Pirates of Penzance

It's Halloween. And I couldn't care less. Not that I don't enjoy the holiday, but I guess I'm more indifferent. Also - I like to play dress up all the time - so it's not THAT exciting to get dressed up. I mean I could be dressed up because it's Tuesday, you know?

Not much interesting happened last week. This weekend I spent Friday night and Saturday out at Camp Namanu helping with an overnight for the school based program of CampFire. There are three factions in the CampFire world: the clubs (like troops in Boy Scouts), the campers, and the after-school program peeps. I first started working for CFUSA running one of their afterschool programs out in Hillsboro. It was so rewarding and so draining...but it ended in May. Then I started work out at camp. And I loved it. I really found my place in CampFire. But my old boss tries to remind me of my "roots" and I try to remind him that...I just don't care. Sadly, though I'm up for a job back with the after school program as a staff coach/manager. I guess that means I'm a dualie, with alliances in both factions. But I'm not a clubber...that's not how I roll.

I got one of the best recordings of Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance last week. I wish I could love a show more, but I just don't think it's possible.

Out of sorts...

I'm not sure what's up...but I'm seriously out of sorts today. My spirit is all stirred up and I'm really on edge. I wish I could pinpoint what's up...but so far, no luck.

MYAH.

Out with 2500 of my closest friends...

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in the Great Northwest. In fact - it was almost too warm, but I'll take what I can get. Earlier in the week my camp friends invited me to join them for breakfast and time at the pumpkin patch. I do enjoy me some pumpkin patch. Except when it's like being at a very busy July day at Disneyland. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

We all met at a friend's house - but accommodating the group we had a 15 passenger van from camp to get about town in. Oh, yes, we were stylin'! Our first stop was The Original Hotcake House. This breakfast was good - no skimping on the bacon. I got the French Toast as the Hotcakes are the size a frizbees. We had a really great time - and should have stopped there.

But we managed to get back into the van and head out to Sauvie's Island. This is where there are a lot of great pumpkin patches in the greater Portland area. We rolled along, merrily gossiping about everyone we could think of...and then we came to back end of a very long line of cars. Yes, everyone in Portland wanted to get back to nature. We had to wait in lines to get on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch, to get food for lunch, to shop in the little "country" market. But the worst had to be waiting in line to use a sani-can in desperate need of pumping.

My friend Skippy and I were sitting on a bench waiting for everyone to be done in the market and she summed it up beautifully: "Well, that was hellish, wasn't it?" It also helps that she's Australian so no matter what she says, it's cool and funny. But yeah. Every step of the way was a challenge. But know this, dear reader: I will not stop going to the pumpkin patch - just that specific one. There are many other, less commercial patches that I will honor and enjoy. But this crappy one had this thing called the cow train - and you had to pay extra money to ride it. WHAT?!

Canned air...

Is there anything better in the world than canned air? It's so much fun to play with - sneaking up behind your mom and blasting her, for example. That never gets old. EVER.

It also helps keeps my keyboard clean on my new false idol...I mean laptop. I wonder if the ancient Jews had the same problems of cleanliness with their graven images. But the point is...I love canned air.

A weekend holiday

On Friday I drove down to Arcata, California to visit some friends from camp. It's about a 7 hour drive from here to there, but one of the most lovely drives I've ever taken. With Fall in full swing all the leaves that can change are, and the scenery was amazing. The drive also goes through the Redwood National Forest. Holy cow! I mean, I love nature as much as the next person - but these trees are amazing! If you have the means, I highly recommend a look-see.

Visiting my friends involved joining one of them at work, as he supervised kids roller skating. While I didn't skate, I did attempt the limbo contest...and yes, I totally fell flat on my back. It was a very funny scene, and I won a free skating admission for my effort.

