90 Days and Nights of Summer

So, Summer is now almost over. We're coming closer to the time when we have to return to Academia. Who's excited, who's wishing the day will never arrive? What fond memories of Summer fun and love will you be looking back at as you work your way through another school year??

Let's hear it - talk about the highlights, and even the lowlights, if you want. Let's make a list and see if we can go up to 90, one item/event for each day of Summer. I'll go after a couple more posts.

This will be an extension of four days, so mark that down to 86. Also be prepared for one of my longest posts, well maybe. This will be long so be prepared to read for a long time or skip right past it.

It all started out when we got a phone call from a local relative around the first weekend of July. They needed help cutting down the trees, so a few of us had to go. Unfortunately one of them was me, just great my weekend was shot down before it even started. I had waited forever to do the 145th Gettysburg reenactment for a long long time. It was one of the five year events, and it was supposed to be really big.

Well I'll fast forward a bit, we got there and luckily I went in super fast mode and got done in record time, with the help of the others of course. So I had packed most of my gear just in case something like that happened. Hurray! It did, I got it done in a day! So the next day after a good rest I went on my way to Pennsylvania. The event wouldn't start to the day after but everyone gets there a day or two before to beat the traffic and rush.

Like always finding your company at any event, with fields of grass and wheat, forest everywhere, and what seemed to be thousand of white canvas tents, was a challenging task needless to say. It took me about an hour and half to finally pin point the location after running around in circles. They were over a creek, but I had enough and drove my truck through the thickets and the river. I didn't feel like driving back on the road to find the path, so I made my own. And heck a lot of people followed me afterwards.

It was now around evening a few hours before the sun would set. I got the boring stuff done in about an hour. Setting up the tent and putting all the gear in it's rightful place. Nothing much exciting would happen that day, though I did meet most of the company after a long extended break from reenacting. Since most reenactments up until now were canceled or a joke. The best part was us trying to cook our food, the fire was way to hot to even be five feet in front of it. Stirring the food was just brutal, and it was pretty fun to watch them take their turns cooking the food.

That was pretty much that day, got my stomach full after a crazy day and retired to my tent. It started to drizzle, though it always rains every time we go to a reenactment. It's either way too cold, way too hot, raining, or ultra windy. A good weather weekend on a reenactment event is a rare one indeed.

The next day we got up to the Revelle call before the sun had risen. That means get your arse off the cot, put on your uniform and go out for roll call. We wouldn't be having a battle until afternoon so most people after roll call and drill just did about anything they could. Such as polish brass, clean gear, or what the old folk do, sleep some more. In every reenactment we go out to get our own water and wood for the company. Pretty much there isn't anything unauthentic about a reenactment, except that there are no bullets.

The whole morning was pretty rough, it had been raining all night and was continuing through. Though it was mostly drizzling, later on though it cleared up and the sun came out. However when we formed up and got all of our gear on, it began to start up again. Every time we formed up, it started to rain. It was like the rain was our cue to get the show on.

I'm not going to go into detail with the first battle, because it was so FUBAR, due to some idiots who couldn't follow orders cause "They were having to much fun" to go by the scenario. So most of the reenactors didn't even get to participate in the first battle due to this foolish company. They really need to be kicked out for any upcoming Gettysburg reenactments. They followed none of the safety rules either.

Though the second battle placed during the evening was great. Even though it rained hard unlike the other battle which was sunny, we got to participate. The Battle of Cemetery Ridge, where the Union fortified a position on top of a cemetery after being pushed around by the confederates all day. This move, allowed them to have a chance at winning the battle, if that ground was lost, the battle would have been a Confederate victory.

We formed up and marched down to the field where the battle would be. We were placed on the hill, the bottom of it. So we got to be in the thickest of the fighting. It didn't start out raining, just some drizzling with very thick fog, which really added to the atmosphere. As the cannons would shoot, the trail would linger on the field due to the thickness. If I didn't have my conscience with me, I would of thought it was the real battle. The sound of people shouting out and crying echoed in the field as cannons went off and ten thousand rifles were firing. There was so much fire power from the single shot rifles that it actually sounded like machine gun fire.

Our job was to keep the advancing units at bay as they tried to take the lower half of the hill. It was really pouring down hard by this time. I was hoping that the inside of my rifle would stay dry otherwise I would be one wet assed dead guy.

