Running

This one is about running for two reasons. First, my own running. It's been around three months that I've been without running (due to a weird injury). May 5th was the last day I competed, and I've probably run four or five times since then. I tried running on Wednesday, and I don't think there's much improvement in my leg. This is discouraging after many many weeks of rest. But then again, my running career has pretty much been defined by injuries, so it's somehow appropriate that college running came to an end for me because of an injury. I feel totally powerless to do anything about my leg at this point, so I'm trying not to worry about it.

During my senior year when I was still competing I wondered if I'd still want to run after graduation and how often I'd do it. Well, this injury has pretty much not given me a choice in it. I'm hopeful that it'll all sort out eventually.

Not running has really been a bummer. I've been feeling lethargic, and I feel like being able to run would help. Also, I feel like I've lost a ton of fitness (I guess not running for three months will do that. Go figure) and I'd really like to be able to get some of that back. It'd be great to have a run every morning... but again, I don't know what I can do about it.

Now the second reason I'm writing about running. I learned this week that my college coach, Connie Putnam, has retired after 21 years as head coach at Tufts. It's really hard to put into words how I feel about this. At first I felt kind of lost. I think that despite the fact that I'm done competing, knowing that Connie was still coach made me feel like I was still part of the team. Now it feels like a big part of that connection is gone. On top of that there are so many other things to consider that are just too numerous to name. This will sound a bit elitist, but you just wouldn't get it unless you were on the team.

Basically, just some serious shock and surprise, and serious thought about how this changes the team that was so important to me.

No Muggles Allowed

Every other Saturday throughout the summer we have a Special Day where all of camp takes on a special theme and counselors and campers join teams for special activities. Previous days this year included Halloween and Gold Rush Day.

Well on Saturday the absolute cult-like insanity of Harry Potter descended on camp. The campers got excited out of their minds, as did most of the staff. There is serious devotion to this book/movie franchise. From the seven-year-olds, to my fifteen-year-old CILTs, to the 20-something counselors, there was unreal commitment to the theme. The decorations that the CILTs put together helped transform camp into Hogwarts (that's Harry Potter's school, I've learned.) There were skits, spells, a carnival, and a game of quidditch (you gotta read the book.)

I'm not really up on any of the Harry Potter books, nor the lingo or characters involved. However, this wasn't a huge problem, as all of the campers were more than willing to explain the dozens of characters over and over. Still, it did make me feel really old, in the sense that this story, which is very much pop culture, means almost nothing to me. I'm wondering if I'll ever work up the strength to read all six books (the seventh is on the way...)

One thing that was really neat to see was how the older campers were sooooo into all the Harry Potter stuff. They lost all their inhibitions and forgot about being cool, impressing their friends, putting up a front, or feigning empathy. They loved the acting and the dressing up, they loved comparing how much they knew about the stories, and they practically tripped over themselves trying to get me up to speed and involved with all the make-believe. It was really cool to see these kids, freshmen and sophomores in high school, having that much fun.

(My campers did get me into character. I dressed up in a pillowcase and played Doby, the house elf, for anyone who reads Harry Potter.)

Half Dome again

So Dan and Bromka have told me they're flying out to the west coast in August to climb Half Dome. I'm really really excited that they're coming, and I can sense their excitement too. It's going to be a ton of fun.

Last night on my night off I walked through the A&W drive-thru in town. They wouldn't serve me. Going to try the McDonald's drive thru next time (walking through, of course).

finally rain

So it finally rained up here, but it just happened to be when we were camping out on an overnight trip for the CILTs. The trip went really well, the kids seem like a really good group and they seem to be pretty close already. But at 2:30am it started raining. As soon as we got up to figure out what to do about the rain, it stopped. So we went back to sleep. Then at 3:30am it started again. But again after five minutes it stopped. Then at 4:00 the thunder and lightening started up. We stayed awake for awhile listening to see if it was getting any closer. But it didn't so we went back to sleep. Then it started again at 5:00, and it rained for 25 minutes. Yes, it's all whining.....

I'm tired. I'll come up with something better to write about later.

the computer died...

The computer has been dead for a while because it can't function in this heat. But it cooled down slightly this evening. It's been 100 for the past week. And my brain's starting to melt.

In other news, I've got a whole new batch of CILTs yesterday. This group is slightly smaller, and seems to be much more tame and relaxed. I think this means that the session will be a little less hectic. But at the same time I think they're going to be less fun than before.

We'll see.

Also, I'm told that it's necessary to log in to view photos. The login username is skylake@skylake.com, and the password is skylake. (brilliant, i know)

That's it for now

"You're making Aaron Kaye cry"

So there are several conclusions I've come to during my first couple weeks as CILT trainer. First of all, I had grand ambitions for what I wanted the program to be about, and the ideals I wanted to convey to the campers. I think I've run up against a challenge that I'd guess many individuals in a leadership position face; that it's one thing to come up with a plan, but it's quite another to actually implement it. I've found that while I had all sorts of big ideas for the program, I've not been able to put them into play as much as I would have liked.

Secondly, I've found that I'm a horrible disciplinarian. I'm not very good at keeping my kids strictly adhering to all the rules. The fact is that most of the time they fall into line out of respect for me. For example, they started quieting down the other night because one of them pointed out, "guys we need to quiet down or Aaron's going to get in trouble." It's not really that they're bad kids and want to flaunt all the rules. But I definitely feel like they behave as a favor to me. Another example came when another counselor was trying to get all twenty-five of them to be quiet. Nothing worked until the counselor told them "Guys, you're making Aaron Kaye cry."

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I have a problem with my kids being into me. It's just that I'm fully aware that's the only thing that's making this all work.

Dome at Dawn

Today (Tuesday) for our day off we climbed Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. For an extra twist we started climbing around 1:00 in the morning, hiked some SERIOUS uphill for four hours, and got to the top around 5:00. We watched the sunrise, and hung around the summit for a few hours, dangling our feet over the edge of the 5000 foot drop.... We bombed back down at around 8:00 in the morning and passed all the other hikers who were heading up during the heat of the day.

It was an awesome trip, I wouldn't ever do Half Dome during the daytime after having done it at night. An awesome trip with an awesome group of day-offers. "Ballsy Tuesdays" is the name we've given our day off.