Week Two - Only 143 Days To Go

Week Two and I gotta be honest - I'm not sure I love it here. But it's a job. It's money. It's paying for my future years on the road. Okay, future months* because $17 an hour isn't gonna make me rich. But it's something! And I'm grateful.

Also, I'm making friends! Little baby twenty-somethings that I'm having a hand in raising (mostly joking). They keep me young. They keep up with my drinking and make me take walks on days I would rather stay in bed, adding to my depressive states. They ask me for advice I know I'm not old enough to give with any conviction, but I feel honored to be the one they look up to. Without them, I don't know if I'd stay up here, even with the money and free housing. It just didn't seem like enough my first few days and weeks.

The plan going forward is this: make it to the end of the season. It's free housing. It's income. It's something more than drinking in the desert by myself in the hills for a few months and saving zero dollars. It's more than sitting in a house in Ohio wanting more out of life. It's more than nothing, so what do I have to complain about? Answer: nothing. It's a job and it'll come with it's difficulties and nuances and issues, but ITS A JOB. It's money.

My first three days working on my own were fine. The last night was below freezing and there's no heat in the main tent where I stay through the night, but I had a blanket and a small space heater. I had food and a microwave. I had resources. All I did was light a fire in tent 62, drop off water at tent 18, and then watch Netflix for six hours. I made some s'mores. I'm getting paid for THAT. It can't be all that bad. It's a job.

Can you tell I'm trying to convince myself that... its a job? 

One of my roommates, Lauren, is leaving in June to hike El Camino in Spain. She's feeling the same as I am here - like it wasn't the best of choices, but here we are. I'm jealous of her but I'm also thinking, Why give up so soon? If I had the option and the body and the dexterity to hike the PCT this year - would I give up Maine and the money to do it just because this place isn't what I hoped for? I didn't have many expectations but 40hrs guaranteed was one of them that I'm not getting. Is that enough to bounce? To go back to paying for things without income coming in? For me - no. No it isn't. And that's enough to stay. I can also pick up more hours during the days, chop kindling, clean some tents. Next year, I'll go back out west and vibe or get another job and then I'll do the PCT. I'm trying Not to lose all of my money without income coming in and this is part of it. It's a job.

But enough about my indecision and desire to bounce - this is one choice I won't run from.

Besides - this weekend wasn't half bad. I spent most of Thursday and Friday sleeping. I had to recoup from my three nights of 14 hour shifts. It's the only way to get almost 40 hours unless I want to work during the days instead of sleeping. On Saturday, there was a volunteering project in town that we were getting paid for. We helped plant 160 trees with a group of arborists and it wasn't bad. I realized that my body is not ready for crouching and, thus, hiking to any high gain in elevation and I'm going to need to do a lot of yoga and stretching because my knees are already feeling like they need replaced and I'm worried my body is trying to give up before I do. If I want to do the PCT without dying, I'm going to need to fix that. My knees still hurt two days later. 

Under Canvas team planting Trees

After we planted trees, Liv and I headed to get margaritas because that's all we can really do around here. We drank a little, had dinner and talked about how things are going with the job. Liv is also not Loving the job. This seems to be an umbrella feeling throughout camp - it's lackluster and none of us really enjoy it. But I feel like I can't really complain all that much. Sure, it's not what I expected - but it's also not hard, it feels like free money, and I get to hang out with these fun kids all of the time and do good in New England. I never got to help the environment farther than helping drop off recycling in a job before. 

Certified Tree Huggers (Liv & I)

Sunday, I slept in as much as possible and we had a larger group go with us for lunch and margaritas. There was Eduard, Jamie, Lara, Liv, Katie, Nick and me. Much larger. We ate, talked about Columbia with Eduard, Jamie and Lara - they're all called "J1s" which is a college term for coming to America for working opportunities whilst still taking classes when you return. We then walked back home and hung out watching the Celtics (basketball, for those like me who know nothing of sports) game, drinking and talking about random things. Eventually, it became all of us plus Chloe, Lauren, and Lucy. I even dyed Liv's hair during this. She went to bed immediately after I rinsed her.

