Sunday, August 31, 2008

Day 113

naked. not empty, like it was when we first moved into the office, but eerie and now hollowed of our computers and stuff and gear and everything. after the final jones soda toast, russ gave each of the three of us an autographed hokus pick cd and we turned in our keys and headed to the final staff meeting.

although the room was filled with teary eyed staff and soon departing friends, i stood in the moment with a sense of heart ache rather than an expression of noticeable sadness. bittersweetness. the summer's over now. the word facebook resonated a thousand times amidst the room and in nearly every conversation. kind words as well. music and heart were two uplifting subjects.

after many goodbyes and pictures and final goodbyes and last second goodbyes, we got on the van that was taking five of us to victoria. so many times, during the half day we had after each camp, we had travelled that road to longboard around the town. kings of crown town.

i put myself in the shoes of the two that were catching flights home that evening. the other three of us were on our way to seattle, where i sit right now. although i had a strong feeling before flying out of chicago that i wouldn't be coming back at the end of the summer, i could in this moment in the van imagine the return home and facing the intense longing for this life that i would feel for thisa west coast and people and style and ease.

heartache began to fade as parker and i boarded the vintage ferry and bobbed across the water towards the mainland mountains of port angeles, washington.

once back in the usa we went to jack in the box. not five minutes passed before a lady came storming in and up to the front counter complaining about the missing cheese in her burger. the defensive night shift manager held down company policy and refused to give the lady the cheese or even the thirty cent discount because of the lack of a receipt. there was anger. the lady stormed back outside, smashing the cheeseless burger into the sidewalk in stride of her unctuous stomp to her idling car.

welcome back to the u.s.a.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Day 112: the last day

where to start..

has it really been nine weeks of consecutive camps? and now, in a sudden and final ending of fun and friends and sharing and music, it's all over. and not just for one week's pause before the a new camp and new faces, but the end of the end.

youth camp is the grand finale of summer where the campers are fourteen to eighteen years old and there's a huge overall amp in the week and program.

part of this is the banquet where many work hard to set and prepare a classy outdoor dining area on the field. banners and white strings of lights hang from poles like a circus tent skeleton and an atmosphere not much unlike prom has filled every camp outlet with blow driers and whatever else girls brought in preparation for this night. from the stage along the outer circumference, the sun is seen fading behind the mountain and i feel like a lizard in the warm glow of the nearby standing stage lights. they take effect as the mountain begins to sleep in the growing night and i think that i'm content because i'm playing piano as the six hundred campers and friends and staff are seated and laughing in the ocean air. friends dash up on stage at random times to take pictures and the music doesn't stop and there was jazz and octaves and seventh chords and the purest, cleanest, most-fitting recreations as i can pull in this moment that has now become the realization of a long and deep desire for an outdoor audience and piano and mountains and everything.


now, much later, i'm in my office for the last night. i'm only half way through the dvd label stamping and case filling because i couldn't bring myself to leave the fireside. the campers shared stories about broken pasts and broken homes and lives that they're scared to face again tomorrow afternoon. why do i have it so good..

i'll be awake again in a few hours to make it to the final breakfast and my first in several weeks. i'll clean the office, pack my bags, say goodbye to camper and staff friends, and the lights will go out suddenly after such a long and beautiful and admirable summer.

i don't know what else to say right now.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Day 111: clutch

so..

i had some time off after starwood dv and before dinner. i happened to be playing guitar with a friend on the back deck of the lodge when i remembered that my little check had been readied for pickup after lunch. i went over and got it only to find that the van that took all the 'foreigners' to the local bank had left at 3:15. i had still been in my office at that time with the campers and was freaked to see that it was now 4:30 and the bank, a twenty minute drive, was closing for the weekend at 5 p.m. i'm leaving camp on sunday afternoon.

i ran across the field to the challenge course, tracked down dave, borrowed his car, and hauled out of the camp parking lot at 4:40 p.m. he'd given me vague and rushed directions- the bank was across the street from a starbucks in a strip mall, and i said thanks and ran. typical is it may be, the only thing stopping me from speeding in this country was the semi truck that had just left camp a few moments before me after making its weekly food delivery. narrow woodland mountain roads curved ahead just sharp enough for me to fully understand that i, in this weary and sputtering tercel, was not going to get the benefit of a doubt in any sort of close-call attempt to pass.

