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Well, I finally opted for newness.
I created a new blog because I was tired of the ads and clutter of xanga. I'll still check xanga, but I'm going to post on melissacorrenti.blogspot.com for a while and see how I like it. This may or may not be my last xanga entry. Sorry xanga.
"End of line."
ps You can still leave comments without signing up for an account.
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Being the assistant to the administrator of a regional youth camp is hard work! But the camp was very successful, and the kids let us know how much they enjoyed it/needed it. Even though I found myself continually exhausted during 12+ hours of work every day for a week, when it came to sitting down with the kids and just chatting with them, I regained my enthusiasm to see them so excited.
View from the back of the main building toward the lake.
The cabins were made of renovated train cars, and thankfully were the only areas air-conditioned.
The meeting space, just before the first game.
Playing Limbo for the Castaway Luau, Kelli's gymnastic abilities didn't save her from a limbo fall.
Jon in castaway getup. I think he looked the most genuinely as though
he'd washed up on some beach. Administering a youth camp every day for
a week will do that.
Me with my coconut ;)
I really wanted to do archery.. among a few other things (canoeing as well), but I was too busy and there were only so many sign up slots to do the events. Instead I followed the kids around and kept them cool by spraying them with water guns and refilling water coolers.
Jon playing with Elizabeth. Such a cutie.
(The baby's cute, too).
The kids performing in the talent show one night. We had a lot of singers/musicians, a Smigel impression, an impression of Donald Duck dying, ha, a choreographed dance, and a contortion act. (I was also in charge of decorations for all the events).
Oh yeah, ha, and then there was Zac Hall with his unashamed built-in musical instrument, hehe. That kid. He's somethin' else. His belly flops are pretty amazing as well:
Jon explains the rules to the game he invented: Multi-Ball Soccer. Two huge balls, two goals, kids running everywhere. Note for next year: Jon needs a bull horn.
Cute pose of some of the girls.
One of the gross dishes the kids were challenged to consume at the Fear Factor event, amongst many others (tripe, squid ink, squid, pickled eggs, oatmeal with Karo syrup to name a few).
Scorpion pops!
Doesn't this look disgusting? John Smith did an awesome job messing this one to utter grossness. It's just Mountain Dew with Baby Ruths, which the kids had to grab from inside the bucket. But man, Jeff added a hair, and the way the chocolate reacted with the fizzies really made it look like someone really did a number on the can!
One of the best spews was Daniel Cooper on the squid ink, hehe, as John Smith torments in the background.
Silly relay race.
The costume contest was fun for the kids, but Jon and I (being Jon and I) have to be the only "adults" that really go all out, so here's our debut of Graphic Design Girl vs. Accounting Man.
I made my props out of cereal boxes and metallic duct tape. Yes, Jon has a pie chart on his tie.. NERD!
Graphic Design Girl and Accounting Man make up. They decide their powers can instead be used for the greater good.
The kids in worship.
I made that Mission Control sign for Jon to put over our work station in the "office".
It was a lot of fun. All the kids were separated into different color teams in which they would work together for points through the sport competitions and more importantly through spirit. They came up with the name of their team, a flag design and a chant. The Bluebonic Plague was my favorite name, as well as the Suicidal Amoeba, which is the name the staff gave ourselves as the "clear" team. We ended up with "100,000,000 times infinity" points, but decided to disqualify ourselves from competition. Jon ran a lap around the meeting area with a dowel rod (because our flag is clear, obviously). He won us a good deal of points during one of the physical challenge segments where the counselor/staff members of each team had to do sit ups.
54 in two minutes is pretty impressive, Jonathan ;) But I think I could beat you!
It was a lot of work but it was a lot of fun. I'm excited for next year, but I'm also glad it's another year away ;)
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New computer! It's sitting on my lap right now. Look how fast! everything goes! And it's not burning red knees through my pants. Amazing. I can't wait to have a bunch of programs open at once and actually be able to get work done efficiently. I also want to note how having better tools makes me feel like I'm suddenly twice as good at what I do. And it only cost me just under one third of my savings account. (That's a sarcastic "only").
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Well folks, you might be happy to know that frustration-free computing is coming my way in a mere couple of days. I ordered a new Macbook Pro this morning. I've been planning to buy this thing for months and months and after realizing the increasing necessity for it as my current PowerBook G4's decreasing performance prevails, I finally decided to part with my money. *sigh* It's only money.. money that will make me money more efficiently. Hopefully it will also be a magnet for more business, in some magical way. I do enjoy magical ways.
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!!
We went to see it finally, yesterday, and I was in adventure heaven; a smile on my face the entire time. I wore my makeshift Indy getup including a brown-extension cord whip affixed to my slung-across-the-chest bag of "artifacts" (Indiana Jones cereal with crystal skull and Mayan pyramid-shaped marshmallows!) It was awesome.
I've been hearing all kinds of digs about plot or "the aliens thing" about this film, but honestly.. who cares! The awesome aspects of Crystal Skulls waaay out-weight the plot in question. I mean, Temple of Doom was kind of a sucky plot as well, but it was still a heck of a lot of fun and so was this one. Harrison Ford makes his role a thrill at any age, and an old college professor chasing after fortune and glory never gets tiring.
I do have my criticisms about how certain things were executed in this film though, mostly because going into it I was nervous about how it's iconic nature would be new yet still preserved from the original three. I mean, we've seen some of the mistakes Lucas made with Star Wars (*cough* Jar Jar Binks) and I had hoped nothing of that nature would wound the next installment of Indy. Some of the campy humor was a little less subtle than in the originals, which made me roll my eyes and I got over it, but aside from the alien theme and a Tarzan-like jungle session, I thought it was great. The action was great, Indy's lines were witty, and of course you can't have an Indiana Jones movie without those grotesque melting-faces death scenes.
Upon leaving my theater seat, I contemplated the process required for writing a decent Indiana Jones story plot. Aliens, for sure, does not scream "topic for an Indiana Jones flick" to me. It's too futuristic and reminds me too much of Stargate. Indy is about ruins and dust and half-alive skeletons with crusty flesh hanging off of them.. and screaming women, ha (which by the way I was glad to see Karen Allen in Crystal Skulls not be the annoying screaming sidekick).
Anyway, thinking about plots reminded me of one that I actually think would have worked really well in a theatrical presentation. In the early 90s, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (segment of the ending) was a LucasArts video game discovered by my sister and I at the ripe age of 10 to be the greatest strategy-flavored gaming experience ever. Ever! (although I have seen Lego Indiana Jones for xbox 360, and have actually partially considered going halfsies with Jonathan so I could play it)... but... Fate of Atlantis had a great story to it. It dealt with mysterious forces (NOT aliens) that you never really get a definite answer about in the end, which I like. Plus it involved the whole area of archeology concerning Plato's lost dialog, the lost city of Atlantis, the history of Crete's ancient culture, and who were the inhabitants of this place had it actually existed in the history of the world. It was so interesting, the themes beyond those of Indiana Jones and theatrics that is. I absolutely loved it, and I think it would have made a great movie. Alas.
Anyway. I thoroughly admit to being obsessed with Indy in my days. I mean, Fate of Atlantis encourages you the player to think strategically like Indy, and the movies make learning history fun and adventurous. Honestly I think being so enthralled with all of it accounts for my personality and has had repercussions on what I've been able to do in life. Heck, I minored in art history and took an archeology class in college. But aside from those, having a sense of adventure about life really-- really does go very far.
So thanks a lot Lucas, Spielberg and Ford. You've helped to mold me.
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