After the battle was over we went back to tent to strip our gear and try our best and cleaning and drying everything. Though trying to dry wool is hard when your out in the middle of nowhere with only late 1800 technology. The next morning is always a tough one when putting on soggy wool uniforms. Can't quite describe it, it's a mixture of disgusting and uncomfortable. We wouldn't be having a battle until late evening again. So I just cleaned and dried gear the best I could in the mean time.

Yet again when we formed up it rained! Right on cue! Though it wasn't as bad as the other day. The battle was pretty messed up again due to the same group. "Having too much fun" I guess. I really wanted to find these bastards and give em a good a** kicking. They were really pissing me off, while all of us followed the rules, they did not and got the better deal. Yet the authority figures let them (not our commanders) the people in charge of the event. So all the groups got together (not the jerk company) and told the event people that if they did not kick them out for next years event, they would not be showing. I'm glad though, we don't need them, we all waited years for the five year event.

We didn't even get to move in to participate in the battle. We all could hear the fire power and sound effects, but we weren't part of it. We didn't get our gear on to screw around. Even the commanders were getting angered at the results. They ordered us to head back to the tents in line, as the battle went on. That sparked some nerves in the crew seeing our company up and leave. So they had someone chase us down and tell us to move in on the lower left location before we made it to the tents. We were facing the wrong way and in the worst position possible, there was only one move that could get us into the right spot and through generations of reenacting, no one has ever perfected it or did it without screw ups. I could see the commanders sweat at that. He gave us the orders and we did a quick turn about face, it's like a fast but clean J sweep to get into position. And for the first time in history we were the first to perfect it! Yeah....that was the only highlight of that battle. The Union, and confederates who were shooting at us stopped and cheered. Though at the time I had no idea why.

The last day was coming around. The battle would be at noon and last about two hours. Most people would know about it, Pickett's Charge. The battle everyone was waiting for. This time we formed up earlier and claimed our REAL spot so no one could screw it up for us for the best part of the event. Of course we had to wait in wool when it was hot out but it would be worth it later. The battle began with a cannonade bombardment by 150 cannons (100 less then the real battle) which lasted about 45 minutes. It was crazy it sounded like the world was exploding, as cannon after cannon blasted away at us. The concussions came one after another. There were some that exploded in mid-air and left fire flares through the sky. Some of us laid on the ground and ducked for cover while the rest knelt down and watched the show. Many parts of the landscape were being blown to bits.

Though the best part was when over 5,000 confederates marched up towards the stone wall. I was lucky and got to be placed in front of the wall. Normally there would be a front and back rank. But this time I had over six people firing over me. It was crazy, I had to kneel down to fire and load. Wave after wave of Confederates charged at us. As we laid fire on them many fell to the ground, while even more made it to the wall. It was my task to make sure they didn't make it through. And confederate reenactors pumped with adrenaline can be really dangerous. To ward off a lot of people at once you have to keep the rifle in both hands and use it like a fence. When they come up to you push, since it is harder to force a steel gun out of the way then pushing hands. At one point I though they were going to actually break through me, though I was able to ward them off, it was a bit tiring though. This part just like the first battle almost seemed too real to me. As the rest were either captured or ran away, the Union chanted Fredricksburg.

Thus ends the Chronicle of Three days in the Pit of Hell.

Footage of Gettysburg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J85Ce-Ucts8

^ Read the description of this footage, the second day like I said, really realistic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvkZJiwT7o4&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_X54AKSDk8&feature=related

Pickett's Charge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkmKTYId1pg&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5v-DNJtp-M&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvULfkwykN0&feature=related




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZWAmsdGBiE&feature=related

^ well, i didn't read the whole thing but from what i read....it sounded interesting...too bad i wasn't there this time =P

ummmm........................

moments that happened that must be told....(most of these are from my Lead America Conference)

1. The Wigalo XD and how when i came home from the conference i tried to get my sisters to do it but they wouldn't XD

2. my group (Group G) was able to get the ENTIRE Lead America Conference for Theater to do Little Sally Walker...which is another game XD and they filmed it! but most cause we started everyone on it haha

3. My epic fail of the greatest birthday present ever! Yes, it failed but the only way to keep myself from getting upset over my failure is to brag about how AWESOME it was XD. So, i planned this thing in April on the bus ride from a softball game while listening to one of Vic Mignogna's songs and I thought "OMG I'm going to take my crazy obsessed friend who loves Vic to a convention for her birthday but I'm going to make a complete surprise!" So, i emailed Vic to make sure he was going to be there. there many issues with the website of the con which is why i sent him so many emails haha. then, i also planned that my other friend and i were going to blindfold her and take her. we also bought a photo of him for Vic to sign........................and in the end the con was canceled while i was at Lead America...but still! XD

Oh yeah it definatley was interesting, and if you would like a visual image just watch some of the videos I just posted.

