East 4 Ever

So this will be my final West 4 Winter blog.

As some of you already know I am heading back home January 27th. The reason I haven't posted sooner on this blog either is I have been under the weather for quite some time. What I initially deducted as a simple cold and soon came to realize it was something far worse. Now being out here I did not have access to a doctor but I'm fairly certain I had acute bronchitis. No fun whatsoever. Today I woke up and took a hot shower and felt like I had much more strength today. I am still coughing and dealing with drainage, but I feel like my fever has subsided and I can breathe a little better. I am still going to take it easy today hopefully insuring no relapse and in turn maybe I will feel almost 100% better tomorrow.

If you have followed this blog thus far, then I am sure you have learned some insight as to some things I've learned and also struggled with. One thing that I have failed to mention that I have learned is how important it is to be around those that you care about and those that care about you. Maybe I am really that much of a homebody. With that thought I think about the song Half Light by Athlete. It's a really beautiful love song about being away from his significant other and the lines interwoven into the melody evokes such a sad and longing notion. "And all that I've seen means nothing to me without you". No matter where I could travel or witness, without loved ones there to share it with - it's almost worthless. 

Honestly there are so many things I am looking forward to coming back home. Right now the biggest one is food. I haven't had the luxury of really and decent food out here. Whether that be home cooked or some take-out pizza from Pizza Hut. This craving is probably more emphasized right now due to being sick and unable to eat much these past few days. Based on commercials that have been on T.V. I am really wanting to hit a Golden Corral buffet and slide over to Red Lobster as well... let's face it, I am hungry.

So my last 7 days in Colorado should look like this. Friday through Monday I will be working if my health is up to it. Daniel will be arriving late Monday night and go skiing Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday I will ship my luggage via FedEx. Wednesday I will turn in my uniform for good. Thursday I will turn in my room key and then head over to Frisco to be picked up by my shuttle to take me to the airport. My plane departs around 4:00 and lands in Atlanta close to 9:00.

So for today I will work on my East4Ever playlist to enjoy on the 3 hour flight back home. See you soon Georgia.

Reflections, Rewards, and Reasons

Back to work from two days of rest and trying to get over my lovely cold or whatever it is that is trying to keep me down. I started the day off torn between wanting the hours and hoping to get no work at all to go back to resting.  As I hung out with kids in the morning as they trickled in slowly all through the morning until around 9:45 I had a supervisor come up to me and said their was a parent downstairs that wanted to thank me. I found this quite puzzling since I hadn't taught a lesson since Monday. I made my way downstairs and recognized the parents waiting below, their daughter was a girl named Ally whom I got to teach on Monday. A brief conversation was simply the parents thanked me for the skills training I taught their daughter and how impressed they were by seeing the improvements in her. They then gave me a nice tip and went on their way.

Sure tips are few and far between and are nice to receive, but the reward was so much more than a tip. To get a genuine recognition from parents at the work you put into a child's life is priceless. I'm not writing this to brag but simply because I was so humbled in remembering how putting forth the effort to achieve a goal, (in this case get a kid skiing better), the reward can be so satisfying. Sure at the end of the day parents will thank you for giving their child a lesson for the day, but those parents still hunted me down three days later to make it a point that they were truly grateful. Personally I find that a rarity in people and it was such a breath of fresh air.

Reminds me of how it felt to be counselor. Some of the words that parents can say really can knock your socks off (mythbusters proved human strength alone can't knock your socks off). Being in the position I am now at camp further emphasizes how important it is for me to provide a fun environment for kids and maybe even more importantly an easier job for counselors in the areas I directly affect for them. If I fail a counselor I may fail a kid's experience at camp. That's a bit of a scary thought and puts a weight on my shoulders that I must let God bear as I cannot do it on my own. Hard to let go...but I must.

Around 10:00 I was placed in a class tag teaming it with another instructor. For a change of pace these kids were in the 10-15 age range, being my first class with this age group. I thought well this might not be so bad, I won't have to deal with crying and picking up kids every 30 seconds. (I know that is a bit negative, but at the end of the day for 6 hours it can be a bit tiring. Also I'm feeling under the weather so I only ask for a little sympathy here.) We started out on the "magic carpet" and then went in for lunch. We then split the class in half and I got five of the older kids, 10-13 age range and we got to hit the lifts immediately. I have to mention it is night and day working with this age range on skis. These were first timers and they were doing great. I will be honest I actually enjoyed myself out in the snow, it was the first time in a while. Today was really the first day that didn't feel like work. All I can say is I hope to get older kids in the future from time to time...

I realize that many of my blogs are negative and I apologize for that and if they bring you down I am sorry. My advice is to stop reading them if they aren't for you, but for those of you that know me pretty well already know that most of the time I write it comes out a little dark, (by "little" that sometimes is really "a lot").

Another note realizing I am a "half glass empty" kind of person is this thought - I enjoy watching sports, but deep down much of me always feels like my team is going to lose despite odds or favor. For example Saturday's with the Falcons and Packers, I'm fairly certain the Falcons are the better team but deep down I'm worried they may lose...as a fan shouldn't I think they will win,  especially since that is the result I hope for? Anyway...that was a random tangent.

