Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am

This one's about thinkin' it over, a promise, and BTS.

30DBC PROMPT: "Does anyone remember this movie: "Indian Summer"  ? Our prompt is similar to this movie; Nell has come to see us in the morning after the shindig we had (that was wicked awesome ; thank you bunches!). The owner invites all the kids back as adults to reminisce and spend time together like we have. Nell said, 'I have bad news...when you leave, the camp will be closing for good. My husband and I are just too old to run a camp like this. You all saw what happens here in Maine around Moosehead Lake. Merle and I have talked it over and we would like to offer it to each of you. I'll give you time to think it over.' We all sit quietly, and then the conversation gets going.....What? How? You tell me."

Hey campers! Sure is nice to have Lyn's a sly fox back! That way I don't feel like I'm answering my own questions and can come up with entries for someone else's prompts again...writing to my own prompts sometimes feels like taking a test and having an answer key in front of you, but you're not always sure if the answer key matches up directly with the test you're taking, if that makes any sense...it does to me though, and that's what matters. Anyway, it's been a long day, so I'm gonna get right into this and hope I'm done in a half-hour so I can catch the kickoff of the last Bills preseason game...but that's not likely.

To answer the first question...no. I have not heard of that movie nor do I remember any part of it ever being in pop culture's collective conscience, even though it was released the same year I graduated high school and some of the stars sound familiar. I wish I had seen it though, because then I'd have a better frame of reference regarding the prompt at hand.

At a somber breakfast after we got the news that Camp Bloggawhynotta was closing after our run as "Campers Of The Decade", ANN Counselor, Lesbian & Happy suggested we break into groups back in our "boys" and "girls" tents to confront the topic first and then reconvene within an hour to discuss among everyone what our course of action should be.

Charlie ~ and I each cracked a leftover beer from Lyn's party (sometimes, life-altering decisions first thing in the morning are best made when your mind is a little lubricated), looked at each other, and said, "This is fucked up. Like, we've been through some crazy shit this month, but this...this is just sad." (And yes, we said that at the same time, further blurring the lines that say we may or may not, along with Mitchopolis , be the same person.) 30DBC Creator/Founder just sat kinda slack-jawed; I couldn't tell if he was legitimately sad that maybe a month such as this August might never exist again as we currently know it, or that two other dudes were poundin' beers at 8:30am without much thought as to the outcome of their present situation or the big picture.

Over in the girls' tent, the gears were turnin' and priorities were being set. Finn O'Flaherty was on her high-tech gizmodo texting with her home planet, looking for advice. Prosperous Snow celebrating , ANN Counselor, Lesbian & Happy , and ElaineElaine were exchanging passionate whispers as a form of quietly animated discussion. Noyoki , 💙 Carly , and amy-Has a great future ahead were each daring themselves to go up to Lyn's a sly fox in the same manner a bunch of schoolchildren want someone else to go up to the teacher with a ridiculous demand or to tattle on someone else for doing something foolish. "You tell her!" said Dana to Amy; Amy looked at Carly and said, "No way! What about you, Carly?" Finally, after a gentle shove by Dana, Carly acquiesced and stood up on the bench. She cleared her throat and everyone looked up. "Lyn," she began, "maybe you and Fivesixer ought to consider taking over the camp next summer. I mean, we were talking about it, and because of the way you guys worked together this year, we'd definitely come back again if you two were to remain our counselors." There was a slight murmur, and then, slowly, the approving nods of heads began spreading around the tent.

Ann spoke up next. "You both have done a fine job! Neva, Elaine and I were just remarking that you've managed to keep us all alive and entertained regardless of the situations we've been in...I'd be proud to come through here every summer just to spend the time with you guys."

Finally, Finn piped up with her findings from the conversation with Captain Zorg. "Ladies, I've just secured some additional funding to run summer programs next year from my home planet ummm, a, uhhh, "corporate sponsor", if you will. All we have to do is print their emblem on the t-shirts we give out to the campers next year! Isn't that exciting?" The girls all looked at each other and giddily yelped out various forms of "Hooray!"

