Today at the gym, I decided to switch my routine. I would practice my shot in the gym first, then hit the weights. As soon as I walked in the gym, a man who, based on his height and build, I am pretty sure was Lebron James hollered to me, "Yo! Ya lookin' to hoop it up?" When I declined his invitation he persisted so I put my things on the bench and walked over. I have never been very competitive. This is disadvantageous to sports even if it is a simple pick-up game after work. Compound my lack of sporting spirit with my unparalleled tendency to freeze-up when competing in front of strangers and its not hard to see that I wasn't expecting much out of myself. Because the last time I played basketball against people I didn't know was in 7th grade, it should come as no surprise that I managed to go 45 minutes without making a basket.
I did rebound, though. My initial excitement at this was soon tempered when I realized my competition was letting me get the rebounds. I know what you're thinking: "Aww... they felt sorrry for himmm". I would stand there eyes up to the rim and wait like a bottomfeeder waiting for scraps. When they came my way, I would flail at them and if I was lucky enough to hold onto one, I would dribble it erratically away from any threats. One such case didn't quite go my way so I headed out to the three point line to defend. I only had such bravado because the guy with the ball was the only person in a 200 yard radius that I had a weight and height advantage on. This turned out to be meaningless. In all of three seconds he had blown by me on his way to the hoop. One of the older players took the scenario as a teaching point for his younger friend. "Hey, did you see his (referring to me) feet? He was like Michael Jackson! If you'd even held up or stutter-stepped he would been flat on his ass! Man, I know you beat him but if you just did something fancy,he woulda been right on the ground!" The younger looked at the older slyly as if to say, "I know, but did I even need to?" The sympathy had progressed from giving me a chance to preventing me from being humiliated.
The game we were playing wasn't exactly pickup. It was more similar to something I've heard called Shooting for Change. When you make a basket, you get to shoot again until you miss. Missed shots are possessed by the person who rebounds them but until you cross the three-point line, anyone can try to swat, steal, swipe or smash the ball out of your possession. I was robbed several times in this manner. Another more subtle aspect of the game is defense. If you want to challenge someone to defend you while you have the ball, you can pass it to them. Passing them the ball (or checking, as I've heard it called) seemed to be a courtesy so when I got my first rebound, I cautiously dribbled to the three-point line, saw nobody was going to steal the ball from me and casually checked the ball to the nearest person. Everyone's eyes went wide and their mouths formed O's as I realized what I had done. The cocky white boy who hasn't made a single shot yet just challenged Naval Air Station JRB's equivalent of Dwight Howard to a one-on-one drive to the hoop. The ensuing confrontation was anticlimactic. There was no Gatorade-ad-worthy drives, no furious elbows and intense grimaces. Instead there was just me striding straight for the hoop with no stutter-steps or flourishes and floating the ball straight through the net. Yes, I had made my first basket. Yes, I had done it in traffic. Yes, I had taken on a defender twice my size with forty times my skill and prevailed. I had no delusions, though. Again, the tough-talking, hard-walking court-lords had let the pipsqueak in. They'd let me have my fun.
6.30.2010
My Birthday
June 29th, 2010 was a particularly good birthday for these reasons:
1) I woke up. Any day that starts this way is a good one.
2) My coworkers had decorated my door with all kinds of arts-and-crafts style decorations wishing me a happy birthday. There was construction paper, yarn and Elmer's glue a-plenty.
3) The moment I walked in the door of the Youth Center, I was mobbed by kids. They all screamed "Happy birthday!" in unison then proceeded to hand me card after card. All were handmade and all were misspelled. Some of my favorites:
- "Happy Brthix Birthday Day" (and on the inside) "You are the Best in the Wolad. You Rock and Roads. Thank you for being my best Buty"
- "World Grates Colstle"
- "5 Rules about Mr. Rocky Road" (that's me, by the way) "1. Love Mr. Rocky Road 2. Respect Mr. Rocky Road 3. Like Mr. Rocky Road 4. Thank Mr. Rocky Road 5. Have fun with Mr. Rocky Road"
4) We went on a field trip to see the New Orleans Zephyrs play the Iowa Cubs. For a minor league team, they have one nice stadium. Any time you get to go to a ball game for free on your birthday is a good day.
5) Because the base pays for our field trips, the ticket was free. So was the lunch at the game. Included: hot dog, chips and chocolate milk. Everyone got one. I sat there munching and thinking to myself "when's the last time you got a free lunch AND a free baseball game?"
6) The Zephyr's hit a grand slam. Cue the noise. Our campers were definitely screaming the loudest.
7) Ms. Mindy (woman whose house we went to, hereby known as adopted mother) secretly orchestrated a happy birthday wish to be on the Jumbotron. I was blown away. I didn't actually see it because I had to take one of my campers to go #2, but the fact that someone I have known for barely a month would do that for me just shows me how incredible she is. I don't think I have met anyone as generous and thoughtful as her (besides my REAL mother, of course. Hi mom!).