The other excitement was going to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. My friends ordered drinks from the bar, and I ordered a Sprite. Our special hippie waitress brought our drinks and apologized for the smaller glass size of my Sprite. She let me know she'd bring me refills often. And friends, of course it wasn't Sprite. It was sake. A big old glass of ass water. But I'd taken a drink as if it WAS Sprite, and then realized that the awful taste in my mouth was alcohol. Of course I spit it all over the table and nearly threw up, too. The good news is that...oh wait, no. No good news. The waitress said she was sorry and that was it. Not much of a tip for Miss Hippie Waitress. Even now thinking of that taste makes me want to hork.

Everything else about the weekend was so fun and wonderful. I so enjoyed sitting and watching movies and playing games. I was very sad that the weekend was so short and that I had to drive home today. Can't wait until teleportation is an everyday thing.

Making friends...

Moving back to Oregon was wonderful - except for the fact that I had a very small social circle. My dearest friend Kourtney is here and we've been the best people we know for 12 years. And just recently Eric D. Snider moved here so that makes two whole people that are my friends locally. Sad. I know.

But this summer I took the job at the summer camp and I made a whole new group of friends...most of whom live in the area! I've been to the beach, and a bar, and today I got pedicures with two of them. And these pedicures are the best Portland has to offer - which is saying a lot! Of course there was the usual soaking and exfoliating - but there was also a hydrating mask and all kinds of oils and herbal treatments, not to mention the massaging. The pedicure lasted an hour and fifteen minutes. HEAVEN. But I do feel bad for the one lady that was there by herself...because if she was wanting serenity - she was sure out of luck today. We laughed and gossiped and it was so much fun. It did make me miss all my LD ladies but it was such a nice way to end the day. Not that I'd had a rough day. Today I went to the zoo for my acting class. We all took a field trip to study animal movements and characteristics. So, yeah - I went to the zoo and got a pedicure...and went out to dinner for almost 3 hours. I'm really enjoying grad school.

Making things up...

So apparently I look like I know what I'm doing - because today I went out to Camp Namanu to run some Arts & Crafts for a bunch of CampFire clubs...in Boy Scouts they're patrols, in Girl Scouts they're called troops. Anyway - people asked me questions all day - and I just made stuff up, as I wasn't in charge and didn't know anything about the weekend, except that I was helping with some crafts.

But seriously - I do this all the time and it makes me laugh and it makes me worry. Should I know more about what's going on so that I don't just make it up? Or should I just say "I don't know" and walk away? Why do I have to "look" like I am in charge - this is actually a fairly sick thing. I guess it just comes back to me being super bossy. And that I'm okay with. I'm also okay with being wrong. I've really become okay with the fact that if I say something and it turns out to be wrong...that's cool. I made a mistake and that's it. A big deal isn't made and I don't have to justify why I said the wrong thing...it was wrong - let's move on. I am actually boggled by people who can't be wrong or have to make it clear that they weren't exactly WRONG just misinformed...or whatever. Jerks.

It was really great to be out at camp again. Now that it's Fall, it's a whole new kind of beautiful. There were about 45 kids there today and we sang songs, played a few games, and had some activity rotations for the afternoon. We made symbolgrams (each kid got to design their own symbol to tell people about who they are) and then commemorative banners as a souvenir of the weekend. They were going to decorate t-shirts, but all we had were adult extra larges, so we cut up some different colored cotton fabric and let the kids go wild. We had fabric markers in the rainbow of colors as well as glitter and glow in the dark puff paint. My hands still have glitter on them! After dinner and council fire we held a dance and I helped teach the Virginia Reel. Did you know that I know how to do that? Well, I do. We had such fun and wore the kids out. But the best part of the day was getting caught up on all the camp gossip...oh yeah...I love gossip

To recap: I make things up, don't like people who can't be wrong, and I love gossip

An afternoon nosh...

