Table of Plenty: 12/4

          Yesterday I had the privilege of serving the less fortunate at the Table of Plenty in Half Moon Bay. I had never done it before so I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to do. However, when we got there Dean Jean and some other volunteers let us know what we needed to do. We put our aprons and name tags on and waited for the people to get there. While we were waiting we just mingled with each other. I met some really nice new people that also attend this school but they were not in my grade. We were assigned tables to attend to. When people got there all the servers started taking care of their tables but by the end of the night everyone was basically helping out every table to make sure the people were being well served. They served salad, bread, soup, and pumpkin pie. They ran out of soup so we were not able to eat that. Instead we ate salad, bread, and pumpkin pie which was really good. I didn't mind the fact that the food ran out because these people needed it more than I do. I had volunteered before to help serve food, but this one was much different. Here, we actually got to interact with the people. We got their food for them rather than them just lining up and getting it. It was a wonderful experience and I left with the great satisfied feeling of helping people.

             

Gingerbread House Making

          Last week I went to a gingerbread house making contest. There were eight people to a table but we were all in groups of four. They offered us eggnog and snacks. We started, and we were completely unaware there was a time limit until they announced the five minute mark. It was a struggle getting the four walls to stick with the icing. At first we put the walls the wrong way so we had to start over. The icing kept coming out of the packet it was in which made everything super sticky. Our house did not look very nice but we did put a lot of effort in it. Also, two of our team members kept getting up and leaving so it was really only me and another person making the whole house. We didn't make the regular box design that everyone else usually does. There was only one house that did. It was a fun experience to do with friends and it is something that I would want to do again. It was a great way to start off the Christmas season.

Creative Writers Series #2

            I attended this event a month ago and it was much different than the first one. Rather than poems being read to us, sections of books were read to us. It was much more interesting than the first one I attended. This was probably because I could better understand what was going on. I'm not really sure why, but I have a hard time comprehending poems.

           The first author was a woman. She read us about 20 minutes worth of her newest book. It was a treat for us because the book has not been published yet. I can't remember what the book is called, but it was very interesting. One part she read to us really captured my attention. In the scene she read, the main character was in the ocean and she was knocked over by a huge wave. A man went in to save her and he also got knocked over. Once the main character was out of the ocean and safe, the wife of the man was yelling at her because her husband almost didn't make it out of the ocean alive. The part of the book that was read to us really interested me. It made me want to read the book.

          The second author was a man. He also read us about 20 minutes of his own book. His book was about a gay boy in school who was sexually abused which is a real life thing that happens today. That is the reason he chose to write about it. He said it was something that one of his friends had experienced and it motivated him to write about it. It made me slightly uncomfortable because he described in great detail of how the boy was sexually abused. It was a completely different type of book from the other one which I think is good. It's good because it exposes the audience to new things, not just one type of story.

          Overall, I liked this event. They also served drinks and snacks. It was different than the first creative writers series only because of the fact that one event was only poems and the other was actual books. If there is another event like this where the authors tell a section of their stories then I will most likely go. 

JUMP HOUSE

         I'm not very sure what this event was called but it was very fun. It took place at night and we were supposed to represent our favorite sports team. They had snow cones and you could get as many as you wanted. There were about three jumpy houses we could go in. I went in the one that had basketball nets and the soccer nets. I played soccer in there with some friends which was actually challenging. It was challenging because we had no shoes on and we weren't on a hard surface. I got a lot of bruises playing because we played a little rough. We didn't have any protection like shin guards. During the event, the spirit squad did a performance and it was very interesting. You could tell they practiced really hard. Overall, it was a fun night and fun experience. It was also a great way to meet new people and build more connections. 

Writers Series Review

I attended an event back in September that was held in the art gallery where poets read a good amount of their poems to the audience. I have never been to a creative writers series so I didn’t know what to expect. This was a new experience to me. I didn’t know whether we should clap or snap after each poem but then I realize everyone was just staying completely silent. I like how Austin explained the poem before reading it so the audience could somewhat know what to expect. He also gave advice before a few poems which I thought was nice.He didn’t have a lot of emotion in his voice as he spoke. It seemed as though he was nervous throughout the whole time he was presenting his poems.

It was very interesting how Matthew started off with talking about the art in the room and asking how many people had been to an event like this one. He didn’t say anything at the end of his poems so I didn’t realize when they were over until he starting introducing the next one. I enjoyed how he spoke about himself a little and how he hoped we could all relate to some of his poems.

During Austin’s performance there were times where people were laughing and I didn’t understand why. There were also times where I wasn’t sure when his poems ended either because he just went straight into introducing the next poem. His voice was somewhat monotone.

Overall I realized these types of events are not for me. I didn’t feel as engaged as I thought I would be. I would go to another one just to give it another chance. Perhaps it was the poems or the tone of the authors that made me lose interest, but I would definitely give an event like that another chance.

Black Mountain Backpacking Trip

          

 The drive up the mountain was a little scary because it was a narrow road and it was very high up. When we got there we ate pumpkin pie, which was delicious, and started our hike to the camp site. The two mile hike up the mountain was tiring but along the way there was a beautiful scenic view. I also saw some deer. I noticed they were fatter than the ones I've seen here on campus and they walked and ran differently as well. I had to take a break for a while because I felt like my lungs were giving out on me. My group kept taking short breaks after and the hike up was much easier for me as well as the other girls. I think it was more of a struggle for me because I'm a short person and I felt like the stuff I was carrying was bigger than me. When we finally made it to the camp site I didn't rest, I went straight to put up my tent and set up my sleeping bag and sleeping pad. After that we were all resting just sitting around. It was nice. I was so tired that I took a nap. Later I felt calm when we were watching the sunset. It was very beautiful and the colors in the sky were pretty.  Later we ate and did a skit and when I went to bed I wasn't very sleepy so I chose to look at the stars because that is one of my favorite things to do. I heard an owl during the night which I thought was very fascinating but after a while it got annoying because it was keeping me from sleeping. Overall it was a nice and peaceful trip. A main reason for that is because I chose not to be on my phone and it was a good decision. 

Camping Gear

Items from home are not included.