Hokay, I suppose it's been a week now. I got home Tuesday at around 4:30 AM after driving--myself--for 15 hours. That includes the last leg, which was from Lincoln, Illinois to Newaygo, Michigan (4 hours) without stopping a single time. Btw, St. Louis is ridiculous to drive through; that was my fun fact for Monday.
The four days or so after my day off in Tulsa were a bit crazed. I came back to my cabin to discover that my new cell phone had arrived--Samsung LG, I like it quite a bit--but wasn't activated. Actually, I ended up having to call customer support and have the service person talk me through activating it manually. By the way, if I should have your number, you should send me a text message with your name; I lost all my old contacts when my last phone went into the pool with me. Moving on: I don't recall a lot of Thursday, July 15. Shrug. Friday was the final recital--almost right after dinner instead of at 8:15--then "Breaking of the Bread," which is sort of a final time together with staff and campers. Final recital, btw, was two hours long and brutal, although the performers mostly did well. OH, now I remember about Thursday: I organized dodgeball for the night program, which was fun, and then the kids had to set up chairs in the gym for Saturday's graduation ceremony. Then it was a late night because any campers who were doing solos on Friday with accompanists had to practice with them, and then the staff got together after that to decide on the various awards (i.e. theory class awards, male and female honor camper, etc.). Okay, on to Saturday...graduation was 10 AM. That also lasted two hours, largely because of long-winded Salvation Army officers. Each of the ensembles--the three levels of brass ensemble, the percussion ensemble, the creative worship team, the praise and worship band, and the beginner and high choirs--performed and did remarkably well. Then...the kids left. And the camp felt empty.
After graduation came lots of cleaning in the conservatory building, and then Andy took the staff out to a Chinese buffet. We came home and had a late-night swim in the pool, and then two other staff members and I watched three episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (haha).
Sunday, I woke up at some time (how should I remember?) and Laura, Emily, and I went into town. Emily felt sick and Laura had already eaten, so I was the only one eating; however, it was at Carl's Jr., where I had a six-dollar jalapeno burger, and it was amazing enough that I didn't care. We went back to camp, and I pretty much sat in my room on the computer for hours. Started my full clean of the cabin--that was a revealing experience--around 10 PM, finished around 3 AM. Woke up Monday and, pretty much, left. And that was that. Felt a little abrupt, but I guess that is the way of things.
Home has been...relaxing? Mom and Dad are in California and Laura's still at camp, so it's just Molly, Emily, and I. It's one of those times when I rarely feel like doing anything that doesn't involve looking at a screen--Buffy Season 6, Europa Universalis 3, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I'd never seen before and is an excellent film--but when you're done, you still feel a little...bleh. I'm also not really caught up on sleep yet. I think I'll clean the house a bit today, and that'll probably feel a little better.
Okay, remember again to text me with your name so I can have your cell number if I should have it...later!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
I Read the Tao Te Ching in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Sorry for the delay; craziness has imposed itself on my carefully laid plans and my sense of calm. I was going to use Saturday morning for blog updating/general Internet usin', but I happened not to be present (apparently) when the other counselors, including my sister (the head and most veteran counselor) decided that I should be the one to take two campers to the hospital. So that left me with literally about 15 minutes of legitimate free time. My (excellent) boss Andy noticed that this made me frustrated, which is pretty legit considering that my version of frustration mostly expresses itself in talking somewhat less than usual, and decided I needed some free time. More on that later.
After I got back from Tahlequah Urgent Care (3 hours...sigh), I almost immediately had to go teach my elective and then head down to the pool to be a lifeguard. As soon as I got to the pool, I jumped in, because seriously. Minor stress reduction efforts were necessary. As soon as I got out of the pool, I noticed that my swim trunks were a little weightier than usual. This excess weight was caused, naturally, by my newly non-functioning cell phone. Cell phones are not creatures of the water. That cell phone was my only timepiece and alarm clock.
