How I spent my Birthday Eve

A year ago I would have never expected to spend the eve of my birthday at work, but then again I’m not someone who tends to plan things out (some call it disorganised, I prefer the term ‘relaxed’). So what was I up to at the University Residence in Lija in the early hours of the morning on the 21st of May? Only announcing the winners of Our Biggest Quiz Night to date !!!! Although technically I was ‘working’ on the night, I had a blast watching people’s reactions and more importantly (just kidding….kind of) there was CAKE. Thanks Johanna for being such a great colleague/ boss :).

That’s right, on the 20th of May we held the 3rd edition of our annual quiz night and it was definitely one for the books. Being part of the organising team I added my touch to things by giving it a catchy name “BATTLE OF THE BRAINS” and a couple of original rounds – let’s just say it wasn’t your average quiz night! The Blindfolded Taste Test went down a treat with everyone, as did the ‘Name that Tune’ round. This year we decided to support Research in ALS through a collaboration with The University of Malta Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT).

I’m going to be honest here and admit that initially I knew very little about ALS except that there was this whole ice bucket craze. When I found out we would be raising funds for this cause I started reading about the disease. I was extremely touched by the story behind ALS MALTA and their founder Bjorn (diagnosed with ALS about a year ago) so I made it my mission to help raise as much as possible for them. We came up with the idea of holding a fundraising raffle and reached out to companies for help with prizes. I was overwhelmed by the positive response we got and we ended up with some smashing prizes. Needless to say we were all extremely excited to have raised €410 from the night. We are extremely grateful to everyone who was a part of this: both sponsors and participants.

2016 has definitely been a good year for the team so far with the University Ring Road Races held earlier in March being a huge success and the Quiz Night being no less lacking. “Battle of the Brains” saw a record number of participants (approx. 80 individuals of all ages) with 16 teams going head to head in a heated contest of the smartest. Throughout the event, everyone seemed to be having a blast and scores were extremely close but after 7 rounds, it was team WICKED WUBS who emerged victorious.

I asked one of my good friends Angie Conti if she would take some photos on the night for us. Angie is always present at my races and I am a huge fan of her pictures so I was looking forward to seeing what moments she would capture on the night. In fact I am going to stop talking and let the pictures do the rest – some of them are priceless. Thanks Angie!!

1. THE THINKER