8) We met the mascot. He looks like a beaver but is in fact a nutria. For those that don't know, a nutria is like a giant rat that lives in the water. Or if you're Jake Westrup, its a giant demon-monster bent on killing you.
9) Back at the center, my adopted mother presented me with... wait for it... a soccer ball cake. It was homemade with chocolate cake inside and buttercream frosting on the outside. It was a perfect half-orb and was even sitting on a bed of green frosting. When I was marvelling at the perfection of the ball's "stitching", Ms. Mindy had this to say: "Oh doing it wasn't so bad. I just printed out some pentagons and hexagons like a real soccer ball has then transferred those shapes to cardstock, cut them out and traced around them with the dark frosting". If you're keeping track, thats at least a four-step process just to apply the frosting. Keep in mind, this doesn't even include all the other steps I'm sure she went through; buying special ingredients (who has green frosting laying around?), forming a perfect half soccer ball shape, actually BAKING the cake. I'm no cake boss but when you work a full time job and have a family of four, I can't imagine making a cake of this magnitude is a simple off-the-cusp task.
10) The rest of the day was free time so the kids all decided to adorn me with pipe-cleaner jewelry. At one count, I had 64 pipe cleaners on my person. That includes all ten fingers, both wrists, my neck, a pair of ppipe-cleaner glasses and multiple headdresses. I'll post a picture when I have one. Each time I was brought a new piece of jewelry, it was accompanied by a sing-song "Happy birthday, Mr. Rocky Road!" Enough to make a cold-heart like mine melt.
11) Habachi. My first experience at a Benihana's style restaurant came last night when we went to Fujihana. What looked like a typical stripmall style eatery turned out to be an upscale habachi restaurant. We arrived at nine so the place was pretty slow but it was still a riot. We never caught our chef's name but he had some good one-liners.
- (flipping a butter paddy onto the stove) "Look! Japanese butterfly!"
- (rolling an egg at one of our dinner party) "Look! American eggroll!"
- (spinning an egg, catching it on a spatula and flinging it into the air) "Look! Japanese Eg--"
- (realizing the egg didn't land in his hat as planned but instead broke on the front and was dribbling down) "Awww..."
- (after doing an impressive spatula flinging routine) "Wanna see that again? Come back tomorrow night"
An offhand comment that it was my birthday must have been noticed because four employees emerged from the back banging drums in an almost Reggae fashion whilst singing happy birthday. Free dessert ensued as did photos and a sly pocketing of the birthday candle as a memento of my special day.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
As I told my campers at the end of the day, my birthday was a particularly special one. The love I felt came from the genuineness of my gifts: a homemade cake, a handmade card. Even though I didn't see my name on the Jumbotron, the fact that someone would consider even researching the possibility of doing that for me, let alone following through with it amazes me. Thirty days ago, I hadn't even seen my coworkers in person. Yesterday, they set decorated my door and bought me dinner.
1) I woke up. Any day that starts this way is a good one.
2) My coworkers had decorated my door with all kinds of arts-and-crafts style decorations wishing me a happy birthday. There was construction paper, yarn and Elmer's glue a-plenty.
3) The moment I walked in the door of the Youth Center, I was mobbed by kids. They all screamed "Happy birthday!" in unison then proceeded to hand me card after card. All were handmade and all were misspelled. Some of my favorites:
- "Happy Brthix Birthday Day" (and on the inside) "You are the Best in the Wolad. You Rock and Roads. Thank you for being my best Buty"
- "World Grates Colstle"
- "5 Rules about Mr. Rocky Road" (that's me, by the way) "1. Love Mr. Rocky Road 2. Respect Mr. Rocky Road 3. Like Mr. Rocky Road 4. Thank Mr. Rocky Road 5. Have fun with Mr. Rocky Road"
4) We went on a field trip to see the New Orleans Zephyrs play the Iowa Cubs. For a minor league team, they have one nice stadium. Any time you get to go to a ball game for free on your birthday is a good day.
5) Because the base pays for our field trips, the ticket was free. So was the lunch at the game. Included: hot dog, chips and chocolate milk. Everyone got one. I sat there munching and thinking to myself "when's the last time you got a free lunch AND a free baseball game?"
6) The Zephyr's hit a grand slam. Cue the noise. Our campers were definitely screaming the loudest.
7) Ms. Mindy (woman whose house we went to, hereby known as adopted mother) secretly orchestrated a happy birthday wish to be on the Jumbotron. I was blown away. I didn't actually see it because I had to take one of my campers to go #2, but the fact that someone I have known for barely a month would do that for me just shows me how incredible she is. I don't think I have met anyone as generous and thoughtful as her (besides my REAL mother, of course. Hi mom!).
8) We met the mascot. He looks like a beaver but is in fact a nutria. For those that don't know, a nutria is like a giant rat that lives in the water. Or if you're Jake Westrup, its a giant demon-monster bent on killing you.
