East Iowa Bible Camp
Kilz
07/10/08 01:09 PM Filed in: Stories
We had
to paint the ceiling of cabin Esther yesterday for
reasons I shan’t go into since they make little sense
to me. Rachel, Jesse, and I went up there after lunch
to paint for about an hour. Of course, boredom set in
quickly since all we were doing was moving our arms
back and forth, so Rachel and I put face paint under
our eyes. Yes, the paint we were using for the
ceiling.
Another while went by and Rachel said, “Hey, let’s paint our faces like Ben!” She said she would do it if I did it, so I came over to the bunk she was sitting on and let her decorate my face. Then it was her turn. So I decorated her face. Then Jesse was up, so Rachel painted a uni-brown and beard onto him.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if this wasn’t actually latex paint?” inquired Rachel.
Jesse assured us it was, and, in fact, it said Kilz Latex right on the side of the can. Even still, it would have been funny. Being latex paint, Rachel and I left ours on for the rest of the afternoon, thinking we could just wash it right off. Jesse chickened out and washed his off after a short while.
After Dinner I decided it was shower time. I figured a washcloth and warm water would take my latex paint right off. After all, it wasn’t oil-based ... Rachel and I got oil based paint on ourselves a few weeks ago, and it was definitely attached to us for at least a week. That stuff does not come out. What we didn’t expect was that, though the paint was latex, it was Kilz interior/exterior professional grade paint. Meaning it’s obviously weather resistant and very strong.
The joke ended up being on me. It took me for 45 minutes to get the paint off my face, and I’m quite sure I took off at least one, if not more, layer of skin. And I made my face bleed. Luckily, I took a shower directly after this to clean myself up. My face still slightly hurts, but the good news is I got it all off!
Lesson to be learned: Don’t put exterior paint on yourself intentionally; it’s tough stuff! Jesse’s so smart ...
Another while went by and Rachel said, “Hey, let’s paint our faces like Ben!” She said she would do it if I did it, so I came over to the bunk she was sitting on and let her decorate my face. Then it was her turn. So I decorated her face. Then Jesse was up, so Rachel painted a uni-brown and beard onto him.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if this wasn’t actually latex paint?” inquired Rachel.
Jesse assured us it was, and, in fact, it said Kilz Latex right on the side of the can. Even still, it would have been funny. Being latex paint, Rachel and I left ours on for the rest of the afternoon, thinking we could just wash it right off. Jesse chickened out and washed his off after a short while.
After Dinner I decided it was shower time. I figured a washcloth and warm water would take my latex paint right off. After all, it wasn’t oil-based ... Rachel and I got oil based paint on ourselves a few weeks ago, and it was definitely attached to us for at least a week. That stuff does not come out. What we didn’t expect was that, though the paint was latex, it was Kilz interior/exterior professional grade paint. Meaning it’s obviously weather resistant and very strong.
The joke ended up being on me. It took me for 45 minutes to get the paint off my face, and I’m quite sure I took off at least one, if not more, layer of skin. And I made my face bleed. Luckily, I took a shower directly after this to clean myself up. My face still slightly hurts, but the good news is I got it all off!
Lesson to be learned: Don’t put exterior paint on yourself intentionally; it’s tough stuff! Jesse’s so smart ...
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To: Mr. FedEx Man
06/29/08 10:41 AM Filed in: Stories
I ordered a new iPod.
Which, normally, would be the most significant aspect
of this blog post. Alas, it is not. The more exciting
story is how it got here.
I ordered the iPod, with a case, on Tuesday. They informed me the items would be shipped separately depending on availability, which was fine by me. I got a shipment confirmation email later that night saying the case had been shipped from Memphis, TN. I checked my email the next morning to find a second shipment confirmation saying my iPod had been shipped from Shanghai CN. In my naivity, I assumed this was Connecticut, which I now realize is CT. At this same time, my case was leaving Memphis, TN.
I checked later that night and found my iPod case had successfully made it to Chicago. My case, on the other hand, was in Anchorage, AK. If AK was Arkansas, this would be closer than Connecticut, but AK is Alaska ... this was when I realized my iPod was coming from China, not Connecticut. In which case Alaska was progress.
