Black Friday 2005

Yeah I was dragged into it.  My mom persuaded me to go to the after Thanksgiving sales with her at the butt crack of dawn.  She got me and my sister up around 4 AM.  I basically rolled out of bed in what I was wearing, put some shoes on and zombied my way to the car.  We went down to Centralia to my mom's second home...Walmart.  We got there a half an hour before 5 and had to wait in lines.  The store had the stuff wrapped up in black plastic so you couldn't see what the pile of stuff was.  They also had it taped off so you could not wait in the aisles.  So me and my sister waited in the electronics and watched part of Ice Age 2 for the time being.  I kind of want to watch the whole thing now.  Anywho, as it got closer to 5, they started unwrapping the stuff.  As 5 approached the frenzy began.  Erika went and got the thing mom wanted and as she was getting it, some lady jumped on her and broke her sandal, Erika was mad.  I had no idea where mom went, she got lost in the sea of people.  A couple minutes later some guy yelled..."you all should be ashamed of yourselves"  everyone looked at him...he continued with "you all are bastards!"  I just laughed at him because he was carrying around a whole arm load of stuff.  Telling people they are bastards when he is one himself.  What a moron.  I've only participated in Black Friday three times in my life and this has been the most insane one I have ever witnessed.  People shoving, grabbing, yelling, arguing, blocking the aisles with their grocery carts, flooding the walkways...crazy stuff.  I basically went just to see how crazy people are and believe me, it was entertaining.  I wish I would have brought my camera.

Camp 2005 Quotes and Inside Jokes

Some memories from my first year at camp...

Most of these you won't get unless you were there.

Purple

Do better at life

You suck…wait, no you don’t

Hazaa’s are in order

Mah

Tookie tookie, click click

Loser

MAKING OUT!

Burn!

Getting all up ons

Yoink

Toidi

Exploding cantaloupe

Chicken Noodle Soup

Burned Bread

I wanna make you holla, in the back of my impala

Just say no

Drop it

You gonna need ice for that burn

Jelly Van  669-KYY

Lezzie Activities

Sweet Home Alabama

Queen

Phantom of the Opera

Man Van

Selah Van

Arnold’s

Wayne’s World

Dodge Ball

Young Frankenstein

Heavyweights

Banana Phone

Zoolander

Awkward Tuesdays

Death by snoo snoo!

Ninja Turtle Gloves

Squally the squirrel

Larry, quit being the conductor of the perv train!

That is not okayko

Butterfly

Doda, you wearing underware today?

The mouth, that’s were it’s suppose to be…

Suma Soak, bucket of love

Damn…you win again, you always do

Remember that one time…

What are you doing?  Supervising.  You’re not doing a very good job.

Get to work girls!

Thirteen, Phenomena!

I didn’t do it.  Yeah, that’s the problem man!

Am I in trouble?  No but you will be!

My lovely drawings on parchment paper

Mr. Goodbar

Twix

Fanta

L-Dizzle

Old Navy

“Stargazing”

On the ballfield

Spending the night on top of the Man Van at the shop

Spending the night on top of the Man Van at the ball field

Waterfront (swimming and tanning)

Otter pops

Cool Tubes

Oatmeal tables (nap times)

Spooning and forking

Burning Rice Krispy treats

BBQ Fridays

Silverware Bandits

Phones at Liberty Ridge

Hugs and Kisses

Goldfish

Skipbo

Sparkler bombs with Watermelons

Driving the Selah van backwards from the shop to Nisqually

“Bruises”

Our Dinosaur blankets

Dying our hair-Champagne Fizz and Brown Sugar

Riding in the back of Chief’s car in the trunk from Arnolds.

Fantastic 4

Value Village and Goodwill

Safeway shirts-“safety is the key to be accident free.”

Noodles

You said butt

Willy Wonka

Bermuda Triangle

What is IT?

You tard!

DK

Why aren’t you smart?

Yeah, in your bra!

T-t-t-t-t-today junior.

