CREATURES OF THE DEEP:THE LEECH EDITION

Well, I finally got a roommate in my cabin today! Kelsey moved in and thank God she's really nice and seems fairly normal!! I was kinda worried but she's actually alright. She's from Iowa and went to Iowa State University, actually just graduated from there about a week ago with a major in Wildlife Ecology, so all this wilderness stuff is right up her alley. I pretty much decided she's my nature guide. Haha without her I wouldn't know that vanilla extract keeps the gnats away, that leeches don't have eyes, or that in the woods around here we have black bears who are rather blind and deaf so theyre not too much of a threat.
I think I'm gonna start some kind of Northwoods Bucket List to check off things to see and do while I'm up here, like find and take a picture of a moose, or go to some crazy local Dessert and Salad Social. Haha. Ely is kind of a funny place.
Oh I forgot to tell you about Jana. She's Ben's wife who came up the other day but she's really awesome. She's from Georgia but they moved to Minneapolis so Ben could go to Paramedic School and she can go to the U of M for her Master's degree in piano. I didn't have to clean cabins alone which helped it go a lot faster and when Kelsey starts up tomorrow it'll go even better.
I'm starting to be a lot less homesick now. The first couple days it was kind of rough, I'll admit it. I tried to be super optimistic to get through it but I was really lonely and missed everyone and felt out of place and I almost just packed up and drove home one night, but I've had some good chats with people like Katie and Christina who kept telling me it would get better. So thank you girls for that :) ALTHOUGHHHH I have Tuesday night through Thursday off so I will definitely be making a trip home and to Mankato to get some things done like financial aid, and I gotta send my bridesmaid dress for Katie's wedding in to get altered and such. so...I'll try to get a plan all figured out. Oh I also need to buy some milk where it's not 5 bucks a gallon. Groceries are kind of ridiculously expensive out here. Haha today Kelsey and I drove into town hoping to go to the library and buy some groceries and completely forgot that it was Sunday and everything is closed around 4. hahahha fail on my part. I keep losing track of what day it is.

So what have I been up to the past couple days? Well after my lovely day off on Friday, I started back up and Jana and I got trained in on cabin turnover and getting them ready for guests to arrive. Everything needs to be spotless and has very strategic and particular placing. So that takes up a lot of time just getting everything perfect. I think one of my favorite set-ups is preparing the Honeymoon/Romance package! We have to do some artistic towel-folding and set out wine glasses and pick out a few starter movies for them to watch. Haha Jane had me run down to the lodge and pick out 2 movies for it...and I picked Top Gun and Sleeping With The Enemy. Which apparently the guests loved because I ran into the lady staying there today and … okay actually, Jana, Kelsey and I were sitting outside my cabin and this lady runs over to us and was like “You wanna see something gross?” and I was really unsure of what to do so I was like. “Uhhh...sure” haha so we follow her to the end of a dock and she points at this leech that's about a foot long!!! I was like.. “OHMYGOSH. Pretty sure I'm not going swimming in there. Ever.” haha and then after that she told me she loved that I picked out Top Gun for them to watch because it's one of her favorite movies and then high-fived me. Hahaha I think I'm gonna love meeting all the guests.
Ohh so.. Steve and Jane are getting a bit better. I just have to remember that .. Number One: they've been running this business for 35 years so when they want things a certain way, I gotta do it. And Number Two: they're getting kinda old, so sometimes they're a little off. Haha. So like.. this giant Astrovan that we use to take all the cleaning supplies up to the cabins farther up the shore, is really temperamental. Sometimes the auto-lock doesnt work, sometimes the doors wont open and a lot of times the back hatch gets stuck. One of these occasions was my fault because I didn't slam the hatch shut but I closed the top glass part and so it wouldn't open properly when I tried once we got to the cabin. So Jana and I are sitting there messing with it, trying everything to open it..but it's just not happening. Steve comes out and messes with it for a while and we finally get it open, and he says to me: “Well see now you've been pressing the auto lock button on this remote here while you turn the key and that just keeps locking it instead of opening it” .. haha which was completely not the issue as I pointed out before..ahha and I tried my best to keep a straight face until I got into the cabin and then Jana and I burst out laughing at Steve's old man diagnosis. And then later that day I told him my oven was broken and he comes over and fiddles with it and is like “Well now you gotta turn it on. See now it works!” haha yeah...like I didnt try turning it on before? Hahah ...crazy...
Mmm... well that's basically been it. Things are starting to get busier so that's really awesome. And we're almost at full staff here. There's Me, Ted, Sam, Rob, Adam, Kelsey, Ben, Jana, a new guy today Spencer, now we're just waiting on Ryan and Natalie. Kels and I somehow managed to get all of our stuff to fit in this tiny cabin. Oh we did some rearranging and got the bunkbed just barely to fit how we wanted and now we have a lot more room and then we made some dinner and Kelsey brought this rhubarb bread she made...SO GOOD! We're gonna make some cookies tomorrow I think and then hopefully go out to Rob's for a bonfire and whatnot. Pretty legit :)
catchya later when we're not creeping outside the library, stealing the wireless. haha

rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey...

