The end of this week starts the first of many last. I finished up Vacation Day Camp today. I wasn't very involved with the camp this week. I used the time to get caught up on interviews and staff hiring.
If I could give advice to all the young teenagers out their about interview skills, it would be: SPEAK NORMAL.
It is almost painful talking to teenagers on the phone. I can only hope that they do talk like that with each other. I am not a big phone person. I prefer face to face conversations as much as possible. When hiring staff, LITs, and CITs, it has to be a phone interview.
Today I interviewed a young man that was pretty animated and with some less than stellar answers to questions. According to him, he is already a leader and he just wants others to look at him as if he were a leader. In some ways he is a perfect candidate for the program. In other ways, it may not be a good idea. He sounded bored and I am sure he stopped listening after awhile. I am not saying that I am the best interviewer in the world but at least have a conversation, small talk, or something. If we were staying open I would look for possible LITs and CITs during summer and actively seek them out for next summer. I have worked with some of the campers and I know that they are anything but boring.
Moving on...
I find that I haven't been asking myself:
"What was good today?"
"What made you smile today?"
I find that everyday working with kids you will walk away with a smile. The smile could be because they just said the funniest thing ever. More often than not, it is because you just walked away with a really good story to tell other. The latter usually takes longer and at the time is not the most fun to be had by anyone. I like both. Both cases reminded me that working with kids is fun on so many levels.
My Sweetie was away for awhile. I am really glad she is home.
Peace
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Break I Needed
I had the opportunity to go away this weekend with my Sweetie. It was wonderful. I needed to focus on something else even for a little while. We went to Admirals Inn Resort in Ogunquit, ME. It was very nice and a welcome change of pace.
As I sit here and ponder the next steps in my life, I wonder what tomorrow is going to bring. In many ways, I am excited, with the little bit of rest I received, that I could take on anything. I hope that I am not setting myself up. It will be interesting.
I believe that my next big big step will be going back to school. In talking with my Sweetie, she asked me the question:
"What do you want to do?"
I did not feel that I gave a satisfying answer. I am 37 years old and still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Is that weird? I never thought that I would be a Camp Director. I don't want to work in a classroom. Although, I do want to work with kids or train people to work with kids. So, returning to school would be the best thing for me right now. Maybe some manual labor type job to pass the time but school should help me define my next steps.
Things To Accomplish:
Start my application process, send out recommendations, and get my self in check. Once I have that going and hopefully accepted in the program, my summer will be relatively stress free. There is the health insurance piece but I will deal with that later.
Focus on making this summer special for myself, the staff, and the campers. It needs to be wonderful like ever other summer prior.
Support my Sweetie in our own personal next steps. I want to be a father and she wants to be a mother. Let's do it the best way we can.
My favorite quote is
"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds." Bob Marley
Freeing your mind is the hardest thing to do. I try everyday with some steps forward and some backward. Tomorrow is another day, let's try a forward step.
Blog Note: I tend to type how I talk. There may be typos and other grammar mistakes but I think I will just let it go.
Peace
As I sit here and ponder the next steps in my life, I wonder what tomorrow is going to bring. In many ways, I am excited, with the little bit of rest I received, that I could take on anything. I hope that I am not setting myself up. It will be interesting.
I believe that my next big big step will be going back to school. In talking with my Sweetie, she asked me the question:
"What do you want to do?"
I did not feel that I gave a satisfying answer. I am 37 years old and still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Is that weird? I never thought that I would be a Camp Director. I don't want to work in a classroom. Although, I do want to work with kids or train people to work with kids. So, returning to school would be the best thing for me right now. Maybe some manual labor type job to pass the time but school should help me define my next steps.
Things To Accomplish:
Start my application process, send out recommendations, and get my self in check. Once I have that going and hopefully accepted in the program, my summer will be relatively stress free. There is the health insurance piece but I will deal with that later.
Focus on making this summer special for myself, the staff, and the campers. It needs to be wonderful like ever other summer prior.
Support my Sweetie in our own personal next steps. I want to be a father and she wants to be a mother. Let's do it the best way we can.
My favorite quote is
"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds." Bob Marley
Freeing your mind is the hardest thing to do. I try everyday with some steps forward and some backward. Tomorrow is another day, let's try a forward step.
Blog Note: I tend to type how I talk. There may be typos and other grammar mistakes but I think I will just let it go.
Peace
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Week of Confusion
This has been somewhat of a stressful week. Not necessarily I am going to pull my hair (I only have one on my head that is long enough to pull) out kind of stress. More like the "I need my brain to take a break" type of stress.
