Phil Fiesta

MEMORIES

Before dinner, we all went around the room and shared 1.) our best Philmont memory of the summer and 2.) our best trading post experience.

My best Philmont memory was earlier this season when I was in my tent, it was dark, and my friend passed by. I crept up behind him and jumped on his back (to see if he would fall). Well, he didn't fall. In the process of my jumping, my hand hit his nose, which began oozing blood. At the same time, his head jerked back, knocking my teeth into my lip, which also started to bleed. That night, we both sat outside the bathroom, dabbing our wounds with red paper towels. Though it was a practical joke-gone-awry, it was totally worth the laugh- and now I have a story.

At the trading post, a few memorable moments included: dealing with a guy who only wanted to pay for the front part of a t-shirt and confronting a man who insisted upon returning a shirt he had bought in 2007, because he still had his receipt. (We looked at the very faded, but still legible receipt and found no t-shirt purchase on it).

But after thinking about it a while, my favorite memory happened a few weeks ago. Our managers make a big deal about making sure customers have their copy of the receipt. Well, I was on checkout and I forgot to give a customer his receipt. I sullenly walked over to the manager to inform him of my failure. I handed him the receipt as he glared at me. Then, with his stoic expression still fixated upon me, he promptly snatched the receipt, crumpled it up, put it in his mouth, and started to chew it. I was so taken by surprise, I just watched him until we both bust out laughing.

One girl told a hilarious story. Earlier this summer, she was visiting Crater Lake (a backcountry staffed camp). The staff had made a cake/cobbler dish and was distributing small portions to the Scouts who were on the trail. One participant asked what was in it (which was a mistake). The staffer promptly recited the ingredients, which included cake mix and bacon grease. A disgusting look came over the camper's face as she spit out the cake. "What's wrong?", asked the staffer. The girl replied: "I'm a vegetarian!" There was a pause. Then she exclaimed: "AND I'M JEWISH!"

SECRET SANTA

For my secret Santa recipient was a good friend of mine (the same one I jumped on in the story above). At the beginning of the season, we both heard a whale joke, which involved making random whale noises. We thought making these whale noises was very entertaining and hilarious, so we began speaking whale to each other while at work.

While shopping for my gift, I found gray silicone oven mitt that looked like a goofy whale from the side. I purchased it and a set of those googly craft eyes to go with it. When I got home, I discovered that absolutely nothing sticks to silicon, so I ended up sewing the eyes onto the mitt. I wrapped it up in a box and presented it to my friend.



He loved it. Not only did he laugh hysterically- he later informed me that he needed an oven mitt for his apartment! It was perfect.

My secret Santa present was based on an earlier video of me on a horse (below).



I said, "I'm on a horse" just like the guy in the Old Spice commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE). So for my gift, I received a toy pony and bottle of Old Spice body wash. It was entertaining. (Sorry the video below is sideways; I'll fix it when I get home).