I had gone to conference on Gender Equality a couple of weeks back. It was organized eWIT (Empowering Women in IT).

The conference had many amazing sessions, about the various facets of women in the work place – Health, being empowered, finding their niche, The identity of Women away from their men, and so on. Among these was a panel discussion with many questions ranging from “How did you find your place in your organization?” to “What’s the toughest thing you’ve had to do as a woman?” and “How do I survive in the male dominated world”.

This is when it happened – one of the women panelists (there were two men in the panel as well) chose to answer “My male counter parts are not letting my reach my full potential by coddling me and patronizing me. How do I deal with this?”

Her answer was standard – “Make sure that the quality of work that you deliver is the best and in no way less than that of your male counter parts. Once you’ve established, if it still continues, call your manager and talk to him. Address the issue. Tell him this is how you feel. No emotions. No tears. Just focus on the issue.”

Good advice? The girl who asked the question seemed to think so.

But I have my doubts.

Women and Men may or may not have equal capabilities to perform a task in the professional set up, but they are by no means equal. Women are emotional creatures. That is neither an advantage, nor a disadvantage – it is just a characteristic. Men are territorial, and that’s how they are. Yes, men have emotions too, and women also feel the need to protect what’s theirs. I’m talking about dominant traits. That’s where it’s an irrefutable fact that women are emotional creatures.

So should women be more like men, to be treated as “equals” in the work place? Wouldn’t that mean that women are confirming to a standard that men have set for professional behavior, and women are merely adapting? How is twisting and bending into their idea of ‘ideal’ behavior result in ‘equality in the workplace’?

A Gender Equal workplace would be a place where men can be men, and women can be women – both contributing their strengths to the tasks at hand, in the way they are best at. (Don’t you dare have the thought that women can be women best at the kitchen, I’m sure the men will have to start going hungry in that case)

Women should be able to be emotionally free and work. Men should be able to cook in whatever way they find peaceful! That would be tending toward gender equality. Asking a woman to be someone she isn’t – is not anything close to Gender Equality. If that’s the advice we’re going to be giving, we have a long way to go yet.

Turning Organizational Culture Around - Life at Ramco : A Case Study

Organizational Culture is something that's in the DNA of every organization. We all experience it, and read about it, and some of us study it. It's there, it's essential, and it's not a deniable variable of an organization's overall experience.

Over the last couple of decades, organizational culture has been gaining tremendous importance. The concept of "Best Places to Work For" have become a popular and established method of assessing an organization's quality and worth even. 

'How to make the workplace suitable for the Millenials' is a discussion that most HR professionals have witnessed / attended / if not directly been a part of.

And a question that many companies are having to face.

How does one keep the- easily distracted, not exactly loyal, adventurous and comfortable with quitting to find a better fit or even just to find oneself - workforce as their workforce?

The recruitment teams are stronger than ever. 

[Almost 30 years ago (Just 30 years ago) when my dad was recruited to his first company, he said there was an operations manager and one guy from HR. There was no recruitment guy, and most definitely not a recruitment team! But the law of the land / rules of the game - whatever you call it, it has all changed now.]

And yet,

Attrition is at an all-time high - some companies embrace it, some accept it, some resent it, some are trying to do something about it, and very few are actually succeeding in doing something about it.

Theoretically, it’s simple. The workforce has changed, so all one has to do is change the work culture to fit the workforce. Right? Easier said than done.

The big giants like Google and Facebook were clever and forward enough to be the change, and in a way start the trend. They let the world know that work needn’t be done from cubicles, or even from desks while wearing formals.

(Open space workplaces were first started around 1950 – when after the world wars, resources in general were scarce, and it was easy to set up tables with dividers in a large open room, rather than build separate cubicles for each employee!)

Luckily for the world, what started as a resource saving technique turned out to become an organizational culture shift strategy.

Open spaces have since become a part and parcel of the common organizational structure – the norm. The initially shocked baby boomers accepted it. They keep the Gen X happy.

