10-31-08

It is great to be part of the Dragon Healers. As a newbie I feel like I have been part of this team for a long time because you all have made me feel like home from day 1. As one of the saying goes you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Our group here needs no second chance. I really believe that from day 1 the driving force and the motivation behind me attending to each practice has been made possible because of all of you Healers. Everyone has been so friendly, kind, helpful and very positive. A challenge that was left to conquer was learning to pronounciate my name correctly. And soon enough this was conquered as well.

I consider myself reserved and a very laid back kind of person. I am a man of few words so when Kathy approached me to share my thoughts about what it means to be a Dragon Healer and being part of a wonderful experience that is of Long Beach I started to ponder to myself how am I going to translate my thoughts onto script without limiting to 1 or 2 sentences.

Well, I will have to say that the trip to Long Beach was one of the best times I've had in such a long time and makes for a memory that will last forever. The ride going to and coming back didn't feel that long with the company of my friend Addison and the kids Henry and David. This turned out to be a great road trip. I would not hesitate one bit to have the company of these guys again. At the Race, everyone showed such great camaraderie amongst each other and support. It was fun to watch Gio and guys throw our teammates one after another into the water. When the race time came we showed such great focus and die -hard spirit. I've seen opponents approaching us before the race to wish us best of luck and after the race to congratulate us. This truly appears to be the hard earned respect and reputation of this team. Now I know that the Healers are truly as tough as they come. I am proud to be a Dragon Healer. We travelled, conquered and came back with gold medals. This is a great measure of our hard effort and dedication at Lake Merced that payed off gold. This is my first race ever and to win a gold is an unbelievable feeling. I would really like to thank each and everyone in our team and the coaches for making this such a successful and fun event. The road to Treasure Island is our next stop. I have no doubt that the sight of medals will once again be worned around our neck standing with our head high with Healer pride.

-Nauneet