Setting: Carleton grassy area behind Robertson Hall

Event: Prelude - clubs promotional time for 3 hours 11am-1pm

Intensity Level: very high

Wes and I set up our table around 10:30am and quickly realized that we were going to be short-staffed.  I drove my van right up to the edge of the grass, taking advantage of the four-way flasher technique that affords so much from onlookers — they know you are moving large items (which we were) and they won’t stop you from driving on sidewalks.

We called a bunch of people by phone and soon were dishing out Real Life Kits and getting students to fill out Spiritual Interest Questionnaires.  It was super-intense.  Students arrived in massive herds and they were split up into faculties by the colour of their t-shirts.  Public Affairs students were wearing forest green, Engineers were wearing yellow, etc.  It made it super fun to point out what a student was studying and then direct them to one of the two kinds of free RLK’s.  It was quite fun to be standing there shouting “free stuff, options for artsy or sciencesy students” and explaining the contents of the two versions’ free books “Case for a Creator” and “Soul Cravings”.  In general students wanted free stuff - almost every table was giving away something.

I definitely took advantage of the table giving away free fresh cold lemonade.  Like three times.  It was a searing hot day out today and the sun was out in full glory.  At a few points, I almost praised the clouds that passed and cast refreshing shadows.  mm actually I did praise them haha.

We ran out of RLK’s two or three times and had to get more from a vehicle and from a table at another location.  Fun fun times.  As they say, “movements are messy!”

We also has our first weekly meeting of the semester, which was a load of fun.  Intense and a bit anxious we were, but it went super well.  I had the opportunity to MC and we did a few rounds of a “The Price is Right” style game.  I think first-year froshies won each of the three rounds.  It was awesome!  Wes gave a fantastic talk on what C4C is and what we do.  I’m so glad, because he prepared very deeply, and it may have balanced from my spontaneous and fun-humoured MC’ing style.  I think when I MC, that’s one of the few times when I speak without a filter and whatever’s on my mind I let it roll out, resulting in awkward or humourous statements.  But it’s all good when a student frosh happily leaves the room with a bag containing a box of Hero Brand tissue, a bottle of Tide laundry detergent, and a folding TV table.  So good…

Well it finally has arrived.  My first frosh week on campus.  It started likely over the past weekend when everything was starting to begin, but it’s totally full-blown and deep in right now.  Today was a day when I realized I am now “that guy” (or girl, if you are a girl).

Here’s what I mean.  Today I left the free-stuff club table briefly to go to the washroom.  I felt like I needed a good time in the stall.  And then it happened: I received a phone call on my cell while in the washroom.  I picked it up.  It was important.  I answered and completed the call.  I hung up.  I kind of smiled at myself and pointed it out: I was “that guy”.

You know, the person who is talking on their cell phone while in the washroom… haha.  Fortunately there was no one else in the entire washroom except me.  I didn’t disturb anyone else’s stall peace.

Anyway, the call happened to be about a shipment arriving at my apartment this past afternoon, when a truck pulled up and unloaded an entire skid of RLK’s at my doorstep.  30+ boxes of free goodness for Ottawa U.  1800 lbs of it, in fact.  It was exciting.  But tiring for me to move it in my place.  But visionary as Ottawa U is one of the smaller campuses for sure.  And we still get a skid!!!!

Frosh week also means I’m functioning on very little decent sleep, I’m driving around a lot, dishing out a lot of laundry bags and NT’s, and talking to extremely open people.  That last one, that’s why it’s always been worth it.

Oh, and by the way, please pray for me that I’ll have grace.  Grace in communication, grace in my demeanor, grace in my approach, and grace in my own heart.  I think (and that’s a big “think”) that this year is my Year of Grace.

When I moved back into my apartment in mid July, I managed to find a dead bat in the garbage can in the washroom.  That freaked me out, I jumped back because it might have been alive.  I had dealt with a bat the previous winter.  I quickly threw another identical garbage can over the inhabited one and crushed the bat (it seemed surely dead at that point) and then when I took the cans out to the front yard, I just tossed the cans out on the grass to rid my place of the bat.  It kind of bothered me that somehow while I was gone, another bat found its way into my place, and likely died from exhaustion trying to get out of my “prison”.

Just a few minutes ago while clearing the kitchen of garbage, I pulled out the garbage bag to find a dead mouse at the bottom of the garbage can.  It didn’t freak me out nearly as much as the smell threw me back.  So out I went and tied up the garbage bag, and tossed the garbage can out on the lawn, let it roll a few times and cleared it of any rodent mass.  I just rinsed the garbage can of the droppings with some water and dish detergent now and it’s sitting in the cold room disinfecting.  Not fun, not at all.

I had known of the existence of a rat or mouse in the kitchen since when I moved back in mid-July and found some of the rubber-handled tools and kitchen utensils chewed up.  I rinsed out all my cutlery and dumped the drawer of the rubber chewed bits, and found a small hole in the back of the cabinets where there was a pipe coming through (but still there was hole).  I stuck some sort of box or cardboard there to block the hole.  It seems that wasn’t enough of a deterrent for the rodent from getting out to investigate my especially pungent garbage.

What do I do?  The rodents are gone.  But I have no guarantee that the source has been taken care of.  Is the landlord responsible for this?  One bat, coincidence; two bats, there must be a trend.  One rat, likely one too many.

Maybe I should move out at the end of next April find myself some property.