Working at Camp and Experiences with Fellow Counselors! [Expect Walls of Text]

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Timmy

Timmy

Alvin, my man from Tales of Xillia!
Purple Star (1,000 Posts) Legacy User (Gold)
So... just so I don't make walls of text in the Anything Thread about work again, I've decided to post here about how work has been going. I may work there again next year (maybe start a bit earlier as well, I joined on Week 6 and there's 8 weeks LOL) and hopefully won't be hesitant about joining either. I'll just update here with separate posts whenever I feel like it. =P

So, I work at a day camp called Centre du Sablon (or just CDS or Sablon). Starts from 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. I have to get up at 7:30 AM to pack my lunch and get ready, and I leave my house at about 7:50 or 8 AM. It's just like a 5-10 minute walk to work, which is rather convenient. My brother (who I can't stand :p) works there too, and actually gets paid since he's a Senior counselor (you have to be 18+, be active and participating in everything, know how to handle kids well and be creative to be a senior). I'm just a C.I.T (Counselor in Training), which is basically a volunteer so I don't get paid. Regardless though, it's still fun. Besides, my brother and his boss came over to our house and they were like, "you have to come to camp", so I was like whatever. :p

I was assigned to be in Group 5, which are the kids who are 9-10 and were in Grade 4, on their way to Grade 5. I have to say though, I was REALLY hoping to be in Group 6 (which has the Grade 5 & 6 kids), especially since the Senior counselor I have a strong friendship with (his name is Matthew; should've revealed that before lol) is in charge of Group 6. 6 really is my magic number! =P

My kids though... Oh boy most of their IQ levels... fall into the negatives. They usually get crazy and don't know what the hell respect nor silence are. :/

Work has been a LOT better than I expected! I expected it to be like school (in a bad way lol) due to the times and there's like a dress code (nothing bad though) and there's like various activities, such as: swimming, science, arts, gym, soccer field, park, assembly and whatnot. =P

I've had fun participating in most of these activities with the kids, despite their craziness. Swimming, science and the park are always fun. Though swimming I tend to get out early since I can't really swim and I get cold eventually lol

Remember when I said how much I trusted Matthew and how awesome he is? Now, I'd go as far as to say he's my best friend.
...He lives pretty damn far away though. He said it takes him 30 mins to drive to Sablon... but takes the Metro (which is a subway) and the bus to work which takes him 2 F***ING HOURS. He doesn't want to blow money on gas just to drive to work though... Can't blame him either. =P

But, never in my life has someone made me smile or laugh so much, no matter what. I always see him smile and having a great time as well. I can trust him with any secret, and would NOT judge me at ALL. We also share quite a bit of things in common! ^__^

My other friends have done at least one of these things for me, but Matthew does all of them. He's just so awesome, and I'm definitely glad to have met him! Aside from the fact we live far away, his personality DEFINITELY makes up for it.

He actually came over to my house (with my brother lol) before I started working at Sablon, and we played Brawl & Mario Kart: Double Dash. Oh my god  Matthew's reactions were PRICELESS and HILARIOUS. In Brawl, he was so baffled over how badly I ended up beating him, and he just rage quit (not badly though; he just abandoned the controller lol). Then in Double Dash... We ending up choosing a nearly identical combo. I chose Koopa and Baby Luigi, while he choose Paratroopa and Baby Mario. Now, we did 2 rounds of VS. (so it was just me and him LOL), and RIGHT OFF THE BAT (I was in 1st lol), I hit a Double Item Box on Luigi Circuit. I got 4 Red Shells, and he was already upset. I won that match by a few seconds. I got a Mushroom from 2nd place, but then I passed him and still had my Mushroom, so I just used it to reach the finish line. :p
 
Then after we did Yoshi Circuit. He was really close to winning but thanks to a mini-turbo from drifting at the end, I won lol
He also had the opportunity to take the shortcut at the beginning, but he didn't for some reason. :p
     
Grand Prix was next and well, first race (Mushroom Bridge) went fine; I got 1st, he got 2nd, even though I got Blue Shell'd (went into the tunnel so the ceiling was low so I quickly recovered) and he barely passed me last lap. But then he ending up running into my Fake Box I placed Lap 2, and even then HE KNEW where it was and was like "Pfft, you think I'll fall for that?". Oh god that was funny. XD
2nd race (Mario Circuit), at the end, he ragequit (like he did in Brawl; not badly lol) since I got a Star in 4th last lap and I took the shortcut where the Chain Chomp was. Then he ended up getting 3rd from running into Goombas. :p

Then after he was just watching me play Kirby's Return to Dreamland. It was mostly silence but he asked me a few things here and there and laughed over the way I played lol

But yeah, Matthew's just a REALLY awesome guy!