Gen Y and Z came along, and open spaces were not enough anymore. They wanted perks. Extra amenities. So organizations started introducing small things like “Team Outings”, Small attached gyms, Food Courts, Sports Day and so on to keep them happy. Which worked well enough.

Then the Millennials. Like I said – companies like Google and Facebook; which are the ones that actually accelerated the rapid changes in the generation gaps, empowering smarter technology – have been able to keep up with the pace they set. Many start-ups with their small teams and big ideas manage to keep up with the pace. What about the more established traditionally run companies?

How do they adapt to the swift changes of the current world?

The Ramco Story

[ #LifeAtRamco – A Case Study of Ramco Systems ]

As someone who has been avidly following the changing trends in management (As keenly as some of this generation follow Game of Thrones!) I was very interested when I was invited for an evening at Ramco – to specifically experience “Life At Ramco”.

No further details were given. But it got my curiosity aroused.

[A brief background – Ramco Systems, a very tradititional Indian company, is one of the top players in the ERP space. ]

You see, I’ve been to Ramco for a meeting about four years back (in 2012). It was as boring as any corporate setup.

Start naked white walls. Contrasting blue felt, and the occasional green on the neat workstation layout. A plant in one corner. Some random motivational quote made into a poster. (I know many of us are either thinking: “Tell me about it!” or “Hey! Don’t make my workplace sound so dull!)

Why do I remember something so unremarkable? Because I was made to wait for an hour on a boring couch, and the girl who I met after the hour (who made no apologies for making me wait) said she’d called me back, and never did.

I went out of curiosity, and I accept, some spite. I am happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised!

Every organization derives its culture from a variety of aspects, including, but not limited to:

1. Top management vision
2. Top Management's management style
3. Core Values - The written and accepted ones
4. Core Values - Unwritten and understood
5. How well the management style percolates through to the lower levels
6. The work environment
7. The flexibility offered
8. The dress code 

Ramco has taken the trouble to change each and every one of those items on the list above. They’ve been able to transform from a boring old company of the last century to a happening work place of the future!

Let’s go through them in the logical order – Why, When, How, Where and finally What the change is

Why:

Any such major changes start with a vision. Here it was the vision of the new CEO. He realized that they need change from a traditional company – in their policies, work style, work space and general outlook if they wanted to gain market share and make substantial profits again.

His vision brought out the theme that employees shouldn’t wait for Fridays. They shouldn’t have to balance Work and Life on separate scales. Work Life on its own must be amazing.

Just vision is not enough for a company to get ready to invest a huge chunk of money into things like infrastructure. Though we know that the people make the company, it is not an easy decision for the company to invest so majorly on the top line.

Here is where the belief that the management team had in the vision came into play. They backed his decision, and have been fully supportive.

Many of us repeatedly asked the various employees (who had turned temporary tour guides from the evening) “have these changes actually affected your bottom line?” “Have you been able to prove substantial increase in productivity?” And their answer: A laugh and “Of course!!! When work is so much fun, productively will obviously increase!”

When:

The transformation process was started three years ago (from 2013)

It’s still an ongoing process, they tell me. Like continuous improvement. Ramco has realized that there is always something more that can be done to make employee’s work life better. So they keep at it!

How:

Ramco realized that if they’re changing, they might as well do a damn good job of it.

Changes in the company are right from the HR policies – Flexible work times, Work from anywhere, no formal dress code.

Flatter reporting structure to the extent that – an organization that not so long ago used ‘Sir’s and ‘Ma’am’s to refer to one another is now completely on a first name basis. THAT is the most radical change if you ask me. It’s easy to go from wearing formals to casuals, even for the senior members of any company. But to suddenly have junior members be allowed to call them by first name – that takes conscious acceptance of the change by each and every individual.

They have redesigned the entire work space into a colourful, fluid and fun concept.

