so it's been awhile since I've updated this.
the Olympics in Vancouver took up a lot of my free time over the past two weeks. the satellite dish wasn't on anything but the Olympics but that was nice. the coverage here was amazing, better than any of the stateside coverage I've ever seen. there were literally 3 or 4 channels that had 24 hour coverage.
for the most part i was impressed with the rest of the staff, there wasn't any trash talking or anything during most of the sports. hockey was another story but ya know. as much as i tried i still don't understand curling. i think everyone here tried to explain it to me but i just don't get it.
I'm still learning new things about muskoka woods here. just today i was walking into the music hall so i can sit in the staff lounge and update this and i realized that under the 2 inches of solid ice there's brick in front of the building. who knew? i was driving up to roller skating the other week and i found out that there's a helipad here! yes friends there's a helipad here at muskoka woods. altho i suppose that when your cheapest one week program STARTS at 899 [and no i didn't forget the decimal point] you have kids who can afford a helicopter ride to camp.
we've pretty much wrapped up the school groups for the winter season. most of the groups now will be here during the weekends which can be nice.
this week the Ontario winter games are coming to the muskoka region. these games are for athletes who are working towards the olympics or international competition. winners here will advance to the canada games and then possibly the canadian olympic team or canadian national team. some of the best young athletes [i'm tols ages 9-17] in the country will be here. the games will be held in different places around the region but muskoka woods will be hosting the gymnastics events [including trampoline and power tumbling] and housing about half of the athletes and we've got capacity for like 600 or 700 people. the athletes arrive tomorrow and will be staying through saturday or sunday.
next weekend a friend is coming to visit and I'm excited to see someone from home. being here has put into perspective things in my life that need to take more precedence. I've always made my friends and family one of the topmost things in my life and i that will definitely continue but i also need to be closer to the people i love. as independent as i am i don't think I'm ready to move a few states away. I've done a lot of growing and healing while here but I'm not complete yet.
i miss everyone. I'll be home in less than a month.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
olympics and such
it's been awhile since i updated this so i guess it's time.
saturday feb. 6th my family became a little smaller in size. noel glenn kilmer passed away that morning. i went home on sunday and we had the funeral on tuesday. it was good to be home and to see all of my family despite the circumstances.
i got back to camp on thursday and there was some confusion with the rooming situation but it is straightened out now and everything is starting to get back to normal.
friday i sat in the staff lounge with the other staff members and watched the opening ceremonies of the olympic games. i really enjoyed most of the ceremonies. i loved the part with the tap dancing and the fiddling altho it made me wish i was still dancing. there was some interesting commentary from the canadian staff when the torch didn't come up properly and when the door wouldn't open for gordy to take the flame out to teh outdoor cauldron.
saturday i worked the tubing hill for the afternoon again. i figured that between my trip home and the holiday today i would have enough time off. having three days off in a row here is kinda hard to fill unless you go into town.
today was family day here in canada. apparently that means that little towns [like the ones surrounding me] shut down. i went to the bracebridge walmart to buy a new belt and walmart was closed. i thought walmart never closed, ever. so i went to huntsville thinking i'd go to zeller's and a place my roommate suggested called stitches but tehy were both closed as well. thenkfully when i got off the highway i saw another walmart and i stopped there before i headed to zeller's and stitches. unfortunately walmart didn't have what i was looking for so hopefully this belt will hold together for another month or at least until i can see if zeller's or stitches have what i'm looking for.
it's interesting watching the olympics in canada. i have to keep reminding myself that they're not going to follow the stateside athletes or showcase them and make sure that we see what happens with them. it's interesting to see tha national pride here. the canadians have SO MUCH pride in their country but they're very humble about it. i think they're an amazing example of how a country should act.
well i think i'm gonn get back to watching the olympics here. we've got a 50" flatscreen TV in the staff lounge with satellite TV so it's a nice spot to watch the olympics.
i miss you all and i'm looking forward to seeing you in april.
saturday feb. 6th my family became a little smaller in size. noel glenn kilmer passed away that morning. i went home on sunday and we had the funeral on tuesday. it was good to be home and to see all of my family despite the circumstances.
