Pulmonary Edema

Ok, so it isn't that bad--and yes, I know you can only get that in extreme situations, like at the top of Everest or way deep in the ocean. However, it doesn't change the fact that I feel like crap and pulmonary edema might just feel like the cold I have right now. Who knows.
My voice? Non-existent. I always love losing my voice at camp. Thus far it has been a regular occurrence for all three summers. It is hard to get the attention of 60+ 11 yr olds if you have no voice.
Other than that, things are going well. I have gotten right back into the swing of things here. Being a GL is like riding a bike--you never really forget. I just do things like I did it last summer, and so far so good.
Last night we had a pretty spectacular thunderstorm and rain shower. I was stranded on the porch of 13 with some other GLs and PDs until 11 at night--when we dashed back to our cabin in the rain. I was freezing for 2 hours and adding to that the dash through the rain--I had a fever in the middle of the night. It wasn't too bad, but I didn't sleep very well.
I am feeling ok right now--just extremely hot and my chest hurts. But I'm taking Cold-Eeze like it's going out of style!
I hate paperwork. I've had so much of it lately!
I have discovered how I can get internet in my room. I have to put the computer up against the window--which means resting my foot on the garbage can and the compter on my knee. It gives my other leg quite the work-out, I'll tell you what, but at least I don't have to dash down to the bunker all the time!
I'll keep you up to speed on the biological warfare that is being waged in my body.

The Craziness Begins

I left yesterday morning at 8:30 on a huge bus for Paramus, NJ--and came back at 3:45 with that same bus full of little girls and with ringing ears.
Camp has officially begun.
The fact that I have a cold doesn't help matters, either. My voice was almost completely gone yesterday, at a time when I most needed it--talking with parents. Yikes. I was pleasantly surprised, though. I was only yelled at once, and only a couple talked down to me. All in all, that was pretty much a win in the parents of Bryn Mawr campers category.
Josh Budler was the bus leader in charge, but he was on the first bus, so I got to be the brick wall that the parents ran into at the second bus. No parent was allowed on the bus, and no kid was allowed off the bus once she was on. No one really contested that fact, for which I was glad. I did have tons of last minute switches from bus 1 to bus 2--all of which I directed Josh's way.
And then one girl was late. Yes, there always has to be one, right? She was only like 7 minutes late, but the first bus left and some angry dad tried to storm the bus and told me that we had to leave. He informed me that this wasn't fair for us to wait for one girl. Holy buckets. I told him, in a firm voice--or as firm as my hoarse croak could be--that we couldn't leave her and she would be there soon. He wasn't too happy with me. At least he didn't try to get on the bus, though.
My girls are great. They're all excited to have me back and I feel as though I have an unfair advantage in the fact that I know them and they know me--and my counselors and co do not yet. I am hoping I can prevent all 68 of them coming to me for everything--which has been happening all last night and this morning. I keep telling the rest that they have their own GL and that I'm just her co, but they were my girls. They are used to me. This might be a potential problem.
This morning I didn't get up until 7:30, which was a very nice change from the 5:45 in past summers. Because Upper Juniors sleep until 8 or 8:30 this summer!!!! I'm excited about that.
My cold is slowly getting better. I was ordered away from cabin row last night at 11:15 by Charlotte, who told me to go to sleep. I did and slept like a rock until this morning, when my alarm went off.
Let's see how the first day goes....gymnastics try-outs and lice checks, oh my.

Doesn't Work

Alright, ignore the link. It doesn't work.

Amazing

Here is a link you should check out. I hope it works! If not, please let me know.

It is our Staff video--and has some incredible footage of Drew, one of my favorite people at camp! And yes, I am in the video.

http://my.campminder.com/Videos/

Yeah Pictures!

I finally got some pictures for your viewing pleasure...I have been slacking on the camera end of things. As soon as the web site starts posting pictures I'll be able to steal some of theirs with me in them, but for now...you get some quality toga pictures.

We had staff Olympics last night and got to wear togas again to promote it. For some reason we had a serious lack of bedsheets, so there were only about 7 of us wearing togas, but that was ok.

I love my GL group this summer! We all get along so well.

Jack hooked up with Rico, his brotha from another motha, for some good cooking fun in the Cooking room. They made some rockin' edible cookie dough. Charlotte and I had fun, too!

