5-24-13
I go to camp soon. That makes me happy.
It'll also make it harder to find an apartment in Ann Arbor. Not like I actually have the cash to sign a lease yet anyway. I make money as a substitute teacher, but not that much.
I need to apply for the graduate PLUS loans because I haven't gotten any scholarships and I didn't get the position I applied for (I didn't even make it to an interview). *sigh* This is what I'm going to have to do after I finish. I wish I got the same interest rate that banks do when they get loans from the federal government. (Then again, "if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak." Thanks, Jayne.)
Showing posts with label camp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label camp. Show all posts
Friday, May 24, 2013
Friday, July 27, 2012
More on Summer Camp
7-27-12
I don't want camp to end.
Well, it's more like, I don't want to go back to my parents' house for the time between camp ending and school starting. I don't even know when I can move in down at school. (If only they'd let me live in the village for one more semester.)
But, also, I don't want camp to end. We have one more full week, but five staff members are leaving on Sunday because of various things (going to be a student missionary, other duties in other places, etc.). We've only been fully together for a month (since Kali got here from Denmark) and now we're breaking up again.
That's probably the only thing that I dislike about camp: the fact that it inevitably ends.
I don't want camp to end.
Well, it's more like, I don't want to go back to my parents' house for the time between camp ending and school starting. I don't even know when I can move in down at school. (If only they'd let me live in the village for one more semester.)
But, also, I don't want camp to end. We have one more full week, but five staff members are leaving on Sunday because of various things (going to be a student missionary, other duties in other places, etc.). We've only been fully together for a month (since Kali got here from Denmark) and now we're breaking up again.
That's probably the only thing that I dislike about camp: the fact that it inevitably ends.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Summer Camp
7-5-12
Fiction-y.
_________________
"Oh, you're the [insert_his_name_here]."
Great first line. Really, now, he's joining the staff after two and a half weeks and you didn't know who he was but it turned out that you did and that's what you said? Really?
But he remembered your name. And your major. And sang songs at you and with you on the way to play practice. And stuck with going to Wal-Mart with you even if there were possibly more attractive options.
What to make of it? You don't know. Of course you don't. But stop kicking yourself over silly things like weird phrases and slightly awkward silences. Sometimes he's the one who filled them in. So maybe you're not sure and maybe it'll go nowhere. But no regrets, right?
So see where it goes. Might be something fun. Might be something worth it. God knows, so leave it up to Him. Well, that, and interact with him whenever you get a chance. After all, he's a counselor and you're general staff. So make the best of it.
_____________________________
Fiction-y.
_________________
"Oh, you're the [insert_his_name_here]."
Great first line. Really, now, he's joining the staff after two and a half weeks and you didn't know who he was but it turned out that you did and that's what you said? Really?
But he remembered your name. And your major. And sang songs at you and with you on the way to play practice. And stuck with going to Wal-Mart with you even if there were possibly more attractive options.
What to make of it? You don't know. Of course you don't. But stop kicking yourself over silly things like weird phrases and slightly awkward silences. Sometimes he's the one who filled them in. So maybe you're not sure and maybe it'll go nowhere. But no regrets, right?
So see where it goes. Might be something fun. Might be something worth it. God knows, so leave it up to Him. Well, that, and interact with him whenever you get a chance. After all, he's a counselor and you're general staff. So make the best of it.
_____________________________
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Huh
6-2-12
My mom keeps the apartment really cold. Her theory is that one can put on more layers than take off layers. While that is technically true, one can only put on so many layers before one is immobilized. Therefore, if one is expected to actually do something other than nestle snugly in blankets and read, it should be warmer. Just a thought.
I head to camp on Tuesday. This excites me because I've been working on the mime for Friday night and my director is excited about it. I'm also looking forward to playing with clay (aka doing ceramics) all summer.
More later.
My mom keeps the apartment really cold. Her theory is that one can put on more layers than take off layers. While that is technically true, one can only put on so many layers before one is immobilized. Therefore, if one is expected to actually do something other than nestle snugly in blankets and read, it should be warmer. Just a thought.
I head to camp on Tuesday. This excites me because I've been working on the mime for Friday night and my director is excited about it. I'm also looking forward to playing with clay (aka doing ceramics) all summer.
More later.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
8-10-11
I'm headed back to Indiana today. It'll probably take six hours, even though Mapquest says it'll be five hours and twenty minutes. Mapquest doesn't take construction slowdowns into the equation. Anyway, I'll probably write a long, detailed blogpost about my summer because it was excellent. However, I'll write that when I'm back at my parents' apartment.
More late.
I'm headed back to Indiana today. It'll probably take six hours, even though Mapquest says it'll be five hours and twenty minutes. Mapquest doesn't take construction slowdowns into the equation. Anyway, I'll probably write a long, detailed blogpost about my summer because it was excellent. However, I'll write that when I'm back at my parents' apartment.
