Entries this day: Rally_1 Rally_2 YAC band

Rally 1

6:30am Saturday 13 January 2001

(adapted from notes that I took)

Rally is going great. I arrived after work around 6pm to find some Houston youth here, getting stuff together. I created a sign that I taped between the podiums in the sanctuary. It spanned the entire thirty feet or so across the three steps leading up the stage. It said in large block letters

FALSE.

I was quite entertained with myself.

I felt perfectly not nervous leading the advisor meeting at 10pm. I just explained what I thought was our role at the rally and answered a few questions and that was it. Essentially identical advisor meeting at 1:AM for the later arrivals.

Just after OKC people arrived, at 3:30am or so opening circle went well and we handed out the scrubs afterward and ran out of Smalls and had too many Larges. Elizabeth and I both snagged a pair of Larges for Bryn.

Touch group meeting was cool and seemed to be great for each group. Our group played Dead Fish, my current favorite ice-breaker game. Super duper thanks to Meg for creating touch group leader packets!

This rally is kicking so much ass everywhere. Oh - and we had zero walk-ins!

Studying the mugbooks really helped me remember names of all the youth. I will catch up and know all the youth's names by the next rally.

Denise and I enjoyed listening to Channing's felony stories with outrageous titles, such as "Conspiracy To Cross State Lines and Discard Rubbish." He was held in contempt of the court for clicking a pen. Eight felonies in Washington DC and one felony here in Texas.

Laura had on 4 inch clonker shoes and because a professional shoe remover. She intimidated some of the boys by being too tall.

Laura's Yackity Yac rules with SWUUSI staff information.

Thumb war with Amanda turned into Global Domination and I ate soy bars with Nicole, Alison, and friends.

Everything is perfect; I'm going to sleep.

Rally 2

9 am Saturday 13 January 2001

(adapted from notes that I took)

Aaron playing spy cam pulling Christina in a wagon as she held a camera. Aaron said they were looking for spys. I pulled the wagon, saying "where are those spys?"

Nick made the statue of a friar have a banana peel peeled in his crotch & banana on the ground in front and labeled it "the forbidden fruit?"

A youth stood on the bench near the friar and it broke. The bench was ridiculously old, so I told him really not to worry about it.

Random games inside and The Rentals CD on the CD player.

9:40am

Soccer outside now.

We set up a game of 1/2 court soccer, so we wouldn't play in the sopping puddles nor stomp the flower bed on one end of the minature "field." The game basically got too rough for me, so I sat on the sidelines with Cassie and Joanna. Laura has a stain on the knee of her new scrubs. Several youth came out of the game with numb-cold bare feet and cuts and scratches on their feet from sticks on the ground. Ow. That's part of the reason I quit playing.

Doh! Cassie reminds me that Northwoods group is planning their fundraising concert (punk rock show) at the same time as my KTRU shift. I will get a sub for KTRU; I wouldn't miss the results of my youth group's labors for KTRU!

(It would be my last KTRU shift of the semester, and I don't know if I'll sign up again for the same shift or a different shift or what... On one hand DJing is funner than shit, not to mention cooler than shit to get calls from people who know me or who appreciate the music or both, and on the other hand, I'm feelin' busy. But c'mon! It's only 2 or 3 hours every 2 weeks!)

10:40am

Numbers are dwindling, and Jackie has out her camera. Kevin is sitting down with a bruised foot.

10:51am

Ultimate frisbee in the parking lot and Sean got nailed head on. He says, "I woulda caught that shit too!"

11:35am

Awesome game with good throws and running. Lunchtime now.

12:pm

The moonwalk has arrived.

They are setting up for lunch - a Hunger Banquet, where we divided into groups proportional to the numbers of people who have and have not food in the world. 15 percent got a nice meal with salad and meat, 30 percent got rice and beans, 55 percent got rice. That sucks. I'm super thrilled that the youth are helping with this awareness.

2:15pm

Rob burps!

We sat around at a touch group meeting and burped.

YAC

~2 pm CST Saturday 13 January 2001

(adapted from my notes)

We are starting the YAC meeting; it's my last or second to last full real YAC meeting.

3 pm

Youth are bouncing in the moonwalk as we are meeting.

3:10pm

The youth talked about $40 being too high a price for a rally. I simply told them the price was youth-determined and we had the cool things like scrubs, moonwalk, and band. It was suggested that we didn't have to have all that to make a cool rally.

3:15pm

We're talking about the Power Shuffle at SWUUSI. Laura almost in tears: "I don't think SWUUSI is the same without the power shuffle, like at all!"

4:pm

Still talking about power shuffle. See, it's a worship type thing that really gets into the deeper sharing and emotional part of the youth and brings them exceptionally close together. Some parents and people who are not there feel the event is too emotional and not done in a safe environment.

We who are there say that it is a safe environment, with peers and several fully trained professional therapists and psychological workers available to help youth with issues that come up. We contend that the buried emotions must come out, and the Power Shuffle helps that process; it doesn't create the issues - it releases them.

We're taking a break now.

Jason came to say HI! We bounced around a bit in the moonwalk. Cool to talk to him.

5pm

Back in meeting now. High energy brainstorm on how to respond to the district board's concerns about the Power Shuffle.

6pm

"It's time for YAC elections." We are still in YAC meeting.

6:20pm

Only one person ran for each position. Meg Robinson is new Social Action Chair, and Rick Bibby is new adult at large.

7:20pm

YAC meeting again, selecting SWUUSI staff. We just spent 3 or 4 minutes talking about Bryn.