Left to right: Nick, Olivia, Katie, Eduard, Lara, Jamie

I went to bed last night feeling full, having all of these people around me from different walks of life, different states and even countries, yet all coming together in some tiny New England coastal town to make a little cash and spend the summer by the ocean. It can't all be bad if these are the nights I'll remember, instead of nights at camp freezing behind a desk with no heat for 14 hours. 

Not every week can be a winner, and sometimes you just have to push through the bad ones and the thoughts of a better place elsewhere. It's a job, after all. And this one has a few perks. 

Here's to Day One..

Don't worry, this week is not full of drinking. Not a lot, anyway. 

Week two in Acadia - the gals and I have been walking every day along a bike path that is about two miles round trip. We call it our decompression trek, as we use it to vent about our days and our interactions with fellow camp workers. Most of the time, I don't have a lot to say - I don't work with them all since I'm on night shift. But I interject or provide wisdom when a complaining question arises regarding how to deal with micromanagers or selfish workers. There are many workers that have been here a few years and they get preferential treatment, of course. 

We did not go for margaritas this week, which was wild. We decided as a group that we'd hold off until we get paid, which is next Friday. Then the plan is a standing Margarita 'Monday' to unwind, vent, and have a good time between all of our shifts (our schedules are different so it'll be a joint effort to choose a day during the week where I don't work that night and they're off before 9pm). Then we have our daily walks in the morning when I'm off or vice versa in the afternoon. It's mostly based on our revolving schedules. We had a beer or two, but nothing heavy like margarita nights. 

Good news, though - I'm getting my walks in. I wanted to work on my staircases but the closest gym only has a few treadmills and one weight rack. I know, dire straits out here. I have joined a few Facebook groups of local women to hike or hang with, so I am hopeful. 

Monday to Wednesday was quite boring, but I did get to hangout next door with the young bloods more often than not. Liv, Katie and I would walk the entire bike path and back, then settle in for a documentary in the afternoons. This meant I slept from 8am to 5pm, then stayed up as late as possible after they went to bed to ensure my schedule flip. Working 10p to 8a was going to kill me, I just knew it. 

Wednesday, I'd gotten up around 6:30p and sat outside in the darkening night while I waited on a door dash meal. I was too tired to cook. I was sitting on the steps outside when up walked an entire family of deer. There was a baby and five adults. I am always taken aback when I see how close the wildlife up here gets to our houses. I'm weary about leaving doors open because of the amount of critters out here. They came as close as five feet from me and I was just in awe. 

Thursday was my day One and I was nervous but ready. The quicker I learned the job, the quicker I had nights to edit or finish the trilogy. We would have three hours of work work and seven of nothing, which I planned to fill with writing. I just needed to get the job down first! 

Night one day was very quick, actually. It felt slow from 2am to 3am, but other than that - it flew by. Lisa let us go home before 8 and I crashed immediately. The bay at night was beautiful. The moon was orange and looked like a legit wedge of orange just sitting in the sky. I had to run a few reports, make 150 bags of s'mores, and sweep the lobby. Not too shabby. 

Camp at dawn 

Staying up the next morning until 11 or noon proved to be impossible, so I fell asleep immediately and woke up around 4. I ordered food and went right back to sleep. I needed more layers and colder weather items, but that was going to wait for Sunday - my day off (sadly, Sarah would not shop on this day either). 

Day, or should I say night, two was even less eventful. I pretty much had the job down at that point so I did all of the tasks when they needed to be done and watched the last few episodes of Wednesday on Netflix for the rest of the night. The nightly tasks are all pretty straightforward and easy. The only thing I was worried about were customer requests when I'd have to be away from the front desk and such. I'm sure the ease will come with time. 

