A Midsummer Night's Blog

A few exciting things coming up: HARRY POTTER. That's right folks; it all ends this week. Thursday night, to be precise. And I've got my ticket to the midnight showing. I haven't missed a midnight showing since Prisoner of Azkaban (I didn't watch the first 3 in theaters...that was before I knew the wonders of wizardry) and I'm not about to start now.

Second exciting thing: MY BIRTHDAY!! While I've enjoyed 22 (it was LOADS better than 21...and that's a huge understatement), it's about time to turn 23. Unfortunately, nobody likes you when you're 23 - or so I hear. (If you didn't get that Blink 182 reference, I'm not sure whether to congratulate you or be disappointed. Anyway). Julia and Ryan are planning something special for my birthday - I don't know any details yet, but I hear that Julia is good at planning parties, so I'm sort of excited. We probably won't be able to make it off the island, but who knows. Hopefully 23 is even better than 22. At least I will be heading back to civilization.

Speaking of, for those of you who don't yet know, I've been accepted to Fuller Theological Seminary, and will begin working toward my Masters in Theology starting mid-September. I've learned a lot at MSA (mostly from Ryan and Julia), but I can feel my time there running short...and for those of you I don't talk to on a really regular basis, let me just say that it's REALLY difficult to work for MSA for an extended period of time. But enough about that - in regards to Fuller, I'd really appreciate any and all prayers offered on my behalf in prep for returning to school. I'd like to find a job (still waiting to hear back from a church on a worship leading position) and a place to live that doesn't eat up all my money in just one month. I know it'll come together because I truly believe this is God's next step for me, but living on an island doesn't make preparations very easy.

Alright, now a quick recap. Summer has been bearable, and parts have been fun - especially the weekend of the 4th. My friend and sister Jen came down to visit that weekend - she got to see the island, and then we spent a couple days in Long Beach wandering around and enjoying each other's company. It felt so good to have someone who knows me so well see where I am and how I'm doing. And getting to spend a holiday with family (even if we're not blood related, she's still family) was definitely a blessing. Plus, if you didn't see my status updates on the 4th, let me preface the next section by saying it was the MOST interesting 4th of July I've ever experienced. I'll give you the short version - it's not nearly as funny if you weren't there...and a lot of people who have heard it are questioning my judgment.

We decided to take a day trip up to Pasadena, because I wanted to walk around Fuller - we couldn't get in anywhere since it was a holiday, but we at least got to see the campus. And then we went to Intelligentsia. I love that coffeeshop, and I'm pretty sure I'll be heading there a lot while back in school. While there, a guy walked up to our table and struck up a conversation with us. After about half an hour he bid us farewell, but we ended up meeting again outside the coffeeshop and he followed us to Lululemon. And after that, we all decided to head to the fireworks celebration down at the Rose Bowl Stadium, and so Jen and I got into his car. Before you judge me too harshly - I normally wouldn't do this. But we had been talking about church and God and the Bible in the coffeeshop, and from what I gathered, he knows his stuff. Had that not been the case, I would've said "thanks, but no thanks." Anyway, he bought our tickets into the stadium to watch the fireworks and dinner at a nice-ish sushi place, and was a complete gentleman the whole time. We also had some company during the fireworks from the group of 3 in front of us - two very drunk women and their (mostly) sober male friend. They were quite outrageous and provided a good amount of entertainment during the fireworks.

I've already told you what I'm looking forward to, so I hope you all have something to look forward to as well! Hope to hear from you all soon!

Summer begins on Catalina

I'm back on Catalina again. After two glorious weeks on the mainland - one lazing away and one working on summer camp prep and my tan, I've come back to the island. This time, I am in Two Harbors.

It was an adventure to make the boat...again. If this becomes a theme, I'm going to have to punch something. Because I refuse to run for another boat. Not my fault this time either...Chad didn't leave enough time for us to park our cars and get picked up. It ended up working out alright, because Tiffany and Kim just parked our cars, but it definitely was not worth the stress.

Anyway, here I am, back on Catalina. And Tuesday night was not a good night. I thought that 2 1/2 weeks would be enough to cure island fever. It wasn't.

Let me just say that I've never been a huge fan of camping. I mean, you sleep in a bag. You wake up feeling weirdly damp. You feel grimy all the time. I don't even like camping for 2 DAYS. How am I supposed to make it 2 MONTHS?!?!

