Wednesday, August 5, 2009

W-S Burn

Pixie playing her lamp, taken from W-S Burn's myspace

Last weekend, I left camp on my night/day off for a tiny trip to Winston-Salem.  I met up with friends Rachael, Ariella, Nate and Tim (those driving from College Park, MD) at friend Christian's apartment (the boy's all grown up now and writing for a hot newspaper downtown).  After trashing the apartment with our sleeping bags and polluting the stark white walls with ricochets of laughter, a few of us went to travel the nighttime streets.  We were most interested in getting a consultation at the 24/7 fitness center ("Rush") because the consultation desks could be seen from Christian's window.  But before any of that could happen, we discovered a Japanese water/rock garden next-door to the North Carolina School of the Arts. 

While sitting there and egging Nate on to jump 8 steps at once without falling and cracking his skull, we suddenly turned our heads at the sound of crunked voices.  The voices were of a woman and a man in their late twenties [one a fiery, curly redhead and the other a lanky, sexy man (with ponytail) from Maine, respectively].  The redhead woman swooped around the corner and asked if we were in a band ('cause I guess four trespassing youths in revolt seated side-by-side at 3 in the morn constitutes that question).  We said "No" with a little hesitation ('cause Rachael and I once had a band practice in her garage for our 11th grade band named Veritas).  Then I asked, "Are you in a band?"  She sprightly said that she was and requested to sing for us.  I told her to sing her favorite song and that's when the night really began.

For the next 6 long minutes, Pixie (that was her real name) sang an original composition from her band.  It was a mixture of fairy noises and whale sounds.  In other words, her voice was beautiful but a little inhibited by her level of intoxication (especially when she brought the beer bottle to her lips mid-song sentence).  Rachael and I thought the song had ended at least 5 times during the 6 minutes (have you ever clapped before a song was finished?).  Anyway, at the end, we applauded Pixie and she told us that it was better in person; Not only was she the front-woman/singer, but she was also the player of a fabulous lamp instrument pictured above & below: 

taken from here

Pixie proceeded to entertain by talking about the photon belt and the nano virus that the government was going to send through the tap water (with its harmful fluoride contents)*.  She also briefly, and bitterly, ranted about how people shouldn't have to have a baby if they didn't want to.  Therefore, her solution for any individual wanting to destroy a baby inside of them was to sit in a sauna ("nothing can stay alive in that heat").  She left before I could tell her that tap water was used in those ever-so-helpful saunas. 

She also talked a lot about her shoes.  They had so much rubber, she said, that her footsteps could not be heard through the inches of rubber and pleather and manufactured badness.  Pixie warned us not to remove ourselves too far from Mother Nature, suggesting that naked naps in the grass and growing gardens (filled with dark, leafy greens) in order to be self-sufficient were the best stress-relievers from fast-paced quotidian troubles.  The sexy man with the ponytail told me and Rachael that we were very pretty and used the word "homeboy" or "homeboys" to refer to his friend or friends.  It was a night to be remembered.

*She's right, you know.  Fluoride may whiten your teeth or whatever, but I've heard rumors of it worsening your enamel and brittling your teeth instead (which is why I've been off fluoride toothpaste for months).  I'm currently using this stuff.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Coming soon...

an update on my weekend in Winston-Salem and the rest of life.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Princess Pat lived in a tree

My parents both came to the weekly campfire tonight.  And they both sang our ridiculous, wacky, nonsensical, quirky, embarrassing, funny, lovable Camp Royallian camp songs!  Picture, please, my dad wiggling his hands, arms and, above/below all things, his bum in rhythm to a capella shouts thrown 'round a fire. 

Yummy!


These are just six of the 101 salads that Mark Bittman raves about here.  Thanks, A CUP OF JO.

And speaking of good food that's good for you, my friend Elisabeth just discovered this.  If you've ever wondered what would happen to a group of twelve humans locked up in a zoo and forced to eat the diet of an ape, then you should read the article.  A banana does a body good.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

What I just devoured:

Ingredients: Organic Sweet Potatoes, Water

Elisabeth and I went to Food Lion to buy some water guns for this year's kickoff of camp's "Assassin" competition.  We're allowed to kill people with plastic knives and/or water gun shots.  So, to increase our odds and abilities to win, we decided to doubly equip ourselves by acquiring both weapons to place on our persons.

While at Food Lion, carefully exploring each aisle for plastic firearms, we openly salivated once having reached the baby food section.  Leaving the store with many a memorable and tasty purchase, the mashed up sweet potatoes were by far the yummiest steal of the night.  For me, they were just the right amount of sweet taste and "abc" (already-been-chewed) texture.  And you can't beat these types of labels:
  • Organic
  • No Artificial Colors
  • No Artificial Flavors
  • No Preservatives
  • No Added Salt or Sugar
  • Vegan
  • Wheat Free
  • Kosher

Friday, July 24, 2009

Autism Wins

 courtesy of  Jean Rheem photography

Today it hit me that there are only two weeks of camp left.  Faceplams*

When I first started working at Camp Royall, I had not the slightest grasp on what I was getting myself into.  If I had had to define ASD then, I would have foolishly blurted out some lame, textbook definition lacking personality and truth.  And after that first week of training (i.e. the first time that said definition finally gained some dimension), I seriously doubted my strength and commitment to perform such a challenging job for the next two months that were ahead of me.  But then I met people, REAL people.  And all my fears and worries melted away; I understood the importance of honesty and trust, instead.  I saw how my campers trusted me, bearing their true skins (figuratively and literally, quite frankly), knowing full well that it was because they, too, understood my honest intent of making camp the best week of their lives!  

I have grown several years in the realm of responsibility and have traveled through light years of love in such a short (yet intense) amount of time.  At camp, I am responsible for the mental and physical well-being of another human being (yeah, I know...it blows my mind too).  For this reason, campers must fly quickly past the category of stranger and nestle themselves safely and securely into the welcoming arms of the family that Camp Royall is.  

And I have not the opportunity to even think about being selfish here.  I have gone weeks forgetting about my personal health and hygiene because of how much of a priority the happiness of my campers has become for me (I love that I don't bother to put makeup on anymore)!  Many of my campers have been younger than me and many have been much, much older than me.  But, all have been as easy with which to form friendships and care about on a level comparable to the way a mother must inherently feel about her child.  

The camper/counselor relationship that I have experienced this summer is like the strongest magnet that can't be pulled apart: Two things very different but fused together by a bond as straightforward as blind love.  And as each person learns, reciprocally, from the other, it becomes a bond truly unique to this wonderful camp and community of Autism enthusiasts in North Carolina.


courtesy of Carina Shojinaga photography

The best part about this whole experience is that I finally feel like my life has some kind of direction.  Now that I have discovered the way working with people with Autism makes me feel, I can't go back to feeling anything less.  My life is changed forever (dramatic, yes, but the way I truly feel).