haha. so the title to this comes from a song I heard today when I was cleaning out Shifting Pine. It was funny because I was sitting there grumbling and thinking WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE RAINING RIGHT NOW!!! and the chorus went "rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey, whiskey makes my baby feel a little frisky!" haha and I was like oh jeez why didn't I think of that? haha.

anyways. It's so weird, I've been going to bed around 10:30/11 ish every night...so unthinkable for a college kid, I know. and I speculated with Rob that it's because I have no life, but we've really all been working hard out here at River Point. 9-5 every day. I feel so grown up. hah. Although the rainy weather has not been doing wonders for my positive attitude, and also theyve been keeping me pretty much isolated from everyone else. doing womens' work, I call it. aka doing cabin turnover which actually takes a long time! oh and I sang some Cinderella songs while I handwashed all the floors in the cabin today!! it was an intense time...and we had to leave this little complimentary goodie basket that had stuff like coffee and cocoa and also this little card that's like AND YOUR HOUSEKEEPER IS __________. ANY COMMENTS OR COMPLAINTS?________________________________ haha it's kind of a big commitment to put my name down after my first time cleaning a cabin. ah! I guess we'll find out next weekend when they check out. Best case scenario? I get a tip! gas moneys for sure :)

I finally get a day off! It was weird, I went to clock out and Jane just says "and you have tomorrow off"... umm sweet. but I really hope they have an actual schedule that I can write down or have or something...I don't like this..impromptu...wake up at 8 to see if I work or not...thing. I love having a set schedule. or at least being able to plan... oh well. It's all part of getting used to things I guess.

I think this weekend is gonna be pretty great. The resort finally opens up to guests tomorrow! so it'll be busier and I'll have people to talk to and I get to be the gift shop girl. haha. legit. Oh and highlight of my past few days: Brennan Rue. cutest little baby boy ever. I came in the door today and he was supposed to be going to bed but he saw me and ran and kissed me on the cheek. I love that kid. way too much. although...according to Jake, he's really just playing me. hahahaha. ridiculous. well. either way I'll take it.

LET'S PLAY "DODGE THE WHITE PINE"!

Well, it's been a bit more interesting around here the last few dayss. Monday we raked some more and then headed out towards the farthest cabin Shifting Pines to help with some landscaping which basically consisted of hauling gigantic rocks down to the shore to build up the retaining wall around the whole lake. Suffice to say, I passed out the second I hit the bed that day. Then yesterday we cleared some brush and hauled a few more loads of rocks and then thank the Lord, my boss Jane wanted me to get familiarized with the lodge and all of the stuff I will ACTUALLY be doing. Haha. I put a ton of price tags on new shirts and products like these cute little pillows that look like different animals. It was funny because you got your general north woods type animals like a moose or bear and then all of a sudden there's a zebra with pink stripes and a dragon! Haha. Ohhh dear.

Oh, we got a few more new staff too. There's a guy named Adam who apparently graduated from Mankato. So I thought that was kinda cool until I found out he was a music major... ugh. Well it's not that bad, haha but music and theater majors tend to be a bit... ya know. Okay here's an example of something he said to me “oh did you know anyone who was in choir there?” and I said “well I was.” and he's like “oh. I just wondered because it's kind of hard to get into choir when you're a woman.” I was like ummm seriously??? okay... whatever. so.. I definitely made him ride in back on the Mule cart while I drove. Haha. Biatch. Then there's another guy (yes, i'm still the only girl here!) named Sam who is actually really cool. He goes to St. Cloud State and plays guitar. It was funny the first thing I said to him was when I saw he was wearing a Yankees hat... I said “Are you for real a Yankees fan? Cuz I don't know if I can talk to you anymore...” haha and he was like “ohhhh no! I just like the hat is all”.. yeah. Likely story, buddy. Hahaha

I can't wait til we actually open the resort on Friday. Then it'll stop being sooooo quiet. Ah!

