Georgia on my Mind

After crying in Myers most of Sunday, crying in the airport, crying in my room, and then crying in the shower yesterday, I've decided I should write my (semi) sentimental blog post.

I've met so many incredible people this summer and want to make sure they all know how much they mean to me.

Bora's RC Groups (Term I and Term II): Thank you for basically adopting me as an RC. You were all so welcoming and sweet to me. I am so glad you let me put you to bed (almost) every night and let me crash your meetings. You are all wonderful and I hope you keep in touch!

Kara and Morgan: Thanks for reading my blog every time I posted. Even when you pestered me about my relationship, I knew you meant well. You are both lovely people and I hope you keep in touch.

Ashlee: I'm so glad you were our CO this summer. You have an amazing head on your shoulders and always remained calm, no matter what crazy situation was thrown our way. Thanks for letting me vent and cry in your office. Most importantly, thanks for being a great friend. I hope to visit you in Texas soon!


Kelsey: When we met at admin training, I knew we were going to get along extremely well. I honestly don't think I would have made it through this summer without you. You were there for me to vent about the awesomely bad situations we encountered and laughed with me through some of the strangest incidents. You are such an amazing friend and I love you so much. Thanks for always keeping me sane this summer. I can't wait to see you in a few weeks when Hannah and I drive through West Virginia!

Thaddeus: I could not have asked for a better team leader. You were an awesome residence life resource for me. Thank you for being so patient with me and also giving me the freedom to lead my staff as I so chose. I hope our paths cross again, be it through TIP or just in general. Thank you for everything!

Livy: Thank you for introducing me to the neetle teetle post. I did not know what I was missing in my life before I saw it. Thanks for always coming to trivia and dealing with my shenanigans there. I am going to miss spending so much time with you in the office, but I am thankful for the times we shared. We bonded quite a bit with our "uuuuuuggggggghhhhh" noises and random situations that arose while we were both in the office. Thanks for being so lovely and I cannot wait to see you again soon! #NeetleTeetlesFoLyfe

Res Staff: You are all truly amazing people. I am so happy to have gotten to know each and every one of you. Thanks for being my first staff ever. No staff will ever be able to compare. Even though we had our rough patches this summer, know that I love you all and look forward to seeing the amazing things you all achieve. Please keep in touch. I want to hear about how awesome you all are in school and in life!

Gianna: Thank you for always advocating for the kids. No matter what the issue was, you always made sure we were informed. Thank you for diving head first into the RHL position and really connecting with the staff. Thank you for helping me in my position as RLC and being patient and understanding. I'm going to miss you stopping in the office and your total Tina moments. You're truly an amazing person and I cannot wait to see what your senior year of college has in store for you. I look forward to seeing you when you visit Hannah and I in Augusta.

Olivia: Thank you for being my right-hand woman all summer long. You were always there for comedic relief as well as to step in wherever you were needed. Thank you for being so lovely, always. Good luck this year at UGA and I expect you to visit Augusta as well. =)

Steven: This summer would not have run nearly as smooth as it did without you. Thank you for teaching me how to be a broom wizard and for bringing such light into the office. You're going to do great things this year, even if you aren't sure what is next. I know that no matter what you choose to do, you will excel. I hope our paths cross again and that you wind up in Georgia.

Caroline: Thank you for all of the amazing conversations in the office regarding the 1920s, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Harper Lee. You provided me with a temporary escape from reality with these conversations and for that I thank you. (Aka you helped to keep me slightly sane!)

Cassidy: Thanks for being such an inspiration. You are so outgoing and such an amazing role model for all of the kids. Even when they were being jerks, you kept your cool. Thanks for chatting about anything and everything under the sun and for being so damn awesome. I am so lucky to have had you on my staff this summer. I hope to see you soon!