Heh I hate when that happens planning everything just to have it canceled bleh happens to me so many times. By the way what the hell is the wigalo?

This is the Wiggalow <spelled it wrong the first time oops>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8sAunoP98w

it's just an energizing activity XD nothing special.

Lead America is a conference where you go to a college for 10 days and do various activities that involve the field you want to go in when you get to college. For me, I chose Theater. But everyone that goes to Lead America does the Wiggalow...I think >.<. At one point, we had kids from a Lead America conference in Washington come to ours and they watched us doing the Wiggalow and playing "What are you doing?" improv game and they thought we were absolutely nuts haha

Holy crap - that IS a long post!!! :O Lol - sounds like you had great fun, though!
LS, your birthday idea sounds like it would have been so amazing if it had worked out!!! The Lead America thing sounds a bit like Frosh Week, or uOttawa Day.... although Fraosh Week is basically the first week of University where all the First-Years go through Orientation and some weird games and activities with their dapartments and faculties. The biggest rivalries are between the Faculty of Arts/The Department of English and The Faculty of Engineering. We hate those Engineering students - they think they own the university! (jk!!)

Ok, so that puts us down to 83.

82. Air show Ottawa - so just a couple days before Canada Day, the National Forces and the Canada Aviation Museum hold an AMAZING airshow at the Carp Airfield, which is about 40 minutes away from downtown Ottawa (Carp was one of the villages that was amalgamated into Ottawa a while back). The day was GORGEOUS - blue skies, a cool breeze, warm sun - and the show was awesome. I took my camera with me, and got a lot of pretty amazing pictures of all the old and new planes as they flew through the sky, and best of all, I got pictures of the Snowbirds in action.

Unfortunately, the Snowbirds had to cut their performance short because of a humungous thunderstorm that was hurtling in at the end of the day. OC Transpo (the public bus services) had arranged for special free buses to take people back from the airfield to the city where our cars were parked, and boy was there a HUGE rush. The rain came pouring down, and with each passing minute, it only got heavier. Of course, I was unprepared, and had no umbrella, and by the time someone offered me some shelter under theirs, I was already completely soaked. It was ok though, since I really enjoying the rain. Also, I had forgotten to bring my sunscreen with me, and I tan REALLY easily. So now, all summer long, I've been unable to wear anything sleeveless because I walked away from the Air Show with the most embarrasing farmer's tan in the universe!!!! Hahaha!

I'm not sure if it will work, but I'll see if I can make my Air Show pics on Facebook available to be seen by anyone on the net, even people without FB accounts, and then I'll post the link here. :D

That sounds really interesting, I would've went there to see that to! If it wasn't so very very very far away. Hahaha! It sounds like none of us could avoid the rain!

For sure - hahaha!!
So then, will anyone else add more? Or should I keep going? We're still only at the 82nd day! I actually had an amazing summer :D

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2193059&l=d04ac&id=121511264
^ Here's the link to my FB album for the Air Show - tell me if it works for you guys. You don't have to have an account to look at it, I think!

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2193068&l=8e169&id=121511264
^This one's for the pics of the Snowbirds because they couldn't all fit in the first album....

I sewed up my Totoro doll that was eaten by mice =D. i was proud of myself because i did a decent job considering i havent sewn in like......ever XD

i have done nothing this summer really just stayed in and enjoyed time off school, i have an interview friday for college , and i did very well in my GCSES considering my attendance was about 40 % due to illness :( i had a b in english laungauge art and R.E c in seience( 2 cs) english litlerture. i had a d in maths and history which is because my history exam was messed i had an a* in the mock exam it was about muslim and herbal medicine ??? we werent even taught that and the revision guide didnt match.

1. Trip to the Wolf Conservation Center in New York

2. Trip to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire

3. Trip to Orleans, Cape Cod in Massachusetts

4. The Country Fair

erm. You guys aren't really counting here....

so now we're at 75. so:

74. This year's Bluesfest: Partly thanks to this, I am SO broke! Haha - Bluesfest is an annual music festival here in Ottawa. This year, I went to see The Infected Mushroom, Sam Roberts, Snoop Dogg (LOL!), Donna Summer, Don Maclean (who sang American Pie!), The Love Machine, Jetplanes of Abraham, and two Canadian greats: Great Big Sea and Metric!!!!