9) Back at the center, my adopted mother presented me with... wait for it... a soccer ball cake. It was homemade with chocolate cake inside and buttercream frosting on the outside. It was a perfect half-orb and was even sitting on a bed of green frosting. When I was marvelling at the perfection of the ball's "stitching", Ms. Mindy had this to say: "Oh doing it wasn't so bad. I just printed out some pentagons and hexagons like a real soccer ball has then transferred those shapes to cardstock, cut them out and traced around them with the dark frosting". If you're keeping track, thats at least a four-step process just to apply the frosting. Keep in mind, this doesn't even include all the other steps I'm sure she went through; buying special ingredients (who has green frosting laying around?), forming a perfect half soccer ball shape, actually BAKING the cake. I'm no cake boss but when you work a full time job and have a family of four, I can't imagine making a cake of this magnitude is a simple off-the-cusp task.
10) The rest of the day was free time so the kids all decided to adorn me with pipe-cleaner jewelry. At one count, I had 64 pipe cleaners on my person. That includes all ten fingers, both wrists, my neck, a pair of ppipe-cleaner glasses and multiple headdresses. I'll post a picture when I have one. Each time I was brought a new piece of jewelry, it was accompanied by a sing-song "Happy birthday, Mr. Rocky Road!" Enough to make a cold-heart like mine melt.
11) Habachi. My first experience at a Benihana's style restaurant came last night when we went to Fujihana. What looked like a typical stripmall style eatery turned out to be an upscale habachi restaurant. We arrived at nine so the place was pretty slow but it was still a riot. We never caught our chef's name but he had some good one-liners.
- (flipping a butter paddy onto the stove) "Look! Japanese butterfly!"
- (rolling an egg at one of our dinner party) "Look! American eggroll!"
- (spinning an egg, catching it on a spatula and flinging it into the air) "Look! Japanese Eg--"
- (realizing the egg didn't land in his hat as planned but instead broke on the front and was dribbling down) "Awww..."
- (after doing an impressive spatula flinging routine) "Wanna see that again? Come back tomorrow night"
An offhand comment that it was my birthday must have been noticed because four employees emerged from the back banging drums in an almost Reggae fashion whilst singing happy birthday. Free dessert ensued as did photos and a sly pocketing of the birthday candle as a memento of my special day.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
As I told my campers at the end of the day, my birthday was a particularly special one. The love I felt came from the genuineness of my gifts: a homemade cake, a handmade card. Even though I didn't see my name on the Jumbotron, the fact that someone would consider even researching the possibility of doing that for me, let alone following through with it amazes me. Thirty days ago, I hadn't even seen my coworkers in person. Yesterday, they set decorated my door and bought me dinner.
6.28.2010
Alison Krauss
Some great street performers doing Down To the River. Makes me think of O Brother, Where Art Thou?
6.27.2010
Birthday present
What a World
EVACUATION
There have been a few pressure changes in the Gulf. If one of these develops into a tropical storm, it could turn into a hurricane. As a nice man in the Coast Guard told me, "once they start turning they don't stop until the run into something". This is a nice thought. If we have a hurricane (and based on what I have heard about the abnormally early hurricane season, I think that we might) we have to evacuate. For people in the military, the evac site is Ft. Worth, TX. They go there and continue doing military things. Camp Adventure, however, would go wherever we feel like going and literally wait for the storm to blow over and then come back to New Orleans. To me, this scenario sounds like a surprise vacation only there is potential that nothing would be left standing when we would return.
WEEKEND PLANS
With my birthday coming up on Tuesday, my co-workers and I decided we'd celebrate by going downtown for the night. We got a $50 hotel room a few blocks from Bourbon Street and used it as our base of operations. We got there Saturday morning and left Sunday morning. The one bed/couch combo served as more of a staging area than anything else.
US-GHANA
I dropped my things off at the hotel and power-walked to Bourbon Street to find a bar to watch the game. Fortunately, every bar was showing it. Unfortunately, it was 1:30 in the afternoon so there weren't many people to watch the games with. I found a seat at the Tropical Isle and ordered a shrimp Po Boy. It was $9.50. I felt disgusting not only after eating the sandwich but also during the act of eating knowing that I had just been had by the devious coalition of bar owners of the French Quarter. The game was intense. We looked good for the most part, I thought and we never gave up but it wasn't enough. After a comeback goal and 120 minutes of soccer, we lost and our World cup run was over. I walked back dejected and took a 2 hour nap.
TROLLEY
In a daze, I woke up to a phone call from the co-workers. They were on the way back from the mall and wanted to take a trolley ride. I met them downstairs and we climbed aboard the next available streetcar. It was the perfect (and cheapest) tour of the city I could've hoped to find. It consisted of a grouchy streetcar operator shouting at me to get on and pay, sitting in a rickety bench seat, being deafened by the groaning, clanging and rattling of the streetcar, periodically getting slapped by stray branches reaching through the windows and marveling at the size of the houses in the Garden District. For what seemed like ten miles or so, I looked out at house after house each looking distinctly southern but also entirely unique from all the others. The architecture of each was completely original and I could tell this was intentional to prevent any conformity in the "keeping up with the Joneses" neighborhood.
