Hmm... I bruised my heel pretty badly on Wednesday. I just thought the ache was from aching feet in general, but my left foot is fine after relaxing Friday evening and yesterday. I took a look at it this morning before showering, and a bruise is starting to show around the outside edge. It look like I will be wearing tennis shoes for awhile and limping.

I really do not feel like doing anything today, but I need to get busy on my sermon for next Sabbath. Maybe I will draw first...

Today was the last full day of camp. Yes, camp is coming to an end. Tomorrow morning we will be heading back to Barstow. So we tried to pack today full of fun activities. After lunch, we separated into two groups. One went to the Zip Line and the other to the Intermediate Ropes Challenge.

The kids loved the Zipline, and one of the counselors made it a little more challenging by having us try to drop a volleyball into a bucket as we went zipping by. I was the closest. Mine landed on the rim of the bucket and bounced out. I jokingly said it was "blind luck", because I had to take my glasses off for the event. (No, I am not blind without them, but things start to go a little fuzzy ten feet away.) Afterward, we played soccer until the other group was ready to switch.

As my sister to the kids to the Ropes Challenge, I took our three junior mentors to meet up with some of the other counselors and male junior mentors at the paintball range. I have never done paintball before, but it was a blast. There were twelve of us in all. My team got the high ground in the first game, and we had to trudge up the mountainside. By the time we got to the top, all of us were winded and even some of the Marines were huffing pretty hard. We could barely hear when the lady started the game. Then we went sliding downhill to get behind some of the barriers. There was a smudge across the inside of my mask that made it hard to see, but I think I hit two people on the other team. In the second game, we had the low ground but we also had more things to hide behind.

It was a blast, and I did not get hit even once. I wanted to go all out... diving and sliding and making mad dashes to new hiding places ...but I had to play more cautiously. I twisted my ankle yesterday playing volleyball, and the last thing I wanted was to make it worse.

After that, we re-joined our respective groups. I headed over to the Ropes Challenge and relieved Jessica so she could go play paintball. The Ropes Challenge is a three-part obstacle course about twenty feet in the air. The kids climb up a rope tunnel to a platform where they are hooked into a safety line. Then they slide sideways across a wire while holing on to a rope, climb around a tree to a series of rope swings, then climb around another tree to fall backwards into a huge rope net. All but two of the girls completed the course. One girl is afraid of heights and refused to even try, and the other got all the way up to the platform and then had to be let down.

After dinner, we handed out the graduation certificates, took the kids to the cafeteria for a special ice cream treat, and then sat around a controlled bonfire for over an hour singing songs. The last night of camp can be emotional, so when we got back to our cabin, I wanted to stave off the tears. I asked if anyone wanted to sing their favorite song, and that start a two and a half hour long "concert" of the girls taking turns singing their favorite songs or songs they made up. We had so much fun that the girls from the other side of the cabin came over to join us.

I think the kids really enjoyed themselves yesterday. We has less "classes" (This is a drug education camp, after all.) and a little more free time. They were able to finish their team flags and come up with a cheer. Then they presented both last night after dinner.

In the morning we played various games involving water balloons. The girls, again, were whiny and complaining (Caffeine withdraws.) so we gave the boys extra points for great spirit and participation. After lunch, we split the kids up and took two teams (boy/girl) to the BB gun range and the other two teams (boy/girl) to the rock wall. Then they switched places.

I have never shot a BB gun rifle before, but after a few misses, I was a pretty decent shot. I was even able to hit the windchimes (farthest target) twice.

After that, we let the kids have some free time with the option of playing volleyball. We had two volleyball games going at once. I played with the young kids. I did hit a small patch of gravel where the sand had bee moved, rolled my ankle, and scraped up my knees a tiny bit. Oh, well. That is camp.

Last night while the younger kids went to the game room, a few counselers and I took the Junior Mentors (age 13 to 17) to the pool for some night swimming. They thoroughly enjoyed taking a break from the younger kids. The pool was warm, but it was freezing when we got out. I had to take a hot shower when I returned to the cabins just to warm up.

Wow, I did not sleep well last night. I dislike my sleeping bag. It is nylon on the inside, so it was hot and sticky even though it was cold outside the sleeping bag. About 4am, I finally got smart and used my bed towel as a blanket and pulled the sleeping bag over that. Then I slept very well... For an hour and a half. *lol*

I think I should invest in a new sleeping bag sometime.

I am getting the girls up one by one to shower. Then we will tidy the cabin, work on the flag, and then head over to Ponderosa Lodge for breakfast.

Dad will be visiting around breakfast, coming as a Executive Officer of MCLB Barstow, to check up on things here. Safety and health-wise, everything is going very well. A few sore ankles (kids are not used to being active anymore), and a couple scraped knees (not watching where their walking).