Emily: You are so amazing, even if you don't see it. You're such a beautiful soul and I am so happy that I was able to work with you again. The office would not have run so smoothly in the morning if it weren't for you. Thank you for always stepping in where you were needed and for always having a smile on your face (even when you were tearing up). I love you so much, darling and I am so lucky to call you a friend. I hope to see you again soon (September?). <3

Hannah: Holy Toledo. Where do I begin? What started off as a complete joke has turned into one of the biggest decisions I've ever made in my life. I cannot wait to live together and continue our shenanigans in Augusta with Merlot and Muenster. You helped me keep my shit together all summer and I don't think I could've managed without you. You're seriously so great and I am so happy we clicked. Also, I'm sorry I kept my relationship a secret from you for so long, but I'm glad you only hate me a little bit for it. Love you and I'll be seeing you soon! <3

Bora: I don't know where to start. The moment you called me at 1PM on the dot on staff arrival day, I knew I was going to be seeing a lot of you. (However, at that moment I did not realize how much I was going to be seeing.) I am so happy I met you this summer and am seriously the happiest I have been in a very long time. You're one of the sweetest, most genuine people I have ever met and I am so glad to have had our paths crossed. Thank you for always being there for me when I had the toughest of days, even if I couldn't tell you what was specifically going on. I know it is cheesy, but I am the luckiest person in the world to have been able to fall in love with you this summer. <3

•                                                        •                                                        •   

Everything is accelerated in the TIP world. Things that take weeks or months to develop in the real world happen over the course of days. It's a strange feeling to fall in love with the people and the place you've only been around for two months. Many of my friends outside of TIP just don't understand. You truly have to experience it to understand how much this program means. I don't know how to explain it or what to compare it to other than a Narnia-like experience. You enter this other world for two months and live what feels like an eternity, but also is over in the blink of an eye. When you leave, everything in your life picks up right where it left off and TIP feels like a distant memory. It's something only the people who were there can truly understand. Someone once told me that part of the magic is that it is only temporary, but the memories last forever. (Cliche, I know.)

Just remember: it's not goodbye, it's see you later.

The Cat's Out of the Bag

On Tuesday night, an entire RC group informed me that they have found my blog. They were asking me questions about my personal life, including "Did you get engaged at the fountain!? Is that why it was such a magical night?". I stared at the tipsters and just kept saying no. I'm going to clear the air once and for all: I did not get engaged at the fountain. Tipsters are quite silly and incredibly nosy so I figured I would just let everyone know that was not what happened. Words were exchanged, great conversations were had, and things pretty much fell into place. In a nutshell, that is what happened at the fountain.

Love these ladies

Wednesday was my day off. I spent the morning sleeping in, reading Z, and running some errands with my not-girlfriend future roommate. The afternoon and evening were spent with great friends at Creature Comforts, Terrapin, and then trivia.

Our last night of trivia went well. Even though we came in fourth (maybe fifth?) place, we still had a good time. I'm so happy with the crowd I spent my last day off with. Thanks for an awesome day. I love you all!

After trivia, I spent time with someone who I have been seeing. We finally decided to stop 'sneaking around' and finally just let everyone know we are together. The easiest way to do this was through a picture on Instagram/Facebook. When the staff found out, everyone was very surprised. (Aka we've done a damn good job of hiding it all summer.) Luckily, they were a happy surprised and not upset.

The cat's out of the bag

Thursday morning kicked off with heading to the office to prepare for my last official staff meeting. I have been planning on doing the activity called Tap Someone Who since last week and wanted to get everything situated. For those of you who do not know, Tap Someone Who is a wrap-up activity that a lot of groups use to show how much of an impact you have made on others. Everyone sits in a circle with their eyes closed and a few people (two to three) are designated as tappers each round. A facilitator reads off statements and the tappers walk around and tap other people in the group to whom the statement applies. (Tap someone who inspires you, tap someone who you have made a connection with, tap someone who you consider a friend, etc.)

At the end of the activity, I gave a little speech. I wasn't planning on choking up, but it happened. (Damn me being a blue and having all the feels!) I told my staff how important they are to me and each other and the students and that I couldn't have gotten through the summer without them. I told them I love them all and appreciate everything they have done and will continue to do until the end of the term.

The rest of the day went well and before I knew it, it was time for TIProm. The theme was Under the Sea, just like last term. When it was time for the fourth years to process in, they walked in to Don't You Forget About Me from the Breakfast Club. It was a great choice.

