WeAreGenius

How I Be Livin'

2007-08-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

There are four dorms on campus. They are: Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison (the presidents), and Merlin (the wizard). The coaches live in Jefferson, and during the large sessions earlier in the summer, we had campers in the other three dorms. Right now, there are only campers in Madison. This is what my room looks like:

This is my TV:

Turning Japanese

2007-08-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

Here is my new plant I picked up mere feet from the Canadian border.

Dunkin'

2007-08-10T20:09:00.001-07:00

There is going to be a fair on the common tomorrow. A vendor came and set up his wares--a dunk tank--a day early. Big mistake, Mr. Vendor.

Flippin' Out

2007-08-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here I am doing a front flip.

In this picture I am doing a Russian Front Flip. It is Russian because instead of taking off with my arms above my head, I am getting most of my lift from swinging my arms behind myself.

It is, obviously, awesome.

Jokes, Jokes.

2007-08-01T12:18:00.001-07:00

Sometimes kids tell jokes. These are rarely funny. Sometimes kids mess up jokes. These are always funny.

Two examples from years past:

Q: Why did the plane crash?

A: Because the pilot was a BAGEL!

and

A: Knock, Knock

B: Who's there?

A: Pinecone!

B: Pinecone who?

A: Pinecone, your butt's on fire!

Quick Side Trip

2007-07-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Some friends from NYC / BU were up visiting Burlington for the weekend. I went up there and took them to my favorite swimming hole.

White Boarding

2007-07-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

Mister Potter: The Movie!

2007-07-21T05:05:00.000-07:00

The theme for dinner dress-up last night was Harry Potter. This is what I wore:

One camper asked me if he could have it. I signed the back and gave it to him.

Fire Safety

2007-07-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

The following fire safety instructions are posted in my dorm:

Every single camper has taken a picture of the sign.

Based on Advice From My Stylist

2007-07-17T07:51:00.001-07:00

After a lack of updates due to the preparation of the show for last Friday then having my family and Mirelle visit for the weekend....

...I present the summer wardrobe:

Cold wash. Hang dry. Repeat.

Weather?!?

2007-07-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

Today.

Yesterday.

Topics

2007-07-11T04:32:00.000-07:00

The topics of the campers conversation in the ten minutes before we left for breakfast:

Nalgene Bottles

The Strongest Man-Made Item

The Strength of Steel vs. Titanium

Hockey on the Wii

Xbox 360

Which Camper Took the Longest Shower

The World Record for Longest Shower

The Technicalities Involved in Breaking Said Record

Bees.

Here Comes The Partly Sunny

2007-07-10T12:05:00.001-07:00

The last few days have been cold, cloudy, and, more often than not, rainy. That made everyone pretty excited today when the sun decided to come out and the temperature decided to jump into the low 90s.

That excitement disappeared pretty much as soon as the water pumps in town stopped working leaving us without water to drink, bathe with, or flush toilets with for all of today. Supposedly it will all be fixed by tonight, but we already have some stinky bathrooms and stinky campers.

I had the afternoon off, so I went swimming in the lake with the rope swing.

Wrap and Reveal

2007-07-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

Wrap.

Reveal.

Applause.

Oh, Camera...

2007-07-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

The batteries my for camera still have not arrived. I am beginning to suspect a conspiracy initiated by some rival circus camp.

In the meantime, we took all the campers to see the touring show yesterday. One of the tour members recognized me as his counselor from 2001. Apparently twenty four is much older than I thought.

More Than Meets The Eye

2007-07-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lack of posts over the last few days. Pretty much all of my waking time was spent thinking about / waiting for 8:15pm Tuesday, July 3rd. That is when I saw Michael Bay's Transformers. It is, in a word, awesome.

However, it is also missing an appearance by Hot Rod, my boyhood idol. Luckily I just ordered my DVD of Transformers: The Movie!

In camp news, we are a few days into the first two week session of the summer and besides a little vomiting in the tents and a little pants wetting during the evening activities, it's been a great start. The batteries for my camera should be arriving shortly, so prepare yourself for the forthcoming photographic onslaught.