*Happened on August 13th, 2013*

This morning... I woke up, but it kind of got off to a rough start since 1: THE DAMN PHONE RANG, and 2: I felt kind of nauseous for some reason. Well, I woke up way before my brother (he came in later than he usually does and usually leaves before me lol) and left before him this time around.

So, I get to work, go downstairs, and go to the Group 5 room (it's also used for the kids in the Extended program which is staying at camp before it actually starts or after it ends to watch movies and whatnot until their parents come). I see Matthew, Nasa (who is the supervisor of extended), George (the Science specialist and also a good friend of mine) and Amanda, who works with my brother Tommy.

So, they were asking me about where my brother Tommy was, and I just said he woke up later than me for some reason. They were like "oh he's a lazy bum", and we start laughing. Then we continue to chat, and Matthew asks me, "why do you hate Tommy", and then I said "I CAN'T STAND HIS EGO!". Then I tell them "I'M GOING TO SLICE TOMMY'S EGO IN HALF.", and Amanda said, "I told Tommy I heard Timmy said you were a hypocrite and arrogant, and then he just denied it". I continue rambling on about his ego, and I bring up how last week, he was like "Oh I beat you twice", and then I bring up, "I beat him 26 times, so like what's his point?". Then Matthew asks me "Even if his ego was sliced in 1/2, it's still too big right?". We were all laughing so hard when he asked that question, but god, MATTHEW CLOCKED THE TEA WITH THAT QUESTION. I frantically responded that question with a YES.

Afterwards, we decided to pull a prank on my brother, and FINALLY my brother comes in. Nasa's like "Tommy, you're fired", and Matthew's like why are you being a bully to C.i.Ts and your brother?! And Amanda and I are like "Yeah Tommy, sheesh". My brother's response and face was PRICELESS. That just COMPLETELY BRIGHTENED UP MY MORNING!

Then the morning meeting happened, was very brief though. Was just the "Sablon Olympics" we're having tomorrow, since every Wednesday there's an outing or we do a special event. =P

Aside from that hilarious morning though, we've been working on our Group 5 dance since the kids have to perform in front of their parents on Friday the group dance. Each group is doing it lol

Can't really say any other noteworthy event about today... Afternoon meeting was more about the Sablon Olympics tomorrow and describing each event and how the medals will be distributed. My boss (named David) and co-boss (named John) said they'd want a C.i.T to volunteer to handle at least 1 event... Otherwise they'd do so. Well, I can't say I'd be able to help with that. =P

After work, I decided to go to the Depanneur (which is basically a mini-mart or a corner/convenience store) to get Tic-Tacs and Lays, which I plan to give to Matthew this week. I'm thinking of giving it to him tomorrow during the BBQ after work (he said he's not sure if he'll come since he lives far away), or on Friday, which is the last day. I just find him so awesome that I need to repay him back. :D

Looking forward to tomorrow's BBQ though! Expecting some great food, awesome dancing, and partying all night! ^__^
...Not really all night, it's just for like a few hours, but still. :p

Holy F*** I typed like 94x more than I expected LOL
I guess I just love explaining details. xD

But yeah, work has been SO much better than I've expected!! :D :D ^___^
 
Wow! I worked at something on a smaller scale earlier this summer. It was pretty awkward as none of us really talked. However, we did pretty much warm up to each other at the end of the week. As far as I know, they had no similar interests with me. No surprise xD

I'm glad my brother doesn't have a big ego. He is annoying however! I hate it when he mentions something stupid or embarrasing. Plus, he always ACTS like he knows what a tooic is about but just says the most irritating things. He's a year younger than me... and this whole thing might be me getting to that "irritable teenage" phase. But HOLY COW. Me and my friend Abilene (who I kind of like  :-[) were going to the movies with my mom and Stephen (little bro) and ERGH! Abilene wasn't annoyed by him at all, but every time he mentioned I DON'T like talking about (Abilene is one of those people who doesn't care what a person likes if she has no opinion on it, but to me they make me seem immature a bit, and I don't want her to make her think that) and it was killing me. Abilene and I have known each other FOREVER! She was one of the first people I met my age when I moved. While... She likes someone else, that guy is dating her best friend. Abilene acts like it's no big deal... But she's sad inside, I know.