SARAH MARY
Sarah Mary is one of my best friends. She used to go to USD but transfered to LSU after freshman year. She lives in Lafayette, LA which is about 2 hours from where I am. This weekend we met up and had a great time catching up, sharing meals and having a generally good time. She was one of the five people to share the hotel room we got and was great company as we roamed Bourbon Street. Neither of us had any intention of getting into anything illicit in any of the dozens of bars so we just walked. It was a relaxing night and Wayne and Kenyetta (co-workers) joined us. Some of the best entertainment (after the live music which we - being 20 years old - weren't allowed into the bars to hear) was people watching. I took a picture of one of the more excellent examples: homeboy dressed to kill but passed out in a pile of garbage bags.
This morning, the two of us went to the Checkered Parrot to watch the England-Germany game. We got there at halftime and snagged some of the breakfast buffet. The guy we sat next to was from London. I was wearing a Germany jersey. He spoke to Sarah Mary but not to me. Germany spanked England 4-1 and we wrapped up our meal. I really enjoyed it all. Even after spending the entire evening together the night before, Sarah Mary and I still had catching up to do. We met the rest of the group and walked to the French Market so Liz's friend Paige could see it. Cafe du Monde and it's world famous beniegts (sp?) were calling our names so we stopped in. Sadly, the place was busy like you wouldn't believe so we said forget it and wandered instead. Sarah Mary and I went with her cousin back to the Garden District where Sarah Mary's car was parked and then went back to the hotel and the French Market to retrieve luggage and travel buddies, respectively.
After dropping everyone off at base, Sarah Mary and I went to mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help where I have been going every week. It was a special mass meaning it was packed meaning we had to stand in the back. For two hours. There must have been 20 priests there plus the archbishop of the diocese. They was even a Skype link to Ireland so people there could see Father Billy's 25th anniversary mass. It was quite the production to say the least but I was glad Sarah Mary could join me for church. Back at USD, that was one of the only times during the week that we could both be certain that we'd see each other. In the midst of a crazy college schedule, something like that was pretty rare.
PLANS
Next weekend is July 4th. Mom is coming into town and the coworkers and I have made plans to go on a trip. Friday and Saturday will be spent with mom seeing New Orleans and Sunday and Monday will be spent out of the state. The original plan was to go to Destin, FL but apparently, those beaches are closed now due to the oil spill. Maybe we'll go to Houston. Who knows. I miss Longview and San Diego. I picture someday having an event like Father Billy's anniversary mass that would bring my friends from each city together. Sarah Mary and I spoke about something like this. This time in life is formative but there is no stability unless you make that your top priority. I think about all the things I want to do in the next few years and I realize that each piece of the puzzle adds up to life in a half-dozen different cities. I want to spend time with the people important to me but I also want to do these things around the world. I can't have both.
There have been a few pressure changes in the Gulf. If one of these develops into a tropical storm, it could turn into a hurricane. As a nice man in the Coast Guard told me, "once they start turning they don't stop until the run into something". This is a nice thought. If we have a hurricane (and based on what I have heard about the abnormally early hurricane season, I think that we might) we have to evacuate. For people in the military, the evac site is Ft. Worth, TX. They go there and continue doing military things. Camp Adventure, however, would go wherever we feel like going and literally wait for the storm to blow over and then come back to New Orleans. To me, this scenario sounds like a surprise vacation only there is potential that nothing would be left standing when we would return.
WEEKEND PLANS
With my birthday coming up on Tuesday, my co-workers and I decided we'd celebrate by going downtown for the night. We got a $50 hotel room a few blocks from Bourbon Street and used it as our base of operations. We got there Saturday morning and left Sunday morning. The one bed/couch combo served as more of a staging area than anything else.
US-GHANA
I dropped my things off at the hotel and power-walked to Bourbon Street to find a bar to watch the game. Fortunately, every bar was showing it. Unfortunately, it was 1:30 in the afternoon so there weren't many people to watch the games with. I found a seat at the Tropical Isle and ordered a shrimp Po Boy. It was $9.50. I felt disgusting not only after eating the sandwich but also during the act of eating knowing that I had just been had by the devious coalition of bar owners of the French Quarter. The game was intense. We looked good for the most part, I thought and we never gave up but it wasn't enough. After a comeback goal and 120 minutes of soccer, we lost and our World cup run was over. I walked back dejected and took a 2 hour nap.