More late.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Changes
1-27-11
I wanted to call this post "Kicked Out of the Nest," but seeing as I've jumped instead of having been kicked, it would not have been entirely accurate.
I said in an earlier post that camp staff retreat had been stretching. Well, it was. There it was, New Year's Eve, and my camp director slings an arm over my shoulders and says, "Ashlee, you're a girl with options."
First thought: What the heck does that mean?
But I sat and listened to him as he explained that I had been asked for. Basically, two of the best teen camp pastors that I've ever had the privilege of working with had been promoted to being youth directors of other conferences, and one of them wanted me to come work as administrative staff, as the ceramics director, at his camp. Charlie told me that he would be happy for me either way (whether I stayed at Timber Ridge or went to Wakonda), would respect my decision, and that I had to tell him before he went recruiting at Andrews. He, Trish, and I prayed about it and we went about the weekend.
Well, the choice before me bothered me. I mean, it bothered me in a good way. Sometimes when God wants me to do something, He doesn't allow it to settle in my mind. Instead it whistles like a tea kettle until I've decided to act one way or the other. By the end of the weekend, I had already come to the conclusion that God wanted me to go to Wakonda, but I decided to wait until I had talked to Pastor Greg and done some more praying about it. That was the decision I had come to after an brisk early morning hike around Timber Ridge's lake.
So I Skyped Pastor Greg and talked with him, and we prayed. I got ready for classes to start and went to classes and what not. A couple days later, I Skyped Greg again and said, "You've got yourself a ceramics director."
"Yeah, I need one," Pastor Greg said.
"No, what I'm saying is, you have one," I said, feeling a little dumb that I couldn't just verbalize the choice and had to speak around it.
"PRAISE THE LORD!" was Pastor Greg's response (and when he and his wife were here this week for recruiting and I interviewed with them, he kept saying, "I'm so excited you're going to come work with us." I think he said it like five to seven times in about ten minutes.)
Later that day, I Skyped Charlie and Trish and said, "When you go to Andrews, you'll be talking to your new crafts and ceramic director." Charlie's response was,"I had a feeling that was going to be it. It's a tough decision for you, isn't it?"
And yeah, it was. I love Timber Ridge Camp, and I believe that it's one of the best places in the world. It's a God-place. I get onto the grounds and my whole self relaxes there. It's been my home for fifteen months (if you take three months a summer and times it by five, the number of summers I've worked there), and that's longer than the time I spent as a student missionary. I've invested a lot of hard work into that place and the kids who go there, and the camp has invested a lot of hard work into me. I went from being the kitchen aide to the crafts and ceramics director, a position I never thought of being in, let alone surviving through. Once you're part of Timber Ridge's camp staff family, you're always a part of that family. It's like a good version of the Mafia. I have grown so much through my time there.
And now God's making me move on. He wants me to take the training I've gotten, the growth I've attained, and use it. Once again, He's pushing me outside my comfort zone, and I'm starting to be more excited about the prospect of working at Camp Wakonda this summer. (I'm not sure how I'm getting there this summer, but that's a different topic for a different post, especially since this one's long as it is.)
Charlie and Trish were also here recruiting this week, and I got to go out Tuesday night with the rest of TRC's staff to Tony's and Rembrandt's. When they dropped me off at my apartment, Charlie said, "Ashlee, we're proud of you, and you'll do a great job this summer at Wakonda," and Trish said, "Yep, we are." (And I'm pretty sure they know how much it means to me to hear something like that. Let alone the stuff he told me when I sat down to have a chat with him. I'm so words of affirmation.)
So, if you've just skipped to the end of the post to see my summary, it's this: This coming summer will be my sixth one of working at a camp, but the first one at Camp Wakonda, a place I've never seen, but God wants me there, and so I'm going.
More later.
I wanted to call this post "Kicked Out of the Nest," but seeing as I've jumped instead of having been kicked, it would not have been entirely accurate.
I said in an earlier post that camp staff retreat had been stretching. Well, it was. There it was, New Year's Eve, and my camp director slings an arm over my shoulders and says, "Ashlee, you're a girl with options."
First thought: What the heck does that mean?
But I sat and listened to him as he explained that I had been asked for. Basically, two of the best teen camp pastors that I've ever had the privilege of working with had been promoted to being youth directors of other conferences, and one of them wanted me to come work as administrative staff, as the ceramics director, at his camp. Charlie told me that he would be happy for me either way (whether I stayed at Timber Ridge or went to Wakonda), would respect my decision, and that I had to tell him before he went recruiting at Andrews. He, Trish, and I prayed about it and we went about the weekend.
Well, the choice before me bothered me. I mean, it bothered me in a good way. Sometimes when God wants me to do something, He doesn't allow it to settle in my mind. Instead it whistles like a tea kettle until I've decided to act one way or the other. By the end of the weekend, I had already come to the conclusion that God wanted me to go to Wakonda, but I decided to wait until I had talked to Pastor Greg and done some more praying about it. That was the decision I had come to after an brisk early morning hike around Timber Ridge's lake.
So I Skyped Pastor Greg and talked with him, and we prayed. I got ready for classes to start and went to classes and what not. A couple days later, I Skyped Greg again and said, "You've got yourself a ceramics director."
"Yeah, I need one," Pastor Greg said.
"No, what I'm saying is, you have one," I said, feeling a little dumb that I couldn't just verbalize the choice and had to speak around it.
"PRAISE THE LORD!" was Pastor Greg's response (and when he and his wife were here this week for recruiting and I interviewed with them, he kept saying, "I'm so excited you're going to come work with us." I think he said it like five to seven times in about ten minutes.)
Later that day, I Skyped Charlie and Trish and said, "When you go to Andrews, you'll be talking to your new crafts and ceramic director." Charlie's response was,"I had a feeling that was going to be it. It's a tough decision for you, isn't it?"
And yeah, it was. I love Timber Ridge Camp, and I believe that it's one of the best places in the world. It's a God-place. I get onto the grounds and my whole self relaxes there. It's been my home for fifteen months (if you take three months a summer and times it by five, the number of summers I've worked there), and that's longer than the time I spent as a student missionary. I've invested a lot of hard work into that place and the kids who go there, and the camp has invested a lot of hard work into me. I went from being the kitchen aide to the crafts and ceramics director, a position I never thought of being in, let alone surviving through. Once you're part of Timber Ridge's camp staff family, you're always a part of that family. It's like a good version of the Mafia. I have grown so much through my time there.
And now God's making me move on. He wants me to take the training I've gotten, the growth I've attained, and use it. Once again, He's pushing me outside my comfort zone, and I'm starting to be more excited about the prospect of working at Camp Wakonda this summer. (I'm not sure how I'm getting there this summer, but that's a different topic for a different post, especially since this one's long as it is.)
Charlie and Trish were also here recruiting this week, and I got to go out Tuesday night with the rest of TRC's staff to Tony's and Rembrandt's. When they dropped me off at my apartment, Charlie said, "Ashlee, we're proud of you, and you'll do a great job this summer at Wakonda," and Trish said, "Yep, we are." (And I'm pretty sure they know how much it means to me to hear something like that. Let alone the stuff he told me when I sat down to have a chat with him. I'm so words of affirmation.)
So, if you've just skipped to the end of the post to see my summary, it's this: This coming summer will be my sixth one of working at a camp, but the first one at Camp Wakonda, a place I've never seen, but God wants me there, and so I'm going.
More later.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Christmas Break
1-3-11
I finally had found a ride, with a friend's roommate and that roommate's boyfriend. Maricel and Matt were very nice, and we left at 5:00 AM and made super good time to Indiana and points beyond. When we got close to the rendevous point with my dad, the traffic slowed way down. Rubberneckers, we figured. When we went past the wreck (which was on the southbound side, actually, and had completely stopped traffic on that side), I realized that we'd had a safe trip as well. What we saw was this: the trailer of one semi truck was crumpled in the middle, and the cab of another semi was almost completely gone. That was not a good wreck. (Not that any ever are, but you all know what I mean.)
When we met up with Dad, I got to go to a Barnes and Noble and then we went home. At home, not much happened. I read books, watched TV and movies, and played on the computer and with the cats. I mean, we did Christmas and I gave and got presents (including a saucepan, Music and Lyrics, and an entire set of dishes) and we did New Year's Eve a day early because I was meeting up with my ride the actual day of.
Well, sort of meeting with my ride. Dad and Caitlyn took me down to Pastor Charlie's house, where I caught a ride (and dinner at Cracker Barrel) to Timber Ridge Camp (the best camp in the entire universe) for staff retreat. (More on how stretching staff retreat was in a later post.) Staff retreat is where I met up with Ashley and Zack, and we traveled back to Southern yesterday. So here I am, all ready and rarin' to go for another semester.
More later.
I finally had found a ride, with a friend's roommate and that roommate's boyfriend. Maricel and Matt were very nice, and we left at 5:00 AM and made super good time to Indiana and points beyond. When we got close to the rendevous point with my dad, the traffic slowed way down. Rubberneckers, we figured. When we went past the wreck (which was on the southbound side, actually, and had completely stopped traffic on that side), I realized that we'd had a safe trip as well. What we saw was this: the trailer of one semi truck was crumpled in the middle, and the cab of another semi was almost completely gone. That was not a good wreck. (Not that any ever are, but you all know what I mean.)
