There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

An economic principal that I often try to ignore- there's no such thing as a free lunch. No matter what it is, there is opportunity cost involved. Last night's adventure in "free food" was not what it seemed. All was fine, I was enjoying reading a little C.S. Lewis when two college aged gentlemen showed up to the parking lot. They explained that they had been to ten or twelve of these opening events for Chick-fil-a. I immediately felt the need to leave in order to associate myself with someone else. They explained that for the events 100 people are let into the event. Then those 100 people must spend the next 24 hours in the Chick-fil-a parking lot. After the 24 hours those 100 people receive the free chick-fil-a prize. No thank you. I did not hesitate in packing up and heading home for a lovely night of sleep in my bed.

My name is Samantha Lewis and the opportunity cost was higher than the reward was worth.

The Quest for Free Chick-fil-a

Oxford is opening a new Chick-fil-a tomorrow morning and the first 100 customers get free Chick-fil-a for a year. So here I am, 12:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, hanging out in the Chick-fil-a parking lot. Is it worth it? Sure. Unless I don't actually get free Chick-fil-a. It turns out that if there are more than 100 people here tomorrow morning then it turns into a raffle. Which means there is truly no value to me being here right now, I could show up at 5:30 a.m. and have the same chances of winning Chick-fil-a. But then, you've got to ask yourself... why not? So I'm going with why not right now. I'm enjoying a nice evening breeze, some good music from my iTunes, the glory of free Internet from the coffee shop next door and the company of some strangers who I believe are just as creeped out by me as I am by them. Seriously, might as well. Plus, I didn't really have anything else going on anyway. I mean, sure, I could be sleeping in my bed right now, but where's the adventure in that? I have a feeling that it's going to be a really great story to share when I talk about the time that I camped out for free chick-fil-a and then didn't get it.
I don't see a power outlet anywhere near by, so I figure I have about an hour and a half to enjoy the Internet and then I will dive into the world of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. Not a bad night if you ask me. I'm glad I made the decision to go to camp in order to get a pillow and chair. Also, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be good and hungry for some Chick-fil-a by the time 6:00 a.m. rolls around. I'm already a little hungry.
Also, I have a potential work study job for a group that has their own parking lot on campus that I would be able to park in... fo' free. Fingers crossed my friends, this would be a good deal.

That's about it for now.

My name is Samantha Lewis and I am sitting in the Chick-fil-a parking lot.

This one's for the blogosphere

The August 25th orientation date is quickly approaching. After much waiting and anticipation it is almost time. I think Mr. Joe is ready for the move too. He hasn't said so outright but I can just tell. I am registered for classes, I'm geared up to go, I don't have a place to live but that seems like a minor detail. I'm planning on leaving the 24th and as excited as I am (and I am!) I am also a little bit sad for what I'm leaving behind.
-Camp- where there are so many friends and things to do. The lake, fishing, canoeing, zip line, the athletic field and the stars that seem to fill it at night, Russell, Kelli, Vesper hill, disc golf, silence
-The Blind Pig- where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came, where I can see our troubles are all the same, the porch, the law firm's Internet, the deliciousness, Thursdays, Monday-Wednesday and Friday too.
-OU- hoho, the youth, Sunday night meals, complaining about prayer breakfast, community, listening to J or Claire preach, finding a church home
-J's house-J, Dana, Tyler, poker, West Wing, Arrested Development, Studio 60, education, big mac ceiling fans, the pool, "my door", PS3, great times

I am ready for the next step and I'm ready for the next episode, but there are many, many things that I'm going to miss. Mostly the people.

My name is Samantha Lewis and there are less than 2 weeks before the next episode.

About that time

So I suppose it's a little past time for an update. I feel like I've been incredibly busy lately. Camp is going well. We only have 10 days left, before we know it it'll be time for the banquet. Today at Luau I added a couple of events, including a relay where you put on a shirt and hat and then swim across the pool to your teammate who then must put on the t-shirt and hat, etc. It was hilarious. I'm not sure that it rivals the mini camp "barrel roll relay", but it was pretty good never the less. I tried to get Mr. Joe to come to the pool today. I put his life jacket on him and he pranced around in it a little bit but once we got within sight of the pool he literally turned around and RAN back to the Ad Building. I called him and whistled at him, but nothing. He did not care. I'm pretty sure that he is done being thrown in the pool. I will have to try again tomorrow.

Tonight was cookout which was a lovely deviation from what the dining hall has been cooking up. Monday dinner was mediocre, Tuesday lunch was grilled cheese, dinner was spaghetti, this morning for breakfast was doughnuts, and then lunch today... oh lunch today. I walked in and said "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" It was sloppy joes. I kid you not. So tonight's Italian Chicken was a magical experience. Also, for the first time that I've seen at a cookout, somebody made fried Italian chicken. He used gram crackers and Italian dressing for the crust. It was delicious. Also, somebody made apple cobbler. Yum.

