Sounds of Roller Coasters

Well this weekend was one for the emotional record books.  It was filled with lots of different emotions and different experiences.

So, this weekend we closed our first show of the summer "My Fair Lady."  Even though the show itself was a 3-hour-long trek for the past week and a half, it was a bittersweet moment when the show ended.  As I said before, my roommate, Daniel, played the role of Freddy Eynsford-Hill.  He did the most fantastic job ever and I could not think of anyone better to play the role.  Well, I knew from Thursday night that the weekend would get a little emotional.  Daniel let us know that his last night of sleeping in the apartment would be Thursday night.  It was a little emotional as we thought we'd all have one more night together.  But it was great to be with him.  It was then that we all decided to get Daniel a little surprise.  Spencer, R. J., and I decided to get him a card with a wonderful delicious treat.  The card mind you was supposed to be funny.  Where else to get a funny card than the "Troubled Relationship" section of the cards?  Who knew that this section existed?  I mean really, come on.  Anyways it was pretty fun along with this delightful treat that you see pictured.  It was great and Daniel really enjoyed the surprise that we all got for him.  We then went about our weekends and performing the shows.  Friday night was a little weird as Daniel's things were still in the apartment, but he was not.  First night without Daniel and we all said to each other, "This bites."  Of course, we would all get over it, but we all felt the need to acknowledge this fact.

The part that got really emotional was when we closed the show on Saturday night.  Like I said before, Daniel has been such a great presence while here at the Heritage Theatre Festival.  Being able to open up about my faith with him, sharing great laughs, and many other times together has proved for one heck of a great experience.  One little ritual a few of the cast members started before each show was to say a word of prayer before the performance began.  Daniel would always invite me and it felt great to be in the presence of fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  Saturday night's prayer was the most emotional of them all as it would be the last one.  As we all joined hands for prayer, Daniel's squeeze was tighter than a normal hand hold.  I knew that Daniel was feeling the same way I was about this being the last performance (and having to leave in a mere few hours).  Christ was there with us, and luckily helped me from shedding a tear, and I think him as well.  After the performance, we all took one last picture with Daniel and had to immediately get to work at tearing the production down.  Walking away from the Greene Room and knowing that it would be a while before I saw Daniel again was difficult.  I didn't shed a tear, but I felt like it.  When someone, like Daniel, has such a positive impact on your life, it's always hard to say goodbye.  Luckily I said, "See you later," because I know that I will run into him again at some point.

Work was none too difficult this weekend with a few small projects to get done.  I would soon be ready to see my parents and hang out with them.  We went to get some lunch (after driving around for 30 minutes) at a place called The Tavern.  This place was Dad's choice, and once we were sitting down Mom and I were not too impressed.  We ate and left all within about 30 minutes as well.  The family then drove a little bit around Charlottesville and decided to head to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate.  We had a great time, although we didn't go up to see the house since tickets were kind of an outrageous price.  We went down to a little gift shop around a place called Michie's Tavern.  I had my first Wine Tasting here.  I learned some new things about the proper ways of drinking wine and am ready to put them to use.

After we were done at Monticello, we headed back to my apartments.  Mom and Dad said a goodbye and they were headed back home.  I know that they are probably having fun, but also missing us kids because we are both away for the summer.  I loved getting to see my parents and was happy the entire time to get another little taste of home.

This weekend was a roller coaster of emotions.  I was feeling happy, sad, awkward, and content a lot.  I know that I'm going to be feeling these emotions a lot as the next year goes on.  I'm sure that I will be feeling a lot of unhappiness (not in a bad sort of way) and fear as I get ready to go out into the world and try to make a difference.  The one thing to note is that I can always get by with a little help from my friends [and family] (Thanks Beatles!) no matter how far they are from me.

Sounds of Quickness

Alright.  I know I'm starting to slip again with posting, but there has been lots going on here in Charlottesville.  Where to start is the question.

When I last gave you all an update I was reveling on my recent thoughts about faith and how my faith has grown since beginning my summer job.  And that we were still trying to get everything ready to open our first production of My Fair Lady.  Well I am happy to say that we have successfully opened the show and are selling out almost every night.  Tomorrow we have 2 shows, one matinee, and one evening performance.  That's it.  Hard to believe we have opened and are getting ready to close the show this quickly.  Tomorrow night after the show we will quickly (hopefully) go through strike.  We have to get everything down and ready for Monday when we go into technical rehearsals for our next show Boeing, Boeing.  That show opens next Thursday.  If you are in and around the Charlottesville think about coming to see this show as it will for sure be amazing!

Then later we will open to more shows, but I'll fill you on those a little bit later.  The other really exciting thing is that tomorrow my parents arrive.  I cannot tell you how excited I am to see them.  It's always nice to be able to talk to my parents on the phone every few days, but to see them is really the true treasure.  Unfortunately, Carly won't be joining them as she has to be at camp for the rest of the summer and cannot really get away.  But that's okay.  I know she's having a great time even though I don't get to talk to her much.  I'm still excited to see my family this weekend.  I learned a long time ago how much I really should be appreciating what my parents tell me and the time I get to spend with them.  I remember after my first week with a cabin at Lutheridge calling my parents to tell them I was sorry for anything I may have said or did in middle school to cause them stress.  It comes with the age of that child (and I was prepared), but being able to see what a middle schooler finds funny and remembering what I thought was funny was just a great experience.  I don't often get to see my parents with the kind of schedule my job has for me (even during the school year).  But I know that they love and support me in everything I do.  I hope that I cherish every moment with them this weekend and within the next year.  Before I know it I will be far away from them and they won't be able to make a quick drive to where I am at the whim of a hat.  That I will miss.  But until that moment arrives I will remember every experience I have with them.

I'll post later about what all happened this weekend and all of the great and I'm sure some of the tearful experiences that are to be had.

Sounds of Faith

So I realize I'm already doing really bad about posting, but I bet you would too if you were working 12 hour days, so I'll do my best to fill you in on all that has been happening lately.

Last week we were in big preparations for the big musical of the summer, My Fair Lady.  This production is going to be simply great.  I really like those that have been cast in their roles, with my roommate Daniel being cast as Freddy Eynsford-Hill.  He's doing great and I have to say, when he leaves after the production is over the apartment will not be the same.  Daniel's a cool guy and I hope that he and I can stay in touch just because he is someone interesting to talk with.  Anyways, last week was all the prep work.  Making sure our onstage speakers/monitors were working, and the props that we wired up to work like phonographs.  This particular production has restored my love for this show.  A similar response happened when UNCG did Oklahoma! last fall.

Photo Credit: Margaret R. Toomey

I'm starting to appreciate the classic musical more.  I think because of the simple fact that the older I get, I'm obviously getting further into my career and seeing shows done in a more professional way that makes me cherish them.  We open the show on Thursday night which will be exciting because then hopefully I'll be able to get back to a somewhat regular schedule with work (not that the schedule is bothersome, just some longer hours since we are in technical rehearsals).

After this show opens, it will run until next Saturday, July 9.  So, if you are in town and want to come see a great show call our box office here at UVA.  And let me know because of course I would love to see you.  Once the show is over we will begin to finish getting ready for our next show which is called Boeing, Boeing.  A great comedy, and I'm hoping that I will be able to see a run of the show later this week.  Once I get to do that I will let you know about how great the show is going to be and how you should really come and see it.

Now to something that I have learned within the last week since I my latest post.  So, as I have already mentioned, my roommate Daniel has been awesome and it has been great getting to know him over the past couple of weeks.  Well, last week before bed one night I was doing my look through of my Bible (which admittedly is something I should be doing more often) of my some of the passages I had marked at one point or another that resonated with me at that point in time.  One verse that I came across that seemed great was from Ephesians 5: 15-21.  These verses basically start out saying that one should make the most of every opportunity.  I really found this appropriate considering the talk that had followed reading this verse and the current situation that I am in.