When we met up with Dad, I got to go to a Barnes and Noble and then we went home. At home, not much happened. I read books, watched TV and movies, and played on the computer and with the cats. I mean, we did Christmas and I gave and got presents (including a saucepan, Music and Lyrics, and an entire set of dishes) and we did New Year's Eve a day early because I was meeting up with my ride the actual day of.
Well, sort of meeting with my ride. Dad and Caitlyn took me down to Pastor Charlie's house, where I caught a ride (and dinner at Cracker Barrel) to Timber Ridge Camp (the best camp in the entire universe) for staff retreat. (More on how stretching staff retreat was in a later post.) Staff retreat is where I met up with Ashley and Zack, and we traveled back to Southern yesterday. So here I am, all ready and rarin' to go for another semester.
More later.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
End of Camp
8-1-10
We finished camp today. It was sort of bittersweet--we had our last campfire last night, sang the theme song for the last time, etc., but we also had Breakfast at the A-Frame at Midnight (AKA 10:30), marched around the field after midnight, looking like fools and eventually have the last flag lowering, and watched Aladdin. (I was surprised to realize that I know most of the lines and all of the songs' words even though I haven't watched that movie in years. Years.) We didn't get to bed until 2:30 this morning.
Everyone hurried out of here this morning (if they hadn't been gone for the last part of the week) in order to make it up to Glendale to attend Ryan and Baylie's wedding. It was a fantastic ceremony, Baylie was gorgeous, and both Pastor Charlie (Baylie's dad) and Pastor Thurber (Ryan's dad) cried a little while marrying them (yes, they did it together, and it was very cool). I wish Ryan and Baylie a wonderfully blessed and long marriage.
Now I'm back at camp until Thursday because I volunteered to stay and help clean up (hey, we're also getting paid). It's going to be a lot of hot, grungy cleaning, but that's okay for a variety of reasons.
Also, I dyed my hair last Wednesday. Well, Alyssa did it for me, but that's because it was my first (and probably the only) time of dyeing it. It's pretty much the same color it has always been, but redder. Lots of people have liked it and said so to me. Hm. Longish story behind why I dyed it. Ask me sometime if you actually care. Sort of a camp staff fad thing, but sort of not.
Anyway, I must hie to bed, for I have work upon the rosy-fingered dawn. (I've been reading the Odyssey.) More later.
We finished camp today. It was sort of bittersweet--we had our last campfire last night, sang the theme song for the last time, etc., but we also had Breakfast at the A-Frame at Midnight (AKA 10:30), marched around the field after midnight, looking like fools and eventually have the last flag lowering, and watched Aladdin. (I was surprised to realize that I know most of the lines and all of the songs' words even though I haven't watched that movie in years. Years.) We didn't get to bed until 2:30 this morning.
Everyone hurried out of here this morning (if they hadn't been gone for the last part of the week) in order to make it up to Glendale to attend Ryan and Baylie's wedding. It was a fantastic ceremony, Baylie was gorgeous, and both Pastor Charlie (Baylie's dad) and Pastor Thurber (Ryan's dad) cried a little while marrying them (yes, they did it together, and it was very cool). I wish Ryan and Baylie a wonderfully blessed and long marriage.
Now I'm back at camp until Thursday because I volunteered to stay and help clean up (hey, we're also getting paid). It's going to be a lot of hot, grungy cleaning, but that's okay for a variety of reasons.
Also, I dyed my hair last Wednesday. Well, Alyssa did it for me, but that's because it was my first (and probably the only) time of dyeing it. It's pretty much the same color it has always been, but redder. Lots of people have liked it and said so to me. Hm. Longish story behind why I dyed it. Ask me sometime if you actually care. Sort of a camp staff fad thing, but sort of not.
Anyway, I must hie to bed, for I have work upon the rosy-fingered dawn. (I've been reading the Odyssey.) More later.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day Off (Well, sort of.)
7/22/10
Today was my day off. I slept in until 9:30, had pancakes with the day off crew, practiced my bass clarinet, Arion, continued reading volume 2 of Sherlock Holmes short stories, put away my clean clothes, tried to figure out monetary issues for next school year, and took a short rest (I didn't sleep, therefore it was not a nap). Then I had to come off of my day off early because we had the Teen Camp Banquet today.
We had an island theme, and so I wore an outfit that I actually did wear on an island. Most everybody else totally thinks "island = Hawaii" when it doesn't necessarily have to mean that. To me, "island = Ebeye" and so I went with that. I even had red tape on one of my flip-flops. I probably should buy some more, but I only have fifty-seven dollars left in my bank account and that has to last me until I cash my check from camp and through paying off last semester's bill and getting ready for this next semester.
*sigh* I know the love of money is the root of all evil, but having a decent amount of it would be nice. I don't love it; it's not my idol; but I would sure love to be able to buy some of the things I want and not just what I need (not that I can always afford the needs, either).