Where:

In all their work places – in all the branches across the globe, except those situated inside government offices / or customer sites.

What:

In two words: Almost Everything!

Yes, it hasn’t been overnight. But they have managed to turn the place around – completely!

It’s a workplace that’ll keep any millennial happy and content. If it’s distractions that keeps a normal millennial away from work – it’s distractions optimized that’ll keep him in Ramco.

They’ve got Fooseball tables to keep the adrenalin pumping, Zumba to keep fit, Zen corners – for those who want to work in peace, Plush soft couches to sink into, in house masseuse, A café with pumping music, Games screened, A full restaurant scale canteen that offers a wide variety of cuisines, Healthy snack dispensing vending machines, Swings in lieu of seats,  themed sitting areas … You get the drift (I’m stopping as I’m feeling a jealousy surge all over again!)

I’d like to highlight however, that each of those aspects seem to have been well thought out and carefully picked out. None of them are things one would get bored of in a hurry! And almost everything can be replaced or upgraded as necessary. Good strategy I’d say!

I’ve got some pictures here which will tell you more than I can describe J

After seeing all that, the question screaming in my head was: “How do you get any work done here?” And I managed to ask it to a few managers as well as team members.

And the responses?

 “Sometimes, when I’m bugged, I look at my manager – and he looks at me. And we both pack our laptops and go over to the café, and continue to work there in peace. I think the corner table there is more mine than my actual seat!! Haha”

“Here at Ramco – this Ramco, not what he had 3 years ago, even staying overtime for a deliverable does not feel like work at all!”

“I’m really good at Fooseball now, as I have so much practice at it. But I’m very good at my job too!”

“Our productivity has increased so much, and we’re just getting started!”

“We all love to work here. And we want to do our best for the company that does so much for us!”

All that can be said for Ramco and Ramcans now is:

Those moments of weakness

Those moments ...
When you don't long for that person
But wish their presence next to you

When you frantically search through a hundred mails just to find that deleted number ...
To save it
Just so you can look at the latest display picture.
Reassure yourself that they're doing fine
Ask the universe to let them know that you're fine too
-Despite these moments-
If they ever wondered, that is.

Those moments
When you close your eyes
And you're caught between a smile and a tear
And a strong wave of nostalgia
Remembering that feeling

When you imagine the scenario of bumping into each other
Practice what you would say
How you would look
And react
Run it over in your head
Just so that, when that moment arrives
The moment you dread and anticipate
You're not stuck staring
Like a blubbering fool

Ah well

Those moments when you wish..

Just to, for a brief moment, remember how it used to feel
How life used to be
Who you used to be.

He Said Yes - (Final) Part 3

The Third Yes

( Here are the links to Part 1 & Part 2 )

It had been a month. An amazingly perfect month. She could have sworn that she heard the click in her head, indicating perfect harmony in life again.

After he had replied, they had got talking. He, for very understandable reasons, had been very angry at her. Her e-mail a long time ago had left him speechless. He had taken a long time to even digest that she didn’t want to talk to him anymore. Out of the blue. It had been so enraging even as a thought, that he had decided to stay quiet just to spite her – certain that she would get back and say the idea was stupid, and they should just be friends again.

He had been waiting for her to come back, so he could go “HA”. The timing of him being able to get back to her was lost. He had slipped into sadness, and back to anger.

But she hadn’t gotten back …days, weeks and months.

Till that day, three years later.

He had seen the message and had to check thrice to ensure that the name displayed was indeed her, and not google messing with him.

After the initial excitement of actually being connected to her, he quickly remembered that he was supposed to be furious at her. So they had spent almost a day arguing and fighting. But millions of miles away they were, the words exchanged were heated and apologetic, but the smiles stuck on each of their faces was as true and bright as day!

She had apologized, he had accepted and they had gone right back to being friends.

It had been two whole years, which all but gently faded away.

He was now working at Malaysia. She hadn’t moved.