Daniel and I got to talking about our faith lives and how that transpired as we grew older.  It was a great conversation that I got to share with him.  I grew up Lutheran and am so proud to say so.  The experiences that I've had through TEC, Lutheridge, and all the various mission trips I have gone through have been great!  But something I have learned over the years is that while I can be proud of where I came from and what I believe, other people are always entitled to their opinions and beliefs.  Daniel shared about what kind of church he grew up in and it was somewhat different than what I knew.  We discussed about the different customs that happen within a worship service and how the church is run.  There were some similarities and some that weren't.  The great thing that I found during this conversation is that not once did I think, "Well that's really different and to be honest probably the wrong way of doing things."  In fact I found myself so intrigued with the differences that I wanted to learn more and find out anything I could.  Don't get me wrong, I love where I come from, but being exposed to something different is always exciting.  It was great to also talk about what kind of Bible we used.  One that we both have encountered is the The Message.  This is the Bible written in contemporary words, which can be helpful in trying to understand the Words as God is trying to speak to us.  We also briefly talked about books written about the Christian faith.  Daniel has read a lot, and SHOCKER I have not (just in general, since I have not been an avid book reader across the span of my life).  But one book I have been meaning to pick up, which Daniel inspired me to finally buy, is a book called Blue Like Jazz.  I can hopefully (start &) finish that soon with all the other reading I had planned for this summer, but who knows.

I'm just really glad that I have been able to share experiences with a fellow brother in Christ.  Not that there are not other fellow Christians that work here, because there are, but not any that I have been able to share faith stories with.  In my line of work, there are not usually a lot that are open about their faith lives, but that should not scare someone and I'm glad that I am not able to let it scare me.  I love sharing my faith with others that want to listen (I don't force my faith on others).  It's a great way to connect with someone in a way that you may not be able to do so with others.  I have learned through this that I need to continue opening my eyes to the world around me.  I need to take it all in while I can otherwise I'll be spending most of my life thinking about what I should have done during my time at the Heritage Theatre Festival.  I don't like regretting the things that I do so I do what I can to "live in the moment."

I will hopefully be able to post later this week about how the show is going and what all I continue to see of Charlottesville.  This is one spectacular town and I hope that I see everything that I possibly can!

Sounds of Memories

First off...today is a day where we all celebrate one of the most influential people any of us could have in our lives.  Today we acknowledge our fathers.

I love you Dad!  You are the best father a son could ask for; someone to learn from, someone to talk to, and someone to just love you all the time.  Not quite sure how God paired us two together, but I sure am glad that he did!

Now, on to what all has been going on lately.  This time last week I was gearing up for my trip up to Charlottesville, Virginia to begin my work with Heritage Theatre Festival.  I did not begin my work until Tuesday, so I had plenty of time to get up here with traveling and try and soak up some of the new territory that I was going to be crossing.  On the way up I saw lots of lower gas prices, which I figure North Carolina could learn a thing or two from.  I also saw something that brought back memories.  I saw a sign for a WaWa.  This is basically the same thing as a Sheetz for all you southerners, but so much better!  I remember going up to Philadelphia back in 2005 with my Youth Group and instead of seeing signs for Bojangles everywhere we would see signs for WaWa.  A small little memory, but one that made me think of a wonderful experience.

Getting here and settling in has been nothing short of easy.  I feel very welcomed with the people that I work with everyday.  My roommate is awesome.  Life is pretty simple here in Charlottesville.  It's very much a college town.  Reminds me of the time that I went down to Clemson after my first summer at Lutheridge to see all of my favorite people.  Clemson is very much a college town and if I remember correctly, Sarah said that the University came first, and the town began to build around it.  Which I think is pretty awesome.  I wish Greensboro were a little bit more like both of these cities.  Don't get me wrong I love what Greensboro has to offer, but I wish it had just a little bit more of that college feel.  I love going downtown to catch a show at Triad Stage, making a late night trip to Jan's House for a piece of pie, or even the what seems like the longest trek ever, out to Wendover just to go and eat at Bonsai. All of these things make Greensboro what it is, but seeing other places and how they work always leave you wishing you had just a little bit more back where you live.  That's the lesson this week.  Learning to appreciate what you already have, and what you are going to get.  Charlottesville has a lot to offer me in all aspects and I think I am ready to take it all on.  I have made it through one week, and now have seven more to go.  Bring it on Charlottesville, because I am ready for you!

Sounds of Home

So, as soon as I finished the last trash and bathroom run at camp on Thursday morning, I had to pack up and rush back down the mountain to get to the RDU airport.  I said goodbye to all of my amazing friends, but let them not worry as I knew I would be back for the 60th Anniversary of Lutheridge at the end of the summer (more about that when the time comes).

