III. Saturday Afternoon Delight
Brandy: What went around, definitely came around- in the form of the Ropes Course instructor and her inappropriate lesbian puns and overtly sexual instructions. Anyone who was offended by our game would have filed a lawsuit against this woman. She made 552 ‘hole’ references that culminated in specifics on how to climb a pole “since none of you have done that in a while.” This was the clear moment in time when Julie and I bonded with Marni. For life.
julie & brandy on the climbing wall
Marni: Everybody kicked ass at the ropes course. The elements honestly looked really scary and everybody faced their fears of heights and falling; it was really impressive. Very special as well were Julie and Brandy deciding to join in, and Julie changing into her teensy black gym shorts. Little known fact: Julie Goldman has incredible muscle definition in her legs. They both did the climbing wall and were very, very brave. I got a sunburn.
Brandy: After the Ropes Course, Julie and Marni smoked while I stood there, watching. (I don’t smoke, but I think people who do are sexy and cool). We were processing the psychological abuse of the ropes course when Crystal walked up. She told us that she’s changing her cigarettes from Dunhills to Camel Blues. Later we saw Megan (Laneia’s girlfriend) carrying a bucket of water somewhere. Julie told her that she hated God and Megan said that Laneia does too. I want to take this opportunity to say for the record- Megan and Crystal were the two nicest people I met at camp. They are both so peaceful and unobtrusive. Their mere presence in a room is calming.
Brittani, Megan & Emily Choo (photo by Ashley or Haviland)
*
Saturday Block C:
Queer Women in Movies and Television Panel w/Haviland, Sarah Croce, Ashley Reed, Lauren, Carly & Brittani
DIY Body Care w/Laura & Laneia
T-Shirts Cutting and Stenciling w/Carmen & Rachel & Sara
Picking Up Girls w/Gabby & Katrina
Ultimate Frisbee w/Lizz & Jess S
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Saturday Block D:
Flag Football w/Alex & Brittani
Music Trivia w/Stef & Crystal
High Tea w/Laneia & Rachel
Sex Panel w/Riese, Lizz, Carmen, Jamie, Sara & Daniela
Alternative Lifestyle Barbershop w/Katrina
**
Haviland: The overall theme of the Queer Women in Hollywood Panel was a point everyone on the panel talked about — how the entertainment industry is really intertwined, and the more you help others with their projects, the more they’ll help you with yours. Basically, what’s more for you is more for me, and so on.
Brittani: Participating in this panel made me realize how lucky I am to be part of the industry. Not just because women in cargo shorts are aplenty, but because of how little of a deal being gay has been thus far. Of course getting our stories onto television and movie screens is a unique and challenging issue, but being able to discuss my work experiences and not have horror stories about presentation or attire or homophobic bosses is obviously something that many of you aren’t able to do.
Carly: After we talked about ourselves for a bit – our favorite topic, obvs – we took questions from the audience, all of which were really insightful and well thought out. Topics discussed included portrayal of queer women in the media, differences between tv in Canada and the US and how to get your own production off the ground.
Haviland: We also thanked everyone there for watching “Unicorn Plan-It” and talked about how it’s a community effort to build up projects people want to see on their teevee. Rather than being annoyed about the lack of representation of queer women on tv and in films, we discussed how it’s really easy now to support smaller media, and that being proactive about what and who you want to see by following people on social media, donating to their projects, volunteering your time, and most of all, spreading the word, really helps.
ashley, haviland, croce & carly at the media panel
Brittani: When you’re sitting on a panel of varying positions within the industry and all of us are speaking about what a non-issue our sexualities have been, it makes you bummed that more entertainers aren’t coming out.
haviland stillwell (photo by vanessa)
Laneia: The DIY Body Care Workshop was so chill, I can’t even. I need a new word for chill.
Laura: I think we were all physically and emotionally exhausted and ready to do something quiet.
Laneia: Laura and I had originally wanted to do SO MANY THINGS — tooth powder, lip balm, caramel wax, infinity etc — but the logistics seemed insurmountable, so we went with Laura’s recipe for olive oil and sugar face scrub in etched glass jars. This ended up being just the best idea ever.
Laura: I loved sitting in a cabin in the woods, waiting for etching cream to work its magic on the jars we were making. Cary made a jar with a fish on it and Lizzie tried to downplay how hilarious her upcoming comedy debut at the talent show was going to be. We all talked about being hippies and also sat there and took deep breaths for an hour. Or at least I did.
Laneia: I think we all left that workshop wanting to etch all the things.