8:20pm

"Laura, we feel your best assets fit this position."

8:33pm

Essentially finished selecting SWUUSI staff.

8:43

Meg: "I can do that."

Us: "YAAAAYYYYYYYYY!"

Heather chose not to leave the band tonight, so she is declining her position as SWUUSI mugbook person.

Hillary: "That's fine."

Us: clap clap clap clap clap clap

9:11pm

YAC meeting is finished. We have a focus for talking to the board about Power Shuffle, and we have chosen SWUUSI staff.

band

10 pm CST Saturday 13 January 2001

Jason was all, "want to go in there [with the band]?"

"Naw, this music is dumb to me."

"Yeah, and that's why we can dance dumbly to it."

"Cool!" So we went in as The Rob and Jason Circus. Some of our tricks:

• Jason leap frogged over me while I was standing up

• Jason leaped up to sitting on my shoulders

• From sitting on my shoulders, Jason twisted somehow so that we linked our elbows while back to back, with Jason upside down. (with his head turning purple according to one observer)

• Both standing on the ground, we linked elbows and alternated legs in the air, then legs on the ground, while spinning around.

Super fun stuff! A small loose mosh pit with no distinct border formed for a while, blowing off energy of some of the other youth. I acted as a barrier and kept them from bouncing too far out of the area.

11pm

Phat Pat showed me how he melted some of the Mardi-gras beads into a cool clear colorful "Pat" shape. I and a couple other youth made various designs, but there was too much stink and smoke whafted out of the oven when we opened it to make any more.

12am Sunday 14 January 2001

Rob and Jason Circus to the max

• Me on my back, Jason did the airplane (like Minnie Driver in Gross Pointe Blank (sp)). He pretended to swim like a frog which cracked me up.

• Me on my back, Jason tried several times to stand on my feet, but he said I was too bouncy.

• Jason on my shoulders, then he climbed up to standing on my shoulders.

• Jason standing on my calves leaning way forward as I walked. That was funny.

I was collapsed in a fit of giggles and Jason stood on my back as I was trying to do push ups. That didn't work. Then I was on all fours and he rode on my back as I thudded like a big bulldog walking through a field of legs. I was on my knees and elbows, so I couldn't see anyone until I was bumping their feet. Pretty much they moved out of my way. I stopped and Jason was all, "no, keep going!" and I could feel he was turned around backwards with his feet pointing forwards and I bumped into some feet that said, "Hi Rob."

Jason was fully backwards and balanced and I slowly stood up, so we were locked at the elbows, back to back, Jason upside down.

I saw who had addressed me. "Hi Terry! Hi Mary!" They were here to help watch the rally so the advisors could sleep. Jason was still on my back.

I said HI to them a bit and then tilted forward so Jason could stand on the ground. I could smell my STINK. I hadn't changed or showered since Friday morning.

Wende and the rest of SWUUSI staff just finished their meeting. She and I stood outside as she cried because she was not in Austin with her sister Stacey as Stacey had her first baby, and the first of this generation in our families. She had had to be at the SWUUSI meeting, and had to be back at work in 8 hours.

I moved the motor to the moonwalk out of the rain. The moonwalk delivery guys said we didn't have to worry about the actual moonwalk getting wet - just the motor.

Worship has thoroughly started, and I'm walkin' around making sure everything seems cool throughout the rest of the rally.

1am

Worship still. Some peeps are being loud as shit not too far away, so I encouraged them elsewhere. Jason, who said he was leaving a while ago, is still debating drug legalization with Nick and Jeffery.

1:15am

Big rain outside, still worship, people sharing how rallies affect their lives so positively and acceptance and how they are allowed to be themselves here, and therefore have the courage to be themselves elsewhere. (That the conglomerate of what most people were saying, according to one observer who left the worship.)

1:30am

Worship over, kitchen comes to life with people pouring into it.

"That's the Groovie Juice?? God, I thought they were trying to soak out the chili," exclaimed Ben, looking at the pukey brown color with white floaties in it. (basically strong Tang with non-dairy creamer in it)

1:33am

Talent show now. Amy playing harp is the first talent.

I helped sing the second talent with Ryan and Nicole:

I hate my period
More than most things
It comes at bad times
and at worse times
fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you die

We sang it once as a round.

1:40am

Steve performing Rocky Raccoon

I slept through the next guitar thing, and I think David and Joan swing dancing.

1:57am

Grantly the star of a french sound track thing about a burlesque house I think.

2:25am

I was snoring during Stevie's guitar and Hethre laughed, and Lilly was all, "Rob, you're snoring, dog. Rob, you're snoring..." I woke up all "damn..."

Now Heidi reads her poetry.

3:15am

I've been sleeping through talents and just got up. Ryan asked if I wanted to play Silent Football, but I could not possibly start a game while the talent show is going on. That would be entirely rude.

4:00

Talent show over, and thank God for the youth who helped clean the kitchen "while you're awake, before we play Silent Football, and I promise it will be so much easier now while you're awake than in 2 hours after you've been sleeping." In quick order they tidied it up and took out the trash and stuff, while I told the Koosh Joke.

I cut the joke pretty short, cause by halfway through, they were all just watching me and not cleaning. It's all good though; the kitchen looked relatively great.

Now we are seated around the ping pong table in the local youth group's room. Nick is Dictator for Silent Football. We don't have enough time for two games, and this is his last rally. So he will be dictator until someone reaches 3 points and then I will be dictator.