Day 2 is the most trying day of camp in my two years of experience. Not that anything bad happens, it is just that the counselors are exhausted from the excitement of the first day and the kids seem hesitant and moody.

I am not as used to this age group (9-12 year olds) as I am with teens. So hearing five girls complain that their feet hurt on a little hike while at summer camp is a bit annoying. Hiking, archery, and swimming... They complained most of the time but they were enjoying themselves. I just don't understand the "whiney" mentality, but I was able to break away and relax for an hour this afternoon while the kids were at the pool swimming.

I know the main reason for the moodiness: some of the kids are going through caffeine withdraws. We have them drinking water all the time to stay hydrated, and they only get a soda at lunch and dinner after drinking a full glass of water. Caffienated beverages are like drugs... the body becomes addicted, can't function properly without it, and gradually more is needed to satisfy the body. The kids that were whining in the morning perked up after drinking soda at lunch.

This morning I caught a couple of kids sneaking soda at breakfast and had to get after them. Soda at breakfast?! No wonder kids are misdiagnosised as ADD, are overweight, have mood swings (caused by blood sugar issues), and they have so many cavities. I am so glad I am caffeine-free AND I have never had a cavity (I am twenty-five).

The kids also started on their cabin flags. The two groups of girls are almost done. They just need to color them.

Interesting side note: I do not appear to be affected by the altitude. The hike today was actually a lot of fun with the most gorgeous scenery. My feet are killing me because the only time I am sitting is at meals.

Tomorrow should be fun. We will have water games, rock wall, swimming, and more planned.

A long and tiring day, but it went well. We arrived to the campgrounds safely, settled in our cabins, ate dinner, did a safety drill, and then played capture the flag. (The boys won both times...)

My feet are a bit sore, and I'll be getting up at 5:30am to shower before the girls.

Tomorrow will be fun with a hike, archery, and swimming.

My sister bought two new karaoke CDs today. (Actually, it was two packages of two so that equals four new CDs.) Guess what one of the songs is? Love Story by Taylor Swift. I fell in love with this song the first time I heard in three or so weeks ago, and it is in my vocal range!

I am practicing it right now. Some day I need to record myself singing my favorite pop songs. I have tons singing Christian and hymns but no contemporary with the background music. Hmm... My list would include:

• Love Story, Taylor Swift
• White Flag, Dido
• Thank You, Dido
• When You Say Nothing At All, Alison Krauss
• All You Wanted, Michelle Branch
• Goodbye To You, Michelle Branch
• Don't Know Why, Nora Jones
• My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion
• My Immortal, Evanescence

Of course, I sing them my way, which may not be the way the original artists sing the songs. I cannot sing whiny, breathy, or with a country twang at all. (Tried and failed.)

Okay, back to learning Love Story! Time to sing until I go hoarse. Now... where did I put that microphone?

If you are a Stargate fan like me (for I have been since the original movie back in 1997, all throughout Stargate SG-1 series and the spin-off Stargate: Atlantis), then you too must agree with me that Stargate is the best thing to ever happen to the science fiction genre. Yes, it it far better than Star Trek could ever be, and nothing, absolutely nothing like lame-old Star Wars!



Okay, so the writers, producers, and cast of Stargate know how to have a bit of fun. But the series is very, very serious. I promise.



If you have not seen Stargate SG-1 yet... What are you doing reading this for? Go buy it on DVD. Yes, all ten seasons. And the movie. Oh, don't forget the original movie that started it all. And Stargate: Atlantis is worth watching, too. It takes all the greatness of SG-1 and puts it in a galaxy far, far... um... away? Yeah...

The last few days, I have been working hard on streamlining the MCCS Barstow website.

As with many first-time projects, the initial design is good but as time goes on, the site demands this change or that modification. Pretty soon the original design has been frankensteined to fit the needs that no one even knew existed until they popped up. Now that the site has been running since September 2008, we have a better idea of what we need from it.

You can take a sneak peek at the work-in-progress design here.

I am having a little difficulty getting the Javascript-run tabbed box in the sidebar to slide between content like it is supposed it. [see tutorial] I have never been very good with Javascript so I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. Pathetic... I know. ^_^'

Depending upon the landscape, climate, and what items I was carrying on my person, I imagine I could survive long enough for a rescue. However, there are plenty of variables involved that can make surviving a challenge - lack of water in summer heat in the desert, below freezing temperatures of a winter snowstorm, etc. Of course, even under good conditions, there can be unexpected set-backs... physical injury, animal-attack, etc.

Still, all things considered, I think I would survive a good while if in the wilderness somewhere. I can be stubborn. The will to survive is a powerful thing and prayer even more powerful. =)

I went to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Thrift Shop on base this afternoon and came home with two bags of spring/summer clothes. I even found a cute spring dress, though it will look better when I get my summer-time tan. I am quite pale right now. ^.^'

My back and shoulders are a bit sore from the little hike on Sunday. Usually, I would not be, but we decided to climb a very, very steep hill to get a better view. There were a few places where I had to use my hands. It was fun, and provided plenty of inspiration for two stories of mine which take place in deserts: Sharron: Dragon Mother and Western Rider. (Strangely, both feature deserts and dragons...)