Rachel: If you’ve never been accidentally slightly high off of spray paint fumes on top of a mountain, then you really ought to have been here for the T-Shirts Cutting and Stenciling.
photo by Jess R
Carmen: I was on a mission to spread the motto, which worked out since Rachel had prepared a YOLO stencil for everyone at this workshop. My shirt was white and Brittani had left me a black one to customize for her. Mine took about five minutes to spray paint and cut, and hers took the other hour and twenty minutes, mostly because every color paint would just disappear into her shirt. I became convinced that Brittani will live more than once.
Rachel: Aside from covering my hands in black paint and being irrationally afraid that the TSA would think I had black mold or something, this was perfect and wonderful. Someone painted a shirt with a raised fist and ACAMP 2012 and it almost made me cry.
Gabby: Never in my life did I think my chubby, glasses-wearing, book-reading ass would ever run a workshop on “Picking Up Chicks,” aka How to Mack Without Macking. Lo, the magic of A-Camp and coming into yourself.
Gabby: I didn’t want it to be some kinda sleazy pick up thing and it totally wasn’t. We talked about chicks, how to be sweet, a little suave and totally yourself around them.
Katrina: Running this workshop with Gabby was stupid fun.
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“Gabby and Katrina should probs sell [the “Picking Up Chicks” workshop] as a book/movie/life-improvement guide.”
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Gabby: Katrina and I both had different areas of ‘expertise’ to share. Also, making campers (I see you Shilpa and Tough Guy Beth) perform skits/roleplaying the Do’s and Don’t’s of Macking, was effing priceless.
Katrina: Everyone was great at roleplaying, and I hope it led to more sexy roleplaying later that night and forever in your lives.
(photo by robin roemer)
(photo by robin roemer)
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“Gaby & Katrina have an awesome dynamic together and tackled the subject with refreshing honestly. I felt like I learned a lot about how to pick up girls without realizing how much I was learning.”
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Gabby: According to the Unofficial A-Camp facebook page, some of you got laid off our tips. #clapclapbravo.
paper0flowers (photo by gabby)
Brittani: Vega and I ignored the implications of the hanky code and beset on a journey of Flag Footballdom on the soccer patch of dirt. I believe it was probably the most adorable game of bandanna flag football that has ever been played.
photo by ashley reed
Alex: The girls who wanted to play, for the most part, had not played football before. I loved that they just wanted to run around and learn something new.
Brittani: It was a really cool experience and was another moment when I realized how great camp was. It takes a lot to jump into sporting activities with people you’ve just met, and doing so when you’ve never played a game before is even more courageous.
Stef: It was impossible to know what everyone’s musical knowledge-base would include, so Crystal and I tried really hard to come up with questions for Music Trivia that would span a wide range of topics, including One-Hit Wonders of the 1990s, Lady Gaga, Tegan and Sara and Ex-Disney Child Stars.
stef prepares for music trivia (photo by jess r)
Crystal: There were two teams, plus Tim-Tams and music clips and novelty buzzers. It’s possible that only Stef and I thought that some of our music categories and questions were hilarious.
Stef: Some of our questions turned out to be a LOT harder than we thought they were, but at least we had a great time, and Crystal graciously rewarded correct answers with chocolate.
Crystal: Surprisingly, no one knew who performed “Sugar High” with Renee Zellweger in Empire Records.
Laneia: This “High Tea” “workshop” came about when I emailed Rachel to say “I wish there was something we could do at camp about tea.” And then we decided there was, actually.
high tea (photo by Mary B)
Rachel: This was maybe the thing I was looking forward to most in terms of camp, besides, you know, all of camp. Laneia and I spent a really inordinate amount of time planning this by emailing constantly about what teas we were drinking, what teas we already had, and what tea we wanted to try.
Laneia: Around 25 campers showed up, which may seem like ‘not a lot of people’ but is realistically quite a few. We crowded around two picnic tables covered in thrift store mugs and a variety of tea that almost made me weep. There was smoky earl grey, herbal with flowers, herbal with fruit, genmaicha, rooibos with fruits and flowers, matcha, toasted green tea with vanilla that tasted like roasted marshmallows, tea that blossomed when you steeped it — it was all AMAZING.
Megan and Marni ran back and forth from lodges to our tea area with heated water and helpful faces.
mary & alice at high tea (photo by mary b)
Rachel: The water heating system was sort of post-apocalyptic. We drank so many teas!
