What I Learned At Camp, season 2, pt 1

"You don't like pancakes? What are you, the devil?"

"Remember guys: professionalism-" "Pants on the ground!"

PD

"Freedom!"

Christian can't lead in the dark

"Whuh?"

"Or you'll die"

A weatherman-preacher can solve all problems

Someone stole the bat video

"Can I sit on your roof?"

"If you're with me, clap your hands! / Slap your knees! / Stomp your feet!"

We must always wait for the bell

I am a lionotter

Longer the hair, the closer the shave

I can't get along with someone of the opposite sex without starting rumors that we're in a relationship

So, if you're new to my little blog here, after every week I post a list of amusing quotes and facts from camp, along with a deeper evaluation of the week as a whole. This past week was the beginning of my second summer working at BaYouCa (Baptist Youth Camp): staff training week. If you were following me last year, you might remember the struggles I had adjusting to the working. for those of you who weren't following me, the week last year challenged me so much that I almost quit, which is not something I ever do.

This year, however, staff training went, well, swimmingly except for two injuries and an asthma attack. The weather wasn't the best (I poured Wed-Friday), but we still got everything done that needed to be done since Boss sent us home Friday night instead of Saturday noon. (Well, there are still some logs that need to be cut but still). I don't actually have much to report this time around.

It was really great to see some old friends from last year and making new ones since most of the staff was new to me. I really think this year is going to be great given the people we have on staff. (But man, employing all these 16-year-olds who are still in high school makes me feel old.) Everyone seems to work really well together, and there are so many unique personalities that nothing will ever get old. I know everyone's nervous about how the summer will turn out, especially the first-time staff and counselors, but I'm sure that by the grace of God, everything will be fine.

Untitled

My heart weighs heavy;
I know not what to think.
My worst fears alive,
Pushing (me) towards the brink
of mindless self-loathing, and
sociological despair.
I feel so alone, surrounded by so many.
All I have is me and my own, but
that is the light in the darkness-
I know I won't be left behind.
It's time for me to make my move;
Time for me to shine.

WILAC VIII

WILAC, Family Week One
-"We wanna see neon brown"
-"Doesn't that make her a pole hugger?"
-That's making the list
-Ghost peppers are hot
-Falling off ATVs hurts...
-Jumpercables can spread
-Matches burn twice
-"What shape is that?" "Banana!"
-I curled my hair and brushed my teeth
-Tires are sharp
-Hot hot coffee
-I'm a friend of casteration (intentionally misspelled)
-The name Kendra is growing
-It's probably toy-oxic
-"Wait...is this stuff corrosive?" "Yes" "..."
-Charlie, the dancing snake
-I didn't throw it at him; I threw it and his head got in the way.
-The Craft Store ramp is slippery when wet (Mariah)
-"That's my jugular!"
-There was a hand, who met a foot...
-"Once upon a time there were some maintenance boys. We're still wondering what happened..."
-Mops make a "wamp" sound
-"Chicken breast-random"
-I want to go to Stainless, China
-Ty and butter knives don't mix
-We're all doo-med
-"You move around in your sleep so much, when you wake up, you're in China"

So this week was Family Camp One, which is much different than the normal kids' camp. For starters, us male support staffers are rooming in the basement underneath the new dining hall, dubbed the Program Room. Yup, they put 5 teenage guys in a room full of balls, toys, powertools, and various projectiles. We got along fine at least, three maintenance, one kitchen worker, and one lifeguard. This entails a very long walk up-hill to the showers in the morning :(
Anyhow, we had a little over 110 campers total, and half of them seemed to be kids of all ages. Our schedule was much more relaxed than normal camp, yet we seemed to have so much more work to do (still trying to figure that out). At least we weren't stuck in the Snack Shack for 2 hours in the afternoon averaging about 3 customers (poor errand girls). Instead, we were doing things like staking huge piles of wood, setting up for a garage sale, setting up for a dinner theater, bbq-ing chicken, and all other hard labor you can imagine. My best relaxing time of this week was paintball refereeing on Friday. All I have to do is stand there, make sure they follow the rules (easy with adults), and laugh at their shenanigans (Don't believe I spelled that right on the first try). In one game of capture the flag, I was posted by one of the bases and I see this one man come rushing out of the woods and leap into the air for the flag. One, two, shots in mid -air and he was down. They all looked at me and I was speechless. Basically I said, "I wish I could give it to you but you're out."
So yeah, it was a good week, but tiring. I slept like a log every single night, and Saturday night, I slept for 12 hours straight! Well, that may have been because my mind was trying to forget "Scott Pilgrim VS The World," essentially a waste of $6. It sounded good, but in reality, the movie was just way over-done.
This next week finishes off the summer camp season with Family Camp Two. it hasn't really sunk in with me yet, but I know it will be both sad and relaxing at the same time. Then I have 6 days off (sort of) and then I go off to college.
So yeah, that's it for now

