RAWR! I'm a dinosaur!

I leave for Wittenberg University on Thursday. Awesome. Seriously. I'm stoaked. Can't you tell?

No really though, I am looking forward to going to Witt, I'm just not looking forward to trying something new, again. For the second time this year.

I went to Goshen again this summer. Although instead of going to PMI, the place that has been my home for 4 summers, I went to Olmsted. The place that I have looked down my nose at for 4 years.

Don't get me wrong. Olmsted is a great place. Now. But it wasn't when I was working at PMI.

My first 3 years, it was run by a man named Tim Zich. He didn't control his staff very well. And the entire Reservation knew it. We didn't like Olmsted because their staff was cocky (a sloagan like, "Best On The Lake" will give off that impression).

Last year, 2008, Olmsted was run by a man by the name of Wes Haynes. He's a great guy, but he tried to change too many things at once, and so things fell through the cracks. Wes was a transplant from Bowman, the best Boy Scout camp on the lake. But, again, we looked down our noses at Olmsted because there was a bit too much chaos last year.

People still look down their noses at Olmsted. Although hopefully that's changing a bit. I know I got some harsh comments from PMI alumni that visited this summer. But hopefully that's them, and not the rest of the staff around the lake.

But back to me (sounds conceited, but that's why you're here, right? to read about me?) Whatever, it's my blog. I'll do what I want.

So I was going into a place that had this stigma attached to it in my mind. It was a tough transition. I hated myself for working there for at least the first half of the summer. Yes, hated myself. Why? Because when I went to visit my friends at PMI, I felt like an outsider. I know they didn't treat me like one, but I felt like one. Once I got over that feeling in my head, and once I was more accepted at Olmsted, the summer started looking better. But if one more person (be they leader, scout or staff member) had gotten on my bad side during week 3, I would have been out of there. Packed up and moved over to PMI to volunteer for the rest of the summer. I would have gladly taken no pay and worked for free the rest of the summer.

Fortuneatly nobody did get on my badside. I am really going to need my paychecks when it comes time to pay for books.

And back to the subject of Wittenberg. I am looking forward to it. But I'm again, going into a new place that has nobody I know.

It won't be as bad though. I have no negative stigmas towards Witt in my head.

I'm glad I typed this up. It's releved a lot of stress.

Read this, or don't, it's up to you. But if you're here already, you've already read, so this doesn't apply to you.

RAWR! I'm a dinosaur!

People seem to be forgetting that there was a Hispanic in the Supreme Court far before there was an African American.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Cardozo

Happy April Fools Day!

We got our RA this morning at around 1am. It was pretty epic.

Mein Name ist Ozymandias...

"Mein Name ist Ozymandias, König der Könige!
Erblickt meine Werke, Ihr Mächtigen, und verzweifelt!"
Nichts daneben ist geblieben. Rund um die Trümmer
der kolossalen Ruine, endlos und öd,
einsam und eben, erstrecken sich nur Sande weithin.

and in English:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

The Barfly - Enter the Haggis

I met an old man one night in a bar
He was sitting alone
The way men his age always are
His movements were slow
Didn't speak very well
But every old man has a story to tell

He lived by the book
Went to church every day
But his wife left him young
With two daughters and bills to pay
He worked himself hard
And the years flickered past
His girls kept him young
But they grew up so fast

Prodigal faith always felt second best
When she turned seventeen
She took her coat and her camera
And headed west
It broke her dad's heart
But as he likes to say
With enough time apart
Even faith fades away

Jenny met Ray in his last days ashore
They married in May
And that August he joined the war
He said Jenny don't cry
I'll be home in the fall
So she held her head high
And said nothing at all

Then he got in a plane
Took it up in the air
It never came down
For all she knows it's still
Flying around up there
Then Jenny went wrong
And the last that I heard
It's been seven years long
Since she uttered a word
Seven years gone
Since she uttered a word

Now her father just sits
All alone at the bar
He orders his drinks
And smokes cigarettes
He knows he can't afford
He's got no regrets
Says he's doing quite well
But every old man
Has a story to tell

Sin Boldly

"Be a sinner and sin boldly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ." -Martin Luther

I wanted to be asleep by now, but, this is more interesting...

So this summer I'm going to be a Commissioner at Camp Olmsted located on the beautiful Goshen Scout Reservation in Goshen, VA. Being a commissioner, and for that matter, being at camp at all, requires me to carry around lots of things. A water-bottle, a first aid kit, a radio/cell phone (I'm not sure if I'll have a radio, but I'll more than likely carry my cell phone, it comes with the importance of the job), a multi-tool, a flashlight, a notebook, writing utensils, sunscreen, etc.

A normal person would use a backpack. I on the other hand, am not normal, and I really like cool stuff. So what I've decided to do is get a tactical MOLLE belt so I can carry around all my stuff like the guys in the military do (just with a belt instead the huge-giant vest). Now, I already have a military-style belt, just without the MOLLE style attachment system, so what I'm doing, is getting this:
Once I have the rig, I'll need the pieces to go along with it. To carry my wallet, radio/cell phone, notebook and writing utensils, I will get this:
Then, for the first aid kit and sunscreen (they belong together), I'm going to get this:For the flashlight, the multi-tool and other things that I can't think of right now, I'll get this:And I'm not sure how I'm going to carry my water-bottle, if I'm going to just have it in my hands or if I'll also attach it to the belt, but if I go with the second option, I'll get this:The belt sleeve will be black, I know that for sure, but I haven't decided if I want all the other things to also be in black, or if I want them to be the modern Army digital camouflage like the last two pictures. I'm leaning towards the Army camouflage so that I can add hook-and-loop embroidered name tags like the military uses.

Of course, all of this together will cost over $150, so I should start saving. And yes, I know it would make much more sense to just stick with a backpack.

But, in the immortal words of Anonymous, "What would the fun be in that?"