noodle

I freaking love Stretch Island fruit leather. Apricot is my favorite.

I've had two really awesome jobs...

My first job was officially "Animal Caretaker"... 15 snakes, 7 turtles, three tortoises, 4 iguanas, 3 ferrets, a bajillion tanks of mice, and one tarantula. My job was to feed them, bathe as appropriate, oversee cleaning of tanks/environments/etc, teach kids about them and assist in the kids' hands-on museum where I worked. Only got bit by a snake once, by an iguana once, and whacked in the head with an iguana tail a hundred times. I loved what I did, but I had an asshole boss, and at age 16, I was no match for him.

My second most awesome job was Camp Counselor at Boggy Creek Gang Camp in the middle of Bumfuck, Florida for 10 weeks, two summers in a row. This is a camp for kids with chronic and life-threatening illness. 120-hour work weeks, one night off during the week. Dancing, art-and-crafts, boating-and-fishing, equestrian center, nature center, archery (hell yeah!), sports-n-rec, library time... you name it. I never climbed the tower or did the zip line with the kids, but I did have oatmeal shoved in my ears, got painted with pudding and/or tempera paint, acted on stage in dress-up, did cheers, and drank enough Newman's Own Lemonade to kill my stomach. I love that place to this day. Paul Newman was a god in this setting. Hole in the Wall Camps are amazing... I'd highly recommend them to anyone.

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