Has it really been 25 days?

Wow, Sorry that I have completely failed in writing. But between caring for 11 CMs and journaling (which i've also stopped days ago) and writing letters and postcards and keeping up on the Go1d forum I have neglected the blog yet again. I have two relevant entries to the forum I'm going to post for you guys!

Let me tell you about my pod!! Stephen this will probably make you vomit because they love me. So I was giving i-j...Daniel, Alan, Sam, Andrew, Danielle, Shannon (who is my personality twin), Dominique, and Jessie. I was the 2 youngest only baby Sam was younger than me. The first day I had a piece of cardboard with gold glitter and a pink number 17! My pod (most of who I had already met the day before) came sprinting up to hug me and get in line. I also have a pink ribbon tied to my clipboard so they assumed Pink was my favorite color, refused to let Mike Coleman take our pink markers during the Policy Review. When they got up to share out to the rest of the crowd they said 'um..we're pod 17 but from here on out you'll know us at the Pink Pythons" and so a family was born. HAHAHAHA...um they began to terrorize campus with love and pink t-shirts. We attended the pack test to support Alan on his 24th birthday waiving happy birthday banners and posters...all wearing matching pink t-shirts (I was in green). Then we participated in the campus wide kickball tournament and WON!!! We were actually complete champions. We were done 0-3 when Vaya announced we had 5 minutes left in the game. We loaded the bases, and Brooks (a guy on my floor) kicked a grand slam...throwing us into the championship game which we just rocked.

Wednesday was team reveal. My team got envelopes with their names typed (typewriter) on the front, inside were pictures of scrabble boards with words telling them I was meeting them in the kitchen. At the kitchen there was a picture of our muster spot then telling them how much I loved cooking and to talk about food...here they realized they all eat meat!!! This continued with prompts and pictures and things like 'you have to hurry faster if you're going to catch me," and "i hope you run faster than that in disaster relief." They reached me at the BBQ behind 946 where i had a very classy spread...vanilla pudding, mini loaves of bread, humus, triscuits, strawberries, grapes, pomegranates, rolos, plates, streamers and a beautiful sign! They were being classy and I have one teacher and one person super interested in education BUT they are soooooooooooooooooooooooo boring.

 * My team is actually NOT boring, it just took them longer than 30 seconds to click and now I adore them and are thankful for them. BEWARE OF FAST JUDGEMENTS FUTURE TLS!




The Legend of Two Ton Betty

As Ameri-rumors go, we know how quickly they spread, and how ferociously they burn. The tale I'm about to weave is based on a true story, however has in fact cycled through the ameri-world.

TL Kristina was having a bad day, her team had been driving her nuts. As she was driving Two-Ton Betty, her anxiety kept raising. Bickering, fighting, bouncing...faster and faster TL Kristina drove. The louder Gold 6 got, the higher the speedometer raised. As she careened around a corner, TL Kristina spotted a logging truck barreling down the one lane dirt road. As a lover of the game Chicken Kristina decided to continue straight ahead. As she reached the logging truck she cranked the wheel towards the logger, in an attempt to run him off the road. He turned into two-ton betty. The metal crashed into each other and Two-ton betty careened into the ditch. CMs went flying willy nilly, there was blood and bones and carnage. The van burst into flames and the logger returned to finish the job.

The real story of two ton betty; Kristina was having a rough day. There was food drama and she kept inferring in the most insecure way possible that her team thought she was incompetent. As soon as she got in the car she put in her headphones and went to sleep. Kristina decided to drive the Mendocino road because of her carsickness. While driving, and following all traffic and NCCC laws up around the logging road she came around a corner and about 1/4 mile up the road was a full logging truck coming towards her. Kristina slowed down and looked around for a pull off. There was no pull off, the logger just kept coming. I tried to slow down and stop to let someone get out to safety, but the logger wasn't stopping. If I had stopped it would have a collision. I pulled off to the side of the road as much as I could but there was no way he was going to get past us. He was creeping now but obviously still had no intention of stopping. I turned the wheels just enough to leave me on the side of the road when Matt (my long haired, sarcastic, musician) leaned across the seat and said "we're pretty close to the..." the ground gave way "ditch." Two ton betty was now sitting, frame on the side of the dirt road and logger just drove up. He stopped. He got out. He walked around the van laughing; he rocked the van a few times much to the CMs terror (the van was seconds from tipping over in the ditch) and then laughed again and told me I was stuck and drove off.

To trim down the saga I was marooned with Loggers (and one very cute logger named jesse) for four hours until a tow truck could get up to us. It took a tow truck anchored to a full logging truck to get two ton betty out of the ditch...and we became
G6 in a ditch!

Also i learned a ton of loggers names and got some pretty awesome incite into the logging world. The rest of Mendocino went great.

Its been ten days!