Positive: I'm not in what we could strictly call a tent. It's more of a "tent cabin."
Negative: I'm not in the same one every week, and sometimes they are all rented out so we need to haul all our stuff 15 minutes down the road to Little Harbor.
Negative: The showers cost money. $.50 for 90 seconds. I can barely shampoo in 90 seconds. Plus, half of that time gets taken up waiting for the water to warm up. Also, they are all the way down a giant hill in town. By the time I get back up the hill I'm sweaty and dirty again. And, they don't really schedule much time for us to take showers...so I wore a bandanna today to cover my dirty hair.
Negative: The closest bathroom to our "tent cabin" is a set of porta-potties that haven't been cleaned since 1927.
Negative: They don't feed us on the weekend. Sure, they give us a stipend for showers, laundry and weekend food, but we have almost no way to cook things. Certainly no oven. Ryan and Julia graciously gave up their microwave to us. But the finer things in life (like creme brulee) will have to wait until I get an oven again. Hopefully September.
Postive: The giant hike up the giant hill helps work off some of the calories we get from eating fried foods catered by the restaurant. But only some. I'm going to need to detox when I leave this place.

Needless to say, I was a little depressed after getting off the boat on Tuesday. But a weekend in Emerald Bay with my lovely ladies Cari and Mel helped a lot. Plus, Jen comes this weekend!! So I get to spend the 4th with family. :) And Harry Potter comes out soon and I'm going to see it at midnight! Super excited. And then it's my birthday and July's almost gone. Happy thoughts. I just need to keep thinking happy thoughts. :)

The Cure for Island Fever

This past week has been a much needed week off the island. After being stuck on the island for almost two months straight, a week of sleep and pampering is definitely what I needed.

May was a bit of a crazy month - lots of children running everywhere...and some emotional drama among the staff as well. I think we all needed a break.

I ended the spring season with a group of pretty adorable sixth graders...my own group! I took them kayaking and snorkeling and taught them about nudibranchs and operculums. :) I had a FULL day last Thursday as I started with their inspiration time at 8 in the morning and finished with skit night around 9 at night. And, no...I didn't have any breaks in there. (Maybe a little time after dinner...but it was pretty much go go go.) In the midst of the insanity, I also had to pack up my life as I will be moving to Two Harbors for the summer. Of course I waited until Friday morning - but I got everything together with plenty of time to spare. And I swear my suitcase shrunk. I don't know how I managed to fit everything back inside, but I was really afraid of the suitcase breaking.

Throughout the last week or two of camp I also took on some heavy competition with several different games of Nerts. If you don't know what Nerts is...well, you really should learn. Basically, it's communal solitaire - but you are racing against the rest of the players trying to get to 100 points. Super fun. But apparently during May I gained the reputation as the person to beat. I also was accused of cheating. (Not true - I'm just that good.) :) Anyway - one of the boy scout employees - Hoover - challenged me to join the game. And let me just say - he's not better than me - we were always neck and neck for each game and he would get lucky and squeeze ahead the last round. Anyway, the night before we left camp, Hoover and Dennis told me I needed some Nerts therapy and we played one final game. I'll spare you all the details, but the second to last round I had 98 and he had 99...and we laid the same amount of cards down the last round...so he beat me again...by ONE. So upsetting!!! But it was fun. Anyway - here's a picture of us getting ready to play a round with our "game faces" on.

So, apart from the Nerts therapy, a night spent dancing in Two Harbors, a few hilarious YouTube videos and some Sour Patch Kids to go with them, I've spent the last week off the island. And it has been a GLORIOUS week. I got to spend an afternoon with my dear friend Chris down in Fullerton - catching up on life since January. I've eaten Thai and Indian cuisine, plus an amazing In-N-Out burger/Neapolitan shake. I've seen X-Men First Class, Pirates 4, and Super 8. I got accepted into Fuller Theological Seminary! Yay. And I've gotten an hour long massage and a pedicure. Can you think of a better way to spend a week? Because I can't. Island Fever got its butt kicked this week. For realzies. 

As for this next week, I will still be off the island, but probably working in Cabrillo for the week. Which kinda sucks because I probably won't get to shower for the week - just wash my hair in the sink. But we'll see - I might just take the first half of the week off...

Anyway - I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend. Love you all!

I'm not a poser!! I am a certified lifeguard. :) 

Headed out dancing. I LOVE this girl. 

The Month of May(hem)...

So, I began thinking about writing this post at the beginning of the month...and haven't had time to sit down and write in awhile. It's been awhile since I've posted, so I'll do my best to fill in the last month.

After I had my weekend of trials and tribulations, I was back on the island, and I haven't left since. By the way, island fever is a real thing...and I've got a touch of it. I haven't been off the island in a month and I miss civilization. There's really no place to escape here - you are stuck in one place almost all the time.