Stressors for Me
1. No job in August. What can I or should I do now? I got invited to a gathering of people by a friend of mine. She was my personal trainer a few years ago and is a friend. She invited me by saying that I was interested in health and nutrition so this may interest me. If you know me, I like health and nutrition as much as the next guy. Although, I believe that there is a lot of good stuff in chocolate chip cookies and large slices of cake. It feeds my soul. Don't even get me going on bacon.
It turned out to be about something called Ideal Health. Ideal Health produces custom made vitamins, energy drink stuff, and weight loss systems. Basically, by purchasing something from my friend I could try it out and tell my friends about it. In the process, I will make money from the purchase that my friends make. I will also make money for the purchase that my friends' friends make. So on and so on and so on. They talked to me about how you are not necessarily selling something but more along the lines of sharing a great find with your friends. In the end, you make a profit and your friends could make a profit. Sounds exciting, right? Maybe? I don't know.
2. Work Work Work. I feel like my boss either ignores me, doesn't trust me, and pays way too much attention to me. When he is ignoring me I can come and go as I please. Although, for some reason he always needs a question answered or something done when I am not around. I believe he trust me with running a program when it is happening. Prior to the program, I think he wants to do the main body of work. Here is the problem I have with this way of thinking. I don't learn anything. If he keeps doing stuff for me or letting me know after the fact that he is doing something or he has already made a decision about something but wants to pretend that I am a part of it, I WILL NEVER LEARN. You may say that maybe he doesn't know and I should tell him. I have. I think we see the future in different directions. My summer is crazy busy. He does not have much time to observe me in my job. A comment on my evaluation is that I am uncomfortable in front of large groups, like staff. I am in front of staff everyday especially during the summer and I happen to enjoy it.
3. Daddy Doug - I never knew that making a baby was this difficult. I have heard and tried to learns lots of new words and terms. Some just go over my head and other stick for about two days. There are a few that stay with me for longer bits of time. I am working on and have a better understanding of what's going on. The female anatomy is confusing.
4. Lastly, I am tired and need some rest.
As the late great Bob Marley sank in "Redemption Song."
"Emanicipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds."
I will free my mind and I know thinking about stuff won't necessarily cause stuff to change. Maybe I should try sleeping to quiet the voices in my head for a little while.
Peace
Stressors for Me
1. No job in August. What can I or should I do now? I got invited to a gathering of people by a friend of mine. She was my personal trainer a few years ago and is a friend. She invited me by saying that I was interested in health and nutrition so this may interest me. If you know me, I like health and nutrition as much as the next guy. Although, I believe that there is a lot of good stuff in chocolate chip cookies and large slices of cake. It feeds my soul. Don't even get me going on bacon.
It turned out to be about something called Ideal Health. Ideal Health produces custom made vitamins, energy drink stuff, and weight loss systems. Basically, by purchasing something from my friend I could try it out and tell my friends about it. In the process, I will make money from the purchase that my friends make. I will also make money for the purchase that my friends' friends make. So on and so on and so on. They talked to me about how you are not necessarily selling something but more along the lines of sharing a great find with your friends. In the end, you make a profit and your friends could make a profit. Sounds exciting, right? Maybe? I don't know.
2. Work Work Work. I feel like my boss either ignores me, doesn't trust me, and pays way too much attention to me. When he is ignoring me I can come and go as I please. Although, for some reason he always needs a question answered or something done when I am not around. I believe he trust me with running a program when it is happening. Prior to the program, I think he wants to do the main body of work. Here is the problem I have with this way of thinking. I don't learn anything. If he keeps doing stuff for me or letting me know after the fact that he is doing something or he has already made a decision about something but wants to pretend that I am a part of it, I WILL NEVER LEARN. You may say that maybe he doesn't know and I should tell him. I have. I think we see the future in different directions. My summer is crazy busy. He does not have much time to observe me in my job. A comment on my evaluation is that I am uncomfortable in front of large groups, like staff. I am in front of staff everyday especially during the summer and I happen to enjoy it.
3. Daddy Doug - I never knew that making a baby was this difficult. I have heard and tried to learns lots of new words and terms. Some just go over my head and other stick for about two days. There are a few that stay with me for longer bits of time. I am working on and have a better understanding of what's going on. The female anatomy is confusing.
4. Lastly, I am tired and need some rest.
As the late great Bob Marley sank in "Redemption Song."
"Emanicipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds."
I will free my mind and I know thinking about stuff won't necessarily cause stuff to change. Maybe I should try sleeping to quiet the voices in my head for a little while.