i got back to camp on thursday and there was some confusion with the rooming situation but it is straightened out now and everything is starting to get back to normal.
friday i sat in the staff lounge with the other staff members and watched the opening ceremonies of the olympic games. i really enjoyed most of the ceremonies. i loved the part with the tap dancing and the fiddling altho it made me wish i was still dancing. there was some interesting commentary from the canadian staff when the torch didn't come up properly and when the door wouldn't open for gordy to take the flame out to teh outdoor cauldron.
saturday i worked the tubing hill for the afternoon again. i figured that between my trip home and the holiday today i would have enough time off. having three days off in a row here is kinda hard to fill unless you go into town.
today was family day here in canada. apparently that means that little towns [like the ones surrounding me] shut down. i went to the bracebridge walmart to buy a new belt and walmart was closed. i thought walmart never closed, ever. so i went to huntsville thinking i'd go to zeller's and a place my roommate suggested called stitches but tehy were both closed as well. thenkfully when i got off the highway i saw another walmart and i stopped there before i headed to zeller's and stitches. unfortunately walmart didn't have what i was looking for so hopefully this belt will hold together for another month or at least until i can see if zeller's or stitches have what i'm looking for.
it's interesting watching the olympics in canada. i have to keep reminding myself that they're not going to follow the stateside athletes or showcase them and make sure that we see what happens with them. it's interesting to see tha national pride here. the canadians have SO MUCH pride in their country but they're very humble about it. i think they're an amazing example of how a country should act.
well i think i'm gonn get back to watching the olympics here. we've got a 50" flatscreen TV in the staff lounge with satellite TV so it's a nice spot to watch the olympics.
i miss you all and i'm looking forward to seeing you in april.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
oldies, paychex and tubing
today was an interesting day, i got a glimpse into the life of an OREC [outdoor recreation] staffer. i woke up at 8 out of habit and read for a little while. it was 34 below outside (negative 30 fahrenheit) and i didn't want get out of my warm bed right away. when i reached a good stopping point i got dressed and went to clean turbo off so we could go into town i was proud of my trevor (the turbo trailblazer) he started on the second attempt, such a trooper. so we went on our way and deposited my first paycheck (direct deposit doesn't kick in til the second check apparently). yay! [now if i can only get some of the taxes back . . . ]
when i got back to camp i went back to home sweet hazelwood to change into my afternoon attire. a few days ago i volunteered to help out with saturday afternoon activities, last night i learned i was placed on the tubing hill - outside - in the cold - for three hours or so - with a forecast of 25 below (for those of you in fahrenheit land read negative 13). so i layered appropriately with the following: feet - normal socks, wool socks, (long johns) wool socks, HEAVY wool socks winter boots; legs - long johns [courtesy of canadian tire] , dance pants, jeans, snow pants [courtesy of canadian tire]; torso - tank top, t-shirt, old navy polo-y sweatshirt-y thing, fieldhockey hoodie, softshell jacket, winter jacket; hands - knit gloves, waterproof snow winter gloves; head - hat with earflaps [borrowed from housekeeping] sweatshirt hood, winter jacket hood; face - fleece neck muff. i felt like the kid from a christmas story who couldn't put his arms down when i tried to put on my boots i couldn't bend over to tie them. instead of being incredibly frigid like i thought it was going to be it was actually quite nice, only about 13 below (8.6 fahrenheit) so i ditched the winter jacket and heavy duty gloves. plus as an added bonus i made my first winter fire today. it was totally cheating [newspaper and lighter fluid] but i didn't really have a choice and people were already there when karen and i got to the hill so we needed to get it started.
i stayed at the bottom of the hill monitoring the bumps and filling them as needed and whistling when the run was clear for the next tuber. it was a fun day all in all and there were some AMAZING wipe outs and almost wipe outs that people pulled out. jude brought karen and i some hot chocolate after awhile which was nice to sip while i monitored the run, and since it was so cold i only burned my tongue once before it cooled enough to sip comfortably.