Negativity and my walk with God.
I often wondered that because of my feeling of loneliness and lack of purpose out here disappoints God. Initially much of my hope was that having a roommate would be the perfect door for introducing someone to Christ, because who will you get to know better than someone you live with. (In a 10' by 10' room) Surprisingly after only two weeks out here he quits and moves back home. So I have been without a roommate ever since left to my thoughts by myself. I don't want to make excuses as to why and how God can use me and at the same time grow closer to Him. Is it a possibility I came out unprepared for this environment? Was I ill-equipped perhaps? There is a very good chance that may very well be the case. Now I know that doesn't mean I just lay down and quit on the great commission which I am commanded to do. I am socially awkward, I realize that. Could my calling really be to kids? They are the only people that make me not feel so out of place for the most part.  Who knows? As a friend of mine would say to me right now, "Have you prayed about it?" The stubborn me would respond, "No, but...(excuses, excueses, etc..)". They are right as in I should constantly seek Him for support and direction. No lie, it's hard to seek Him all the time, even when we think we've got it figured out.

Really Something by Aaron Sprinkle

Where is Spring...

I've worked on this blog off and on over the past few days so now I'm finally getting around to posting it. What day better than today since I am off of work and also feeling under the weather. First time in a while I have felt sick, hopefully one more day of rest will do the trick since I'm off of work tomorrow also.

So with further thoughts on the potential new game, I've decided to tack a theme on it. It's a space theme...I'm not big on space themes in general but it will be different enough from any other theme we already have. So I have no doubt the titles could be endless. More and more I have confidence that the pieces are falling into place for the playability of this game.

Also the opportunity to work Disciple Now again this year might happen giving me all the more excuse to come home early. Sure maybe I'm lame that I just can't hack it out here, but I think with each passing day I just feel so lost and out of place.

Just for some random laughs >>>>>>>>>>>Brian Regan - You Too and Stuff...<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I am ready for spring. I say this because there are many things I can get back to doing that I have really been missing. A few of these things in no particular order are as follows - mountain biking, playing tennis, watching baseball, and backpacking. Those are some of the things I miss doing the most right now.

So just for the lack of me going out and taking pictures, I'm going to post a few pictures of things I miss and am ready to get back to.

Adrenaline Climbing

Board Game Nights

Mountain Biking

Backpacking

Now for some reason I have failed to have any pictures of tennis on my computer. I must say this is one of the things I miss the most not being able to do out here. I also wish to be back where there is no snow on the ground 100% of the time, where I don't have to wear thermals everywhere I go. After finally getting to see the famous Rocky Mountains, Harry and Lloyd were right, that John Denver is full of it...haha. But in the reality of it all I think the Appalachians are so much prettier and unique in comparison. As much as I miss doing and seeing these things, I would give all of them up to be back around the people I love most.

                                        This Family

This Girl

                                 These Two Guys

Also This Guy

This Guy and This Place

There are a few more I could name but I lack pictures!

Ups, Downs, and the XTR3ME?

One of Copper Mountains’ slogans is “Everybody deserves a snow day”. By that I’m assuming it means a day to go and have some fun, in particular here at Copper. I feel like I deserve a no-snow day, considering 13 straight work days really can be a bit draining. At least here it can feel like that. Unless something strange comes up I should be off on Wednesday. I have no clue what I will do but hopefully it will consist of something outside of this resort.

 My days have pretty much consisted of wake up, go to work, go to my room, go to sleep, and repeat. Pretty uneventful to say the least. My spare time has been fairly unproductive, much more so than I would prefer. One thing I have started doing is brainstorming and trying to develop some new games for next summer at Strong Rock. (Now this is assuming I’ll be rehired though :P, otherwise this work is all in vain). One of my goals is to design a fresh new game that can be played on Field 1 or 2. I find there are many positives to the field games and we have plenty of other “woods” games to choose from. After many unsuccessful brainstorms and blueprints, I finally had a breakthrough today. I think I have found a potentially successful game concept. It contains several of the requirements I have resolved make a fun game - high activity, heavy interaction, objects, goal scoring, and multiple dimensions. So now I am in the rules process in understanding the breakdown for clarity to kids. Also I am a bit stuck on a title, so this is where feedback is appreciated. The game has three ways to score points - I’d like the name to summarize the game on that premise. The only name I’ve come up with so far is XTR3ME or XTR3ME THREE

I’ve also decided after receiving a two-week paycheck that the money made isn’t quite as good as I anticipated. So my hope is to work maybe through February and head back home. Because in all reality when I boil everything down - I’m just not happy here. The experience itself hasn’t even been worthwhile, in hindsight passing on this job would’ve been just fine with me. Being alone and feeling ignored by some people back home has definitely helped me understand myself better and the importance of some of the relationships in my life. Also at work I mostly teach 3-5 year olds and that has worked much more patience in my life, (as camp did in the past as a counselor), although I will say crying still drives me nuts.

I haven’t done this in any of my West4Winter blogs, but I want to give a shout out to those that have truly tried keeping in touch and expressing their care. My grandmothers have both been great in my time away in encouraging me and letting me know I am missed, it is so greatly appreciated and I can’t wait to see them when I get home. My parents have both also been constantly asking how things are going, sometimes asking so many questions it’s annoying but I’m glad that they want to know what’s going on. They’ve all kept in touch every few days and I know that for them to take the time out of their day to just send a message, text, or a phone call means so much to me. Then there is Michelle, who I have yet to understand why she puts up with me. Her willingness to listen or talk to me blows my mind. Even in my darkest hour she knows how to build me up when I tear myself down the most. I don’t like to be the annoying type of person that all they talk about is their significant other, so just this once I want to let anyone that follows this blog that she is one of the most amazing people you could ever meet. She is more than I deserve but I hope I never stop trying to become the person that she does deserve.

This song is awesome, definitely speaks to my heart, hopefully it does to yours as well.
-------->>>>>Sleeping In by Nevertheless

Random Top 5:
Foods I Am Thankful For That I Am Able To Manage In My Little Room -

1. Peanut Butter
2. Gatorade Drink Mix
3. Welch’s Fruit Snacks
4. Ritz Crackers
5. Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars