"Where are you these days?" is a question that I have gotten asked far too many times to count since camp has ended only 3 weeks ago. (Has it really only been three weeks?!? It feels like much, much more than that...) My answer to that question is something along the lines of "Well, right now, I'm in fill in the blank for whatever city I'm in at the moment, then I'll be in whatever city I'll be in over the next few days." I only work 2 weeks in advance at at a time these days! haha
There's not too much to report on life these days though...Being unemployed is beyond boring. It was so wonderful to be in Chattanooga this past week. In fact, it was the longest I'd been in one city since camp's ended!! I feel like my life has been so stop and go this past month because I'm a city for a whirlwind amount of time with lots to do some days and then nothing at all the next.
One thing I have become more and more grateful for is hospitatlity. I am SOOOO blessed with wonderful friends that have not only given me a roof over my head in Chattanooga during my time of homelessness, but have opened their homes and taken me in as apart of their lives.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Murphy's Law
I'm interrupting my "Rewind" series (which have taken quite a while to get through because I'm hardly at a computer long enough to write them) to share about the retreat I worked on Monday and Tuesday where most everything that could have gone wrong did.
So I'm in Chattanooga working on job applications, seeing friends, and helping out people whenever I get the chance. Example, Jerry asked me to work this Monday/Tuesday retreat because most people have already started school and he really needed people to help because it was a full retreat. Ellen Huffaker and Stephanie Sizemore haven't started school yet for the semester, so we had just enough when you added in Daniel Gamble (who could only work on Monday) and Matt and Tim Bond (who had to work around their class schedules and trade off).
The group was the 9th and 11th graders from Whitefield Academy, a Christian school in South Atlanta. Before they get there, Daniel and I move mattresses around from cabin to cabin because they were using certain cabins, but not others. And in case you were wondering, mattresses are pretty cumbursome and not easy to move...so moving several at a time proved to be a challenge! But we did it and head back to the kitchen to start prepping lunch, only to find out that the water is out for most of Lee Pike. To make it even more ironic, this is the 3rd time this summer that the water has been shut off while we had campers, and for this case retreaters, at camp. So Jerry and Stephanie rush to Wal Mart to buy all of the bottled water they have in stock. In the meantime, Daniel and I fill up trashcans with lake water and distribute it to buckets so they can at least kind of use the toilets....Buckets of water are harder to travel with that mattresses, if you were wondering. We finish that task to find out that they are using 2 different cabins than we thought, so we head back to rearrange the mattresses just in time.
The rest of the retreat ran fairly smooth...we used disposable plates, cups, etc. for lunch and dinner, which made the clean up for us even easier. Between the 4 of us that could work on Monday though made it tiring to keep waterfront open because we had to work the whole 3 hours, but it was doable. In the end, it was fun to be back up at camp and I definitely felt like I earned that paycheck!!!
So I'm in Chattanooga working on job applications, seeing friends, and helping out people whenever I get the chance. Example, Jerry asked me to work this Monday/Tuesday retreat because most people have already started school and he really needed people to help because it was a full retreat. Ellen Huffaker and Stephanie Sizemore haven't started school yet for the semester, so we had just enough when you added in Daniel Gamble (who could only work on Monday) and Matt and Tim Bond (who had to work around their class schedules and trade off).
The group was the 9th and 11th graders from Whitefield Academy, a Christian school in South Atlanta. Before they get there, Daniel and I move mattresses around from cabin to cabin because they were using certain cabins, but not others. And in case you were wondering, mattresses are pretty cumbursome and not easy to move...so moving several at a time proved to be a challenge! But we did it and head back to the kitchen to start prepping lunch, only to find out that the water is out for most of Lee Pike. To make it even more ironic, this is the 3rd time this summer that the water has been shut off while we had campers, and for this case retreaters, at camp. So Jerry and Stephanie rush to Wal Mart to buy all of the bottled water they have in stock. In the meantime, Daniel and I fill up trashcans with lake water and distribute it to buckets so they can at least kind of use the toilets....Buckets of water are harder to travel with that mattresses, if you were wondering. We finish that task to find out that they are using 2 different cabins than we thought, so we head back to rearrange the mattresses just in time.
