The second Tour of Duty begins

First day back from break and believe me, it was not easy getting up. That non-working stiff lifestyle was getting pretty sweet, but alas, 'twas not meant to be. Thus, I bring you my day. Ciao.

7:00-8:00am:
It becomes apparent to me about 7:10, while in the shower, that a nice morning vomit is not entirely out of the question (read my blog 'the Normal Life' for more on that one). I left home late because of thise. About 10 minutes late. It was tough decision: to stay home or go to work. But I hadn't actually hurled yet, despite feeling like it for nearly 36 hours, and with a tribe of Monday campers, half of which being new, I didn't feel like I should be deserting Kim without at least giving it my best shot.

8:00-9:00am:
Arrive at work at 8:05am. So close. Doodle some with Kimbo and then Steph, but the sun beating down on my already sick body is not so smooth ... so I chill with Carley, who drew two sweet versions of Spongebob. We discuss our cowardice after scary movies and enjoyed a few laughs. It then comes to my attention as we gather up, that we have 10 campers for the day and we are Buffalo Bradley-less this session. Kim and I each shed a tear as we will not be guaranteed any excitement for our Mondays.
Swimming is first on the agenda. I had lost my suit right before break and thankfully when I tried the lost and found at the pool they had both my towel and trunks. Unfortunately both stunk. Speaking of which, I need to be throwing those in the laundry... Needless to say, between my stomach and my stinky but newly found apparel, I sat poolside.

9:00-10:00am:
I enjoyed sitting poolside with Dana and some boy with a cast on his head. Unfortunately the sun was relentless and a nice pair of shades would have been welcome. I suffered through nonetheless.

10:00-11:00am:
I try eating my first bit of substance in a day and a half ... a oat and honey granola bar, praying that it stays down as the grainy nature of it would be disgusting coming up. Kimbo and I then play a game called bird's nest for Pow-Wow. Just as Stephanie said it was a success. Point for the home team. Unforunately near the end of the game Jim's nausea flared to severe levels. It was then, spending 10-20 minutes toilet-side in the spider-infested boys' bathroom that I first considered going home early.

11:00am-Noon:
We play games. I try to be of assistance during the first game, refusing to sit down. For the second game however, I took a seat on some benches and chilled with a few campers. I hoped Kim wouldn't think too low of me. Lunch started and after helping set-up I once again had to abandon Kim. At this point I wasn't sure if I was more of a hindrance to Kim, but I hoped she would have told me if I were. I skip lunch, roll up my nice smelly towel as a pillow and crash on a blanket.

Noon-1:00pm:
I fall asleep on my back, quickly, waking only at the end to the sound of the PA system. It was a good nap. The much needed sleep led me to believe I was feeling better. I woke up without nausea, even had some hunger. I took three bites of a sandwich and had a few fruit snacks, and within 5 minutes of being awake I felt bad again. I spend another 20 minutes int he basement bathroom, sitting on the pot, strenuously pushing out the little poop I had in my system ... I felt somewhat better. Swapped out with Kim at tribal treat in an effort to give her a well-deserved rest.

1:00-2:00pm:
I wasn't sure I wasn't leaving early, but I wanted to at least stay long enough to give Kim some time off. I ended up having to dance with a camper, listen to every kid scream as loud they could, build a steam rollers using the campers to construct it and sing Happy Birthday the most creative way I could think of in front of everyone. It was a mildly fun time. Wish I had felt better, but I felt like it was a good 40 minutes with the kids.
Then came games. I pretty much sat on the sidelines again, stomach's orders. I spent another 20 minutes in the bathroom readying myself to puke. It never came.

2:00-3:00pm:
Storm clouds move in. Looks like a nasty one too. Lightning in the distance sets an eerie tone, especially in light of the conversation Carlie and I had about 'War of the Worlds' that morning. I try and play weatherman to predict the storm pattern. I came up with two scenarios of what would happen to camp int he next 30 minutes, the scenario I would have bet money on was dead-on, which eventually meant no rain. We moved to crafts, while everyone else moved to the basement becuase of the on-coming storm that eventually yielded nothing, as I predicted. Who needs a college education for this stuff anyway?!? Crafts wasn't bad. I finished a seek and find. I also tried to be useful by gathering up all our stuff from our homebase and bringing it inside the shelter (as all groups were instructed to do). It took me two trips, but it at least made me feel like I had helped Kim out in some way during the day.
During this hour, I also extracted my revenge on Counselor Aaron Gross. A while back, he masterminded a plot that saw Kyle Lawton dumping her mug of water on me while I slept during a break. I swore my revenge when he least expeced it and today my opportunity came. He was laying alone on a bench duringa break. Feeling a little less nauseated, I grabbed Kim's mug of water and softly walked toward him. He heard me anyway and raised his head ever so slightly to see who was coming. Fortunately for me, his mug sitting on his chest, and no doubt my skinnyness and vigilance obstructed his ability to see me without actually sitting up. I walked another few feet and while he was stirring, obvlious to my plans, I hurled my cup of water at him a few feet away. DIRECT HIT, I SUNK HIS BATTLESHIP! I had better aim than I thought as I soaked his face and chest. His look of shock as he shot up was priceless. Kim saw it all unfolding from the craft table and said it was hilarious. Aaron was a good sport about it. We're even. One down, one to go. Look out Kyle.

3:00-4:00pm:
I tried to play connect four, and failed as we had too few pieces. I then played maximum-prison security guard as I stood outside the check-out shelter. The campers were extra ornery today. They forgot their lessons about not running out in front of cars from last session. I had to also holler at a camper climbing all over my Dad's carved fish on the totem pole. I guess positively we now know that the fish can support the full weight of a first grade girl little hanging from it. The bad news,I am sure it weakened the structural integrity to the point it will need to be re-attached int he future if such events continue.
Another boy entered the same area I told him not too three times in succession, then was found (by me) dancing around the mini-golf area. After telling him to sit on a bench and not move, he prompted to get up 5 minutes thereafter and lift the bench off the ground. When I told him to keep his bottom connected to the seat in a 3 minute pep-talk, in which I threatened parental interefence I concluded by asking are there any questions? He said No. Did u understand all of that. He said yes. As I was getting up he then asked me, "But can I get up?" OOOOOOH, I wanted to scream at him. We just had a three minute session where I clearly outlined the rules of him getting up (he couldn't at all, even if the world was ending). And he had the audacity to ask that. I about blew a gasket.
The day thus ended with me heading to my car with a container of altoids given to me from Kelly so that I survived the trip the home. Bless her heart. Apparently mint does help nausea. Who knew.