HOLY CANOLI!!! I can't believe its been ten whole days. Let me tell you have things really changed around here! Seven days ago I woke up at five thirty after a meager 4 hours of sleep (my consistent average for the last 2 weeks) and did some eighties PT. Yes...you heard me eighties PT. All the team leaders dressed up in eighties garb (ripped up hoodies, leggings, leg warmers, sweatbands, some even wore gawdy earrings and makeup) and we worked out to sweating to the oldies. It was hilarious watching the unit leaders shake it out and sizzle with the rest of us. Then all of the team leaders got together and 'chalked' McClellan Park. Signs for 946, 947, 943 and 922. Things have definitely changed since the wonderful arrival of all 285 of our corps members. I shuttled three groups from the airport (two for my pod). Laura and I were probably pretty overwhelming for these poor CMs. We were blasting ridiculous music and also jumping out of the van and talking excitedly. We had been waiting for months to get there. I was also very nervous. When my shuttles were done for the day, as Res Life I started just walking around the dorms talking to people who were moving in. I was trying to learn names and get things anyone needed. I met some really awesome people and honestly began to get pretty sentimental about not being a CM this year. I met my pod!!!! Boy were they awesome. I remember my pod loving from last year and this group definitely had the same blossoming love, energy and excitement. We just clicked them to each other and me to them. In a way I felt more closer to them then even most of the other team leaders. I knew however when the pods would end from the beginning and I knew that I was limited to only seven days with them. One of their birthdays was over the weekend so we went to Ricks Dessert Diner. We also had a kickball tournament which we won; they labeled himself the 'pink pythons' and while they had so much pod pride they also were completely inclusive of all other pods. I also had a group of boys on my hall who I adore. They are sarcastic and funny and ridiculous. Again, parts of me wish I hadn't been a TL but I also think some of these jovial joking relationships have only been happening . because I'm a TL.


*** this post was never finished but I still thought I would share. 

EEKS!

Corps members come in four days!!! EEKS! EEPS!  So much to do, so much to do.

I really do have kind of legit reasons for my absence, besides all the business of my green shirt. I went to Camp Mendocino again ( Sun-Thurs)! This time we went as a 'mini-spike' to give all of us TLs a chance to talk to a sponsor, do some more service and get off campus. I love mendocino, I love the staff, I love the work. My desire to own/work/run a summer camp obviously increased while I was there and both the staff families had small children just running willy nilly around camp...in a respectful kind of way. I felt like that was the sort of childhood experiences I wanted my kids to have. Shall I just join a hippie commune?


We did some pretty intense work. We demolished two bathrooms so there can be new ones installed (the new ones ARE nice!). We hiked up the worst slope of all time to do some trail work, on what is an 'escape' route in case of fire...although no vehicle I know will be able to make most of those hills. We also moved/cut firewood. Both of the families use wood to heat their homes (partially if not fully) and last years hard winter depleted most of their stash so we helped them out a ton!

After our drive back, Friday was back to work! So much to do til the CMs get here! I'm so excited for them all and for all their experiences they'll have this year!

Saturday a bunch of TLs took a trip to Yosemite. Oh wow! was it amazing. We did a hike to Mariposa Grove to see all those famous Sequoias. Then we reached this vista point that was dizzying with swaying trees and endless beauty. Thunder had started to roll in before we had even got to the peak, but you know how much I love thunder. On the way down it started sprinkling a little bit, then with .5 miles to go to the end (it was about an 8 mile hike) it just let loose. THe four of us sprinted to the bus but were soaked by the time we got on. As if we weren't wet enough, we had to get off the bus and run all the way to the back of the parking lot to get in the car. The only thing I wish was that I didnt have electronics to keep dry, sneakers which were soaking wet, and a 45 minute car ride sopping. I just wanted to jump in the huge puddles. We stayed at Camp Curry, which is set up exactly how I've always envisioned old Army Camps...just rows of tent/cabins. Our tent was non-heated but fit five people. Mikey, Laura, Paula, Chris Nic and I had a cozy evening...after a fun wine drinking evening with 14 other TLS in their cabin. Then this morning we bummed around the tent listening to the rain fall. The fog was beautiful the way it snaked through the trees and the bluffs. Also the rain caused a bunch of the waterfalls to flow and flow more than before so we had a great chance to see that. I want to go back and spend more time. Although with my knees and arthritis I'm always afraid of overdoing it, but I defnitely need to kick it up a notch. No pain no gain right?

I had so many cherry on top moments this weekend, I can't help but feel happy.

I want to upload my photos but since I'm laptopless (like one of the very few TLs who dont have one) I can't get them on FB or anything but walgreens. Hopefully I'll get some for you later.

Its already 1230 and I have 6am PT in the morning...the alarm rings in five hours! EWW!

Sleep sweet faithful readers.