PS10j - Frosh Leader Camp

(Why text-only? I forgot my camera!)

I can't say I ever write by candlelight much. It's interesting. I feel like I'm reliving the experiences of the great geniuses of history - Leonardo, Newton, Mozart - people who likely wrote long into the night without the luxury of electric light. I'm not comparing my intellectual gifts to theirs, of course.

I had to watch a flying insect with long, thin legs get caught in another person's tea candle. It got stuck in the wax. At one point, the end of one of its legs was on fire. It lost two legs in the wax. There's so much suffering in the world, and I'm endlessly grateful to be viewing the universe from this fortunate angle. I think we were all that insect once, lucky to even have grown up, and doomed to be burned, starved, or eaten alive by a bird or spider. The poor thing was probably attracted to the heat, thinking it was a mate. See what happens when you get close to girls? =)

Overall, I enjoy Frosh Leader Camp. I'm not spending as much time complaining like I was last year. I still get hot sometimes, though, especially for gimmicks that involve food in any way (example: I wasn't fond of an exercise where we had to get into our groups and pass a bucket of water over our heads with our feet to determine which group got into supper first - I mean, I participated, but since I had eaten breakfast late, I was content to eat dinner late. I mean, the sooner you eat, the sooner you get hungry again, right?). And I didn't like seeing "Puddin" get strapped to a rescue board (with duct tape in addition to the board's straps, of course) - I mean, it was funny to hear him scream and swear - hilharious, really. And they released him after a few minutes. But still, it was kind of wrong, and I got upset with a few people. Like the duct tape was going too far, but anyway, the most important thing is that Puddin is okay, and he's not mad. I just want to see more people laughing with Puddin instead of at him. Still, though, he's a really cool guy, has a good sense of humor, and takes such abuse better than I would.

Dan Budgell, on the school bus in 2000: "We're not laughing with you, we're laughing at you."

Shut up.

Things have changed.

I've managed to be a lot more social this year than last year. I think it's largely because I'm more comfortable now. Being comfortable with the location is half the battle. The other half is getting comfortable with the people. That takes a while, and the transitions are sometimes hard for me - like when I was first here, trying to find a place to sleep. I found a picnic table in Cabin 6 (the same one I slept on last year), set my stuff there, then walked out for a bit. I came back to find my stuff relocated to the dirty floor. Okay, that's a signal they want me on the floor. I began to unpack, but then I heard a voice among voices outside the door:

"I thought this was going to be an all-girls cabin. I could not handle even one guy being in there."

Oh, crap.

I meekly walk to the door. "Uh, do you want me to move? I can move." The woman seemed suprised that I had heard what she said and didn't really make any gesture to the affirmative or negative - she just game me that frightened / bewildered look that I'm really sick of seeing. Anyway, I moved to Cabin 5. I think I got a 'sorry' from the woman. Ten to one says she's Roman Catholic.

But I was soon grateful because Cabin 5 was populated with social and congenial and funny types of both genders. We've had a great time. It's awesome, looking forward to go back to your cabin.

I can't write anymore for now, I'm getting kind of uncomfortable, and I'm the only one still writing.

* * *

It's camp, but you can't see the stars. And there are planes flying above so close you can actually read the logos. And there's a junction of two major 100-series highways within spitting distance. And some people have cell phones! And some people have even gone ashore and walked into Fall River to get candy and snacks. That's cheating! =)

* * *

I'll be suprised if Kaz gets his damage deposit back. Not that we were any harder on Lone Cloud Island than any other visitors, but here's a short rundown of what got destroyed:

- The end of the docking platform on the mainland side of Miller Lake. Early Thursday morning, it gave way with 25 or so Frosh Leaders standing on it. A few people slipped and got soaked up to their ribs. I was suddenly glad I was so far back in the line.
- A picnic table broke into pieces when someone tried to lay on it.
- On the second day, a mid-size splash island. A woman climbing up the side ladder caused the ladder to tear away from the tube, creating a large hole. I had noticed on the first day that the island's gauge indicated that it was underinflated, but nobody took any action to inflate it back to the standard level.
- And I'm sure there was something else, but I can't remember what it was.

And frankly, I'm suprised we didn't sink the Lone Cloud Clipper (a blue boat that travels across Miller Lake at half the speed of a sloth on tranquilizers), because on the way over Thursday morning, the floor boards were underwater most of the time on most trips. Fortunately, the craft didn't sink, but even if it did it wouldn't have been a disaster, because all our things were carried over in a regular-body motor boat.

* * *

I'm not going to write for very long, but I guess if the conversation ... okay, forget it. I have a ton of things to talk about. But I'm taking jot notes. If this was last year I could write a sizeable entry right now, but this year I'm getting along too well - people keep talking to me! =)

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