Unfortunately, I did not take a camera with me, so I am hoping to go out again tomorrow afternoon to take some reference shots. I have decided that I need to put togther disks with landscape references from various photos I have take in the last five years. For example, Healer's Quest landscape and terrain was heavily inspired by northern Virginia. Wooded hills, ancient mountains, four seasons, rolling fields and meadows. Western Rider takes place in a desert nearly identical to the Mojave here in south California.

I have a slight headache. No doubt from skipping dinner. I had to be at the church by six o'clock this evening. We are halway through our series covering the books of Daniel and Revelation. Jessica has astronomy on Tuesdays, so I am singing alone. I pray my throat holds out for the closing song, "What A Friend We Have in Jesus". It has been a bit dry all day.

A third of the people at work have been or are out sick right now. Allergies, minor colds, and the flu (not the swine flu, fortunately). I am doing my best to keep myself from catching any of it. So far so good!

Hmm... this entry is random.

I mentioned a week or so back that I would be giving my personal site [link] a new look soon, and I even sketched out a very detailed plan. This afternoon I finally found the time to begin building it.

Here is a snapshot of the new design after approximately six hours of work:



The ribbons in the menu extend when the mouse hovers over them. The header image is not yet completed as there will be some graphics beneath the ribbons. I cannot decide if I want vintage photographs showing me and a piece or two of my art or something else entirely. The sidebar is still being sorted out as well. I was playing around with a few different ideas, and I think I like the concept of what the screenshot has (with a little tweaking).

On the homepage, halfway down the screen will be divided into three columns to highlight the three areas of my portfolio: webdesign, writing, and art. At the bottom, I am thinking about a blue footer that will match the header... maybe with a red ribbon somewhere to tie it all together.

I am working slowly, but in the end, mine goal is to create a functional yet elegant design. =)

A friend on DeviantArt asked if I would draw one of her characters, and I always enjoy a chance to draw and improve myself. This piece was fun because I wanted to capture the feeling of flight, which I imagine would be similar to graceful dancing or maybe swimming. The wings were a challenge as I have not drawn wings seriously in many years, but I think they turned out decent.


G-em - Soaring by ~jacquelynfisher on deviantART

I will post a picture later tonight that shows my brand new haircut! (It is already up on my Facebook.) My mom paid for a trip to the salon during the hour and a half I had between work today. (7am-3:30pm and then 5pm-10pm because we had our monthly poker tournament that I work with my boss.) Being spoiled at the salon was nice: shampoo, conditioning, cut, and styled. My hair is now shoulder-length... Drastic change from the long locks - had before, but I was ready for the change. The stylist, a very nice lady named Maria, came highly recommended by numerous mutual acquaintances and friends, and she was fantastic. I'm very happy. :)

This week has been wonderful. It has really been nice enjoying my birthday slowly over a span of five days rather than just an hour on one day. I know I am gushing.

I am still at the base club working our monthly poker tournament and will probably be here until after 10pm. Brief moments of rushing scatter between extremely long periods of monotony, though it is good for randomly sketching in the small sketchbook I always carry in my purse. I have tons of sketches that I need to scan and upload to my deviantart.

I do not particularly enjoy working poker night, but our monthly bingo falls on Tuesday evenings, and Tuesdays are when my church holds our mid-week prayer meeting/bible study, which I don't want to miss. Plus I get at least 5 hrs. of Comp. Time so I will not complain.

I will be buying myself a birthday present this week, and after looking over the options, I have finally decided on Adobe CS4 Design Premium. It costs $1,799, which is a steal considering it includes InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Acrobat 9, etc.

Sorry, old Paintshop Pro 7, but you will be put out to pasture soon. You have served me well for six long years, but your time is up. I need the best of the best now, and having CS2 at work has definitely endeared me to Adobe's products. I will be spoiling myself with CS4 Web Premium.

*squee*

Continuing with the web-related news, I have begun the planning stage of a re-design for my personal site, www.JacquelynFisher.com. I have a general concept sketched out on paper and began building the basic structure. This is going to be a project for me because it will be my first venture into xHTML Strict coding as opposed to HTML4, but I want to continue improving my skills and the best platform to do so is with my own site.

This morning has been a bit slow so far. It is a bitterly cold and unbelievably windy day here in the high desert (and me without my gloves!). Most of the office, myself included, are now at the base chapel for the memorial service of a fellow MCCS employee, Bonnie, who lost her fight against cancer on March 19, 2009. I designed the programs, which is a little odd when you actually knew the person. At least she now sleeps in peace, free from the horrible pain.