Sunday meant a day off and that meant - Margaritas! I slept less than I wanted to, I woke up groggy and mad about it. I hurried over to the young blood house to bring them a drain snake thing (clogged sink) and brought booze with me. I introduced the new guys in my house to Liv and Katie, we drank a little, and then we walked over to Margaritas. Alex was in town, so he met us there. We discovered that we could mad drink the margaritas from the tiny glasses quicker through straws - this was genius, but also a mistake. The girls were drunk by time Alex showed up and thank goodness he drove there and took us back. They were not walking.

                            Sarah (left) Katie (middle) Liv (right) enjoying Margarita pitchers 

We hung out at the young blood house for a little while and then Alex and I excused ourselves to drive out to Acadia and camp for the night. He'd brought his trailer up and was excited for me to see it. It was cute, a little small, but lots of space for what he wanted. He gutted the bed and put in a desk - all he really wanted it for was work, so who am I to judge?

This week felt really short and I am surprised that I've gotten used to night shift so quickly. I am a little apprehensive about working by myself Monday-Wednesday nights, but Lisa and David both said they were only a phone call away, so it shouldn't be too bad. I'm gonna be fine. 

Until next time - drink a few for me ;) 

Did I Say Boring?

Oooooof. This might have been the longest week yet. Nothing bad happened, thank goodness. It was just very long and full of actually working. Your girl has a J-O-B! 

I am broadcasting LIVE from Acadia, Maine! *I won't tell you exactly because safety and whatnot*

This week has been full of driving - Sunday night, I left Philadelphia around 8pm and headed into and out of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and finally Maine. I stopped in a random Walmart parking lot in Connecticut around 1am and made it to Maine Monday afternoon. The house loomed above me and the inside was Humungous. I mean, LARGE. I got up to my room, with it's single twin bed and bedside table and got to work unpacking. I'd completed the move just before 5pm when one of my roommates arrived. His name is Spencer. He has lived in camp housing for the last year, staying over between seasons which are exactly 6 months apart. I was the first to arrive of new housemates. Lauren, the J1 team, and a few others were due the following week. 

Once I'd completed the move in, I was wired, so I went in search of a margarita. It was Monday, after all. And I didn't have to start working until Wednesday morning. I filled myself up on margaritas and queso and made it home before nightfall, easily slipping into a deep deep slumber.

The next day, Spencer advised me that the people next door were hosting some sort of game night, that he definitely wasn't going, but that I could pop over if I wanted to. I grabbed a six pack, some shooters, and walked in the dark to next door. They had no idea who I was and thought I was selling something. Nick opened the door in dreads, a poncho, and a flowing skirt. He introduced me to his cat, Hades. Hades had allergies so he had to wear a rather large cone that he didn't seem to notice. He was aimlessly licking at his haunch, which meant he was licking his cone over and over, never touching his skin. It was adorable. I was also introduced to Olivia, Katie, and Chloe. Chloe was Nick's partner and they had an amazing sense of style that paired red-lined curvy eye make up and homemade earrings that stretched to a point just over their shoulder. They were all at least seven years younger than me and I felt another tinge of jealousy. I assumed I wouldn't be able to relate or become friends with them very easily because of the age gap. Turns out, I was completely wrong about that. 

We stayed up pretty late talking as the other four roommates (all guys) played Axis and Allies in the next room. I had a lot of questions about the camp and the person I was supposed to be working with. I wanted to make sure I knew as much as possible before being thrust into the unknown. We did pink Whitney shots and fireball, drank the six pack of my cider, and I was offered lots of wine options. It was nice to know I was not the only heavy drinker in the group. They liked to go hard when necessary.

The next day, at orientation, I got to meet most of the rest of the staff. There were five major groups of us: Front Desk (me), House Keeping, Facilities, GEC (experience coordinators), and Food. Everyone was very nice and non-judgmental. I think it's a good group. We spent five hours going over camp information and HR-related tasks and then finally got to go to camp to see it and have some pizza. From there, I was excused to do four hours of First Aid and CPR training (your girl is CPR certified for the next two years!). This was mostly online and I fell asleep more times than I care to admit. I took the test for it in-person the next day and passed with the other night auditor, David. 

