Gut Check

Wednesday night was the most amazing night. Gut Check brought the campers to the climax of the week and through their team work they solidified friendships and really gave it their all. Gut Check is a theme night event where all the staff dress up as army officers and guide the campers through a massive obstacle course around the entire campus! Such a good time. I happened to be stationed at the first leg of the course, so I witnessed the beginnings of a filthy, dirty, grimy test of endurance. The four teams, compiled of ninety students, had to stand in line and wait for their turn; the mosquitoes were relentless. Luckily, I kept spray on me at all times. The campers didn't have it as good (once they hit the mud, their spray if they had any washed right off). Suckas. To begin, the campers had to somersault into the watery ditch/trench (which turned muddy after Team 1) and crawled on elbows and knees about 100 feet to a checkpoint. Here they balanced their way across a slippery log and if they fell off they had to start at the beginning again! After this they had to crawl another 100 or so feet and then climb a tire obstacle to finish the leg. As they did all this, we (Ryan Malech and I) the "army officers" at the station, barked orders to stay down in the trench and to crawl properly. They had to address us as "sir" or we would make them pay with push-ups or sit-ups. It was hard to keep a strict straight face because one of the campers had his face wrapped up in fabric and just looked hilarious. He kept addressing me without saying "sir" so I kept adding extra push-ups to his schedule (he just kept talking, even when he was doing the punishment!). As the other teams waited for their turn they were constantly slapping those damned mosquitoes. Ryan and I taunted them by taking my spray and re-applying it to parts of our bodies where there was no chance for a mosquito to get there (they must have been pissed). It's fun being da boss. When one guy was in line to cross the log he said the funniest thing: "Shoot! My iPod is in my pocket." The girl beside him was shocked and replied "You serious?" He was the little camp clown and said, "No, I'm not stupid." Hilarious! I had to turn away and laugh.
Once they were done with our station they ventured on to the next leg for a mile run which consisted of holding on to the same rope (now this takes team work). Once they finished, they made their way to a boot camp mini obstacle section with our military man BJ. He made the kids crap their pants all week long. What a loving guy though! The final stage was a massive Slip N' Slide! My favourite. It was a massive tarp that was laid down on a pretty steep hill and was 10x50 feet. Best ever. It was covered in detergent and the kids had to slide down and bring back pales of water so others could have the ride of their lives! The first ones to go down would overshoot the end and keep sliding over the grass at the bottom near the river. You could hear them yelp in pain as they endured the grass burning sensation.
Now, when I thought all was over, I actually endured some pain myself. I persuaded one girl from the last team to go on the Slip N' Slide one more time. This was a once in a life time thing! She wasn't sure and was talking to one of the other coaches about it. I was standing behind her and reached down to pick up a pale of water to dump on the slide... WHAM! For some strange reason she jolted her hand back and slapped me right in the eye. It hurt (remember the fact that she was covered in slimy/grimy/gross mud all night). I became passive aggressive and asked why she would do that with her hand. Later I realized that I was getting mad at her for something that was very minuscule compared to what they had to go through!!! I went back and washed out my eye and there was literally a muddy hand print on my face (looked bad ass). At the end of it all we ate some snacks and reminisced on the highlights of the night. You should have seen all the mosquito bites! They should be immune to West Nile 'bout now. Some boys took their shirts off during the course... baaad idea.

Mr. White

Monday night of the first week of camp, I had to speak to all of the campers at chapel (I was pretty nervous, not gonna lie). This was the first night of camp and they were not completely comfortable yet so I had no idea of how they would receive my presence/talk. Turns out I did a decent job. I ended up talking about trusting God even when you're lost with something or do not feel His presence. I mentioned my Bible School experience at Bodenseehof and added in some stories to try and make the kids laugh. I also managed to find out from my fellow coaches (Ryan and Jesse) that one of my nervous mannerisms is completely opposite of most people's. I apparently slow down during a public speech and take my time when I am nervous! I don't realize this obviously because I feel my heart pounding, face burning, and race through my scattered thoughts to find the right words like everybody else (I think). However, I seemed to be very laid back and seemed calm. Weird. Whatevs [whatever], it went well and after was our theme night game where I experienced a very uncomfortable outfit.