Ok, well actually, I didn't have to pay for all of those - it was just about $35 for a ticket which would give you admission to all the concerts of the day, so I went for 3 of the 11 days, and ALL the concerts were AMAZING!!!!

73. Wicked: the highlight of my summer - eee!! It was so good! Although they've changed the story A LOT from the actual book. But that's ok, it's only loosely based on the book, and it was still awesome! Glinda was especially funny!

Wicked is awesome. XD

Yeah I did a lot with my summer, though Gettysburg was the highlight of it all so that's why I posted it first. I seriously didn't think I would be able to attend due to some people I don't know in New Jersey. I had to help them with yard work, cutting down trees and are apparently part of the family.

72: Around late May I think it was, the day I graduated from college. It was a community college where I finished up some general courses and art courses, so that I could transfer to the university I am in now. It was pretty cool but a bit long. Did a whole lot of waiting around once they put us in this room (which was our group) I got to be in the honor group part, that was pretty cool since I didn't know about it. So I had this yellow cape thing added to my graduation uniform (not gown, uniform) gown sounds really girly. Other then the waiting nothing much happened, some people graduated, I graduated, and said "So long suckers!"

There was also free food but I was not fast enough to get to it. Food why have you betrayed me!

An addition to day 72, after graduation I had to strip out of my ceremony uniform and head on to a wedding that was happening that same day. So no got to see my graduate....as if a wedding is more important then education?

I also got to my cousins wedding late, it was the party afterwards, so all the food was cold. Cold meat and asparagus is kinda icky. Not much happened that day, it was kinda boring. I'm more into action like civil war reenactments! Now that's the stuff!

Hey, you're in University now? I'm not the only one, then! Yay!

What are you studying??? Do you guys have Frosh on your first day/week of the semester?

I'm not sure exactly what is frosh. But they did have people helping the new comers out the first day with tent fliers and what not.

I'm studying Visual Arts/ animation. Both 3D and 2D, though I'm not too far into the subject just yet.

Frosh week: http://www.sass.uottawa.ca/university101/101week.php
also known as u101 week, u101 or 101 week. But that's just the name specific to my university. Frosh is the general term given to the first day or week of school for first years. I don't know where the name came from. it's just there.

At many of the universities here, there are always HUGE competitions between the Arts students and the Engineering students cuz of all the inter-faculty rivalries. Plus we always have all the frats and sororities and different clubs and associations and groups trying to recruit new members, so they have their own tables. And then, commercial companies like Rogers, Fido, Bell, Solo Mobile, MBNA Bank, magazine ppl, Apple, etc, all have tables inside our Univerity Centre so they can try to sell stuff to innocent first-years while they stand in the long line trying to get in to the book store to buy their school books. It's lots of fun (although, I can't speak from experience as I missed my Frosh week when I was a first year :P)

Frosh sounds like a mix between the words frost and slush. Yes we did have something similar to that on the first week, though it wasn't as extreme as your university. There were a few stands more for like guidance for the new people. It's a pretty big school, so a lot of people were using it to pin point locations mostly.

I however did the brilliant thing and avoided the lines, walking around aimlessly in circles........trying to find the buildings.

Though there was this orientation thing, which was a few weeks or a month before the semester began. They had all sorts of stuff such as, clubs and teams to join. They had a club for everything you could think of. Extreme Frisbee, Fencing, Karate, Anime, and even The Rainbow Club...."Huh? The Rainbow Club?" *Reads the description below the sing* "Express your gay inner feelings".....uh oh, I think I'm gonna join the donut and Fencing club!

You were supposed to stay there the whole day for it, but it was pointless I wasn't really learning much, so I left early, I did get some things finished which needed to be done at the university though, so it wasn't a waste.

lol - yeah, my orientation day was like 3 days before Frosh week. It was rather boring - all stuff they had being harping on about since before we even applied to the university.... but how is my frosh week extreme? Haha! Maybe it's super-packed with events, but extreme......?

I've always wanted to go for movie nights and the concerts, but I either forget or end up having something else to do on those nights. Last year's concert was Hedley, whom I didn't really want to see, but I would have gone anyway, just for the heck of it. Lol! One of my friends from work was from Lethbridge U in Alberta (the province next door to BC, mostly prairie-land), and she said that Hedley was coming to their university for their frosh this year, and she had to help with the organizing since she was a student union exec. member. But she didn't sound enthusiastic at all - Hedley's far from popular around here, and they're Canadian too - I don't quite get it. Although, their music is rather annoying after the first couple listens!