Well I'm gonna go do some LSAT studying and maybe hang out with the boys.

Peace out :)

day 1

Everything is definitely different.
For starters, I slept amazingly. It was quiet. No crazy, loud, drunk people coming up Cherry St from the bars. (no offense KP I loved living with you!!)

But there's not much that goes on...well not right now anyways. The guests start arriving on Friday! And the rest of the employees should be here soon. I met three of the other ones today. Well, Ted showed up at the same time as me yesterday so I kinda met him then. But anyways, the other two were Ben and Rob. And...oh my gosh Rob, Ted and I all raked like...half the property and it took about 8 hours... ridiculous. But ..hahaha I was like “oh man..this raking is intense!” and the resort owner's son James came out of the supply shed and asked if I wanted to to use a leaf blower, and suddenly pulls out this Ghostbusters sized backpack leaf blower! I was like “MIIIIINE!” haha so I put it on and I got to wear this sweet helmet thing for auditory protection (haha which I said out loud in a british accent, like Professor Sprout did in the Chamber of Secrets movie) and kinda ran all over the place and jumped off of rocks and trees with it. Haha. That was probably the best part of my entire day. Seeing as it started out kinda weird.
Okay...all Jane told me yesterday was that I needed to do PAPERWORK at 9. so I show up..and at least I was wearing tennis shoes..but anyways... I got reprimanded for eating a banana. Steve was like “eat your dinner before you show up for work! We can't have this kinda stuff on the job unless you're punched out for break”... number one it was 9 in the morning...so it cant be dinner time. Haha thennn Jane points at my face and is like “oh another thing... you cant have that apparati in on the job” ...I supposed she meant my lip piercing? And then handed me a rake and set us to work. Not that I minded...I was just dressed for paperwork, not raking. Hah
but all in all..i guess it was an alright day. Tomorrow we work on digging trenches for new electrical conduits.. joy joy joy. Lol
oh. Another random thing. Rob went to Kennedy Highschool in Bloomington and knows Rossy!!! also..his sister goes to Mankato. Haha weird.

Welllll off to go play guitar by the lake :)

yeah i'd like to rondezvous with the new girl in town

Well, it's my first official day of summer, and what am I doing? finishing an essay for a class due by Monday at the latest... haha I've finally found a peaceful place to do homework though! The northern air is amazing, and there's no madhouse atmosphere like that of the library and coffee shops of Mankato during finals week. This is gonna be a good thing for me I hope.

It was harder than I thought to leave everyone behind though. I made my rounds just trying to track people down and get one last hug before I wouldnt see anyone til school starts up again. There are a few people I'm not sure I can handle living without... like my awesome roommate Kyle! or the amazing gentlemen of TKE..and oh man I definitely dragged out my last chat with Cody as long as possible. I'm gonna change the subject now before I get even more depressed about it!

So I arrived at River Point around 3:30 today, got all settled in; it's a really cute little one bedroom cabin that I get to stay in until Natalie and I move into the college duplex housing in June for the rest of the summer. Right now I get a giant bed and the whole place to myself, but I guess some girl named Kelsey is getting here on the 18th and then theyre gonna put a bunk bed in. Personally, I don't see how it's all going to fit in there since it's so small...and I really hope she's cool.... I haven't had great experiences with the whole living in such close quarters with another girl, cuz us girls are all crazy b's!!! haha. but we'll just have to see how it all goes.

I've just been checking out the town, and I already found two coffee shop options with wireless, so that's kinda nice..since I was told that I'd be able to use wireless on site but I tried..and it was not working out. I also found a music store! so I'll have to check that out when it's actually open. The thing about small towns is they have completely different operating hours. So I haven't gotten to check out too many outfitting stores or little shops yet. I guess that's a sign that I should be finishing my paper instead of gallavanting around town. haha.

I can't wait to meet all the other staff tomorrow! I start orientation and filling out paperwork at 9...which kinda sucks because I wanted to check out the church service..but oh well. Once I meet people and have new friends to hang out with, I'll be less bored and lonely. Although, I'm really excited to see little Brennan Rue and eat some of Jan's ridiculously good baking whenever theyre around and Sheri and Keith just called me up and bought me ice cream. soooo I guess I shouldn't say I'm completely bored and lonely. too early in the game to be saying that.

well, sorry this is mostly a boring entry...once I start working and everything there will be way more to tell!! and hopefully I'll have a camera soon to take pictures!