I was Mr. White in the Masterson Murder Mystery. A big game of Clue which took place all around the campus. If you are going to Prov Sports Camps in the near future and are reading this, please disregard what you just have read (we want it to be somewhat of a surprise, but I am pretty sure none of the campers-to-be will stumble across my blog!). I wore a white one piece suit of sorts and realized, once I put my legs in, that it was going to be a tight fit. I didn't think of this when I said I wanted to be Mr. White and saw the outfit. My appearance gave my fellow staff quite the laugh. I also had a white brimmed hat and a 5 piece candle stick handle as my weapon. The costume was so tight that I had to cover my crotch up with my candle stick as Manuel Jr. was very visible (I am sorry about this image but I have to tell you how uncomfortable it was). It was tough to walk because it felt like I had a permanent wedgie and I sadly had to climb many stairs to get to my position up in the Bell Tower. Now, the main building of Prov has no air conditioning and since hot air rises I was sweating up a storm in the stairway of the Bell Tower! Wow, the things I do to make others happy. I spoke with a Ron Burgundy accent and acted out some improv for the teams. Good times. I'm lookin' forward to tomo [tomorrow] night (Don't you find that texting 'tomorrow' takes too long? Abrieves are so handy).

Prov Beginnings

The first week of Providence Sports Camps (volleyball) is finished! Wow, what a week. I'm pretty sure the staff had just as much of a blast as the campers. I am truly exhausted and am trying to rest up for the second wave of kids tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly the staff came together. All that was needed was a friendly yet competitive volleyball scrimmage late into the night last Sunday to bring us all together. We needed some incentive to play hard, so the losers had to clean up the winner's breakfast dishes the next two mornings!! My team won (of course), booyah. It turned out that my volleyball rust completely diminished very quickly that one night when I hit the court (I am truly grateful). By the end of the week I was back to my old swinging self in the Staff vs. Camper all-star game (we destroyed them two straight sets, NBD)! I am giving most of the credit to my newly acquired asics running shoes. They add about an inch to my height and just feel amazing compared to a normal court shoe! Sure, they did cost me a lot but now I have a volleyball shoe and a running shoe for quite sometime.
I'll add a couple stories of the week after this entry because if I wrote everything in one blog it would surely be too long for anyone to want to read! Man, what an experience!

p.s. My shoulder feels like it'll fall off.

Coach Extraordinaire

Today I embark on a new adventure. One that I have experienced as a camper but now I experience it as a coach/counsellor. I am looking forward to my upcoming time at Providence Sports Camps as I meet fresh faces and hopefully make a positive impact on the lives of those around me. With only one season of coaching high school soccer under my belt I am now expanding my career as a coach to volleyball. I am very excited because I want to get back into my old volleyball self as I have not played for around two years now (I'm hoping the rust rubs off as soon as possible, it might be embarrassing)! Here's another reason why I'm pumped: My long time friend and co-worker (Ryan Malech) from Chromatic Painting is also going to be my co-coach/counsellor at Prov! I just love how about 3 years ago we both decided that we were gonna be the only ones who didn't get a job and just hang out all summer. Now, we are hanging out all summer but making money in the processss! It's the best.
Since I will be heading out in a few hours time I just wanted to get one entry in for the week to let my peeps [people] know what I am up to. I'm sure I will receive quite a lot to blog about, so stay posted for some stellar story tellin'. Sadly, I don't believe I will have time during the week to post any entries, so hopefully I can get a couple up on the weekends. I ask and would love for you to pray for me as I begin this sports ministry. Danke (THANKS).

Tschüss!!!!! (Bye in German) ...At least for the week.

Peach Of A Goal

Yesterday I scored one of the most beautiful goals of my career (if you didn't know, I play football [soccer], the best sport in the world). Before the game I was asked by one of my teammates if I was going to score. I wasn't expecting to of course and replied: "If you will, I will." Well, he didn't but I sure did and it was a strike of beauty. Let me take you to the action.
The game was literally over in the first ten minutes as we smothered them with our possession and scored twice. I actually should have been credited for our second goal as my teammate shot (while I was somewhat in the way) and the ball deflected ever so slightly off my right foot and trickled in. I wasn't going to celebrate such a weak goal so I respectfully gave that one away. Boom, not even ten minutes later we scored again with a precise tic-tac-toe play. A few minutes after that it was my time to shine. The ball was fed through the air just outside our opponents eighteen yard box. Our striker and their defender went up for the header and I yelled for the lay-off header as I ran up behind them from the left flank. The ball hit the back of the defender's head and bounced perfectly on the path where I was running. I didn't think twice, I struck the ball on the volley and watched as it blasted towards the net. The keeper had no chance as it sailed past his outstretched reach and disrupted the mesh top shelf! Double fist pump. That felt good.

Life Lesson: Lean over the football [soccer ball] when you strike it. This way you have more control and this usually ensures that it will not sail over the crossbar for a field goal (don't worry I know that there are no field goals in football [soccer], it's just a widely known player's joke. Okay, that probably confused some people because I used the proper term for soccer. Meh)!

