Entries this day: AM Abbey Bryn Dream Noah Theme Wende pm silent_football zzzz

AM

6:35am CDT Monday 22 July 2002

Watching the lake slowly light up. There are three youth on the dock now. I recognize Wes's hat, but the others I cannot identify from this far away. The coolest thing just flew by: a flock of about twenty honking geese about one foot above the water's surface. I don't know if the picture will come out. I barely got my camera out in time.

6:44am

The three youth just walked back. Casey is one of those I couldn't identify. I don't remember the name of the third. All three are new to SWUUSI this year.

This is interesting, a fourth youth who came down around 6:40 waited on the road until the three youth on the dock left. Now that they are gone, she has entered the dock and has it to herself.

7:14am

Sean came down to wake everyone up for opening circle. There are four youth down closer to the lake. They are at least awake as opposed to Bryn and Chris.

I'm going up now.

8:03am

At opening circle I led the Labadoo song, a new one to this district. It's one that I just read last week in my new games book. Thanks to Lawren for thinking "hands on your knees" when I ran out of appropriate verses.

8:56am

"Marta is awesome, that will get you started," says Marta, to get me started.

But what I was really going to say is that Senna and I got to be a vocal musical instrument (drums) for Joan to play. She designated a sound for us to make when she tapped our shoulders or head. Mine were "pitterpatter" "boink" and "wheeee!" Senna's were "doobeedoo" "tssssh" (high hat) and "tickytacky" Fun stuff!

Workshops now.

11:32am

Creative writing workshop with Meg. My image had a house with wacked out bricks and an apple tree and a guy pushing a lawnmower on top of an 18 wheeler, plus the wind blowing.

Then games in our touchgroup: name game with animals and pizza toppings then an instrument game like during breakfast.

Then a rousing game of detective and suddenly Noah came running up as if chased by a demon. Busted open the door and with all seriousness of a train wreck, "ultimate frisbee."

We all ran out of the cabin.

12:19pm

Yay for no injuries during Ultimate! We were smart twice this year and (1) no people were picked last thanks to Sean splitting up six people. (2) played 7 players on the line (it was Jack's idea) which gave us three subs per team and a lots more rest, safer play and all that.

The teams were rather evenly picked and we had about the same score at the end of the game. Both teams were consistently scoring uphill.

Abbey

12:27am CDT Tuesday 23 July 2002

I'm enjoying flirting with Abbey. She rode on me piggyback

during lunch scrubby scrubby my head and that was fun. then pat pet my back like a puppy "oh you shaved!"

I clasped with both my hands her hand during the look into another's eyes at worship.

Bryn

6:31am CDT Monday 22 July 2002

I really enjoyed getting to hold Bryn's hand at worship last night. I've been watching her interact with her boy friends and I sometimes feel jealous of her time, but not too much.

I'm quite interested to listen to her stories of the past summer that she's been working a lot. She's in the process of saving $3000 this summer, whereas I am in the process of unsaving $5000 and not knowing where my resources will come from, but trusting that they will.

Last night, Bryn queried about my finances and i told her that I mostly had no idea where my money would come from, she seemed to feel quite scared for me, gave me a hug. I told her it would really really be okay, somehow. I look forward to telling her my stories.

Last night maybe around 3am, I was woken up by Bryn's voice. She seemed to be crying/talking in her sleep. (her feet are twitching as she sleeps right now) I chose not to speak to her and either wake her up, or interrupt her processing with Chris. I may, however, inquire about it today.

Dream

6:29am CDT Monday 22 July 2002

(dream)

Someone was describing a utopian YRUU community.

Noah

8:44pm CDT Monday 22 July 2002

Noah found a cool game they set up for us outside.

They set up these posts (like what Noah and Ryan are standing on, trying to exchange places) all in a line along the sidewalk.

Noah had done this once or twice already: we hopped/stepped from post to post all the way from the building, around a 90 degree turn, past a tree (had to grab onto its branch to make it across) and down to the restrooms, where we jumped up onto the fence around the restroom doors. I was standing on top as Noah was climbing up.

"Noah and Rob!"

"Are we in trouble?" I asked Noah.

"Bryn is pissed."

"Aw man."

"Think about the liability issues and what an influence you have on others here," she pointed out.

I love Bryn for being willing to speak out against dumb behavior.

We chose not to climb over the roof of the bathroom (trivial enough for any of the other youth to do, and high profile enough to make them want to do it if we do) and walked over to the other fence, climbed it as if we had climbed over the roof. Jumped from the fence to the tree and down to the next line of posts in the ground. I went down toward the women's restroom door and turned around (that was the end) and came back. Noah was on the posts so I jumped to the tree to let him get past me. Then I continued and barely made it across another wide gap. Chairs were set up so we could get to and from four posts in the middle of a little grass yard area.