now as i sit here after a dinner of roast beef, 'flintstones chicken' [a chicken leg that has been skinned of meat except at the top of the leg so there's a nice clean bone handle] and salad i can hear the oldies music playing from the kitchen and the kitchen guys singing along [sometimes badly]. it makes me reminiscent of the times when i was younger and things were so much simpler. i don't think i'm going to stay for next season regardless of whether or not i get a job at camp this summer. i'm slowly beginning to realize my purpose for coming here, at least i think. i believe god wanted me to see that as much as i want to be there for my friends and as much as i need them to be there for me sometimes we all need to learn to be independent. i think i lost that somewhere along the line with john. i began taking care of him and concentrated so much on that i lost a little bit of myself. i continued that path my last semester of school because it hurt too much to concentrate on myself and what i was going through. here it's taking me longer to make the connections that usually come so naturally to me and it's forcing to deal with the issues i've bee pushing aside. i'm not necessarily overcoming all of them but i'm at least acknowledging them and some i am overcoming slowly. as much as i love the drama [yes katemonster i'm admitting it i enjoy drama sometimes (and only to a point)] that comes with being the one who is called at 3am by my friends i think God wanted me to step back. i think he wanted to ease me back into being me slowly. i know i'm still trying to find some parts of myself again and i know that some parts will be lost forever and i'm learning to be ok with that. i'm thriving here without my meds and without pine rest. it's been a long time coming but i think i'm finally getting there. i know i'll probably still need pine rest appointments sometimes or places like it but not like i used to.
i feel like i rambled away from the point i was trying to make. basically i'm coming home at the end of march. i'm not saying i'll never return to muskoka but for now i think i need to go home and deal with the issues at hand. face some of the things i've been running from.
i'll be home soon [but that doesn't mean people can't come visit].
when i got back to camp i went back to home sweet hazelwood to change into my afternoon attire. a few days ago i volunteered to help out with saturday afternoon activities, last night i learned i was placed on the tubing hill - outside - in the cold - for three hours or so - with a forecast of 25 below (for those of you in fahrenheit land read negative 13). so i layered appropriately with the following: feet - normal socks, wool socks, (long johns) wool socks, HEAVY wool socks winter boots; legs - long johns [courtesy of canadian tire] , dance pants, jeans, snow pants [courtesy of canadian tire]; torso - tank top, t-shirt, old navy polo-y sweatshirt-y thing, fieldhockey hoodie, softshell jacket, winter jacket; hands - knit gloves, waterproof snow winter gloves; head - hat with earflaps [borrowed from housekeeping] sweatshirt hood, winter jacket hood; face - fleece neck muff. i felt like the kid from a christmas story who couldn't put his arms down when i tried to put on my boots i couldn't bend over to tie them. instead of being incredibly frigid like i thought it was going to be it was actually quite nice, only about 13 below (8.6 fahrenheit) so i ditched the winter jacket and heavy duty gloves. plus as an added bonus i made my first winter fire today. it was totally cheating [newspaper and lighter fluid] but i didn't really have a choice and people were already there when karen and i got to the hill so we needed to get it started.
i stayed at the bottom of the hill monitoring the bumps and filling them as needed and whistling when the run was clear for the next tuber. it was a fun day all in all and there were some AMAZING wipe outs and almost wipe outs that people pulled out. jude brought karen and i some hot chocolate after awhile which was nice to sip while i monitored the run, and since it was so cold i only burned my tongue once before it cooled enough to sip comfortably.
now as i sit here after a dinner of roast beef, 'flintstones chicken' [a chicken leg that has been skinned of meat except at the top of the leg so there's a nice clean bone handle] and salad i can hear the oldies music playing from the kitchen and the kitchen guys singing along [sometimes badly]. it makes me reminiscent of the times when i was younger and things were so much simpler. i don't think i'm going to stay for next season regardless of whether or not i get a job at camp this summer. i'm slowly beginning to realize my purpose for coming here, at least i think. i believe god wanted me to see that as much as i want to be there for my friends and as much as i need them to be there for me sometimes we all need to learn to be independent. i think i lost that somewhere along the line with john. i began taking care of him and concentrated so much on that i lost a little bit of myself. i continued that path my last semester of school because it hurt too much to concentrate on myself and what i was going through. here it's taking me longer to make the connections that usually come so naturally to me and it's forcing to deal with the issues i've bee pushing aside. i'm not necessarily overcoming all of them but i'm at least acknowledging them and some i am overcoming slowly. as much as i love the drama [yes katemonster i'm admitting it i enjoy drama sometimes (and only to a point)] that comes with being the one who is called at 3am by my friends i think God wanted me to step back. i think he wanted to ease me back into being me slowly. i know i'm still trying to find some parts of myself again and i know that some parts will be lost forever and i'm learning to be ok with that. i'm thriving here without my meds and without pine rest. it's been a long time coming but i think i'm finally getting there. i know i'll probably still need pine rest appointments sometimes or places like it but not like i used to.