Oooo-Rah!

Who says that, honestly!

Who does that?

Love nuggets

Good, great, grand, wonderful…no yelling on the bus!

I Like Grapes

Underpants!

Honey Bunches

Happy Bunnies and kitties.

Girlfriends

Go away!

Be safe, make good decisions.

Don’t ever let a boy touch your knee.

No means no.

Elton John

Honey packets

“You rock my face off!”

“What the trash?”

Brightwood for three hours waiting for guest group to come back.

Water rat!

Egg patties down 13’s and Doda’s pants.

“Do it to it Lars!”

“Buddy!”  “Buddy!”

“I fucking hate meatloaf!”

Plastic knives to cut brownies and meatloaf.

Butterfly

Rawr

“Bless your heart…”

Competition!

“If I was a lesbian, I would totally date you…”

To boldly go where no man has gone before…

Screw you hippies!

What you doin’ man?  Nothin’ Larry.  That’s the problem man!

Go away Boss!

Oh you’re doing so great, you suck!

Phrawr

And it’s good for three!

Ahgigigigigigigigi!

Go make some more orange juice!

Chase flashing us.

Time to shave hippy!

Whatever doesn’t kill you, gives you cancer and kills you later.

Wayne’s world, party time, excellent!

Camp 2005

I got a summer job through Larry Sutton, Erika’s friend’s dad.  My mom sat next to him at the REF auction and mentioned that I was coming home and needed a job.  He said that Camp Cascades is always looking for people to fill spots.  I haven’t been out there since 1996.  He was the head chef there and said that he would love to have me on the summer kitchen staff.  Keep in mind that it is a Christian camp.  I filled out the application and did a phone interview earlier that spring because I was still at school.  Initially, I thought I would be working with kids from the Thurston county area or even kids strictly from Washington.  I also thought since I lived less than ten miles away, I wouldn’t have to spend the night at the camp.  Boy, was I wrong.  When I arrived that Friday, I did not want my mom to leave me there.  I didn’t recognize anyone and really didn’t feel like talking to anyone either.  I just kind of stood there, while everyone seemed to know each other and was chatting away.  A few people came up to me and asked who I was and what department I was in.  This one kid, who I surely thought was gay, came up to me and introduced himself.  He really didn’t stay long.  I finally found some kitchen people and started getting to know them. I noticed this short chubby girl wearing a jean jacket and one of the staff members asked her to come join the circle.  We found out she was also a kitchen member and her name was Jessie.  Most of the people who work at camp are college aged and went to North Park, a Christian college in Chicago, Illinois.  I met people from all over the U.S.  A girl from Indiana, people from Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, Kansas, Michigan, Connecticut…all over the place.  There even were some locals from Yelm, Lacey and Olympia.

The rest of the weekend and even part of the next week we started our summer staff training.  I got sick in the middle of the week and felt like absolute poop.  I was tired, grumpy and had no one to really talk to.  I sort of bonded with one of the ladies who worked there, her name was Izzy.  She was hilarious.  I really didn’t think I should be in the kitchen with a cold because I wouldn’t want a sick person handling my food, but I continued on regardless.  After work, which was normally about 7 or 8, I went and passed out in my bed, I didn’t participate in the activities they had planned for us.  My roommates came in around 11 p.m., and wondered where I was.  They figured out I was sick and needed my rest.

I got to know the people I worked with on a very fast level.  I knew things about them a person shouldn’t even know about after two weeks of knowing them.  I would consider a few of them I met friends.  I was Myspace and Facebook friends with several of them.  One of the girls I met, I continued to be friends with after I was done with the camp.  On the flipside, I got annoyed with people I worked with very quickly.  Especially this one girl, she drove me insane.  She was home schooled, parents were wackos, she had an attitude, didn’t really know how to socialize with people.  Her personality just didn’t click with mine.  I tried to avoid working with her and after work; I would try to ditch her.  Luckily, she hung out with other people like her and left me alone.