Sadly, I will be missing the next few games due to heading out to Providence in Otterburne to coach at their Volleyball and Soccer Sports Camps. I'm excited to start working at Prov though! This means tomorrow is my last day as a painter (for the summer)... I will miss it; hopefully I will be able to return to Chromatic Painting soon.

~~~

I just want to thank Josh Dyck for the shout-out on his last blog entry. We figured out how to use Bluetooth between our two phones and it is mos defs [most definitely] endless fun. Confusing, but fun. You would think it should be consumer friendly but somehow it never works how you think it should. Oh technology!

HP6

Good news... I did not have to work this morning!!! I was so relieved when I got the call from my boss. You may be wondering and therefore asking: "Why were you so relieved, Manny?" Let me tell you. Last night I decided to attend the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Yes, I am a fan and have read all the books. I thought it would be appropriate to see the film on it's premier even if I did have work the next day. My co-worker (Ryan Malech) decided to go as well (at a different theatre) so we probs [probably] would not have gotten much done in the morning anyways!
I ended up going with my bro and his friend. Assuming that the queue was going to be unreal, we headed out earlier and got to the theatre for 9:45pm. This was not necessary. By 10:45pm there was still not that many people behind us (though the line did have quite a large diameter, mabes [maybe] 20 feet). Now no one likes to stand in line for hours, so I brought my iPod to listen to my tunes to pass the time. I guess I could have watched Batman: The Dark Knight on my iPod... why did I just think of that now?! Whatevs [whatever], my bro brought his Nintendo DS Gameboy so I was able to play some Mario Tennis as well (not as good as the classic N64 version). That's right, we came prepared for the long wait. As I was listening to my tunes I was bored and therefore scanned the premises and landed my eyes on a new concession stand in the theatre. PIZZA PIZZA! Wow, this is my favourite pizza; when I moved to Manitoba I was crushed because Pizza Pizza was only in Ontario. I planned to purchase this incredible pizza after we claimed our seats.
The clock struck 11:05pm and suddenly there was a shriek and the mob/line began to flow. By flow, I mean like a rushing raging river with rapids galore (beautiful alliteration)! People were sprinting to get to the auditorium, I hadn't seen anything like it (I kept it cool of course and sent my brother and his friend to madly dash for seats). I'm telling you, it was a human stampede (kinda reminded me of the running of the bulls). Phew, we got good seats. Half way up on the side closest to the aisle we were... prime seating (props to my scouts). My Pizza Pizza craving had made itself known again so I headed out to retrieve three slices for my crew. When I got to the concession stands a man with a megaphone was addressing the other line-up (I couldn't believe that they weren't let in yet). I had to watch this. They literally marched them in to their auditorium to prevent what had happened in our experience (which was a dilemma). These people were just pumped for Potter. I was a little disappointed that I saw nobody dressed up in robes. There weren't even any fake stuffed owls or anything! My excuse was that I was dressed up as a muggle (non-magic folk), I thought that would suffice. Anyways... I got back to my seat and settled in. I whipped out my secret Ziploc bag stash of Smarties and a juice box and feasted until the movie began.
There is something about movie premiers that just gets people riled up. I mean there's always the people who yell and try to make themselves heard. Why? Don't know, but I happened to be one of them. The trailer for New Moon was shown in the previews and people started to cheer, gasp and gawk. Naturally, I piped up and said, "Com'on! We're here for Harry Potter!" This one guy a row below me heard and decided to repeat my words but in a much louder yell. It got a good reaction, I was proud. It was time for the movie to begin. Everyone was excited and could not help but yelp with joy. As the joyous cheers died down the funniest thing happened. One man way at the back decided to put in his two cents of humour. He cried out, "You Shall Not Pass!" There was an instant roar of laughter. That made my day. During one of the scenes Dumbledore actually strikingly resembled the exact image of Gandalf too!
I really liked the movie. It was quite hilarious and was able to capture the best of romantic awkward relationship humour. Hormones definitely dominated the theme of this movie. I also never thought that Butter Beer was alcoholic... you'll know when you see the scene. It has been at least four years since I have read the sixth book so I did not remember every single detail that was left out. Who cares, they can't get everything right! Overall... good show!

Slurpee Champion of the World

So if you haven't heard... Winnipeg is the Slurpee capital of the whole wide world for the 10th YEAR IN A ROW! Unreal. Today is 7 11's birthday and I guess that is because today is the seventh month and the eleventh day of the year. This means free Slurpees (though they're quite small cups)! I still think it's worth it, and I enjoyed it.

Man Shower

Last night a few of us went out to Portage La Prairie to visit a good friend named Thomas. His fiancee Laura had come out early to visit him for his birthday and also put on a surprise "man shower" for him and his friends in the area. We were running late picking up some gifts so we didn't see Thom get surprised but we made up for it because we wrote a loving poem mentioning some of the good times we had had with the man. Actually, we were the ones that got surprised because when we arrived at the door Thom jumped out and silly string'd us pretty good (apparently it stains).