Meanwhile, Earl came trudging out of La Casa De Hombres looking defeated. "Norb and Charlie are a mess...they're a tad bit overserved and now they're just reminiscing over what they consider to be "the good ol' days"...which was last week . "Well," Lyn said, "march back in there and tell them boys the good news...we're gonna save this campground and do it again next summer, with the help of some out-of-this-world friends!"

Charlie and I had long forgotten about our troubles by that point anyway, and had progressed over to the tree with the big hole in it. We invented some kind of game that involved the attempted tossing of crushed beer cans through said hole, but don't quote me on the exact rules. Charlie won, but I think he cheated because he has fancy hair and I'm clearly too old for anything more physical than the ol' twelve-ounce curls.

BCF PROMPT: "I know that keeping a promise is important to all of us, but have you ever given your word to someone but then didn't follow through? Why?"

Oh, sure. It happens; it's a part of life, letting people down and getting let down. That's not to say I'm proud of it or encourage it (I don't), because sometimes it's inevitable. Life has a way of disrupting even the best-laid plans, said someone more famous than myself at one time or another.

Circumstances and mistakes often happen; they're no less a constant in this world than good fortune and smooth sailing. Karma balances things out most of the time, so expect that the lucky run that you might be on will eventually come to a crashing halt...I find it's best when you're prepared for the worst to occur because that way you're less disappointed.

As for me, personally, I hate having to go back on my word. There are lots of ways things can go haywire, but to be the dreaded reason is the worst...not only does it tend to ruin whatever's going on in the present, but down the road the person you screwed over will probably be less-inclined to put their faith in you. And that can turn into a helpless feeling, especially if you know you could've helped someone out for sure and they suffered at another party's hands just because you dropped the ball once before. You kinda lose the "I told you so!" privilege the first time you dick over a friend.

But I understand that sometimes things don't always work out the way we play them out favorably in our heads initially, including promises. Parents, teachers, lovers...everyone's guilty at some point. That's life. I know it doesn't take the sting away, and it doesn't mean it's OK because it's not...sometimes it pays to be slightly more realistic and a little less optimistic when dealing with things other people promise you. One of the first things I learned when I worked for a local company that was doing very well for itself in business: never promise more than you can deliver. To me, that means you remain reliable, and perhaps you even surprise people by exceeding expectations. Win-win, y'all.

MUSICAL BREAK!!

You'll understand this soon enough...

"'Cuz back in school we are the leaders of it all."
Lyrics.  

THE DAILY BOX SCORE:

"Things you have done that you thought you never do."

This one's easy...ever since my last day of freshman year classes back in May of '95, I never really thought I'd be going back to school. I just figured I'd be working full-time, and I'd keep working, and maybe get married and produce a kid or two, and then maybe I'd go back to school. But even as little as two or three years ago, the "going back to school" part never seemed certain; in fact, it felt more like a lost cause. But like I mentioned up above, sometimes life happens in ways we don't expect. And while my road hasn't been ideal, today I had my first classes as a college student in almost 20 years. I know I've talked about it here and there the last couple of weeks, and how it hadn't really hit me...well, today I didn't have a choice; I had to square right up to it.

There's no longer a point in wondering if it's the right move or if I'm ready for something like this at 39, when most of my classmates are half my age. If I was ever gonna go back and still have it be beneficial to my future, the time was now. I'm fortunate to have this opportunity, and I'm determined not to waste it.

Also, I gotta admit...I chuckled to myself this morning within ten minutes of my first class (Business Communications) starting, as I thought of my blog fam when the professor told us she was gonna teach us how to write. I didn't wanna be all like "But I have this blog...", because she wants us to write proper and professionally, as if we're doing corporate stuff...so yeah, I'll be making an adjustment there as well as in some other places along the way I'm sure.