I got into a routine.  I got up at 6:35, was at the kitchen by 7:00, breakfast was served at 8:00, break at 10:00, lunch at 12:00, break at 1:30, dinner at 5:00 and left the kitchen by 8:00 or so depending on how much we got done.

Later on in the summer, we found out that we should have more than two drivers and one of them should be a girl.  I was the only one Larry trusted with a van.  It was nice to have the responsibility of a vehicle; I was really getting tired of walking everywhere we went.  That meant I could sleep in longer.  The two food service vans were the “Man-van” which only guys got to drive and the Selah van, which I called the “Jelly van” because of its license plate (669-KYY).

During our morning break, we would do this thing called “Devos”.  We would get into a circle and read a passage from the Bible.  Afterwards, we would talk about it and a person would volunteer to share their life story.  Hearing some of these stories people told…wow.  These people had some real problems and some severe addictions (drugs, alcohol, divorce, jail, abuse, sex, hated their family etc).  I found out later that a lot of the people who come here every summer to work were escaping from real life, their problems and how bad their home life is.  And I just came for the money, so my story was probably the funniest because I had no problems.  Plus, I noticed that these people at first put on their “Christian face” while they worked.  When I got to know them, they were worse than juveniles.  They swore, shared things they shouldn’t have, tried to sneak in alcohol and even got sexual with other workers after work.

About a month into camp, I started acting like myself…I no longer had to be shy and quiet.  It was getting boring and I needed to liven it up a bit so I went goofy.  I was the entertainer, made lots of jokes and ha ha’s.  I used the people as my comedy fuel.  Izzy and Larry got into it.  I think we went too far with some of the jokes and I came up with my own day called “Awkward Tuesdays”.  I made people feel really weird around me.  I had the question of the day and even got answers out of the people who never participated.  This was also the summer when I went “trunking,” riding in the trunk of the car while someone else drove it (which I heard is illegal, whoops).  The adventures and goofiness was probably the best part about camp besides getting paid.

I stared having pop withdrawals and needed my caffeine.  The camp had pop machines but I didn’t want to spend a dollar on a bottle of pop and I never had cash money with me anyway.  When I got to go home on the weekends, I would bring a case or two of the flavor of the week.  That was usually Mountain Dew or Cherry Coke or just plain Coke.

As it got closer and closer for me to go back to school, it seemed like waiting for Christmas, like it would never get here.  Every day seemed to get longer and longer.  I wanted to leave and go back to school where my friends were.  That day soon came.

Possum Hockey, July 2005

The other night...which was a Saturday, I had just gotten back from taking Jessie back to camp for the night.  I came home to see my mom and dad huddled near the computer with my dad holding a broom and a flashlight and my mom holding two paper grocery sacks.  I asked what was going on and my dad said...I think there is a possum under the computer desk.  We had left the door open all day long to keep the house cool and to circulate air.  Earlier he sat down and was checking his email when he heard thumping and thrashing under the computer desk.  He assumed it was one of the cats.  It kept on so he went and got a flashlight to check it out.  Sure enough it was a possum. 

My dad continued to poke at it to make it go towards the door.  Eventually the possum got free from under the desk and made its way under the dining room table where it did not want to leave from under it.  After about 2 minutes or so...I asked dad for the broom but I used it like a hockey stick.  I flipped it over and used the sweeping part of it, you cover more ground that way.  So I tried to sweep it out from under the table and it worked kinda.  Instead of going out the door, it ended up wedging itself behind the cat food garbage can holder.  I moved the garbage can and tried to move the possum out the door.  Unfortunately, the cats came in the house and disrupted the progress of the possum leaving the house.  So it ended up getting under the dining room table again.  Ok let's try this again.  Once again, hockied it out from under the table and it went behind the cat food garbage can.  (Mind you...we were laughing our heads off while this was going on).  I moved the garbage can as quickly as I could, took the broom and maneuvered the possum out of the house.  He actually went this time.  Before he went outside he pooped on the floor.  That is what my dad didn't want to happen.  As soon as it went outside, my mom was laughing so hard she was crying and had to go into the bathroom, I was dying...I had to hold myself up with the wall or I would of fell down and my dad just couldn't believe the whole thing happened.  It was funny.  I took a few pictures just so I have evidence that this bizarre thing did actually happen.  These are the times where I wish I had a video camera.

