Don't say it's over, 'cause that's the worst news I could hear...

Well, guys, I've finished my first week at camp. It was all training; some was fun, some was boring. I'm CPR certified now. My cabin is Barnwell. I'm next door to Lindsey, who is in Carol Smith. I'm home for the moment. Things are muddled. There's so much going on right now. My friends at BSC graduate tonight. It's bittersweet. I'm so so proud of them for all they've done. I really stumbled upon a great group of folks up there. Lance, Britni, Mark, Jennifer, David, Joe... not to mention Melissa, who graduated a semester ago. There are others who I don't even know well that I'm thinking about... Mattie and Marcus and their crew. We're not great friends, but it was comforting to know that group was around and about on the Birmingham-Southern campus. Anyway, I just wish I was there. I love you guys.

Meagan graduated from Deshler High School last night. The ceremony was long and the speaker talked about American Idol a lot, which was pretty blah for those of us who don't watch it. I tuned out a bunch. Meagan looked beautiful. I'm really proud of my family, too. Mom had a lovely get together afterward. The food and the company were both pleasant.

The stars at Camp McDowell are brilliant. Brilliant. We went on a nature hike last week with Big Dave, and he was super interesting; I really wish I could have retained all the amazing things he talked about. He made fire. It was amazing. Also, I saw a scarlet tanager last week. Yay! We did some incredible team building exercises. We had a pasture party, and I played frisbee. I love conquering insecurities, and playing frisbee was one of them. Silly, perhaps, but a private battle nonetheless. We did the climbing wall. It was intense. I'm gonna have to top that thing by the end of the summer.

Jeff is in Pensecola with Chris and Ricky and Josh and various other sundry characters. I hope they're having a blast. Britni's coming to Special Session this summer, and I'm more excited about that than anything else this summer, which is saying a lot.

The staff partied in Tuscaloosa last week. It was fun. I really love Wil Heflin. A lot. I'm terrifyingly happy to be working with him and my sister and brother all summer. I'm scattered right now. Perhaps on the edge of a spaz attack. I miss you guys. Love!

How to Love an ENFP

• Appreciate my creativity, curiosity, and uniqueness.
• Tell me how much I mean to you and be patient with my need to process how I feel privately before sharing it with you.
• Re-establish harmony quickly.
• Support my need to try new experiences and maintain my many friendships.
• Try not force decisions too quickly, or bug me about being messy.
• Above all - encourage me to keep growing, changing, and experimenting with life.

So... I thought that was rather interesting. I have talked about most of these with some of you at some point or another. I might post some other things I find later... I also have much to tell you. I'm in such an odd odd mood right now. I'm at the Tomlinsons. The boys are watching Toy Story. I need to clean the kitchen, and they're about to go to bed.

The parking lot had an element of danger.

Well well well, what an exciting week it has been! That is to say, a few very exciting things have happened, surrounded by a calm normality that seems almost out of place. First, some exciting news:

I did really well this semester! Okay, not really well compared to, say, all of you, but really well considering how much effort I usually put into college courses... or any study, for that matter. Anyway, I found out today I got a C in Literary Composition, which was, in fact, a difficult class, as well as the only class I've been worried about. I have an A in Freshman Composition (as well I should, even considering the five total minutes of work I put into that class), and a B in Nature Writing. I'm pretty sure I'll have an A or B in Images of Women in Literature; I don't see how I'd get a C in there, but even if I did, I don't much care, because it's not a D or F.

I can't register for classes next semester because there's a financial hold, and advisor hold, and a transcript hold.

Meagan signs with BSC tomorrow... I really hope things work out for her. I'm nervous and excited. It'd be a great kinduv full circle thing if she got to finish school there, but I would hate for her to have to pull out after a few semesters, or to not enjoy herself once she got there. It is a very very white school.

OOOhhh, and here's the most exciting thing this week: BNL!!! I got to spend the concert with Lance, Britni, and Mark, and it was AMAZING! They were so gooood! My third semester of college is defined by them and their music, and it was great to see them and share it with there of my best friends. Man, you guys, I love you so much.

As to the actual concert... there was much crowd surfing, which was VERY annoying... as you may or may not know, crowd surfing should be restricted to indoor venues where audience members are packed like sardines. Not only were we outside, but our particular area wasn't horribly cramped, so said surfers inevitably found themselves falling about our heads. Irritating the first time, frustrating the fourth or fifth, fucking ridiculous the 15th. Of course, it makes a good story, and I'm sure we'll have fun being happily bitter together about it in the future. I did my best to make as many people fall near me as possible; Mark tried to take the shoes of the surfers, and succeeded once, although th guy took his shoe back before collapsing on Lance's head; Lance lost his sunglasses but retrievedthem almost unscathed thanks to the group efforts of those in our immediate area and many cell phone lights; Britni and I both suffered elbows to the head.