So what kind of classes are you taking for your Visual Arts/Animation stuff??

Well I still need to take some generals which I could not finish at my previous college (well they weren't offered and you couldn't go over the credit limit) if you understand that. So I think I lost a few classes which I took, but all my art courses transferred over. I pretty much have all the generals out of the way but a few.

Right now I'm taking an art history (my third one, which is modern art) a history to get a general out of the way, and two animation classes. One is with the computer 3D animation and the other is 2D animation without the aid of the computer. Like I said I haven't gotten to far into the courses to actually give too much feed back on them just yet.

I'm only taking four courses since most of the courses were taken by the time I was allowed to sign up for classes. That's how it goes with all transfer students in any university or college I guess, wait until everyone else has went.

Though I think the art majors (transfer students) should have an advantage compared to some others. Since there were so many papers and digital art portfolios to turn in to be accepted in the university, just to be low man on the totem pole lol!

So I know you are an English major for journalism, I think. So are you close to earning your degree? And if I'm wrong that it wasn't journalism, please tell me what it was heh.

^ a lot of colleges have varieties of clubs.

well since everyone is telling all their classes.....i guess i could describe my classes so far and it's going to be long because i just finished my homework and im hyper for no reason lol:

AP Language and Composition: it's supposed to help you become a better essay writer but I've been learning so much stuff on philosophy I forgot what the original purpose of the class was XD.

Contemporary American Drama: we're going to read some plays and we watch two movies. One of them is Good Will Hunting which I'm so excited for because I have never seen the entire film all at once XD. We haven't really gotten into the drama aspect of it yet....so I can't exactly say if I like it or not.....i really hope we don't read Proof because I read that one already and i don't want to read it again =P. it'd be awesome if we read Wicked but you know that will never happen because it's a musical or some stupid reason like that even though it's got so many life lessons in it and stuff...and i mean the musical storyline not the book.....i know we're reading Death of a Salesman ...and a Streetcar Named Desire...im looking forward to those.

Heatlh: stupid.

lol no the most annoying things are the Mechanical Baby (im considering going for the sack of flour instead...honestly how is shoving keys into a baby's back going to get you ANYWHERE in parenthood. they should just give us those dolls you can buy in a toy store, they're more realistic.) and the Wedding Project because I don't want to be paired up with a guy that isn't going to work on the project at all......i hope there aren't enough guys so i can be paired up with my friend for a Disney Princess wedding.

AP Italian: it's good as always. i mean i don't know how ill do on the AP exam but.......it's a fun class ....especially when we go super off topic XD.

AP Calc: ugh. just ugh. i have to go to my teacher and get some review sheets or something on last year's material because i don't remember any of it. the problem is.....to be in an AP class.....i really have to like math....and it's hard to like math when im surrounded by english type classes the rest of the day....it's not like i have a science class to balance it all out.......i think that's my main problem......but ill see how that goes.

Film: awesomeness XD. my teacher is so funny even though ive never gotten in the school play he directed three years in a row possibly soon to be four =P. i mean some of his jokes are inappropriate and i dont understand them.....but that's okay. when you walk in films class it makes you wonder if you're in a school. anyway....yeah it's lots of fun and i learned a lot of stuff too and we haven't even started watching our first movie which is Jaws...we're also going to cover the Dark Knight and Wall E ...so excited. my only concern is the movies we'll have to make since i'll probably have to work with my friends and won't be able to find anyone in the class that will want to work with me.....which is going to be hard because one of my friends is like me so i dont want her taking over the project since im the one that will be graded on it.

20th Century American Novel: i really like the books we're going to read but im not sure how i feel about the teacher. i mean, i want to read the books and go ahead but he constantly puts on the quiz those stupid questions that almost NO ONE can answer and still counts them which pisses me off because it's not testing to see if we read the book, it's just hurting everyone's grade. i hate it when teacher's do that, it's just so annoying. if they really want to know if we read a book or not, they should have us write a summary about what we read and provide as much detail as possible instead of asking something like "fill in the quote: faber gives montag his address saying 'this is in case you want to be _______ with me'". i mean, i think it's funny...but ...seriously put that as a bonus question or something. then again, it's easy to soak in everything he says during class...

yup those are all my classes. i still at one point have to take Advertising and Dramatics because Hypermedia 2 was destroyed and im so mad because i was so good in that class and i liked the editing we did and stuff >.<. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

the end XD