Anyway, it's weird to think that camp is almost over and that I will be entering my second junior semester of university. I wonder what adventures await me...
Today was my day off. I slept in until 9:30, had pancakes with the day off crew, practiced my bass clarinet, Arion, continued reading volume 2 of Sherlock Holmes short stories, put away my clean clothes, tried to figure out monetary issues for next school year, and took a short rest (I didn't sleep, therefore it was not a nap). Then I had to come off of my day off early because we had the Teen Camp Banquet today.
We had an island theme, and so I wore an outfit that I actually did wear on an island. Most everybody else totally thinks "island = Hawaii" when it doesn't necessarily have to mean that. To me, "island = Ebeye" and so I went with that. I even had red tape on one of my flip-flops. I probably should buy some more, but I only have fifty-seven dollars left in my bank account and that has to last me until I cash my check from camp and through paying off last semester's bill and getting ready for this next semester.
*sigh* I know the love of money is the root of all evil, but having a decent amount of it would be nice. I don't love it; it's not my idol; but I would sure love to be able to buy some of the things I want and not just what I need (not that I can always afford the needs, either).
Anyway, it's weird to think that camp is almost over and that I will be entering my second junior semester of university. I wonder what adventures await me...
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Day Off
7-15-10
All right. Well, last week I didn't post, but that's because we spent a short amount of time at the library in Spencer and then we trooped over to Bloomington to see a movie. I chose to watch Toy Story 3. Wow. Talk about great story structure. There were moments when I was like, "OH NO! I know that this can't be the end of the movie, it wouldn't fit, but how are they going to get out of this one???" and then I thought, "How can I use this in my writing?" Anyway, the movie made me cry.
Today I tried to get out of camp as fast as possible. Not because I had to or anything, but because there's a definite possibility of a lost camper drill this morning, and I didn't want to stick around for that (because I think that we're supposed to participate even if it's our day off). I really hate lost camper drills for a variety of reasons. I understand the need for them, but they still suck whenever they occur. We've never had an actually lost camper, and so it's good to be prepared but not to be jumpily paranoid that part of the admin staff could randomly take a kid. We're supposed to be alert but not mistrustful of the people we work with. It would be another thing entirely if it were someone we didn't know, and our camp is small enough that we can tell when someone's out of place.
Anyway, I'm just going to chill in Spencer today. I'm currently at the library and then I plan to eventually hit up Taco Bell for some eatage. Then I plan to text someone at camp and find out if the drill's already taken place, and if so, I'm going to return, clean my room, and then maybe take a nap. :D
More later.
~Ashlee
All right. Well, last week I didn't post, but that's because we spent a short amount of time at the library in Spencer and then we trooped over to Bloomington to see a movie. I chose to watch Toy Story 3. Wow. Talk about great story structure. There were moments when I was like, "OH NO! I know that this can't be the end of the movie, it wouldn't fit, but how are they going to get out of this one???" and then I thought, "How can I use this in my writing?" Anyway, the movie made me cry.
Today I tried to get out of camp as fast as possible. Not because I had to or anything, but because there's a definite possibility of a lost camper drill this morning, and I didn't want to stick around for that (because I think that we're supposed to participate even if it's our day off). I really hate lost camper drills for a variety of reasons. I understand the need for them, but they still suck whenever they occur. We've never had an actually lost camper, and so it's good to be prepared but not to be jumpily paranoid that part of the admin staff could randomly take a kid. We're supposed to be alert but not mistrustful of the people we work with. It would be another thing entirely if it were someone we didn't know, and our camp is small enough that we can tell when someone's out of place.
Anyway, I'm just going to chill in Spencer today. I'm currently at the library and then I plan to eventually hit up Taco Bell for some eatage. Then I plan to text someone at camp and find out if the drill's already taken place, and if so, I'm going to return, clean my room, and then maybe take a nap. :D
More later.
~Ashlee
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Timber Ridge Camp
7-1-10
I love Timber Ridge Camp. I love how everything in the world seems better when I drive onto its campus, and I love how that, despite the daily difficulties and ups and downs of dealing with campers who each have their own project and each want their underglaze NOW, life is good at Timber Ridge Camp.
I am the crafts and ceramics director at the camp this summer. I arrived at camp three weeks ago today, and today is my first day off since then (well, except for my first Sabbath, but we all slept in and what not). With the help of three or four other staff, I have sort through and organized all of the donated ceramic molds (there was a mountain of them, almost quite literally), all of the camp's molds, and organized the craft supply closet. I painted a wall white last Friday (and then we put handprints on it this last Monday), which brightened the entire ceramics room. I loaded our two kilns practically to the brim with projects last night--and was relieved when every project fit in there, even though it was a bit tricky.