The rest of the retreat ran fairly smooth...we used disposable plates, cups, etc. for lunch and dinner, which made the clean up for us even easier. Between the 4 of us that could work on Monday though made it tiring to keep waterfront open because we had to work the whole 3 hours, but it was doable. In the end, it was fun to be back up at camp and I definitely felt like I earned that paycheck!!!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Rewind, Part Two
After spending some time with my wonderful family, I loaded up on my car with my trunk, several plug in fans, and cans of sunscreen and bugspray to head to, you guessed it, CAMP!! We had a couple of weeks for boat driver training followed by staff training. It was fun to do boat driver training this year because Ryan, Clay, and myself got to be in charge of teaching the less experienced boat drivers. I had to learn a lot about boats in a short amount of time...and whatever I didn't know, I just pretended like I did until I could figure it out--something I feel like I did a lot of this summer!
There is no way that I could sum up this summer in one blog alone, or ten posts for that matter...but I'll at least tackle the first half as best as I can in this post. The first part of the summer proved to be a bit more of a challenge than the second half. By the time second half rolled around, we had a routine and a schedule and the expectations had been set. What made the first half such a challenge was settling into those routines, finding out what did and didn't work, and still doing our job and working with the staff the whole time.
To be completely honest, it wasn't alway easy being the only girl on the dock (and when I say that, I mean on the dock full time with Ryan and Clay). Ryan and Clay were AMAZING, incredible, and wonderful co's and they were a huge reason that my summer was so worthwhile. It was hard for some guys (well, one guy on staff in particular) to take directions from a girl...but we smoothed things over in the end. All of that to say, this summer wasn't easy but it was more than worth it.
At nights, I got to help out Julia Suddath, the head girls' counselor, with TAPS which was one of my favorite times of the day. We got to see all of the campers and have some great time to catch up with the counselors to see how their day had gone.
The first half of the summer flew by faster than I feel like it ever has! After training, we just right into the week long family camp and then two weeks of campers before the first term staff left. Only the whole summer staff was there for Jump Start, a Monday through Thursday morning camp for little ones that are trying out the whole "camp thing".
Then we had a long weekend off for the Fourth of July! I brought Katy Fisher home with me and Kasey to run the Peachtree Roadrace in Atlanta. It's the world's largest 10K and it was Katy's first time, Kasey's second, my fourth, and my dad's 21st time to run in!!
We showered, napped, and ate a big 4th of July cookout lunch with my family before getting back on the road to TN. Katy and I didn't want to miss out on being with friends from camp and Kasey still had the long drive back to Kentucky to make...
Katy and I met up at the McLaughlin's house for some dinner and then going to the walking bridge downtown to watch the fireworks...And yes, we were all wearing tie-dye shirts downtown. Needless to say, we got some funny looks, but we didn't care! haha
That's the halfway through the summer mark. We only had 3 short weeks of campers and clean up week after that, but that will have to wait for another blog post. I should probably get back to working on some job applications, but I noticed how long it had been since my last update and I finally have had a chance to sit down with internet access, so I take the chances when I get them! I'll get around to the third and final part before too long so I can eventually get back in the habit of doing regualar blogging!
There is no way that I could sum up this summer in one blog alone, or ten posts for that matter...but I'll at least tackle the first half as best as I can in this post. The first part of the summer proved to be a bit more of a challenge than the second half. By the time second half rolled around, we had a routine and a schedule and the expectations had been set. What made the first half such a challenge was settling into those routines, finding out what did and didn't work, and still doing our job and working with the staff the whole time.
To be completely honest, it wasn't alway easy being the only girl on the dock (and when I say that, I mean on the dock full time with Ryan and Clay). Ryan and Clay were AMAZING, incredible, and wonderful co's and they were a huge reason that my summer was so worthwhile. It was hard for some guys (well, one guy on staff in particular) to take directions from a girl...but we smoothed things over in the end. All of that to say, this summer wasn't easy but it was more than worth it.
At nights, I got to help out Julia Suddath, the head girls' counselor, with TAPS which was one of my favorite times of the day. We got to see all of the campers and have some great time to catch up with the counselors to see how their day had gone.
The first half of the summer flew by faster than I feel like it ever has! After training, we just right into the week long family camp and then two weeks of campers before the first term staff left. Only the whole summer staff was there for Jump Start, a Monday through Thursday morning camp for little ones that are trying out the whole "camp thing".
Then we had a long weekend off for the Fourth of July! I brought Katy Fisher home with me and Kasey to run the Peachtree Roadrace in Atlanta. It's the world's largest 10K and it was Katy's first time, Kasey's second, my fourth, and my dad's 21st time to run in!!