It's been so long since I posted that I'm having a hard time remembering what has happened in the last month. Camp is camp...and I haven't been teaching much, which is partly fine but partly sucks with me being in the office allllll day every day. I do have a new form of transportation though. I'll post a picture soon, but I have a purple  electric bicycle/moped sort of thing that I ride to the office a few days a week. We have decided to name it Nudibranch. If you don't know what a nudibranch is, look it up. They have to be some of the coolest things ever.

I also caught a halibut one weekend. Totally made life AMAZING! It was a weekend where I didn't know what to do with myself, so I went to say hi to Cari (aquarium intern) and ended up getting to go shark fishing! I didn't catch a shark, but a halibut nommed on my squid, and I reeled him in. :) His name is Lenny and he now lives in the Rocky Reef tank in the aquarium.

Easter went by quickly, and it definitely didn't feel like Easter. Although I did participate in an Easter Egg hunt! I haven't done that since I was a kid, and it was hilarious. I ended up being crowned the queen of Easter as I ended up with the most eggs. I definitely did miss home a lot though.

The rest of the month has been fairly uneventful - 2 trips to Avalon in a week (1 business, 1 pleasure) a lot of movie watching, and quite a bit of work. Exciting, right? :S 

Anyway, I'll try to update a little more as the last 3 weeks of the season go by. I hope you all are doing well. I miss you!

On our way to Avalon!

Hats!

These two are hilarious. :) 

Tales of Misadventure

So...apparently I spoke too soon last weekend about how good it was going to be. I had worse luck all weekend than I've had in a long time. Let me regale you with our tales of misadventure.

As soon as I shut my computer after posting last weeks blog, I got up to leave the Coffee Bean and realized my keys were locked in the ignition. Nothing like knowing your spare is 2000 miles away. So I called the police department (not 911) and they gave me the number for the locksmith. Thankfully he said he would come in about 10 minutes, but I knew I would need more cash, so I ran to the ATM in the grocery store next door. Unfortunately, I cannot remember my pin number and my dearest mother couldn't find the slip in my desk drawer. So I was basically screwed. I met the locksmith in the parking lot (a very nice man by the way), and realized that I should just keep blood pressure cuffs and a hanger in my backpack, because that's basically what he used to open the door. When I asked him if he could accept checks, he said "Not if it isn't local." Ugh. Thankfully he had the resources to take down my credit card info. Problem solved.

Friday night Melodie and I ate wonderful food and watched "Enchanted April"...apparently her day had been a nightmare too. And I got to sleep in a gigantically wonderful bed.

Saturday, we woke up late, ate waffles and went to Griffith Park and Hollywood, since I had never been there. We stopped at the Grove and met her sister Natalie for lunch. Great right? It was, but we ended up being 1 1/2 hours late for MSA's 2 hour fundraiser. The restaurant took forever, we ran into traffic, and then we got pulled over for speeding. (Thankfully it wasn't me driving.) Then I had to drive back up to Hollywood to pick up my car to head over to Riverside, where we stayed at Mary's house.

Sunday, we slept in again, streamed church online, and then left for Cabrillo to catch the 2 p.m. boat back to camp. No problem...except for stupid LA traffic again. Where were all those people headed on a freaking Sunday?? We had planned on being there by 1, but it ended up being 1:30, and I still had to park my car and get picked up. So I dropped off Mary, Ryan and Julia, told them to hold the boat for me, and parked in my spot by 1:45...and then waited for Melodie. Around 2, Annie called and said they could only hold the boat for 15 minutes. Melodie came around 2:10, and we sped back across the 2 bridges to Long Beach (thankfully no speeding ticket this time...although we were going much, much faster than the speed limit) and parked at the Pike. We immediately began running to catch the boat, and Annie called again, saying we had a minute to get to the boat. "We're sprinting!" I replied and hung up the phone. Now, picture Melodie and I sprinting as though there are a pack of crazed wolves behind us down 4 flights of stairs in the parking garage and down the street. Just to give you a better image, I am in flip flops and have a very heavy backpack strapped to my back. Not exactly Olympic-approved gear for the 100 meter (more like mile) dash. We had to stop to cross a huge intersection, and as we panted for breath I gasped out "We aren't going to make it. Annie told us we have a minute." Melodie took off as soon as cars stopped, I worked as hard as I could to keep up. We did make the boat, but it took a good 20 minutes into the ride for me to stop wheezing, and the rest of the day to stop coughing every now and then. The worst part is, when we got to camp, the Boy Scouts said we were early. EARLY.

The rest of the week was alright - nothing major happened, but it was long since I didn't have much of a relaxing weekend. I'm working to change that now. I did nothing all day but grade a few journals, lay out on the beach in my bikini and have a spa night with the girls. We've been wanting to paint our toenails for awhile, so Julia went crazy with it and gave us each a foot/calf massage. We ate dark chocolate and watched a bootlegged copy of Wicked. Amazing. And totally what I needed. I'm praying that tomorrow is more of the same.

