I've no idea who "we" are besides Marshall and myself, but we're moving. Things have been great here, but it's time for a change.
I know we're leaving mid-mini-series, but never fear, not only will we pick up where we left off, but we will also post the first two episodes on the new site.
Like the Weight Watchers commercial says, "It's a new dawn. It's a new day. And I'm feeling good."
I would say goodbye, but I'll see you as soon as you click the link.
8.12.2011
8.11.2011
Day Two, Day Two
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following post was written days ago, but in real life... I got cut off by a minivan tonight. Angry, I pulled up beside them to see that it was 2 nuns. Just made the night that much better. Home cookin', windows down, and nuns who can't drive.
Sunday rolls around. The agenda is straightforward: breakfast and filming. Before I finished my Chick-Fil-A sandwich, the shirts are ready and an offer is made on my tye-dye apparel: $10 and the other guy’s shirt, which happened to look every bouncy ball made before 1995.
Offer rejected. I didn’t go to one of the finest business schools on the planet for nothing. Well, I didn’t go to one of the finest business schools, but it was fine enough to teach me two concepts useful in this situation. The second was supply and demand – my shirt was better than everyone else’s, I could name my price. This concept was preceded by one of the concepts that built the foundation of modern society – outsourcing. Another thanks to Madeline, my personal tye-dyer.
Time to film. Well, time to walk through it a few more times and then try to film. A little background on this adventure…
Each year at camp, we have a theme. Usually this theme involves at least some of the staff to dress in ridiculous costumes. I have yet to be outside of the “some” mentioned in the previous sentence.
For the music video, it has been decided that some of the favorite characters from the past will be included. One problem: the lip-dub concept requires one continuous shot, and some of the cast have played several roles over the years… While we did re-visit the outsourcing well, more often than not, it was decided that those playing multiple roles should continue to do so and just sprint between parts while changing clothes. Cool.
The expected production time was set at an hour. I took the over. It was quickly changed to an hour and a half. I remained faithful to the over.
16 to 24 costume changes, half a container of baby powder, and 37 minutes later, we were done. Color me impressed. I’ve never been happier to lose a bet. Chicken sandwiches for all.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is probably a bad idea...
Our efficiency left us with no more tasks to accomplish before the campers arrived. Naps, thin pickle slices, and a couple of hours of iPod shuffle all filled the void. This would be the last time the shuffle all would be allowable for fear of the occasional questionable lyric.
As I mentioned, the kids arrived early and often. We didn’t let them inside until 3. The early bird may get the worm, but if you’re early in the middle of the day at the end of July, you may also get a heat stroke.
Registration commenced. I posted up on the second stop in the assembly line. The joy of this spot is that it’s merely a hardcopy version of the excel work done at the first stop. As such, I was of no importance, and it gave me a way to start trying to learn all the kids’ names. [Note: You may read that as me taking a genuine interest in the campers. Or you may read that as me looking for those random few seconds of joy when you approach a kid, call them by name, and know full well they have no idea who you are… After reading that again, I feel I should promise not to trade in the Altima for a white van with no windows.]
After registration and before dinner, the first camp couple was formed. If there’s one thing church camp is good for besides stitches, capture the flag, and swimming in water that will probably give you a staph infection, it’s breeding long-lasting relationships.
Remaining highlights from Sunday included one counselor wearing a luchador mask for the duration of the afternoon a-la-Rey-Mysterio, the two most popular kids in camp arriving (the youth minister’s 18 month-old twins), the first two visits to the first aid kit, an episode of Family Feud where we learned that a squash is allegedly a fruit, a pretty sweet night time devotional illuminated by the Christmas lights adorning the Hollywood Squares set, and some minimal cabin conversation that may have revolved around that crazy lady in California who was quite familiar with the garbage disposal.
If you missed it, click Here for Day 1.
Sunday rolls around. The agenda is straightforward: breakfast and filming. Before I finished my Chick-Fil-A sandwich, the shirts are ready and an offer is made on my tye-dye apparel: $10 and the other guy’s shirt, which happened to look every bouncy ball made before 1995.
Offer rejected. I didn’t go to one of the finest business schools on the planet for nothing. Well, I didn’t go to one of the finest business schools, but it was fine enough to teach me two concepts useful in this situation. The second was supply and demand – my shirt was better than everyone else’s, I could name my price. This concept was preceded by one of the concepts that built the foundation of modern society – outsourcing. Another thanks to Madeline, my personal tye-dyer.
Time to film. Well, time to walk through it a few more times and then try to film. A little background on this adventure…
Each year at camp, we have a theme. Usually this theme involves at least some of the staff to dress in ridiculous costumes. I have yet to be outside of the “some” mentioned in the previous sentence.
For the music video, it has been decided that some of the favorite characters from the past will be included. One problem: the lip-dub concept requires one continuous shot, and some of the cast have played several roles over the years… While we did re-visit the outsourcing well, more often than not, it was decided that those playing multiple roles should continue to do so and just sprint between parts while changing clothes. Cool.