i feel like i rambled away from the point i was trying to make. basically i'm coming home at the end of march. i'm not saying i'll never return to muskoka but for now i think i need to go home and deal with the issues at hand. face some of the things i've been running from.
i'll be home soon [but that doesn't mean people can't come visit].
Thursday, January 28, 2010
finnigan and the SNOW!!
the tilleys [who are part of the orec leadership] own a beautiful golden retriever named finnigan. he's a beautiful dog who is always willing to let you pet him and so well trained you wouldn't believe he's only 9 months old. he doesn't need a leash, comes when called knows not to come into the staff dining room [that doesn't stop him from standing on the threshold of the office and looking adorable and sad tho]. he's definitely the camp dog. it's really horrible that no one likes him or pets him and it's terrible that he hates the snow. i'm kidding this dog is DEFINITELY not neglected and he LOVES the snow.
Melissa and finnigan
finniganthe snow has finally commenced here. and by that i mean it started on sunday night and hasn't stopped! monday and tuesday weren't bad it was flurries on and off but only and inch or two each of those days. yesterday and today have been the big dumpers we've gotten at least 2 feet over the past 48 hours. the poor maintenance guys have done nothing but plow, shovel and snow blow then entire camp everyday. despite the cold weather there have been some icicles forming and dripping. to prevent people from getting hit by an icicle that could fall we put orange cones under some of them. well with the col weather this happens:
orange cone denoting icicle covered in ice from said icicletonight the low is 25 below. the high for tomorrow is 16 below. needless to say christie is going to be cold over the next few days. thankfully my job is mostly indoors.
i got my first pay check today so saturday i'm going to put more gas in my car and drive to bracebridge to deposit it and hopefully figure out why i can't access my account on-line. then i'll come back here for lunch and work a few hours for outdoor rec getting some extra money and seeing if this is a job i might like to join next season. i got word today that if i want to stay for another season or even come back it'll have to be as outdoor rec. in fact because of me there has been a whole policy change in the company. international employees must now work either in outdoor rec or as counselors or instructors in the summer. maintenance, kitchen and housekeeping are no longer allowed. the *cough to cover up an undesirable name* officer at the border was apparently more *undesirable name-y* than i thought. due to him and his *undesirable name-ness* immigration called the company about me. i was extremely polite at the border and stayed calm but they didn't want to give me the work permit because anyone i canada can do housekeeping. at the time i thought that they had offered the job around and no one in canada wanted it but apparently not. there are some technical ways we could get around it if we tried but the company doesn't want to hurt their relationship with immigration and i respect that. i don't like ti but i respect it. i'm just not sure i can work outdoor rec for multiple reasons [pay cut, possibly not being here the whole season etc.]. so i guess it's back to the drawing board again for me. if anyone knows of anything i can start about april and possibly only work til mid-may or june [but possibly the whole summer] let me know.
miss you all. please come visit me. [i can most likely set up accommodations on-site if i'm given enough notice]
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Huntsville
today i went into huntsville. the only 'surrounding' town that i haven't been to yet. the drive to town reminds me a lot of the drive along m-22 from suttons bay to leland, windy and pretty going past water on one side or another in a few different spots. the town itself reminds me of suttons bay with all of the stores on one main drag. it's definitely a touristy town like the ones up north but it is a little different. there are one or two strip malls so it's a little bigger than the tourist towns of the north. i walked around the shops there and they seem to be a lot like the ones from up north, clothing stores with items that say muskoka all over them, antique stores, furniture stores, knick knack and souvenir shops. there's even a camping store called algonquin outfitters. it's kind of a mom and pop camping store but i like it.
