Tagaytay...Team Building...Two Weeks...Tahdah!

I've been to Tagaytay four times in the past two weeks. That's a personal record since I've been content these past two years enjoying my BF-Alabang-San Pedro, Laguna travel radius. Three out of four of those trips were for team building purposes so I guess someone figured it was time I got out of my comfort zone, took stock of things on a personal and a professional level, and made some exciting action plans.
The first trip was for a church community team building session. St. James Singles Encounter 12, our class, spent a Saturday and Sunday at a quaint country home (in Canyon Woods) to prepare for the upcoming Singles Encounter 13 weekend which we are sponsoring in August 2007. I've been a part of this class since our weekend back in December 2006, but it was only during the team building weekend that I actually got to sit down and really hang out with these people post-SE. Even the car rides to and from the venue were so entertaining. Suffice it to say, I got a second chance to connect with my friends (Gathered in God's love) so I'm going to make more time for them this year. Here is a photo of me with one of our class heads. The focus of the shot was supposed to be the output of our afternoon activity, but I think we were too photogenic to pass up on the opportunity to pose for the camera, too!

The second trip to the area was for an ocular inspection of Tagaytay Highlands for a July 2007 office team building and strategic planning activity. No photos of that trip, but it was an all too brief visit that evoked a lot of fun memories (Weekend trips to Highlands in the 1990's with Alabang friends) Good thing we decided to reserve the place for our activity.
My third encounter with Tagaytay was with family. Jorge B. Vargas, my great-grandfather, would've celebrated his 117th birthday this 24 August 2007 so the generation of my Dad decided to plan family gatherings in Bacolod, Tagaytay and Sta. Elena during Lolo Jorge's birthday week. Calai and I went to the family home (appropriately named "Ohana") in Tagaytay with our Tita May (Dad's cousin) and our cousin Jackie Lou + her friend. The place is on the main road overlooking Taal lake and the experience of just taking in the view cannot be described in this blog ;) We also visited a school donated by Lolo Jorge as well as a Japanese Buddhist Center (formerly family-owned Villa Adelaida) that used to be our family weekend getaway. All in all, it was a productive Saturday that will hopefully help us come up with great activities for our August 2007 Tagaytay celebration.
So my last encounter with the place was also my return trip to Highlands. I spent Tuesday to Thursday of last week running around like a headless chicken for our office team building and strategic planning. We had a number of exercises, including an Amazing Race around the venue, that will guide our Management to closing the year on a high note. Check out my photo with fellow headless chickens (Facilitator, Driver and moi).
Anyway, time to forget Tagaytay (for the time being) and live in the present. That doesn't mean I can't daydream about my next visit though...