TROLLEY
In a daze, I woke up to a phone call from the co-workers. They were on the way back from the mall and wanted to take a trolley ride. I met them downstairs and we climbed aboard the next available streetcar. It was the perfect (and cheapest) tour of the city I could've hoped to find. It consisted of a grouchy streetcar operator shouting at me to get on and pay, sitting in a rickety bench seat, being deafened by the groaning, clanging and rattling of the streetcar, periodically getting slapped by stray branches reaching through the windows and marveling at the size of the houses in the Garden District. For what seemed like ten miles or so, I looked out at house after house each looking distinctly southern but also entirely unique from all the others. The architecture of each was completely original and I could tell this was intentional to prevent any conformity in the "keeping up with the Joneses" neighborhood.
SARAH MARY
Sarah Mary is one of my best friends. She used to go to USD but transfered to LSU after freshman year. She lives in Lafayette, LA which is about 2 hours from where I am. This weekend we met up and had a great time catching up, sharing meals and having a generally good time. She was one of the five people to share the hotel room we got and was great company as we roamed Bourbon Street. Neither of us had any intention of getting into anything illicit in any of the dozens of bars so we just walked. It was a relaxing night and Wayne and Kenyetta (co-workers) joined us. Some of the best entertainment (after the live music which we - being 20 years old - weren't allowed into the bars to hear) was people watching. I took a picture of one of the more excellent examples: homeboy dressed to kill but passed out in a pile of garbage bags.
This morning, the two of us went to the Checkered Parrot to watch the England-Germany game. We got there at halftime and snagged some of the breakfast buffet. The guy we sat next to was from London. I was wearing a Germany jersey. He spoke to Sarah Mary but not to me. Germany spanked England 4-1 and we wrapped up our meal. I really enjoyed it all. Even after spending the entire evening together the night before, Sarah Mary and I still had catching up to do. We met the rest of the group and walked to the French Market so Liz's friend Paige could see it. Cafe du Monde and it's world famous beniegts (sp?) were calling our names so we stopped in. Sadly, the place was busy like you wouldn't believe so we said forget it and wandered instead. Sarah Mary and I went with her cousin back to the Garden District where Sarah Mary's car was parked and then went back to the hotel and the French Market to retrieve luggage and travel buddies, respectively.
After dropping everyone off at base, Sarah Mary and I went to mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help where I have been going every week. It was a special mass meaning it was packed meaning we had to stand in the back. For two hours. There must have been 20 priests there plus the archbishop of the diocese. They was even a Skype link to Ireland so people there could see Father Billy's 25th anniversary mass. It was quite the production to say the least but I was glad Sarah Mary could join me for church. Back at USD, that was one of the only times during the week that we could both be certain that we'd see each other. In the midst of a crazy college schedule, something like that was pretty rare.
PLANS
Next weekend is July 4th. Mom is coming into town and the coworkers and I have made plans to go on a trip. Friday and Saturday will be spent with mom seeing New Orleans and Sunday and Monday will be spent out of the state. The original plan was to go to Destin, FL but apparently, those beaches are closed now due to the oil spill. Maybe we'll go to Houston. Who knows. I miss Longview and San Diego. I picture someday having an event like Father Billy's anniversary mass that would bring my friends from each city together. Sarah Mary and I spoke about something like this. This time in life is formative but there is no stability unless you make that your top priority. I think about all the things I want to do in the next few years and I realize that each piece of the puzzle adds up to life in a half-dozen different cities. I want to spend time with the people important to me but I also want to do these things around the world. I can't have both.
6.25.2010
6.24.2010
True story
Yesterday, we were making cards out of construction paper and various other art supplies. One of the five year old girls showed off her card. It was heart shaped and had "Let's Have Sex" written in the middle. Another one of her cards had a similar inscription only it included a "to" and "from" subheading as well as a picture of a boy and a girl lying in a bed. When asked what she thought sex was, her response: "when a boy and a girl lie in bed and french".
I'm not even going to go into an analysis except to say that the tot comes from the most normal, stable situation so you can't chalk this one up to a messed up situation at home.
I'm not even going to go into an analysis except to say that the tot comes from the most normal, stable situation so you can't chalk this one up to a messed up situation at home.
Still sayin' the darndest things
During closing, we sing calming songs to conclude the day's activities. Today, I sat in the circle right next to Suzie Q. While we were singing/signing R. Kelley's "The World's Greatest", Suzie leans over to me and whispers, "stop singing". I ask why. Her response: "Because you sound weird".
This is the same girl who told me I could make a teddy bear with all my leg hair.
This is the same girl who told me I could make a teddy bear with all my leg hair.
6.22.2010
Not bad for a microwave
6.20.2010
Chucky Thunderthrift and Cat Cat the IHOP Drunk Baller
TANTRUMS
Last week was a good one for tantrums. A certain camper (let's call him Chucky) really enjoys a daily man-cry. The waterworks are the last thing any of the counselors want to deal with but we do it anyway. Each person has a different approach. I reason. This tactic doesn't seem to work too well so I'm looking to change it this coming week. That'll keep Chucky on his toes. My favorite tantrum from last week stemmed from another camper calling Chucky a crybaby. A counselor took him off to the side to calm him down and during a lull in the large group's game, the following could be heard:
Counselor: Why are you crying, Chucky?
