I'll be seein' ya.

As the sun sets on "a blog" for a few months, here I sit, in my shabby recliner, with a can of Orange Crush and a foot long Tootsie Roll, pondering what to write about...    

Here's a thought:  Sitcoms don't go on all 12 months of the year.  What do they do on TV during the down time from certain television shows?  That's right, they show re-runs.  The fact that I'll be taking a sabbatical from "a blog" for a few months is no reason to panic.  It's simply a time for you to check back on some of your favorite stories (and if you're new to "a blog", this is your chance to catch up - sort of like the time I watched the first 3 seasons of The Office on DVD over the course of only a couple weeks so I would understand the upcoming premiere of season 4 - and speaking of The Office, has it really been terrible lately, or what?  Man, what happened?).    

For those of you that can't imagine life without my weekly stories and jocularity, I wanted to pass along a new option for both keeping up with me and this great place in which I am employed: 

Camp Gray's blog has been moved to blogger!  Due to some technical issues with our last blog site, we've transfered the Camp Gray blog (affectionately named "Misplaced & Found") to the more familiar and user-friendly blogger.com interface.  I've been extremely excited with this process and I'd love to hear your feedback!  Plus, now I can post at work and not feel guilty about it (just kidding Jeff & Rebecca!).  But seriously, you could say I'm now a professional writer because I'm getting paid to blog!  Sweet! Check it out here:  Camp Gray Blog

All that being said, I've come up with the summer schedule of "a blog" re-runs.  Check back weekly to view some of my favorite posts!

Have a terrific summer, friends!  I know I certainly will.  Please keep Camp Gray and our hundreds of campers (and our phenomenal staff) in your prayers.    

May 19 - What's scarier than a grizzly bear... - Attack of the Killer Shrew

May 26 - Why do I love Panera? - Panera Bread Co. 

June 2 - Growing a mustache is hard.  - Mustache Diaries IV

June 9 - "You want me to cut off what?" - Bucky the Deer

June 16 - It's business time. - Freedom of Choice? 

June 23 - An epic (true!) story about a young man and his head light... - Haiti

June 30 - Instead of a re-run of "a blog" this week, you should check out this video I made to introduce our co-directors to our new staff this past spring:  A Star is Born!

July 7 - Skiing the Lakeland Loppet, part 1 (skiing is a loosely used word, as form took a back seat to surviving sub-zero temperatures) - The Lakeland Loppet Part 1

July 14 - Skiing the Lakeland Loppet, part 2 - The Lakeland Loppet Part 2

July 21 - The tale of a first time hunter and lessons learned... - The Chris Aderhold Inaugural Deer Hunt Journal

July 28 - Why are they called, "coon hounds"? - Coon Hunting with Jim Riggs

August 4 - Gary, Sr:  A man among boys... - The Mustache Diaries Super Grand Finale 

August 11 - "ESPN called.  They heard things about your hunting..." - World Class Hunter

August 18 - Tall people have the ability to balance things well. - The Peacock Feather

August 25 - The sabbatical is over, and the fall line-up has been determined.  The sun is rising again on "a blog" and it's going to be a good fall (with lots of good stories - and maybe another mustache...  probably not, though)...

Peace be da journey!

- ChrisTopher

P.S.  Oh, and by the way.  With mother's day on Sunday, and my dad's birthday on Friday, I wanted to recognize them both with not only this shout out, but with an amazing picture of them hiking at Devil's Lake (which is a mere 13 minute drive from Camp - yep, you should come visit and we'll go there.  Yes...  You.)  

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I love y'all!

P.S.S.  The Pirates have lost 8 of 10.  

It's May!

Can you believe it's already May?  Goodness, gracious, 2009 is flying by at warp speed!  

With the coming of summer camp (at the time of press there were only 40 days until the first week of campers!), comes the realization that my time to devote to "a blog" will become less and less.  If you've been thinking lately, "Gosh, Chris' posts have become pretty stale and short the last couple weeks (minus the amazing picture of Chris & Andrew sporting OSU jerseys last week)," then you'd be correct (especially regarding the part in parenthesis).  Already, time to devote to "a blog" has been tough to come by.    

Because of this realization, I've had to come to a difficult decision.  I've decided that my post next Tuesday, May 12th, will be my last weekly post until after summer.  I've hated that my posts lately have been well below the high standard we typically strive for at "a blog", so this seems like the best solution.  When will weekly posts return?  Let's shoot for Aug. 25, 2009.  It is truly a sad realization and an enormously tough decision to make, but I'm incredibly excited for summer camp 2009, so I can't complain.  

 

So, next week will be my last weekly post for over 3 months.  What should I write about?  It would absolutely make my day to hear from you with suggestions on a topic.  (christopher.clyde.aderhold@gmail.com) 

Because next weeks post will be difficult enough, I thought I'd take this time to personally thank you for reading my blog.  Yes...  you.  I know who you are.  Well, most of you, anyhow.  With google analytics, I have the ability to see how many folks check out my blog each week.  Not only that, I can view a map of the world with the city, state, and country of every hit my blog receives, and there are a lot of you (which makes me so very happy!)  One of the highlights of having "a blog", is viewing this map and attempting to figure out who is tuning in to my blog.  For instance, over the course of the past month (since April 5th), I've had 20 hits from Omaha, NE (Derek?), 13 hits from Broken Arrow, OK (Caleb?), 7 hits from Chicago (Katie?), 13 hits from Lawrence, KS (Lauren & Kristen?), 36 hits from Edmond, OK (hmmm?),  24 hits from Onalaska, WI (Ford at home?), and 13 hits from La Crosse (clap and point), WI (Ford at work?).

  

There are also hundreds of other hits that I can't identify.  A small sample: in the past month I've had 6 hits from Sheboygan, WI; 3 hits from the ATL; 6 hits from the Twin Cities; 4 hits from Denver, 11 hits from Texas, 4 hits from Davison, MI, and 6 hits from Westlake, LA.  I've even had hits from places such as Turkey (Istanbul), China (Laiwu), and Spain (Santa Cruz de Tenerife).  (Who are you people?!)  All told, since the inception of "a blog", I've had hits from 37 of 50 states, and 6 countries!  It's incredible to think that people literally all over the world read my weekly ramblings.  

So, thank you.  I love writing, and it makes it that much better knowing people enjoy "a blog" enough to tune in each and every week (or just once - such as the single hit I have from the dude in China).

  

For you students, Godspeed during upcoming finals.  For you working adults, don't forget to get outside and enjoy spring!  I can't wait to see you next week!

God bless!   

Peace be da journey.