Some of the greatest people I have ever met

Prom was successful. No students were sent to the ER, which was definitely what I would call a win.  At the end of it all when we were standing in the circle, swaying and crying to American Pie, everything started to hit me. I realized that the term was coming to a close and that quite possibly I would never be coming back to this place. Even though I have only worked here for two summers, I am a firm believer that this program has changed my life (for the better).

Friday was a normal day. We packed the office and staff lounge up and loaded almost everything into a van to head over to storage. It was a sad day. Everything was pretty much cleared out and it was incredibly depressing. The office echoes now, which is super sad.

There was a giant mix up with the termbooks in the morning, causing all 230+ to be reprinted in house before the tipsters got back from class. Damn you, Office Depot! Luckily, our OSD was able to resolve this and get the term books to the tipsters after the talent show.

The Talent Show was wonderful. Aside from the fourth years singing Hallelujah, I really enjoyed the show. (It's not that the singing wasn't lovely, it was mostly because the song reminds me of someone who I had a strong connection with. I guess you can say this song is a trigger for me.) I didn't even listen to the song this time, though. I decided to remove myself from the situation so I would not get upset. (And it worked!)

PRAHM

After the Talent Show, the students had free time until midnight. One of the RC's invited me to their final meeting with their kids and it was awesome. The tipsters welcomed me into the meeting and even let me listen to their amnesty hour (which wasn't even that bad).

IHOP went well aside from the food poisoning I received. I was not a happy camper during departure day.

Departure day ran very smooth, aside from a mild bus issue in the morning that I thankfully missed courtesy of my food poisoning. 

The rest of the evening will consist of heading to Transmet for dinner as a staff (academic, admin, and residential). Afterwards, who knows what will happen.

I promise to do a sappy post once things die down, but for now I bid you adieu!

Big Bad Wolf

Sometimes it sucks being the boss. You make decisions that really upset people and they do not fully understand why these decisions are being made. Sometimes you can't explain everything and what you can explain is not enough. It's incredibly frustrating for all parties involved and it can cause a lot of tension.

For anyone who knows me, they now that I will advocate for my students and staff until the end of time. The decisions that are made are in the best interest of the students/staff members as a whole, even if it upsets a few of them in the process. It's hard to separate your feelings from your students'/staffs' feelings, which is something I have a hard time with (and I know a handful of my staff members have trouble with this as well).

This weekend was jam-packed full of activities: DAWGfest (frisbee tournament and events), Throwback to Your Childhood Dance, FunOpolis, and TIPsync.

My attempt to be serious
at DAWGfest failed

DAWGfest: We made it through without any weather issues. The students had a blast and the staff really enjoyed tossing water balloons at the TIPsters during our final event, Boat Race. (This quickly evolved into a staff water balloon fight, making everything totally worth it.) I threw a water balloon at one of my RCs and then quickly ran away after he said "You're going to regret that," pulling a water balloon out of his pocket. As I was running away, another one of RCs ran over to me with a trash bag full of water, asked if I had any electronics on me, and then tossed the water on me. They were so worried that I was upset, but instead, I could not stop laughing. My skirt was completely soaked and smelled a bit like hand soap after, but it was worth it to cool down.


Dance: Aside from a few medical incidents and a trip to the ER, the dance was successful. Unfortunately, it was not in the original location we requested because of a scheduling conflict. It turned into a minor fiasco, but we resolved the issue with minor bitching. (The move to a different location wouldn't have been an issue if the location wasn't a sweaty death trap for tipsters.)

Lightening Pickles' Mascot

After the dance, I had a very stern talk with my RCs. As I said before, sometimes it sucks to be the boss. I did not want to have to have such a stern, serious talk with my staff, but it needed to happen. Once I finished what I needed to say, I reassured my staff that I still loved them, but that I was very disappointed in them. Some of my staff members looked like kicked puppies and I felt so bad about having to get so serious, but it needed to be done.

Sunday: I started off my morning by taking a student and an RC to a baptist church. A few days prior to this, our OC asked if anyone could drive to church and I offered to do so. For some reason I felt as though I needed to go to church. I'm not typically a religious person, but sometimes I feel like I could use a good sermon. I am very big on the belief that everything happens for a reason and going to the sermon definitely happened for a reason.

