Whew.
What an exhausting past few days.
Main Entry: 1ex·haust
Pronunciation: ig-‘zost
Function: verb
Etymology: Latin exhaustus, past participle of exhaurire, from ex- + haurire to draw; akin to Middle High German [oe]sen to empty, Greek auein to take
transitive verb
1 a : to consume entirely…
I was lucky enough that Reed pulled me aside in class on Thursday afternoon, and asked if I would like to start facilitating for the challenge course at that very moment, instead of sitting through a decidedly lame lecture on reading techniques. My answer was a (perhaps too loud) “Hell yes!”, followed swiftly by a “See you suckers later!”.
When I got outside, I met up with Nate and the other facilitators for that day. The group we were working with was composed of elementary school kids, most of them only as tall as my waist. I arrived just in time for the front-loading circle sit down. The two kids to my right, Josh and Chad, were instantly recognizable as the kids who act out/make fun of everything/question almost all authority. I would dominate them with a mix of cunning, guile, fart jokes, and general understanding of our similar motives.
The day went well, and I got experience stepping up to introduce activities, extolling the values of safety, checking over body harnesses, and maintaining the focus of others. After the kids left, I got to help take down the ropes course, and Nate showed me how to properly scale on of the poles using the lobster-claws and a seat harness. It was a lot of fun, trying to figure out how to take down the system without ruining it, and it was especially exciting since we didn’t finish until after sundown.
Friday was a blur, was there even a Friday this week? Perhaps not. Oh yeah, now I remember. After my music class I saw the girl I want to be friends with walking a little ways ahead of me, so I started to catch up with her. Instead of initiating a conversation about anything at all, I turned around and walked away. I feel like a totally inept spaz, still. So yeah, I guess I just wish Friday never happened. Friday night was a bit better, but still inept. I was going to see a film being shown on campus, titled Ripe for Change. I thought I was only a few minutes late, but when I got there I realized that the film actually started an hour earlier. I sat around for the last six minutes and some discussion with the promoter afterwards, and he was kind enough to lend me a copy of the DVD, requesting “if you like it, you can send me a check for it, or just mail me back the DVD.”
Later that evening I got a call from Mike, who would be the lead facilitator for the group I would be working with on Saturday. He let me know that we would be starting around 7:30am, and I went to sleep early in preparation.
6:45am is the earliest I have ever woken up in Chico. Turns out the sunrises here aren’t too spectacular after all. I got myself dressed and pumped for my first full day working for the Outdoor Ed. program, and I was on my bike by 7:15. I definitely got their too early, and when Diana showed up, she invited me inside to help get the gear together. Reed was there, and he gave me some brief words of encouragement before shuffling off to his other obligations. Soon enough I met the other facilitators I would be working with, Mike, Tyson, and Tina. I was the only person there younger than twenty-five.
The group we would be working with was a group of fourteen students and two professors who were preparing to go to a national business management competition in Reno. I noticed that I was still at least two years younger than anybody else there. Under mike’s direction we took them through a series of low-elements first, like “Acid River”, “Spider Web”, and “Trust Falls”. There were a few snags when it came to activities I was leading, that I feel can mostly be attributed to my lack of experience, but I don’t think it detracted too much from the overall experience for the group. By this point, I was already feeling comfortable taking a leadership role, and using the activities to try and teach, despite the age difference. Breaking for lunch at 11:45 I sped off on my bike and got two slices of olive and artichoke topped pizza from Celestino’s (the only NY pizzeria in Chico). When the feeding was done and the group reassembled, we started with the high-elements, specifically the “Lazy Susan/Pamper Pole”, “Giant’s Ladder, and the “High V”. I’d had experience with all of these except for the “Giant’s Ladder”, but it wasn’t a problem. We moved along well, if a bit slowly, and eventually settles down for the debriefing. I think Mike, Tyson, Tina and I were able to get the metaphorical lessons across to group, without much direct idea planting.
Tearing down the course was also a learning experience, and Diana let me go up some poles using the lobster-claws and a seat harness. I’m also getting good at stacking and wrapping ropes.
When I got home around 7:30pm or so, the cafeteria had already closed up. I was starving though, and settled for a dinner of corn chips and salsa. I finally sat down to watch Ripe for Change, and it made me both more aware of the benefits of eating locally grown organic foods, and of how hungry I was. Chips and salsa, you do not satisfy me. I was again able to get to sleep early.
Sunday morning I woke feeling like a heavily tenderized meat-sack. My shoulders and neck were killing me, are still killing me, I assume from the climbing I did on Saturday. I decided the only cure for this (and the slight head cold I’ve had for a week) would be a ride up to Paradise. It’s been far too long since I’ve ridden the steep winging road, a course I at one point considered doing weekly. Perhaps that could still become a reality, as I find higher value in these diminishing fair-weather weekends. As always, the views were gorgeous, my legs got sore, and my bike got dirty, success in all respects. My little odometer rolled over the four-hundred mile mark just before I got back to Craig Hall. Part of me is disappointed in that figure, and I think it could be a lot higher if I could muster a stronger morning resolve.
ALSO:
Bright Eyes flips around in my mind. He is either brilliant, a pompous ass, or a total fucking psycho. Get it together my man.