Barbanaska

Last week I was a staffer for a youth camp at Zephyr Baptist Encampment. Here are a few of the not so serious things I learned from the trip:

1. Do not get on a bus/van that has already had to have 3 jump starts before you leave the church. It may get you to your destination, but it may not get you back.

2. When in doubt, put a new battery in the van/bus--even if that is not the real problem with the vehicle it might just fix it long enough to get home.

3. As a staff member for a youth camp you can make up a word and get the rest of the staff in on using the word--the campers will soon join in. Barbanaska--it's the new cool.

4. Even though the information describing the track time says "messy games" some kids will say, "I didn't think we were going to get messy." umm......

5. Paintball guns without a hopper can be used to shoot mosquitoes. It works much better than OFF.

6. If you squeeze a paintball, it will squirt in a direction you didn't intend for it to go---sorry Cor.

7. Only at camp will you find 19-27 yr old people standing in a circle and making random motions and animal sounds and nobody will question what is going on.

8. Spades can be a fun game to watch, but only if the people you are watching randomly throw down their cards and yell things at each other.

9. Don't drink the blue drink.

10. Pinto beans can be served at every meal and no, it does not matter that you are not having mexican food for those meals.

My Job....completely random

Working in the missions office is rarely dull. Yesterday was not dull. We are getting ready for a day full of service projects on Sunday. By we, I really mean Heather is getting ready for it and the rest of us are just there for the random jobs. I had the pleasure of taking part in the trip to McCoy's to purchase supplies for Sunday.
Let me start by saying, I think there should be alarms on all doors in all stores selling lumber and/or home improvement supplies. These alarms would sound when people (most of the time of the female persuasion) walk in with a list of supplies for jobs which they will not be doing and have no clue how to do. The alarm would have started ringing in McCoy's before Heather and I even stepped out of the truck to head into the store. Luckily when we walked in, they were not very busy. We immediately found "Terrific Terry" and handed the list off to him. He was so much help and was of great importance in the lifting of 5 gallon buckets of paint. While "Terrific Terry" helped us find all of the supplies we needed, he left "Sweet Smellin' Jason" in charge of mixing paint for us. Now, "Sweet Smellin' Jason" felt the need to explain to us that he does not normally smell like a girl, but one of his co-workers had attacked him with her sweet pea body spray because he told her she smelled good. We assured him that even if he did normally smell like a girl, we would not judge as long as he was still a good paint mixer--I don't think he appreciated that Heather tacked on to the end of that the lovable name of Girly Man.
Meanwhile, "Terrific Terry" is having to endure things like, "Umm....I don't know what kind of nails...the kind you use to fix a fence?" and "Hinges, that's all I know. No, I don't know what size. Is that a problem?" and "Well, the gutter goes like this around the house and then goes down so I don't know what kind of angle things we need." Oh, and..."I am not sure the size of door. Can you hold that one up and I will tell you if it looks right?" He was so patient. Eventually, we were finished with the torture of "Terrific Terry" and moved on to the lumber yard part of our excursion. There, we met James. I don't think he has been given a nickname yet, but he said he would come out and help us on Sunday...so there is still time for nicknaming.
I know you are all jealous and have a need to meet all of these wonderful McCoy's people. So, when you are in Abilene stop on by and ask for "Terrific Terry" or "Sweet Smellin' Jason" and see how far that gets you.

I did not turn orange...

I forgot to mention in my previous post the advice of the doctor who said I was not sick. His advice for my throat so I could sing on Thursday night of pageant: Get Vitamin A in a gel tab...well, that's all they come in is gel tabs...so get Vitamin A and twice a day for three days crack one tab open and let it coat your throat. Do this only for three days for a total of 6 gel tabs. DO NOT DO MORE THAN THIS. If you do more than this, you could turn orange. And eventually you would go blind.
All of this advice and I didn't even use it because I was sick and received medication stronger than Vitamin A.

Just call me Milli Vanilli

I went to the doctor on Monday and told him I was sick. He said I was not sick. Well, not really...he tested for strep and it came back negative. So, he sent other tests off to see if I was just imagining my illness. Today, Thursday, the nurse from the office called and said I am in fact sick and would I like a prescription to be called in. Heck yes I would!
We have Easter pageant presentations tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday. At practice last night I had to lip sync everything. I promise, nobody wanted to hear the various wrong notes coming out of my mouth. My voice was pretty much completely gone. So, for last night and probably tonight's performance...just call me Milli Vanilli. At least I can't take the blame for any wrong notes this way. We'll see if I can become an actual out-loud singer for Friday and Saturday.

Fudge Pops and scrambled eggs

Because Joe said I had to....here's a new entry. :)
I am in Friona for a few days taking care of my mom while she recovers from surgery. She had one of the worst colons her surgeon has ever seen. Don't worry, I ordered her a trophy for Christmas. She is doing well but can't eat much without getting sick. For most people, odd combinations of food would be the cause of the sickness but for my mom normal food, like soup, is what is making her sick. That, and the fact that she had a rather large portion of her colon removed. But don't worry, she is able to eat scrambled eggs and fudge pops. I am sure this is giving her the necessary nutrition for a speedy recovery. I have introduced her to the wonderful world of "High School Musical" during her recovery at home. This leads to remarks like, "Oh yes, I am sure that most basketball teams sing during practice." and "I bet you don't have people coming to sing at your window every day." To which I must reply, "Actually, I do have people singing at my apartment every day and I am sure somewhere there is a basketball team singing." She doesn't need to know that the people singing in my apartment are brooke and me...
For now, I am having a good time hanging out with my mom--even if she won't remember most of it.

Twins

I work with a lady that has three year old twins. There are some days when a friend and I pick them up from "school" to help her out. Yesterday was one of those days. The twins were given the opportunity to choose the place to eat. As we made our way to Long John "Slilvers" this is the conversation from the back of the car...

Twin 1 -"Look, an ambulance! A firetruck!"
Twin 2 - "I saw it too!"
Twin 1 - "We see them all day long at school. Look! A police man! He had his lights flashing! Did you see it?"
Twin 2 - "I saw it"
Twin 1 - "Cool! A blue garbage truck! I never saw a BLUE garbage truck!"
Twin 2 - "I haven't either."
Twin 1 - "I saw it once in a movie"
Twin 2 - "I saw it in a movie too!"
Twin 1 - "You didn't see this movie about a blue garbage truck."
Twin 2 - "I saw it."
Twin 1 - "You didn't see this one"
Twin 2 - "I have on blue shoes!"

And, apparently, that solved it.

Half-days

After having time off from work for most of the past three weeks, I have decided that you should be able to work your way up to working full days again. I really think starting back with a couple of half-days would be a good thing. This way, when you feel like you need a nap at 1:45 you can go home and take a nap at 1:45. It's crazy to think that I am this tired after only 8 hours of work when I worked 17 hour days the entire week before I had my vacation. Yep, half-days is the way to go.