That was Saturday; on Sunday we left for Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, which is apparently a water park in Arlington, TX. That's a 6 hour (or so) drive from Tahlequah. So we rented two charter buses--one for the girls and one for the guys, thankfully--and stayed Sunday night at the SA corps in Arlington, then spent most of Monday at the park. I, being a stubborn person and having accumulated perhaps a half hour of sleep on the floor of a particularly muggy church gymnasium, went on none of the rides and spent my time translating Ovid in the shade of the area we'd reserved in the park. Somehow, that felt (and feels) like an accomplishment. I realize that I like to do things entirely for the purpose of making people scratch their heads when I get in a mood. Next year, if there is a next year, I plan to go on every ride. Eat that.
One thing led to another, and now it's Wednesday. (Eat that, too.) I had told Andy that it seemed silly to take a day off in the middle of the last week of camp, but the conversation that followed essentially went, "Nonsense. When?" "Er...Wednesday?" "Done. Go." So I decided to go to Tulsa and see what that city's all about. Reminds me a bit of Grand Rapids, right down to the university campus downtown. Of course, there's the heat. Anyway, I homed right in on 71st Street, which contains quite a nice mall entirely lacking in bookstores. The inescapable Barnes and Noble, it turned out, was across the street. A short jaunt delivered me to the cool refuge of a Barnes and Noble cafe with a newly purchased copy of the Penguin Classics translation of the Tao Te Ching, whose 5000 characters of text I consumed in a single sitting.
And now I'm in the Starbucks somewhat down the road. (The B&N Cafe--also, of course, a Starbucks--had free wi-fi but no outlets. Charming.) Thinking about where I'm going to get dinner and what movie I'm going to see. "By yourself?!" some people asked, but I'm good company, so I don't mind. Also thinking about whether or not I should rent a hotel room and do some quality sleeping. That seems expensive for something I can do for free in another three days or so, but it's been a while. I think I'll probably just go back to camp tonight and see if I can bum a bed in the nurse's station.
Exhaustion is the theme of the last few days, and points like that always show me who I really am. Exhaustion should drive me to God...not to get peace or fulfillment for myself, but to lean entirely on His strength to continue serving the kingdom. Instead, exhaustion just activates my selfishness, and I try to escape from serving as much as possible. Prayer is definitely needed on that front!
Please keep on updating me on how things are going back in A2, GR, wherever. Nashville. You know. I can't really do phone calls, as it happens, but I can check my email every few days are so. AND my time here is almost over, so I'll have even greater Internet access soon.
Agape!
After I got back from Tahlequah Urgent Care (3 hours...sigh), I almost immediately had to go teach my elective and then head down to the pool to be a lifeguard. As soon as I got to the pool, I jumped in, because seriously. Minor stress reduction efforts were necessary. As soon as I got out of the pool, I noticed that my swim trunks were a little weightier than usual. This excess weight was caused, naturally, by my newly non-functioning cell phone. Cell phones are not creatures of the water. That cell phone was my only timepiece and alarm clock.
That was Saturday; on Sunday we left for Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, which is apparently a water park in Arlington, TX. That's a 6 hour (or so) drive from Tahlequah. So we rented two charter buses--one for the girls and one for the guys, thankfully--and stayed Sunday night at the SA corps in Arlington, then spent most of Monday at the park. I, being a stubborn person and having accumulated perhaps a half hour of sleep on the floor of a particularly muggy church gymnasium, went on none of the rides and spent my time translating Ovid in the shade of the area we'd reserved in the park. Somehow, that felt (and feels) like an accomplishment. I realize that I like to do things entirely for the purpose of making people scratch their heads when I get in a mood. Next year, if there is a next year, I plan to go on every ride. Eat that.