i cleared the truck, eventually, and soon found a lagging impala. grey heads peeked over the dashboard and red brake lights appeared at every curve and hill. i now had 12 minutes to get somewhere that i was relying on guts, vague memory, and last second directions for guidance.

it should be noted that a john fogerty cd happened to be playing as i started the car and also happened to be on the song 'looks like a loooong, longshot baby.' i laughed in this irony of the situation, rolled down the widow the rest of the way, hit the gas, glanced at the clock, and started playing harmonica as the song blasted from the single working car speaker.

i get to the main intersection and glance left and right. i decide left and pull into the turn lane. as i do this, i decide to ask the man in the grey pickup waiting next to me about the location of a bank that i really didn't know the name about. sometimes in these situations, you just gotta spit out the sounds of the name that you think it might be. that's what i did, he clarified my babble, and he said that i could follow him there if i got behind him in the forward moving lane again. i had no choice but to make my left turn however. i cut back eventually and found the pickup with two minutes now left until closing time. i hoped the bank was close from here.

as i look up from the clock, i see a bank on the right that pricked some sense of familiarity. the back of the check had some logo stamped on it and this logo matched the bank, so i made a quick decision and turned in to the lot. sorry truck driver, you probably thought you'd lost me. i ran in and as i waited in line, i noticed that the addresses on the check and the front window matched. key and security door sounds began behind me.

they locked the front door and i stood in line, finding that my eyes were busy assisting and planning the routes of the people ahead of me as each desk began to become available.

at 5:05 p.m., the cash was in hand. i walked out and they thanked me for their business as they pulled the final sliding gate closed.

i repeated the same 'track 12 song on the way back. the warm evening breeze and a fresh perspective of the mountains and the satisfaction of risktaking and adventure and success all settled in together nicely.

tomorrow's the last full day. i leave sunday. next stop, seattle.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Day 110

there were some exciting shoots today. the lasts. the last speaker interview down the zip line for the final dvd production. the last water game was today and it was too cold to really enjoy the filming with the waterproof case.

tonight there was a chill worship session instead of a regular qtown and a lot of the songs reminded me of their roles in life from back home and in australia. it was good.

three more days.

special hello north carolina and pennsylvania.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Day 109

engagement. power outage. airplane. sudden goodbyes.

these things all happened today. let me explain.

over the past couple weeks, one of the video guys, ryan, had started talking about proposing to his girlfriend. plans were made and there was an airplane, but before all this, the power went out for a while. today was bright and windy and warm in the sunlight and cold in the shade. the sky was clear but it smelled like rain. every wednesday of camp is unplugged day, so there's no media to run because all the qtown meetings and such are at the fireside. no highlights to make, no lights and powerpoint to do, and no power to do them with. good timing.

but ryan had arranged for an airplane to accomplish some 'arial shooting' of the camp. he asked his girlfriend to come with for the ride and as they approached the open field from the sky, the campers were arranged to lie down and spell 'will u marry me' on the wet grass. soon the buzz on the ground met the buzz of the dipping plane. the pilot somehow got shots of the goings on inside the plane as he continued to fly. tomorrow's highlights should be good.

earlier, before all this, i said goodbye. a couple here, both named kim and individually called 'big' and 'little', left today to follow a recent calling to go work with an inner city ministry in new york city. big kim was the head of camp maintenance and also the pyro guy who did fireworks for each week of intros and part of the music video and the weekly concert and everything in between. remember i was with him, shooting from below and dodging burning fireballs, during the canada day fireworks when he lit the huge ones off by hand cause the detonator keys were lost. his wife is really kind and helpful and talented and did a lot for camp and even for me as well. big kim looks a lot like the hippy man from into the wild, massive, strong stature and long hair and a very similar face and dialect. he came to say goodbye this morning and invited me to come visit them in the states sometime. he said that if it didn't happen now, we'd see each other again someday and as he walked away, i pictured him as an angel or something like that that he would someday be in heaven, flowing hair and big build and big laugh and smile. they'll both be missed here.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Day 108

the days go by fast. very fast. i've started the process of packing already so that when youth camp ends and the momentum of the summer marathon and sprinting finish falls to the ground, i'll be prepared to move forward.

