Last night, I went to the Coastal Empire Fair. A bunch of us from ACM went. I ended up spending the night at the fair with Joey, Joseph, and this kid Jeremy. I provided transportation for those guys; Joey just did the driving. I was a little resentful about having Jeremy and Joseph around. Well, not so much Joseph. In the 3 years I've known him, I've come to be a little protective of him when we do events for ACM and Wesley Foundation. I felt like the den mother, however, last night. I am not a mother. And it wasn't just having those 2 around that got to me. On at least 2 of the rides I rode alone, kids ran up next to me so they weren't alone. One was some 8-year-old boy on the hang gliding ride. Another was a little 7-year-old girl on the Claw. I didn't mind being the harmless looking adult a child could depend on for 2 minutes on a ride. It's just that after toting the big kids all night and these little kids on the rides, it all just added up and I got a little resentful of the den mother role. If I'm going to be a den mother, it should be to my own kids. And in a way, the den mother role carried over to today. I saw it when I helped Joey today. He saw it at lunch.
Early this afternoon, the Wesley Foundation had a cookout. This picture is one Joey took of Joseph and Erin playing Phase 10. I was busy playing the game as well. I had invited Joey to lunch today since it was a cookout. He was kind of quiet the whole time, only really having a conversation with Joseph, Lindsey, and Ashlee. He knew them, but not the others. I'll do that, too. In a strange group, I only talk to those I know.
As we were waiting for some food to be cooked, us Wesley regulars got together at a table and started playing a round of Phase 10. As usual, Jessie didn't make her phase. The rest of us playing did. 
And like usual, Jessie targeted me for being skipped since I was the first to make phase 1. She was going to have me skipped again, but Joey did butt into the game (he wasn't playing since we could only have 6 people and a few of the others wanted to play) and told her since I had been skipped before, I couldn't be skipped until everyone else had been skipped. After that quick game and eating, us regulars, plus a few of our non-Wesley friends, just sat and talked until classes and work pulled us away. We had a good time.
My group didn't really socialize with the other people, but then again, no one new came to socialize with us. They just wanted the food and our seats. We regulars know it's more than free food. It's a camaraderie. Joey, the outsider, even asked me how many were regulars. He could see what was going on today. He asked me how many people come for the food and not stay for the rest of stuff Wesley has to offer.
The rest of my day was spent in Digital Photography class or working on my E-Commerce project. I have a new assignment for the photography class. The new assignment is to take a picture of a person in his or her natural environment. I'm going to see about taking one of my father. I need a few more photos of him.
Posted by Shawn at November 5, 2007 3:23 PM in Flickr Photos, General, Schooling.