The expected production time was set at an hour. I took the over. It was quickly changed to an hour and a half. I remained faithful to the over.
16 to 24 costume changes, half a container of baby powder, and 37 minutes later, we were done. Color me impressed. I’ve never been happier to lose a bet. Chicken sandwiches for all.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is probably a bad idea...
Our efficiency left us with no more tasks to accomplish before the campers arrived. Naps, thin pickle slices, and a couple of hours of iPod shuffle all filled the void. This would be the last time the shuffle all would be allowable for fear of the occasional questionable lyric.
As I mentioned, the kids arrived early and often. We didn’t let them inside until 3. The early bird may get the worm, but if you’re early in the middle of the day at the end of July, you may also get a heat stroke.
Registration commenced. I posted up on the second stop in the assembly line. The joy of this spot is that it’s merely a hardcopy version of the excel work done at the first stop. As such, I was of no importance, and it gave me a way to start trying to learn all the kids’ names. [Note: You may read that as me taking a genuine interest in the campers. Or you may read that as me looking for those random few seconds of joy when you approach a kid, call them by name, and know full well they have no idea who you are… After reading that again, I feel I should promise not to trade in the Altima for a white van with no windows.]
After registration and before dinner, the first camp couple was formed. If there’s one thing church camp is good for besides stitches, capture the flag, and swimming in water that will probably give you a staph infection, it’s breeding long-lasting relationships.
Remaining highlights from Sunday included one counselor wearing a luchador mask for the duration of the afternoon a-la-Rey-Mysterio, the two most popular kids in camp arriving (the youth minister’s 18 month-old twins), the first two visits to the first aid kit, an episode of Family Feud where we learned that a squash is allegedly a fruit, a pretty sweet night time devotional illuminated by the Christmas lights adorning the Hollywood Squares set, and some minimal cabin conversation that may have revolved around that crazy lady in California who was quite familiar with the garbage disposal.
If you missed it, click Here for Day 1.
8.06.2011
Taylor Christian Camp - Episode I
Welcome to the first mini-series “Check You For Tickmarks” has offered. The goal is simple: The following few posts will be a replay of each day of church camp. If you were there, this will give you an opportunity to see the other side of some of the more interesting events. If you weren’t there, this will give you an opportunity to see what camp is like since you used to go – you know, before you had air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and flashlights.
I had this idea that I would get up every morning to write this and discuss the highlights of the previous day. That way, I could be guaranteed a hot shower and a few minutes of uninterrupted time each day. Breakfast is at 8:15. It’s 6:38. I’ve already showered, shaved, and brushed my teeth. [NOTE: Who knew that one little eggshell mattress could do so little to hide the discomfort of a 3-inch 45-year old mattress?] I’m pretty sure I could write 15,000 words before breakfast. Keep reading. It won’t be that long.
So, let’s catch up. Yesterday was Sunday. The kids were supposed to arrive between 3 and 5. A vast majority of them got here at 1:45. However, camp doesn’t start at registration, young ones. On the contrary, camp started long before.
We came up Friday night to start getting everything ready. We unloaded two trailers full of food, lumber, sound equipment, 6-ft inflatable balls, and rubber duckys. We dabbled around camp for a while and then went to sleep. Friday was relatively uneventful.
Saturday, work began at 10 am. The agenda included building an 11-foot tall Hollywood Squares set sturdy enough to hold 9 staff members [Editor’s Note: the last day of camp revealed that the set could actually hold at least 15 people], manufacturing a Plinko board, erecting some PVC pipe structure, constructing a Family Fued faceoff table, and some girl work. Let the sweating commence.
There were about 12 of us up here at that point, so we split up and got after it. The short straws, of which I was one, headed down to begin constructing the Hollywood Squares set. We did everything but fell the trees for this thing. Honestly, it went very smoothly. Of course, this is compared to previous years where we spent countless hours constructing a saloon without the proper parts, and trying to make a cabin resemble a pirate ship using only junk we found in a dumpster.
2 hours in, the first level was built and, though untested, strong enough to hold a Prius.
Lunchtime. Campers, a little insight into the other side here… For the first day or two of camp, the counselor diet consists of Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, thin little pickle remnants, pickle-stained bread, and your choice of mayonnaise or ketchup. Why anyone would choose ketchup in this situation is beyond me, but it happens. Lunch involved sandwiches one and two of my weekend.
After lunch, we continued our plywood journey to the sky, careful not to jinx it by claiming aloud what we were all thinking – “This is actually working. We might get this done in a semi-reasonable amount of time.” After training my trigger finger to work with an electric drill that was apparently designed to be used by Bruce Willis in “Armageddon,” level two had been achieved and was fit for a Royal Rumble. In retrospect, my numbering system is off, as the ground was level one, so this meant we were pretty much done. It was approximately 3:00. To call this a victory would be an understatement similar to proclaiming “The Annexation of Puerto Rico” as just another play in Little Giants.