in the meantime, the week has grown consistently rainy and cool. hoodie season is here. west coast by coconut records is stuck in my head. all day. especially the line about rain.

i've been appreciating the mountains and water as much as possible this week during my daily coffee gathering at the balcony. i wish i could stay with the horizon forever.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Day 107

these youth campers are cool. my starwood dv crew is solid and i have the seattle dude as my assistant for the week, so it should be good.

tonight we played the first episode of our secret project created especially and only for this week- a silent film that uses some of qwanoes footage from thirty years ago. this, mixed with new footage that's been digitally treated to appear as 8mm film projection, received a great reception. having been able to rewrite and alter and record some of the music for a few crucial parts in this old time recreation has been one of the biggest work highlights of the summer. hands down. one part was an adaption for a commonly recognized camp fanfare and the other was the reworking of the super hero introduction that's been used for many years in the regular episodes. like i said, none of this had been really done before. good times.

russ, my boss, came up to my office today in the break during the morning qtown and we did a quick play of a song he wanted to do that morning. he informed the rest of the band and we went up and we did the song on the spot. the campers dug the harmonica and one of the counselors told me that one of his kids carries around a harmonica too and wants to learn from me. that's a really exciting opportunity that's been presented so i'll be working on that connection as the week continues. tomorrow, russ and i are going to each wear johnny cash sunglasses and do ring of fire and then the regular harmonica-part song to open morning q-town.

finally, some music.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Day 106

change. there is change. much like day 41 and the transition from the advance crew in the arrival of staff training week, this hyped and final week of camp, youth camp, has brought dozens of past staff back to camp. older counselors, mostly, are here to meet the minimum age of twenty to fill the roles in a week of age fourteen to eighteen year old campers.

the three of us spend the last few hours of our free time earlier today in the office wrapping up a few of the new projects for this week. this included the recording of a couple of quick compositions of keyboard stuff for their parts in the episodes. finally. some music. we're all really excited to play the first episode tomorrow night. we're doing things never done before.

i might shave soon. in a few days now. there's a plan forming for a communal shave. i was approached tonight and, if it happens, the production could be epic. we'll see.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Day 105


[hair]

the junior kiddies are all being picked up by moms and dads and the rest are about to board one of the several buses that will take them to the ferry bound for the mainland. goodbye children. i always make a few special friends each week in the midst of daily video shooting and media running and such. these little guys like to wear my hat or make nicknames and just a few minutes ago i shook one of the little guy's sticky hands and he gave me a goodbye hug.

we've had our weekly jones soda toast in our office. there's been four of each flavor, one for each of the video guys and our boss, and one flavor at the end of each week. a collection of empty glass bottles are all that's left except for one final four. cream soda- next week's final toast.

i haven't shaved or cut my hair this entire summer. i don't know why, but it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. i think this makes me environmentally safe. and a hippy. whatever. this proficient crop, along with the daily maintenance of this here blog, have been two big accomplishments of personal pre-summer goals i would have to say.

finishing strong.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Day 104

the deep still night air kept me up the last couple nights. i like night and its bluey gaze. i was standing at the back of the balcony and back among the usual thoughts that naturally come at the beginning of the end of anything. there will be a new beginning soon. today was the last full day of the last juniors week and sunday is the beginning of the end of summer camps. the last week.

i usually don't do this, let alone write a blog about it, but several conversations that i'll draw from later have helped me to decide in favor of sharing on the blog, which by the way is such a weird word. blog. last spring, before accepting the summer australia trip leadership position, i had asked God for some sort of confirmation. i'm not necessarily a sign seeker, but i don't want to be swayed in blind passion or excitement either. later that same day, during a long saturday shift at the sporting goods store, i met an australian customer who i happened to find that had been with teen missions before and knew about the ministry and such. a similar encounter never happened again. i accepted the leadership position and confirmed the trip and i still keep in touch with some of the youth that were on that special team and am really glad to see how some of their lives are growing and expanding spiritually.

