I woke up at 7:15 this morning and got dressed to go to the AT&T store. I anticipated there being a few people standing in line when I arrived. I underestimated the geeks of Auburn. There were a good thirty people standing in a line that wrapped half-way around the building!
"Screw it" said the little, sleepy voice inside my head. "No cell phone is worth this."
Thus began the war between me and myself. In this instance, I fought that voice and decided to plop myself in this line. The store was set to open at 8:00. I anticipated waiting an hour, which would mean that I'd be in and out by 8:45. Wishful thinking. They only let eight people into the store at a time. After the initial eight, it was one in- one out.
I struck up conversations with the people surrounding me in line. We laughed, fanned ourselves in the 8 a.m. heat (seriously?), and scooted forward ever so slowly. Eventually, we turned the corner, literally. The front of the store had a nice breeze and a cooler of water provided by the kind folks at AT&T. Finally, we were within twenty feet of the door.
It was at this time that Debbie, the store Manager came out and addressed me and my fellow lemmings.
"We're runnin' low," Deb said. "This is the 'iffy-zone' right in here," she said as she pointed directly at the column of air between me and the person in front of me. Good. Great. Grand. Wonderful. I had been officially declared a denizen of the "iffy-zone". I was doomed.
"I'm outta here," said the sleepy voice in my head. Once again, I fought it off. This time it was not so much a testament of my fortitude, but the fact that NOBODY else in line was leaving. I had to stay, through thick or thin.
Finally, I made it into the store, not at 8:45 but at 10:00! That's right, I waited in line for almost two and a half hours for a cell phone. Anyhow, I had reached the promised land. Air conditioning and accessories. I asked permission to approach the bench. After exchanging information, my sales representative Kimberly placed a black box on the counter. "You got the last black iPhone in the store," she said. The heavens opened up, choirs began singing, I had been smiled upon this day. Mission accomplished.
Dreams can come true. All I had to do was repeatedly go against my better judgment, sacrifice self for the pinnacle of cellular technology.
One giant leap for Dankind. I started walking today. I haven't walked in over two weeks. I was pretty shaky about it, but after a few laps around the house, I was all over the place. It's amazing how many things I can do now. I can take Jenny out (so that there will no longer be dog excrement in a 15 foot radius surrounding my front porch). I can walk up and down stairs much more easily. I can go get the mail. I can clean up the toilet paper in my front yard. Oh wait- I haven't told you about that.
My yard got rolled! Really? I left for camp and my yard, house, and car got covered in toilet paper. I teach middle school. I thought you rolled the yards of the teachers you didn't like. What's up with that? If it was you fess up.
There. I did it. I'm back on Facebook. Is everyone happy now?
I'm embarrassed.
I got off Facebook two years ago when they first allowed High Schoolers to have Facebook accounts. I'm now thinking about getting back on it. The hardest part about this would obviously be swallowing my pride. For two years I've been anti-facebook. Now, I don't think I've been annoyingly against it. I just chose not to be on it.
There are a couple of reasons for my impending return. A) going to camp and meeting back up with my friends makes me want to get back on facebook to be able to keep in touch with them and 2) If I do get an iPhone, I'll want to be able to access facebook on it, just because I can.
So, would you hate me if I got back on? Would you be willing to forget the past and be my friend? Welcome me back into the facebook fold? It's not a done deal, but I'm strongly thinking about it.
I got my economic stimulus check yesterday! I had totally forgotten about it. Free money! Remember this post? Done. Why not? I got money that I didn't expect to have right now. Money that is meant to be spent. I would just be carrying out my duty as an American citizen by spending this money to stimulate the economy. Iphone, here I come.
I hate the days after camp. Readjusting to life in the real world is difficult when you've been in an isolated, peaceful place with tons of your best friends. It was so good to get back to camp after a two-year hiatus. Friendships continued like we had never left.
Getting around camp proved difficult with a broken ankle. However, I was able to get a wheelchair and my transportation situation greatly improved. It was awesome to see how many people were willing to help me out all week. Sure, I got called the whole spectrum of broken bone nicknames: crip, cripple, peg-leg, etc. But, all in all, everyone was very helpful to me all week. I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.
Now that I'm a music educator, I have a totally different perspective on Music and Arts week. It is an incredible week of music and arts education. On top of learning the music and singing tons, there are classes in photography, newspaper, handbells, men's ensemble, women's ensemble, guitar, videography, art, and more. These kids get such an amazing opportunity to experience things they might never get a chance to experience otherwise. I gained a new respect for this camp this week.
So now I'm back. Back to paying bills, going to appointments, eating cheap burgers on burger night. Back to having cell phone service and internet access, things I had been fine without this past week. I have to wait another year to see these people again, but when I do, we will pick right back up where we left off.
As a camp should be, Sumatanga is without internet access or cell phone service. We like it this way. However, there is an office where one can access the world wide interweb, and this is the first time I have done so. I don't have the time to fill you in on all the goings on of Choir camp, except to say that things are going well and we're having a blast. I have missed it so much, and it's good to be back. I'll catch you up when I return to civilization.
