The Sun is Setting

It has come to that time of the year again. The sun is setting on yet another summer of camp. We have one last week left, and it started today. While I have by no means processed this summer in all of it's entirety, I have been spending some time thinking back already.

Maybe thinking back is not a fair way to say it as much as looking forward, which focuses me backwards? What on God's green earth am I trying to say? Let me explain.

I have some exciting things coming up this fall:
1) I am going to be driving a bus for the local school. I will not be an every day driver with a route but a part time driver. This means I will do things like athletic trips and sub when they need me. The transportation director, Roger Cline, said I would be able to get a lot of shifts if I want them, so I said sure. This means I have to go to bus drivers training school. It is a 3 day class and I am sure it will be really interactive and super fun. Maybe not, but the $80.00 for a night of driving some kids around and watching a football game is ok by me.

2) I am also going to lifeguard at the Young Man's Christian Association one or two days a week. This is not really all that exciting, but my $30 a month membership will turn into a $30 a week paycheck and that is nice.

3) I started training for a half marathon today. Well, kinda. Today is day number one and I am supposed to stretch and do strength training. Once I get into the program my long runs will be on Saturdays so Sundays are recovery days. Not much of a workout today, but they will be coming.

So with these three things and one other (maybe more on that other later) I have been looking forward to this fall. What is interesting about this is that for the first time 100% of my attention in the summer was not focused on camp. I found myself going home at 7 not 9 or 10 at night. I came in at 8:45 not 8:00. Now I was not skipping out on my duties, I was just taking more time for myself and other things in my life. It feels odd to not have summer camp control all of my time. In some ways I have felt guilty about this, but in the end I think it is a healthy transition.

So I am in no way wishing the last week of summer camp away. Every day I am reminded of why I love my job, and tonight when I tell the campfire story I will once again be reminded of how much I love being with campers. Maybe it is because after 10+ summers of doing camp I know that great sunrises don't come without the sunset.

Keep up the fight

Dear Private Investigator

Dear Private Investigator,

Can you please help me find my friend Pat Andera? He goes by many names: Big Slick, SPA, Sexy Beast, Heart Breaker and Big Sloppy. He really likes sloppy food and typically this time of year is in the Lake Delton area of Wisconsin.

The last time I had any contact with him was late April. I did receive a text message from him a few weeks ago, but since he does not respond to voice messages and his mailbox is now full I am concerned that someone took his phone and used it to throw me off the trail.

I have also heard a rumor that he took a vacation to South Dakota with a man named Tim. I find this hard to believe because surly if he was in the car for 18hours he would of found 20min to call me back.

He also used to have a blog, "Spa's Sports" but May 12th, was his last update and again, I question if this was another phantom writer using Pat's name to throw me off the trail.

So, Mr. PI, all I am asking for is prof that Mr. Spa is in fact alive. I would accept a recent photo as prof. Maybe if you track him down you can let him borrow your phone and he can call me. I might be willing to offer a cash prize to any person who can find him... dead or alive.

Thank you,
Andy Miller

Keep up the fight

Day 1 and 2

It is that time of year. Summer camp is now here. We spend 9 months preparing for summer camp and then much like a mother, give birth to a monster.

After a few weeks of a very good pre-camp it was time for campers to arrive. It only takes me about 1 minute after seeing that first camper to remember why we work so hard for the rest of the year. The questions they ask are so funny. The creativity is so amazing. The way they look at everything like it is so fresh and new just makes me smile.

Then the second day of summer camp comes. The bus breaks down, the phone system goes crazy, a volunteer nurse backs out and the medical supply company tell you that you owe them $200 when you really paid that bill months ago. Then I remember why sometimes I pray for August.

Keep up the fight

Take Note

See what I was talking about?

• Paul (T) knocked off Grayson (R) in Kentucky
• Specter lost in Pennsylvania

Anti-Incumbent fever and far right Tea party candidates are taking over the ballots.

What about Bob

There is an amazing story coming out of Utah. That is right folks I said amazing and Utah and was not talking about the National Parks. About a week ago the junior senator from Utah, Bob Bennett, failed to win his party nomination for reelection.

Now why is this so amazing? Well a few reasons. 1) In recent polls among the popular vote he was getting like 70%. 2) He carries an A+ rating from NRA and the delegates said he was no conservative enough. 3) He is a Mormon.