now, one hundred plus days into this new summer ministry, i'm at a similar place. this time it's a reversed perspective. because of a canadian border issue upon entrance, i wasn't given, or even questioned enough to know to be given one for that matter, a canadian work permit. i did get a custom's stamp on my passport and arrived in smooth fashion to this camp for the summer volunteer video position. i'll be getting some summer compensation through support, but have been looking for a way to earn some extra cash before taking a very important and exciting next step. see, college began last week, two weeks before the end of my commitment to this camp, so i punched out for the semester and have plans to stay in b.c. with some other traveling friends from new zealand, australia, and canada. there's also one of the speakers from a past week who lives on the island and wants to get together to do some video work together, so i'd been weighing this in the plans as well.

i asked for some sort of confirmation. some sort of tap. something to prove that i could be supported for the next few months until i found a canadian job and got the permit and such. i'm excited about life here and the things i've learned this summer and changes and people and friendships. one friend from seattle, who is frequently called my twin and vice versa, told me today that there's a good chance i can work in the states doing some painting for his home-building dad. we'd already planned on earning some cash by working a half day for his dad and then going to a death cab for cutie concert/music festival in seattle as soon as camp ends next week. this could be that next confirmation. pray.

one of the boys from the australia trip, who lives in texas, and i were talking last week about summer ministry and life and committed to pray for each other and pursuit for the overall life outside the box. that's the best way i can sum that up right now.

i was talking to a friend in vermont today online and she really encouraged me by saying to keep up this lifestyle inspired by youth and inspiration and ministry and spirituality, and in all this to continue to be one that doesn't follows the crowd. 'the highway.'

another friend who's back home in new zealand right now contacted me today after hearing about our winter plans. we had a good friendship when he was here earlier in the summer and adding him to our forming community would benefit all of us greatly.

all these things, new skills and friendships and developments, are really exciting. right now the goal is to finish the summer strong and stay attentive and willing to take the right risks. one day at a time.

life is now.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Day 103

this marathon of a summer is a few days away from the beginning of a sprinting finish. much prep work and current work is getting done this week of juniors so that the business and intenseness of youth camp will go as smoothly as possible.

this poor last juniors camp is getting covered in some bad weather. they don't know really what to expect since most of these young kids are experiencing their first summer here, but this entire week has been cool and wet and very unlike the rest of the other weeks of camp.

i can't believe a whole summer is almost already gone.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Day 102

the rain stayed last night. and today. grey skies and heavy rain accompanied cool weather. soggy socks and shoes are gonna make the kids' cabins smell sweet tonight. i was assigned to do cabin cleanup supervision for this morning. all i had to do was show up to an assigned boys cabin and hang out and make sure they cleaned up their cabin while their counselors were in morning staff meeting. it was really fun and i made some new friends.

there's a video guy from last year who's come to counsel for youth camp. he came up a few days early from seattle to chill and help out with any video needs. here is my first real new american friend of the summer. being the american video guy i was when i first arrived, everyone compared the two of us in similarities, mannerisms, and appearance. we do actually look alike though and now that he's here too, everyone's asking if we are brothers. when we walk around, the other staff are amused. we've started telling them that we are brothers. i should put a picture up. maybe later.

the heavy rain and cold day made it hard to do any good shooting this afternoon, but we had some chill time and compared and shared music. i love broadening musical horizons. there's a free program called 'simplify media' that makes it possible to share itunes libraries over the internet from anywhere in the world. no common network required. if you wish, set up the quick account name and let me know your name and i'll share mine with you.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Day 101

pic from day 98



these are busy days. the video crew is doing hard work to finish this week and prepare the stuff we need for the huge youth camp finale next week.

the cool weather came back today and it's been raining since dinner. i don't know if it's going to interfere with the night game tonight, but i appreciate the change.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Day 100!

made it!

forty days of advance crew, one week of staff orientation, and now almost eight full weeks of consecutive summer camps have past. as i walked up from doing some shooting at the beach today, i couldn't even believe that nearly a third of a year has been spent here already. last night, i couldn't sleep right away despite trying to get to bed early, so i stood at the back railing of the lodge. there was the sounds of waves down below the hill of evergreens and dark skies were pricked with the little holes to heaven and sufjan stevens' chicago played on my ipod. i remembered leaving rockford in a rushed and rescheduled ending of the spring semester of college and baseball. after taking finals a few days early and then packing the day before the plane took off, i was gone. all things go, all things go.

