I was waiting for someone to create a post about the meet-up and am glad that @indayclara already took the initiative.
So here's my story.
When the meet-up was presented to the staff, I immediately secure my time off from work and booked accommodation in Metro Manila. The place isn't finalized yet at that time but at the very least I will not be traveling that much as I will be coming from down south of Laguna, which is roughly three to four hours away from Manila.
Onset, I planned to give out some souvenirs to everyone who's attending. Coffee was the first choice, but when I looked at our bags and things to carry I opted not to get one. Good thing @juanvegetarian decided to give one to us! I loved the coffee and now I am still drinking it. Since the cases of COVID are arising again, I thought of giving some small spray bottles of alcohol instead.
Something that I always forget to bring each time I go outside. The design was created in Canva and it turned out well. I was planning to have it as a sticker, but the rough edges of the bottle aren't that helpful and the design will be ruined so I just requested it to be laminated instead.
I just printed 20 pieces as we are just expecting a few guys to join.
Prior to reaching the meet-up place, April and I met @romeskie to get the books that she's giving to Dyn-Dyn. I also got the goodies from her: an amaranth-colored crocheted bucket hat. I am still thinking about how I can use it as the color's too vibrant, but that will be for another blog post, probably.
The set-up time was 05:00 PM PH time and as Claire had mentioned, she was the first one to arrive in the place. I was in shock when I saw her as I wasn't expecting her at all. Good thing that I am seeing her face on the blogs that she is posting hence identifying her was quite a simple task.
As the other guest arrived, I was playing guess the guest as some people are keeping their anonymous personalities on the chain. @lhes arrived a few minutes after Rome and I got situated.
When she arrived at the place, I had a hunch that she was a participant as she took some images of the venue outside and even took a photo of the signage of the place. However, she went upstairs and stayed for a few seconds to go down.
I got also lost in the place as I didn't know that we are occupying the first floor at that time. So when she started to go down and approach the door, I asked her if she is for the HivePH meetup and mentioned her username @Lhes
She helped us in accommodating people and each time that I see an unfamiliar face lurking I greeted them with a short smile. Most knew it was me and the others we are playing the guessing game.
After everyone arrived and was properly seated in their seating arrangement. The cool kids, the oldies, and the out-of-the-box guys the tito in me just watch everything become a chaotic battlefield and yes it happened!
I facilitated the scavenger hunt and since I hid everything perfectly; they had a hard time locating the hidden stickers that I gave out the clues to where I hid everything, the exact location so the game's finder keepers already.
We had mini-games such as answering cue cards, human bingo, and a karaoke battle. And yes I won the karaoke battle by getting the highest score which is 100.
Do I sing well? NAH. Is the machine rigged? Probably? I don't know since the algorithm's the one to blame for getting a high score. Kung may reklamo kayo sa barangay kayo magfile ng reklamo
As the clock strikes 10 in the evening, as much as I love to stay longer and bond with everyone, I was the first one to bid goodbye. April and Dyn's waiting in the room that we rented and as much as possible I don't want them to be left alone, especially at night time.
I never imagined that this thing will happen and that I will see the faces of everyone that I encounter most of the time through Discord and the blockchain. This marks one of the best moments that I will always remember this year for me and hopefully this will be a yearly thing so that we can meet with other people around.
All images that have watermarks are from @indayclara and you can view the other images on her blog post :HIVE PH FIRST MEET-UP | The Faces Behind The Names & Voices