I checked my email yet again on Thursday morning to find, to my great surprise, that my iPod was “at the local FedEx facility” in Cedar Rapids already! Apparently overnight it had gone from Alaska, to Indianapolis, to Cedar Rapids. One thing I found ironic was that it didn’t get an International Shipment Release until it went from Alaska to Indianapolis ... does that mean Alaska isn’t a part of the US according to FedEx? Anyway, back to my case ... it was still in Chicago for some reason. It hung out there for a while until it was finally shipped to Ottumwa, IA and loaded on a truck for delivery.
I was pretty excited; two days later and both my packages were going to arrive on the same day. Now if I could only get my paws on them before anyone else did and made me sing for them ... :P. (In case you don’t know, if you receive a package or three letters int he same day at the camp I work at, you have to sing or tell a joke in chapel for it.)
Ben, Jesse, and I were in the shop working on ... *cough* ... something. And we saw Mr. FedEx man pull in. Though, strangely, he didn’t come all the way to camp. He stopped at the house at the front of the lane. That’s Ben’s house. Definitely not 1433 F52 Trail, which is the shipping address I specified. Ben’s house is 1426, I think. The camp is 1433. This is clearly marked with numbers on Ben’s house. Even still, Mr. FedEx man insisted on delivering to the wrong location. I jumped into the truck and drove down the lane to snatch my package from the delusioned delivery men.
I got to Ben’s house just as they were about to pull out of the driveway and leave. “I have a package here for Alex,” said Mr. FedEx man after I waved him down. “I think you’re supposed to be delivering this to 1433, which is just down the lane from here.” He looked at me for a little while, unsure of what to say, and finally said, “Are you Alex?” I took his electronic thingy and put my John Hancock on it. I traded him his electronic thingy for my package and double-checked to make sure the delivery address was, in fact, 1433. It was. Shame on you FedEx.
Sadly, this package was just the case. The iPod itself was coming on some bigger and better truck, all the way from China! I figured it would come later in the afternoon, and I knew Joy was in the office to sign for it, so I felt safe taking a nap at 2:30.
I awoke from my nap at 4:30 and wandered dizzily over to the chapel to see if my package had come. “Not yet,” Joy informed me. I sat down at the computer to look at my tracking number. To my frustration, it said, “Delivery exception: Customer not available or business closed - signature required.” 4:24. Sarah came back from her house at this time, holding up one of those door hanger things they leave if you’re not home. They had just been there and delivered to the wrong place again!!
Needless to say, I was frustrated ... two seperate FedEx men tried to deliver my packages to the wrong address. What if that house hadn’t been Ben’s house? Someone else might be holding my iPod right now! Joy called FedEx Customer Service immedietly and tried to get the truck to turn around, but the lady on the phone was rather rude and mostly just wanted to get Joy off the phone, so the call was to no avail.
To redeem the second FedEx man, he came back on Friday while Joy, Jesse and I were sitting in the office, this time he came all the way to the camp and delivered my package. At least I have both of my packages now. Still, something about these deliveries seems very unprofessional ... if you pulled up to a house that was in the driveway to a camp and the owner wasn’t home, wouldn’t your first thought be, “I’ll bet he’s at the camp ...” No. Your first thought probably should have been to look at the house number :p.
I ordered the iPod, with a case, on Tuesday. They informed me the items would be shipped separately depending on availability, which was fine by me. I got a shipment confirmation email later that night saying the case had been shipped from Memphis, TN. I checked my email the next morning to find a second shipment confirmation saying my iPod had been shipped from Shanghai CN. In my naivity, I assumed this was Connecticut, which I now realize is CT. At this same time, my case was leaving Memphis, TN.
I checked later that night and found my iPod case had successfully made it to Chicago. My case, on the other hand, was in Anchorage, AK. If AK was Arkansas, this would be closer than Connecticut, but AK is Alaska ... this was when I realized my iPod was coming from China, not Connecticut. In which case Alaska was progress.
I checked my email yet again on Thursday morning to find, to my great surprise, that my iPod was “at the local FedEx facility” in Cedar Rapids already! Apparently overnight it had gone from Alaska, to Indianapolis, to Cedar Rapids. One thing I found ironic was that it didn’t get an International Shipment Release until it went from Alaska to Indianapolis ... does that mean Alaska isn’t a part of the US according to FedEx? Anyway, back to my case ... it was still in Chicago for some reason. It hung out there for a while until it was finally shipped to Ottumwa, IA and loaded on a truck for delivery.