I guess it wasn't fully a man shower because Laura and Thom's Mom were there, but it was all good 'cause they made most of the delicious food (Thank you! Props to Thom's dad for cooking the amazing steaks too). Before the main course however, there were appetizers which consisted solely of wine & cheese courtesy of yours truly. That combo is just a beautiful match. Love it.
After the main course of the manly steak, cooked potatoes, hot dog weiners, and... salad... we settled down to a classic game of Texas Hold'em poker. Seven was widdled down to two and the two who remained were Skate Shop Steve and myself. Steve had been takin' people out left, right, and centre but I continued to stand in his way. It all came down to one particular bluff of Steve's (TSN's Turning Point if you will) and I stuck with him to the end; resulting in a two pair for me... and nothing for Steve. I took a strangle hold of the chip count. I could feel it, I just had to buy him out down the stretch. I kept my cool and calmly lured him into my trap. He had no choice but to be reeled in and victory was MINE! I'm only mentioning this poker game because I believe it is the only one I've ever won. Too bad it was just for fun... DANG IT! Whatevs [whatever], the brownie and ice cream during the game was pretty much a prize for winning anyways (though everybody got brownies and ice cream...).
On the way home we grabbed a Tim Horton's coffee and listened to Dane Cook's Retaliation set. It never gets old! What a good night.

Side note: I found out that Thom's dog Odie has quite the bark and quite the bite to go along with it. I was semi-attacking Archibald [Andrew] when Odie ran up behind us barking. He jumped and bit me right in the buttocks. Yes, my left cheek was pinched by Odie's canine teeth. Ouch! I could not believe it. That dog gave me quite the tude[attitude]!

Lank Threat

Could it be that I have found a lankier man than myself?! He's about 6'6". I don't know his first name but I'm on a mission to find out so that we can be friends. He lives at the house we are painting at right now which is pretty huge! Every day and all day he sits at his computer either playing World of Warcraft or watching How I Met Your Mother. Man, what a life! I've never played WOW [World of Warcraft] but I know that How I Met Your Mother is an excellent show (my co-worker Ryan Malech would agree). Don't think of me as a creep (I like to pretend I'm a private investigator), but when I was up on the roof, scraping what I thought was his room's outside window frame, my eyes came across a UMSU's Copying Centre card (Don't worry it was right on the window sill, so I wasn't scanning the room, I just caught it in my periphs [peripherals]). This means he goes to the UofM; where I go as well! I love doing detective work. I need to scout this guy to make sure he's Team Lank worthy. His appearance may give him an automatic membership but I need to know how this guy acts and if he's an efficient and effective lank. I will get more answers next week. I must befriend this gentleman and teach him my wise ways.

Plugged?

Wow, I really should update my blog more frequently. I started off well with a few a week but now it has slowed down to one (tisk tisk).
Alright here we go. This last Monday a funny situation occurred. My co-worker (Ryan Malech) and I were having our morning break in my family's newly acquired Honda Ridgeline (I always have Ryan in brackets because I love to remind people that I work with him; plus if you click on his name it'll bring you to his wonderful blog). Now I haven't settled on a name for our Ridgeline yet but I think Reagan might be suitable. Anyways, we were chillin' outside in the cargo space mulling over the hundreds of clues for the massive Canada Day crossword (it's a full newspaper page!). Jerry (the next door neighbour), who we had just met that morning, happened to come by the truck to say hello and crack a few jokes. This guy is awesome. He must be around 70 years old and he is everything that is man. You just look at him and you know he is "the man". While he was talking to us the elderly woman who owned the house we were working on came out and waved at Jerry to come quickly. Jerry obeyed.. she asked for a favour... he complied and jogged back to his house to retrieve something. A couple of minutes later Jerry comes out with nothing else but a plunger. Oh dear, here is a dilemma. I just happened to use the elderly woman's washroom just before our break. Ryan and I looked at each other and then burst out in laughter. Unreal. I was fairly embarrassed but I laughed it off and got back to focusing on the crossword. Headin' back from our break I passed Jerry comin' out of the house and asked about the sitch [situation] inside. He mentioned that her downstairs bathroom had been plugged. Yes! I had used the up stairs bathroom! I was so relieved to hear those comforting words from Jerry. Phew, I was joyous the rest of the day.

Slip N' Slides and Apple Seeds

So my past weekend consisted of rain, rain, more rain, and a Slip N' Slide! A few of us gathered at a certain awesome cabin [cottage] (Manitobans have converted me to saying cabin!). Even though it was raining we managed to have a blast. I'll take you back to the Thursday before the weekend... My co-worker (Ryan Malech) and I were painting in the sweltering sun all day and dwelt on the idea of slipping and sliding after work. We asked our good friend if she owned one... nope. Luckily, she felt the need to purchase one (she's the BEST!). It was not used that night but it was brought along on our cabin crusade.
The wrath of the rain was relentless and we were stuck inside contemplating on what we were gonna do. The thought hit us. Of course! We pulled out the Slip N' Slide and headed out to the backyard. The place was a giant puddle and we were prepared to master the inflatable (it wasn't really blown up at all; we didn't think to bring a pump). We actually whipped out some dish soap as well to make things more interesting. That was my bath for the evening. Fun times.
A Slip N' Slide is all you need for a refreshing time. Either that or the classic sprinkler. I remember those good times back in my toddler days with the Crazy Daisy too!