while i was in huntsville i went to a store called zeller's. one of the leadership team here told me about it after reading my entry about how much i hate walmart. it seems a lot like target in the states. i almost wonder if they're the same store with a different name in each country. they both have red as their main color and i swear they use the same font on their signs as well. i saw a lot of the canadian olympic apparel. i'll have to go back and look again later a lot of the stuff was pretty good looking. i'll probably get a sweatshirt or something at least. that way i can have a souvenir of the olympics.
work is going well, i'm starting to fall into a routine. i enjoy working with cathy. she reminds me a lot of my mom in some ways and weezie and bozo in others. the maintenance guys are all pretty fun as well. each quirky and different in their own ways. i found out that muskoka woods is kind of a bigger deal around here than i thought. the first weekend of march [i think] is the ontario winter games being held at muskoka woods. this of course apparently means that we will have 300 or more athletes on camp and maintenance [including housekeeping] will be providing service from 8am to 10pm. thankfully not all in one shift we're splitting into two shifts a day, i'm pulling the 2 -10 shift because i live on property but i can live with that. it's only for four or five days. then in june the G8 is going to be in huntsville [don't ask me why there i have NO idea]. so there are going to be around 700 OPP [ontario provincial police] and secret service agents staying on property. it's too bad i'll probably be back in the states by then. otherwise i think the view around here would be even prettier. ;o)
well i think i'm going to sign off for now. i hope all is going well at home. i wish more of you had passports so you could come visit. speaking of which if you'd like to come visit just let me know and i'll work out arrangements for you to stay on property. i can switch days if i need to if you come during the week.
miss you all.
while i was in huntsville i went to a store called zeller's. one of the leadership team here told me about it after reading my entry about how much i hate walmart. it seems a lot like target in the states. i almost wonder if they're the same store with a different name in each country. they both have red as their main color and i swear they use the same font on their signs as well. i saw a lot of the canadian olympic apparel. i'll have to go back and look again later a lot of the stuff was pretty good looking. i'll probably get a sweatshirt or something at least. that way i can have a souvenir of the olympics.
work is going well, i'm starting to fall into a routine. i enjoy working with cathy. she reminds me a lot of my mom in some ways and weezie and bozo in others. the maintenance guys are all pretty fun as well. each quirky and different in their own ways. i found out that muskoka woods is kind of a bigger deal around here than i thought. the first weekend of march [i think] is the ontario winter games being held at muskoka woods. this of course apparently means that we will have 300 or more athletes on camp and maintenance [including housekeeping] will be providing service from 8am to 10pm. thankfully not all in one shift we're splitting into two shifts a day, i'm pulling the 2 -10 shift because i live on property but i can live with that. it's only for four or five days. then in june the G8 is going to be in huntsville [don't ask me why there i have NO idea]. so there are going to be around 700 OPP [ontario provincial police] and secret service agents staying on property. it's too bad i'll probably be back in the states by then. otherwise i think the view around here would be even prettier. ;o)
well i think i'm going to sign off for now. i hope all is going well at home. i wish more of you had passports so you could come visit. speaking of which if you'd like to come visit just let me know and i'll work out arrangements for you to stay on property. i can switch days if i need to if you come during the week.
miss you all.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Bad Night
sometimes i wish people here weren't opposed to asking if something's wrong when they can obviously see it on my face. i miss the feeling of family i get at JCC. i miss not being able to get anything by sarah even though sometimes it's annoying and sucks. i just want someone to care enough to ask or try to get to know me. to want to know about my personal life and the things i left in michigan and so forth.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
heavy pockets and not in the good way
Canada has too many coins. I understand having a one dollar coin it’s nice to get one now and then but we mainly use a one dollar BILL. Paper. Not as heavy or loud. Seriously I have 11 dollars in coins right now. 8 of them are in two dollar coins. I hate coins in the states and now I have to carry around more? Not fun.