Laneia: A camper with some serious tea know-how, Rhea, even translated the text on the boxes of Japanese tea that I’d brought. Sidenote: the Japanese teas came to me several months ago from an Autostraddle reader! Isn’t the world outlandishly fascinating?
High Tea was another great example of how awesome it was to just hang out with everyone. I think it took me until Saturday afternoon to finally start to feel comfortable in front of people — like I could look at their faces and just calm the fuck down.
Carolyn: I hear the sex panel was pretty fantastic, but I have no regrets about skipping it and drinking ~4 cups of all types of tea. Rachel and Laneia are basically my heroes.
Carly: Lauren and I spent Block D interviewing random campers who were relaxing at high tea. Hearing from campers why they were there, why they loved Autostraddle and how much fun they were having was a really moving and inspiring part of camp for me.
Riese: I’d wanted to do a bunch of one-on-one writing tutorials with campers but hadn’t made any room in the schedule for this to happen. I was determined to get at least ONE done before leaving, and so that’s what I did during Block C — Vanessa came over to my Hollywood Suite (a.k.a our cabin) and we talked about her story and it was great. Like it’s been said before, camp’s best moments are often when you just get to talk to somebody face-to-face, alone, and hear their story.
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IV. Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby
Brandy and Julie are excited for the sex panel (photo by taylor)
Riese: I’d volunteered to moderate the Sex Panel, I’m not sure why — I feel like every time I’m asked to be on a panel anywhere, it’s always somehow related to sex, so it seemed weird for me not to be on the sex panel at my own Camp. My qualifications were um, sleeping with a lot of people, extensive research/background/reading on human sexuality, sociology of sex, pro-sex feminism, sexuality and the internet, sex in media, sex work, etc., as well as two years of writing NSFW Sundays (somebody else does them now, although I occasionally pitch in or do one when she can’t), a previous sex-related job and my storied history as an erotica writer. Because Queerie Bradshaw wasn’t able to come to camp and therefore unable to come to this panel, I’d invited camper Daniela to join because she has lots of ‘expertise’ and could talk about sex toys and being poly. I don’t know anything about being poly or any sex toys besides strap-ons, really.
We introduced ourselves and gave our backgrounds and then turned it over immediately to a Q&A, for which Intern Grace collected the anonymous questions from the audience.
Sara M.: So there was this one time, at A-Camp, when I decided to share my knowledge and experiences about sex with a really big room full of women. There may or may not have been hand and finger demonstrations on my behalf in order to accurately answer the questions posed by the audience. I mean, sometimes its just easier to demonstrate than try to describe it with words.
lizz explaining how she likes to get done
Carmen: I shuffled around in my chair and asked Grace to get me water. Multiple times. Riese informed me it was too late to leave the stage after the fourth question. I did my best despite having lost all traces of my voice, which magically returned ten minutes after this panel was complete.
Riese: Had I been “pre-partying” for the sex panel since late afternoon? Yes.
Carmen: Lizz likes being [redacted] a lot, I think, and I learned it is about one zillion times easier to write about sex than talk about it out loud. Afterward I smoked a cigarette and took two shots.
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“Everyone was totally game for sharing lots of personal experience and opinions and it felt really genuine.”
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Riese: Lizz and I both admitted that it is about one zillion times easier to talk about sex to the entire room than to our actual partners. It had so much fun on this panel!
Lizz: Ever since the sex panel I’ve been waking up at night paranoid that my mom will see a meme of me saying [redacted].
Carmen, Jamie & Riese (photo by kelsey d)
Riese: The moral of the story was: PULL MY HAIR.
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“I loved how open, honest and freely you all discussed the topics and answered the questions. Sex is such a taboo subject for so many people, and it’s been my experience that many have questions but are embarrassed to ask for fear of looking foolish, or even stupid. Telling these women it’s ok to talk about it, ask questions, and generally discuss with their partner(s) is so necessary. I sat in the back and frankly, gauged reactions of the audience. Watching them shift uncomfortably at first, but by the end, sit up and listen attentively…It was so empowering for so many. You could actually see that change take place.”
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Jamie: I have a nervous nature. Sitting in as an expert on consent on a sex panel in front over 100 lesbians who have been invited to ask whatever questions they may choose resulted in thoughts of awkward/horrible Real L Word scenes in which I’m cast as the lead. But A-Camp is NOT the Real L Word: all the questions were awesome, I got to sit next to Riese and I even shared with the class my taste for being tied up and don’t regret a thing! I’m also proud to continue serving as the lesbian monogamist on any future panels. I do however feel I should write a follow-up post on dental dams.
