Work/camp

About a week ago, Frank got word from his manager that his "one-month" contract, which had already lasted two-and-a-half months, would go on for another eight to ten weeks. Then last Friday, she asked if he's available until next June! Since this job regularly involves full-time pay just for being on call, we're jumping on that offer. We're trying not to count on anything -- it's Microsoft, where nothing is ever written in stone, and this is just about the weirdest project ever -- but we intend to enjoy the extra paychecks for as long as they last.

I picked up four rather dirty, very tired, very happy unschoolers from the train station Monday night. MJ is sad to be home! She had a fabulous time at camp, made lots of friends, and is counting the days until next year. Her four new best friends are from Minnesota -- evidently a big Minnesota contingent comes out every year -- so she's hoping to travel out there sometime. (Should I be concerned that these friends are all boys? Nah.)

Some highlights from the camp:
* Each camper was "fairy godmother" to another camper, leaving him or her notes, small gifts, and so on. The fairy godmothers' identities were never revealed.
* The campers spent a lot of time entertaining each other. MJ has lots of pictures of colorful characters doing flamboyant things (songs, acting, squirrel impressions). They also spent time making each other more colorful. One boy went home with blue hair, two others ended up with spiky mohawks (or maybe one of them arrived with that), a girl with waist-length hair got a shoulder-length bob, and one boy had his ear pierced with the old apple-and-needle technique (and his mom's permission). MJ came home looking pretty much the same as when she left (six holes in her ears and formerly-blue blonde streaks in her brown hair).
* At the prom, nearly everyone wore dresses. Yes, including the boys. :-) She's got some hilarious photos. One boy had this Marilyn Monroe look going on, with blonde wig and tiny red dress; he looked gorgeous!
* At the beach (a field trip out to the coast), the kids buried each other in the sand. MJ has a really cool photo of herself and three or four other kids, all buried into the same huge mound.
* One night, they played "Unconditional Love," a game where half the kids close their eyes and the other half goes around hugging people. Then they switch. It's evidently pretty cool, because you don't know who's hugging you, so you just relax and accept the hugs without the pre/misconceptions of identity.

Since she got home, Frank and I have learned some new vocabulary. An "emo" is a goth-like person who is full of emotion. "Nu Ma Nu Ma" is a bouncy song, in Romanian, that is evidently all the rage. And "skeet" is a bad word. (Hint: MJ cracked up when, during a conversation yesterday about Grandma and Papa's upcoming hunting trip, Frank made a passing comment about "shooting skeet." When Frank said it, it meant firing a shotgun at a clay pigeon. The teen meaning is a good bit more sexually explicit than that.)

As predicted, Not Back to School Camp has been educational for all of us! Chloe will be old enough to attend next year. MJ is looking forward to sharing it all with her.