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!