Jess S.: This was incredibly epic. Sara Medd taught us how to scissor most effectively, and Lizz got some new fans. If an audience member didn’t own a strap-on before the sex panel, she has probably since purchased one or two.
Riese: Oh, I wanna give a shout-out to Intern Grace’s 3-D interning abilities — it was just like I’d always fantasized about, like having an assistant with a clipboard and a cute haircut there to schedule things for me, listen to me talk about my feelings, organize the things, bring me beverages and other random strange duties. She was always like “do you need anything?” It was like The Devil Wears Prada except I was wearing American Eagle and not a bitch. Also I only made her carry things for me like three times.
Intern Grace & Kate (photo by kate h)
Riese: So, after the panel we went down to the fire pit for group photos! (We’ll post them in the fourth recap!)
marni & robin prepare for group photo time
Carly: It was THE BEST THING EVER, seeing everyone in one place, all smiles and laughter and alternative lifestyle haircuts and hoodies. Then we took a staff photo and individual cabin photos – so cute! – and finally Riese tracked down all of the OG Autostraddle Staffers for a special “look how far we’ve come” photo. There was a lot of hugging and shrieking (from me, I don’t know what the others were doing).
(photo by taylor)
Riese: Afterwards I did my interview with Carly for the documentary. Hopefully my hair didn’t look too stupid or anything.
Next: The Talent Show and the dance!
Pages: 1 2 3See entire article on one page
I can’t fucking wait for the next camp.
Loved your recap on Gay Pimpin!
And we can’t wait for you to come…
next time i’ll get you and julie an edible arrangement for any bear-related incidents
brandy, will we get to go on another five minute prom date? cuz your buying the corsage this time…
that first photo i am dying brb
Another caption could read: “Winning camp” aftermath.
team effort. good hustle.
This has been said a million times before and deserves being said a million times again: Whitney, you (and your story) are amazing and I am so grateful that you shared it with all of us. Really the only thing I regret from camp is being too awkward to talk to you beyond saying hi maybe so now I am using the INTERNET to tell you that I think you are so very brave.
“This is why I came to A-Camp — to share, to listen, and to be understood in a safe space. This experience will matter the most to me always.”
Exactly.
I’m really late to the commenting party! Thank you for being at the panel. It means so so so so so so so so much to me that you were there.
And hello to you on the internet! I really want to give you a hug. Let’s do a virtual one now, and if you’re at A-Camp in September or if our paths cross in the future I’ll totally give you a real one.
<3
this oral history series needs to be published and distributed at future camps
some feelings:
i missed the dance thanks to the macking on girls workshop, THANKS KATRINA AND GABBY.
i have a crush on every troubletone.
so i missed a kind of important family thing to come to a camp and i def told a very glossed over version of what i was doing “oh, i’m helping my friend riese run a bunch of seminars and workshops…” and didn’t so much explain that i was going to be drunk in the woods with a bunch of babes.
yesterday at mothers’ day i finally sat down with my mom, explained what autostraddle is, my involvement in it from the beginning up til now, how fulfilling it was to meet everyone, how inspiring all my friends are/were, how amazing it was to be a part of it, how excited i am to be a part of the next one, how proud i am of riese and the rest of the team, and then i showed her the uke video. she was super excited about it, although she promised me she didn’t understand a word of katrina’s rap (suuure).
guys, even my mom is kinda into hot laura.
hot laura is the great equalizer
I’m pleased that our cabin made a name for ourselves where it counts!
1) “It was like The Devil Wears Prada except I was wearing American Eagle and not a bitch.” I love you, Riese.
2) Crystal, it was Coyote Shivers.
3) Carmen, can Gabby and I also get signed to Pretty Money Records? Our hit single “Lizz in Charge” is going to change the world.
4) BETH YOU GUYS. BETH.
5) The photo where Alex is dancing to Bad Romance makes my heart happy.
6) Brandy, give us a call anytime…
7) Staged dramatic reading of the oral history at next A-Camp?
8) WANT TO GO BACK TO CAMP RIGHT NOW.
Was just going to reply to Brandy with “you have my cell, right?” and then realized you beat me to it. :)
of course you can be on the label! can i be on at least one to five tracks on your mixtape? if i was richer or lil wayne i’d fly you out and rap with you right now. instead — we wait for battleship.
we will write a rap about battleship.
i feel like it bears mentioning that Vega is a SICK beat boxer
BEARS
VEGA!!!! Vega is probably one of the coolest people I’ve ever met I think.
eeee! thanks Marni!!