The entire sermon was dedicated to open doors and opportunities. The pastor spoke about people missing opportunities in order to appease others. For much of my (short) life, I have based my decisions on other people. I have always put others' wants and needs before my own and have worked hard to make sure everyone else is happy and I am not complaining about that. However, the opportunity to move to Georgia as come my way and even though I'm not 100% certain about how this will turn out, I definitely plan to walk through this open door and see what happens.

After a good sermon, we headed back to campus for an early lunch before leaving for FunOpolis.
Lunch and getting students to FunOpolis went surprisingly smooth, other than the clean up at the dining hall. There was a ton of food and trash left all over and the furniture was askew. To say the dining hall was pissed is an understatement. This was not the first or second time this has happened, which was incredibly frustrating.

Too bad you can't see the fear in my eyes

FunOpolis went well. I rode the go karts this time and even though I came in last place (because a TIPster drove into me as they passed me...), I had a blast. After go karts, I played a game called Sink It that was strangely similar to a party game. I don't play that game very often so when I beat one of my RCs, I was quite pleased.

TIPsync was successful. The acts were pretty darn hilarious and creative. I was lucky enough to be a judge again and was able to give some snarky comments (obviously all meant to be taken as a joke). Some of my favorite acts were Bet on It, Threw it on the Ground, White and Nerdy, and the Backdorm Boys performance of As Long As You Love Me. Also, shout out to the RC group who performed Twist and Shout by the Beatles. (Even though your dance moves were silly, I enjoyed listening to my favorite band.) These kids are all so creative and talented. I was so proud of all of them, even the acts not mentioned above, for getting up in front of their peers and performing. That takes a lot of guts.

After TIPsync was over, we announced the winners for DAWGfest. The Lightening Pickles (the green team) finally won which means WE GET GREEN TERMBOOKS! I am so glad I will not have another red termbook. Also, the green team holds a special place in my heart because my kids were on that team both terms last year.

Once the fun was over, our OSD had another conversation with the TIPsters about respect. Since there have been so many issues with this all over the site, we made the executive decision for a 10PM site-wide early bedtime. There was some push back, but for the most part, the TIPsters understood.

After lights out, my RHLs asked to meet with the OSD and I to discuss a few things. It was a long conversation, but it was productive. Going back to what I said before, sometimes being the boss sucks.

Another RC stopped by the office after this meeting to discuss something else. This was another incredibly long conversation, but it was a great one. There was talk about gender, love, TIP, life, etc. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to chat with this RC about things I don't have the opportunity to converse about very often.

Monday: A long day filled with clinic trips galore. This strep outbreak has caused some TIPsters to become hypochondriacs, but I guess it is better to be safe rather than sorry?

I had to cancel my evening activity, (i)Phoneography, since I was busy with getting TIPsters back from the clinic, but it all worked out. I was pretty exhausted from a long day and wound up handling a few things in the office instead. Even though a few TIPsters were disappointed I wasn't hosting it (sorry, Kara), it was much better for me to stay in the office.

After evening activities, an alarming situation as brought to our attention. We tried to get more information about it, contacted Main Office, and then moved forward with a plan. The issue was not something I was necessarily prepared for during training, but I felt equipped to handle it with everything that has been thrown my way these last few weeks. I am incredibly thankful for the support our team has from Main Office as well as the support we have for one another here.

Tuesday: So far today has been okay. I had to handle an issue at 8:30AM and then had to send a student to the clinic. Surprise! Another TIPster has strep! TIP Plague is real this term and I really hope it passes soon.

Today should be an easy day, but everything could change at the drop of a dime here at TIP.

Fingers crossed I make it through to my day off tomorrow!

Oh, I almost forgot. For those of you who read my last blog post, the person who I am seeing is not my new roommate. Sorry to disappoint y'all who thought you figured it out!

Once Upon a Dream

Sometimes I speak too soon. Actually, more often than not, I speak too soon.

Last blog post, I was hoping for an uneventful evening in the office. Why did I even say anything? I knew that I'd be jinxing it...