Other than Mr. Joe being ridiculous and a play by play of this week's meals, I don't have a lot to share. I am filthy from cookout and am heading to take a shower. Oh, as a side note, I've been re watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and it is rocking my socks off. Aaron Sorkin is THE MAN. "You know what, rook? When you start making a contribution to the show, you can talk to me anyway you want. But you had two lines tonight and you stepped on one of them. So until you either accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior or make somebody laugh, why don't you talk to somebody else."

My name is Samantha Lewis and I'm going to go watch Episode 3 of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Don't blink, you might miss it

So, some how, some way, it is Wednesday of Week 4 of camp. I can hardly believe it. It's been a really good summer so far. Staff training went well and then just like that it was week 4. Sr. High Mission camp is here this week which is a blessing indeed. Having another person on program staff makes everything so much better. I've got a better system of doing things this year, which is also helpful. Also, I've been trying to keep my attitude in check. Don't get me wrong, it's not always the attitude I should have, but it's definitely better. Haha, turns out the way I act influences those around me and that in return I am influenced by the way those around me act. Go figure. I am getting a little anxious for the fall, but not because I'm ready to be done with camp. I'm loving camp.

There's not really a lot left to talk about. Lots of camp stories but there's almost too many of those to pick just one to share. I will say that adding "Camp Lake Stephens Trivia Time" to store time has been pretty great and that the "anti-store" is fantastic. Which reminds me- it's an anti-store week! Last time we did anti-store we went through 4 cans of whipped cream in about 45 minutes so, we'll be prepared for it this week. Also, perhaps two tubs of sherbet are in order? Also, the sleeper item from anti-store was potion. Potion sold like CRAZY. Also- potion with a "wand" (pop-ice)- brilliant.

My name is Samantha Lewis and I am going to get back to work now.

525, 600

A year come and gone.  It seems like just a month or so ago I was getting ready to go work at Camp Lake Stephens for the summer with high expectations and ABSOLUTELY no idea what to expect.  But here I am, a year later- getting ready to start staff training again on Tuesday.  It's crazy how quickly a year goes by.  I'm starting to get pretty excited about the summer.  I think it's going to be a good one.  I know a lot more what I'm doing and what's going on.  Being at camp this past year has given me a pretty good perspective.  

Mr. Joe will be here all summer this summer, so I suppose I'll have to find something else to bring a little mid-summer added joy.  Maybe that mid-summer joy will be finding a house...?  That would be great.  And turns out that I've got a little furniture to go inside said house, which is more that I expected.  Couch- check; recliner- check; queen size bed- maybe check; dining room table- check.  I mean, that's a heck of a start.  Not sure that I'm ready to graduate to a "big kid bed."  Haha, at 24 years old I have never owned a bed bigger than a twin... awesome.

An aside, I believe that there are many things we take for granted or do not appreciate enough.  For me, I take for granted the wonder that is iTunes.  I mean, what did we do before this?  Sure, we had CDs but that involved a CD player and blah blah blah.  Right here on my computer I can have every bit of music I own.  Phenomenal.

There's plenty to be done this week.  I started moving out of cabin 24 and into the Ad. Building but got about as far as my sheets and called it good.  Now I'm on a bit of a time constraint- it needs to be done TOMORROW.  I know that many people procrastinate, but I am sometimes able to take it to the next level.  "It's not that I'm lazy Bob, it's that I just don't care."  That's not entirely true for me though- it actually is that I'm lazy.

Well, there's plenty more to say but I think I'll be a big kid and go to bed at a reasonable hour so as not to be worthless tomorrow (plus the Internet is in and out and it's about to drive me nuts).

My name is Samantha Lewis and it's been a year already.

Sleep Cycles

So, I don't know when it happened but at some point this year I took a detour from the camp schedule and started staying up until ridiculous hours.  The thing is, getting back on camp schedule is going to be difficult.  It's also important to note that my new sleep schedule has not been to stay up to ridiculous hours and then sleep late.  I'm talking about staying up until sometime between 2 and 4 a.m. and then waking up the next morning between 6 and 8 a.m.  What the heck is wrong here?  I mean, surely I will be doing this for study purposes next year but there is really no point in doing it now.  I used to do it in undergrad because I liked to hang out with people as long as they were awake and then do my alone studying after everyone was asleep.  Now though, I'm doing nothing productive.  I have been on facebook, talked on AIM (which I had completely forgotten existed until recently), read a couple of blogs that interest me, read the New York Times online, watched YouTube videos.  Seriously, I'm not sure that this is something I should be staying awake for.  And yet times when I've tried to adapt back to a normal schedule I've been unsuccessful.  I tried to do so last night.  I put in a movie and laid in bed.  At 10:00 I turned the movie off and snuggled into bed.  I laid there, and laid there, and laid there.  Nothing.  No sleep.  Then, having set my alarm for 11:00 a.m., I was awake at 7:00 a.m.  I've got to start doing some sleep inducing drugs or something (um, actually, ignore that- bad idea).   Anyway,  I've now reached a sleeping hour window and I think that I will try to grasp it.

My name is Samantha Lewis and I am going to sleep...

...maybe