So, I just want you guys to know that despite the fact that I was a huuuge theater-fag growing up and performed in tons of plays and musicals, I somehow developed massive stage fright around age 14-15. As a result, the Don’t Stop Believing song was the first thing I’ve performed in front of an audience in about 10 years, and the weird thing is, I wasn’t even that scared because I was so fucking excited to share our ridiculous little labor of love with everyone at camp. Also, I love all of you.
hahah me too, except all I did was hold up FEELINGS. that talent show was incredible.
I’M SO GLAD YOU DID #highlight
I wasn’t scared either! Because of whiskey.
You guys are really really good at putting into words all the sublime and ridiculous feelings that I still can’t grasp by myself.
I am loving the amount of blazers in this recap. Lizz, you did good.
I only counted 3. I think the rest were open button-ups.
does anyone who went to the ropes course remember when we were signing our waivers and the instructor said “Marni told me that you all are already familiar with harnesses”? I knew it was going to be fun after that. also super scary, but fun.
ohhh YES. She was a classy act.
While I acknowledge that I did set the tone, I made that harness joke to just her and the other instructor, QUIETLY, before anybody else in the group got there. She then proceeded to make inappropriate jokes to the whole group for like 10 minutes. IDK I guess I just assumed she would understand the difference between a one-off joke amongst a small group of staff and jokes told to a large group of mixed company who are paying to be there? And also know when something stops being funny?
I still have a lot of feelings about this because that woman brought beef later on and I’m still pissed about it
the first three jokes were funny…and then it got weird.
WHAT?!! I never heard about this! haha.
“The only thing gayer than a bunch of lesbians in the woods playing guitar around a campfire is a bunch of lesbians in the woods singing “Call It Off” by Tegan and Sara. I mean really, it was almost more gay than gay sex”
Omg I need to go to there. When is the next camp??
I was going to respond to this exact quote! So perfect! Seriously though, everything was the gayest thing ever, which is why camp was the best.
so many cute pictures/videos. so many feelings!
I am so happy for everybody who got to have this experience.
I know it’s hard but I have to ask…(again)…
A camp or Israel?!
it’s Morocco or A camp in my case. the flight to camp is about 6 times longer and a hundred times more expensive but I’m definitely leaning towards camp. also, germany represent!
oh hi lia, long time no talk! :)
germany represent!
where would you be flying from?
hey maria,
I guess I will be in Hamburg in september anyway so there’s a good chance I’d be flying out from there if I actually go/get a spot. I suppose so will you? we could totes get on the same flight and get drunk at the airport bar of whatever city we stop over:)
yes yes yes I love the sound of this!
if we both decide to go to camp it’s on!
!
i vote A-Camp for both of you!
my love for you kinda does top israel though…
1) It was really exciting how many feelings the Book Club had about the Babysitter’s Club.
2) I’m really upset that I didn’t attend Music Trivia and thus answer the question I WAS BORN TO ANSWER (Coyote Shivers was totally Liv Tyler’s step-dad at the time ISN’T THAT AWFUL AND PERFECT?!).
3) When we all started singing “Call It Off,” Grace rolled her eyes and muttered good-naturedly, “This is disgusting…” before joining in and I laughed so hard I almost couldn’t sing and it was perfect.
I stand by my original feelings. It was disgusting but also hilarious, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Preach!
Next time there should probably be a Baby-Sitters Club appreciation panel/help group. Book club was really great, but I still feel embarrassed for blanking on my favorite authors (besides Sarah Vowell, obvs) and LGBTQ books. Oh well.
Same, but I NEVER BLANK ON THE BSC.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmygodmyfaceiseverywhere.
Saturday was definitely the best day of my life. Seriously. I don’t even know if I can add in any more feelings to this. I might have to process and return back with something more meaningful than the fact that MY FACE IS EVERYWHERE OMIGOD.
YOUR FACE IS EVERYWHERE OMIGODDD :D
So THAT’S what you look like. I admit I was curious, cause I see your comments a lot and like them
And we’re from the same city which means this anonymity is inexcusable.
“Also, making campers (I see you Shilpa and Tough Guy Beth) perform skits/roleplaying the Do’s and Don’t’s of Macking, was effing priceless.”
… not a tough guy, secret softy – Shh!
perhaps ‘bad bitch’ would be more appropriate
haha thanks for the shout out gabbyy
me too, boo. not so tough. definitely more like big momma softie love gabbz but damn if both of us don’t look sharp as fuck in a tie.