We showered, napped, and ate a big 4th of July cookout lunch with my family before getting back on the road to TN. Katy and I didn't want to miss out on being with friends from camp and Kasey still had the long drive back to Kentucky to make...
Katy and I met up at the McLaughlin's house for some dinner and then going to the walking bridge downtown to watch the fireworks...And yes, we were all wearing tie-dye shirts downtown. Needless to say, we got some funny looks, but we didn't care! haha
That's the halfway through the summer mark. We only had 3 short weeks of campers and clean up week after that, but that will have to wait for another blog post. I should probably get back to working on some job applications, but I noticed how long it had been since my last update and I finally have had a chance to sit down with internet access, so I take the chances when I get them! I'll get around to the third and final part before too long so I can eventually get back in the habit of doing regualar blogging!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Rewind, Part One
I really want to recap my whole summer with pictures...problem being that the beginning of the summer was a long time ago! So I'm going to give you a few snapshots to overview the end of my school year (and all school years!!) at UGA and our summer vacation as a family in Destin, Florida before I headed off the spend my summer at CVP!!
I finally got to walk under the Arch!!! (For those of you that don't know, it's a UGA tradition that you aren't supposed to walk under the Arch until after you've graduated so I finally got to!)
We took a family vacation to Destin which served as a family reunion as well...Daniel, Lee, myself, and my dad all went to play a couple of games of golf (my first, might I add!!) We played best for each game on teams (me and my dad against Daniel and Lee)--my dad and I won one game and the brothers-in-law won the other...Not too bad!
When we were on vacation, we also got all matchy-matchy to take family portrait pictures. This is the picture of all of the cousins with spouses (and my cousin's girlfriend) from my dad's side of the family (minus one and his wife)--What a blessing to spend time with my family!!
Some wonderful girls from my pledge class in the sorority that I have already realized how much I miss seeing them!! We were celebrating Jami's birthday and our last few days together as undergrads!
I graduated!!! And so did Daniel (who is now Dr. Cleland!)
I finally got to walk under the Arch!!! (For those of you that don't know, it's a UGA tradition that you aren't supposed to walk under the Arch until after you've graduated so I finally got to!)
We took a family vacation to Destin which served as a family reunion as well...Daniel, Lee, myself, and my dad all went to play a couple of games of golf (my first, might I add!!) We played best for each game on teams (me and my dad against Daniel and Lee)--my dad and I won one game and the brothers-in-law won the other...Not too bad!
When we were on vacation, we also got all matchy-matchy to take family portrait pictures. This is the picture of all of the cousins with spouses (and my cousin's girlfriend) from my dad's side of the family (minus one and his wife)--What a blessing to spend time with my family!!
It wasn't too long after that that I packed up and headed up to Chattanooga for another wonderful summer at CVP! Those pictures will definitely be on their way before too long, so look out for a rewind part 2 in the near future!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Catch me if you can!!
I lied. This post will not include pictures as I promised in the last post....But, they will be posted in the near future (Anna's blog has inspired me to do much of the same that she has!)
I am posting to give a short notice to Chattanoogans that I will be Chattanooga bound in T-minus 12 hours for a whirlwind visit. Mostly, I'm just going up a few days early to spend time with friends and help out around CVP for some unfinished carpeting tasks. (I am apparently the Queen of Carpeting after this summer--Ryan, Clay, and myself recarpeted the WHOLE dock this summer in a day and a half and then I was put in charge of recarpeting the putt putt course, which now sits unfinished thanks to the rain during clean up week, but fear not! I'll finish it before dinner on Friday!) I have from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday before dinner open to see people. I'll probably be staked out at a coffee shop job hunting on line, working on applications, or updating my resume during the inbetweens. (...Maybe some uploading of pictures to my computer too... :) I am so excited to be back up in Chattanooga, I miss it already and it hasn't even been a whole week since I've been away!