The internet and reduced time difference made being in touch very simple and easy. And that they were. One would think two full time professionals would have a lot less time to talk to each other, but no, not them. They were comfortable multitasking, well keeping in touch never felt like a task anyway.

Soon to be twenty six, and having seen and rejected numerous photos of “eligible bachelors” she was well aware of how perfect he had been for her. She knew that he was still single. She didn’t know two things. One: Becoming friends again, even after that huge hurdle is one thing, but would they be able to do so for something beyond friendship? And two: will either of them find it in them to let go of the ego and ask the question?

Her birthday came and went. The questions had never surfaced. Hints had been given, vague remarks made, but that’s as fas as either of them got.

Things were just chugging alone, both for the most part content to have their best friends back. The only drawback was that the distance and the countries between them made meeting pretty much impossible. One fine day, she asked him – no not one of those two questions!

You know… we’re planning a vacation at Indonesia right?

He, being well aware of it, thanks to her having spazzed about it for quite a while, “Mm Hmm”

"You know how close Indonesia is to Malaysia?" she remarked

"Pretty close yeah"

"Very close!"

"True" he confirmed

"But…well, I’m coming with friends, and I don’t think they’re going to accept adding another country to the agenda"

"You could extend a day…" 

"But I don’t think they would be comfortable with me going to a different country alone. That would be mean."

"Agreed"

"Right. Anyway … what’s for lunch?"

"I don’t know, I think I have to skip lunch."

"Why? Dude don’t be skipping meals! You know being healthy is important, especially when staying alone in a foreign country! If you want to skip a meal, skip dinner."

"I know I know. I’ll probably pick something up when returning from the Visa Office." he remarked

She (Trying her best to contain her excitement) : "Oh please please tell me you’re going to be applying for an Indonesian Visa! Please! Otherwise this will be very sad."

"I’m going to pick up my Indonesian Tourist Visa, it’s been approved."

I leave it to you to imagine her reaction. They spent the month planning the one day that she would be spending with him. She was almost embarrassed to admit that she was more excited about the one day, than the 4 others in the trip. Luckily, she hid her excitement well!

On the day they were meeting, with whatsapp as the only means of communications, as both were on international roaming – it was irony that she was delayed by almost an hour.

They had planned the exact spot that they were going to meet at. Her friend’s flights were delayed, and with the craziness of vacating 2 rooms she was delayed completely. She tried texting him and calling him, but his phone was out of reach. By the time she left the place, she was completely certain that he would have left and she would have to wander alone on the last day of what had been a fabulous and relaxing vacation.

After finally packing them off, she hailed the next cab and rushed. Her heart beat like a V12 engine, equal parts anticipation and fear. Fear that he won’t be there, and fear that he might have waited for an hour right there.

She crossed the road, and went to the point where they were to meet. He wasn’t there. It felt like the clutch was slowly being engaged… her heart rate slowed down gradually. She was part relieved that he didn’t wait for an hour out there in the heat, and disappointed that he hadn’t.

She found a wall to lean on, to get water out of her bag to gurgle it down – with her head slightly tilted, she saw it. It was a miracle that the water did not choke her. He was standing on a nearby walkway bridge, overlooking the road, facing away to the opposite direction. He must’ve have missed her crossing. Her heart that had all but stopped and shut down, revved into full speed again.

She deliberately forced herself to drink some more water, then walked over slowly. Since he was still facing the road, he didn’t notice her walking up behind him. She imagined fumes coming out of his nostril like an angry dragon, or a lion – a leo that he prided himself for being.

One tap on the shoulder was all it took. He turned to look slowly. Their eyes met.

Apology, unsure smile, anger irritation – all conveyed effectively without a word spoken.

In the month leading up to this day, she had wondered how this moment would go. Hugging like long lost friends was always the most prominent scenario.

“DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I’VE BEEN WAITING HERE? HOW HOT IT IS? HOW I STOOD HERE DESPITE HOW THIRSTY I WAS, SO YOU WOULDN’T MISS ME HERE?”

She wanted to go “Aaaaawwww” , but good sense prevailed.

“So sorry…I’m so sorry … I called you….”

“CHECK YOUR PHONE! See how many times I called you back.!”

In all the hurry, she had completely forgotten about that device since she’s gotten in that cab about 45 minutes ago!

“I’m so sorry” , she repeated “I’ll get you water…juice…please come”

He went along seething. Well given their history, anything less dramatic would have felt wrong she supposed.

As they made their way through the busy street to KFC in the far end (only recognizable place for a quick cold drink) she remembered the day long ago when they had first met. It was near a library, he had arrived first then too, and her first words then had been “I’m so sorry I’m late”. Tradition she supposed.

She bought him the cold drink, got herself one too, and walked quietly beside him. She knew he would calm down, he always did. Just needed a bit of time. He eventually did, and she knew that when he held out his hand to offer to throw out her cup in the dustbin as well. A cheeky smile she gave him. He frowned, but she could tell that he was forcing it – and all was right in the world again.

They immediately fell into the old rhythm where they could both talk a mile a minute on completely different topics – keep track of each other’s conversation, respond appropriately and have something to add. They’ve had as much as three to four threads of conversation happening at the same time without losing track of any of it.

They walked a while in the busy bazaar, and then walked more than a mile to a museum nearby. It had been her idea – so they could see more of the city, and witness a bit of the local culture! But they just ended up walking a lot in the heat, and he made her carry his much heavier bag for a bit of it. All was fun however.

As the evening drew near, they were both aware that their day in the sun was coming to an end. It had been an amazing day, but nothing special had been said. There had been moments when both had caught the other staring at them … like when they were walking, or at the museum, but the meaning behind those looks were left open to interpretation, and one did NOT want to misread in these situations, and take the wrong premature step forward.

Eventually they ended up at the station, and he insisted that he would come with her till her stop  - which was farther away, before heading back to his hotel. She wondered if the moment had finally come, it definitely felt like it … the climate was cooler, the sun was setting gorgeously. They reached her point, both got off – and they both stood facing each other. Moment of truth. The heartbeat race had restarted apparently. She smiled sweetly. He looked unsure. Then … he held out his hand – for a handshake. “Okay then! Bye.” He said. “Bye. Get back safe!” an alien replied through her mouth. The sweet smile was now more plastic, but plastered on her face. He turned and left. She walked him walk away.

She ended up losing her way back to the hotel, but the roads were empty and no one need see the angry tears. The walk helped. She got a lot of thoughts straightened out … and finally, alone in her room with an hour or so before she had to leave, she texted him.

“Hey, back safe?”

“Yeah. Just checked in. I’ve got this fancy room all to myself. Pity”

“Pity? Because you’re alone ;)?” she ventured

“Huh? No … because I’m here only for the night, and am too tired, so will be falling asleep”

“Right … anyway, today was a good day!”

“It really was wasn’t it!! I’m so glad I made it. I’m awesome!”

“Well since you did come all the way for me, you are”

“I know”

“Sheesh”

“What?! True story!”

“Fine! Umm… Did you feel like… didn’t everything felt just right today?”

“Yeah, the one hour wait in the sun was perfect!”

“I’m sorry about that! For the hundredth time! I meant between us”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean us … US”

“No… I get what you mean. But no. Isn’t it almost time you started to the airport?”

“Oh yeah …I got carried away. I’m off now. Bye!”

“Bye”

She left. He left a day after. She would have given a million dollars to have known if he was sad when he said those final words, or relieved or was it plain indifference.

-

They did stay in touch, and pretended that conversation never happened. As beautiful a tryst that it had been, at many levels it felt like a delicate bubble that they might burst if they spoke about it to each other.