Love you all!

Coffee...and snow.

Ugh. I cannot escape from the stupid snow. I was summoned to the mountains for the second half of this week, and I barely made it out today because it was snowing so ridiculously. It was heavy, it was wet, and it looked like Dip 'n Dots. Literally. It was coming down in little balls. Thankfully, I was done with work for the day and as soon as I was down the hill just a little ways it was fine.

So here I sit at the Coffee Bean. I was planning on heading back to San Pedro tonight and seeing Jane Eyre with Mary, but she stayed on the island an extra night, so I'm headed to Melodie's tonight instead. We are planning on watching movies and eating chocolate and ice cream. :)

So this week's recap: I was in the office a little, wandering Emerald for awhile, and then headed up to the mountain to work with Annie and to lead worship for the new staff. There are 4 1/2 newbies...I say 1/2 because Jeremy (our new Waterfront Director) came out to the island for a week before heading to the mountains. So, while he is still new-ish, he isn't completely an unfamiliar face. They seem nice enough, but it's definitely going to be weird when they come to the island.

Besides heading to Melodie's tonight, we are heading back to San Pedro tomorrow because there is a fundraising luncheon thing tomorrow and if we go we get free Armenian food and 1/2 comp day. Sounds good, right? I think Mary and I will head back to Riverside after that, and we'll go see Jane Eyre with Sarah. We don't have to be back until Monday morning, so who knows what the rest of the weekend looks like.

Alright, I'm headed up to the San Fernando Valley, so I'm off. Have a great weekend!! And enjoy the pics - the first three I took on a walk at sunrise on the island, and the last I took leaving Forest Home today. :)

Ups and Downs

It's been another couple of long weeks. But as of tomorrow everyone will be in camp! Last week we had some people in the mountains and one on vacation in Hawaii, so we've finally got almost everyone back. :) So nice.

Let's see what's happened lately. Some not so good things...
   I got the Expedition stuck in the mud on the way into Two Harbors
   I was almost the only MSA staff member to stay on the island last weekend (thankfully
   Mary & Marcus stayed too)
   I cleaned a dirty microwave

And some great things..!
   I taught another Vert/Invert lab (and no one collapsed!!!)
   I watched Disney's Peter Pan with Melodie
   I listened to some good choir music and soothed my soul (thank you Eric Whitacre)
   I did laundry with Mary and we sang "Matchmaker" from Fiddler on the Roof
   Fran let me drive Zalophus (MSA's boat) - totally the best part of my week. :)


This place is crazy. And exhausting. And when you are exhausted, it's really easy to be crabby. Toward the end of the week, everyone is dying for the weekend, and Friday lunch is so silent because everyone's energy crashes as soon as the kids leave. Speaking of energy crashing, David took Nyquil or some similar product after dinner tonight and then was trying to get a sugar high so he could make it through the trust walk. I felt bad for laughing, but he was so sadly pathetic (I'm using the word in the best possible sense: that it was evoking pity/sympathetic sadness) that I couldn't help it. I've definitely made that mistake before and it SUCKS. Anyway, back to the subject at hand. We have a high school group coming in this weekend. So some people won't get to rest...and next week is going to be loooonnnnng. I haven't been told if I'm working at all yet or not, but my fingers are crossed. I need the weekend.

Anyway, that's about all I have. Apart from the fact that it's supposed to be 80 degrees tomorrow!! (Don't worry, it goes back to about 65 for the next week.) I miss you all and hope you are doing well. Can't wait to hear from the midwest!!

Another Island Weekend

I suppose it's time to update people on my life since it's been almost two weeks. I probably shouldn't have waited until now, especially since I'm having a hard time remembering exactly what I did last week. And I only know it's Friday today because our kids left on the boat today. It's really hard to keep track of time here. 

Let's see. Last week I spent a couple of days in the office (still trying to get my bearings) and the rest of the time running around camp trying to help out everyone that needed help. I actually spend a lot of time in the camp store when it's open. The more help the better when there's a mob of kids rushing to get candy. Melodie and I also spent a lot of time last week working on the store display. It looked a little dismal before we decorated. We added the sea, sun, Garibaldi and the sea star...plus some birds at the top. (The sun and the sea star were my fabulous handiwork.)

Friday we left on the boat with the kids, and I was at Mary's again. Her sister Sarah was in a play called "The Reluctant Debutante" which was a lot of fun. I also went to see "The Eagle" and "Beastly." Definitely a weekend full of entertainment for me. 