Oh, little brother. Yeah, he's annoying. He's like that person you don't want around when your trying to make an impression. In fact, I basically have to hogtie him in another room when I'm skyping. So is my older brother, but he is always loud when I need him to be quiet. He doesn't do it on purpose but he gets on my nerves. Personally, the only sibling I have that DOESN'T get on my nerves is my older sister. She and I get along very well, but she's two hours away, swamped with college and work, massively in debt, and like me, has depression issues. Man, typing this up... well, in hindsight, I feel stupid posting, but it's too late for that! So yeah... Family sucks.


Please excuse if there is any spelling or grammar mistakes, I am on my iPod typing this.
 
To be honest I'm rather a silent/socially awkward person as well lol
Hence the silence when Matthew was watching me play Kirby. :p
I've tried to be a bit less quiet though. =P

As for siblings, god my brother is ridiculous. Sometimes my sisters can get annoying (I have one who's a neat freak, the other a total controlling school-worrying freak), but at least they can be nice, so I can deal with it. My brother takes it to a WHOLE other level though. Aside from being arrogant, he's just REALLY obnoxious, hypocritical, insincere, two-faced and a sadist.

I'm the youngest of the siblings, so idk how it'd be like lol
 
Well, today has gone smoothly!

In the morning, George brings up how "he's the best player at Smash Bros." and I'm like, "uhhhhhhh yeah, that so explains why you lost to me".  Then he's like, "I wasn't talking to you Timmy". Then we just burst out laughing lol
Then Matthew does the same thing but with Double Dash. He's like "I'm better than you, I just fell off at the end on Yoshi Circuit". And I'm like "NONE OF US EVER FELL OFF", and he's telling me to admit defeat. Then I bring up the fact he could've taken the shortcut at the beginning on the 2nd lap, but he didn't, so that was his problem. Then we get into this friendly argument and start laughing again. XD

So we had the Sablon Olympics, which were kind of fun. We had 7 events, but no matter WTF happened, we'd always get awarded 3 medals for each event. :p

I got assigned Green Team, but I was hoping for Purple so I could be with Matthew. Oh well. =P

The events were ok, but my favorite one was the Obstacle Course, since at the beginning we had to put shaving cream on your faces! xD
And then there was the Wheelbarrow event and we got rewarded candy at the end of it lol

During one of the events (which was crab soccer), which was inside the Group 5 room, one of the kids accidentally kicked it too high, and... It hit the glass on the clock. The clock still works fine, but god that scared me. Then John & David were watching us clean up the glass... I felt kind of lost and intimidated. ;__;

During one of the events, I had to go help David bring boxes of drinks and chips for the BBQ. I just had to bring it to the office at that time though. Also had to bring in popsicles for the kids at the end of assembly!

After all the events were done, we had extra time so we just went to the park until the assembly for the Sablon Olympics. At the assembly, all teams got 21 medals lol

Then popsicles were distributed for the kids, but some kids forgot their backpacks/lunchboxes outside so I had to go on like a wild chase for the kids and interrogation asking the counselors if they knew whoever had this. :p

BBQ time came, and I was excited! At first though, it looked cloudy... and then it started drizzling for like 10 mins. Then it was continuing to drizzle but it was sunny at the same time... Nature is silly. :p
However, I felt kind of lost and a bit sad since I didn't see Matthew... I was spacing out for a bit. But then I realized, Matthew would've wanted me to have fun anyways and wanted me to smile. So I managed to get over the fact he wasn't there. In fact, I believe he was the only Staff not there...

