Greetings from Michigan!

It’s been a fun and exhausting first day! Right now I’m blogging from my hotel room in Mount Pleasant, where we’ll be interviewing students tomorrow at Central Michigan University. We met some really awesome people today so I’m looking forward to new faces tomorrow!

Brian and I are driving around in a bright electric blue PT cruiser. I like to think that it’s our own little Blue Greased Lightnin’ (hey hey CITs ’06). We were both responsible for creating road trip playlists on our iPods, so it’s been fun listening to new music, and there have been some pretty awesome sing-alongs. We’ve had dinner at an old train station turned restaurant, sampled the local favorite dishes, stopped for coffee at the happiest coffee shop on earth, and found some amazing students who will hopefully be your new amazing counselors.

I’d blog longer but we have a very early day tomorrow! Pictures and videos will be coming soon, so check back later for more from roadtrip 2009.

Brian had a muffin this morning, but it was disappointing.
He hopes that tomorrow his breakfast will be warm and delicious.

Hi Canadensis!

So here I am, sitting in the airport awaiting the departure of my flight to Michigan! Brian is already on his way there from New Jersey… he might even be there by now! We are meeting at the Detroit airport and then making our way to Western Michigan University where we will hold a full day of staff interviews tomorrow! So exciting!

I’ve had some interesting interactions at the airport so far, the girl who checked my bags wanted to know where I bought my leggings (I am so in love with outfits that require leggings!) and we had a great chat about how express is selling some great tights right now, but how Old Navy and American Eagle are great if you need black leggings in a pinch. The man at the security check was very friendly, after a brief chat about the lovely weather he told me that it was such a pleasure to make my acquaintance, so I told him I was glad to be his friend. I really like to make friends with people at the airport, I feel safer knowing that the girl who makes sure my bag gets on the right plane is thinking about how glad she is I told her where to get this season’s tights.

I am also very excited to be flying with new luggage! (Okay, this is the part where Gabe rolls his eyes and Brian starts memorizing everything I’m writing so he can tease me about it in the car when I land). I bought a fabulous Betsey Johnson rolling duffle, it’s black with gold piping and detailing, and all over the bag are cool neon travel signs like “Welcome the Fabulous Betseyville”  and “Betsey Motel”. I saw it at the shop and fell in love. I felt so flashy trotting through the airport with my big black shades and hot new baggage. Ugh, I’m such a girl…

Okay, so now I’m sitting in my terminal waiting to board the plane. Unfortunately, Terminal E is very boring and has limited shopping opportunities. I usually fly out of the JFK airport, because I am 100% obsessed and in love with JetBlue Airlines. If I could only fly one airline for the rest of my life, it would be JetBlue. The new JB terminal at JFK is stunning, and I honestly get to my flight early just so I can browse through the shops. Oooh I just looove that airport.

So now I’m just sitting around the terminal… waiting… waiting… waiting…

… TTYL, FROM MICHIGAN!

Hi Family!

Sorry for the lack of updating, it’s been a hectic week! I’m trying to get counselors interviewed and set before I leave for a TWO WEEK trip to meet and interview more staff! I’m leaving Sunday morning, and I won’t be home until Friday the 20th! I’ll be flying out of Philadelphia and starting the trek in Michigan. I’ll go from Western Mich, to Central Mich, to Eastern Mich, to Bowling Green, to Ohio all in a week! Then I’ll spend that weekend in the Pittsburgh area, and start out the next Monday at Slippery Rock. After that I’ll make my way to West Virginia, Shippensburg, Maryland, and Delaware. So counselors, if I’m going to be at your school, I expect phone calls and text messages so we can get together!

Today the office is bustling, Matt and I watched the new reunion 411 video a few times, because it was just that awesome! Now I’m getting a bunch of contracts ready to go out to new counselors! I’ve only got one staff interview this afternoon, which is nice, because sometimes I have 4 or 5 in a day! And while I really like to talk (you know it!) sometimes all that talking is tiring by the end of the day! I’m also trying to work around schedules of counselors from all over the country, so sometimes I end up in my room at night, interviewing a counselor who just got out of class in California. It’s wild, but I really like talking to people about camp, telling camp stories, and so on… I feel as though you can all relate 😉

We got lots of snow last night and the view from my window this morning was lovely. Not quite as lovely as the view from my bedroom in Vermont, but I’m really enjoying this Pennsylvania winter, rather than the ice covered tundra that is New England. The good news is that with this much snow, conditions will be perfect for a day of Canadensis sledding when I return!

Think I’m kidding?
I’ve got snow pants ready for the occasion!

Anyways, I must get back to trip preparations and setting up interviews with students at the schools I’m visiting. I recommend everyone watch the new 411, it’s seriously one of my favorite 411’s EVER… my all time favorite 411 is the “Tips from the Top” 411 we made with Aunt Terri and Shark at the Candy Store… most hilarious day of my summer!

Alright camp fam, stay warm, and keep checking back for more!

Hey Canadensis!

It was a really busy week in the office, especially in the last few days. Sorry for the lack of post updating!!! Camp is getting closer and closer with each passing day and I am getting more and more excited to see you all.

Today I’m sitting at home with my doggies, helping my sister study for her midterms, and soon I’ll be getting ready to take a much needed trip to the King of Prussia mall. I love when the stores start to bring in all the clothes for spring, it makes me realize that summer is around the corner. Other than mall trips and biology studies, I’m in the middle of turning all my sorority tee shirts into a quilt, a quilt that I’ll be bringing up to camp this summer and using in my cabin! Perhaps you all saw the Camp Shirt quilt I made for Eric Forti…

 

…or the one I made for Becky J…

 

 

 

 

I’m also in the middle of redecorating the walls in my room, which I started last night by hanging a new flat screen across from my bed. I’m excited to update picture frames with reunion photos and some great pictures from Summer ’08. But for now I’ve got to get back to helping my sister study for her exam, and wrangling the crazy puppies who have decided to chase each other through the kitchen.

Enjoy the Weekend!

Gooooood Morning Canadensisssss! (In the style of Will Armon)

So most of you are probably sitting at home today, celebrating a day off of school! The roads where I live are covered in snow, so I’ve set up a little office at my kitchen table and I’ll be making calls and talking to staff all while in my pajamas! 

So earlier this month my little sister had an AMAZING Sweet 16 party, and since then we’ve been sitting around in anticipation of getting the pictures and video back. We hired the same photographer who did MY sweet 16, and so far some of the shots we’ve gotten in emails look amazing! I did a lot of the planning and design, one of my (many) secret ambitions is to be an event planner, so it was really fun to get to do this party. Camp celebrity Jason Calabretta came in from New York to video the night, and camp friends Rebecca Waxman, Jess Cook, Danielle Faden, and Rebecca Jacobson also made their way to the party! 

 

 

Anyways, so now I’ve got to get back to hiring fabulous counselors. I have met so many great applicants, and I am really excited to go on a two week road trip to meet even MORE potential staff! Rest assured Canadensis, your counselors are going to be the greatest ever!

Question of the Day: I am still using my ancient iPod mini (remember when they came out?) and after many years of work my musical friend has stopped charging the battery. So I want your opinion: What great little music player do you use? Why do you love it? Tell me all about it!

 

Video Clip of the Week:
mov02699

Hi everyone! I hope you all got a chance to take a look at the video blog in my previous post, it’s great fun! Rachel and I had such a good time recording it, and the weekend meeting was really an awesome time!

 

 

 

We had a huge camp staff dinner after a long day of talking about camp, and it was nice to laugh and unwind with camp friends! I had the most amazing butternut squash ravioli and Rachel’s mouth caught fire from her blackened chicken sandwich. We strolled back to the hotel, and then a few of us made a quick stop by the Applebaum house to visit with CITs ’07, Haley, and Kenzie (who flew in all the way from Oregon!!!). It was delightful, and they bought the most amazing cupcakes to share with us.  Forti was really into the Reese’s cupcake! I tried the cookie dough cupcake and it was delish… who knew that was a cupcake?!?!

 

 

 

So after our cupcake adventure we returned to the hotel and lounged around the lobby, telling stories and laughing until we were so tired we had to drag ourselves to bed! My phone alarm accidentally went off at 7am (oops!) and we laughed because I wake up to reveille every morning (just like we do at camp!) so it was very appropriate! I quickly turned it off and went back to sleep until 9, which is late for me!

When we woke up, Rachel and I used my computer to call  former Evening Activities Director/CIT Counselor Gabe Vander Hey who is all the way in Mozambique, Africa! We talked to Gabe while we got ready for breakfast, said goodbye, and headed downstairs for a delicious morning meal! After that we were ready to head out to the reunion!

We arrived at the bowling alley and set up the balloons, rolled the posters, and got ready for all of you to arrive! The first campers to burst through the doors were Hallie Katz and Rachel Weltmann, two of my campers from my first summer at Canadensis! I was so excited to see these girls and I really can’t believe that this precious bunk of little ones are actually SENIOR campers! I may only be 22 years old, but I had one of those “I feel so old!” moments when they walked into the Senior Camp meeting.

It was so nice to see so many smiling faces, reminisce about fun camp memories, and get excited for the upcoming summer, which is only a few short months away!

So now I’m back in the office, back to calling counselors and planning my college road trip to go meet more staff! Special shout out to Max Blum who is an avid reader of this blog!

Things I Love Today:
Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm. It may only be chapstick, but it’s infused with pomegranate oil and is SO good for winter time chapped lips!

Currently Listening To:
“To The Beat of Our Noisy Hearts” – Matt Nathanson 

Video Blog!

Today has been quite a busy day! Matt Unger and I have spent all morning trying to get my printer to behave, and we finally got it working, so I’m feeling quite relieved.  We’ve been printing pictures and letters for me to use on the sign in boards for the REUNION this weekend!

I need to stop and say that I am SO SO SO excited for the reunion. This is my FIRST Canadensis reunion because in previous years I’ve been at school in Vermont and can’t make it home, but this year I am so glad to be able to see you all! 

Anyways, Aunt Terri came in this morning and she brought me a Dunkin’ Donuts latte (I loooove them) and we watched the newest videos on the website. I hope you all enjoyed my tour of the winter office. I felt silly watching myself, but I think I did a pretty good job of showing you all around!

We decided to order in Pizzas for lunch, and we tried a place called “Apollo”, and I have to say it was REALLY good. I mean, nothing compares to good ole’ continental pizza at camp pizza parties, but this came pretty close…

So now I’m back to work, calling counselors and giving interviews, working on these beautiful boards for you all to write on, and enjoying my internet radio. My latest discovery is a website called “Pandora”, where you type in your favorite musical artist, and they create a radio station based on songs you like, and dislike. I really love it, because I get to find new artists all the time. I even used it to listen to Jesse Ruben, as recommended by Danielle Faden, and I’m loving it! I made a Vanessa Carlton station, and now I’m just waiting for “White Houses” to come on (Hi CITS 2008!)…

Alright. That’s it for today! Only a few days until we’re all together!!!

 

*UPDATE*- At 2:42pm “White Houses” came on my Pandora Radio!

Hi Canadensis Family!!!

I am so excited to get this blog started and tell you all about the great things happening here in the winter office as we get ready for summer 2009! I’ll be posting stories and updates on fun camp news, as well as sharing pictures, stories, and videos from all the fun times I spend with camp friends! So stay tuned and check back often!

Today in the office we’re getting ready for the reunion this weekend! I’ll be up to my elbows in glue soon, making the sign in boards, which is really exciting because I LOVE arts and crafts! I’m also getting ready for a two week road trip where I’ll be meeting lots of new staff members and spending LOTS of time talking about camp!

Well, that’s it for today! I’m really excited to get home tonight and watch the premier of LOST, which many of us having been anxiously awaiting! So for now I’ll leave you with a few pictures of my travels with camp friends over the past month!

See ya next time!
~Cara