~~~

There were some good quotes today at work...
2 year old Joanna - "Norton (family's dog), don't drink the paint."
Here is some funny dialogue from the day...
Manny - "Is it okay if I give my apple core to Norton?"
Joanna's mother - "Don't apple seeds have Arsenic in them?"
Manny - *Chuckle* "Nope, don't think so. My dog eats them all the time."
Joanna's mother - "Well if your dog isn't dead it should be fine."

Wow, if apple seeds had Arsenic in them would apples still be considered the poster image of fruit? Would we be eating them!? Eve would have died right aways or soon after in the garden of Eden right? *Chuckle*, Okay, I looked it up (wow, this entry has drifted quite a ways). There is NO Arsenic in apple seeds! But there IS Cyanide! Here is a quote from http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/bot00/bot00208.htm...
"About the only way you can actually run into a problem with the toxicity of apple seeds is if you save the seeds from about a bushel of apples and eat them all at once."
Well look at that! Interesting... don't get any ideas.

Canada Day Dilemma

Today was Canada Day and for those of you who do not know, July 1st of 1867 was the birth date of our great nation! It is on the 1st of July because being 1st is better than being 4th (of July); Muahaha, Canada's the BEST! Anyways, this lovely day was perfect for the beach and that's exactly what I did. This time I was prepared for the sun's penetrable rays and brought the always reliable sun-to-the-screen. The beach was packed, I mean everyone and their sister was there (sorry our limo driver used that line a few weeks ago and I loved it!), and we were very smart to go earlier in the morning. Now let's fast forward. My cousin's band: Effect and Cause (they're amazing) was playing at The Forks at 4:30 and I wanted to go see them rock out. I cut it close coming back from the beach but I was able to catch the last half of their set. Now, I went alone to see them play and once they were done and gone I was a lonely chap. I was planning to stay all evening but I hadn't planned to meet up with anyone there right away.

Life Lesson: Never go to a massive public event alone.

I was all alone and felt like such a loser. I believe that today was the most I have ever texted in my LIFE! I know for a fact I texted over 100 times in a span of 6 hours. Unbelievable and sad. I was trying to find people and escape my one man pity party. Thousands upon thousands of people must of thought I was a loner/loser who was always lookin' at his phone. However, I found a way to beat the system! Since there were live bands playing I would go and stand next to a group and try to make it look like I was a part of their crew. I especially looked for attractive women. Hey, why not? It was a fun game! I bought myself those amazing mini-donuts and meandered, weaving through the mass mob of people.
Finally, my friends came to my aid. Five of The Super Seven (plus a few others) arrived and saved a troubled member in need. Phew, I was able to look strangers in the face again.
It turns out that The Ducks (who have apparently been nominated for a Grammy) were playing just as my friends arrived. Now, this name sounded awfully familiar and my friend (who I was in a band with) relieved my memory. We had actually played a show in Matlock with this group (the drummer was a jerk, he told me I could borrow his snare drum for our set but they blew us off and ditched early)! Whatevs [whatever], I guess they're pretty big now. Pshh, technically they opened for US! HA!
The night went on and we ended up not staying the full time for the fireworks (I have seen better, i.e. in Vancouver and in Rome on New Years!). I was hesitant; what if it was a good show? I ended up driving away only to stop a short distance later to park and watch some of the show. This way I would beat the unreal traf [traffic] jams and watch some good ol' fireworks! Ha, I beat the system again. So I ended my day watching the display from a bus stop on St. Mary's avenue. Excellent.