All over the country we are seeing more and more incumbents fall in the primary. Not only Democrats, but Republicans also. I find this interesting because typically incumbents do pretty good in elections. Evidently the citizen of Utah are so upset with the federal government that they don't care about losing a rather high ranking representative in the senate.

I have also been thinking about what this could mean for the elections in November. I am wondering if more and more republicans who don't get their nominations may run as independents? Would this split the vote enough to allow Dem to maintain their seats or gain a few? If so, who are these independents going to caucus with?

It also brings up the point of the Tea Party movement in the Republican party. If the delegates who elect our officials, sorry Americans you don't vote in your representatives, from the GOP are now so fed up with Washington that they are going to get rid of Bob, who is safe in the party? McCain is fighting for his career and so are many other big name Republicans. Do the delegates really thank that rank and file rep want an ultra right wing Tea Party candidate in the elections? How is a Tea Party candidate going to get an independent vote?

Obviously this will not matter in a state like Utah. Some states are just red and some are just blue. The purple states should prove to be interesting to watch this year.

Keep up the fight

Stepping into May

The arch created this new walking intensive program. A team of 5 has the whole month of May to walk 500 miles. If we do it we get $25. After that each 500 miles an individual gets they get another $25. Needless to say I am all about this. I am getting paid to work out.

It is also the time of year where I find that I don't stop working until it is time to go to bed. I have been helping out at confirmation retreats, visiting friends in Chicago, cutting and stacking wood, training for fall races, working on ACA accreditation, moving into a new office and working in my garden for the past few weeks.

I do enjoy this time of year because I keep busy. Oddly enough I enjoy the rush. It is nice to come into work have a long to do list. It makes me feel needed and it is o so fun to cross off big projects.

Ok, well on that note, back to it.

Keep up the fight

Andy's First Triathlon

Yes, it is true I did finish my triathlon last weekend. The culmination of about 4 months of training really paid off when I ran through that big blue arch.

I am guessing most of you have never done a triathlon before so I am going to take some time and tell you all about mine.

First of all it was call a "Sprint Triathlon." A sprint means it was a short one. It was 1/4m swim, 10m bike and 5k run. Just to let you know "Olympic Triathlons" are about double that length. To learn more about distances and such check out the Wiki page on Triathlons.

The following is a list of my times and all the ranking number from my race.
Swim 8:32 (259th)
Transition 1 3:47 (377th)
Bike 38:37 (15.5mph 496th)
Transition 2 1:50 (137th)
Run 30:39 (9:52m 560th)
Total: 1:23:28 (483rd/672)
Division 45th/62

I want to share one story from the race. It was about my 3rd length in the pool and there was a swimmer passing me on my left. There were also two swimmers right in front of us and I was getting ready to cut left to pass them. With this guy on my left it meant I could not do that and was going to get stuck behind them all. I decided I didn't want that to happen so I swam right up the middle of the two other swimmers. Then when I went to take a breath on my left the swimmer to my left took a breath on the right and we met goggle to goggle about 6 inches away from each other. It was a really cool moment in the race.

I also learned what draw strings are for on swim trunks. Not because mine also fell off, but because most triathlon athletes look like a blend of meth users, super models and body builders and their cloths are falling off of them because they have no body fat to keep them on.

Overall I was very happy with the race. I had three goals and I meet them all.

1. Do not die
2. Finish the race
3. Under 1:45

So what is next? Well there are several things I have on the to do list.

1. Mudathlon on June 26. What is a Mudathlon? I have no idea but they say it is between 3 and 4 miles with obstacles and participants get a free beer. Combine that with two attractive women on the flier and that was all it took to get me excited enough to do it.
2. Columbus Triathlon on August 7th. I am not sure about this one. It is the day after summer camp is over. That could be good because it could keep me training all summer long or be bad because I am physically spent after a summer camp.
3. Wine at the Line, 5mile or 5k run on September 25th. You get a wine glass, shirt, wine and pizza. And yes, they also had an attractive woman on their flier.
4. The Grand Canyon, Fall of 2011. What is this? Check out my buddy Ford's blog for that information.

Come join me on one or all of the events and,
Keep up the fight