Discombobulation

We had our cabin placement tonight for the General staff. I was super-excited because I got the counselor I wanted--she is in gymnastics and has to be full time. The problem is that everyone in Senior camp wanted her, and since she had to be full time there was no way I would get her. So I went to Bill and told him that I really wanted her. I said I knew she wouldn't be around for rest hour, and he told me that he appreciated that I was willing to sacrifice that and that if she was with me, she would be great. I really appreciated that--I got the Bill Widman stamp of approval, which won me that counselor. She is in my Bunk 12, in Upper Juniors, which she told me she would like.
This is where the discombobulation comes in. We do our placements and are gathering with our staff and I look down and see the counselor I wanted in tears on the ground, saying she didn't want Upper Juniors.
My heart literally dropped to the ground. I wanted to cry. I fought for this girl--I got Bill to endorse me, I convinced everyone that she would do well in that bunk, in my Upper Juniors--and she was miserable about it? I was not cool with that. I felt so incredibly guilty. Of course I'm automatically thinking that here I was trying to do something great for my bunks and for my girls and all I did was manage to wreck a girl's summer.
But I sucked it up and went on with my welcome to Upper Juniors thing with the other 8 of my counselors--who by the way are all physched to be in Upper Juniors with me--and Marjori talked to her. Then I talked to her after that. Turns out, she is fine with the age group, fine with me--but didn't want to be full time in her program area. That made me feel so much better, because that has nothing to do with where we placed her.
I am feeling much better currently, but definitely exhausted and very discombobulated still. You know, it is the little things that throw you off your emotional track here during staff weeks. You're so exhausted physically and mentally that the emotion is of course dragging too. I need to go to bed.
Everything will look much brighter in the morning.

Airkicks of Happiness

The General staff has arrived--after we waited literally all day for the bus to show up. I guess they got lost once and were stuck in traffic the rest of the time, so what should have been a 2 and a half hour jaunt turned into 5. We had to push back dinner and everything.
It was late sleep, so I slept in until 8:30, which is unheard of, and then went out to breakfast at the Trackside with Shu, Charlotte, Erica, and Dallas. Of course half the camp turned up at one point or another, so the Trackside was hopping, but we all sat at out own tables. Anyway, the Trackside is famous for serving massive proportions and I got an omelett, which meant that when lunch rolled around 2 hours later I wasn't hungry at all. I helped serve and then ate an apple because we had these amazing golden delicious apples instead of the usual small and red.
So by the time the General staff arrived, I was starving. After dinner, which was chicken parm, my favorite on camp--!!!!!--we went to main campus for some icebreakers. I loathe and despise icebreakers of any form or function. So I helped one of the counselors find some lost luggage and then finally had to play the darn games.
Leadership staff introduced themselves at the Apple-O and then we watched the camp video--kind of a tradition thing. I saw Heather in the video and it made me smile. And then Bill was getting ready to dismiss down to the campfire we were having and he said "If your name is Jessie, you may go first." I just sat there for perhaps half a second before I realized he meant me! So I hopped up and got to lead the entire camp down to the campfire. It was pretty fabulous. And then at the campfire, I got to be in the Wee skit with Ashlee and Adam and Matt Johnson and Jenny Magiet! It was pretty spectacular.
We didn't dismiss from there until 11, at which point I made the rounds with my room of counselors and told them what time reveille blows in the morning--and then crashed. And I wasn't too tired this morning. I have kicked into camp-mode where I'm a morning person and I don't need much sleep.
On the way over to the Bunker this morning with my computer, Drew stuck his head out his office window and asked if we could get some adirondack chairs in there so we can sit together. It was nice.
I think the weather might finally start becoming warm...I haven't gotten a tan at all because we've either been inside or I've been wearing pants. And sweatshirts at night.
And today I am going to be the Group Leader in the camp introductions we do for the General staff. I'm pretty excited about that.

