bowling alleys, birthdays, cake

So... it's been awhile. Namely because life has been super crazy. Not the "inspired crazy," either. Just a lot of this and that... it's gotten better, but I have to stop this business-without-purpose deal. Or I will go insane.

I was finally almost caught up in my work on Thursday, and then it all went down hill again. There's just so much to do, all of the time. Lots of tests and reading and quizzes and homework. More than I'm used to.

This weekend was nice, though. I got absolutely no work done, but I'm okay with that. I'll work today. Friday was cleaning and then a cake-baking-extravaganza with Amanda and KJ... we had to make two cakes, and they had to be "birthday appropriate"... so it was quite an ordeal. Funfetti and Tieramisu became Rumfetti and Kahluamisu. They were wonderful.

Saturday was our first weekend program of the year... and it was fantastic. I drove one of the mini-busses (terrifying, right?) and had a fantastic group of the teenage girls... very, very boy crazy bus. I let one of the girls hold my clipboard, and she and her friend both crossed out their last names and changed them to show their intense relationships with their favorite boy counselors. :)

Ragamuffin was in my group, too... which was lovely. I enjoyed spending time with her... but she runs a lot, so it can get very exhausting. The thing is... she doesn't run to be rebellious; she runs when she's bored. I really think it all links to a sensory issue, but that's just me. Sometimes, she's fine to sit by herself. Other times, you drop her hand for a second and she takes off.

Which brings me to my first ever behind-the-scenes bowling alley experience.

So I drop Ragamuffin's hand to ask another counselor a question, and she bolts. Straight across all of the people bowling, to the end of the row, then hauls left and goes sprinting down the tiny pathway between the last lane and the wall (so she's running towards the pins), through this little curtain I wouldn't have even known existed, and into the whirley machinery area.

So I chase her.

I get behind the curtain and see pins whirling everywhere and hear the balls crashing and so on and so forth... and ragamuffin is headed for a door on the other end of the alley. I got to her before she got out (or dove through the enticing circular whirley pin things), but not before having many terrifying mental images of her jumping through a hoop and running down an alley.

Another dull day with Ragamuffin :)

Getting back to camp was nice, though... I missed being there so much this summer. I know Nashville was where I needed to be -- I discerned my life and made connections, and I wouldn't trade that experience for the world -- but a big part of my heart and my discernment always tends to revolve around my campers. They inspire me.

The birthday bash was fun. We went to Barley's (ran into some of Cory's students who looked terrified-as-always to see their teacher out on the town... love it) and ate yummy pizza, then we all came back to the apartment and celebrated with the cakes and such. Lots and lots of people, but I think everyone had some fun.

I struggle with big groups. For some reason, I have trouble being myself. I end up either really hyper (aka last night) or really flat line, which is annoying. I think I just get overwhelmed.

But everything was still really fun. And today, I shall get work done. Lots of work done. Like maybe register for the GRE and get the rest of my grad school e-mails out. I've been waiting to meet with one of my professors to figure out what schools I really want to pursue, so hopefully after tomorrow, I'll have a better sense of where I'm going with life. We'll see.

:)