Chucky: BECAUSE HE CALLED ME A CRYBABYYYYYYYYYY
Counselor: ...
FIELD TRIP
Another highlight of the week was the Children's Museum. We took the entire crew of 5 through 8 year olds downtown for some field trip fun and I must say, even as I come up on 20 years, the Children's Museum was still a total riot. My favorite was the hula hoop that sat in a hollowed out tire filled with soapy water. A system of pulleys allowed you to pull the hoop upwards while standing in the middle to create a bubble that would surround you. Simple and mesmerizing. The kids got to put their mitts on just about everything in the museum and even one of the more problematic kids seemed to behave better at the museum.
We took a break and checked out a play/book-promo. Junie B Jones and the Stupid, Smelly Bus was in town. All the kids got "signatures" (stamps) in the sticker books and were so stoked. We kept going through the museum and pretty soon it was lunch. A thunderstorm had conveniently ruined our plans to go to the park to eat so we went back to base instead. On the ride back, we had an intense discussion about the nature of thunder: is it God bowling or is it God dropping something?
WEATHER AND OTHER BENIGN TOPICS
Thunderstorms here are like nothing I've ever experienced. They start in the afternoon and last for about an hour. They can successfully ruin plans in the span of about 30 minutes as that's about the time it takes for them to form and arrive directly over the spot you are standing. This resulted in two swimming pool rainouts last week. When this happens, you get a bunch of kids pent up inside for 2 and half hours. Not fun.
One storm resulted in lighting striking across the street from our building. At the time, I was leading a game of Velcro ball toss and over the shoulders of the campers I saw the lightning and then with no pause heard the thunder. Most times it goes flash...crash. This was flashcrash or even FcLrAaSsHh. Believe me, its better in person. This particular strike caused someone who works in the center to tell me the story of the time they avoided getting struck by three feet.
THURSDAY
As far as I am concerned, my weekend started on Thursday. A little known fact about New Orleans is that the best entertainment is not on Bourbon Street or the French Quarter or a Saints game or looting after a hurricane. No, the real fun is in the thrift stores found in the suburbs. This was my Thursday afternoon and after much deliberation, I settled on a simple jacket vest that more resembles a lifejacket than sensible attire. It was $1. Half off. I can smell always smell a deal.
We followed this up with some authentic Cajun cuisine. The Travel Channel seems to have missed Chevy's as the home of real Louisiana cooking. Our host - the one who loaned us the car that first weekend - appointed me driver so she could have a margarita with my coworkers and we all chowed down on some filling Mex food.
FRIDAY
We had dinner at said hostess' home. It was great. It was also the first home cooked meal I have had since I got here which was nice. Home cooked is an understatement. I think there were six different things to choose from so it was more like Thanksgiving. How she made all that food in the 90 minutes since we got off work is a mystery. I also chugged three glasses of her homemade sweet tea. Gotta love the south. Her husband who is in the Coast Guard joined us and I was surprised to hear that they had visited Astoria, Oregon. I posted a picture on this here blog a few days ago of Cat Cat who, surprisingly, is a cat. Cat Cat is a fat cat and a rad cat at that. The photo really speaks for itself.
SATURDAY
The rest of the crew went to Mississippi to check out the beaches. I stayed behind to watch the World Cup. Cameroon's game was the most interesting by far. Both sides played terrible defense which made for some wild attempts on goal. Definitely kept my attention. Japan-Holland was a little too early for me but I still caught the goals.
After soccer, I went to the gym and then to mass. The miserable walk I mentioned last week wasn't nearly as bad this time seeing as the sky was covered in thunderheads. Like anyone in their right mind, I walked right towards the lightning storm I could see in the not-so-distant distance. I thought a lot about what it would be like to get struck by lightning. Would it be like in Watchman where that guy's armhairs prickle? Could you discharge the coming strike by touching something conductive? What if you touched the person next to you? Would they get the shock? Would it turn into a high-stakes game of hot potato? Fortunately I got to the church before any of this could play out. At mass I sat next to a 7 year old in a Saints jersey. He insisted that I take a hymnal so I could sing along. Then when it was time for Father O'Riordon to bless all the fathers for Father's Day, this kid, who I could tell was staring at me from the corner of my eye, furrowed his brow with a questioning expression and pointed at me as if to say, "You're a dad right? Stand up!" After mass, I went to shake Father's hand and thank him. Like a ballplayer might do, he turned our handshake into a arm-wrestling style clasp and pulled me in for what felt like a congratulatory embrace. Then he said, "Hang in there man". It was nice to get a response other than a head nod from someone I don't really know.