A spontaneous thunderstorm caused students to return from their outdoor evening activities. We managed to make it until 8:35PM without any issues. A student stood up too quickly and hit their head on a TV in one of the corner lounge spaces. (Tell me how this kid made it through Human Stratego uninjured and then hurt themselves on a TELEVISION...) A hit on the head automatically means a trip to the ER, no matter how silly the injury.

While this was happening, the thunderstorms raged on. I had to pick up two RC groups from downtown with another RC to avoid having students trapped in the storm. The rain was not so bad on the way to downtown, but it progressively got worse. By the time all of the students were safely back on campus, the rain had turned into a monsoon and there was no way to avoid getting soaked. Good thing I forgot my umbrella. When I got back into Myers, my face said it all. I looked like a drowned rat who couldn't see since my glasses were covered in rain water. I made the executive decision to change before going back to the office and then spent my time sulking in there because I felt so gross.

Once everything was said and done, I headed downstairs to take a shower. One of my RCs texted me and asked if I could put their kids to bed since they were on their way to the ER to pick up the student and staff member already there. It worked out nicely because the kids really enjoy it when I put them to bed. "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" is what I always say to them and if I forget the last part, they get very upset. It's adorable how much 4th year boys like being told good night.

Terrapin for the win

After lights out, I had a few things to take care of with staff members and our Counselor. Even though I was exhausted, I cared a lot less about being up late since the next day was my day off. I resolved the issues as best as I could before the morning and headed to bed.

Wednesday was quite nice. I slept most of the day, applied for jobs, and went to Chick-fil-A with an RC who also had the day off. After reading a bit of Z, I took a nap and then got ready to head to Terrapin with two RCs.

It was a lovely time. We were able to sample six 6 oz pours of beer. Every time I went up, I chose something different. Their Hi-5 was probably my favorite. Terrapin has definitely grown on me and I am quite pleased with this.

Exciting ride to Trivia

After Terrapin, the three of us returned to Myers to pick up three more staff members for trivia. Just the TIP struck again and won a free pitcher of beer. I also may have snagged a full contact trivia tank top, if the MC of trivia remembers to bring it for me next week.

Fountain on North Campus

Once we got back to Myers, I had an eventful night. I visited the fountain on North campus with someone very special to me. If I could give more details, I would, but alas you must all wait until the end of my time here to get more details. Just know that the night was incredible and it really meant a lot to me to spend this time with this person. (Super vague, I know.) I'm seriously the happiest I've been in a very long time and I know that you will be happy for me once I can reveal more details.

This morning I woke up, still on cloud nine. Nothing was going to bring me down today, not even the nastiest of parent phone calls.

I had a busy day ahead of me. I was filling in as OSD since it was his day off. My morning started off by catching up on a ton of paperwork from the day before, calling our Site Supervisor to discuss the day, and then scheduling student meetings.

The morning kind of flew by. We had a few students go to the clinic throughout the day, one because of a heady injury, but nothing too severe. (The kid got hit in the face with a frisbee... I'm severely concerned about the DAWGfest frisbee tournament tomorrow. I'm praying that the kids will get slightly more coordinated over night...)

Twin Day: Term II

Most of the day was spent in meetings. My afternoon consisted of five stern talks with some TIPsters about language and respect. I don't understand why they are such jerks this term. These kids are ruthless and don't know how to treat people. I'm fed up.

After my meetings, I had to talk to parents about their precious angels and how they have not been acting as they should. Of course there's always one parent who believes their kid can do no wrong. Those are the best kinds of parents... The ones who scream at you and tell you how bad you are at your job... Those are my favorite.

Twin Day with my Froomie

Other than the nasty phone call, my evening wasn't half bad. There were a few other issues that I had to handle and call up for, but I handled them well. Our Site Supervisor asked if I would be applying for OSD next summer. I laughed and said I could never give up ResLife.

The rest of my night was spent floating and dealing with student issues. My fuse was short so I was definitely more stern with the TIPsters than I have been as of late. I'm not even upset about it. These darn kids need to learn to stop being mean people.

Tomorrow kicks off DAWGfest with a frisbee tournament. Here's to hoping the kids are more coordinated than me!

You're Tacky and I Hate You

These last 24+ hours have been quite hectic, but (mostly) enjoyable.