HD 205

“Notice…adjust...evolve.” –Dr. Kim Kidwell

My experience with HD 205 was pretty interesting.  I really did not expect it to go the way it did when I first walked into my discussion session on the first Monday of discussion groups.  I had discussion group before the actual lecture class.  That was a first.  I almost got lost trying to find my way to Clark 151.  I had no idea that part of campus existed.  As I walked towards Clark, I asked two people if I was going the right way.  Thankfully enough I was.  I walked into class and I felt like I was being stared at.  I even asked Tiffany, the teacher’s aide, if I was in the right room because it really didn’t feel right.  I thought to myself…a human development class in an animal science building…weird.  I knew this trek from Cleveland to Clark was going to be a problem, a ten to fifteen minute walk from and to polar opposites of campus.  I was going to be late to discussion every Monday unless my noon class got over early.  I really feel bad walking into discussion five minutes late.  Turns out, it was not a problem during the course of the semester.

One of the most memorable experiences from HD 205 was our second week of classes.  It was the week when we met in the CUB Ballroom for Challenge Course I.  At that point, none of us in our discussion sections really knew each other.  The week before we learned each others names, majors and where we were from.  We did not get to learn each others leadership skills or how we dealt with a different variety of people and their opinions.  It was definitely a learning moment.  I walked into the CUB Ballroom and some people called my name, at first I did not recognize any of them right away, I’ve only seen these people three times.  I went and sat with them as we listened to why we were here.  For Challenge Course I, we were supposed to build the tallest tower (and it had to stand by itself) out of “the bag of goodies” they handed out to each group.  They gave us two instructions, you have fifteen minutes and you have to use the materials in the bag.  Other than that, we had no rules.  We could construct this tower in any which way or form.  The fifteen minutes started.  It was interesting to see who dove in and who stood on the outside of the group to observe everyone.  I felt like I made a difference in the tower building project because I was the one who suggested using the paper bag as an anchor and my group agreed.  It was pretty cool that my group liked my idea and put it into effect, it made me feel a part of the tower making process.  At one point, Dusty had some great ideas on how we could make it stronger…it was nice to have some construction management majors in our group I might add, and we went with his ideas.  It ended up working for us in the end.  At the end of the fifteen minutes, it was time to put down the remaining materials.  Our tower…team 11’s tower was the only one left standing.  We won the challenge.  At that point, I thought we were all going to get along and the project was going to be a piece of cake.  I was so wrong about that.

As we moved into our community service project, people became very hostile with one another and each others ideas.  We had a great bunch of ideas when we were deciding what to do with our projects.  Once we figured out what we were going to do, some of the people did not like the ideas and we would have to start over from scratch.  This became a difficult task because our deadline for our proposal was due in a week.  It was crunch time…were we going to get it done?  We should have tried out an idea to see if it worked rather than shooting it down before it had time to breathe, who knows…it could have worked.  That was the biggest problem throughout the entire project, just doing it!  I learned while working with this group of people to just get a plan see if it works and do it, if it doesn’t work, try it again and find something that does work and when it does give each other high fives and do a happy dance.  

Around the middle of the semester we did these self disclosure projects, an assignment to get to know your teammates a little better.  Most of the stories I heard were really sad things like family members dying, alcoholism, drugs, prison, hard life lessons and divorce.  Mine was nothing like that.  I took a different approach to my story.