To the next (and last) end of the post line and then we took about five attempts to pull off the switch places move. We did it by linking elbows and with a bit of arm flailing to balance, but we did it. Excellent.

Theme

12:49pm CDT Monday 22 July 2002

Damien writes:

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

1:23pm

Oh, this is an excellent game. Describe the Picture, basically played as telephone, with people being brought into the room one at a time. Audience gets to watch the whole thing.

"Person standing on a staircase, wearing red shirt and black gloves and strikingly white shoes. He is smiling and has one hand in the air."

(That's what I remember)

There's a picture of a person wearing black and red cloth

This is a pcitreu of a person in a stariw. the person is weaering a red shiert black gloves s.. I couldn't keep up with her reading it again.

So amazing. Everyone raised their hands wanting to volunteer for the second round.

In this picture I see a person standing arms crossed and smiling. The person is wearing tan coveralls with an orange T-shirt under the person is wearing thick dirty working gloves and large wrench. He's wearing a denim baseball hat airplane behind the person. The sun is setting and the sky is gold red and blue.

Amelia did a great job of relaying the words.

There's a man standing with his arms crosed and he's holding a wrench and tan overalls and a shirt that may or may not be blue and in the back ground is an orange and gold sunset.

I see two people in an office one perons is stanidn up loking over the fpist persons shoudler looking a ta alpatr

I couldn't keep up with her reading it at all.

Amber did a great job of relaying it.

2:58pm

During Abbey's Theme Speakin', I got Joel's attention, indicating for him to throw me some chocolate. My hands were sorta out on my knee, cupped... he threw a perfect arc; I barely moved them an inch and caught it. Oh so subtle... ;-) Steve laughed silently at our amazing smoothness.

Lake Games now!

5:32pm Monday 22 July 2002

Lake Games were fun. Noah and I nearly won the chicken fight against Mattboy and Mikey. But we lost.

There are people in the freezer right now.

Chicken fights were fun, though Abbey doesn't quite understand the fun. Noah and I assured her they were quite safe and tame and such. Just then Asha hurt her back a bit, bending backwards.

Okay, they're relatively safe.

A chauffered Asha on her rickshaw-ish floatie, and she pulled me a bit, but mostly not able to touch the bottom of the lake.

We almost instantly lost the two huge beach balls, but a boat recovered them for us. Then we lost one of them again about an hour later.

Just before the end of the lake adventure, I told Sean and Abbey "we have to get out of the lake soon, so I'm going up now to get first dibs on shower." Just then, Wende and Susie were walking down the dock to becon people out.

In shower we sang "The ants go marching" and "Paul Revere" and started "(You gotta) Fight For Your Right (to Party)", but didn't get too far.

Wende

6:42am CDT Monday 22 July 2002

Last night Wende arrived; it was close to dark when I first saw her. We went toward worship together. I imagined that she would feel jealous that I was holding Bryn's hand, so I held Wende's hand as we entered the worship space.

I'm glad Wende was able to attend SWUUSI; it looks like this will be her last YRUU event in Southwest District for a while.

pm

9:02pm CDT Monday 22 July 2002

Dance now.

12:07am Tuesday 23 July 2002

Dance was great though not a lot of fast songs were played. We still danced plenty and mostly everyone was drenched with sweat, and not just from dancing; it's hot!

Played a couple Eminem songs, but neither of them finished because the CD player didn't seem to stay consistent through any entire song. It's all good though.

After dance was touch group meetings, but before that Erin expressed some of her sadness to me that came up during the prison reform workshop, during part of which I slept.

In touch group we played Green Glass Doors (what can you take through them? (the same things that you can Take to The Moon)) and everyone got it after a while except for Hunter I think. But it's all good as well.

Um, then worship was cool with improv vocal/body music including beat boxing and elements from our human instruments (from touch group) and the techno song that David and I have performed. Good stuff.

Instead of a hug exchange circle, we did something like the unconditional honoring love gaze into one another's eyes for 10 or 15 seconds each. Good stuff.

Then beautiful was the Lean On Me performed by four voices (Abbey T, Laura C, Steve F, Richard W) and then by the group.

Silent Football now-ish.

silent football

12:33am CDT Tuesday 23 July 2002

zzzz

6:24am CDT Tuesday 23 July 2002

It's late late late. I'm tired tired tired. Marta and I are in the mess hall; there are very few others awake; we are at the end of our roving term.

I'm going to sleeeeep.