At night when everyone got back from Mississippi, we went to IHOP at 2 am after picking up two of our crew from a screening of The Karate Kid. In a questionable move, I drank three cups of coffee. That was enough to keep me awake for our ensuing citizen's report of a drunk driver. While waiting for a drawbridge, a black coupe in front of us tried to drive through the tunnel that was closed for the night. Realizing the mistake, the driver threw it in reverse, ran over a barrel sized traffic cone, and almost hit an SUV in front of us. They then proceeded to drive in the wrong lane up to the bridge. We called the cops and next thing we knew we were in the parking lot of a bar a mile or two down the road. The cops (four of them) had pulled the driver over. And she was stumbling about looking like she was lost. As our driver explained what we had seen, drunkie wandered to the front of the car and looked like she was getting ready to undo the button of her pants. We all thought the same thing: "oh my God she's gonna take a piss right here in front of everyone". Fortunately, this didn't happen and the last thing any of us say was Ms. getting frog-marched into the back of a squad car.
There's a lot to this story. On one hand, my first feeling about the incident is not one of doing a good deed. It is more the thrill of being involved in official police business even if it is a routine DUI stop. I know what we did was a good thing but at the same time a DUI is a serious thing and even if this was drunky's first DUI, it could really hurt her in the future so I feel bad for her. Lost jobs, trouble getting approvals, punishments, the list goes on.
Stayed up till 5 and watched Car Wash on HBO. Total waste of time but I was helpless to the caffeine.
SUNDAY
Woke up early. Watched more soccer. Happy to say I caught the best game of the tourney so far when New Zealand tied world champs Italy. Take that, you divers. This match is why I have been staying in to watch sports. You can't predict which game will be the upset or the blowout or the turning point and today was one of those games. I even got a chance to talk to Christian over the phone during the first half which is something I miss. Because of the time of the matches, I scrapped my original plan to go skeet shooting at the range on base. Maybe next weekend. Went to the gym instead and its time to brag: I have been working on my shot at the basketball court at the fitness center and today was my day. I felt like I was hitting everything. I think it marked a turning point where something I have been working towards for the past three weeks is finally coming together. I've found that sense of accomplishment in the gym is a very big part of my day especially after being wound up by the kids. The rest of the day consisted of a quick Wal-Mart run, decorating the center for the upcoming ocean theme and laundry. Gotta have a clean uni for tomorrow.
Last week was a good one for tantrums. A certain camper (let's call him Chucky) really enjoys a daily man-cry. The waterworks are the last thing any of the counselors want to deal with but we do it anyway. Each person has a different approach. I reason. This tactic doesn't seem to work too well so I'm looking to change it this coming week. That'll keep Chucky on his toes. My favorite tantrum from last week stemmed from another camper calling Chucky a crybaby. A counselor took him off to the side to calm him down and during a lull in the large group's game, the following could be heard:
Counselor: Why are you crying, Chucky?
Chucky: BECAUSE HE CALLED ME A CRYBABYYYYYYYYYY
Counselor: ...
FIELD TRIP
Another highlight of the week was the Children's Museum. We took the entire crew of 5 through 8 year olds downtown for some field trip fun and I must say, even as I come up on 20 years, the Children's Museum was still a total riot. My favorite was the hula hoop that sat in a hollowed out tire filled with soapy water. A system of pulleys allowed you to pull the hoop upwards while standing in the middle to create a bubble that would surround you. Simple and mesmerizing. The kids got to put their mitts on just about everything in the museum and even one of the more problematic kids seemed to behave better at the museum.
We took a break and checked out a play/book-promo. Junie B Jones and the Stupid, Smelly Bus was in town. All the kids got "signatures" (stamps) in the sticker books and were so stoked. We kept going through the museum and pretty soon it was lunch. A thunderstorm had conveniently ruined our plans to go to the park to eat so we went back to base instead. On the ride back, we had an intense discussion about the nature of thunder: is it God bowling or is it God dropping something?
WEATHER AND OTHER BENIGN TOPICS
Thunderstorms here are like nothing I've ever experienced. They start in the afternoon and last for about an hour. They can successfully ruin plans in the span of about 30 minutes as that's about the time it takes for them to form and arrive directly over the spot you are standing. This resulted in two swimming pool rainouts last week. When this happens, you get a bunch of kids pent up inside for 2 and half hours. Not fun.
One storm resulted in lighting striking across the street from our building. At the time, I was leading a game of Velcro ball toss and over the shoulders of the campers I saw the lightning and then with no pause heard the thunder. Most times it goes flash...crash. This was flashcrash or even FcLrAaSsHh. Believe me, its better in person. This particular strike caused someone who works in the center to tell me the story of the time they avoided getting struck by three feet.
THURSDAY
As far as I am concerned, my weekend started on Thursday. A little known fact about New Orleans is that the best entertainment is not on Bourbon Street or the French Quarter or a Saints game or looting after a hurricane. No, the real fun is in the thrift stores found in the suburbs. This was my Thursday afternoon and after much deliberation, I settled on a simple jacket vest that more resembles a lifejacket than sensible attire. It was $1. Half off. I can smell always smell a deal.
