July 16

July 16, 2012
Day two with the teens! It’s actually pretty fun to hang out with the teens, they call me their camp counselor and I’m pretty much one of them except for having the keys to the cabinets with all the games, and being in charge, telling them to clean up and stuff. A lot of them have been showing up; they like the laid-back atmosphere in the Loft, especially after I figured out how to plug mp3’s and phones with music into the speaker system. I’m slowly figuring out the room, but still have trouble with figuring out which key goes with which cabinet.
In the morning, we started out with playing board games, like on the schedule, but then we just kept playing various board games/Apples-to-Apples until it was time for me to lock up. Some of them stayed just to hang out. When I got back after lunch, another group was there and we played cards until I sent them on a “Tacky Tourist Hunt.” The room has a box of random activities and lists for scavenger hunts. For the Tacky Tourist Hunt, it was a list of people for them to get pictures with/signatures from. I chose 15 requirements and gave the teens a deadline for when to be back, and they were off! I think they were good, I haven’t heard any complaints from other guests about the teens wandering around asking strange questions. The teens had fun at least; maybe I’ll send them on another scavenger hunt another afternoon. After that, we just hung out with more card games.
I had dinner with the rest of the youth staff as I got off work at 6, then they went to work while I came downstairs to change. I’m allowed to take them to shows, and since tonight was a formal night, I had to be dressed up! YAY for not having to wear my uniform with the teens all the time! The schedule indicated it was Vegas Night so we ended up playing various versions of poker until the show. They tried to teach me, but I still haven’t caught on so gave up and entertained the others that didn’t want to play. The show last night was Ballroom Blitz; not the best show to dazzle them with, but some of them seemed to enjoy it when the faster-paced music started. I particularly loved the tango performance. It was fairly obvious though that the lead female singer can’t dance, because for the songs she was on stage for, she sang standing still. The lead male singer at least moved around a lot, and of course there was the other lead couple who are singer/dancers.
After the show, most of us returned to the Loft while others went to their rooms to change into more comfy clothes. Basically from 11 until 1 was hang out time, we chatted, found a few games to try out, and listened to music. I’m so glad they’re finally bringing their own music now because in the morning, I’d forgotten my mp3 so put on some CD’s that were in the room; the CDs didn’t have the best music on them. From now on, I’m at least bringing my mp3 in case someone else doesn’t, or in case all the teens leave before I can get off work.