Now all we need is a little energon and a lot of luck. Autobots, transform and roll out.

Some Talent Show

2007-06-28T08:12:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the camper talent show. My favorite was the kid who recited Pi out to around the fortieth digit.

The crowd favortie was the kid who made an "evil squirrel face."
Note: My camera battery died yesterday, so it may be a little while before I can continue posting pictures from camp. If anyone has any questions about anything please post them in the comments as it will give me something to write about until I get my camera back. Thanks.

It's The Humidity

2007-06-27T10:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday it was over 90 out and quite humid, so we replaced Capture the Flag with Water Games.

Water games consisted of everyone sharing a bunch of buckets, balls, and sponges and getting each other as wet as possible.

Staff members were the favorite targets.

Chucky

2007-06-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last night a camper woke me up by knocking on my door at 2:30am. He told me he couldn't sleep because he was having nightmares. I took him out into the lounge and sat down on a couch while he sat on a chair across from me. He said that he couldn't sleep because he was having nightmares about the doll from Child's Play even though he had never seen the movie. He then told me that he used to have reoccurring nightmares about the doll a few months ago and he was very afraid that because he was thinking about it now he was going to have nightmares about it every night that he was here. I talked to him for a while about how safe an environment we were in and about how he had nothing to be afraid of. After a few minutes he told me he was ready to go back to bed.

It was then that I realized what I had done: I had acted out the scene in a horror movie where one person tells the other person that their irrational fear is completely unfounded. Now the doll was going to kill me while I was sleeping and the camper was going to find my body the next morning and only he would know who had killed me in the night.

It took me quite a while to fall asleep.

Greatest Moment of the Summer (Thus Far)

2007-06-25T08:01:00.001-07:00

One turn...

Three bulls-eyes...

Game over.

The 'Rents

2007-06-23T09:49:00.001-07:00

Today was the last day of intro camp, so all the parents showed up for a Showcase of the skills their kids learned.

The kids were excited to see their parents.

The parents were excited to see their kids.

Then the kids did circus stuff for a couple hours.

People clapped.

Evil Pumpkin

2007-06-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

The dinner dress up theme last night was Evil / Bad Guys. Of course I went as Derek Jeter. The counselor next to me is a super computer hacker.

In the picture below we have a counselor dresses as The Riddler and a camper dressed as an...evil pumpkin?

The costume below reminds me of The Shining. Looking at the picture scares me.

Finally we have a camp co-director. This costume also scares me.

Day to Day

2007-06-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Every morning the campers divide into their three groups and then rotate through four different classes. My group named themselves "The Piddling Pups on Parade." We have a theme song.

Their first stop today was acrobatics. They did all sorts of rolls and finished with monkey rolls (pictured above).

Next they moved on to Performance, which is clowning with a little bit of theater awareness built in. They played a game called Monster in which one kid is a monster and the other kid is afraid of them.

Next all the groups get together for snack time. Today they had grapes, apple slices, and cheese. Peanut butter was available to put on any of these things.

My group then moved on to juggling. They learned devil sticks / flower sticks and also diablo (pictured above). A good time was had by all.

My group finished their morning in aerials. The Spanish web is pictured above, but tight wire, trapeze, and fabric were also options.

Things to look forward to for the rest of this session: Pie Day, Gender Bender (a dinner dress up), a dance, and the showcase where the parents see what their kids have learned.

Toys 'R' Us Kid

2007-06-20T19:10:00.001-07:00

Tonight's dinner dress up theme was: When I Grow Up...

Below you can see a future Japanese crazy cartoonist having her work inspected by a Rockstar and a pink haired, karate skilled, juggler for whom everyday is New Years Eve.

After dinner all the campers are assigned various chores. Below is a group learning how to put away leftovers from dinner.

My group was assigned to kitchen duty. They did not enjoy it. Note: I was a boxer, not a person for whom sleeping is the only part of the day they find enjoyable.

