Just like getting hit by a truck...

Well, I've been working on recovering from the beating I got trying to pack up 30 years of crap in our little program area the last week of school.

I haven't really recovered, partially because I *really* overdid... like a major amount. Incredibly.

I finally was starting to feel better, shedding symptoms from the raging bug I had, the fever, the rubber cement in my throat, the ear infection (slosh slosh) while I walked or moved my head. Better but not great.

I also haven't recovered because while LEGO camp was *supposed* to be from 9 to 3:30, they scheduled me from 7:30 to 4:30 all week. The person who offered me the 9 to 3:30 time slot was on vacation when the schedule was made so whoever was doing it gave me longer shifts.

Now I'm supposed to have a lunch break in there, but in their customary fashion, that hasn't really happened properly. I mean, there was one day in there that I got a full lunch hour, but the other days I was lucky to get a half hour. I spent a lot of time on my feet and there's a good deal of walking, the playground is clear at the other end of the block. And of course this playground doesn't have grass, oh hell no. It's all concrete and asphalt.

Apparently I'm in ratio at the other program since the LEGO camp doesn't start until 9. We hang out all together in the big cafeteria, about 8:30 we have our morning camp meeting (rules, then a few songs) and the groups separate. Until that separation time, it's chaotic. There aren't enough activities for the kids to do. No one is teaching them a craft. No gimp or weaving or group projects. No yarn, no matchbox cars or K'nex. A tiny shoebox container of LEGO. Another shoebox half full of pattern blocks. The 'art' area usually has a copy of something that's relevant to what they're doing for the day. On Thursday they were swimming, so there was a picture of a rubber duck to color. Now I have no issue with coloring pages, but that shouldn't be THE project, ya know?

It's drab. Unimaginative. No big signs around the room to brighten things up. That's what I use the tri fold boards for, to really add some visual impact. It also helps to separate activities.

We're in a very old school this summer, all brown woodwork and old green industrial tile floors.

I'm beginning to think that I'm the only person in the entire company who knows how to design/display and run a large program. But of course I'm out here in Butthump, Egypt running a smallish program that NO ONE has seen and no one cares to support.

It's weird.

So LEGO camp started. We're in a classroom that's really not big enough for what we're doing, and it's difficult to keep things separated enough that they aren't getting mixed up. So I really didn't try that hard.

We have a ton of sets that are something like these. The kids needed little prodding to start making things... we have bunches of instruction manuals, batteries, battery packs, motors. Things were separated at first, but now they're everywhere. I'll be going to site once this week for a few hours to finish sorting and be ready for the next session of camp, which starts on July 10th.

I finally went and purchased a ton of ziplock bags, and am sorting the stuff with them. They won't be in sets, but will be easily accessible to the kids. Hopefully that will work, I lost sleep over the carnage of all that LEGO stuff.Matt made me a photo cut out. I took pictures of the kids who wanted them, put them in a nice folder, added a couple minifigure stickers and gave them to the kids on Friday. You can probably guess how they were received.

I have come down with a second cold/bug/flu/whatever the hell. I have a stuffy nose and a cough that makes me feel like I'm blowing out glass every time I cough. A fever, a headache, and a crabby attitude to go with it all. On Friday, I just got sicker and sicker all day long. Ughhhh.

So that's a little bit of what's been going on.
Whirlwind.

There's more. But it's late. I'll try to start back with the blogging a little more regularly and catch you up soon.