Having A Party

Dinner last night at the party. Much better than the EDR! 

It's really weird that it's 57 degrees, and I'm perfectly comfortable walking around dressed like this

            Well, here’s to another week at the desk beginning! It’ll probably be another week of mostly, if not all, nights at full capacity. But hey, last week wasn’t bad, so hopefully this one won’t be either. I think, with kids getting ready to go back to school, our really busy season is coming to a close. Several staff members I know, like Haley and Colin, will be leaving soon to go back to school themselves. We still have almost two more months before the lodge closes for the season, but it already feels kind of like the end isn’t far off. Conversations seem to have changed from “what are you doing this weekend” to “what are you doing for the winter season”. I’m not really sure how to feel about that. On one hand, every day away from my friends and family in San Antonio gets a little harder. Seeing my zoo team friends post pictures of them having fun at the zoo, getting emails about upcoming events there, or hearing updates on what’s going on in my family makes me feel kind of sad. But at the same time, the thought of saying goodbye to Cristina, Nate, Tanner, Jesse, and the other wonderful friends I’ve made here really sucks. I was just thinking the other day that in the time I’ve been here I’ve gotten to celebrate Cristina’s, Maggie’s, Nate’s, and Jesse’s birthdays with them, which has been great. But, as a tradeoff, this summer I’ve had to or am going to have to miss my zoo uncle’s (if you know me you know who that is), aunt’s, cousin’s, best friend’s, and brother’s birthdays. It’s kind of bittersweet. Anyway, moving on to recent news.

            The rendezvous party last night was a lot of fun. I got up to the room where it was being held at about 5:45. It was in the lodge’s biggest conference room; the same room where we had the orientation at the beginning of the season. There were circular tables set up all around the room, with some tables around the edge holding either raffle prizes or desserts. A buffet was set up on the far left side of the room, and I laughed to see Alex Klein (the head of the company) in an apron serving steaks behind a grill. He’s awesome to have as a boss.

            The dinner of corn, coleslaw, ribs, steak, and buttery rolls was certainly a lot better than any meal I’ve had in the EDR. Not long after sitting down with some people I know from the reservations department, I saw Jesse come in and look around the room. I waved at him and after getting his food, he came over and sat down next to me. We ate and watched as other staff members participated in different types of ridiculous, hilarious games at the front of the room. It was a fun night.

            I just got back to my dorm from having lunch with Jesse and Nate. It’s been cooler the past few days here. When I stepped out this morning to walk over to the EDR, it was about sixty degrees, maybe even lower. I found it kind of funny that if it were that temperature I’d be wearing jeans and long sleeves. But here I’ve been walking around in running shorts and a t-shirt quite comfortably.

            I go in at three today, working with Nate, Sofi, Felix, and Jen. My schedule this week is kind of weird. I was originally going to have Thursday and Friday off, but Rebecca told me that she really needed Thursday off since she needed to be somewhere out of town that day, so I agreed to switch one day off with her. So now my week will be: working at three today, tomorrow and Sunday, then I have Monday off (normally one of Rebecca’s days off). My next day off after that will be Friday. Like I said, kind of a weird week, but it’ll be okay.