Sunday night we were back in San Pedro and we did some "training" on Monday and Tuesday. I honestly think they were just trying to keep us paid while we didn't have any campers in. We really didn't do a whole lot those days. 

As for the rest of the week, we had two more schools come in, and I had the opportunity to teach my first class - Vertebrate/Invertebrate Lab. It was actually a ton of fun...despite the fact that a kid collapsed because of dehydration. In the middle of the lab, when the kids were looking at fish in a couple different tanks, one came up to me and said "I feel dizzy." So I told him to go sit down, and he didn't even make it to the chair 20 feet away. Once he got onto the chair, I asked him how much water he'd had, and apparently it hadn't been that much. So one of their chaperons went to get water, and I went on with the class. 15 minutes later he was totally fine and back involved for the rest of the class. Between this and the bird lab where I fell in, I'm starting to get a lot of stories. Apparently everything happens when I am part of it. Anyway, the chaperons wanted to get a picture with me and the kids, so I asked if they would take one with my camera too. Here it is. :) They were so much fun!

As for this weekend, I'm planning on reading, sleeping, and playing guitar. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, which stinks since I was planning on kayaking and a possible hike to Parson's, but we'll see. Also, if it's cloudy tomorrow night and I miss the super-moon, I'm gonna be all sorts of upset. :) It's already ridiculously bright. Anyway, I'll close with a couple more pictures. Have a great weekend!

My bed...complete with ridiculously lumpy mattress and towel wind-screens. 

The rest of the Poly. (Short for Polynesian) We haven't had much time to decorate.

Our bathroom!

This is the road to Two Harbors. So much fun when another car comes. 

Another view of the road. You wind around a lot of small harbors, so this is from one side looking over to the other. 

A Perfect Day

Ok, I think it's about time to make you mid-westerners jealous. Just kidding (kind of). It really is unintentional, and I must preface this by saying that God has TOTALLY blessed me with being able to spend my year on Catalina. Without Him, I wouldn't be here and so I am utterly grateful.

In case I haven't mentioned this before, MSA rents out Emerald Bay from the Boy Scouts. So there are people representing the Boy Scouts here all the time (not necessarily Scouts themselves - right now they just come on weekends), but there are staff here all the time. And this weekend, they had a bunch of arborists come out to trim and plant trees. So we had a flurry of activity today.

I slept in (ok, only until 7:30, but it's still a half an hour), got up, and sat in the sunshine ALL MORNING. Melodie and I sat and just watched the activity until lunch. It was so warm and sunny today that it was all I wanted to do. She eventually busted out her ukulele and egg shaker. Lunch was a cookout with amazing watermelon and cookies...it seriously felt like summer! And then there were a bunch of us that kayaked to Sandy Beach and laid out for awhile. I am definitely a lot more pink/reddish than I was this morning.

And if I thought breakfast was a feast, dinner was a banquet. (Is a banquet higher up than a feast? Because dinner blew lunch out of the water...) The kitchen staff started roasting a pig and a goat around 6 this morning, so by 5:30 it was succulent. Here's what was on the menu. Chicken thighs and drumsticks, fish filets with seasonings and lemon, rice, goat, pork, rolls, cookies, and fruit platters with pineapple, strawberries and kiwis. I may have totally overdone my protein limit for today, but it was totally worth it. It was basically a luau on the beach. :)

Anyway - island life on the weekends is incredible. I wish I could share it with you all. But you'll have to be ok with pictures for now. If you ever get a chance to come to Catalina, you should take it. :) Love you all!

The front of camp from the pier

Island Hair

Yes. I have island hair. And yes, it is awesome. For those of you who don't know what island hair is...my hair is starting to curl slightly from the ocean water. Finally, a little body! Although I do feel like I will forever have pruny fingers with the amount of time I've spent in the water over the last few days. I'll give you a little recap of life since Monday.

Mary and I got up on Monday morning at 5 and left Riverside at 6 in order to make sure we made it to the boat at 8:30. And if it hadn't been for the carpool lanes, we would've missed the boat (even with it leaving well over an hour late). Anyway, we enjoyed a breakfast of yogurt and tabbouleh in the car...found my parking spot and made it out to the boat in plenty of time. 

On the way over to Catalina, we saw dolphins swimming on the side of the boat, and we also passed a buoy with a bunch of California Sea Lions around it. And then we got to Catalina. [Commence chaotic afternoon.] Since the boat was so late, we dumped our stuff and jumped into labs. I was shadowing Fran with the other "trainees" and we started Bird lab. This lab includes a kayak around Indian Rock...