WILAC VII

WILAC-Jr. High Wk 2 (Best week of the summer)
-Soda is good for the soul
-The children burned down
-"Then I was a sign in front of me, and it said 'No smoking seatbelt.' I couldn't get the darn thing to light!"
-The kitchen floor will smell like chocolate pudding forevermore
-Burnt breadstick+whipped cream=awesome
-I can't drive and high-five at the same time (ask Mariah)
-Ty set himself on fire
-I've yet to have a good Tuesday there
-I had the best seat in the dinning hall
-I have a secret admirer
-It is possible to argue over spilled milk
-Candy boxes don't contain candy
-I can now do pull-ups
-"Bass"
-Some people can't dump water coolers
-It's in the refreezerator
-Splinters hurt, especially when under a fingernail
-I can still juggle (unless I have bandaged hands)
-"That sure wasn't diesel!"
-I'm the only one who can do the one-legged cross sit
-I started a matchstick trend
-"Rainbows in the front, let me hear you grunt (huu)
Rainbows in the middle, let me hear you sizzle (szz)
Rainbows in the rear, let me hear you cheer (Woo)
Rockin' Rainbows, Rockin' Rainbows, Rockin' Rainbows (Woo!)"

So this past week was the second JH week, the Best Week of The Summer, and the final week of regular campers and counselors. We had 206? campers this week, which is pretty much maximum capacity. It was pretty crazy Monday morning trying to park that many cars (4 rows!) while chatting with friends and directing people who can't read simple signs. Any-way, it was a pretty long, tiring, but overall satisfying week. There was some drama (as always), laughs, tears, and pain (burnt kitchen worker, a bruised and a torn counselor, pudding-fearing kitchen workers, and a split family).
So yeah, I didn't get to see much of the chapels this week. In fact, I don't think I saw any of them the entire way through. I was too busy with various things. Thankfully this week, one of our volunteers, Ty, was assigned to maintenance for the entire week. He was really a giant help, I don't think we could have pulled off all the stuff we did this week if it wasn't for him-especially Thursday. Every Best week (except for one year) there's a game of Toiletbowl-Ball, which is basically ultimate Frisbee with a beanbag as the disc and toilets as the goals. It was really fun for every one, even the people placed in cheer-leading, security, and homecoming. During the halftime show, all us maintenance, errand girls, and executive staff did a "Hi, my name is... my testimony is... and a funny story is... " and I got Kanye'd by Katie B for my funny story! Oh well, it was entertaining.
This next week starts family camp, which means that most of the counselors have gone bye-bye. I'm sad to see them go but glad for the memories I have with them. I think I'm going to have to come back next year just to make more. I have no idea what to expect this coming week, but it should be interesting.
Text me when you're bored, pray for me when you have time.

WILAC VI

-Not everyone knows what Converse are
-Mouthwash can make even trash smell good
-When I say "eyeballs," you say "click"
-"Elbow it!"
-It's Christmas in July
-Rolling mean constant contact with the table!
-Ish is too strong for shovels
-I'm laughing at the situation
-Wicked jams in the kitchen are awesome
-As the gas goes down, the fish goes up
-Grocery stores don't sell nails
-Hand-squeezed juice
-All of Ish's troubles could have been avoided with two blue slushies
-Mowers can go up 45 degree hills without tipping
-Sodium hyopchlorate > bleach
-"It's like I'm taking a bath in a cough drop"
-"Jesus be tripping"
-Can I-Maaaaay I?
-"I'm still all sudsy!"
-"ROY *clapclap, clapclap* G *clapclap, clapclap* BIV *clapclap, clapclap* ROYGBIV, Noah built the ark so the animals could live"
-"It's like spiders went crazy and had a war in your hair"
-And somewhere in the distance, a cow moo'd
-Boating in the shower
-"That's a creepy hole"

So, this week was the first of the Junior High weeks, with a total of 88 campers (50-50 guy-girl), which is good because the low numbers were easier to deal with. next week...*gulp* has 221 campers signed up (220 is about the camp limit) and we accept walk-ins. Soooo Monday will be an interesting day seeing as how we're going to have to park all those cars, find beds for all the campers, and set up almost 300 chairs along with all our other tasks....oi...
So yes, prayer will be greatly appreciated
Anyways, I don't really have any super-special, dramatic epiphany or anything this week. The week was long, hard, fun, crazy, and all-around awesome, but nothing spectacular (although that means that nothing catastrophic happened either). Oh, we had a reader's/dinner theater, which for those of you who don't know is just like a normal dinner theater, except the cast is always reading from a script, even when on stage. It went off really well, and I can't wait to see it again this week.
This Sunday we're in for a treat. The board is giving us a special dinner (steak) tonight, and we have some other special things going on.
...which reminds me, I have to go pack;
Caio!