I'll be honest: I never really wanted to be an administrative staff member. However, it seems to be a title, keys, a radio, and extra meetings in addition to the same stuff I already did. Plus, I'm having fun teaching ceramics and pouring out little cups of Velour Black and Chartruese and Electric Blue and all those different underglazes.
I also am not sure why I marked the box that said, "Lots of lines" when Ray came around and was trying to cast for the drama. Why, you ask? Because I'm in Act IV, Scene 1 tonight, we got the scripts today, and I have like five paragraphs to memorize. Ray actually gave me a hug and said, "I'm sorry." I was like, "I'm freaking out a little bit." He said, "Please don't." Then he gave me another hug and said, "Besides, clipboards are great." Guess what? A clipboard will probably be one of my best friends tonight, unless I get it all memorized while I'm doing things on my day off! *sigh* It'll be fine and God will bless, most definitely, but this is the reason I've been bugging Ray since at least Sunday for my lines. Oh well, I know he's just as busy (if not more so) as the rest of us!
See you next week for sure. Before that, I don't know.
~Ashlee
I love Timber Ridge Camp. I love how everything in the world seems better when I drive onto its campus, and I love how that, despite the daily difficulties and ups and downs of dealing with campers who each have their own project and each want their underglaze NOW, life is good at Timber Ridge Camp.
I am the crafts and ceramics director at the camp this summer. I arrived at camp three weeks ago today, and today is my first day off since then (well, except for my first Sabbath, but we all slept in and what not). With the help of three or four other staff, I have sort through and organized all of the donated ceramic molds (there was a mountain of them, almost quite literally), all of the camp's molds, and organized the craft supply closet. I painted a wall white last Friday (and then we put handprints on it this last Monday), which brightened the entire ceramics room. I loaded our two kilns practically to the brim with projects last night--and was relieved when every project fit in there, even though it was a bit tricky.
I'll be honest: I never really wanted to be an administrative staff member. However, it seems to be a title, keys, a radio, and extra meetings in addition to the same stuff I already did. Plus, I'm having fun teaching ceramics and pouring out little cups of Velour Black and Chartruese and Electric Blue and all those different underglazes.
I also am not sure why I marked the box that said, "Lots of lines" when Ray came around and was trying to cast for the drama. Why, you ask? Because I'm in Act IV, Scene 1 tonight, we got the scripts today, and I have like five paragraphs to memorize. Ray actually gave me a hug and said, "I'm sorry." I was like, "I'm freaking out a little bit." He said, "Please don't." Then he gave me another hug and said, "Besides, clipboards are great." Guess what? A clipboard will probably be one of my best friends tonight, unless I get it all memorized while I'm doing things on my day off! *sigh* It'll be fine and God will bless, most definitely, but this is the reason I've been bugging Ray since at least Sunday for my lines. Oh well, I know he's just as busy (if not more so) as the rest of us!
See you next week for sure. Before that, I don't know.
~Ashlee
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
June 1st
6-1-10
Oh, happy, happy day! In nine days I head to camp. I will no longer be a kitten runway when I sleep, I shall actually have a bed, and it will be amazing. I love camp.
Yay for the month of June!!
Oh, happy, happy day! In nine days I head to camp. I will no longer be a kitten runway when I sleep, I shall actually have a bed, and it will be amazing. I love camp.
Yay for the month of June!!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Update
8-16-09
The camporee is over. It went by rather quickly. Most, if not all, of us camp staff have been almost completely worn out for about two or three days, and are in desperate need of sleep. Unfortunately, most of us start college again in about a week or so.
I worked in the medical dispatch building, signing people in and checking for open beds. [We had four beds for 35,000 people.] I marveled at the fact that people did not use common sense and drink plenty of water or even know how to clean their own minor injuries. I also did some stints in security.
The drama was amazing. One of my friends played Xerxes, and he did a fantastic job. All of the actors did. I think they portrayed the story of Esther in a wonderful way. I was touched by the story--and blessed, too.
Guess what?
A WEEK FROM TODAY I GO TO SOUTHERN!!!! Yippee!
More later.
~Ashlee
The camporee is over. It went by rather quickly. Most, if not all, of us camp staff have been almost completely worn out for about two or three days, and are in desperate need of sleep. Unfortunately, most of us start college again in about a week or so.
I worked in the medical dispatch building, signing people in and checking for open beds. [We had four beds for 35,000 people.] I marveled at the fact that people did not use common sense and drink plenty of water or even know how to clean their own minor injuries. I also did some stints in security.
The drama was amazing. One of my friends played Xerxes, and he did a fantastic job. All of the actors did. I think they portrayed the story of Esther in a wonderful way. I was touched by the story--and blessed, too.
Guess what?
A WEEK FROM TODAY I GO TO SOUTHERN!!!! Yippee!
More later.