school started today for me back home. i skipped hah. i've dropped these classes because i still have two weeks of commitment left here. i've also learned so much this summer concerning media and especially video that i'm not really concerned about this semester off. autodidactic, eclectic enthusiasm is still alive and quite well. there are also plans for after this summer.


also, nearly everything has happened in solid sets of numbers thus far:

- my arrival, which varied much in regard to the other staff, happened to total 40 days past by the end of advance crew.
- i had my only three days off at mid summer. i happened to receive the second of two available blocks, which left my last day of work on day 80.
- now, 100 days in, i've spanned the exact date of school's intended end and its intended beginning.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Day 99

the junior highers are gone. for the summer. eight to eleven year olds have taken their place for the final juniors camp. this young group is enthusiastic and scream quite loud when excited. this will be a busy week and although there's no starwood dv to teach, we have a lot of special video projects to complete this week for the youth camp finale. should be good.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Day 98: an awesome day

another week ends. the whole week was smooth and the kids were well behaved. today was really hot..

now for a vagabonded raconteur:

our crew left camp for the precious end-of-the-week time off. we headed down the highway to the sweetest swimming hole i've ever seen or heard of. clear waters glided forty feet below a solid cliff face. another forty feet above that, the roadway buzzed overhead across a steel truss bridge. the darkness of the deep heart mellowed on the opposite bank where smooth rocks melted into the flow. prime. after several jumps and videos and pictures of the area and our antics, we moved on to

montanas, canada's version of lone star and typical midscale man-food chain restaurant, faced mountains and the highway. eight of us sat at the porch and enjoyed the warm breeze. the sun was bright and we sheltered our faces with the menus but were soon distracted with the arrivals. we had our fill of steak, ribs, roast, corn bread, and the such while bob dylan played in the background and the olympics buzzed on the tvs inside. one surprise birthday party later, we were on our way

to the ocean. richard thought he knew where it was, so only our car went looking and the other guys headed back. after a short drive and a walk through blackberry bushes and gravel paths, we found the ocean. the distant mountains. the sunset. the coast. together. during magic hour. second to the outback's, this was the most ultimate sunset i've seen. i hadn't brought my camera bag because when the trip started, we had originally headed off to go longboarding and the following events hadn't really been planned. the others had theirs and i'll have some of those before too long. as the mountains took burning yellow and red across the marching waves in front of us, the opposite side of the rocky island we had waded to platformed a red and rising moon. after a quick swim in the warm water and summer night, the day was complete.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Day 97

the week is almost over. today was the last full day of the last junior high camp of the summer. this is also production night.

ever since that first night, where nine dvd's were sacrificed in an entire mess of failed production, the starwood dv project productions have gone just fine and those messed up original nine are still sitting in a row on top of the window frame. it makes a good lesson when the kids ask what those are up there for..

i walked into my office after lunch and walked out of my office for dinner. just one of those office days, yellow walls and a humming floor fan, but because of what was accomplished earlier i hopefully won't have an office all-nighter.


there's a chance i might be going to a death cab for cutie concert in seattle at the end of the summer. that would be amazing.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Day 96

the days of heat are back. humidity too.

today the speaker and i finished our shoot. we did one shot from the top of the eighty foot swing and went down that and then did the final third section from the top of the zip line platform. between the blob, the skyscraper, and the zip line, we have a quality product.

a couple of my starwood dv girls were super solid in their video making this week so i used their project for the nightly highlights. they were completely excited about this and this also saved us from making a highlight for today.

tonight was concert night so i did lights again for the rock show deal. fun and intense.

i don't have much time tonight.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Day 95

started working on the speaker interview today. instead of doing like past weeks, i tested the idea of doing different segments of his rap up at different challenge course and extreme activities around camp. he was stoked and today we did the first segment. he hopped onto the end of the blob and i had a larger male counselor get on the blob tower while i kayaked out with the camera in a plastic camera bag. i got positioned, we rehearsed our moves, and we got our shot. tomorrow, we'll do takes on the double zip line and the eighty foot swing thing and whatever extreme thing we can think of.

