I'm nearly to the end of Travels with Charley, and it's making me think about one thing. You already know what that thing is, probably.
I'm thinking about home. Not home as a place, but home as a set of ideas that you carry with you. I'm thinking of all these schools that aren't here. They aren't going to be here, and if I go to them, I probably won't be living at home. How doe we create a home for ourselves outside of the place we've known? Maybe this is striking me more because I've always lived here, but it does make me wonder. If I moved to some other city, how often would I see my parents? How often would I see my grandparents? How do you keep in touch with people when you never see them? When you're old, do you still have the same friends?
God, this idea of moving is almost as interesting as the idea of going to college. It would almost be worth it to move someplace else and not bother going to college at all, at least not right away.
We're going to forget that I ever suggested that last idea.
In other news, it's Christmas break. I'm allowing myself the weekend to slack off a bit, but after that I have to study quite a bit for APUSH and finish my extra assignment from physics and finish my self portrait for art and clean my room. There's a novel that needs a hellava lot of planning too, but I don't know when that's going to happen.

Adult

At camp, I was an adult. Not a teenager who had been granted permission to do something out of the ordinary, but a full fledged adult. I was responsible for other people. I got up early. People looked up to me.
I think I like this. At least, I like the camp version of being an adult. I think it has responsability without so much stress. That's the kind of adult that I think I need to try on every once in a while, just to remind myself what it's like.
And I got to drink counselor coffee. Which is hilarious.

Reunited

I had a most excellent time at camp. I was a counselour at pioneer camp, which was for fourth through sixth graders. I could write ten more posts about what I learned, and you'll probably see them in the next month or so. But really, the exciting part is this:
My pants are back!
That sounds very strange, so I'll explain a little more.
Last year, I went on a kayak trip to Grand Island in Lake Superior. I had all my clothes packed in plastic bags, and my the bag that contained two pairs of shorts and one pair of pants went missing. So I wore the same pair of pants for the entire trip. It was gross. I had written these pants off as lost. Last night, the people who went on the kayak trip this year got back the assistant director of the camp, who went on the trip, had found my pants when she looked in the hatch of the tandemonium. This made me laugh. A lot. This is wildly awesome. It's like getting new clothes, but without the trying on a bunch of stuff part. Here's some pictures. Because I'm a fan of pictures.Also, commies know how to party.
Also, I have trouble knowing how to react to some situations. So, for right now, we're just going to act like everything's okay, even though it might not be. Right? Right.

News

I've been at camp for the past week, being trained in how to counsel children. I had a lot of fun. I kayaked across a lake. I slept outside and saw a million stars. I joked about stealing cheese from the Baptists. I got annoyed at another camp's bell. I was amazed by a pepper. I led people. I ate an otter snack. I got a bite from something on my eyelid. I was amazed at some people's ability to pay such attention to stupid things. I put my entire group through a tire. I got mosquito bites on my scalp and the backs of my upper thighs. I understood all the Bob Ditter jokes in the world. I had a lot of fun. You can see pictures here (the Counselor in Training one). I'm planning on going to Canoe Camp. There are scholarships available. Anybody want to come with me?
Michael Jackson is dead. Today, almost 16,000 children died from hunger related causes. Which is a bigger deal?
I got started on the WH stuff today. I am strangely proud of that, even though it's not that big of a deal. Whatever.
Hilariously stupid people: Yesterday, we had family over at my house for my grandma's birthday. My great-aunt was one of those family members. I don't really get along with her for numerous reasons. We had sponge cake for dessert (there is a dessert comment for another time) and she goes on this crazy rant about how the cake is upside down. In her mind, one should take the cake out of the oven and flip it over. She then states that the part that was on the bottom in the oven is now on the top, and this is wrong. Please note that she has assessed the status of the cake wrongly. The cake is currently placed on a plate in the same orientation as it was in the oven. My grandma says that yes, we generally flip this kind of cake, but it tastes the same upside down as it does right side up. My great-aunt goes on to say that my grandma is the only person there with a brain. Please note that she is yelling about a cake. Also note that she has previously baked a cake that had a similar consistency to sawdust, as several reviewers have stated. And people wonder how I feel about having all my family near me.
In other news, I'm seeing Food, Inc. tomorrow. This is what vegetarians watch, people. Dorky vegetarians, that is.

Quick Question

Do you think it's really possible for me to survive a weekend with my notebooks and Timequake, by Kurt Vonnegut? Should I go to the library or learn to deal?
I finished Catcher in the Rye. The ending is pretty lame. He's just like "Hey. I'm gonna go home, then stay at the neighbor's house, then...I'll go shopping with my sister or something." Seriously, I spent all that time reading the book to get to the end, and it was just blah.
I am annoyed. And also, I need to pack. My mom gets some kind of insane pleasure out of over packing me. Am I going to need five pairs of pants when I'm going away for two days? No. No, I will not.

No school, and Yarn Harlot

The Yarn Harlot is coming to meeee! Ann Arbor Library, April 11, 7:00...I am ridiculously excited about this. The other pretty cool thing; I will be able to drive there too!!!! Well, I'll have to have my mom or dad in the car, but still.
We have no school....'tis a PSD day. The teachers get to spend all day making up tests and going to meetings and stuff like that. It pretty much means that we get to do whatever we want today...and the next nine days, because Michigan has this fabulous thing called Mid-Winter break. We have mid-winter break because winter in Michigan sometimes feels like you and your toes never really thaw out, so everyone goes to Florida for a week in February. Except if you're me, your Dad has firefighting classes every night, and your Mom is sick, so there's no way you get to go much of anywhere. And apparently my brother is getting sick too.
At least I have new prettiful socks on the needles to brighten my day.
They're some Knit Picks bare that I dyed weekend before last. The pattern is MataHari by Craftoholic. They shall be knee socks if I can pretend to have an attention span. and yes, I do realize that the yarn is a little busy for the pattern, but oh well...
Bye byes!

What I did on my Summer Vacation

1. I failed the test out. I don't really care, it just means that I have to take health.

2. The Guy at customs to get into Canada said "and those are your boys in the backseat?" He called me a boy and I wanted to slap him. Very hard.

3.I started knitting a sock. It's on 1.5 mm needles, and using needles that don't exist in my country highly amuses me. The yarn is Super Soxx in a orangey- otherstuff colorway. It Rocks!

They're a christmas present for my mom.

4.I saw the changing of the guard at Parliment Hill. (in ottowa)

5. I built a fire.

6. I learned just how much knitting a slow, easily distracted knitter can get done on the way to just outside of Toronto

7. I ate Poutine.
which looks much more appetizing before my brother attacks it.

8. I went to the Toledo art museum, and I saw

And, no the painting does not actually look like that. I have a habit of taking....interesting pictures of paintings.

9. I started a painting of my very own. I think it's loveley, and no, I don't have a picture.

10. And I am currently knitting

another square, this one in 5 by 5 ribbing, the same lion brand blue stuff, for the blanket with my SnB. And the socks...I need to clean my room

Why I Love Camp.

I love camp. That's the only place on earth where you can hear frogs during church, after all.

Camping!

Me and my peeps are camping this weekend. If you're bored check out the links>>>that way.