So there's already a box of 120 candies, and my brother's like "I know how many candies there are, I'll know if you guys took any", and then the MOMENT my brother isn't looking, everyone around the table goes for a candy LOL
But did he really expect us to not take any? The candy was there for a reason. :p

So first the hot dogs were on the grill, and I got mine pretty quickly. Was pretty good, then I go dance in the HUGE tent. Most of the Senior Counselors were dancing along with me, and it was just so awesome! My friends were complimenting my dancing, and they like the way I move my feet and jump. ;)

Then after, burgers go on the grill. I waited fairly long for one. Was still great though! Then I continued to go dance for a bit more, my dancing mood felt on and off though. There weren't senior counselors in the tent along with me again, so it didn't feel as epic. Oh well.
Also the girls were trying to twerk and they want me and the other guys to try to twerk, but I did NOT WANT TO TRY THAT ROFLMAO
A fellow C.i.T (who's like the DJ) nailed it though, and we were all dying of laughter LOL

Then Nasa comes out with boxes of fudgesicles! She said we could take 2 if we wanted, and it was refreshing!
My friends' and fellow counselors' reactions to how much of a fudgesicle I could eat without getting a brain freeze were PRICELESS. I ate like 45% of it in like 1 bite and didn't even freeze my neck. xD

I decided to walk home after, and now here I am, tired. :p

All in all, I'd rate the BBQ a 10/10, but if Matthew was there it would've been way off the charts! ^__^

Pretty awesome day today!! ^__^
 
Work has gone well today!

But in the morning I woke up freezing. Remind me again to not wear shorts to bed again. :p

I get to work, go to the Group 5 room, but nothing noteworthy really happened.
...Except for bringing up Tommy's ego again to Matthew, and then my brother's like "but I'm the best at everything". Matthew was like "you hear that Timmy?". I was just like ok whatever

Then we had the morning meeting, but I felt rather tired. Then my brother and Matthew were talking, and Matthew was like "Timmy, your brother's crazy huh?". I'm like "uh, yeah!". XD
Morning meeting wasn't really anything special. All David & John just said was to make sure our Group's kids were ready for the dance performance tomorrow. =P

So today we had our last... pretty much everything. Last Science time, last Art time, last Assembly, last Pool time, etc.

During snack time though, I went over to Group 6's room, and I gave Matthew a 1/2 Stax of Lays Chips, a box of Tic-Tacs (which I hid inside the Stax) and a Cream Soda.
I know I said I'd give it on Friday, but... I just decided to give to him today since tomorrow's the Carnival Day and idk if I'd see him at a proper moment, so... yeah. :p

I first give him the Stax. He was like "NO WAY." Then shortly after, I give the Cream Soda. His reaction was ABSOLUTELY priceless. He was like "YOU'RE LYING TO ME. NO. NO WAY!" and we had to hug! But then I tell him I ate like 1/2 of the Stax of chips, and he's like "oh sure leave me with-"
*opens the container, sees the box of Tic-Tacs*
He just gave me the BEST smile AND the BEST reaction ever after that! And we hugged again!! XD

I then return to the Group 5 room. In a brief moment, Matthew comes in and tells the Counselors in my group, "THIS GUY HERE, *points to me* YOU BETTER TREAT HIM RIGHT! Timmy, you better tell me if any of them are yelling at you!". That just completely made my day! ^__^
THEN I TELL HIM TO GO TELL THAT TO TOMMY ROFLMAO
^Not sure if he actually did tell my brother that, but that would've been priceless!

So they leave to go to the Gym, our group still had snack time but we had Arts & Crafts next. Then in like 20 mins, I look out the windows of our group's room (which allow you to look into Group 6's room and the hallway), and I saw chairs and tables knocked down and shaving cream on the Group 6 sign and the tables. I was like O__O
...Then I saw a C.i.T from Group 2 (the DJ) did it as a prank on Group 6. Don't know if it was for revenge or something LOL
Then shortly after Group 6 returned. They weren't really mad though lol
Matthew then asks me "who was it?", then I'm like "I'll tell you a bit later (since the DJ was just outside in the halls LOL)". But then he's like, "you're my best friend, and your brother, unlike Tommy!". Oh god that lit up my day as well!

