Gossip, hot-lists, and wife-swapping...

No, this is not a list of what television provides as entertainment (well, maybe it is). This is what i found fitting for the title of my post about my week at the senior citizen activity center... you read correctly... senior citizens.

I have been volunteering at a senior activity center this past week to complete my service hours. I have discovered that these senior citizens, who are more than likely just like our grandparents, live secret lives that we don't know about. Not only that, but they have discovered a way to be younger than ever: just act younger.

On my first day, as I sat clipping coupons (kudos to those of you who cut coupons regularly), i had a chance to overhear a conversation of four seniors (2 guys, 2 girls). Now, let me jsut set this up a bit. When these four walked into the place, i immediately knew they were popular... i am almost positive they had a theme song playing as they walked into the place. Everybody said 'hi' as they passed, and these four walked right by with their walkers and cane as if they never even heard them (which is a posability, but never mind that). They sat down behind me, one even smiled at me--i felt honored. I continued clipping, and began to tune in to their conversation.

It began with some really juicy gossip... Francy (not nancy, not francine...francy) wouldn't be coming to the center today because she was upset with Carla for changing the channel last friday. As the gossip continued and got jucier, i took a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure that there wasn't a group of teens that snuck into the place (i don't know why they would, but hey, i was convinced). Nope, still the same popular seniors. Then they began to discuss 'who likes who' and 'who doesn't'. Soon, a list was mentioned. "So, i hear that Marie has a thing for Al..." I paused in mid coupon-clip to hear this. "Oh yes, it's true, however Marie is number 3 on Al's list... she has no chance with Al as long as Rosa is his number 1." I just sat there. The third one added her input: "Yes, but Al is number 2 on Rosa's list..." A staff member walked by and I quickly resumed my clipping, trying to tune out the tempting conversation.

I tuned out pretty well, however what happened next has probably affected me most out of the entire conversation. They began talking of their events of the weekend. George (i think that was his name, but i could have easily made that up myself) talked about a double date he had with his pal. Once again, my coupon clipping was put on pause. The first few details were boring, but then came these words out of his mouth: "Ya, then we had a couple of drinks and swapped wives for a while..."

...

wow... then i was... well, i really don't remember much after that. I looked at my watch: 1 o'clock and time to go.

I would continue the story, but this is getting rather long. Saty tune for more from: Adventures in Senior-land

I have stories of aerobics and channel changing coming, so check back again soon.

ta ta :)

Jay practicing his ping-pong skills... 

Me, Jenny, and Faith..."oh, please, don't take Sugar..." 

From the bean bag in my home...

Well, i am no longer in Iddywild at camp Dunamis. I sure do miss it. We showed the video on thursday night and it went without any problems (i thank God for that). There are so many memories from Dunamis, that I don't know where to begin. It was awesome being a part of the Dunamis experience. All the people were awesome... especially the cabin counselors and my room mates that I got to know.

I don't think i have ever laughed harder than the time Faith and Jenny first told the story of Sugar the rat... I still can't get over it. I have tried retelling the story, but it isn't the same. At camp, I became known as 'camera lady'. However, after becoming a frequent competitor at the ping-pong table, my name was soon known. Ping-pong was great, and although my last game was a loss (good game Jay), i think it was some of my best ping-pong :) Egyptian Rat Slap (or egyptian war) along with BS (which stands for bible study, of course) were the card games of choice for the week. There was even a midnight mission to find the circuit breaker and 'culprits' on thursday night during the staff party. Tons of fun... tons of fun :)

I have posted a few pictures... i would keep telling more stories, but this post would get way too long.
see ya!

Here's a group pic of my friends from Dunamis... most of them are from Rehoboth, New Mexico.
 

