Day in the Life--Monday

And so for the last installment of This is My Life...

6:35: Alarm. Way too early. I am woken from a sound sleep. And consequently grumpy all morning. What I really want to do is find some job that I can sit and work at in a quiet corner with nobody bothering me. Instead, I have E. singing and Mrs. Owner hovering while I try to make pancakes. We can't use the griddle because it isn't Kosher, so we've got cast iron skillets instead, which mess with the pancake mojo I've built up over the summer. The first ones are always a mess, anyway, but Mrs. Owner is fretting, so I let her do it and busy myself with pouring things out of cans. Our stock of Kosher serving dishes is limited, so I have to serve Cheerios in a colander, and be creative about everything. (I told Seth how a former employer used to torment me with the phrase "use your creativity"--in a Brooklyn accent--and he hasn't missed an opportunity to say it since)

7:40: These kids are early risers! Breakfast is at 8, but they're all lined up at the kitchen window, watching us. I do dishes--my default when there's nothing else to do.

8:10: A few stolen moments by myself in an Adirondack chair with pancakes, canned blueberries, and fresh banana.

8:20: We're cleaning up already! The kids do the dishes, but no other staff come to help, so it takes E. & me right up to 9:00 to finish.

9:00: Meeting time. Since I've brought my camera, this is the one day in 2 months that Seth does not toss his dry erase marker in the air repeatedly. He addresses me specifically, "the booze have to move forward." Huh? Oh, 'Bus. As in Malibus. As in Seth's, J's, & my cars. Why they're in the garbage truck's way today and haven't been for the last 8 weeks, I don't know. Nor do I know why guys in their 20s have to make every word a monosyllable.

9:15: Move my car forward 5'. Sit in it for a couple minutes. This is MY space. And the tire is still inflated, which makes me cautiously happy.

9:25: Clean the house bathrooms. I don't know why the counter in the girls' is always a soapy slick, but I only have to contemplate it for 2 more weeks!

9:40: The tent deissue station from yesterday was not fully put away. Dump garbage cans of water down the hill. Hose out the sand. Realize J. wasn't at the meeting and doesn't know he needs to move his 'Bu by 10. He's tending the sweat lodge fire. Has gotten into the Deer Hill spirit and leaves his keys on the seat. I get to walk back to the parking lot and move his 'Bu.

9:50: Come back to tent deissue and pick up the pile of stakes left to dry. We use plastic ones, which are horrendous to pound in, and virtually impossible to do with a foot (of course, the moister soil in the East is helpful, too). Later today, someone was discounting the quality of the stainless steel water bottles that were our staff gift this year, "and they're useless for pounding stakes."

10:00: My proximity to the shower house reminds me that it's probably pretty mangy and I am right. Whoever's Zone of Responsibility this is doesn't take much responsibility for it. Fixtures dirty, mirrors sprayed, trash overflowing, floor in desperate need of sweeping. And perenially no paper towels. I kill a good 1/2 hour remedying the situation and take a walk back to the shed to restock the toilet paper, too. Which reminds me, I need to tell someone we're almost out again. (had a bit of potential crisis in June when we realized there were something like 8 rolls in all of basecamp and it was 2 days 'till the next Sysco drop)

10:30: Stop into the BCP to snack on the gorp in Refugee Food. Clean scoops left in sink, close bins left open, wipe counter where necessary. Someone has taken the 2 jars I took out of recycling to empty yesterday and helpfully put them in the fridge. Must take care of this. Head for staff room sink to clean jars.

10:40: Staff room recycling is overflowing. Clean BCP jars, pick dirty paper towels out of recycling bucket, arrange containers so I can carry them all to the carport in one trip.

10:50: It's largely a wasted trip. Plastic and paper are both full, sealed, and on the truck to go into town. There's still room for glass and cans, though, and I can throw the cardboard on the pile in the back of the Tundra.

11:00: Take full buckets back to staff room. Continue on to River Room, where I'm motivated by a sense of progress with the repair shelf. Replace a tent zipper.

Sometime around lunch time: There is a guy in the driveway. I guess he used to work here. He just rented a bunch of our river gear and reports that there's a leak in the ducky. Seth starts to check it out. Asks me if I want to fix it. *groan* Gives me the soap spray bottle to find the hole. I have to brush all the sand and mud off first. Spray it in sections. Nothing is happening. I go to ask John how obvious the hole will be. He suggests getting it super full of air, so I attach the blower and fill it to bursting, at which point the valve starts hissing. Can it be that simple? John, ever the teacher, comes over to see how I'm doing and seizes on the valve theory. I mostly watch while he tries various wrenches, then blows soapy water in with the blower to clean out any dirt that may interfere with the seal. Voila! No more hiss. I leave it inflated for a while to make sure that's it.

12:00: I go down to the kitchen to see how lunch is faring. Amidst the bustle of preparation, Mrs. Owner pulls me aside. It looks like she has something significant to discuss. "Now, what were the seven Horcruxes?" Someone must have told her I'd know.

12:05: Sweat lunch. Usually, they have more substantial fare for us, but not today. We're all scrounging for extra stuff. Jason, Deer Hill's second-in-command, goes to get one of last night's hot dogs from the Nalgene I put them in and returns and declares my work "the best weenie package job of the summer." I want that on a certificate. Unbelievably long & involved conversation about In & Out Burgers commences.

1:10: Back to the River Room. Back to the zippers.

2:15: Panim store hit. JR & I are on it. The kids come in and stare at stuff, then leave. We're in there for about an hour, and sell one hat.

3:15: Back to the River Room. Back to the zippers.

4:30: I'm getting bored of this. Besides zippers, have sealed one seam and sewn one hole. Tents (or anything else) are supposed to be tagged with what's wrong with them, but several are not, necessitating a lengthy inspection of both tent & fly. The seam seal job was a guess, since nothing appeared to be wrong with it otherwise.

5:15: Enough tent repair. The River Room does look better, though--even G. notices, which is saying a lot! I want to go chill for a bit before dinner, but get appropriated to put tablecloths on picnic tables.

5:40: SMOE has emailed my Korea Arrival info packet. Good stuff, though not as informative as I would like.

6:00: BBQ. Instead of black bean burgers (not Kosher), there is BBQ tofu for the vegetarians-mmm! The kids go through the food like locusts. No need to find packaging for leftovers tonight. Mrs. Owner sits & chats with D, J, & me. It's enjoyable. She's indignant when the kids all walk away without carrying stuff back to the house. "Basecamp staff are not your mom & dad!" she calls after them. Only a couple come back to help.

7:00: Clean up time, but the kids are having a group photo done. Fill the sinks, sweep the mudroom, everything else is on hold. D. has hosed down the picnic tables.

7:10: Store hit for the other half of the group. Not much more productive than the first. These kids have to pay cash, instead of the accounts the regular DH groups have, so they're a lot more judicious in what they buy. Free stickers--everyone's on that.

7:30: Last call for store. Stop by the kitchen to see what needs to be finished for night crew--nothing!

Two weeks from right now, I'll be on my way to Valley of the Gods.