I was pretty excited; two days later and both my packages were going to arrive on the same day. Now if I could only get my paws on them before anyone else did and made me sing for them ... :P. (In case you don’t know, if you receive a package or three letters int he same day at the camp I work at, you have to sing or tell a joke in chapel for it.)
Ben, Jesse, and I were in the shop working on ... *cough* ... something. And we saw Mr. FedEx man pull in. Though, strangely, he didn’t come all the way to camp. He stopped at the house at the front of the lane. That’s Ben’s house. Definitely not 1433 F52 Trail, which is the shipping address I specified. Ben’s house is 1426, I think. The camp is 1433. This is clearly marked with numbers on Ben’s house. Even still, Mr. FedEx man insisted on delivering to the wrong location. I jumped into the truck and drove down the lane to snatch my package from the delusioned delivery men.
I got to Ben’s house just as they were about to pull out of the driveway and leave. “I have a package here for Alex,” said Mr. FedEx man after I waved him down. “I think you’re supposed to be delivering this to 1433, which is just down the lane from here.” He looked at me for a little while, unsure of what to say, and finally said, “Are you Alex?” I took his electronic thingy and put my John Hancock on it. I traded him his electronic thingy for my package and double-checked to make sure the delivery address was, in fact, 1433. It was. Shame on you FedEx.
Sadly, this package was just the case. The iPod itself was coming on some bigger and better truck, all the way from China! I figured it would come later in the afternoon, and I knew Joy was in the office to sign for it, so I felt safe taking a nap at 2:30.
I awoke from my nap at 4:30 and wandered dizzily over to the chapel to see if my package had come. “Not yet,” Joy informed me. I sat down at the computer to look at my tracking number. To my frustration, it said, “Delivery exception: Customer not available or business closed - signature required.” 4:24. Sarah came back from her house at this time, holding up one of those door hanger things they leave if you’re not home. They had just been there and delivered to the wrong place again!!
Needless to say, I was frustrated ... two seperate FedEx men tried to deliver my packages to the wrong address. What if that house hadn’t been Ben’s house? Someone else might be holding my iPod right now! Joy called FedEx Customer Service immedietly and tried to get the truck to turn around, but the lady on the phone was rather rude and mostly just wanted to get Joy off the phone, so the call was to no avail.
To redeem the second FedEx man, he came back on Friday while Joy, Jesse and I were sitting in the office, this time he came all the way to the camp and delivered my package. At least I have both of my packages now. Still, something about these deliveries seems very unprofessional ... if you pulled up to a house that was in the driveway to a camp and the owner wasn’t home, wouldn’t your first thought be, “I’ll bet he’s at the camp ...” No. Your first thought probably should have been to look at the house number :p.
Bug Problems? Solution!
06/25/08 08:53 PM Filed in: Stories
We all have to share
the world with them; bugs. Those nasty, annoying,
flying creatures that oh-so-love to munch behind your
ears and up your nose. They have numorous advantages
over us. First of all, and most obviously, they can
fly! Secondly, they’re so tiny, they’re difficult to
whack and kill. Thirdly, they can easily land on you
and bite you before you even realize it, thus causing
a scratchy bump. Finally, they generally fly in
swarms, which just adds to the frustration of those
of us who don’t want to be eaten alive.
I hate gnats. I try to remember that they’re creations of God just like frogs, pandas, and me, but they still bother me.
Today, Ben and I were digging up border of the playground at camp in order to put new boards in for holding the mulch. We also added some tile so the water would drain down the hill without carrying most of the mulch with it after a hard rain :P. The gnats have been terrible at camp lately (and that’s a severe understatement) due to the exceptionally wet ground. In case you’ve been living in a hole for the last month, Iowa has gotten way too much rain lately. That gnats enjoy this. Ben and I didn’t. We were their meal.
I was trying to be as manly as possible, but I failed miserably. When you have twenty gnats feeding on you at one time it’s nearly impossible to not scream like a Junior High girl. Ben was too, which made me feel a little better. It struck fear in my heart to actually see the swarm of gnats around Ben’s head.
Then there was Krista. For relief, Ben and I retreated (running and screaming) into the kitchen to construct a new plan of attack towards the gnats. It’s difficult to get any work done when you’re being eaten alive. “Do you want to try some vanilla extract?” inquired Krista. At this point, Ben and I were desperate enough to try anything. I felt a bit strange taking a wash cloth and rubbing vanilla all over myself, but it definitely did smell better than bug spray. We rubbed it all over our arms, neck, face, and, for good measure, I put some under my shirt on my stomach and back.