Ocean View at Camp 

We mostly did housekeeping tasks at camp the next day and left around 4:30. Olivia (whom prefers to be called Liv) and Katie went to dinner with me and we had - you guessed it! - margaritas. So many margaritas! We walked there and back and were giggling the entire walk home. Liv had taken her margarita glass with her when we left, so she was losing it constantly. Once we made it back to the houses, (we were next door neighbors, if you recall), they stopped in to see our layout and wanted to stay in our huge living room space. We talked and giggled and took photos of Liv inside our shelving unit before heading back over to their house (there's a large cabinet with a hole in the wall behind it - weird, I know). Once there, we somehow drank two and a half bottles of wine between us. Nick eventually joined us with a married couple from another house (Sarah #2 and her husband that definitely has a name). There's probably five or six houses between all of us.

Once I'd had enough wine, it was only about 9:30pm, but I was completely ready for bed. I left to walk back next door and immediately fell into bed and then a deep slumber. I didn't even need a movie playing, I was that tired. I woke up the next day completely not-hungover somehow and headed to work again. Friday was spent sanding and staining deck chairs and tables with Nevada and Hailey. 

Left to Right: Nevada, Hailey, & Me Sanding Tables

At 1pm, we were released and the plan was for Liv and I to head back to a Mexican restaurant for Margaritas Part Dos. It was Cinco de Mayo, after all! We had two pitchers again, but less of us this time. By time we walked out of there, I was very intoxicated. I wasn't able to eat my full meal, which was 100% a mistake on my part. We got back to Liv's house and everyone was over to head to a stargazing event at the camp. I knew I was not going to make it there and back without dying, so I stayed behind and hung out with Katie for a little while before stumbling back to my own house and collapsing into bed.

I honestly thought I'd be doing a lot less drinking out here, but shit happens. Once I am on my night schedule and settled into a routine, that's when I'll be able to cut back since I won't be going to a lot of the "after-work" hangs at the other houses. So I will finish the cider in the fridge and curb the drinking. These kids are just too wild for my old ass! I kid, I kid. 

There is only one gym out here and it only has so many machines. Apparently the house connected to  us goes every morning at 6am. I will not be joining them at 6am. I did need to get started on training for the PCT. The faster I can hike, the later in the season I can start. Tara's wedding is next May, early in the month, so I should be able to drive out west and start the PCT before the end of May. I need to be able to hike it in less than five months. I'm jumping all over the place again, apologies!

Saturday was spent entirely in bed, aside for a quick walk over to the young blood house to get my leftovers. It was necessary. I had my first real hangover in a long time. Carbs are always the answer to hangovers. 

The plan for Sunday was to head into Bangor and do some shopping, purchase some party favors, and sleep sleep sleep. I need to get into my overnight sleeping schedule, so my plan is to sleep until Right Before we leave and then stay up as long as possible. I'm hoping that before Thursday, I will be mostly acclimated to night shift. 10 hours a night all by myself is going to be hard, but I'm going to figure it out and work it out. On my off days, I have compiled a list of hikes in Bar Harbor to start my PCT training. Alex might also come into town late next week or soon thereafter. It'll be nice to share Maine with someone!  

We went to Bangor at 8:30am. We got into town and hit Target for some cash back, then Sally's for some hair dye, then the liquor store because we owed Gus for making us Old Fashions. Then we went to a dispensary and we ended at a restaurant that was borderline terrible. But we had fun. Our last stop was piercings! I got my two eyebrow piercings back, and then we headed back to Ellsworth to chill out.

Terrible service, not food!

Once back, I taught a few people how to win at Egyptian Rat Screw and then we ended our nights around 10pm. I popped a party favor and settled in to watch The Mummy. Because who am I if not predictable? 

Join me next weekend when I will finally have an actual rundown of how my first overnight shifts go at work. I should have some visits from Alex as well, if the plans go through. Until then, adios amigos :)