 ...which started out great. But, we had a couple stragglers, and so the other trainees and I were sent to help them along. One of the kids I was trying to help got too tired to paddle, and he kept drifting farther and farther away from the group. So after trying to encourage him to paddle and having no way to get anyone to help since I had no radio, I ended up towing him over halfway back to the group. And that is not easy when you are paddling against the current with a huge drag behind you....I had no idea how to lash him to my kayak, so he was just holding on to the back handle, forming a T with our kayaks. Fran finally came over and as he was going to lash the boy to my kayak, mine happened to flip, thus dumping me into 53 degree salty ocean water. Ugh. I spent the rest of the day/night freezing. I seriously felt like an icicle. 

Yesterday was better. We started out with squid dissection, and then headed back into the water for a fish lab snorkel. This was also my first time snorkeling (what a week for firsts...not my fave...) my mask was a little loose and kept getting water in it, which was a total downer. But I did get to see some sweet fish. We then got to stay dry for the rest of the day. We also got a heater in our cabin, so it isn't 40 degrees in there at night anymore. :) These kids were really tough to work with though. We had 107 kids from 5 different schools within a charter system, and they seriously would not shut up. Every time there was a pause in the lesson (and even when there wasn't) they were jabbering away. We yelled at them quite a few times, and they didn't care. They were also pretty disrespectful. I told a couple students to hurry, and they just looked at me and kept walking slowly. Ugh. I wanted to slap them all. Thankfully, there were a couple kids that made it worth it, and they are gone now. Which means I get to start my real job tomorrow!! Although I must say that I did enjoy this week's activities. We went on another snorkel today and I saw a lot more fish. 

Anyway, that's about all I've got. I'll leave you all with a few pictures that I've managed to snap so far on our minimal breaks. Love you all!

View of the courtyard and ocean from the dining hall patio

Beach with the kayaks

Whale's Tale and the ocean

Melodie, Mary and me (wearing David's hat)

Patron Saint of Single Women

We've been learning curriculum all week. Sigh. At least I've been learning a lot of new things. Like some history about Catalina Island today. Thus the title of today's post. Apparently, Catalina has had several names...starting with Pimu after the natives that originally lived there. Then, an explorer named Cabrillo named it San Salvador after his boat. And finally, another explorer (Viscaino) landed there on the eve of St. Catherine's day, thus naming the island Santa Catalina. St. Catherine is, among other things, the patron saint of single women. Maybe my prayers will be better heard from her island....just kidding!

Anyway, I've also learned about birds and fish and marine mammals off the coast of SoCal...did you know that the whale in Finding Nemo is a Mysteceti and not an Odontoceti? I don't even like science and I'm turning into a science nerd! I also can now tell you the difference between seals and sea lions or defining characteristics of Western Gulls, Cormorants, and Brown Pelicans. You might as well just stamp "Science Nerd" onto my forehead.

A quick recap of the end of last week...We headed down to Cabrillo Beach to finish up lifeguard training. It wasn't horrible, but waterfront lifeguard training is a big job...especially swimming in the ocean when it's FREEZING. We went in Thursday, and I couldn't breathe it was so cold. Thankfully we were only in for about half an hour learning how to rescue people with a rescue board. Oh...and we had to do the Baywatch run into the ocean with our rescue tubes. Totally BA. Haha. I felt like such a poser. We then finished our water training in a rinky-dink little RV park pool. 50 laps, swim underwater, learn how to rescue people. It's really hard trying to do a deep water rescue in 5 ft.

And this weekend my parents were out! We didn't do much...just kind of wandered around, but we had fun. Plus, now I have my car, so I'm less tied down than I was. :)

We were going to take a sailboat to Catalina on Saturday, but since it's supposed to rain, we are going in with the camp kids Monday morning. This is SO not ideal. Ah well, it'll work out I guess. I just hate most things that are last-minute.

Anyway, I'll let you all go for now. I miss you all and hope you are doing well. Until next time!

First Aid!

So yesterday we started First Aid/CPR training...not exactly the most exciting thing ever, but we made it fun. Carlyn is certified as a trainer, so it's nice that we don't have to go anywhere to get certified. The Red Cross videos can be a little cheezy, but what else is going to make it entertaining?

So we were learning stuff all day, and let me tell you, it's a lot of information to remember. We made a flow chart of what to do, because there are a lot of variables, and I think I'm getting it down now. We also had to spend 2 minutes each performing CPR on the dummy. 2 minutes is a long time, and the chest compressions are hard work! You also have to count out loud as you do 30 compressions in a row, which just makes you feel out of breath. I'm hoping that I never have to perform CPR on someone. The whole time I kept thinking of the "Office" episode where they learn CPR: Michael sings I Will Survive instead of Stayin' Alive, and Dwight cuts the face off the dummy. Hilarious.