We each took deep breathes and headed back into the battle zone. But a strange thing happened. Not a single gnat touched us! The swarm of gnats around Ben’s head? Gone! The gnats didn’t even think about coming near us, let alone landing on us. Jesse came out after drumming to help us finish up, and we immedietly sent him to the kitchen to bathe in vanilla.
Even though bugspray is cheaper than vanilla extract (by only a few dollars), vanilla extract works significantly better ... and it also makes you smell pretty. We decided to put some into a spritz bottle for regular use. Krista potentially saved our life, and we’re forever endebted to her.
I hate gnats. I try to remember that they’re creations of God just like frogs, pandas, and me, but they still bother me.
Today, Ben and I were digging up border of the playground at camp in order to put new boards in for holding the mulch. We also added some tile so the water would drain down the hill without carrying most of the mulch with it after a hard rain :P. The gnats have been terrible at camp lately (and that’s a severe understatement) due to the exceptionally wet ground. In case you’ve been living in a hole for the last month, Iowa has gotten way too much rain lately. That gnats enjoy this. Ben and I didn’t. We were their meal.
I was trying to be as manly as possible, but I failed miserably. When you have twenty gnats feeding on you at one time it’s nearly impossible to not scream like a Junior High girl. Ben was too, which made me feel a little better. It struck fear in my heart to actually see the swarm of gnats around Ben’s head.
Then there was Krista. For relief, Ben and I retreated (running and screaming) into the kitchen to construct a new plan of attack towards the gnats. It’s difficult to get any work done when you’re being eaten alive. “Do you want to try some vanilla extract?” inquired Krista. At this point, Ben and I were desperate enough to try anything. I felt a bit strange taking a wash cloth and rubbing vanilla all over myself, but it definitely did smell better than bug spray. We rubbed it all over our arms, neck, face, and, for good measure, I put some under my shirt on my stomach and back.
We each took deep breathes and headed back into the battle zone. But a strange thing happened. Not a single gnat touched us! The swarm of gnats around Ben’s head? Gone! The gnats didn’t even think about coming near us, let alone landing on us. Jesse came out after drumming to help us finish up, and we immedietly sent him to the kitchen to bathe in vanilla.
Even though bugspray is cheaper than vanilla extract (by only a few dollars), vanilla extract works significantly better ... and it also makes you smell pretty. We decided to put some into a spritz bottle for regular use. Krista potentially saved our life, and we’re forever endebted to her.
My Toilet Paper Rant/A Tribute to Mary Greene
02/21/08 11:59 AM Filed in: Indiscriminate
I have a strange liking
of cleaning things dirty, for instance, bathrooms.
I'm not sure how this came about; perhaps it was the
wonderful upbringing I had by my two amazing parents
who instilled cleanliness into me (thanks Mom and
Dad)! Whatever it was, I'm stuck with it. I enjoy
cleaning sinks, toilets, and I especially love
vacuuming. Too bad my roommate never lets me vacuum
our room. But I digress ...
Toilet paper, as I once learned, is meant to be installed one way and one way only. See, I work at a wonderful camp over the Summers as the Camp Aid. Basically, I do all the dirty work you don't want to ... but I do :P. Cleaning the bathhouse was one of my many jobs, so, of course, toilet paper rolls needed to be replaced. Frequently. My Camp Aid buddies and I used to take statistics of the ratio of rolls we replaced in the boys bathrooms versus the girls bathrooms, but we won't go there. Although, in case you were interested and are otherwise uneducated, there were always significantly more replaced in the girls bathrooms.
Mary, our fantastic cook for the camp and otherwise handywoman, once taught me this specific way to replace toilet paper rolls. You see, when you get boxes of toilet paper in bulk, they all come wrapped in tissue paper. I never realized it until Mary pointed it out, but the tissue paper actually has an arrow on it, instructing you which way to put the toilet paper into the dispenser. And the arrow isn't just there for good looks! Oh, no. If you put the toilet paper into the dispense the proper way, the roll will unwind closest to you, and you can therefore tear towards yourself, instead of having to lean forward and attempt to tear of the roll away from yourself, which I find always ends awkwardly.