i have to leave my office now security is here and kicking people out for bed.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Day 94

starwood is going well. camp is running smoothly so far and this fourth week of junior highers is by far the best behaved group yet.

during break today, an australian friend and i went among the thorns to get berries. eat berries. my legs and arms are kinda scratched, but it was good.

tonight, our boss russ took us to his house down in crofton for a video team cookout. a new angle of the mainland mountains caught my eye from the view on the back porch and dill dusted buns were an extraordinary compliment to awesome grilled burgers. we sat around and shared random funny stories about traveling or heard various adventures his band had back in their touring days.

the same girl keeps making comments about the remaining days of camp. i think she said it's now around nineteen or something. unbelievable.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Day 93

everyone's noticed the coolness by now. people are also getting word about the blooming of blackberries.

i met my starwood dv kids today. they're another eager group who seem to have as much talent as i've seen yet this summer. one of the groups, two small girls who i had at first thought they might not have been at the right place when they met for the club this afternoon, are excited and attentive. they were doing some good work using angles and taking different shots and zooms and i was pleased since this is on the first day.

there was a meteor shower tonight. i think it happened back home too, why wouldn't it i guess. between the phosphorescence in the water and the meteors and a clear starry sky, some solid night photography was accomplished. pictures to come.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Day 92

hello children. the final week of junior high camp began today leaving one more juniors camp before the youth camp finale. i walked the beach this morning and noticed more pale, fallen leaves had collected at the corners of rock faces and along tide marks. i took the back path up, walking through the place that i'd seen a bear many weeks ago. i was looking for blackberries and wondered if he might be back for the same, but he wasn't. even if he had been, there's now enough blackberries for the both of us. and for the whole camp. and maybe a small army, but this is canada. army?

there are a ton of blackberries bleeding among the green thorns. a fresh, cool breeze floated down the mountain and through the trees. there's still three weeks of camp but summer is starting to slow itself down. the final crew of junior highers are here.


on a complete side note, i've been thinking about the sixties and its music lately. beatles, dylan, cash, hendrix, elvis, etc, etc. what a big decade.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Day 91

goodbye children. another week ends. some of my video campers' counselors were telling me that the kids had written on their feedback form that one of their favorite part of the week for them was 'starwood dv and our teacher was cool.'

i was feeling a little tired and worn after this week and didn't feel like going back for another weekend skate in victoria. instead i was looking for some chill inspiration of tangible page. isaac was down to go to chapters in nanaimo so we took his jeep, which i got to drive due to his expired license. driving a jeep again. yes. everything in canada seems to close early. the bookstore chain closed at six on a saturday night and a coffee shop with free wifi closed at seven, so after chilling around we stopped at a chill, independent chipotle-styled restaurant. rainy clouds parted and the mountains looked refreshed beneath a rainbow and fading sun on the ride back. tomorrow begins another week of junior high camp and starwood dv instruction and such.

i'm glad to sleep early tonight.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Day 90

the strange sound of blowing handfulls of leaves, falling in pale greens and mellow yellows, made timid appearances today. weird. we marvel that we've only just finished the first week of august and agree that this whole summer has still felt like two or three weeks. now leaves are just beginning to start to call it quits. it's surreal.

the starwood dv kids rapped up their projects today and a couple of the boys came back to hang out during free time. they're cool animated guys who still have boyish laughs and smirking smiles in the fun they make and see. one wanted to learn garage band and as we worked on that, the other messed around with photo booth and was excited to show every picture he took.

tonight is production night but the blackberry bushes around camp now offer their fruit in many places, so i'm going to go make like a bear while i wait for these projects to burn. i can't wait to hit three digits in days.