Last night we got the night off, and so we watched a couple episodes of Firefly, and then 7 of us played telephone pictionary. I don't remember the last time I laughed that hard. :) I may be no good at drawing, but it definitely makes the game more interesting. I've never ever claimed to be good at drawing, so its kind of like water off a duck when people make fun of my illustrations. Now we have a whole new passel of inside jokes...I have been thinking of them and chuckling to myself all day.

In other news, every once in awhile I catch a Wisconsin vowel slipping out...I said "toasty" last night with a really Wisconsin "o." And got mocked. Most of the time I sound normal, but every once in awhile...gotta love the midwest.

That's about all I have for now. Lifeguard training starts tomorrow in San Pedro at the Cabrillo facility...hopefully I don't look like a complete weirdo. I think I said this in an earlier post, but I haven't done any legit swimming in awhile...I guess we'll see by this weekend.

Hope you all are having a fantastic week! Until next time!

The Coffee Bean

If my life continues as it has for the past few days, I will soon be good friends with the baristas at the Coffee Bean. I have been here three times in three days. Not that I'm complaining of course...a good caramel latte always has my name written on it.

Tuesday afternoon I came down with Melodie, Marcus, and Carlyn to get some work done using the internet...(and be on facebook, to be quite honest.) Wednesda night, Melodie, Marcus and I came down just to hang out, and I caught up on Community. And yesterday we were back to do more work.

I was on the phone with Annie (my boss) for about 45 minutes, running through how the whole Google Docs thing works. I was then given a small task list, although I feel like I am somewhat over my head. Google Docs is easy enough to use, but it would've been nice to have some time to play around with it before having some things to do. I tried to take some notes on what to do, but now I'm just hoping that I did everything right. If not, it's easily fixable and I'm sure that Annie won't mind, but I like to do things right the first time. All I can do is shake my head and laugh a little at how much I feel like I'm over my head. Doing work over the phone is never fun.

I went home with Mary again this weekend (third in a row) which is nice because it seems like everyone is going home again this weekend and I would hate to be all by myself. We are planning on catching up on Bones...thankfully I've had enough internet access to pretty much keep up on some things, although its difficult. I should probably just give up TV altogether.

Hopefully this weekend is nice. We don't have any plans other than sleep...it's been a long-ish week. Next week is going to be a little more physical since we will be doing CPR/First-Aid and Lifeguard training. Wednesday afternoon we are leaving Forest Home to go to Cabrillo for a bit to take the Lifeguard test and stuff. I'm a little intimidated since there is a pre-test and a final test and I haven't done any legit swimming in years. Fun.

Anyway, that's about it. Know that I am thinking of you all with fondness. Until next time!

Super Bowl Champs!

So this weekend was totally awesome. :) Friday we came down the mountain and Saturday morning most of the staff went to Knott's Berry Farm. If you are unfamiliar with Knott's, it is America's first theme park. While I am not a huge fan of roller coasters, it was definitely a fun day and I did end up riding a few pretty crazy rides. (One of them, called the Xcelerator, shoots you forward, then takes you straight up  205 feet, and then straight back down (literally 90 degrees - if you don't believe me, look it up on Wikipedia.) I was terrified, but definitely felt exhilarated after getting off.

And Sunday. Glorious Sunday. I was seriously freaking out during the entire game, but seeing Green Bay win was the most exciting thing ever. I loved it. I was also in good company with several other random Packer fans in the room. Mary's sister Sarah is a hard core GB fan, and so we decorated a cake together.

Awesome right?

Anyway, yesterday was full of more training...gets a little boring, but oh well. And today, four of us headed down the mountain to do some work. Speaking of which, it's 10:45 and I need to get back to work and call my boss. Always something to do. 

Hope you all are well. Love and miss you! Until next time!

Week 2

So this week has been a little more interesting. We had campers Monday afternoon through Thursday around 11:30. They were great, even if most of us didn't get to interact with them much. Mostly we just shadowed the classes so we would know what a normal class would look like. We all have camp names, so the kids don't know our real name. My official camp name is Bandit. Not totally sure how it came about originally, but I think it's awesome. :)

Food has been a bit of an adventure - we eat a lot of the same stuff, and none of it is very healthy - frozen burritos, grilled cheese, frozen pizza, etc. But apparently next week we will be in charge of budgeting meals, so our team can make something a little better.

I feel like I am already in better shape, what with climbing up a mountain three times a day. We are about 5000 feet up too, so I'm now accustomed to the altitude. Unfortunately, I have a bit of a head cold, so when we headed down the mountain last night, my ears weren't popping and my head was majorly stuffed. It seems like the worst of it lasts for about 24 hours...at least that's how it's been for the rest of the staff.