So then I tell Matthew the culprit, and I hear him screaming and interrogating (in a kind of strict voice) at the C.i.T who did this! I was dying of laughter! XD
I decided to help clean up the shaving cream around the room a bit, but our group was going to Art, so I asked Matthew if I should stay to help clean up. He's like "Timmy, you've already done enough, alright?". Afterwards, he mentions "Go on Tommy's phone to find out my number once you get a phone, alright?!" Then we hug once again!! ^__^

Art was alright, but the kids were making paper airplanes and some of them flew pretty well, others really awkwardly. There was this one airplane I barely avoided since I didn't see until the last 2 seconds and ducked just in time! XD

After that, we had pool time! I actually stayed in longer than usual, and we had a group of people playing volleyball (well more like we were trying to keep the ball from landing in the water lol), and our highest record was 28 consecutive hits!

Finally, we had our last assembly, and we were singing, dancing and cheering for a good 10 mins. The first cheer we had to lock arms with a partner and spin around and do our traditional cheer for camp! XD

Afternoon meeting was basically that John needs a bunch of us to gather chairs for the parents for the dance performance tomorrow morning, and also no crying until the end! ...The latter might be difficult for me though, because of Matthew. ;__;
We were dismissed, Matthew and I point and wink to each other goodbye! ^__^

I can't believe tomorrow's already the last day though... Last time I'll see Matthew as well, for a while. NOW I REALLY WANT A PHONE BECAUSE WE REALLY NEED TO TEXT EACH OTHER!! XD

Oh and I know this blog topic has only been up for a few days, maybe I should've started this earlier LOL
 
Last day of work... Was AWESOME!!
...And filled with Smiles & Tears. ;__;

I woke up pretty early today, and got to work early as well. I had to go set up the chairs in the gym for the parents to watch the dance performance. Took a lot of people and time though. The elevator in Sablon is mainly for handicapped people, and it wasn't easy fitting in stacks of chairs when its capacity can only hold 2 people plus another person in a wheelchair. =P
We got about 50 chairs set up, but then John told us to go to the meeting.

So the meeting was about setting up chairs in the gym and the carnival that would happen in the backyard during the afternoon. And also the fact that it'd be the last day, but David & John said no crying until the end. We then start cheering and start our morning with energy!
They also said no afternoon meeting either... :(
...But someone asked about what would happen to the carnival if it rained (the weather was indecisive today again lol). David responded, "it's not going to rain. The weather gods make sure this never happens.". XD

So then I help continue to set up the chairs. Lifting the stacks of chairs out of the elevator wasn't easy though. We had like 8 people helping out though, so we got it done relatively quick! We set up a bit over 100 chairs in the Gym. =P

So then we go over our group's dance 2 more times. Went pretty well!

Then all the groups go to the gym, and each group does their dance in numerical order. All of them were AWESOME. And for once, my brother legitly put a smile on my face with his group's dance! I have to say though, Group 6's dance was the best (well then again they are the oldest but still lol) and then the cheering they did at the end... was outstanding! O__O

I think the other groups loved our group's dance the most though because they started singing the songs we had! XD

Then after all the group dances were done, we all had an awesome (but brief) dance party, and there were some photos taken of the kids with the counselors! I could tell that EVERYONE had an awesome time, and the parents were definitely amazed as well!

So then we have snack time, but then I had to help bring the chairs back to where they belong. I was glad I wasn't the one lifting the chairs out of the elevators; I just dragged them all the way to our Group's room (the orange ones at least though, other went in the hallway near the Science room & the Office). Matteo (the C.i.T who's also the DJ lol) had a cart to bring the chairs, which sped up the process a lot lol
...The receptionist got ANGRY though because one of the C.i.Ts kept pushing the button for the elevator downstairs and when the elevator is upstairs (but the door is still open) it makes a ringing sound. Same thing occurs when the elevator is downstairs, but the button is being pushed upstairs and the door is still open. :p
I was using my shoes as a doorstop to make the process of bringing the chairs easier, and my friends were like WTF Timmy?! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SHOES?! XD

So after we finish bringing all the chairs back, we noticed that ALL groups had their signs up saying that they were at the Park. So I go get my shoes on, grab my bag and go to the park. Then later on, we went back for lunch. :p