Near the end of the semester was the final challenge course if you wanted to do it.  Of course I did, it was the coolest one out of the previous courses we have done.  I walked up to the REC Center and joined one of the groups.  It was a chilly afternoon and I am glad I brought my jacket.  We had a safety lecture about the challenge course, got our helmets, ropes and safety harnesses all straightened out.  We each got to go up one by one to the course and it was the coolest feeling ever.  We were about fifty feet in the air strapped to a rope.  You could swing, hang upside down or just walk around...I have no idea why I didn’t bring my camera.  It was probably one of the coolest activities I’ve ever gotten to do in a college class.

There was one lecture activity that really stood out as far as group 11 was concerned.  Kim, our professor, handed out a piece of paper to everyone in class.  On it was a list of different types of people, their occupations, and an item he or she had with them.  They were all on a boat and it was sinking fast.  We had to prioritize what we thought was most important to keep as we tried to save their lives.  The first task was to put them in an order that fit your criteria first.  Then we got into a group of people sitting close by (which was most of my group 11 teammates) and had ten minutes to put them in an order and we all had to agree on it. Some groups did not survive and others did depending on if they could reach a consensus about what to get rid of and what to keep.  We got into a bigger group and it made it more difficult to reach an agreement.  We had fifteen minutes to make the list.  My group did not make it.  One of the items on the list was a dog and it wasn’t exactly a lap dog either.  According to me, the dog was the first thing to go overboard, however many people did not see that the dog caused a huge problem and so they kept it.  It wasn’t just confined to my group; other groups struggled with the dog.  After awhile, we had representatives from both sides of the argument went up to the front of the classroom and presented their sides of the problem.  The both had great arguments but I am still sticking with my decision…get rid of the dog.  The two things I noticed from this activity were that people have different opinions and they were not willing to compromise at all.

As we moved closer and closer towards the completion of our project, time was not on our side.  We came up with many good ideas and this time we just did them without the bickering and fighting.  The projects we chose to do for the Council on Aging (out of Colfax, Washington) turned out to be a success after fighting over it for many weeks.  We put together a food drive (Rosauer’s in Moscow where I hung out with Zach), a car wash (at Dissmore’s) and completed services for the people of Whitman County (I partnered up with Jessica Dominoski, who was from Hoquiam, and did yard work for a lady in Pullman).  It was really fun to help the people of the community with things that they could not do by themselves.  I learned that community service can be fun.

I missed our final presentation because I went to nationals in Maryland.  I presented it to my group during one of our class sessions and they said it was okay to miss it.  My classmates and my professor were not going to punish me or my grade for missing the presentation.

The part of HD 205 that I thought really meant a lot to me as a student was the last day of discussion session because we completed something that I did not ever think would happen. We had our fair share of fights, fusses and feuds with one another, but in the end we worked together as a team to get it done.  Kim was right, breakdown does lead to breakthrough.  At the time I did not believe it, but now I do after what we accomplished as a team these last sixteen weeks.  In discussion, it was extraordinary to hear all of the nice feedback from my classmates.  A lot of them said I put humor into just about everything I did.  I honestly did not know I was being funny…it’s just my personality.  It is important to let people know you appreciate them and they need to hear you say it out loud for it to actually mean something.  It was encouraging to hear some nice comments from our own teacher about each and every one of us and how we contributed positively to this project.  Kim has been the only teacher I’ve had that actually cared what her students felt, said or did.  She knew that we all had other things to focus on besides her class.  I am really glad she mentioned that in one of her lectures, it relieved me.  She is also is the only teacher that knew every single student in her class by name.  I have gone through so many teachers who just come to class and teach and don’t really care who’s in their classes or not.  She is very animated when she lectures and the stuff that she said was pretty funny.  She even used “liquid courage” as one of her examples.  The last day of discussion she gave each of us a blue “teamwork” bracelet and complimented that our group was one of the best ones she taught this semester.