I definitely feel like I know these people a lot better, so it's a lot less awkward and my homesickness has subsided somewhat...especially hearing about the huge midwest blizzard! Yikes. Although you should all be happy to know that it did snow here Sunday night in the mountains as well. It's been pretty cold all week (a.k.a. 40-ish) but it's gotten warmer today and I'm back to a light jacket. Plus, when we are out of the mountains it's up to about 60.

We're still doing some training, and there is still a bunch of sitting around, especially now that the kids are gone, but we have fun. Saturday most of us are headed down to Knott's Berry Farm this weekend...I'm not the biggest fan of amusement parks, but hey, we've got something to do. And Sunday of course we'll be watching the Packers win the Super Bowl!

Anyway, that's about all for now. Hope you all are staying warm!

Weekend

So I made it to California! Wednesday afternoon, Chris picked me up from the airport and we enjoyed In-N-Out burgers, Intelligentsia coffee, and a walk down the Santa Monica Pier. I had never been, so it was definitely enjoyable. The weather was sooooo nice! I definitely have not missed the snow, although up in the mountains it has been pretty cold.

After a long drive up into the mountains, we hit Forest Home (MSA's mountain camp site) around 7 p.m. I said goodbye to Chris and met the rest of the staff. Definitely a bit overwhelming that night since I had been up since around 4 a.m. California time - such a long day! I haven't quite adjusted to pacific time yet either - I keep waking up at 5 a.m.

There are still times that I feel completely out of the loop compared to the other staff. I haven't really gotten the chance to get fully filled in on what I missed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so I've had to fill in a lot myself and jump in whenever I can.

The rest of the staff seems pretty great so far...and thankfully one of the girls invited me home with her this weekend since I would have been at Forest Home alone otherwise. I'll also be here next weekend for the Super Bowl!

The past two days have actually been pretty chill - we got some time to finish our "homework" reading assignments, which was good since I didn't get one of the books and had to borrow it. We also went on a few hikes - the mountains are amazing, and I've forgotten how much I miss them in the Midwest. We have time for worship every morning and we switch between camp classroom training and spiritual training. There will be some campers coming up next week, so we'll be sitting in during their classes and observing.

It's definitely been a transition, especially not having constant access to the outside world...it's not really a big deal, but it definitely makes me miss home more than I think I would otherwise. Today was better than yesterday though, and I think next week should be good.

Hope you all are doing well.

Until next time!

Commissioned

For those of you whom I have seen or talked to over the last week, you can probably skip the next paragraph. It just details how I wound up taking a job. For those of you I haven't gotten to see, here's what my life has been like for the past 10 days.

The end of December/beginning of January was pretty slow for me. I didn't have a job, or any prospects for that matter, and life was getting a little boring. I told most people that I had become the resident chef at my parents house. (Now, looking back, it was good to have that short season of rest.) But that all changed with a voicemail on January 15th. I had posted my resume on a website and had been hunting for worship jobs in churches, but this voicemail was for a position as the personal assistant to the CEO of a Christian outdoor education camp called Mountain and Sea Adventures. In California. (Well, off the coast of California to be more specific, but that's beside the point.) I called back Monday for more information, interviewed Tuesday and Wednesday over the phone, and was offered the job immediately after the Wednesday interview. I took the day to think it over and pray about it (and send shoutouts to my prayer warrriors) and felt continued confirmation from God over the job. So I accepted it. In just 4 days, my life had been turned completely upside-down...in a good way. Since training started today actually, and they realized that I couldn't make it out there in time for the first few days of training, I eventually agreed to fly out on Wednesday, January 26th. After 4 1/2 weeks of intensive practical camp and ministry training, I will move onto Catalina Island with the rest of the MSA staff. But, unlike the rest of the staff, who will be counselors for the 2011 season, I will be working closely with Annie, handling her office work and helping her on projects, and will also be assisting in worship leading, and acting as an intercessor with Annie over the organization, all of which I am excited about. I entitled this post "Commissioned" because I really feel that God hand-picked this position for me for this season, and He is the One who made everything fall into place.

So the big adventure starts tomorrow, and I am a huge mixture of excitement and nerves. There are so many things I don't know, even big things like whether or not I'll be able to watch the super bowl... (GO PACK!) :) But, I have definitely felt God's calling to step out in faith. (Yes, I'll be living on an island soaking up the sun, but I will also be hugely stretched - I can feel it already.) I don't know how often I'll be able to update this blog, since internet and phone are somewhat sparce in the more remote areas, but I would love and appreciate your encouragement and prayers as I walk out in this journey of faith. I'll do my best to post pictures and updates when I can. Blessings, my friends. May God also give you the opportunity to step out in faith.

Until next time!