The rest of TIPstar was awesome! The students were open and honest in many of the sessions. There were lots of great conversations happening in the Multiculturalism program about language, dialect, and the issues with education. For the last round of activities, I helped with the When Life Gives You Lemons program and talked about managing stress. We ended the program with a ten minute mental health holiday that involved relaxing, listening to very chill music, and forgetting our troubles. I'd say it was a successful afternoon.

At dinner, I sat with an RC group and talked about their days. It was really nice to bond with the second year boys about TIP. They are all so sweet and welcoming!

During movie night, we fooled the kids into thinking we were watching Barney. Our OSD played the theme song and the kids were SUPER excited. They were singing and clapping to the theme song. It was bizarre.

When the students had to vote for which movie they wanted to watch, we again gave them very obscure descriptions. The kids had this weird obsession with Shrek and kept asking if that was any of the choices. Spoiler alert: It wasn't. The students voted for The Emperor's New Groove based off the description "A story of a llama who used to be emperor". Most of the staff was displeased since they watched this the other night, but the kids really enjoyed the movie. I hadn't seen it in a long time so I enjoyed it as if it were the first time I was watching it.

While the students had their DAWGfest meetings after the movie, I did some laundry. Around 10:15PM, I headed to the third floor to make sure the students were showering and getting ready for bed. At lights out, a TIPster gave me a flower when I put them to bed. It was sweet (and strange).

After lights out, I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be so I decided to watch Garden State, one of my favorite movies. I was so happy to have time to myself to watch something other than a TIPpropriate movie.

Hi, I'm Allee and I love buttons!

Monday was Tacky Day, my second favorite spirit day. I decided to go all out this term, even though it's been extremely hot with all of these layers. It was been worth it, though. I was getting a ton of strange looks from people who are not a part of TIP and it was awesome. At lunch, I had forgotten I was dressed weird and was super confused by the looks I was receiving, until I looked down at my outfit.

Our admin meeting went very well. We were discussing how well the visit from our site supervisor went and our AC mentioned that they had a great conversation with the site supervisor. Apparently Main Office wanted to split up the admin team at UGA because we are doing such a good job. Our AC said that it was brought up multiple times at the Main Office meetings to split up our team to help other sites. I can't believe they have been so impressed with us thus far. Go UGA!

Tacky Day: Term II

Three kids in the ER. Moral of the story: Sports are dangerous and the RC on med pager today should not ever be on med pager again. Fun fact: This RC is always taking people to the ER or clinic when they are on med pager. 

Another student in the ER starting at 2:30AM. -__- I was awake pretty much all night answering phone calls and text messages. It was rough.

When I finally fell asleep, I was woken up by an RC about a student who needed to go to the clinic. I handled the situation and then decided to just stay up in the office. I had to return some parent phone calls and communicate with a student about the injury they received last night.

It was a sad day when one of our students had to leave because of an injury. We gathered his class and then his RC group to say goodbye. It was a chaotic situation of shuttling students from the dining halls to Myers Hall, but it was well worth it. The students thanked me over and over again for letting them say goodbye.

During the shuttling, one of the TIPsters decided it was story time and told everyone in the car all of these crazy injuries they have endured over the years. I'm not going to lie: this kid was so damn entertaining.

Decades Day: Term II

Even though today has been full of craziness, it's been nice. We have a great team here and I cannot picture my summer without these fabulous individuals. Thank you all for everything you've done thus far and will continue to do. I wouldn't be able to make it through this term without you!

Hopefully tonight I can catch some z's, but even if I can't, tomorrow is my day off so I'll be able to catch up on the sleep I've been missing. I haven't decided what I am doing tomorrow, but I think it will involve trivia and maybe Terrapin Brewery, if I'm lucky. Fingers crossed the rest of the evening is less eventful than the last.

Granny Scam

Our site supervisor arrived and had nothing but positive feedback for us. She really like the way we run our ship here and had quite a few compliments how well things have been going for us (and how we handle the rough situations we've been dealt).