This weekend we have a group called CBOQ on camp. Conference Baptist of Ontario and quebec. 5 or 6 hundred people on camp, JCC doesn’t get that in a summer. I worked today, mostly checking bathrooms and doing kitchen laundry. Tomorrow is technically my day off but I think I’ll prolly go around and at least empty some of the garbages in bathrooms that were getting full tonight. Shouldn’t take me long.
I looked in the tuck shop for the first time today. That’s what they call the camp store here. I wanted to see what kind of muskoka woods apparel they have. I looked at the price on a sweatshirt that I thought looked nice and it was 75 dollars! That’s insane! Nice ones in the states are like 50 tops and the Canadian dollar is supposed to buy more than the American dollar right now. Holy cow. So I don’t think I’m gonna get myself any muskoka woods apparel unless there’s a decent staff discount.
On the plus side I am finally getting internet in my room. So I’m laying across the width of my bed with my head against my window typing this out. I’m rather impressed with myself since I can’t really see the keyboard and I’m not having too many spelling errors. Somewhere along the line I must have gotten good at typing.
Tomorrow afternoon Bex, a girl from new Zealand and I are going to go into parry sound again. She wants to get a new phone and judging from the fact that it’s only 9:30 and I’m bored I figure I’ll tag along and see what parry sound has to offer. As long as I stay away from the DVDs at wal-mart I should be fine.
I finished my application for JCC yesterday. I’ll mail it out on Monday provided I find an envelope to use. There were just too many headaches trying to submit it on-line. So hopefully I’ll get a job at JCC again this summer and I’ll be back in the states at least for the summer. I’m still looking at other camps keeping my options open, but I’m hoping to get at least one more summer in at JCC.
I hope all is going well for everyone at home, and I hope you’re enjoying these updates. I’ll try to keep ‘em coming. Let me know what you’d like to hear more about or what pictures you’d like to see etc. and I’m still looking for ideas for a staff night. So far I’m thinking Motown music, Arabic food, cherry pie and maybe a movie set in Michigan or something. I dunno I think with some help I can do better so seriously if you’ve got ideas let me know.
This weekend we have a group called CBOQ on camp. Conference Baptist of Ontario and quebec. 5 or 6 hundred people on camp, JCC doesn’t get that in a summer. I worked today, mostly checking bathrooms and doing kitchen laundry. Tomorrow is technically my day off but I think I’ll prolly go around and at least empty some of the garbages in bathrooms that were getting full tonight. Shouldn’t take me long.
I looked in the tuck shop for the first time today. That’s what they call the camp store here. I wanted to see what kind of muskoka woods apparel they have. I looked at the price on a sweatshirt that I thought looked nice and it was 75 dollars! That’s insane! Nice ones in the states are like 50 tops and the Canadian dollar is supposed to buy more than the American dollar right now. Holy cow. So I don’t think I’m gonna get myself any muskoka woods apparel unless there’s a decent staff discount.
On the plus side I am finally getting internet in my room. So I’m laying across the width of my bed with my head against my window typing this out. I’m rather impressed with myself since I can’t really see the keyboard and I’m not having too many spelling errors. Somewhere along the line I must have gotten good at typing.
Tomorrow afternoon Bex, a girl from new Zealand and I are going to go into parry sound again. She wants to get a new phone and judging from the fact that it’s only 9:30 and I’m bored I figure I’ll tag along and see what parry sound has to offer. As long as I stay away from the DVDs at wal-mart I should be fine.
I finished my application for JCC yesterday. I’ll mail it out on Monday provided I find an envelope to use. There were just too many headaches trying to submit it on-line. So hopefully I’ll get a job at JCC again this summer and I’ll be back in the states at least for the summer. I’m still looking at other camps keeping my options open, but I’m hoping to get at least one more summer in at JCC.
I hope all is going well for everyone at home, and I hope you’re enjoying these updates. I’ll try to keep ‘em coming. Let me know what you’d like to hear more about or what pictures you’d like to see etc. and I’m still looking for ideas for a staff night. So far I’m thinking Motown music, Arabic food, cherry pie and maybe a movie set in Michigan or something. I dunno I think with some help I can do better so seriously if you’ve got ideas let me know.
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