Since I just have one class on Friday, I was headed home today around 11:30 and realized that we needed a few things from the store. I stopped at Haggen (the store where Geoff works [he's off today]) and started getting a few things - then realized that we needed more than just a few items for dinner. So I called my mom to see if she had specific needs and while I was talking to her, Geoff called on the other line. Rarely does Geoff call me, so I new I should answer. Turned out he was in the store, picking up his paycheck. He finally found me and I scored my own personal shopping guide/grocery carrier.
Once done at the market, I headed home and Geoff went to the bank. Then he got home and we had a lovely lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup. And we sat at the table and actually talked - instead of sitting at the coffee table watching the dopes on EPSN yell at each other. Often it's not until way after a special happening that you realize how special it is. I'm so grateful to have had a normal, grown-up lunch with Geoff. Even if now he's wearing boxers on his head and demonstrating his funny walks.

Scientific testing...

As I've been working at Columbia Weather Systems in the afternoons, I've gotten to see some pretty awesome things - but nothing better than the highly scientific testing of weather stations prior to their shipment. Specifically testing the wind sensors. Obviously, in order to test wind speed and direction, you have to create wind. So, yeah. My boss, Nader grabs a piece of cardboard and starts fanning. And then he switches to the other side of the sensor to ensure the direction is being appropriately sensed. And we check to make sure that everything is working. Huzzah! All systems go! I don't know why I found this whole scene so funny - but I sure did. I almost fell off my chair because I was laughing so hard. Thousands of dollars for a weather station and it's tested with a piece of cardboard.

Are you new here?

So I'm taking this Institute class on the Doctrine and Covenants. I really like it - even if I took both D&C classes at the BYU. My teacher's name is Brother Weed - and I really hope that his first name is Richard or Dillon...think about it...Anyway he's a great teacher - very knowledgeable and funny. While he's not irreverent, he's also not taking things too seriously either.

Like I said - I really like my class...except for this one guy in our class. His name is A.J. (strike one) and his indoor voice is 15 decibels louder than mine (strike two). But the biggest issue is that he's a "repeater." Kind of like Ken Craig's co-worker only not as funny. But he'll just reshape the last sentence said by Brother Weed and then restate what's already been said. Sure people have different learning styles, but dude, SHUT UP!!! We all just heard the man say that leaning on the arm of flesh will not get us the strength we can gain from the arm of God. Seriously.

But the best part of today was as we were discussing Martin Harris losing the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon. As we discussed, Sister Harris wanted some proof that her husband wasn't just bankrolling some quack. But A.J. just didn't get that, and in all seriousness stated, LOUDLY, that he would have just thrown her out of his house because truth is truth and she just didn't get that. Clearly. That's it. Way to go A.J. Thanks for sharing that with the class...and everyone else in a 4 block radius. No one quite knew what to say or how to react, so Brother Weed just says "...and in verse 10..." and we all just looked more intently at our scriptures.

Whah?!

In the last two days I've posted two new blog entries. One about my week and one about my evening out shopping with my mom. And somehow - they've disappeared. Which makes me sad - and scared as the blog Nazi's will fill my mail box with hate mail. I promise I posted, I promise.

To recap for the missing 116 pages of my blog...I'm really liking my classes. I'm done by noon everyday, although I don't know how I feel about my "Development of Dramatic Art" class. Oh yes, I do. I'm not too impressed and am so tired of going back and studying the Greeks, AGAIN. BLEH is what I say to that. I am excite about my acting class, which has only 14 people in it. The best part is that only 2 of the 14 are "theatre people" - the ones that have to be "wacky" and "crazy" and wear a forged link chain and padlock as a necklace. I'm sure over that, let me tell you! I also enjoy my yoga class, which is huge and only 50 minutes long. I'm certainly NEW to yoga and have some very sore, normally dormant muscles.

Outside of PSU I'm working in the afternoons at my mom's office, Columbia Weather Systems. I get to assemble hardware kits, laminate things, and put labels on files. It's quite a nice deal because it's very casual, only 6 hours a week, and I get to listen to my iPod. I sure do love my cute, pink, personalized iPod mini. And my wise friend was right - it has changed my life. I now schedule tasks into my day just so that I can listen to my iPod.

I don't have the strenth to rant about hating Meier and Frank again. But let me just say that EVERYONE knows that the only place to buy shoes is Nordstrom. The only place. That's it. That's all she wrote.