Peace
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Only when it is over
As stated in a previous post, I will be unemployed at the end of August. That may not be actually true. I could have another job by then.
In preparation for the day that my role as camp director comes to an end, I am forced start thinking about how it will end. I firmly believe that camp will be great this summer. Although, camp is great every summer. The major difference is that this will be our last. Yet, it is still camp. Our campers deserve camp. Our staff deserve camp.
I feel like we should let the members of our camp community know that this will be our last summer. I feel that it is important for them to search their feelings and memories for anything from camp. They may or may not have a connect to camp. It doesn't mean they should not be told. Now, my boss feels that this may turn people off from coming to camp. Also, he states "What about the people that don't care about the camp community? Why should we tell them?" I don't know those people but I am sure they exist. I am also sure that there are people, former campers, that care about the community and may not have heard the news yet. He wants to wait until campers have arrived at camp to tell them. I am not a big fan of this plan.
I love camp and I love what camp gives to campers and staff. We form a community for 10 weeks every summer. Good or no so good summers are still our summers to remember, laugh, cry, and enjoy for years to come. By not being allowed to share this important piece of information with past campers, I feel like I am holding back from a community that I love. If the other two departments can share this news, why can't I?
Phew. I wanted to get that off my chest.
This transition from camp to no camp is going to be difficult. I don't have all the answers for camp or myself. I promise that I will always to true to myself and fight to be true to camp.
Peace.
In preparation for the day that my role as camp director comes to an end, I am forced start thinking about how it will end. I firmly believe that camp will be great this summer. Although, camp is great every summer. The major difference is that this will be our last. Yet, it is still camp. Our campers deserve camp. Our staff deserve camp.
I feel like we should let the members of our camp community know that this will be our last summer. I feel that it is important for them to search their feelings and memories for anything from camp. They may or may not have a connect to camp. It doesn't mean they should not be told. Now, my boss feels that this may turn people off from coming to camp. Also, he states "What about the people that don't care about the camp community? Why should we tell them?" I don't know those people but I am sure they exist. I am also sure that there are people, former campers, that care about the community and may not have heard the news yet. He wants to wait until campers have arrived at camp to tell them. I am not a big fan of this plan.
I love camp and I love what camp gives to campers and staff. We form a community for 10 weeks every summer. Good or no so good summers are still our summers to remember, laugh, cry, and enjoy for years to come. By not being allowed to share this important piece of information with past campers, I feel like I am holding back from a community that I love. If the other two departments can share this news, why can't I?
Phew. I wanted to get that off my chest.
This transition from camp to no camp is going to be difficult. I don't have all the answers for camp or myself. I promise that I will always to true to myself and fight to be true to camp.
Peace.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday Monday
Chillin' in New Hampshire has a whole new ring to it during the winter. It was a warmish day but the cold is returning.
I believe that blog are suppose to be an account of ones day or certain goings on in one's life. My life is somewhat upside down and a little inside out. For example, my job will be ending on August 31st. Unlike a lot of people I have some time to figure things out. Although, there is this rather large cloud hanging over me about the idea of not having a job. Sure, I could possibly go back to school. Maybe I could be a bartender again. I really have no idea.
In a lot of ways, this is somewhat exciting for me. I have no idea what the fall will look like for me and in some ways it feels very liberating. In the real world, I am somewhat nervous. No definite pay check, no health insurance, no dental insurance, and no camp. In the not so real world, I have options and multiple paths I could follow.
One constant in my life is my Sweetie. I love her. Things have not necessarily been easy for us but I hope she knows I am there for her. I will do what I can. It is my hope that we will have our family.
That's all that I have tonight. I am working on long range plans. No set plans yet.
Peace
I believe that blog are suppose to be an account of ones day or certain goings on in one's life. My life is somewhat upside down and a little inside out. For example, my job will be ending on August 31st. Unlike a lot of people I have some time to figure things out. Although, there is this rather large cloud hanging over me about the idea of not having a job. Sure, I could possibly go back to school. Maybe I could be a bartender again. I really have no idea.
In a lot of ways, this is somewhat exciting for me. I have no idea what the fall will look like for me and in some ways it feels very liberating. In the real world, I am somewhat nervous. No definite pay check, no health insurance, no dental insurance, and no camp. In the not so real world, I have options and multiple paths I could follow.
One constant in my life is my Sweetie. I love her. Things have not necessarily been easy for us but I hope she knows I am there for her. I will do what I can. It is my hope that we will have our family.
That's all that I have tonight. I am working on long range plans. No set plans yet.
Peace
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