But yeah, as much as I wanted this day to come, for a long time I resigned myself to knowing it wasn't gonna. And yet, here it is. It's pretty cool so far. We'll see how it goes from here on out.

Also in "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" , I realize I'm already late to the party but that's ok because I'm not looking for sponsors or donations or anything like that...there's this thing goin' on called "BLOG CITY presents: The LIST" , which is a neat little fundraising item that ties in with WDC's 14th birthday in September. Now, I prefer to do all my charitable good deeds in private and without the public shaming encouragement that sometimes goes along with well-intentioned campaigns, but I also like random lists and occasionally participating in off-the-cuff sort of ways, so I guess for the next week and a half or so I might drop a listicle of 14 items on you for no apparent reason other than my previously-stated love of listing stuff. I shall do one now for you, if you don't mind (and if you do, go take out your frustration on your own blog ).

14 Things I Noticed On My First Day Back In School

1) Girls have gotten younger as I've aged.
2) People are loud, especially when they're not encouraged not to be.
3) The "Leisure Reading" section of TC3's library (known as "Fiction" in every other library) is downright pathetic (although their "Poetry" section has more Richard Brautigan titles than Cortland's library, and the librarian was more than pleased and excited to hear someone mention his name and take me to his books).
4) Did Nike re-release every freaking pair of Air Jordans made in the 1990's this year? Damn near looks like it.
5) Even though today was my first day of classes, I've been going to the school all week to familiarize myself with the area and for orientation. And each day, I've brought a lunch...but I still grabbed cracker packets by the handful each day, and none of the cafeteria cashiers has said anything yet.
6) Five books (four used, one new) = $627. $627!! And I think I still have two more to get for classes that don't start until later in the semester. Thank you, financial aid and book deferrals.
7) I hate standing on public buses.
8) I hate sitting next to strangers on public buses even more.
9) Thanks to the ridiculously overpriced used book market, and the fact that only one of my textbooks is available in a digital format (which I think is slightly odd, because my major is Computer Information Systems and that one digital book is for a business course), I don't have enough financial aid this semester for the Samsung Galaxy 4 tablet the bookstore sells. That little piece of info alone makes carrying my laptop and assorted books feel a little heavier.
10) Speaking of my laptop, I couldn't get on the school's Wi-Fi the other day because my anti-virus definitions were out-of-date (basically, I let the Norton software pre-loaded on my laptop lapse after the introductory period). I was told I wouldn't be able to connect until I had downloaded a new anti-virus program...and the school has a diagnostic test it runs before allowing you on their internet. But all I did was remove Norton, and boom- I'm on the network. Thanks, Windows Defender!
11) When I'm riding the bus or eating lunch, I read like a champ. Took me all of three days to blow through Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five.
12) There's tons of desks and tables all over the place if you wanna set up shop with your laptop...but I've found one- one!- with an easily-accessible outlet in case you have to actually plug it in to charge the battery.
13) Due to an odd landscaping arrangement I presume, the second floor of the main building connects through a hallway to the first floor of the two-floor athletic complex...yet there is only a minimally-detectable slope in the hallway when looking at it from outside either building. Bizarre.
14) I might like this whole experience.

You guys...did you see this month's "Invalid Item" ? Big ups to Wordsmitty ✍️ for again putting out another fine piece of electronic mail highlighting some of the best blogs, entries, and bits of info from around WDC's vast blogging community. And don't be shy...stop over to the "Blogging Bliss Newsletter Forum"  and tell the crew what you think of the newsletter. I'm sure they'd love to hear what you have to say.

Welp, so much for that whole "I'll just take a half-hour and get this over with" thing...more like 2.5 hours later . The Bills game is probably near halftime by now...hopefully it's not too ugly (although most of the people playing from this point on probably won't be on the roster by the end of the weekend, but that's life in the NFL). Peace, start taking notes, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!