Each plane that was carrying family that day was delayed due to inclement weather, not by much, but enough.  Although delays seemed imminent, I was still excited to see the family.  Aly, Aunt Mary, Karen, and Grandma Ray all arrived at the RDU airport and I was ready to bring them on home.  We had a great ride back to Holly Springs, and before too long Dad would arrive with Aunt Kathee (his sister).  Everyone was excited to see the Graduate, after she came home from what seemed to be a never-ending graduation rehearsal.

The next day was filled with so much fun (after the sun went down, of course).  Aly and Carly took Grandma to get her nails done, while almost everyone else stayed at the house and cleaned up for the Graduation Party we were having at the house the following day.  I did nothing, as I was mentally preparing for what adventures were to come within the next 24 hours.  At around 11pm that night, my cousin Aly and I met up with a couple of my friends to go out for my 21st Birthday!  The first place we went to was Natty Greene's in Raleigh.  There I was treated to a couple of shots, and a couple of beers before we moved on.  The next place we went to was super crowded, so basically it was a pit stop.  Get in, go to the bathroom, get out.  Finally the last place that we went to was some Tavern, of which the name escapes me (and no, it's not because I was completely smashed, I honestly don't remember the name of the place we were at).  There I had a couple of Corona's and was given a Carolina Jaegar Bomb. Something similar to that, but the glass was a lot bigger and had a hint of chocolate in it as well (also, got made fun of by the waiter for not finishing the whole drink in one gulp, yeah, so whatever).

Well the next day was an interesting one for sure.  Got up, with a slight headache (nothing a little Ibuprofen didn't fix), and was off to do some last minute errands before more family (& friends) showed up for the festivities of the afternoon.  The rest of the day is something you'll have to ask me about what happened if absolutely have to know.  It's definitely not a very exciting, nor fun, story to tell.

Sunday provided for a day of goodbyes as all the Dressens (pictured at the right) left to go back home, while the Rays (pictured to the left) stayed behind for a couple more days.  It was sad to see all of them go, but the time spent with them was much appreciated.  Family is always one thing that I hope I will never take for granted.  Even though I don't get to see much of my family (even my immediate family) often, I always see the impact that they have on me.  All of my family does a lot to support me and shows me so much love, more than a guy could ever ask for.

Before too long, Sunday was over, and Monday had rolled around and it came time for me to make my move up to the adventure I had been waiting for for a month.  I have made my move up to Charlottesville, VA and started work with rest of the company at the Heritage Theatre Festival.  More insight on what I'm doing will come soon as we are close to wrapping up a week of work very soon!

Sounds of the Wilderness

Sorry beyond all belief that I have not posted in over two weeks.  There will be multiple posts this week to make up for that.  This post will be all about my time back up on the most gorgeous place in all the world.  If you have read any of my previous posts then you know exactly what I am talking about.

I arrived on a Saturday in order to hang out with some people before we all had to get our hearts and minds  prepared for the campers that would be arriving the next day.  Got to have some good pizza in downtown Asheville at Mellow Mushroom and then spent some time with my great friends Travis, Kendall, and Vincent playing one of the most awesome games ever.  It's so epic that it beats RISK.  This game is called The Settlers of Catan.  This game is too complicated to explain in a blog post so just do the research and you will understand why you have to play this game.  Other than that, the night was just simple.  Hung out with my friends for a little bit and before I knew it I was on my way to sleep.  The next morning entailed for a great day as I attended service at Nativity (the Lutheran church right next to camp).  I love getting to go to a church that is "exactly" my own, but nevertheless a one I can call home.  I love hearing Pastor Mark preach every time I go and he is always so alive and fresh with his sermons he reminds me a lot of Pastor Nagle from my home congregation.  I always love hearing what he has to say and the service always provides for a laugh in some way, whether it be through his sermon or during the always wonderful children's sermon given by someone in the congregation.

The rest of the day was a typical schedule, lunch at Panera Bread, staff meetings, and then campers arriving.  I love seeing all the campers when they come to the Dining Hall for dinner on Sunday night because most of them are usually super excited to be at camp.  Speaking of the Dining Hall, Lutheridge just had it redone and it looks simply amazing!! Can't wait for it to have air conditioning!!