I need to go.

Near the end of last year, I participated in A List Apart's survey for web designers (or, as ALA likes to say, "people who make websites" since there are many different 'titles').

The findings are in and the data is very interesting. With 30,055 individuals from around the world who participated, there was a diversity in age, gender, location, skills, pay, work preferences, and more. If you work in the web industry, you would definitely benefit from glancing through the survey results.

Findings from A List Apart Survey, 2008

While I am currently satisfied with my job, my annual income (despite a raise and now benefits) is still below what I would feel comfortable living on the own with and I do not see myself working here in five years. Perhaps I should take up freelancing on the side - taking comissions for site designs or something. Not site set-up and maintenance, but personalized design. Hmmm...

I still would love to see my novel, Healer's Quest published one day. To move forward with the story, though, I think it is time to do a complete re-write. The story has changed so much from the beginning that only a re-write can bring back together.

This weekend has been filled with a bit of excitement: first singing in the Easter Concert service yesterday and then teaching about Daniel 3 this evening as part of a prophecy series the Barstow church is giving. I spent most of the afternoon preparing, going through the Scriptures and making sure the present slides were all in order. I am reminded of how much I thoroughly enjoy teaching.

On a different note, I discovered today that the sixteen-year-old movie, Homeward Bound, is still a great movie. I also saw the beginning of Mary Poppins and have caught the end of The Sound of Music. I love the Sound of Music. I remember watching it as a child and singing along with the songs. One of my favorite things about the movie (no pun intended) is that one would think the story would end at the wedding. The perfect fairytale ending. But it does not. It continues with the Nazi's taking control of the country, Liesl's love interest Rolfe joining the the Nazis, Captain Von Trapp about to be forced into navy, and the family escaping the country together on foot over the mountains. The last scene is perhaps my very favorite. Climb every mountain, ford every stream...

I am at church helping to rearrange the sanctuary for the Easter Service this Sabbath, which reminds me that I need to practice some songs for the concert. I will be singing a duet with my younger sister as well, and we need to polish that song.

Unfortunately, I am not feeling the best right now. I think my blood sugar might be a tad off. (I should not have had that bite of Three Musketeers bar before heading out to the church.) Or it could be motion sickness from texting in the backseat of a moving vehicle.

I think I'm having an allergic reaction to something I ate at the farewell party. It has come on rather fast; the lymph nodes in my throat are swelling and now I'm talking funny. Going to get benadryl!

I have been singing more regularly in the last month. I will be singing soprano in the choir for the Easter program, and I have re-discovered my higher vocal range. I can hold a high F (on key) and touch a G. With practice, I think I can master the G and maybe even touch an A.

This means that I am now able to sing The Voice without hitting bad notes. I was practicing earlier this evening, and it actually sounded pretty good. I may not have the powerhouse vocals of my little sister, but I love my singing voice. =)

Ah, another week fades into the past and the blessing of the Sabbath has come. When the sun sets on Friday evening, we enter into a special time where the stresses of our normal lives no longer occupy our focus. We turn our eyes upon our Lord, allowing His Spirit to cleanse us and granting us a renewal of strength. In the words of King David, "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." (Psalms 51:2)

Tomorrow the Barstow Seventh-day Adventist Church is having a communion service, which includes footwashing. The youth Sabbath School lesson over the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus (see John 3:1-17) fits perfectly with communion and footwashing, since the lesson discusses salvation and baptism. Only one of my students is baptized, and I would like to open a dialog with the others in the off-chance that someone is interested. Though by no means is choosing to be baptized an easy decision, and many youth are baptized for the wrong reasons: everyone else their age is doing it, they are pressured by family, etc.

The lesson also touches on something that I experienced as a teenager: what if you never have a dramatic conversion experience? So many times, we hear about this amazing stories of people who lived horrible lives "finding Jesus" and being changed. We can equate this to what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. But many youth who are raised in a community of faith never have a dramatic experience. They grow conscious of spiritual matters gradually and their decisions on what to believe happen over a span of a few years. This is like Nicodemus. He was already a fully-fledged member of his faith community (He was a Pharisee, a Jewish teacher and leader.) when his interest in the teachings of Christ were peaked, and even after speaking with Jesus face to face, it took he about three years before he came to accept the new knowledge and truth that Jesus taught. He had a spiritual journey, not a single life-changing moment.

My own experience was similar to Nicodemus's. I was born in a Christian home, and even though I studied other religions, I never faltered in my beliefs; however, during my high school and early college years, my spiritual journey led me to a deeper understanding of the Bible and teachings of Christ, which has eventually changed my life but at the time did not seem like a change at all. I would suspect that more people have a spiritual journey than a dramatic conversion experience, so just because no single moment is burned into your memory does not mean your own journey is non-existent, unimportant, or not worth sharing.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17