.
Okay, so back to my work.
Walkie talkie has became but a tool instead of a gadget now. Remembered how we awed over those cool talking shoes without any dialing required? Well, it's so normal in university now.
My job was to stay at 100 meters away from the finishing line, take note of the colors of the incoming runners' tags and notifying the finish line time keepers via talkies.
Yea, seemed to ca-le-fe right? It's important cause we don't wanna mixed up timing and scores for 20 winners. You know how uptight people can get when it comes to placing, we don't exactly have cool time chip system like marathons have.
Oh the work doesn't stop here, I had to sort out the winners and call them one by one to tell them they won with my boss cause I was the PA,
If he's working, I should be working.
However, he rest, I have to work too, cause that's how system works.
Plus, he's attached, I'm not, and heck I'm a first year.
Called the winners, and I had to get them to the NST reporter for each champions of the categories because the Dogathon director wanted me to.
Helped out here and there to clean up, snapped pictures everywhere and mind my own business.
There were other programs too, like Round the Rabbit Hole, Fastest Eating Duo, Mad Hatter's Tea Time, Hail The Queen, Doggies Paw Paw, Catch and Fetch and many more. Just go to Dogathon site to check things out.
Oh yea, pack up.
Spent like 3 whole hours to unscramble everything so that we can return them into the stores and sponsors.
Thank goodness I had a CRV with me to bring things around easily and the seniors were smart enough to rent cars and bikes to ease things around.
One even went up to 6000rpm over a BUMP on the rented Kancil.
Talk about ignorance.
The thing I'd realized during this event was, there are always people who don't bother, and that's a whole large number of them.
The ones who stayed, are sadly ALL Chinese, and its always the same bunch, MY bunch.
The seniors told us that subsequent years the same thing will happen, and we should always know that silently in our mind, not thinking negatively about the other DVMs, 1-3 who never really partake the event.
It's logical to do that, but ethically, it there anything positive to think about people who don't even care?
Well, its normal, even outside university grounds. Those who devote will shine and ultimately gain most. That's what we are certain of.
And of course, those who stay are the ones I'm in company with, and the best among all. At least I know I'm in good company always.
Conclusion, I had fun, it was a great experience. I don't mind taking part again next year, too bad I will be an outsider next year, instead of a Vet student.
For more photos, go here!
They have this event on every year, so dog lover bloggers out there, go support okay!
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