Finally there is this guy--the future fireman and eater of hot peppers.

Kids Say...

2007-06-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

Eight year old girl sitting next to me in a circus tent, "Your cologne smells good." I wasn't wearing any.

Nine year old boy sitting next to me at dinner, "Is there acid on the ravioli?" Answer with a shrug: Maybe.

Pie In Your Eye

2007-06-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

From 3:30pm to 4:30 pm was, obviously, Pie Day.

And...scene.

One Down...

2007-06-17T18:01:00.001-07:00

The first day is all wrapped up now. Here is how it went down:

First we hiked them all over from the dorms to the circus tents.

Then they got to play on all the different circus apparatus we have here for them.

Some preferred being swung on the trapeze. Others got their kicks from the rolling globes.

The day ended with enough running games to make sure they all fell asleep immediately.

Tomorrow: Pie throwing and a luau.

Young 'Uns

2007-06-17T04:34:00.000-07:00

Today the first session starts. The kids are all between the ages of five and eight years old. They arrive around 8:30am today, stay the night, and then leave around 6pm tomorrow. Each counselor only has two campers to look after since they are so young.

I've got cousins.

Swing O' Doomishness

2007-06-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

We swam across this lake from that little non-tree part on the other side.

Then we swung on a rope swing.

Then the more talented individuals among us did fancy tricks.

I made not so fancy splashes.

Swing Day

2007-06-16T04:45:00.000-07:00

We have a meeting directly after our 8am breakfast to discuss how the first two short sessions of camp are going to run and then we are off until early tomorrow morning. There is a rumor of a rope swing over a lake, so that is where I plan to spend my time off.

A Golf Cart Attack!

2007-06-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

Today we all had to do some chores to get ready for the campers coming on Sunday. One of the aerials coaches and I volunteered to go to the tour's (edited to remove camp name) main site about five miles away and drive a golf cart back to camp.

Above is the coach by the sign for Circus Rd. Below is me having way too much fun in Vermont.

On our way back we saw a tractor. Very exciting stuff.

Moose Abduction

2007-06-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

The "aliens" abducted all of the counselors and coaches today. Luckily they took us to a lake where, naturally, all staff lined up and played leapfrog.

Later we grilled...pizzas.

On the way home, the driver tried to show off his Vermontiness and got us lost on dirt roads. Everyone was happy with his decisions though because a moose jumped out in front of the van. One of the staff members near a window took this picture of it for me.

Thanks, staff member.

Surprise! Surprise?

2007-06-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

Orientation continues.

Today at 11am the schedule reads, "Surprise!" Later at 1pm the schedule reads, "Alien Abduction!" I'm pretty sure I'm going to mess up (edited to remove cuss word) the schedule because no matter how the alien abduction goes down, I am going to be surprised at 1pm.

Fo' Real

2007-06-13T14:21:00.001-07:00

For all the doubters and the haters: Pictures of the tents we practice in!

That big fella is called "Mamma Mia."

The yellow one in the back is "Natalie." The one on the right is the "Nurse's Station," because circus can be deadly if done incorrectly.

And I'm off to dinner. Tonight's dress-up theme: Abductee.

The Walrus, Obviously

2007-06-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

This stuffed walrus head is on the wall above the entrance to the computer room. No one knows why.

It is huge.

Everybody's a Dinner

2007-06-12T15:27:00.001-07:00

Every dinner here at camp (edited to remove camp name) is a dress-up dinner. There is a theme and you dress accordingly. The best costume wins some sort of prize.

Tonight's theme was Aliens. I made myself some shorts out of tinfoil and duct tape then wore my silver rain coat. It was declared the best costume, but because the campers aren't here yet there was no prize.

Lame.

Never Leave Your Camper's Shoes Behind

2007-06-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

When I arrived everyone was wearing tinfoil hats. Later I learned the theme of this year's staff orientation is alien abduction.

The Future!?!

2007-06-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

Live blogging from circus camp will replace our normally scheduled content starting on June 16th (pm-ish).