And most of you that read my blog will be at/in Sarah Guin and Jason Lawhorn's wedding on Saturday so I'll hopefully see you then regardless!! (I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE SARAH BECOME MRS. LAWHORN!!!) And besides, in another week and a half, I'll be a semi permanent fixture in Chattanooga as I really begin to crack down on my job hunt! :)
I am posting to give a short notice to Chattanoogans that I will be Chattanooga bound in T-minus 12 hours for a whirlwind visit. Mostly, I'm just going up a few days early to spend time with friends and help out around CVP for some unfinished carpeting tasks. (I am apparently the Queen of Carpeting after this summer--Ryan, Clay, and myself recarpeted the WHOLE dock this summer in a day and a half and then I was put in charge of recarpeting the putt putt course, which now sits unfinished thanks to the rain during clean up week, but fear not! I'll finish it before dinner on Friday!) I have from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday before dinner open to see people. I'll probably be staked out at a coffee shop job hunting on line, working on applications, or updating my resume during the inbetweens. (...Maybe some uploading of pictures to my computer too... :) I am so excited to be back up in Chattanooga, I miss it already and it hasn't even been a whole week since I've been away!
And most of you that read my blog will be at/in Sarah Guin and Jason Lawhorn's wedding on Saturday so I'll hopefully see you then regardless!! (I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE SARAH BECOME MRS. LAWHORN!!!) And besides, in another week and a half, I'll be a semi permanent fixture in Chattanooga as I really begin to crack down on my job hunt! :)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Back in the swing of things?
I am officially finished with camp for the summer. Every other summer that I have worked at camp though, I've had my usual routine to readjust to...but not so much for this summer.
Nothing is routine about my life right now. In fact, the only thing that I can expect at this point is the unexpected. To say that I am a planner is an understatement, but more than ever God is teaching me to trust.
I feel like my mind is such a jumble right now that I could have 10 seperate posts about 10 totally different topics and I still wouldn't make sense to anyone reading my blog! So to help you out, I'm going to bullet point as best as I can.
--Camp=indescribable. Pictures to be posted when my computer is fixed and I have time to sit down/breathe.
--God is so wonderful and reminding me that He has a plan for me, even when I don't see it.
--My body is trying to get sick but I won't let it.
--I'll try my best to get back into being a consistant blogger rather than feeling like I just ramble on for pages and pages trying to catch you (my 3 readers) up on my life.
--I am excited about all of the people I get to see over the next month because I'll be everywhere...and by everywhere, I mean my three homes; Athens, Marietta, and Chattanooga.
--Brief schedule of the next few weeks:
August 1-4: Marietta
August 4-9: Chattanooga to job hunt, finish up some things at camp, SARAH GUIN SOON TO BE LAWHORN'S WEDDING!! Woohoo!
August 9-11: Marietta
August 11-??(most likely the 17th): Athens to see Charlotte and Katie and help out with Recruitment
**After that, I'll be in Chattanooga really cracking down on my job hunt! I would LOVE to stay with any of my particularly hospitable friends.....But even more than that, I would LOVE any references to ANY job openings that you know of in the Chattanooga area. :)
That's the best I can do for now in effort to keep things brief. But soon, my blog with not be picture-less because I'm getting my camera back soon so I can upload pictures from this summer and all of my travels to come!
Nothing is routine about my life right now. In fact, the only thing that I can expect at this point is the unexpected. To say that I am a planner is an understatement, but more than ever God is teaching me to trust.
I feel like my mind is such a jumble right now that I could have 10 seperate posts about 10 totally different topics and I still wouldn't make sense to anyone reading my blog! So to help you out, I'm going to bullet point as best as I can.
--Camp=indescribable. Pictures to be posted when my computer is fixed and I have time to sit down/breathe.
--God is so wonderful and reminding me that He has a plan for me, even when I don't see it.
--My body is trying to get sick but I won't let it.
--I'll try my best to get back into being a consistant blogger rather than feeling like I just ramble on for pages and pages trying to catch you (my 3 readers) up on my life.
--I am excited about all of the people I get to see over the next month because I'll be everywhere...and by everywhere, I mean my three homes; Athens, Marietta, and Chattanooga.
--Brief schedule of the next few weeks:
August 1-4: Marietta
August 4-9: Chattanooga to job hunt, finish up some things at camp, SARAH GUIN SOON TO BE LAWHORN'S WEDDING!! Woohoo!
August 9-11: Marietta
August 11-??(most likely the 17th): Athens to see Charlotte and Katie and help out with Recruitment
**After that, I'll be in Chattanooga really cracking down on my job hunt! I would LOVE to stay with any of my particularly hospitable friends.....But even more than that, I would LOVE any references to ANY job openings that you know of in the Chattanooga area. :)
That's the best I can do for now in effort to keep things brief. But soon, my blog with not be picture-less because I'm getting my camera back soon so I can upload pictures from this summer and all of my travels to come!
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