I better go finish this paper!!! hope you're all having an amazing day!

inconclusive

Instead of finally falling asleep at around this time, I forced myself to go to bed early...and still ended up awake at this time. funny old world I live in. Well it has been quite a while since I've last written. Maybe it's because I didn't want to make this my whine-mobile. haha. can't have another overly emo livejournal incident. or maybe there hasn't been anything good enough to write about. I'd say it's the insomnia getting to me. well...writing as a result is a bit healthier than becoming Tyler Durden one should think.

as for my adventures of late...well...haha I trekked on up to northern Minnesota for a job interview at a resort. it was really amazing and they pretty much hired me on the spot!! I move up on May 8th..the day after finals day. personal fail..didn't realize Mother's Day was May 9th. My gift to her is not being around to spill potting soil in her car, make a mess in the kitchen attempting to serve breakfast in bed, or getting in ridiculous arguments with my siblings over how to write English papers. hahaha (love you all) I'll send a picture of me kayaking around Birch Lake or something. Moms like that kind of stuff right? Anyways, after this interview I basically got into my car feeling incredibly elated. I blasted my music and cruised down highway 1 back into town to fill gas before heading back to Mankato. literally went in to pay, talked to the cashier for 2 minutes, and came back out to a completely deflated tire!!! so...I had a busted tire, in the middle of the North Woods, on a Sunday. haha perfect. Well...thank every bit of heaven I knew some people here. Granted, I probably wouldn't know about Ely if I didn't. At any rate, I called Sheri and Keith Rue up in a right state of panic because I'm a 19 year old girl. Why would I know how to change a tire, let alone do it correctly!!?!? haha they were on their way back from Owatonna, so they called their neighbor Tom to help me change it. So I ended up having to stay the night here and i'm going to miss all my classes tomorrow, but I'm not too concerned. I'm up in one of the most beautiful cities in Minnesota, cuddled up with the dogs (actually...they are piled on top of me), explaining Harry Potter and drinking coffee with the sweetest people on earth. what's not to love?

It was funny because if you know me, you know how much I worry about everything. So I felt absolutely terrible about having to call my ex boyfriend's parents up to bail me out. Not that they wouldn't want to come to my rescue...but because they are hands down the nicest people I have ever met in my entire life and I am not really sure why or how I deserve to have them in my life. but I thank God that I do. I admitted to a friend just a few days before that I honestly wished I had horribly wrenched their son's heart apart or done something crazy so his family didn't like me, because then I wouldn't feel like I'm missing out on anything. but right after they had saved me from being stranded and took me in, I texted that same friend asking if I could take back all of what I said before.

I moved from the guest room to the living room with my laptop once Flash and Lightning (doggins!!) realized I was awake. Everyone was alarmed at how early I was up and at it so Sheri asked me if everything was okay or if I had any worries, but before I answered I just sat and thought about everything in perspective for once and how my Facebook horoscope told me that the time for optimism is now. I remembered last night when a grouse flew by and she told Keith "It's a sign they're glad you're home. and that everything is going to be okay!" haha. I just told her about my impending insomnia and sat back thinking to myself that it'd be pretty silly to be worried at all.

i officially can't wait for this summer.

personal fails. volume one.

this one's for brianna lane. haha

1) WOKE UP THIS MORNING: not feeling like P.Diddy at all...maybe more like...P.Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney!! haha anyways... felt i was dragging so i stopped by the student union coffee shop---went for the big guns (a.k.a triple espresso) to wake me up! ...literally 2 minutes after i walk out, i trip over my shoe...realize the coffee cover wasnt even on tightly and get drenched in my drink. awesome.

2)LAST WEEK: thought i'd be all official and get one out of the two required sorority exec meeting attendances for the semester in. then realized i definitely did not have my badge for our chapter meeting in an hour....so i rush home..come back... try to park in the CSU lot... end up taking a turn which actually happened to be the sidewalk leading to the pay-lot.... ahhhhhh

3)YESTERDAY: ...realizing you left your phone charger at your parents' house ...2 hours away and the only alternative you have is one for your car... haha

4) LAST NIGHT: study dates are the worst idea ever. it takes hours longer to get anything done if you get anything started at all. oh and especially with potential future love interests. ha

5) MOST RECENT PSYCHOTIC EPISODE: while suffering from post-break up dillusions... trying to win someone back with a list of 21 Reasons Why We're Great Together. and actually giving it to your ex

one winning effort after another as you can tell.

Happy Monday :)