For the first few weeks after the return, their conversation was very polite. Formal even. Eventually they did fall back into the old rhythm. And then the fights happened. There was one… just one that mattered. Where they had been talking about joint families versus nuclear families, and he had said he would always prefer joint families and she had said the idea of a nuclear family made more sense to her. Simple discussion on individual preferences it must have been right? No. He claimed he felt offended by her choice. She tried arguing that her preference had no bearing on his, and when the argument got dirty, she even mentioned that it was him who ensured that their preference on this needn’t matter. This logic didn’t seem to affect it. At least that’s what she thought then.

What she realized much after the fight had led to a cold war was that her preference had probably mattered to him. Not in the present argument, not this particular preference, but in general. His answer that evening in Indonesia hadn’t been given with sadness or indifference or relief – it had been given with anger. Anger for her having left him alone years ago. Anger that he had had to get over her.

One might argue how she could know that. But him, she knew – enough to know that this was right. She understood where he was coming from. Understood the rationale behind his reactions, because at one point she had understood him all too well.

They tried to patch things up, but this time they both sadly accepted that they had moved on for the people they used to be. And there was too much hurt in the river separating them, that crossing it was probably not an option. She knew that even he understood her motives behind some of her decisions she had taken now and earlier – like she understood his. But understanding it didn’t make it okay for one person to make the decisions without involving the other, and leaving them alone in it.

Eventually, they just softly stopped talking to each other. It had been beautiful… but it was now over. Just the gentle wind after the storm.

Neither of them had deleted each other’s number. It was childish, but they both sometimes had complementary status messages on whatsapp – a form of expressing their solidarity from where they stood.

-

She was twenty seven, he was thirty one.

Almost a year had passed since all that.

One day, out of the blue, a classmate of his whom she had helped out once a long time ago reached out to her on facebook. She gave him the information asked for, and consciously avoided any mention of him. But that doesn’t stop people from sharing things now, does it? “Hey! Did you know that he is hitched now?” the classmate asked cheerily. “Oh really…”

Can a mended heart crack just a bit for a memory of the past?

Apparently it could.

She tried for a week, and could hold it in no more. She needed to know if it’s true, and needed to hear it from him.

She texted him:

“Hey! Are you engaged?”

-Message seen. No response.-

One day later:

“Yes”

She responded with heartfelt congratulations. Consoling herself that it hadn’t been easy for him to answer. And relieved that her expressions don’t get revealed over text.

-

Yours truly

Someday's Dreamer

And Then She Overcame

She was all of nineteen

When her world had come crashing down on her

All of nineteen

Just a girl who was a teen

Her pillar, her support system

What felt like her everything –

The one who had given meaning to her life

Had to move on to a better place

Leaving here behind here

Not alone

But it felt so, so alone

To face everything on her own

To live life in a way she’d never known

She’d thought then that life would end

The world as she had known it, had after all done just that

She had thought that happiness would be a thing of the past

Nothing she loved would ever last

And she would always stay this way – Aghast

But no

She overcame

At first, her laughter was forced

They had sounded so fake in her head

She thought cynical was the best she could do

At first, she smiled for others

She smiled to show them that she would be fine

She smiled to stop the pity in their eyes

She smiled to prove that she could

When she realized that they cared

Her smiles became sadder

For she knew that they knew

They knew that she was trying too hard

She knew that they wanted her to move on

Because they wanted her to be alright

She knew that they were right

And that made her sad

Because a part of her believed

That letting go of the pain,

Would mean that she was letting go of the memories as well

That she would be letting go of who she was

The only who she had known to be

And she would have to accept

The SHE that she would be

It wasn’t easy

It didn’t happen fast

But eventually it did

She let herself smile

Not for others,

But for herself

And before she knew it,

There was laughter

A new her

She had overcome

The sadness

She had overcome

The pain

She had learnt to treasure her memories

To hold on to them dearly

And let them make her a better person

A stronger person

And stronger also because she had overcome

-

I wrote this motivated by the "Struggled but Overcame" series contest for CBC

Broken string

She held him tight

Looked deep into his eyes

And told him she loved him

He held on tighter

Blinked away the tears

And nodded

Wishing those words were true

Not knowing she meant it

She realized and let it be.