Xo
amen.
Okay, I found something to describe my feelings. I think this pretty much sums up all of A-Camp for me:
Oh Emily Choo, you are so very cute.
Doesn’t really get much cuter than Emily Choo does it?
i’m pretty sure emily choo is the cutest person in the whole world
Any chance of a sober cabin or something at the next camp?
This was mentioned before, I’m pretty sure a bunch of campers didn’t drink.
many many many people were sober! especially because drinking under 21 is expressly FORBIDDEN. also bears.
Yeah, I most definitely did not drink and that didn’t imbibe any of my capacity for having fun. To be fair though, I get just as stupidly “intoxicated” just hanging out with drunk people, so that probably affects it.
(p.s. Sorry to Leslie for totally failing at the first attempt at piggy-backing. That’s probably the best example of me being “drunk”)
Yeah, E numbers + caffeine replicate most effects of being drunk for me. (But just to be sure I top it off with a hearty dose of my friend Mister Vodka. Because, Irish.)
That was the best though. I was just telling someone about how that was the first night and when that happened, everyone in the lodge looked around like “oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be.”
And that is how it was. And it was good.
P.S. I hoisted you successfully and I was drunk! HA!
But then after the dance I gave you the proper piggy-back while you were drunk in a dress so we are EVEN, my friend!
Yup, for September camp everybody will have the option to request a ‘sober cabin’!
Yes, it will be right next to the “people who go to bed by 8 PM” cabin.
I really hope you’re joking. Those of “us” (like all queer people ever) who are in recovery or uncomfortable around alcohol for various reasons are still very fun and exciting. : )
often more fun and exciting from my experience… or at least certainly more interesting to hold a conversation with :)
You’re talkin’ ’bout me again right Cap’n?
No, she’s not joking because there were far too many people that went to bed early (and this has no correlation to whether or not they drank alcohol)
Going to bed early did not directly translate to going to sleep (amirite y’all)
Unfortunately in our cabin it did =\
I was totally joking. I guess I needed an outlet to express my concern/bitterness that many people spent $300 to be surrounded by 198 amazing lesbians AND THEN WENT TO BED EARLY. Sleep is for death.
Also, I know the non-drinkers can party and have fun because Papi, who doesn’t drink, lasted even longer than I did every night, AND SHE’S FUCKING AWESOME.
papi was at camp?
Ahhh you guys are all so cute I am actually dying.
PS Megan really is super hot.
she has the best hair
i like her a lot.
After reading these three A Camp recaps i feel like robbing a bank to go to the next one
when and where? I look totally not suspicious and have midwestern charm and grace and a good innocent smile. I’m also good at diversions and carrying heavy stuff.
Um, I live in Spain, but if you can fly here and help with the robbing operation you can totally keep half of the money and we’ll fly back straight to camp!
excellent. I’ve always wanted to go to Spain!
lol everytime I hear “go to Spain” I laugh because I had a friend once who was super prudish and that was her code word for sex.
Gaby at the macking seminar “Lesbians can smell bullshit..Like from a mile away!”
Also, also..That sex panel changed lives!
I feel as though I have greatly missed out. And I feel as though I hope greatly I can go this fall. Because I have all the feelings right now and it almost feels like i was there but i wasn’t and. . .
Also, does anyone else think a panel on faith and queeriosity would be awesome? Cause I do. I think it would be very awesome.
yes! marni and i talked about that on the drive back as one of the panel topics for next time.
YUS! I’m a great big queer who has a lot of feelings about faith and queeriness. raised southern baptist, kicked out of church after i came out, and now planning to go to seminary fall of 2013. . . there are bad feelings positive feelings neutral feelings, just feelings!
This is an excellent theme and I really hope that it can still happen in a few years when I’m free from uni and finally have enough money to fly over and go to Camp. Do you guys have many ideas yet about how different activity slots are going to change over time, or if they might be repeated? (I’m guessing there may be elements of this). Even though I would come for the people no matter WHAT the activities were, I feel that I would have really really liked to attend the Queer Women of Colour session in particular and I’m sad that I couldn’t be there :(
before a-camp came into my life i missed it so bad, i missed it so so bad. (and you should know that.)
Crystal, I’m really glad you were as moved by our routine as I threatened you would be. I have a really specific memory of saying “YOURE GONNA CRY” and then being like “shit, man, what if no one likes us?”
In other news I’m really amused to see that I’m holding a pbr in every picture here.
while we were singing it i remember thinking “oh god people aren’t laughing are we not funny?” and then i watched the video and realized people laughed at every line, bless their little hearts.
