4:00AM Wednesday morning, time to rise and grind, get ready for the weekly meeting with the November Project Malaysia tribe. Getting ready to head out, I thought I heard rain on the roof top but we have had this before, light rain before the workout and by the time 5:15AM rolls around it turns to drizzling and eventually stops before we bounce. Thought nothing of it until I opened the front door, this was no usual light Wednesday morning rain, it was a downpour with a strong gust of wind to back it up. My phone started to buzz, messages started to roll in:
“Its raining cats and dogs!”
“Good morning, is it raining at Taman Awam?”
“Heavy Rain”
So August 23rd would be our first true weatherproof test. How many of the tribe is actually going to show up? Would it be just the co-leaders huddling around telling jokes like BG , Bojan and Derrick did during the snow fall of 2014? (Read the book). We had initially planned a workout involving running up and down the hill but due to wetness and slipping hazard, we had to improvise. As I arrived and surveyed for alternative workout options, I was nervous about the turnout while anticipating what size of a group the workout had to cater to. Expecting to see my co leader Harry show up next, I was surprised by the line-up of tribe that began appearing at the top of the rainbow stairs. Robert was the first, followed by Davina, Blue, Abigail, Carberry with his newbie recruit Valentine, then the siblings Beatrice and Celestine, Teck and Andy followed by Harry and Kendary. Here we stood, 5:00AM Wednesday morning in the pouring rain, taking in the scene and having a good laugh while wondering how many more would be brave crazy enough. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Victor come up the stairs and my excitement may have cause my voice to crack a little as I call out his name. Audrey who had initially brought her parents to join us was dropped off next; they were having no part of this madness.
We started our bounce, we chanted some ridiculous chants, had some laughs, exchanged some wet hugs and commenced our Plank/Stairs/Squat hold relay in groups of 3s. We eventually did have 3 more tribe members show up; Farourke, Ying and Shayne rounded up our weatherproof tribe this glorious day. November Project pride ourselves to hold workouts despite weather, tragedy or any other circumstances as long as it is safe for the workout to continue. We will never place any members in harm’s way nor do we force anyone to show up if they feel uncomfortable with the environment we are working out in. In a way, we want our members to know that on Wednesday mornings come hell or high water, we will ALWAYS be there for you. You can definitely count on your co-leaders and your tribe to be full of positivity, hi5s, hugs and cheers while we sweat it out for the 30-40 minutes. Above that, I am beyond proud and frankly surprised by these 15 tribe members who did show up. The workout was challenging, wet, slippery and cold for some but there was a bond shared that day and a lot of respect gained. As the local culture goes, we don’t wander outdoors when it rains, nevermind voluntarily show up to get wet.
Now we look forward to the next weatherproof opportunity, let this past Wednesday be the pathway for more tribe members to #justshowup and share in the wetness and madness.
Upcoming stuff:
- This Sunday, we will hold our #Thecrateescape at 5:00PM meeting at X Cross Border in Marina Park City. It will be a slow run to explore the city with random stops for story telling (Change is the theme this round) followed by a social. ( Bring your NP Grassroot gear as we have a specila tag for those who #justshowup for this event.
- The recruiting challenge continues for this week, every new recruit you bring, the co-leaders Harry, Ing and Ridley will pay you in #Burpees (10 burpees per newbie is the rate)
- Palliative Care Association of Miri Run for Love on Oct.1st, 2017. As it stands, we have 55 tribe members running that day, the bigger the group the more fun it will be. Besides, lets get this organization some funds to continue their difficult but much needed work. If you can’t run, we can use you for the cheer group so sign up for one or the other ( if you are really fast, sign up for both)
That is all for now. See you Sunday!
Spread love and much needed positivity,
Ridley
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