After dinner, our supervisor visited a few evening studies and then returned to the office to check out evening activities. Before walking around, we had a great chat about student affairs, residence life, and my (hopeful) move to Georgia. We also talked about Main Office and my desire to work there. She offered to send me any job postings for Main Office as well as to write a recommendation for me, which she explicitly mentioned she does not offer to do very often. I think it is safe to say I'm doing a darn good job here, despite how I feel sometimes.

The night went by pretty smoothly. I had a few meetings with students about inappropriate language and inappropriate snapchats. (These darn kids and their technology!) It was actually a hilarious snapchat, but it was not TIPpropriate. The students who came in for disciplinary hearings were incredibly apologetic and knew exactly why their actions were inappropriate. One student, after hearing his punishment, asked for something more than just one night of early bedtime. "With all due respect ma'am, I would feel much better about having early bedtime for four nights instead of just one..." THIS KID WANTED TO INTENSIFY HIS PUNISHMENT. WHAT KIND OF TEENAGER DOES THAT!?

Emily and I enjoy braiding beards

After the meetings, I waited up in the office until lights out and then headed to bed. The next day was going to be filled with site supervisor visits and meetings so I needed to get some rest. I decided to finally finish watching Guardians of the Galaxy before heading to sleep. Definitely a good movie, but I'm sad it took me this long to see it...

Friday morning was spent in meetings with my RHLs and RPA followed by my weekly RC meeting. I scared my RHLs and RPA by saying "I have some upsetting news" and had to break something to them about a fourth year tradition. They were incredibly relieved to find out they weren't getting fired because apparently that was what they immediately thought was going to happen. (Silly staff. I can't fire you! Main Office does that.) The RC meeting went well, despite having three extra people sitting in on it. I'm excited for the evening activities we will be hosting next week, but I won't mention them since some of my readers might be TIPsters.

After lunch, admin had our daily meeting. Our site supervisor joined in on the meeting and for the most part, the meeting went well. Around 1:40PM, we received an urgent message from the OA about a student. The details were very unclear, but we immediately went into response mode. Everyone in the meeting went into the office to get to the bottom of the situation.

A few crazy stories were floating around: a student was hit by a car, a student was arrested, a student drove a car and got into an accident... All while on a field trip. We had panicked parents calling about a troubling phone call the grandmom had allegedly received from the student. We tracked down the student, who was incredibly confused and had no idea what was going on . After further investigation, we realized this poor student's grandmother was the victim of something called the Granny Scam. Read more about it here.

Once this issue was resolved and everyone's blood pressure dropped back down, we finished our meeting (over an hour later). The rest of the afternoon was thankfully uneventful.

After dinner, we hosted the BIG event, which was an A-Z scavenger hint, just like last term. Instead of having the letter Q in the office, we had Z. We decided to rule by "Zeros get zeros" and any repeats also got zeros unless they were extremely creative. Most of the skits we saw were either 'Zumba' or 'Zoo', but we did have a 'Zippidy Doo Da' and 'Zombie' at one point. (I was definitely surprised more students didn't try zombie...)

Around 9:30PM, one of my RHLs approached me about a student issue. I went to see what was going on and wound up dealing with a pretty major situation with the help of the Counselor. It was a heavy issue, but I am so thankful that this student felt comfortable enough to confide in us about it. If I could go into more detail, I would, but alas I cannot. Just know that if you ever need someone to vent to, I am here with open arms.

Later that night, the issue hit me hard. I was so upset that the student had felt the way that they did. No one should ever feel that way.

Saturday was an easier day, physically and mentally. It started off with a chill morning in the office followed by a run to the clinic. (I offered to drive for med pager so my staff member on duty could play in the frisbee game.) By the time I got back, the Ultimate game was pretty much over. Staff annihilated the students 11-1. Staff infection dominated, as usual. Unfortunately, I didn't get to play in the game, but I was happy to be there to see my staff win.

Term II Staff!

The evening consisted of dinner, setting up for the dance, and then hosting the first dance of the term. We were back in Memorial where we were promised that the A/C was fixed and that we would have a new sounds system to work with. Spoiler alert: only one of those things were true and it wasn't the A/C.