This week, the toilet paper roll was almost empty from the dispenser here in my dorm. Finally, a MASSIVE (and it was HUGE) roll showed up on the back of the toilet. The dispenser still had some left, so the maintenance guys must have just left it there in anticipation, eagerly awaiting to change our roll. The rolls of toilet paper here are huge, which is unfortunate, because when they've just been replaced, the rolls are so big that it's impossible to pull and get some toilet paper out without prematurely ripping it because the roll is too heavy to turn in the dispense ... but that's another whole post.
Anyway, the other day, the dispenser in my bathroom finally became empty, and the maintenance crew replaced the roll. I didn't realize until I went in to do my business that they replaced it backwards! That's right. They made me have to tear forward. And you can't open the dispenser to turn it around, so until this huge roll is finished, I will be stuck tearing forward.
I love the maintenance crew here, and they do a fantastic job, don't get me wrong! That just reminded me of camp, which made me happy, and Mary, who is amazing and knows everything. So perhaps this post is more a tribute to Mary, who knows everything about cooking, tractors, cars, farming, bugs, getting calk off your hands when you get them stuck together, nursing a wound after you accidently sliced your hand open multiple times on shattered porcelain from a toilet (infection?). Oh Mary Greene, how we love you :)!
Toilet paper, as I once learned, is meant to be installed one way and one way only. See, I work at a wonderful camp over the Summers as the Camp Aid. Basically, I do all the dirty work you don't want to ... but I do :P. Cleaning the bathhouse was one of my many jobs, so, of course, toilet paper rolls needed to be replaced. Frequently. My Camp Aid buddies and I used to take statistics of the ratio of rolls we replaced in the boys bathrooms versus the girls bathrooms, but we won't go there. Although, in case you were interested and are otherwise uneducated, there were always significantly more replaced in the girls bathrooms.
Mary, our fantastic cook for the camp and otherwise handywoman, once taught me this specific way to replace toilet paper rolls. You see, when you get boxes of toilet paper in bulk, they all come wrapped in tissue paper. I never realized it until Mary pointed it out, but the tissue paper actually has an arrow on it, instructing you which way to put the toilet paper into the dispenser. And the arrow isn't just there for good looks! Oh, no. If you put the toilet paper into the dispense the proper way, the roll will unwind closest to you, and you can therefore tear towards yourself, instead of having to lean forward and attempt to tear of the roll away from yourself, which I find always ends awkwardly.
This week, the toilet paper roll was almost empty from the dispenser here in my dorm. Finally, a MASSIVE (and it was HUGE) roll showed up on the back of the toilet. The dispenser still had some left, so the maintenance guys must have just left it there in anticipation, eagerly awaiting to change our roll. The rolls of toilet paper here are huge, which is unfortunate, because when they've just been replaced, the rolls are so big that it's impossible to pull and get some toilet paper out without prematurely ripping it because the roll is too heavy to turn in the dispense ... but that's another whole post.
Anyway, the other day, the dispenser in my bathroom finally became empty, and the maintenance crew replaced the roll. I didn't realize until I went in to do my business that they replaced it backwards! That's right. They made me have to tear forward. And you can't open the dispenser to turn it around, so until this huge roll is finished, I will be stuck tearing forward.
I love the maintenance crew here, and they do a fantastic job, don't get me wrong! That just reminded me of camp, which made me happy, and Mary, who is amazing and knows everything. So perhaps this post is more a tribute to Mary, who knows everything about cooking, tractors, cars, farming, bugs, getting calk off your hands when you get them stuck together, nursing a wound after you accidently sliced your hand open multiple times on shattered porcelain from a toilet (infection?). Oh Mary Greene, how we love you :)!
Not Exactly "New," but I Still Enjoy It... As Will You!
01/22/07 01:10 PM Filed in: Stories
Over the summer I
worked at the wonderful camp we all know and love,
East Iowa Bible Camp. For 6th grade camp and Senior
High camp, me and two of the counselors (Jake Dickey
and Gabe Cox) perform a fabulous rendition of The
Houseplant Song by Audio Adrenaline. The 6th graders
were a good audience, but the High Schoolers enjoyed
it much, much more :). This video is from 6th grade
camp. For those of you who have never heard this
song... I pity you. The original is far better than
this video below, but I hope you will still enjoy it!