We followed this up with some authentic Cajun cuisine. The Travel Channel seems to have missed Chevy's as the home of real Louisiana cooking. Our host - the one who loaned us the car that first weekend - appointed me driver so she could have a margarita with my coworkers and we all chowed down on some filling Mex food.
FRIDAY
We had dinner at said hostess' home. It was great. It was also the first home cooked meal I have had since I got here which was nice. Home cooked is an understatement. I think there were six different things to choose from so it was more like Thanksgiving. How she made all that food in the 90 minutes since we got off work is a mystery. I also chugged three glasses of her homemade sweet tea. Gotta love the south. Her husband who is in the Coast Guard joined us and I was surprised to hear that they had visited Astoria, Oregon. I posted a picture on this here blog a few days ago of Cat Cat who, surprisingly, is a cat. Cat Cat is a fat cat and a rad cat at that. The photo really speaks for itself.
SATURDAY
The rest of the crew went to Mississippi to check out the beaches. I stayed behind to watch the World Cup. Cameroon's game was the most interesting by far. Both sides played terrible defense which made for some wild attempts on goal. Definitely kept my attention. Japan-Holland was a little too early for me but I still caught the goals.
After soccer, I went to the gym and then to mass. The miserable walk I mentioned last week wasn't nearly as bad this time seeing as the sky was covered in thunderheads. Like anyone in their right mind, I walked right towards the lightning storm I could see in the not-so-distant distance. I thought a lot about what it would be like to get struck by lightning. Would it be like in Watchman where that guy's armhairs prickle? Could you discharge the coming strike by touching something conductive? What if you touched the person next to you? Would they get the shock? Would it turn into a high-stakes game of hot potato? Fortunately I got to the church before any of this could play out. At mass I sat next to a 7 year old in a Saints jersey. He insisted that I take a hymnal so I could sing along. Then when it was time for Father O'Riordon to bless all the fathers for Father's Day, this kid, who I could tell was staring at me from the corner of my eye, furrowed his brow with a questioning expression and pointed at me as if to say, "You're a dad right? Stand up!" After mass, I went to shake Father's hand and thank him. Like a ballplayer might do, he turned our handshake into a arm-wrestling style clasp and pulled me in for what felt like a congratulatory embrace. Then he said, "Hang in there man". It was nice to get a response other than a head nod from someone I don't really know.
At night when everyone got back from Mississippi, we went to IHOP at 2 am after picking up two of our crew from a screening of The Karate Kid. In a questionable move, I drank three cups of coffee. That was enough to keep me awake for our ensuing citizen's report of a drunk driver. While waiting for a drawbridge, a black coupe in front of us tried to drive through the tunnel that was closed for the night. Realizing the mistake, the driver threw it in reverse, ran over a barrel sized traffic cone, and almost hit an SUV in front of us. They then proceeded to drive in the wrong lane up to the bridge. We called the cops and next thing we knew we were in the parking lot of a bar a mile or two down the road. The cops (four of them) had pulled the driver over. And she was stumbling about looking like she was lost. As our driver explained what we had seen, drunkie wandered to the front of the car and looked like she was getting ready to undo the button of her pants. We all thought the same thing: "oh my God she's gonna take a piss right here in front of everyone". Fortunately, this didn't happen and the last thing any of us say was Ms. getting frog-marched into the back of a squad car.
There's a lot to this story. On one hand, my first feeling about the incident is not one of doing a good deed. It is more the thrill of being involved in official police business even if it is a routine DUI stop. I know what we did was a good thing but at the same time a DUI is a serious thing and even if this was drunky's first DUI, it could really hurt her in the future so I feel bad for her. Lost jobs, trouble getting approvals, punishments, the list goes on.
Stayed up till 5 and watched Car Wash on HBO. Total waste of time but I was helpless to the caffeine.
SUNDAY
Woke up early. Watched more soccer. Happy to say I caught the best game of the tourney so far when New Zealand tied world champs Italy. Take that, you divers. This match is why I have been staying in to watch sports. You can't predict which game will be the upset or the blowout or the turning point and today was one of those games. I even got a chance to talk to Christian over the phone during the first half which is something I miss. Because of the time of the matches, I scrapped my original plan to go skeet shooting at the range on base. Maybe next weekend. Went to the gym instead and its time to brag: I have been working on my shot at the basketball court at the fitness center and today was my day. I felt like I was hitting everything. I think it marked a turning point where something I have been working towards for the past three weeks is finally coming together. I've found that sense of accomplishment in the gym is a very big part of my day especially after being wound up by the kids. The rest of the day consisted of a quick Wal-Mart run, decorating the center for the upcoming ocean theme and laundry. Gotta have a clean uni for tomorrow.
6.19.2010
Ideal choice of name
Thrift World 5
Thrift World 3
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