One thing led to another, and now it's Wednesday. (Eat that, too.) I had told Andy that it seemed silly to take a day off in the middle of the last week of camp, but the conversation that followed essentially went, "Nonsense. When?" "Er...Wednesday?" "Done. Go." So I decided to go to Tulsa and see what that city's all about. Reminds me a bit of Grand Rapids, right down to the university campus downtown. Of course, there's the heat. Anyway, I homed right in on 71st Street, which contains quite a nice mall entirely lacking in bookstores. The inescapable Barnes and Noble, it turned out, was across the street. A short jaunt delivered me to the cool refuge of a Barnes and Noble cafe with a newly purchased copy of the Penguin Classics translation of the Tao Te Ching, whose 5000 characters of text I consumed in a single sitting.
And now I'm in the Starbucks somewhat down the road. (The B&N Cafe--also, of course, a Starbucks--had free wi-fi but no outlets. Charming.) Thinking about where I'm going to get dinner and what movie I'm going to see. "By yourself?!" some people asked, but I'm good company, so I don't mind. Also thinking about whether or not I should rent a hotel room and do some quality sleeping. That seems expensive for something I can do for free in another three days or so, but it's been a while. I think I'll probably just go back to camp tonight and see if I can bum a bed in the nurse's station.
Exhaustion is the theme of the last few days, and points like that always show me who I really am. Exhaustion should drive me to God...not to get peace or fulfillment for myself, but to lean entirely on His strength to continue serving the kingdom. Instead, exhaustion just activates my selfishness, and I try to escape from serving as much as possible. Prayer is definitely needed on that front!
Please keep on updating me on how things are going back in A2, GR, wherever. Nashville. You know. I can't really do phone calls, as it happens, but I can check my email every few days are so. AND my time here is almost over, so I'll have even greater Internet access soon.
Agape!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Rain
The last few days, we've been getting dumped on by the remains of Hurricane...Alex? I'm in a news bubble down here. Anyway, it's been nasty out. And whenever it rains, the regular camp does recreation time in the gym. That means that my sports elective has absolutely nowhere to go besides...the ball field. So today we played freeze tag--I gave them the choice--and two kids ended up needing slight medical-ish attention. Grrr.
This camp makes me realize what a slacker I am, haha. Some of the kids who come don't care too much, sadly, about the music/instruments they're learning. But some of them practice for hours on end and get really good, taking advantage of the unique opportunity they have here. Makes me wish I hadn't quit...piano, French horn, basketball, cross country, etc. I think I'm going to try to identify things I want to get/stay good at. So far, it's Latin, Greek, singing. I want to learn the guitar, maybe, and take up piano again. Keep myself in good shape. We'll see, haha. I know everyone has those times when they resolve to become disciplined. Just have to do it.
I definitely started playing Europa Universalis 3 since I've been down here. I can't just do something normal and play Spain, England, or France. I have to play Ming dynasty China, Bali...Bali was fun. They are currently the most prestigious country in the world (I lucked into a level 6 prestige advisor) and I'm trying to gear up to colonize Hawaii on my way to California. Woot. By the way, I'm 24 years old. And available! Hehe
So yeah, Nebraska joined the Big Ten. That's still crazy.
I'm always reminded of the strange ways in which God works. He is, I think, teaching me to give him room to work when something seems impossible, in people's lives who seem like they don't care. Definitely praying for a few people in my cabin who seem really apathetic about the Bible studies as well as their music. It just seems so sad to have the opportunity to be in band class twice a day, have private lessons with talented musicians once a week, and have access to all kinds of different instruments, and not to care about it at all. But it's even worse to ignore the opportunity they have here to get closer--or get to know--Christ. Even some officers' kids, it seems, don't really care all that much.
Seeya!
This camp makes me realize what a slacker I am, haha. Some of the kids who come don't care too much, sadly, about the music/instruments they're learning. But some of them practice for hours on end and get really good, taking advantage of the unique opportunity they have here. Makes me wish I hadn't quit...piano, French horn, basketball, cross country, etc. I think I'm going to try to identify things I want to get/stay good at. So far, it's Latin, Greek, singing. I want to learn the guitar, maybe, and take up piano again. Keep myself in good shape. We'll see, haha. I know everyone has those times when they resolve to become disciplined. Just have to do it.