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

The dance set up went incredibly smooth (thanks to one of the fabulous TAs for coming and helping set up the sound and carry the water coolers!). The theme was Superheroes vs. Supervillains so we had a ton of symbols hung up all over the room, streamers hanging throughout the area, and white lights hanging from the balcony area. We were finished set up by 7PM, just in time for the TIPsters to head down.

Most of my staff was really into the dance and dressed up. We had a few supermen and superwomen, Super Dad, Nick Fury, Spider-Gwen, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, Iron Man, Shark Boy, Gandalf the Emily, and the PowerPuff Girls. A few did not fully participate, but hopefully they will get into the Throwback Dance next week.

The dance went well over all, with a few minor student issues, most of which were super minor injuries. (And the fact that the A/C was broken, causing the streamers to sweat. GROSS.) We returned to Myers around 11:15PM and met on the balcony for our staff pizza party. As we were sitting there, I received a notification on my phone that someone 'liked' one of my posts on instagram. I immediately recognized the handle as a TIPster's and ran upstairs to collect their phone. The kid was hilarious and made a big deal about it, but gave up the phone. They realized that liking a staff member's picture on instagram after cell phone hours was probably not the best idea... (Almost as great as the time their roommate Facebook messaged a staff member after lights out two nights prior...)



Sunday has been very boring (and I am NOT complaining). So far, TIPstar is going well. (Aside from 'firing' two staff members with Donald Trump pins because they let their kids leave their activity early.) We have a movie night after dinner where the students will vote on which movie they want to see based off of obscure descriptions, just as we did last term. I am excited to see which movie they choose.

Tomorrow kicks off spirit week with Tacky Day. I can't wait to dress up all week long!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and if you're looking for some good music, listen to the Vampire Weekend Pandora station (10/10 would recommend).

Also, shout out to one of the TIPsters, Morgan, for saying they like reading my blog! Hope this post is everything you hoped it would be.

All the Feels (already)

This week has been running pretty smoothly compared to the weekend. *Knocks on wood*

The days have blurred together as one giant day. It's strange to think that the first week is almost over already. I don't want the days to fly by as quickly as they have (for more reasons than one). I don't want to get all sentimental yet, but it's starting to hit me that TIP is almost over. (I still have a little over two weeks here, but that time is going to fly.) I'm not ready to leave this place I've called home for two months and the staff that has become my family. *Cue tears* Of course I miss my friends and family back up North, but it's definitely a different feeling being here. (Don't get me wrong, I love y'all tons, but leaving here is going to be even harder than it was last summer.) Luckily, I won't have to say goodbye to everyone for long because I'm planning on coming back to the area (Augusta, more specifically) by September. I'm crossing my fingers that this actually works out.

Future Roomie and I at trivia night

There hasn't been too much excitement happening here other than yesterday, which was my day off. I spent my morning sleeping in and job searching. After lunch, a few of us headed to Watson Mills Covered Bridge State Park for an exciting afternoon of swimming and playing in waterfalls. The water level was much higher than it was the week before so in some places, the water was up to our waists, even our shoulders. We spent a good chunk of our time there just sitting in some rapids, just relaxing. It was exactly what I needed to unwind.

Wednesday day off squad minus one

We stopped back at Myers, briefly, to shower and get changed for trivia. The same group of us headed to one of the RC's apartments to hang out with their brother since he was coming with us to trivia.

Trivia night was a blast. We had a different group than we usually have, but we all had a wide range of knowledge. We used half of our $15 winning from the week before for a pitcher of cheap beer and also ordered some great food (the wings and grilled cheese were amazing last night, just saying). Even though we didn't place this week, we still had a good time.

Today has been a pretty relaxed day. I am the OSD since it is his day off, which is equally exciting and terrifying. I have a ton of students to meet with about inappropriate language this evening so it should keep the night interesting. Our site supervisor from Main Office should be here any minute. I hope she enjoys her visit here. (Only time will tell if she likes actually being at our site...)

Such a relaxing day off

Tomorrow kicks off the first weekend of the term. The BIG event, Staff v. Student Game (which I hope to partake in), the dance, TIPstar, and movie night! I'm looking forward to the events this weekend and should be able to post all about the fun by Monday.

Have a lovely weekend, y'all!