Day 89

thursday, august 7, 2008

i don't know why, but my computer won't let me log on blogger sometimes now. weird. it didn't all day.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Day 88

somebody mentioned that there's something like twenty-five days of camp left. no way. i've never had a summer go by so fast.

it's midweek and as i walk around camp doing other shooting for the dvd and such, my starwood dv campers often pop out of nowhere and come and say hi and sometimes tag along. it's sweet.

we have some exciting new plans for some projects to show during youth camp at the end of the summer and one of our video ideas has an opportunity for me to compose a score. soundtrack. i can't say anything else right now though. i'm really excited about this and already have melodies and ideas in my head.

i've been wanting to get up early for a while now but never do. tomorrow, i will. one of the year round staff has a kayak he said i could use so i'm planning on taking an early morning paddle along the beach before breakfast. should be good.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Day 87

we continued to shoot around camp today. some of my kid's counselors told me that their campers had been excitedly talking about starwood dv and what they've been doing and learning so far. good times.

after teaching and shooting around with them, i had some time off. i got the kayak and, accompanied by a friend, set off to see what was around the other point i had stopped at on a previous adventure. after paddling and visiting the purple starfish along the rocks beneath the rope swing, we made one turn and then, this time, one more right turn around the final outstretching point. finally. just to the right, around the small cove of smashing water and rocks, the water straightened out into a long path. i would say this looked like a huge river, but that would be ridiculous because no river can exist in a channel of ocean water.

i have a very hard time conceding that the straight between our shore and the nearby salt spring island can be entirely called 'the ocean.' isaac and i had a long talk about this. regardless, i can't approve that ocean water in a narrowed path between islands is entitled for the all-encompassing title of 'ocean'.

is it even possible?

Monday, August 4, 2008

Day 86

for whatever reason, my laptop has started blocking me from this site. i'm in the other video office on the desktop real quick for now. this week of junior high keeps rolling with the rest and the pattern of wildness and disobedience seems to be more evident in each passing week. must be summer and freedom from school. starwood started today and was good. most of this week's group was signed up for it by their parents and didn't really know what to expect, although one girl has done this before, but last time i had kids who were just signed up, they ended up having a good time by the end of the week. so far, so good.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Day 85

everyone's back. even the distant mainland mountains were visible, snow-peaked and serious, from across the waters of a pristine and sunny afternoon. i have re-noticed the freshness of the mountain air here after spending some time in the metropolis. still, vancouver's exhale didn't seem as coarse as chicago or the waterbody-barren rockford.

on our various adventures, we've come to an understanding. this verbalization, called the watershed theory, is the moment where, like a raindrop hitting the peak of a shed, the drop will go one way or another for whatever reason and then be required by the flow of those behind and the legalities of time and gravity to continue. plinko. God.

two months are already over here. as i turned my back to the water and ocean earlier today and realized that last summer's australia lasted two months and at the end of the trip, i was definitely feeling the grain of time, even after a massively productive and exciting adventure and ministry. today, it doesn't feel like two months. it doesn't feel like time at all. on of the other video guys turned twenty-two today and i'm relatively young to the majority of these people, but it's good. good things are happening and God has a hold of things and everything's exciting right now.

tomorrow, we start another week of starwood dv and working one-on-one with kids and video. should be good.

Day 84

saturday, august 2, 2008

after a last homecooked breakfast and the ferry ride to the mainland, we got back to camp a little after noon. the band starfield was on our ferry and they sat in a corner near the cafeteria towards the front of the boat. i had wanted to go talk to them and ask them about their tour stop back home, but got lost reading and chilling with the people we were returning with.

the vibe of coming back to camp was a strange one and, although people had only been gone three days, reunions were noticeably animated. with most everyone back 'home', as it has become so natural for everyone to say, the entire staff boarded the buses to have pizza and go swimming at an indoor waterpark/pool thing. between water polo and 'surfing' in the wave pool and going down slides, a good time was had by all. after this, we went to a beach and had ice cream while many of the hundred plus staff shared around the fire about current struggles or joys or changes happening in their lives throughout the first half of the summer of camps.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Day 83

grey rain cancelled the game today. too bad. we chilled around and went around town and browsed and 'faffed' around. we came back to the house ready to cook steaks for our last dinner away from camp to find that kirk's mom, who works at one of the supermarkets, had gotten wind of our plan and had steaks on the grill already. awesome. his dad, the prof, showed us a couple of his published books and we all sat down to a solid steak dinner. after this, we saw the new batman movie and ended the night playing a chill board game called 'ticket to ride' where you build railroads across europe.

this has been an amazing adventure and new experience and overall refreshing time off. even the vibe of being on the mainland right now was a not-so forgotten, yet subtle, accompaniment to our journeys.

tomorrow, it's back to the island.