Exploring the Wild Side at The Wild Tribe : Part 1 : The Obstacle Course

The safety harness was all strapped in, and safety rope in place and the gritty determination and the excitement on my face were quite evident.

Flashback:

Chennai Bloggers Club was having registrations open for an Experience and Explore an Adventure Park - Wild Tribe Ranch event. Though I'm not an out and out outdoorsy person, I have gone through quite a bit of WipeOut and Takeshi's Castle during my dinner time and gone: 

"Pshaw! He couldn't event do that right!" At every guy or girl who took too long at an obstacle course.

Present Day:

Now that I was all strapped in, and stood staring at the looming length of wooden planks hanging ...dangling away rather, by ropes, I had new found respect for every winner, loser and even the attempters of those obstacle courses!

Going up the stairs to the first level of the two levels was easy enough. Once there, looking at the many different courses - now that's where the fear kicks in, and the adrenaline is pumped in as if through a water hose to put out a fire. 

The obstacle course was more of a huge hexagonal iron structure with a beam at the center. There were iron rods connecting each of the sides and to the center as well. In between those were two levels of amazingly well thought out and interesting "Courses" which were made by combing ropes, wood, tires, tubes and what not!

(Pic of the Course as we were leaving - missing it already!)

For the next 3 or so minutes, as I stood facing the first course of level one, I was certain that I am never getting on those dangly planks, and almost gave up. But there were people watching, and there's dignity to protect ;) Oh to be human with all those conflicting emotions I tell you! So I mustered all the courage that laughing friends inspired in me, I turned the other way to a Net made of sturdier net, and decided I can do that! I would just hang on to those ropes for dear life, and get through it! Easier said than done really.

[Don't you think almost all things in life are easier said than done? Except the big L word maybe ... there it is (I feel) easier to demonstrate than say it. Of course, some do say it easily}

Just a random side thought - like the many that were going through my head as I very poorly tried to emulate spider man. I slowly got through that, and THAT my dearies is the moment when Adrenaline takes a back seat and you're thinking to yourself : "Hey I did that! Then I can probably do the rest as well" and then you really start having fun. Quite a bit of fear mixed in, but so much FUN!!!!!

I tried a relatively simple ropey bridge next.

Then it I tried some different wooden planks ... I accept that things got real shakey there, and I was doing pretty intense acrobatic moves (trying to not look too stupid ;) ) and worked my way through that. There were hanging tubes which I didn't even go near! (Picking my battles there!)

There was a fish net kinda bridge, that was so fun I tried it twice!

The tires were waaaayyyy too swingy for my liking, and I tried them just to make a point.

I loved how the safety rope navigation system was so well thought out, that you could let another pass through - when you just wanted to take a break, hug a pillar and feel calm and safe for a moment or two.

With so many friends around and questions like: "Hey, was that course easy?", "Did you get through that?!" bouncing around, and us being reassured that somebody else is facing the same things we are, and getting through it, so we can do it too! That motivating us to look around and tell someone "Don't worry, I was able to get through it, so you can do it too!" Good things those :)

It's also interesting how focused we become on a task when it gets so demanding of your attention - in the best possible way! A little like sinking into a lovely hug; while the whole world fades away for that moment!

Of course, this was a lot more challenging and a lot less comfortable than a hug. But that's the point. That's their point which they proudly claim - Get out of your comfort zone, and face the fear - We'll handle the safety!

My first life-size obstacle course was an amazing experience and I hope to go back there and conquer more of the levels, if not all !!! You should try it too ! Go gick the fear at the Wild Tribe Ranch :)

[This, of course, was jus the first of the many rides that were there. More to come in this space!]