I never doubted you, Leslie
So Riese, do you get paid in unicorns to make sure that at some point in my day I’m misty eyed?
The things you women say to/about me are just too beautiful sometimes.
I guess the only way to express my feelings is through song. ::puts diva on::
Ahem:
Looking out on the morning rain (awhoo)
I used to feel so uninspired
And when I knew I had to face another day (awhoo)
Lawd it made me feel so tired
Before the day I met you,
Life was so unkind
You’re the key to my peace of mind
Because you make me feel
You make me feel
You make me feel like a natural Lesbo (Lesboo)
-fin-
this is why we love you.
i second that emotion
The dance party was probably literally the best night out of my life. I love dancing so much you guys but I never go out because I don’t want to get skeeved on by gross boys. The one gay club here is all male go-go dancers all the time, no thank you.
So thanks for having a safe space for boogie-ing that wasn’t pervy, with amazing music and awesome people!
Three feelings re: this recap.
1. I know who performed Sugar High in Empire Records without even having to think about it NO BIG DEAL.
2. There are multiple photos of my friends in all 3 recaps so far and so I’m eating some pizza to contain my extreme jealousy.
3. My best friend writes the LSATs October 6th and “will probably not be able to come to camp” because apparently she will be studying all September or something. Can someone please come up with a master plan to help me convince her to come to camp instead of studying (needs to be more convincing than “I’ll help you study on the plane! No I won’t get airplane drunk! Really!” because I tried this today) AND/OR volunteer to be my new best friend when I have to come to camp alone? Okay thanks in advance.
I’m an awesome best friend and I’m definitely going to next A-CAMP. Plus I also live in Canada! I think I remember you saying you’re in Canada…
We can study girls on the plane and get airplane drunk!
Tell her that it’s only 4 days! And she can study extra beforehand to make up for it! And it might just change her life! And show her the video of Gabby’s poem!
Riese, I love you forever.
SUCCESS
how do I get to be Intern Grace’s Intern?
why didn’t we just combine high tea with the sex panel? like dinner and a movie, but with tea and sex.
DUH.
I did this! I drank my tea at the panel. It was greater than great.
just popping it to point how how freaking adorable the little rascals are in the front row in the “happiest moments” photo.
little rascals are my favorite
this probs has something to do with my inappropriate love for younger ladies
but really they are so darn cute
(especially when they happen to host a camp-wide t&s sing-a-long)
Like Brittani, I felt like I was going to die during the Queer Women of Color panel. Total Exhaustion finally set in about halfway through and I’m pretty sure I was visibly deflating.
Another thing: that morning I realized I had lost my sunglasses and asked Robin/Beth if anyone had found them and by lunchtime I had them in my hands. I mean it’s just sunglasses, but I thought it was great that, for example, my cabinmates could leave their macbooks out in plain sight with no fear of it getting stolen.
I LEFT MY LAPTOP AT THE DANCE — like i brought it to the talent show (’cause i was still carrying it b/c i was doing the driving schedule) and then forgot it there (which NEVER happens at home, i’ve never accidentally left my laptop ANYWHERE, i’m like obsessively hyper-aware of its locale at all times as if it was a living breathing thing) and realized hours later and returned to the place and the dance was in full-force and my laptop was there, still, just waiting for me
Unfortunately my razor and nail polish disappeared out of my cabin. :(
That’s too bad – I guess you can add razors and nail polish to the short list of things worth taking (along with alcohol).
That just reminded me – someone in my cabin left their ring by the sink for days and it was still sitting there after we moved out the last day. One of the cleaners came by Wolf Lodge with it but I didn’t know whose it was or if it meant anything to anyone.
Who has the video of the Tegan and Sara sing-a-long? I still haven’t seen it, and I was in it!
And why did no one mention the panty-throwing? I thought that was a pretty note-worthy moment.
Vanessa posted it in the Facebook group, but I just tried to view it and all I get is black nothingness. It might just be my computer. (at least I think this might be it? the title is the date, so)
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101130218190489
i think saturday was my favorite day. it’s so hard to pick favorites but i think if i HAD to, this day would win.
some feelings:
omg i can’t believe riese mentioned my name in this post!
