extravaganza

water balloon massacres and other reasons i love my job

i try not to write much about my professional life on le blog, since that can lead to lots of scandal and public humiliation, which is something i enjoy a lot on “gossip girl” but not so much in reality.

BUT i’m making an exception today, cos last saturday, the student mentors threw the BEST FIELD DAY EVER*!

in case you don’t know, i work for a peer mentor program for college students. subsequently, i get paid to, among less blogworthy things, help plan fun events and hang out with totally awesome people like alex:

YES that is a TUB FULL OF WATER BALLOONS. and, dear pantsers, there were many more where that came from. in fact, i haven’t seen this many water balloons since beer bike ‘01, and believe me, there were flashbacks. lots and lots of painful, water balloon in the face,  goldenrod paint in the eyes, fort wiess splinters in the hands flashbacks. anyway.

in addition to the water balloons, we had all the necessary ingredients for the perfect field day: sunshine, enthusiastic participants and, of course, a totally creepy clown piñata.

we started out easy with a simple egg toss, which eventually led to everyone having really nasty hands:

ok, how cute is gaby?! i swear, these students are, like, genetically programmed to give me excellent blog photos. unlike many members of pants world who have endured years of my obsessive picture-taking, these folks *enjoy* posing. it’s incredible!

the mentors upped the stakes a bit with the second game, the egg and spoon race! check out the speed on these kids:

y’all, we old folks played this game last year, and it was HARD. but they make it look so easy! ah, youth. YOUTH!

even though the water balloon war was scheduled as the final event, people kept sneaking balloons out of the tubs throughout the afternoon. trying to separate college students from water balloons is like trying to pull the the world’s strongest magnets apart: impossible and, now that i think about it, kind of unncessary.

poor kari got totally nailed… twice.

after a water balloon toss, the students taught me a new game: the water balloon LAUNCH. it involves throwing and catching balloons with sheets. wearing a bucket on yr head is encouraged by not required.

see what i’m talking about? these guys are a poshdeluxe photo GOLDMINE!!!!

stay classy, amanda!

they were totally giving me photo crack, and i couldn’t stop!!! addictions are a powerful thing, y’all.

anyway anyway back to the balloon launch. so, half the team stands on one side of the field and launches the balloon (with a sheet), which is then (hopefully) caught by the other half of the team, also holding a sheet.

the mentors formed their own team just for kicks, but they ended up kind of… sucking. sorry guys, but it’s true. hey, you get extra points for amanda, though, cos she was handicapped.

after the mentors taught me about the wonders of the balloon launch, i was v. excited to introduce them to my #1 field day game: the balloon stomp, infamously known to my 30th birthday participants as “the reason i am in a world of pain today.”

given that i’m a total weenie, my typical strategy for this game is to run around shrieking and flailing my limbs. but these guys? they WENT FOR IT. totally hard core.

and what field day would be complete with the cutest game ever: the three legged race!

again, i was amazed by the agility and speed of these guys. like, i’m only ten years older than they are, but i totally felt like a grandma as they whizzed back and forth as effortlessly as siamese twins.

we did two rounds of the race relay-style, then decided to make the last round a free for all:

up next was the hotly anticipated “whack the crap out of that creepy clown” game. the string turned out to be kinda weak, so alex climbed up in the tree to hold it and yank it around (i.e. make all of the blindfolded people look stupid).

see, kids, THIS is why you had to sign a liability form to participate. ahem.

the clown lasted a surpisingly long time, especially considering he sustained a traumatic neck injury after the first swing. but i guess it that’s kind of the way things go with nightmarish creatures– they’re impossible to kill. EEEEE.

the best part was watching people rush to the ground whenever, like, one piece of candy popped out. we’re talking serious vulture behavior. observe:

and now, the video you’ve all been waiting for, the GRAND FINALE of field day… the water balloon fight!

(note for maximum carnage viewing: the tub of balloons in the middle of the field = ground zero)

I KNOW, RIGHT?!!! you guys i get PAID FOR THIS! holy pants.

don’t worry, no one sustained any serious injuries beyond getting Totally Soaked. also? holding a camera is the best way to avoid getting hit by water balloons. FYI.

however, a camera won’t protect you from a massive and totally gross group hug given to you by eight really, really, really wet mentors. that’s ok though cos I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

if you still had any remaining doubts that i have one of the best jobs ever, consider this picture to be my final argument:

CASE CLOSED, SUCKAS!

*ok, well, maybe my birthday field day last year was a *little* bit better. but only cos it was my birthday. obvs.

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