So every Friday is a Pizza Day, and this was the final one. I don't order though since I don't have money to spare lol
I just had my sandwich and several drinks, but there's always a few extra boxes of pizza, so John gave one to Group 6 and Matthew had the box. Since our groups are right across from each other... I go over to visit Group 6 (actually I do that often lol) and ask Matthew for a slice. But then... here's what happened.
"Hey Matthew, can I have-"
*Matthew bites the slice, gives it to me*
"Ok, I guess that's fair since I gave you a 1/2 Stax of Chips yesterday. Whatever then"
"...Yeah, that's why I did that, Timmy." LOL XD

Oh whatever, it's not like he contaminated the pizza, so I just accepted it like that lol

...Then I also gave him another typed up letter (won't go into full detail, but I'll just say I told him how much of an amazing person he is and how thankful I him to him :D) while we were eating, and he noticed that I said "you're the brother I wish I could have". He gave me another great smile and hugged me once again. He was also like "I'M GOING TO RUB THIS IN TOMMY'S FACE", and good lord I was dying of laughter when he said that, and I would've been crying & laughing simultaneously if he had actually done it. XD

So remember when David said it wasn't going to rain today? He was wrong. Because of that, the carnival outside had to be canceled and we all had to go in the gym. It wasn't bad or anything; we had another dance party (I was so tired and my feet were killing me though lol) and it was awesome! And it wasn't as sweaty as last week since the gym is ENORMOUS. XD

But me, Matthew, Victoria and Megan (the latter 2 are fellow female C.i.Ts lol) went outside for a short break to drink water. Well, the entrance to the gym has 2 doors, and to the right there's like a corner with an opening, and so the right door would block it. Well, Matthew decided to trap Victoria and Megan in the corner, and was blocking the door so they couldn't escape. Matthew asked me if I had any water bottles. Well, I had one, and gave to him FAST. He was shooting water over the door and getting Victoria and Megan all soaked! Then 10 mins after he finally let them go, but they were MAD at us. They had their own bottle, so we RAN (I suck at running though lol) around the Gym avoiding the splashes from those 2. Thankfully, no one reported it and John/David didn't find out. Oh god though that was WAY too hilarious! ROFLMAO XD

So then the dance party finally ends, and we go back to our groups. Unfortunately there wasn't much to do so I was just waiting for 4 PM to come... Was just trying to pass time. =P

Then 4 PM finally comes... I'm just on a frantic hugging spree to the kids and hugging my fellow Staff members in my group and Group 6... I also decided to go hug John & David too. John also told me to join right away next year! XP

I wanted to cry and my eyes were tearing up, but they didn't come out... Until I gave my last hug (had to save the best for last!) to Matthew... Oh god I really started to cry. I'm still in tears after we're done hugging... But he tells me, "I'll see you around Timmy, take care. It's going to be fine, my brother!".
You have no idea how much that meant to me. I had to hug him again. John then asks, "Matthew, how come your eyes aren't tearing up?". Matthew then responds with, "Me? Tear up?! You're crazy.". I'm like "Yeah, sure Matthew. Everyone has their sensitive side...". I say good-bye, and then I leave.

I start walking home feeling a bit sad. But then I realized, once again, Matthew would want me to be happy and smiling. So I had to remember and visualize the great times and smiles we had. Then I finally get home, and start reflecting over all the great times I had working at Sablon and meeting Matthew. :'D ^__^

So, yeah, the finale of my experiences working at camp this year. I may volunteer again next year! If Matthew is there again, I sure as hell am volunteering there!

I just want to give a fellow shout out to some people while working there.

John & David: For encouraging me to join camp and being a great co-boss and boss respectively!
Fellow Group 5 Counselors: For being so kind to me while I was working with you guys and never yelling at me.
Tommy: Ok, I know I can't stand you even though you're my brother, but you are the main reason I joined camp. :p
Matthew: For being the most amazing person ever in the universe.
^Ok I know I've been REALLY admiring/idolizing Matthew so much, but Matthew's personality is just about everything I could ask for in a friend, and I can't forget that. =P

But yeah, I won't ever forget the experience I had working here, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading this topic filled with walls of texts! I'll keep this topic open for a few more days to see if you guys have any comments, and lock this topic, but if I do work there again, I'll be unlocking this topic and filling it up with more texts of amazing experiences! ;)
 
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