Growing

I have been having some amazing personal growth experiences these past couple days.
There is a PD in volleyball this year that I am not personally fond of. She is rather abrasive. However, I just avoid her as much as possible and be polite but distant the other times and nothing has come of the situation. Today she stood up in front of the entire group and apologized to everyone for her behavior and gave us all a bit of background as to why perhaps she is like that. Then she cried and I thought, you know, that took a lot of guts. Not only was she standing in front of 40 perfect strangers, she was humbling herself by admitting a short-coming. And it also made me realize that she is a good person. She wants us all to be friends, really, it just hasn't been coming across that way. It really made me think about my prejudices and my judgements and I really felt as thought I had learned something from her. Needless to say, my heart has been considerably softened in her direction. I doubt we will be hanging out often, but there you have it.
Another learning experience has been the fact that I have been hanging out with people who I wouldn't normally hang out with--at least I didn't in the past summers at Bryn Mawr. But we hang out every night and we are having a blast. No worries about the GLs not getting along this summer...
I am working on trying to not worry about how things are going to go with my co-GL this summer. I like her as a person, but she is not someone I would necessarily gravitate towards. Much too serious. However, I was talking to Drew tonight about that and we came up with some very positive things about the situation. So that is helpful.
I hung out with my Junior Camp GLs and Marjori and Britton, our co-Division Heads. It was our dinner and Ice Cream Cottage and Wal-Mart run. It was a good time. I really dig Britton. She and Drew are getting married in September and I'm pretty thrilled. Drew is one of my favorite people on camp and I think Britton is fast becoming one of them as well.
I hung out with Drew tonight for about half an hour in his office after we got back, and as a result got to hang out with Bill a bit too. It was some good times. We listened to Shooter Jennings and talked real life talk.
I am happy here.

Changes and Similarities

I was told that I would be the Lower Junior GL once again this year--in fact, pretty much from the get-go I was informed that there was a problem camper or a problem bunk and they wanted me to be there. It was a warning, but I was happy with it because I do know what I'm doing. I know the position of Lower Junior GL very well. Hearing I would have potential problems was not a good thing, but you know, it goes with the territory.
Then minutes before we were to head up and hear our age group assignments and our co-GLs, I was paged to the office and informed that they have the biggest group of Upper Juniors they have ever had, and would I consent to becoming an Upper Junior GL. Those are my girls from last summer, so of course I said yes. I loved my girls. They were great.
It does mean, however, that I have 40 girls--in my 3 cabins alone. My co's name is Kara and this is her first summer at camp. That means that I have my 40 girls, and potentially her 23 girls. But going over the list and seeing that I know all of them was amazing. I won't have to freak out about not knowing the girls this summer for the first time! That is pretty great.
I am a wee bit unsure about my co this summer, but I was last summer too, and Jenny Caine was amazing. Except Kara is incredibly serious and we have a completely different sense of humor. I don't envision her wanting to be silly with me like both of my co's in the past have been--Heather D and Jenny Caine. However, I am going to keep an open mind and we'll see how things go.
I have been incredibly lucky in my co-GLs in the past. Either I will be again, or it will be not so wonderful and I'll still survive and work through it.
I do dig all the other GLs in our group. Very cool group of girls. I get along and can have a conversation with them all, which I couldn't say about last year or the year before.
Gary Brown is back and he still calls me Jessie James, which makes me smile. We had a meeting this morning with Bill about the gymnastics proceedings this summer and he informed all the newbies to go ask me how I handle him, because I am able to do it very well. Normally he tells everyone to go ask Marjori because she handles him well, but this time it was me. That made me smile. My advice was not to be afraid of Bill. I told them the story about him making me cry just to let them know that he didn't always like me.
It has been freeeeeezzzzing here. Like sweatshirts and jeans during the day and full-on winter PJs at night freezing. With lots of rain. However, that will change as the summer progresses.
I am already tired of meetings, but we are getting through those slowly but steadily.
Last night I went out for the Ice Cream Cottage with a group and then we headed back to the health center lounge to play Taboo. My word was Flannel and Ashley was sitting next to me so I used her as an example--saying it was something Ashley wears to bed at night. One of the tennis boys pipes up with "A doo-rag!" It was hilarious. I guess you have to have been there. Ashley told him that it was a good thing she was so comfortable with the race card.
I better sign off. We don't have to be anywhere until 2 but I would like to relax before I have to leave.

CAAAAAAAMMMMMPPPP!!!!!!