Then comes my favorite part of the week!! Vespers with the entire camp down by the lake.  We always sing some fun songs and get to meet all of the different people that we will be seeing around camp that week.  Also, a major highlight of Sunday Night Vespers (what we call our evening devotional/service) is when Pastor Mary tells her famous stories.  They are the best and I suggest that you watch as many as you can.  That week Pastor Mary told the story of why Noah chose the Dove.  You will absolutely love this story; I know I did!!

Then the rest of the week went on without a hitch.  I got to meet lots of new friends (lots of whom were training to save lives by becoming lifeguards).  But I also got to hang out with some of the most amazing people that I know and some of whom are best friends that I will have for a very long time.  The highlight of the week was when I got to put my lifeguard certification to use when I went on an outing with some of my great friends to Little Sliding Rock up by Cove Creek in Pisgah National Forest.  This is different from the Sliding Rock I went to when I was up at camp a few weeks back, but still just as fun.  We had to wait a long time for a storm to pass, but eventually got to go down one of God's natural slides.  It was so much fun and way more awesome than the big Sliding Rock in some ways.  You can go down quicker and therefore get back to the top a lot faster and be able to go down the slide a lot more.  But don't worry, the water is still just as cold as it is at the other Sliding Rock.  I had a great time there and it was also the same day as one of my best friends birthdays.  Rebecca is so awesome and I am glad that I got to celebrate with her because her friendship means the world to me.  I cannot wait until the end of the summer when I get to see her and the rest of the staff again.

After all of the fun adventures that perspired on the mountain I had to head back down the mountain to pick up family for a week full of its own exciting times and adventures, which I will share with you in my next post.

Sounds of Anxiousness

First off, sorry for not posting within the past week, but I will explain why in a minute.  Before looking at what has happened since my last post let's have a look at what is to come for me.  Well within the immediate future, a couple of college ministry meetings, hopefully some lunches with friends, and lots of sitting around the house.  All of that will be happening until Saturday when I get to make one more return to camp for the summer.  As I stated before, camp has been one of the most life changing experiences that I have ever gone through.  Being surrounded by about 65 people who you see eye to eye with almost all of the time can do that to someone.  I won't be there for a whole week, but long enough to soak it all in and spend some time with amazing friends and share God's love with some campers.

After I am done with my time at camp, I have to rush back to Raleigh to pick up family at the airport who are all arriving for my sister's Graduation and coincidentally my 21st birthday.  The most exciting of all is that our cousin Aly is finally making a trip to NC since we moved here almost 12 years ago.  Aly and I are the same age, only separated by a "whopping 5 weeks and 5 days" (what I would say when we were kids to show that she was no better than me just because she is "older").  To the right is a picture of Aly (on the right) and her older sister Erica (on the left).  Both are awesome and I wish that I could see them more often, but living in states almost 15 hours apart can kind of do that.  But none-the-less Aly will be here next week and we have lots to catch up on.  The last time I saw her in person would probably take two hands if I can remember correctly.  When she gets here we'll show her around town and I'm sure that she'll want to go shopping to see what NC has to offer.  And of course we will definitely go out to ring in the hour of my 21st.  There will be celebrating at the house with family and friends of Carly's graduation and my 21st.  We are going to have lots of fun while the family is here and I cannot wait for everyone to arrive for the celebrating to begin.  And as soon as the celebration is over and the family begins to leave I as well will begin my summer adventure to Charlottesville, VA to start my internship with Heritage Theatre Festival.  Check it out because we have an amazing season this summer!

So, back to the reason why I did not post last week.  I was back up on the most amazing mountain in the world working a retreat with a group of kids from Delray Beach, FL.  I had no idea what to expect with these kids, but I knew that we would have fun, especially with the staff that I was working with.  There was Vincent, who I met last summer, and I have so much love for since he's so awesome and doesn't have a care in the world.  Then there was Julia, who was on New Staff with me during our first summer in 2009.  She and I have become great friends, especially sharing a few games of Bananagrams from time to time online.  And last, but certainly not least was Sarah.  She was a returning staff member during my first summer and she has been a great friend to me ever since.  Sarah and Vincent are back at camp this summer (which I am envious of) and Julia and I have work/school.  But, regardless of that last bit of information we were all ready to have a great time together for a week.