~Ashlee
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Before (and after) the Deluge
8-9-09
Location: EAA Grounds, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Status: about to be flooded with thirty thousand people tomorrow
Mood: Excited (though very tired)
Yes, tomorrow the campers arrive (some already have). Anyway, that's the before of the deluge. We're busily finishing up all we can--and it's ten pm, and I can still hear the actors going through their dress rehearsal (even though I'm at least half a mile away).
The after is the fact that we had a rip roaring thunderstorm on Friday night--there had to be some cleanup, especially on the stage, this morning. The thunder made the tents we stay in shake. All I worried about was whether or not the floor (the grass) stayed dry, and it did. Happy me.
More as I feel like it.
Ashlee
Location: EAA Grounds, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Status: about to be flooded with thirty thousand people tomorrow
Mood: Excited (though very tired)
Yes, tomorrow the campers arrive (some already have). Anyway, that's the before of the deluge. We're busily finishing up all we can--and it's ten pm, and I can still hear the actors going through their dress rehearsal (even though I'm at least half a mile away).
The after is the fact that we had a rip roaring thunderstorm on Friday night--there had to be some cleanup, especially on the stage, this morning. The thunder made the tents we stay in shake. All I worried about was whether or not the floor (the grass) stayed dry, and it did. Happy me.
More as I feel like it.
Ashlee
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
8-5-09
Yes, that is where I am. Eight hour drive from Timber Ridge to the EAA grounds. I was pwned at a game of Killer Bunnies, watched The Iron Giant, and finished reading Northanger Abbey. I got to chill with some of my friends in the dark blue camp van (which I think we should name something very random).
Here in Wisconsin, I sleep in a canvas tent with four other people (all wonderful, of course), and walk everywhere. I work hard all day and sleep hard at night. I drink a lot of water and eat a nice serving of food after standing in a very long line.
It's great.
Why?
Because I'm really enjoying myself. On Tuesday, I learned how to take down canopy tents (it's actually very detailed), and today I helped work on the stage walls (not the actual stage, but the walls around the area). I sat underneath a semi's trailer and tied knots to hold down the material we draped over the trailer (the trailers are the walls).
The only downside is that I miss everybody. Even though we make up a large percentage of the staff here at Oshkosh, it's not the same as being the staff at Timber Ridge Camp. It was really nice to chill at the Thompsons' tent and camper. We're all calling it the A-Frame, after the actual A-Frame at TRC. It's the people, not the place, but we know what we're talking about.
Must go work on an article for a magazine. And then I'm going to bed.
More later.
Yes, that is where I am. Eight hour drive from Timber Ridge to the EAA grounds. I was pwned at a game of Killer Bunnies, watched The Iron Giant, and finished reading Northanger Abbey. I got to chill with some of my friends in the dark blue camp van (which I think we should name something very random).
Here in Wisconsin, I sleep in a canvas tent with four other people (all wonderful, of course), and walk everywhere. I work hard all day and sleep hard at night. I drink a lot of water and eat a nice serving of food after standing in a very long line.
It's great.
Why?
Because I'm really enjoying myself. On Tuesday, I learned how to take down canopy tents (it's actually very detailed), and today I helped work on the stage walls (not the actual stage, but the walls around the area). I sat underneath a semi's trailer and tied knots to hold down the material we draped over the trailer (the trailers are the walls).
The only downside is that I miss everybody. Even though we make up a large percentage of the staff here at Oshkosh, it's not the same as being the staff at Timber Ridge Camp. It was really nice to chill at the Thompsons' tent and camper. We're all calling it the A-Frame, after the actual A-Frame at TRC. It's the people, not the place, but we know what we're talking about.
Must go work on an article for a magazine. And then I'm going to bed.
More later.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Timber Ridge, Whos, and Wisconsin
7-31-09
Sorry I haven't posted. Granted, I don't know if anyone is reading this, but whatever. An apology is still necessary. So I apologize.
Anyway, these last three weeks have been pretty busy. Due to circumstances I won't relate (not my business, not yours, either), I transformed from general staff to administration staff in the course of about fifteen minutes. They put me in charge of the craft department at Timber Ridge. Sort of scary, especially when I was quite happy and content being a general staff member and the ceramics aide who was able to refer people to the director when they were displeased. (Now if they're displeased with me, they have to take it up with Pastor Charlie, I suppose.) I had to learn how to use the kilns during Junior II Camp, but I've got the hang of it. Nothing's exploded, anyway. (Some things have fallen apart, but that wasn't my fault.) And I have all sorts of ideas and plans and such for next summer--like cleaning and organizing our supply closet, or going through all of the ceramic molds, just to know what we have.