P.R.O.W.L Center Practicum

My responsibilities in the P.R.O.W.L. center consisted of making sure the student athlete is greeted with a friendly hello and ask if they need assistance, if they do not need help of any kind, I continue with overseeing the center.  The P.R.O.W.L. center is student-service oriented so we must keep the area clean so we can use it for years to come.  I am also responsible for taking a head count of everyone every half hour in the center and recording the number of people in the book.  I also am there to make sure all of the equipment is being used properly, this including the television/VCR, computers/printers/copy machine, refrigerator/microwave, telephone/radio and the sofa/chairs.  I have never opened the center but I have closed the center and those responsibilities include:  making sure the area is cleared with trash and clutter (newspapers and magazines), replace items to designated spots (make sure the water cooler is full, replace it with new container if it is empty), close all computer programs and turn off the computers, turn off the printer and copy machine, turn off coffee pot and microwave and check the refrigerator door is closed, make sure all offices are locked, turn off all lights and lock the door on your way out.

Some of my other jobs in the center were cutting the Cougar sports out of the local newspapers and filing them for the athletes to come in and keep them, if they wanted them, I made some phone calls for Jeremey to let the athletes know about their Team Care meetings twice a month, I learned to navigate my way between Bohler Gym and the Physical Education Building (that is something I did not know how to do before my practicum) and I learned where all of the sport offices are because I delivered the athlete resume books to all of the offices.  I helped out at a dinner that the center held for the University partners.  They took them to a baseball game against the Huskies and their dinner was catered and they received a keepsake for attending.  It is an annual event for the people who make time for education and they are well appreciated for all that they do for Washington State University.  I am very grateful for having attended and it was great to see all of the events that I do not normally hear about.  Finally, I familiarized myself with all of the other practicum students and our supervisors, Pippa and Jeremey, we became good friends.

Over the course of this semester, we encountered a problem.  On January 25, 2005, the 61-inch television and the VCR/DVD player were stolen from the center.  The door was locked and we could not see how the man stole the TV.  We were told that he slipped in through one of the windows, unlocked the door, wheeled out the TV and closed the door behind him.  He was later caught when the police arrested him for an unrelated forgery charge.  The police just happen to notice the TV in the living room, obtained a warrant and linked it with the reported missing TV from the Physical Education Building.  The police released the TV back to the center on March 4, 2005.  

We had a meeting about the theft and made changes to our list of responsibilities.  The windows were securely fastened shut. All of the practicum students had their pictures taken and on their day of work, their pictures would be pinned up outside to show everyone who comes in who is working that day.  The last person who closes the center must initial the head count sheet before they leave.  They must make sure the lights are off and that the door is locked.

The P.R.O.W.L. center is pretty well kept up.  Everything is in order and is very organized.  The only problem I saw with the center was its security, when the television was stolen.  As a suggestion, it would be beneficial to have two people at a time working their shifts.  I haven’t had a shift where it went into evening when not a lot of people come into the center, but it would be nice to have someone there with you, especially at night.  

As far as myself in this job, I really liked that they gave me a chance to work there because they were only looking for twelve or thirteen people and I made it on the waiting list just in case someone dropped.  They told me to come to the meeting anyway and so I did.  Someone did end up dropping and I had the opportunity to work my practicum hours in the center.  They did their best with scheduling people according to their classes and other commitments.  Each practicum student worked three hours each week.  When it was my time to come in each time, I came a half an hour to fifteen minutes early, I was never late.  When I was not going to be there for my scheduled time, I let them know a head of time and I was scheduled for another time during the week.  I did every one of my responsibilities when I was in the center.  When I was asked to do other jobs I went and completed them.  When I had questions, I asked and they answered them as best as they could.  I never complained or put down a job that was given to me.  I did everything they told me to do.  

This practicum experience has been fun since it was the very first one I have ever done here.  I had to change my major last year to something that I would enjoy more.  This practicum experience has gotten me a little bit more involved with college sports and how they operate from season to season and from year to year.  Starting the first part of my practicum in the P.R.O.W.L. center has put my foot in the door for other opportunities within the athletic department here on campus.  I enjoyed working with new people this including Pippa, Jeremey and the other practicum students.  I am thankful that I had the opportunity to work with them in the P.R.O.W.L. center in the Physical Education Building and that I learned a lot about the athletic department.