Here we are trying to warm up after a nice swim on friday... I didn't remember my swimsuit, so i went in a shirt and soccer shorts :) 

Nice dive Jay... 

from the chair stained by my green tea...

well, the green tea that i spilled yesterday definately left a stain on the arm rest of the 'elegant' chair. Hey, i left a mark, and i will be known as long as this 'elegant' chair is here. However, people won't know it's me... my name isn't on it or anything...
Anywho
Camp is going well. The job isn't that hard, and people make it seem like this task is one that requires super powers... they don't know that my alter ego is Super Edna... (Edna is the female version of eddie, and eddie is for editor... sorry, the altitude causes my complex imfastructure (relient k) to go a little out there sometimes.)
I stopped by a little shop on the way back to camp yesterday... i bought some almonds, cashews, and dried apricots.... he he he, i snuck in healthy food to camp, and no one knows.
How did ice skating go for all of you that went? I will never go, no matter how much you bug and torture me... falling on my face has left a scar forever (not a visible one, an emotional one that you can't see (for those of you who just aren't quick enough(wow, parenthesis in parenthesis in parentheis)))...
i will come back later today, i need to go now.
i miss you all, but super edna does not... she loves the editing solitude in the lonely ice cream parlor where no one can hear her sing to her ipod... um, don't tell anyone.
see you later!
:)

I am speechless...

Okay, are all of you sitting around one computer or something? Well, i decided to hike back up to town to check my email and site again, and i should have known... you crazy people ambushed my site again. With all my work done early, i decided that a nice quiet hour at the java lounge would help me relax a bit... however, a sit in a quiet coffee house trying my hardest not to roll on the ground laughing... all you guys made me laugh so hard, that i spilled my grande green tea... every where, including my capris, the floor, and the 'elegant' chair that i am currently seated on. thanks you guys... thanks a lot.
mieke, jenny... go do non-stina things... maybe go underwear shopping (wait, that is a stina-thing)oh, how about going crazy and filming it... and breaking into someone's house (wait, still a stina-thing)...
No, i have it, go eat mass amounts of sugar... that is not a stina thing :)
when i get back, we are going to party it up all next week... after i get done partying it up with the old people at the activity center from 9-1.
then we can party and go crazy.
see y'all soon (ha ha, i said y'all)
as for the KFM, the exterminator will take care of that :)

see ya

A Note To My Friends:

Stay alive, don't do anything stupid (or stupider than usual) while I am gone... I will be back soon and the reckless times of stupidness will resume.
gotta go!
:)
i like chocolate mousse

wow

i have just checked my junk email and was surprised to see i had 23... yes, 23... new messages. I have THE weirdest freinds, and family. Not too much of a surprise though. It seems that the moment I go away for five days, my friends and family take over my website... mum, I didn't even know you knew what my site was. Jenny, Mieke, Jenny and Mieke... you guys crack me up... and you have too much time on your hands. Beth...wow.
ha ha ha ha
you guys make me smile... and to anyone else who comments/commented:
thanks and I am sorry if i can't tell who it is... my friends like to take on the roles and personalities of many people.
You guys rock!

Java Java Java...

howdy to everybody from the Java Lounge in Iddywild!
I walked into town from camp Dunamis to hook up to some internet and give you all an update.
This week, i am the videographer for Camp Dunamis... I also edit all the footage as I shoot it so that they can see the final product at the end of the week. The weather is beautiful... I can never get enough of the mountains and the fresh, smog-free air. I wouldn't mind staying in the mountains for a summer... that would be sweet.
It's pretty nice being on the Dunamis staff... I have quite a bit of freedom. All they care is if I get the video done... which i am doing with quite a bit of ease. It's nice--i get to shoot the film, go in and edit it alone (while listening to my ipod) then head to town if I want to check my email and stuff.
Along with the freedom, i get to stay in a nice room... it's in the newly built Pine Lodge (it's in camp dunamis right next to the kids' cabins). It is air conditioned, really nice, and my room (which i share with two others) has a NICE bathroom and shower... with hot water...
anyway, the kids are also great. It is awesome to see how kids will accept eachother and become friends with people they don' even know. I think we don't give middle schoolers enough credit for friend-making and being open others. God is deifinately doing a lot this week in these kids' lives. I can already see a difference in the actions, smiles, and eyes of the kids that have never experienced anything like this before.
well, i don't this to be a novel, so i will wrap this up and leave something to talk about when i come back to the Java Lounge next time (maybe tomorrow!)