In other news... Jeff and I have watched the first three episodes of the Hellsing series this week. I've really enjoyed it, although I think it's good that they release them every few months, because I like it better when all the effects and gory stuff are still exciting and I'm not used to them. The second episode was my favorite; I think I was a little out of it when we watched the third, though. We also watched Batman Begins last night, and I made a broccoli and onion quiche, which was very delicious.

Monday night I went to Margarita Mondays with Jeff and O'Brian and Amandine and Louise and J.J. ... and oh goodness, let's see if I can remember the rest of the people (most of which I'd met once before at the beach or never at all)... umm... there was Hannu, Uche, Jennifer (who I never actually met), Leoni (who I also didn't talk to, but who seemed very fun and exciting, and also the boy beside her, who I don't remember), and Ali. I think (and I may be very wrong) that is everyone I met. Anyway, it was very exciting, and I wish I'd met some of these students sooner. The night, overall, was very fun, and I have some pictures I must put up soon.

School is done, but I still have a great many things to get done. I need to become CPR certified. I need to rent a storage unit. I need to move out of my apartment. I need to mail off my camp stuff. I need to email Britni a Special Session form. I need to not go crazy.

I'm gonna miss all of my friends so much this summer. Funny thing, that- most of the people here I've known less than a year. How about that. O'Brian and T.J. I've know for years, of course, and there's Jonathan, and Lacey, and Terri, but the rest of my good friends have moved away or I met in Birmingham. There's a lot of new people I'll miss, though (and I was going to name them, but I'm afraid I'll leave someone out). I have amazing friends everywhere, and I'm so excited to about the ones I'm going to make this summer. Still, I'm gonna miss you guys...

In closing, my horoscope: The counsel I'm about to offer is not given lightly. If you choose to heed it, it could wreak discomfort and disorder, at least initially. And you'll have to pump yourself up with more courage than you're used to feeling. Still, I'm convinced it's the right thing for you to hear; I believe that any breakdown it might engender will ultimately lead to a breakthrough. So here's the advice, courtesy of Franz Kafka: "Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly."

Oh, little journal, how often I neglect thee...

I keep putting off the day to day accounts of my being because I want to take the time to blow you away, Reader. I want to do a post that's inprirational and empowering and flooded with all the things boiling inside me right about this past weekend. I don't have time for that, though, not now, and so I put off writing down the facts, so one day when I do have the time to churn out a tear-worthy essay, I won't remember the things I want to remember.

Anyway, here they are- some facts, that is...

I worked until 10ish Friday night and then went to Jeff's to sleep for a bit. I woke at 4:30ish and went to the parents' house to get Graham's car, which I then drove to Tuscaloosa. I got to watch the sunrise on the road (it seems I've done that a lot over the past year), and I listened to NPR the whole way. I got to Lindsey's dorm room at 7:30, where I changed and then headed (with her and Genivieve) to meet the rest of the group and load the van and cars with cardboard and crackers and water. We left at 8:30, maybe, and drove to the Civil Rights Park in Birmingham.

Even in broad day light, that place is sketchy as hell. I wonder what the people honored in this place would think of their legacy now? That's a topic for another day...

We found a Nathan, which was VERY exciting, as well as Terri, who is doing a piece on rural poverty and suburban poverty (if I remember correctly), but being a journalist, she came to talk to our group! It was a pleasant surprise. We stopped there to decorate the vehicles; we were quite hippied up by the time we left for Atlanta.

Actually, we went to Woodstock, where we drove to an empty field and unloaded everything, registered, and began to build our cardboard villiage. It was really incredible,,, when we got there things were all painted with Invisible Children logos and whatnot, and everyone was so very excited to be together and representing a fantastic organization. I got to talk to some of Lindsey's friends more than I have before, which was great, because they're pretty wonderful people. I spent the majority of my time with Ryan and Stephanie, though I also talked a lot to Genivieve and Kristen (and Lindsey, of course!). Ryan and I constructed a lovely little cardboard home and pretended to play house; I must say, I was sad to leave our humble abode.

Not too terribly sad, mind you- it was rather full of spiders and the heat didn't work.

We spent a fair amount of time being recorded for the video they plan to show before the senate, and then had a short break before returning to see our speaker, a Ugandan minister who has been displaced for the entirity of the war. We also watched videos, had our crackers and water, and held 21 minutes of silence (for the 21 years of civil war). Overall, it was amazing.

The next morning we packed up and headed home. In Tuscaloosa I took a nap and ate lunch with Lindsey and Alex. After that, I went home. The drive was fantastic, as I played Jimmy Buffet the whole time and sang loudly and often off-key. The weather was beautiful. Once at Jeff's, we goofed off for a bit (Jeff had spent way to much time being mature and serious all weekend- the need to be childish was oozing by the time I arrived, and I must say, I was aching for a bit of silliness myself), then we did a foolish tag team as we worked on projects that should have been done long ago.

I got several huge things dealt with Monday (schoolwise), and I have been much more at ease this week.

Now I'm off to my last class of the semester, excluding two finals next week. Happy Wednesday!