HOBY WLC 2005 - A Glimpse Into the Past

Greetings from Sunny California!

As I write this, I feel miserable. Physically. This week I've been sick with some kind of coughing/phlegm junk. It's quite annoying. I'm tired. My head hurts and my throat aint feeling all that great either.

But aside from all that, I'm great! Really, I am! Today I went to a HOBY Reunion for California Central. We didn't get all that great of a turnout. In fact, it was pretty lousy. There were five of us. And out of the five, no one was an "ambassador" from this past year. It was alright though. We made the most of it and headed off to T.G.I. Friday's for an unofficial non-HOBY lunch. It's funny because I think I can do with not having to go to Friday's again for a while. I went three times while I was at WLC and again today. That's four times in 3 weeks. I think we can consider T.G.I. Friday's the official HOBY Restaurant. After lunch we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, a little bummed that not a lot of people came out. Oh well, the CLEWs are looking good, though.

After that, I headed over to Hollywood where I met up with my mom, my aunt, and my cousin where we shopped for a little, then had dinner at this awesome restaurant, Morel's French Steakhouse. Great stuff. So now I'm back home, and writing this blog...


Alrighty. WLC 2005. What is it? Well you can find out in full detail at HOBY's Official Website. It's pretty much a leadership seminar that takes place in a notable U.S. city for one week in July. This year it returned to our nation's capital, Washington, D.C.. We stayed at George Washington University. The seminar was outstanding and I know a lot of people, staff and students, got a lot out of it. (If you dont know anything at all about HOBY, you can find out more on their official website.)

So now, it's been exactly a week since I returned home to California from WLC. I have had a lot of thinking to do this week, as I don't have a job and I've been bumming around, so here are my thoughts, thanks, and memories...

+thoughts.
HOBY has really inspired me to bring positive change to lives of people, whether it be on a large scale like a vaccination drive or something small, like tutoring or mentoring a junior high student. Going to WLC on staff has taught me many things that I didn't expect to learn. I went into it with the mindset of solely giving back to the ambassadors what I received when I went through the program. And though, we did just that, I got so much more than just that. I learned some important life lessons that will stick with me forever... Lessons regarding patience, love, responsibility, courage, time management, etc... just some great skills. HOBY has really helped me to grow as an individual. If I had to pick one thing that HOBY really accomplishes is that it shows young people and less younger people that there are others in the world who have the same ideals and enthusiasm to make a difference and a positive impact on society. We're not alone in the universe and seeing others who have the same goals really brings a sense of unity within people. It's hard to describe, but HOBY just gives you those good vibes... lol.

+thanks.
There are tons and tons of people to thank. First off, my hat goes off to Albert Schweitzer for being an idealist and giving a young actor a sense of greater purpose. Then there's Hugh O'Brian, God bless the man. Just turning 80, he deserves a lot of props for bringing HOBY to life and changing countless lives through it. Now for WLC specifically, I gotta thank Big Daddy Tommy Osborne for just some outstanding leadership for the whole seminar and for helping me learn a great lesson. I gotta thank my fellow ASAs for accepting me into the group with open arms, cause pretty much all of y'all already knew each other. We formed an awesome bond that week and I feel like I can call you guys my brothers and sisters. Marcus, Chris, Pat, Matt, Helaina, Emily, and Bryanna you guys absolutely rock my socks. Next thanks goes to everyone at OPS and TA for doing a superb job of being the glue. Gotta thank my B-Section for being incredible. Lisa, you always make me smile and you help me to see things in different lights. You are truly a special person. From being my HOBY mama in '03 to being HOBY Mama for WLC next year, I know you're only gonna keep doing great and greater things. To Katie, Chris, Big Al, and Ara, thanks for the fun times, laughs, letting me have your kids at some point, and for just being great friends to me. I'm gonna have to come out and visit you guys sometime down the road. To group B-1... wow. You guys are absolutely incredible. You took Russ and I in as your own... lol. Whether it was chanting my name through Marvin or jumping in my bed to wake me up on the last day, you guys always made me laugh/smile/cry. I feel like you're my own children. (partly cause Katie and I are getting married. shhh don't tell her that. jp :p ) I miss you guys and can't wait to hear about the great things you guys are gonna do. To the rest of the Section B Ambassadors, thank you for trusting me with your awesome, "pimped-out" HOBY T-Shirts. They sure made my nights... Love ya guys. To the rest of the Daddy Staff, I have never met a group of enthusiastic, fun-loving characters like all of you. Each of you made WLC what it was and it was "tight". Keep in Touch... If I missed anybody, that person has the right to slap me and stuff cause everyone involved with WLC has affected my life in some way and for that, I'm grateful for whatever contribution you made. Keep up the HOBY Spirit!

+memories.
Dang, this BLOG is getting loooonnngg...
Ok here are some of the memories I have of WLC '03
-Folding T-Shirts and stuffing them into backpacks with TA and ASAs, while Matt "supervised" and took pictures. lol.
-Patrick Hollaran's incredible journey to Thurston Hall
-Walking back into the staff training room from lunch to see we all had hard hats with our names on them.
-Michael Kozak not being included in the program nor the yearbook.
-Staff cruise with good weather.
-The HOBY WLC Staff Choir singing the hits like "Sweet Home Alabama", "Ice, Ice, Baby", "Ain't No Mountain", "Hey Jude", and "Baby Got Back"
-Ambassador Arrival Day - Coming up with random questions for the big red ball; forming a tunnel for the ambassadors to go under on their way to Marvin; Making the ambassadors do cheers before they could get off the airport shuttles; Big Al and "I feel good, oh I feel so good, ugh"
-Taking naps whereever possible
-T-Shirt Folding Parties on the 2nd Floor until 2:30AM
-Boy Scouts stealing our laundry detergent and dryer sheets
-Wraps
-The Duwende Concert/Ambassador Orgy/Choreographed Staff Dance Showcase
-"Dont you wish your girlfriend was hot like me? HOT!" (Slaps Butt)
-Matt Reid doing dirty laundry (literally)
-Record Breaking Photo Day
-Choir Practice from Hell
-The Betts Theater lady from Hell
-The Processed Eggs from Hell
-Big Al's date from Hell (funny story)
-Gatorade!
-HOBY! JUMP ON IT! JUMP ON IT!
-The "actual" kidnapping of Mr. Schtick
-Being a Hawker at Iwo Jima ("WATER, GET YOUR WATER!")
-98 Degrees + Humidity
-STEAMROLLER
-"I'm not... comfortable with that..."
-"HOLLER"
-What's "tight" and what's "jacked up"
-Patrick H finally getting the ambassador's irish dancing dress
-The 30 Minute Dance
-Marcus passing the Baton to Big Billy
-Johnny Vegas and Alex Diaz on Friday night... (HILLARIOUS.)
-Metting some of the greatest people in the world :)

HOBY WLC 2005 was a blast. I wouldn't trade my experience there for anything. I've made some life friends and I've learned some great things. WLC = Priceless.

You can check out the pictures I took at WLC in my Webshots Gallery.

HOBY Hugs,
Cy


Coming Tomorrow: Church Recap, I Rate My Week, and maybe some... PICTURES!!! Woop dee Woop!