MY DREAM WEDDING

this is ironic....

below is what i want my wedding to be like: something fun and unique....basically a big party

THOMAS MASSON IS WISE

DOUBLE DUTY [CAT]

[im doing double duty with blogging tonight....i posted a picture blog at the same time as this one so if you are more interested in photos and art i think should be shared more then my life, for which i do not blame you, be sure to check out the previous post]

this past weekend was CAT. Community Awareness Training. its where, at the camp i am working at, we as the summer staff live in a house/apartment in one of the under-resourced communities that we serve in the summer. now there are many twists to this set up. we have no furnishing. meaning we sleep on the tile floor [i slept in a closet] which after three nights does some damage. my butt cheeks and hips are bruised and it hurts to sit on anything hard. anyways, not only no beds but also a limited amount of food - for 23 people [half the staff] we were given 94 dollars to buy food for the entire weekend, limited amount of clothing/supplies [two shirts, two bottoms, two underwear, toothbrush and NO toothpaste, two blankets, no pillow and so on] and did i mention we werent allowed to take any showers either?

granted this wasnt an exact replica of what the kids we are going to be serving live like but CAT was designed to give a feel for how it is like to live with limited resources or much less then what we are used to.

being a returning staff member might have been more difficult then being there for the first time but i was happy to find out i got to go back to Eastwood which i was at the previous summer. i must say that i learned alot about people the past weekend. like who i want to get to know, who i know i will have issues with, who might very well be really good friends of mine in the future, etc.

this weekend has also emphasized my need to hold my tongue. i did alot of that this weekend. there were just some people that i wanted to give a piece of my mind to but i had to bite my tongue since i knew it would just make the situation worse.

we had alot of things go wrong for us at our house. friday night my group had a huge argument that stressed me out so much that i started to cry. it was a blood bath. saturday morning the toilet clogged and overflew which in turn took from having to two toilets to none for a few hours [the toilets were connected so when the working toilet flushed it would back up into the clogged one which then made the septic tank back up and rank up the whole house]. sunday was actually a good day. church was fantastic - we went to a very outgoing church that was mostly if not an all black church and they did a phenomenal dance that was so intense and expressive you couldnt not watch them. and monday we left early so it was awesome - though not everyone was in a great mood [including me =P].

food....oh food. how much more i appreciate it now. ill just give you one example of a days meals. breakfast was oatmeal, plain and not very much. lunch was a pb&j. dinner was ramen noodles. no sides. no drink [besides water out of the faucet]. and definitely no dessert.

yeah. so that was my weekend - we got today off though so we basically raided the showers and scarfed down the food they prepared for us. then the majority of us dashed off camp and went shopping and got dinner at BWs.

now it is time for bed. im tired. and i know i will sleep like a baby since i am in a bed and get to sleep in till 820 instead of 7. goodnight and goodbye.

THE TRUTH ABOUT 3D

THE FOURTH DAY

this is ridiculous.

it is only the fourth day OF TRAINING and there is already drama between two girls [both of whom are good friends of mine - i just hope i dont have to be in the middle of it] and people going around discussing their crushes on another staff member. are we in junior high?!

ok. i admit. i look at staff members and make small comments about if they are good looking blah blah blah but i keep them to myself and they mean absolutely NOTHING. and these girls are 22 and 18. i mean really. i dont know if im just over-reacting or just plain stupid but it seems somewhat childish to me. at least early in the summer. four days. really?

oh well. im glad i dont have to deal with that. peace out.

ALL I WANT IS TO CUDDLE....

sometimes, this is all i want to do with someone

not all things that look innocent actually are

can you tell the difference?

someday i will have this library in my house....someday

i love polaroid film

which one do you choose?

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Me and my good friend Bethany have known each other literally since birth. we have grown up together, played together, gone on vacations with our families, etc. the majority of those vacations were to one of the most beautiful places called Acadia National Park in Maine. our families used to go every summer to Blackwoods campgrounds and camp for a week....it was THE highlight of my summer [even though i didnt like hiking].

well, eight or nine years after our last vacation together to Maine, we are finally going back. this morning we reserved a tent campsite for five nights in August on the ocean side of the park - the same place we used to go as kids, planned our meals, decided what trails we are going to hike [cause now i love hiking!] and all that we are going to do!

both of us have talked about doing a road trip, not even together, but have never had the time or the money to do so. but finally, we are going on our first road trip, together, to our favorite place in the USA. i dont think i have ever been this excited to go camping in my life. and to go there with my best friend who has shared the same love of a campground as i and misses it the same is going to be so much fun.

i know it probably sounds dorky and nerdy to be this excited but i have not been to Acadia in about eight years!

we are going to hike some of the trails that we did as little girls way back when: Bubble Rock, Beehive, Bear Brook Trail and Great Head as well as spend a day in Bar Harbor and visit Thunder Rock.

one last place we are going to be visiting most likely every day is a place we call "the rocks." its basically a huge cliff that looks over the ocean that you can climb down to be by the tidal pools or at night look at the stars and see how many there really are. i wouldn't be surprised if its the place where i have seen the most stars ever.

well. if you couldnt tell im super stoked to go. i just have to get through camp first =/