Lost in Rooville

School's out. There is a reason for the absence of an exclamtion point behind that phrase... it hasn't hit me quite yet, but I imagine that it will hit me sometime tomorrow like a sack of lemons... sudden and random, yet somehow refreshing (nothing like lemony-fresh).

Who knows what this summer entails, yet I know (and hope) that it will be a memorable one. Actually having plans (one that includes escaping the confining walls of my house for two weeks) gives me something to look forward to during those dull moments where I basically just exhist, and not much more.(I will not resort to the tv, though). Those times, however, produce some of the best independant films... some of you may know of these, um, incidents. Just like you don't want to know Hulk when he is angry, you don't want to know me when I have the house to myself and a video camera...

Having a license definitely adds some spice to summer, and I am sure the adventures will be grand... well, no road trips or anything, but hey, trips to Costco can be rather adventurous :)

Right about now, the title of this post may seem random and irrelevant, but wait! there is a connection:
For those of you who know of the novel known as "Flabbergasted," the book titled "Lost in Rooville" is the third and final book of the 'Flabbergasted' trilogy('A Delirious Summer' was the second). I highly, highly recommend these books, all three of them. Rooville came out this week, and i bought the book yesterday... I finished it tonight. It was an awesome book, yet I am deeply saddened... the trilogy is finished--There won't be another book after this one. I think I might read the first one again... awww, they are all just great books :)

wow, first music recommendations, and now book recommendations... I rarely do either, so that might mean something to anyone who has extra time to read :)

I will definitely be keeping my blog updated through out the summer... but i think i might need to email my friends first to tell them that this blog actually exhists...
ta ta!
:)

Home Stretch

Tomorrow is the last day of classes, and the following week is exam week. It's amazing how fast this year went. Everybody says that, you know, "It was so fast..." Yet, it was. I actually feel like it shouldn't be over, it doesn't feel right. I am not saying that I am not welcoming this summer with open arms, it's just... ya. I don't know.
There are those times, however, that I don't want the year to end. I have quite a few close senior friends and a close friend that will not be back next year, and I will admit that it is just now hitting me like a fish to the face... it stinks and hurts.
I still can't get a grip on it, but maybe tomorrow will create some sort of closure.
Oh well, we'll see.

Turn it off

I recently did a speech in english persuading people to turn the tv off. In the process, I myself was persuaded and have decided to turn the tv off. Why? some may ask. Here are a few statistics I discovered... the average american watches about 3.5 to 4 hours of tv a day. Doesn't sound like much to some of you? Well, do the math a second... by the time you are 65, you will have wasted 9, yes, 9 years of your life glued to tube. What a waste! So many other things that can be attributed to the problems of America, here: 54% of kids (4-15)would rather watch tv than talk to their dads; in a span of 4 hours of morning cartoon, about 202 junk food commercials were counted; by the time one reaches the age of 18, they will have seen about 200,000 violent acts including 16,000 murders (real and fake). Wow, does it make you think a bit. It sure made me.

I will not watch tv from now until wimbeldon on June 20th(i will only watch wimbeldon) and then from wimbeldon to the US Open which is August 29th. It is going to be hard, so I ask that some of you may bug me about it and check every once in a while.

I challenge you to try a week without tv... you will find how refreshing it is.

:)

There once was a lady named Flo...

Today was a fun, yet tiring day. I went to El Dorado Tennis Center to hit with a ball machine for an hour or so... then I met this guy named Carlos (he was old, about 50 or so, but he was cool). Anywho, I ended coming back later that night after playing a set with him after my ball machine workout ( they have some kind of thing where you can play with others... blah blah blah) So later that night, i played mixed doubles, and I met the most awesome lady named Flo... She has inspired my to determine my life-long goal. My goal is this: I want to be able to play awesome tennis and ace people at the age of 80-something. This lady named Flo was about 80-something and played cool tennis... ya, cool tennis :) The only words i exchanged with her were: "Hi my name is Flo..." and then i said, "Hi, my name is Cristina." That was it... but I was inspired by this lady named Flo. Well, i am rambling, so i will stop. :)
Gotta go... I am bowling tonight! (Super Teen Bowling Party! Come bowl!)
:)