I am here. I am here and I am tired, but that is another story.
It could also be that it is 11 and I've been up since 7:30 this morning. Ah, camp! The late nights, the early mornings...I have missed them so. That was partially sarcastic. Partially truth.
There is something in the air here that makes me not mind getting up at the crack of dawn after only 6 hours of sleep.
I must say, there are so many people who didn't come back this year! What a bummer. I miss them already. We do have lots of returners, though, as well as plenty new people. The new Leadership staffers just arrived today, and I was stationed on the porch of the Manor House with Pochy to welcome stragglers. We mainly talked and swatted flies--the flies are intense here! Gross. We did get to greet a couple people, though.
Icebreakers went well. I guess. They were new and different, so that is always a plus.
I should probably start with I arrived yesterday afternoon after a very uneventful trip down. Well, almost uneventful. I forgot that when I landed in Minneapolis, it was so windy that the plane landed sideways on the runway! And the pilot was trying to correct and we were just swaying violently back and forth at top speed. It was scary. There were a lot of screams. I think my heart stopped briefly. But here I am, so luckily the plane didn't roll and we didn't all die. Can planes roll? I don't know, but it felt like I was about to find out.
I have my own room, which is pretty sweet. Of course, living in the back of the Manor House is always a bit sketch--but I like it. It feels like camp to me. Being somewhere clean and carpeted would almost be too much for my system to take I think. I'm used to never taking off my shoes and to the smell of mildew and I don't know what else in the bathroom.
Jack digs it here too.
I need to go to bed. I'll write more later.
Oh, the best part?? I have cell service and internet in my room!!!!! No more hiking down to the Bunker on a regular basis. It pretty much rocks my socks.
Oh, and another great thing! Bill Widman came back today--he's the Director of the Bill Widman Gymnasium here on camp, and you might recall made me cry last year. Anyway, we got along really well all last summer after the crying incident and when he came in today he told me that I am one of his favorites! It made me smile sooooo big.
Ok, and I really do need to sign off. Good night and I'll write more later!

Fire and Ice

This was the sunset a couple nights ago....incredible color.

And this was what I woke up to this morning...ah, summer in Montana!
And not only is there snow, but it is cold out! I had to dig out my winter gear to go get my hair cut. I think I'm ready to go back East, where the heat waves abound. Although, give me a couple weeks of that and I'm sure I'll be wishing I were back in the snow.

Perfection

I drove to Helena yesterday to hang out with Brandt. I leave next Friday and he's in Bozeman for training all week, so this was the last day we had before I leave. We went to Bob Wards and I found a pack--a Mountain Hard Wear Drifter that fits me perfectly and is exactly what I was looking for. Then we went on a hike along the river below Hauser Dam--only 4 miles, but it was beautiful. We saw a few snakes and I had a tick on me, but that was ok. There was a stretch of rocks that you walked along, and some wonderful trail crew had laid flat rocks all along there so it was like a little road through there. I would have hated to have to do it, but the result was pretty wonderful and easy to walk on.
Once we got back, Brandt made me sushi. With Ahi tuna and tons of wasabi. Well, he said he put a little bit on mine, but the last one I had definitely had more than a little. I could feel it searing its way up inside my brain. Ouch. Anyway, it wasn't too bad--for sushi.
And now I am home, and the next expedition is to get a watch!

Kaboosh

I do not leave for another week--but I have already begun packing in an effort to streamline my belongings. I am known for overpacking in any situation, but especially when I go to camp. If I could somehow fit the entire contents of my room in one suitcase, I would be in business. However, since that is impossible without the use of a magic lamp--and I don't know any Genies who would lend me theirs--I decided to go for a trial-run of packing. The first time around I think I nailed it! My suitcase is not even full and I am finished. Ah, lovely. Now to get the carry-on slimmed down...

I have been enjoying my 3 weeks here in Montana. No worries, just pretty much playing all day long. I have been making some pretty rockin' discoveries, too. You'd think, having grown up here, that I would already know these things. I guess absence creates new eyes. I have lived within sight of Square Butte my whole life but it is only recently that I realized how beautiful it is. And how much I want to climb it. Anyway, I think it is the one that Charles Russell painted. Beautiful.

Chacos in the sky.

Ready For Summer

It appears as though the rain is here to stay. Or at least it has been since I arrived the end of May. There have been a few sunshiny days, enough for me to get a Chaco foot tan, but definitely not enough to suit me. I am ready for the summer--for 80 degree weather and blue skies. I am hoping that once I arrive at Bryn Mawr, the weather will be delightful and we won't have a wet summer like my first there.