(sidenote: pretty much every day since camp i’ve woken up and thought “omg i can’t believe riese knows who i am”)
seeing my photos in the recaps is SO exciting, and the final photo of jackie with the hula hoop and the sunset in the background is my FAVORITE a-camp shot, so it is extra exciting to see it included.
also exciting that i am IN one of the (zine) photos–i thought i accidentally avoided the camera all weekend, so it’s fun to see proof that i actually was at camp!
speaking of, the zine workshop was FANTASTIC
i felt so calm and serene and happy, like i was where i was supposed to be
and i talked to haviland a bit near the end and she said the whole scene reminded her of riese’s bedroom “back in the day” and how her floor always looked how the lodge looked and then my heart felt really large and i just had an intense rush of emotion toward riese, love, i think, because she let us all in to her bedroom floor and that’s so intimate and private and she let us in
the talent show was fucking incredible
seriously one of the most enjoyable & impressive things i’ve ever attended
and laneia i totally know what you mean, the audience vibe was practically the best part of the show
so loving, so accepting
i love beth so much
top 2 regrets:
1. should’ve taken more photos
2. should’ve gone to the queer woc panel…that is the #1 thing i am sorry to have missed. i know others have already asked but i would LOVE if there were a transcript or accessible video available for this panel.
…will i be back in september?! i sure as hell hope so…
oh god i wrote a novel
story. of. my. life.
I’m excited to see the workshop’s zine, even if it’s just in digital format!
I don’t think I saw anyone’s pages, so it’ll all be a surprise!
it’s like a snapshot of everyone’s in-the-moment feelings.
oh also
the behind-the-scenes zine is one of the best things i have ever purchased
EVER
$22 well spent.
absolutely agree it is currently on my coffee table along with my prized sally mann landscapes book, so it’s for real.
awwwwwwww
I really don’t know if my comment just posted (damn technology) but it was along the lines of Alex – you are my new dance hero. Please can you teach a dance class (for Bad Romance) at the next camp? I might be the only attendee but there will be worship in my eyes. And I’ll teach you the running man in return if you can’t do it already.
I put “dance lesson with Alex Vega” on the original schedule without telling Alex
I also signed her up for the talent show without telling her
Basically messing with Vega is one of my new greatest joys in life
I’m gonna put it out there but dance class with Alex Vega next year to………..Marry the Night. Oh yes. Oh yes indeed.
oh we tried it. it didn’t go well.
i was there when she discovered it! her tiny rage!!!
it is so sad that i took a disco nap that turned into “falling asleep with all my clothes on” and missed WE ARE YOUNG, when the whole car ride to camp i was preparing myself for the WE ARE YOUNG moment
What is the tea described as “toasted green tea with vanilla that tasted like roasted marshmallows” called so I can immediately go out and buy it? Thank you!
I drank this but I have no idea what it was called. Sorry this is no help whatsoever.
http://www.whiteaugusttea.com/products/Leaves-of-Fortune%E2%84%A2.html
woohoo! Thank you!
Ex-Disney child stars. I could have had it all.
You people are fantastic. I might try to drag my French ass all over there in September.
This week some one smashed my car and this a-camp recap has been the only thing that has successfully cheered me up since.
So thank you for this recap and thank you (so so fucking much) for the beautiful weekend that was A-camp.
this is sad i’m really sorry about your car :(
thank you!
im sorry for intimidating you :(
also i found you wildly intimidating to talk to in person at camp but i am totally fine leaving heartfelt comments to you on the internet. so.
(did this happen to anyone else, guys? i am not a shy person but sometimes i felt so shy at camp.)
There were sooooo many people I didn’t talk to at camp. Mostly cause it was just so overwhelming(in a really good way.) I kept finding myself just staring around at everyone like, is this really happening? I also felt a little shy at camp because everyone was super awesome and good looking.
i’m super shy, that’s why i drink.
Yay! The queer women of color panel was SO good! I could have listened to you guys talk for hours/days. The talent show was ridiculously amazing, probably my favorite thing at camp.
I seem to remember stumbling upon a 20 or 30 person game of spin the bottle in one of the lodges after the dance. I was maybe a *little* drunk but did this really happen or am I making it up????
Oh, it happened.
they came bro.
I keep reading the A-Camp recaps about all the fun stuff, the panels, the people, the feelings, the pictures and all I can think about is:
LANEIA HAS A GIRLFRIEND? FUCK!
Yeah, and she’s amazing! Day one, she walked up and introduced herself to me and she was just so real, and chill and genuine that I was truly impressed with her. I had this instant “Damn Laneia! You’ve got crazy great taste!” thought in my head. Two amazing people like that belong together.
…yes, heart warming….
Totally pretending you’re talking about me, though.