It all began with a meeting...

Someone once told me that they didn't know why we are all here, but that they believed that things are connected. They thought that we weren't necessarily important in each others lives... but that our purpose was to bring each other together with other lives who needed us. I also believe this is true, and that there comes a time when you have to do what makes you happy, not what everyone else thinks you should do.

Happiness comes in many forms, but I think the easiest way to know you're on the right track is when you feel all warm and fuzzy inside and you have a shit eating grin on your face for no apparent reason. Friends come and go, but only a special few will still call you up to chat when they haven't heard from you in awhile and talk as though you haven't missed a beat of their heart.

Kids. So I think I've more or less recovered from a weekend with the cubs. And I think I've discovered that 5 hours of watching Xena will help me recover from just about anything. I mean so far it seems to be working wonders.

We did a weekend camp up at the old ski lodge, and the weather was great, the kids more or less tried their best to be good and all in all I think the weekend went well.

We did a couple Christmas crafts, went for a hike well let me rephrase that... we went for a drag, played games, made survival kits and built fires in the parking lot. On an official note if anyone from the geek squad asks about the last item, I was dead at the time.

I think the survival kits and the fires in the parking lot were good for all of us. It reminded us that it isn't easy to start a fire, but I know that I can do it, and that there are skills I have that need to be dusted off once in awhile, before they are needed, not when.

I got to teach the kids about tree resin, and where to find it... and do a real life demo of it working to get a fire started when nothing else would. With any luck they will remember that when they need it the most.

The weekend had its ups and downs, mostly ups, but the one thing I'm struggling with is one kid who brings out the immature highschool teen in me. I'm old enough to know better, and yet all I want to do is stick out my tongue, put my thumb on my nose... wiggle my fingers and go "NYAAAAH nyaaahhhh!!!"

I'm not a doctor but it's not normal, and the response he evokes is not normal. I'm sure there is a desgination of some kind, bipoal, schizophrenic, psychotic... but label or not I'm fairly confident he has a behavioural disorder. He can be a super cool, normal 10 year old boy who laughs uncontrollably at fart jokes... and then shortly after be at def con 7 and a half, cussing and swearing and carrying on like a sailor who didn't get laid and woke up with a hangover the morning he has to ship out.

I don't know how this weekend will affect the kids that were there. But I do know this, you can't fix everything. All you can do is try your best, and I know that kids are worth trying for.

It's easy to love those who are most loving. But what about those who need love the most?

I promised a long time ago that I would do my best, so that's what I intend to do...

Lost in Dave's backyard

So we were having a 'get semi-organized for next year' Cub meeting... and our treasurer had a little zippy bag with a GPS and it's manual.

One thing led to another, and he commented "I don't even know how to turn the damn thing on"... which of course I offered my expertise to show him that much, at which point he asked what I was doing Thursday night?

Well... it was one of those situations where I didn't have any good reason *not* to help out, and teach a bunch of Ventures how to use a GPS ;o) Which is why I carried around a zippy bag containing a GPS and it's manual for the last three days, flipping through it any time I had the chance.

So yesterday we attempted to set up a course in his backyard, and discovered that the compasses were out by quite a bit. We tested them in the soccer field across the way and they were a little better...

The best part was that I can just imagine what the neighbours thought... nobody actually said anything to us about tromping around Dave's yard, leaving... coming back and tromping around again.

Following up with more manual reading, and Google we discovered that the two GPS's we were using do not actually contain a compass.... they try to guess your bearing/heading based on your movement as detected by satellites. Awesome. So it's a GPS with a compass page that does not actually have a compass in it? As one forum user so aptly put it "What were they smoking when they came up with this idea?!?"

We will see how it goes ;o) Wish me luck!

Arnold, Yoda, The Barbecutioner, Stickers, Wet Willies and "So Pretty" OH MY!

I attended my first Cuboree last weekend.

OMG so much fun. As much as Scouting and Guiding like to think that they are different... they're not. I would have to say that I knew 9 out of 10 of the games and songs played, and it was just as much fun doing them with scouts as with guides.

The short version I've been telling people is that I got to beat up little kids all weekend, the long version... well that's what you're going to get ;o) I don't think I stopped laughing all weekend, it was definitely good for the soul.

From somewhere between "Daddy say good night as Arnold, not as Daddy"...
followed by Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice: "Go to sleep"

Our leader envisioning doing endo's in the outhouse with the floor that was bowing in... and producing a "Super coiler"... Giggling with your nose plugged... Proximity ADD... and Proximity Tourettes...

Almost peeing your pants during the panicked look for toilet paper and getting squeezed, and having moments of the weekend that make you giggle on command brought up in rapid succession...

I believe in JC ...and I'm part of his harem.

To teaching a few someones how to skip rocks... and hearing that "Yeah! I got three in a row!"

I have to say we also had the coolest trophy made out of recyclable materials though, hearing the kids whisper as we brought it up... "wow look at that one!" was pretty damn cool too.

The magic campfire was wicked also, and the execution of it was magic just to watch... especially in between being distracted by bats skitting across the surface of the lake.

Would I do it again despite the one kid who should've been dropped down the outhouse and then had a four coiler dropped on his head? Totally. Am I going to become a leader? Probably ;o) I think that has something to do with my lack of commitment, I want to be one of those people who when I say I'm going to do something I'm for sure going to do it... somehow though not committing to anything allows me to pack more stuff into one day.

Random note: On my way home to take a weekend culminating shat, shower and power nap before my ball game I went ripping up the hill to my house. I think I scared the Veteran driver in front of me, who consequently pulled off the road into the driveway I was about to go up. As much as I appreciated the gesture of not puttering along in front of me on a road that is much to narrow to pass safely on, I still shook my fists and swore.

SMA

How do you spell it... Cuboree or Cuburee?

Last night marked my first view into a 1st BX Cub meeting. It was an experience fit for lifting the soul of even the darkest among us. Now I specify it as a 1st BX Cub meeting as I was informed by a reliable source that not all Cub meetings were created equal and neither were all Cub packs ;o)

The meeting was filled with many jokes and more laughter, but above all everyone's ideas were considered and built upon until we arrived at a rough draft of a good place to start.

It reminded me why I was involved with Girl Guides for so many years, and it made me wonder why I hadn't volunteered to help with it again sooner since my completion of University.

Apparently the Universe is trying to tell me to get my ass in gear, and it has realized that I needed a kick to get going. Heres to funny stories to share as only kids can create them.