After helping and/or hindering some other projects, we set out to conquer our last two Saturday tasks…
First thing’s first: Let’s film a lip-dub. If you’re not familiar with a lip-dub, this was my introduction to the concept.
So we begin our walk-through of TCC’s lip-dub production. After a couple of run-throughs, we decide we don’t have enough daylight or general hydration to complete this today. A bottle of water and a shot of procrastination for everyone… We’ll take care of it tomorrow.
Task two: Tye-dye our camp shirts. In an episode of thinking outside the box, someone suggested we get white camp shirts this year and tye-dye. Fantastic idea. Everyone gets to pick the color of their shirt, and no one is to blame for the failed concept except the children themselves.
So we tye-dyed our camp shirts… I say “we” tye-dyed shirts. One of the other counselors [NOTE: For the newer readers, I try not to use names on here so as not to offend, incriminate, or aid and abed. Thus, we’ll call her Madeline] who was well-versed in tye-dye actually made mine, and bless her for it.
We made some game show signage, giant X’s and O’s for Hollywood Squares, and drank a ridiculous number of Sprite in an effort to produce 24 empty 12-oz. bottles. Then we slept… Longer than we would for the rest of the week.
I had this idea that I would get up every morning to write this and discuss the highlights of the previous day. That way, I could be guaranteed a hot shower and a few minutes of uninterrupted time each day. Breakfast is at 8:15. It’s 6:38. I’ve already showered, shaved, and brushed my teeth. [NOTE: Who knew that one little eggshell mattress could do so little to hide the discomfort of a 3-inch 45-year old mattress?] I’m pretty sure I could write 15,000 words before breakfast. Keep reading. It won’t be that long.
So, let’s catch up. Yesterday was Sunday. The kids were supposed to arrive between 3 and 5. A vast majority of them got here at 1:45. However, camp doesn’t start at registration, young ones. On the contrary, camp started long before.
We came up Friday night to start getting everything ready. We unloaded two trailers full of food, lumber, sound equipment, 6-ft inflatable balls, and rubber duckys. We dabbled around camp for a while and then went to sleep. Friday was relatively uneventful.
Saturday, work began at 10 am. The agenda included building an 11-foot tall Hollywood Squares set sturdy enough to hold 9 staff members [Editor’s Note: the last day of camp revealed that the set could actually hold at least 15 people], manufacturing a Plinko board, erecting some PVC pipe structure, constructing a Family Fued faceoff table, and some girl work. Let the sweating commence.
There were about 12 of us up here at that point, so we split up and got after it. The short straws, of which I was one, headed down to begin constructing the Hollywood Squares set. We did everything but fell the trees for this thing. Honestly, it went very smoothly. Of course, this is compared to previous years where we spent countless hours constructing a saloon without the proper parts, and trying to make a cabin resemble a pirate ship using only junk we found in a dumpster.
2 hours in, the first level was built and, though untested, strong enough to hold a Prius.
Lunchtime. Campers, a little insight into the other side here… For the first day or two of camp, the counselor diet consists of Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, thin little pickle remnants, pickle-stained bread, and your choice of mayonnaise or ketchup. Why anyone would choose ketchup in this situation is beyond me, but it happens. Lunch involved sandwiches one and two of my weekend.
After lunch, we continued our plywood journey to the sky, careful not to jinx it by claiming aloud what we were all thinking – “This is actually working. We might get this done in a semi-reasonable amount of time.” After training my trigger finger to work with an electric drill that was apparently designed to be used by Bruce Willis in “Armageddon,” level two had been achieved and was fit for a Royal Rumble. In retrospect, my numbering system is off, as the ground was level one, so this meant we were pretty much done. It was approximately 3:00. To call this a victory would be an understatement similar to proclaiming “The Annexation of Puerto Rico” as just another play in Little Giants.
After helping and/or hindering some other projects, we set out to conquer our last two Saturday tasks…
First thing’s first: Let’s film a lip-dub. If you’re not familiar with a lip-dub, this was my introduction to the concept.
So we begin our walk-through of TCC’s lip-dub production. After a couple of run-throughs, we decide we don’t have enough daylight or general hydration to complete this today. A bottle of water and a shot of procrastination for everyone… We’ll take care of it tomorrow.
Task two: Tye-dye our camp shirts. In an episode of thinking outside the box, someone suggested we get white camp shirts this year and tye-dye. Fantastic idea. Everyone gets to pick the color of their shirt, and no one is to blame for the failed concept except the children themselves.
So we tye-dyed our camp shirts… I say “we” tye-dyed shirts. One of the other counselors [NOTE: For the newer readers, I try not to use names on here so as not to offend, incriminate, or aid and abed. Thus, we’ll call her Madeline] who was well-versed in tye-dye actually made mine, and bless her for it.
We made some game show signage, giant X’s and O’s for Hollywood Squares, and drank a ridiculous number of Sprite in an effort to produce 24 empty 12-oz. bottles. Then we slept… Longer than we would for the rest of the week.
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