Like I said last time we did lots of great things and went to four different outing spots.  On Monday, we spent the day at camp playing some games, interacting on the Group Interaction Course, and watching everyone climb the Challenge Tower on site.  I was able to climb on two of the elements, which were the rock wall (that one I climbed very quickly) and an element we call Donkey Kong, as you feel like you are crawling like him to get to the top.  On Tuesday we had a trip to our first two outings in Pisgah Forest.  We did a creek walk up to Looking Glass falls which was absolutely beautiful, but I did not have much time to pay attention.  I was rather putting my lifeguard/First Aid skills to use as one of the kids suffered a cut on their ankle.  He was a trooper about it and the whole incident barely phased him.  Lots of fun was still had on the creek walk.  We had lunch at a place called Pink Beds that had an amazing view of the mountains and a great place to just lay out and have our bagged lunches.  Then we were off to Sliding Rock, where I continued to be a lifeguard and stood in freezing cold water for over an hour and to what I later suffered a slight cold because of it (but worth it in order to make sure the kids stayed safe).  Then it was back to camp for Campfire #1.  We sang some songs and the counselors performed some skits.  Wednesday was another day on site where we spent almost the entire morning playing Capture-the-Flag with the kids.  The enjoyed it and it was great to see a little competition come out between them all.  That afternoon we spent doing service projects around camp which included: sweeping out Unit Lodges, raking leaves, moving bunk beds to Platform Tents, digging trenches, and spreading mulch.  We split all the kids up and accomplished all of this in one afternoon.

This is my tangent that I have to go on.  Now if you have looked up where this group was from you may know where I'm going.  These kids are from a place that is very well off where they have a lot of things handed to them.  Nothing against having "stuff" because I hope that one day I can provide my family with "stuff" as my parents have provided somewhat with me.  But the problem was that these kids really did not understand why they had to do what they called "Child Labor" (which is far from what we were doing).  Sharing with them that we were giving back to God by cleaning up his wonderful creation was a concept they really did not grasp.  There was a lot of complaining about having to do this work and it was frustrating at times.  Unfortunately not too many of the kids worked hard all afternoon, but I do feel there were a few that got something out of it.  That is all that matters, and I hope one day that all of them will realize the impact that had on the camp and what they did.  The staff and campers this summer will be most appreciative for it all.

Okay, so then on Thursday we had two more outings to go.  We had a hard time getting going that morning, so our second outing was cut a bit short.  But we did a hike up to a place called John's Rock which was located above the Pisgah Forest's Fish Hatchery.  It was another time where the kids were not used to doing much beyond just playing video games on their couches at home, so needless to say that this was a difficult hike for some, but they all really were happy once we made it to the top with the amazing view that was provided.

We had such a great time up at the top.  The view was great and it was great to see nothing but God's creation for miles upon miles and no signs of "civilization."  After we got back down, another bag lunch was had and we got a chance to go inside the Fish Hatchery for a few minutes.  We then ventured down to Dupont National Forest and got to take a look at Hooker Falls and stick our feet in the water for a few minutes.  It was relaxing, but we had a long day and were ready to get back to camp.  After dinner we had our closing campfire with more songs and skits, plus some s'mores.  The kids left the next morning after breakfast and while we were sad to see them go, we were happy to have a little time together as staff before we had to part ways for the summer.  I finally mustered up the courage to leave late that afternoon and stopped in Greensboro to have dinner with Andy, Loren, and Zack.  We went and saw Fast Five (the latest installment in The Fast and The Furious series) and were pleasantly surprised with how amazing the movie was.  The ending lead the audience to believe another movie was in the making, which is exciting because the story has continued to develop in a nice format.  I finally got back to my parents' house on Saturday and immediately went with them to see The Hangover Part II.  It was a little awkward to see that movie with them due to some of the content, but the movie was still great.

Ever since then I have just stayed in the house preparing for my departure on Saturday back to camp.  While all that happens I'm still getting ready for my summer in Virginia and putting things together to have a smooth transition up there.  Can't wait for what all the next two weeks has in store, as I anxiously await the events that are to perspire.