I definitely started playing Europa Universalis 3 since I've been down here. I can't just do something normal and play Spain, England, or France. I have to play Ming dynasty China, Bali...Bali was fun. They are currently the most prestigious country in the world (I lucked into a level 6 prestige advisor) and I'm trying to gear up to colonize Hawaii on my way to California. Woot. By the way, I'm 24 years old. And available! Hehe
So yeah, Nebraska joined the Big Ten. That's still crazy.
I'm always reminded of the strange ways in which God works. He is, I think, teaching me to give him room to work when something seems impossible, in people's lives who seem like they don't care. Definitely praying for a few people in my cabin who seem really apathetic about the Bible studies as well as their music. It just seems so sad to have the opportunity to be in band class twice a day, have private lessons with talented musicians once a week, and have access to all kinds of different instruments, and not to care about it at all. But it's even worse to ignore the opportunity they have here to get closer--or get to know--Christ. Even some officers' kids, it seems, don't really care all that much.
Seeya!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Eventful last few days: the camper who left for a short time came back, then we added a new camper who was attending a wedding in Alaska. Then another kid from my cabin got kicked out (that would be the 13-year-old con man) for possessing various kinds of contraband and stolen conservatory items. Then the kid who left because he was sick came back again. So I'm back to seven campers in my cabin.
One kid in my cabin has been particularly horrifying, just in terms of his lack of respect for anyone, including authority. I cannot adequately describe how infuriating it is. Even the very nicest kids in this camp make fun of him because of how he is. He complains that people are rude to him, and I can only tell him that he has been ruder by far to others than any other camper ever. In history. He's the reason I have to pray every single night for patience. So please pray for me on that score!
One thing, though: apparently, when I'm "getting on" people (that's how they say "yelling at," or "lecturing"), I'm hilarious. I noticed that my scolding style can best be described as Bill Cosby. So I was "getting on" this kid last night, and everyone else in my cabin is laughing (and agreeing with me). Sigh.
I haven't really been online much in the last few days, so I was not able to write about the most awesome thing ever. On Saturday, the kids' night program was Mission Impossible. Now, Mission Impossible is the following: The kids divide up into cabins, and they each get one of those plastic milk crates. They must run across the ball field toward the backstop. There, there is a blue tarp covered with baby oil, and a couple people holding tickets. The kids have to get the tickets, run back, and put the tickets on their crate. To motivate them, we lied and said the winning cabin would get an obscene amount of House Cup points.
The thing is, though, that on their way to get the tickets, they cannot be touched by silly string or water. And the entire ball field is covered with tables turned on their side, slip 'n' slides, and staff members holding cans of silly string, water guns, hundreds of water balloons, and a fire hose. When kids asked me who won, I said, "The staff." It. Was. Awesome. I want to play again. This must be employed at Harvest in some way. Seriously.
More later; let me know how you're doing! Whoever you are out there reading my blog.
One kid in my cabin has been particularly horrifying, just in terms of his lack of respect for anyone, including authority. I cannot adequately describe how infuriating it is. Even the very nicest kids in this camp make fun of him because of how he is. He complains that people are rude to him, and I can only tell him that he has been ruder by far to others than any other camper ever. In history. He's the reason I have to pray every single night for patience. So please pray for me on that score!
One thing, though: apparently, when I'm "getting on" people (that's how they say "yelling at," or "lecturing"), I'm hilarious. I noticed that my scolding style can best be described as Bill Cosby. So I was "getting on" this kid last night, and everyone else in my cabin is laughing (and agreeing with me). Sigh.
I haven't really been online much in the last few days, so I was not able to write about the most awesome thing ever. On Saturday, the kids' night program was Mission Impossible. Now, Mission Impossible is the following: The kids divide up into cabins, and they each get one of those plastic milk crates. They must run across the ball field toward the backstop. There, there is a blue tarp covered with baby oil, and a couple people holding tickets. The kids have to get the tickets, run back, and put the tickets on their crate. To motivate them, we lied and said the winning cabin would get an obscene amount of House Cup points.