I never really wanted the role (or perhaps I'm just shying away from the added responsibility and adultness). But I've really enjoyed doing it--it's pretty much the same job I had before, with a good amount of new duties added to it. But I've had fun. Stressful fun, but fun nonetheless. So when I'm getting verbal hints that the powers that be want me to do this again next year, I have to seriously consider it. And consider it I shall, since Pastor Charlie doesn't like commitments to be made in August after an exhausting but productive summer. We'll talk in January (although I probably already know what my answer is, and if you're a careful and intuitive reader, you might know already, too).
We had our last staff party last night (euphemized as the "post-campfire staff meeting"), and we had pesto pizza and other delicious goodies. We also watched bits and pieces of the staff DVD and Horton Hears a Who. I am seriously considering writing an essay about that movie. Why? Because it's totally a story about faith, and about Christianity. For those of you who don't know the story, Horton is an odd elephant who, one day, hears a noise coming from this tiny speck that he's caught on a clover. In that speck live a city of Whos (on a side note, there are a lot of Whos all over the place in Dr. Seuss; they live everywhere), run by a Mayor. Horton and the Mayor begin a conversation, and Horton takes it upon himself to place the speck-city somewhere safe so that the city won't be destroyed. But the others in the jungle of Nool (where Horton lives) do not believe that there can be people that tiny, or in something smaller than themselves. But Horton believes, and continues to believe despite the others' efforts to stop him or make him say he was lying. Down in Whoville, the Mayor has difficulty getting everyone to believe that he has been talking to an "invisible" elephant in the sky. The Whos think he's crazy, and they have difficulty believing in something bigger than themselves. People think Christians are crazy to believe in something that's bigger than themselves, something that they can't see, hear, or touch. Yet we should be like Horton and the Mayor, clinging to what we believe, no matter what, because we know it's true. I'm sure it's not a perfect analogy, but the concepts are there. I really enjoyed that movie.
On Monday I head to Wisconsin with most of the rest of the staff--to work at the camporee, and then after those two weeks, it's off to Southern and back to school. Where has this summer gone?
More later.
Sorry I haven't posted. Granted, I don't know if anyone is reading this, but whatever. An apology is still necessary. So I apologize.
Anyway, these last three weeks have been pretty busy. Due to circumstances I won't relate (not my business, not yours, either), I transformed from general staff to administration staff in the course of about fifteen minutes. They put me in charge of the craft department at Timber Ridge. Sort of scary, especially when I was quite happy and content being a general staff member and the ceramics aide who was able to refer people to the director when they were displeased. (Now if they're displeased with me, they have to take it up with Pastor Charlie, I suppose.) I had to learn how to use the kilns during Junior II Camp, but I've got the hang of it. Nothing's exploded, anyway. (Some things have fallen apart, but that wasn't my fault.) And I have all sorts of ideas and plans and such for next summer--like cleaning and organizing our supply closet, or going through all of the ceramic molds, just to know what we have.
I never really wanted the role (or perhaps I'm just shying away from the added responsibility and adultness). But I've really enjoyed doing it--it's pretty much the same job I had before, with a good amount of new duties added to it. But I've had fun. Stressful fun, but fun nonetheless. So when I'm getting verbal hints that the powers that be want me to do this again next year, I have to seriously consider it. And consider it I shall, since Pastor Charlie doesn't like commitments to be made in August after an exhausting but productive summer. We'll talk in January (although I probably already know what my answer is, and if you're a careful and intuitive reader, you might know already, too).
We had our last staff party last night (euphemized as the "post-campfire staff meeting"), and we had pesto pizza and other delicious goodies. We also watched bits and pieces of the staff DVD and Horton Hears a Who. I am seriously considering writing an essay about that movie. Why? Because it's totally a story about faith, and about Christianity. For those of you who don't know the story, Horton is an odd elephant who, one day, hears a noise coming from this tiny speck that he's caught on a clover. In that speck live a city of Whos (on a side note, there are a lot of Whos all over the place in Dr. Seuss; they live everywhere), run by a Mayor. Horton and the Mayor begin a conversation, and Horton takes it upon himself to place the speck-city somewhere safe so that the city won't be destroyed. But the others in the jungle of Nool (where Horton lives) do not believe that there can be people that tiny, or in something smaller than themselves. But Horton believes, and continues to believe despite the others' efforts to stop him or make him say he was lying. Down in Whoville, the Mayor has difficulty getting everyone to believe that he has been talking to an "invisible" elephant in the sky. The Whos think he's crazy, and they have difficulty believing in something bigger than themselves. People think Christians are crazy to believe in something that's bigger than themselves, something that they can't see, hear, or touch. Yet we should be like Horton and the Mayor, clinging to what we believe, no matter what, because we know it's true. I'm sure it's not a perfect analogy, but the concepts are there. I really enjoyed that movie.
On Monday I head to Wisconsin with most of the rest of the staff--to work at the camporee, and then after those two weeks, it's off to Southern and back to school. Where has this summer gone?
More later.
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