Florida!

I’m currently sitting in Tampa airport awaiting my flight back to Toronto. Great times were had, great banter and great craic!! We didn’t do much which was just what was required! Lots of time spent at the beach and in the pool! We went Jet skiing which was immense! Esp when Drew tipped us when making a turn, I will not forget those 5 seconds for the rest of my life!! Went to a Japanese restaurant which was interesting and surpassed my expectations greatly!! What also surpassed my expectations was the heat! It was unreal at times its left like the sun was piercing my skin!!

Here’s to… “SHINE A LIGHT!!”, “Kat remember that the bumps are 3 times what you feel back here!”, Kats mental driving of the jet ski, “why because I might get japed?…”, Cinabon, late night catch up chats, playing games in the pool, getting burnt using factor 30 sun tan lotion, sweating it out in the gym and nearly passing out with the heat, outlet malls, going to the wal, winning rummy cub, surprise visit to the cheesecake factory and after a year and a half still having my favorite meal on the menu, playing star wars trumps, Shark week on the discovery channel, to northern Ireland banter, catching up about people at home, discovering that my accent is completely Northern Ireland still apart from one sentence, our chocolate fondu night, always forgetting how to say thank you in Japanese, “good times” and to hoping that I get through Canadian customs with my work permit still in tact.

Question: If they don’t let me back into Canada, would they send me to Northern Ireland or back to Tampa? This could happen a work permit does not guarantee re entry!! There could be a good story a head!

Pictures: Top Kat and I, lower right is us waiting to be seated at the Japanese, then us on the Jet Ski, I am not looking at the camera as Ive just been told I need to drive the Jet ski through a metre wide hole! and any damages would have gone onto my visa card! You also would not of looked at the camera!

Rat trap, wake boarding & tornados!!

I’m going to Florida on Thursday no need to say that I am very very excited!! I leave tonight for Toronto for 2 nights at Lindsay’s house before flying south. It’s been a good few days I went wake boarding yesterday sadly there is no photographic evidence as for the 6 seconds I lasted each time I go up on the board, My friend couldn’t get a picture taken! But I’ve got the rest of the summer to master it!! I’m just glad I was able to stand up. I have to say I am pretty sore this morning. Was pretty sweet being out on the lake with glorious weather speeding through the water looking at all the massive houses. Still getting on well with all the Northern Irish guys, we were driving back from town the other night discussing how good it will be to have a Muskoka Woods community when we go back home. It’s always nice to have people to talk to when you get home from a great experience that know exactly what and where you are talking about.

Here’s to chipmunk 1- Rachel 2, “I’m not saying… BUT I’m just saying”, Hook, to catching my finger in a rat trap, to being in lock down in a storm with a tornado warning!, creating new tuck shop staff, the ‘What are the chances, ACTUALLY what are the chances- Seriously!!’ stories, face planting in the lake, "drop it and RUN!" Huntsville midnight madness, finishing Smallville, our first dry super Saturday, the order mix up at Eastsides, seeing who could make each other feel the most awkward, to having an E.P today, "I really don't care what they do, they could do anything except punch me in the face and I would not care!" and to watching dumb and dumber far to many times!

I don't like the thought of leaving this place... It's going to be very hard!

Pictures: Top Stu, Jono, Me, Chris & Mike at Midnight madness, then myself & Erika followed by the new tuck staff [We were bored!]

E.P's, road kill & banter

We have just entered week 3 of summer 07 at Muskoka Woods, and I have to say that the place is as crazy as I had expected it to be. It was very weird going from Rec Staff of 25 people to a staff of 308. Plus a job that is hands on outside all day to running a store. The staff are really good and are great craic and now that we are in week 3 are up and running and I’m not asked a thousand questions every shift! You really do need to see this place to believe it its just go from 7.30am to 11.15pm.

Other things that I’m involved in is running the J2 bible study every Thursday morning and I meet with 3 staff members every week to see how they are doing and help them in any way that I can, as well as helping out with some activates. Leadership also have to go on night watch throughout the summer to make sure kids are not coming out of their cabins at night, this job I love, running around chasing kids on golf carts in the middle of the night and once they are caught making up a suitable punishment for them the only down side to this job is getting up for work the next morning!

There are now approx 30 people here from Northern Ireland we have 2 Exodus teams volunteering; we are slowly starting to take over. It’s great having them about but it’s also nice being the original. Another lot will arrive next Friday night.

It turns out I am on the camp insurance since the start of spring and didn’t realize it until I was suddenly asked to drive to Toronto! After explaining the fact that the furthest I have driven outside of camp was Rosseau [2 mins down the road] it would be better if I didn’t! But I did drive the van into Huntsville with some of the Northern Irish to do our laundry the driving was pretty good and I am confident in doing a spot more driving. On our way home in a time span of approx 30-45 seconds I dodged a cat then a Raccoon, a bat flew into my window and I hit a rabbit! What are the chances I ask?!

Over the past week we have had these amazing thunder and lightening storms with torrential rain. They have been pretty sweet, during one of them we got in Caitlin’s car and drove down to the lake and watched it. The huge forks of lighting were pretty sweet. We also drove home in one 2 nights ago which was pretty freaky esp when it seems like lighting was hitting the road in front of us!

Here’s to Northern Irish banter, creepo on Sara’s bed, crashing a party, signing up to run the Toronto half marathon for Muskoka Woods in Sept [more info to follow], "Why do I even talk?!", Jack Bauer vs Chuck Norris week, “I’m not saying, but I’m just saying…” , health care center banter visits, going bear watching, Dole grapefruit sparklers, 5.7, the family of Raccoons, our daily vitamin c intake, SUPER SATURDAY!!! [Super Saturday is the day the kids go and arrive there is always a great buzz about the place, we have themes, huge barbeques, stacks of fresh pineapple and strawberry’s and baked goods and stalls – good times], to jacking a golf cart key, party of five, going out on the speed boats, to long awkward hugs!, getting up early, Hazelwood bant, E.P’s [E.P is an emergency procedure, if I kid does not turn up for skills after 20 mins air horns are sounded and all 308 run and search an area of camp they are assigned to look for the missing guest. So within a certain time the entire camp will be searched include the lake. If we don’t find the guest within a certain time frame we move into stage 2 and then 3 which involves people getting on scuba gear and diving in the lake.] Tom hating E.P’s because he has to wade through the marsh!!, Lindsay coming to visit, and to going to Florida in 10 days!!

Pictures: Top the view of the lake from golf, the rest are of 'Muskoka Woods Trading Company' where I work- yeah I am in charge!