The thing is, though, that on their way to get the tickets, they cannot be touched by silly string or water. And the entire ball field is covered with tables turned on their side, slip 'n' slides, and staff members holding cans of silly string, water guns, hundreds of water balloons, and a fire hose. When kids asked me who won, I said, "The staff." It. Was. Awesome. I want to play again. This must be employed at Harvest in some way. Seriously.
More later; let me know how you're doing! Whoever you are out there reading my blog.
Friday, July 2, 2010
CHAMPIONS (sort of)
We had Board Game Wars as our night program a couple nights ago, which I thought would be incredibly boring. Nah. We played four games, and the winning cabin at each one would win 50 points. Or so they said. So we didn't win Jenga; some other cabin got 50 points. We didn't win Uno, but we did have the lowest value (counting up all the cards) at the end, so we got 50 along with the for-real winners. We got another 100, I think, from having a lot of full houses and a large straight in Yahtzee (sp?). But then...then came the Connect 4 Tournament. Runner-up gets 300 points, winner gets 1000. (Oh, btw, these are House Cup points.)
I had been preparing for this tournament, unknowingly, for a year. Last year I played Connect 4 for the first time since my early childhood at Excel English Academy, and there I refined my strategy as I plowed my way through classrooms full of 9- and 10-year olds. So I was ready for this one. It was a single elimination tournament with 8 cabins. We played a girls' cabin in Round 1; after a cat's game--the first I'd ever seen in Connect 4--we took advantage of an opponents' mistake and advanced. The next game, against fellow guys' cabin Chinook, pitted my 13-year-old con man with an Arkansas accent against the other cabin's counselor, Jimmy Cox. The game was even more intense than the first; finally, nearing the end, Jimmy made a tiny error and Dakota took full advantage. On to the finals...against arch-rival and House Cup-leading cabin Mojave. Mojave's representative: Adam Wallace, an awesome kid whose family lives on the camp. I took the reins for our side.
He played; I played. I played, then he played. We set traps, counter-traps, and counter-counter-traps. Each move was met with groans and cheers all around, but we were only paying attention to the board. It seemed that a cat's game was the only possible option. I made a play, hoping he wouldn't see my possible winning move. He didn't. I made the winning play, and the entire conservatory went into hysteria as Illinois, the perennial losers and almost the last-place cabin, leapt up into the top of the rankings with one drop of a Connect 4 piece. The five remaining campers and I shouted and hugged and enjoyed, for the first time, the thrill of victory rather than the agony of defeat.
Two weeks left at camp after Sunday!
I had been preparing for this tournament, unknowingly, for a year. Last year I played Connect 4 for the first time since my early childhood at Excel English Academy, and there I refined my strategy as I plowed my way through classrooms full of 9- and 10-year olds. So I was ready for this one. It was a single elimination tournament with 8 cabins. We played a girls' cabin in Round 1; after a cat's game--the first I'd ever seen in Connect 4--we took advantage of an opponents' mistake and advanced. The next game, against fellow guys' cabin Chinook, pitted my 13-year-old con man with an Arkansas accent against the other cabin's counselor, Jimmy Cox. The game was even more intense than the first; finally, nearing the end, Jimmy made a tiny error and Dakota took full advantage. On to the finals...against arch-rival and House Cup-leading cabin Mojave. Mojave's representative: Adam Wallace, an awesome kid whose family lives on the camp. I took the reins for our side.
He played; I played. I played, then he played. We set traps, counter-traps, and counter-counter-traps. Each move was met with groans and cheers all around, but we were only paying attention to the board. It seemed that a cat's game was the only possible option. I made a play, hoping he wouldn't see my possible winning move. He didn't. I made the winning play, and the entire conservatory went into hysteria as Illinois, the perennial losers and almost the last-place cabin, leapt up into the top of the rankings with one drop of a Connect 4 piece. The five remaining campers and I shouted and hugged and enjoyed, for the first time, the thrill of victory rather than the agony of defeat.
Two weeks left at camp after Sunday!
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