my love/hate relationship with camping.

I can't decide if I like camping or not, and for some reason that ambiguity is bothering me. I went camping last weekend for my friend Shep's birthday, so I'm prepared to make a pro/con list while the experience is fresh in my mind.  


Why I dislike camping: 
1. Bugs. I could probably soak myself in bug spray and the suckers would still attack me. I came away from this weekend with approximately 15 bites, two of which were on my face, which surprised me for some reason. Like those mosquitoes had violated the unwritten code that the face is off limits. And if someone comments that they like me because I'm so sweet, please know that I will hunt you down, jab you with something small and painful, and ask how sweet you think I am now.
2. The supplies. Perhaps this wouldn't bother me if I went camping for more than a couple of days at a time, but I always feel stressed out and irked when we have to take an entire car full of supplies to go somewhere overnight. It makes it feel like more of a hassle than it should be.
3. Cooking. It's messy, it takes ages, and the food doesn't taste that great.
4. The dirt. Nature can really just get all over you. I am a complete wuss when it comes to being dirty. I can't handle it.
5. The cold. I am always ill-prepared for the cold. I end up awake half the night, curled in a ball, freezing and loathing life. Or, in last weekend's case, awake half the night, curled around my baby in the sleeping bag, praying that I won't fall asleep and suffocate her.

Proof of survival.

Why I like camping:
1. The time warp. What time is it? Who cares! Time simultaneously flies and stands still. I can't explain camping time, but I do love it.

Heidi was an excellent camper.

2. The fire. There's something magical about sitting by a camp fire with friends, talking about nothing and laughing about everything until wee hours.
3. The wine. It's always delicious, and it's extra relaxing to drink by that fire. 
4. Cooking. It's messy, it takes ages, and the food doesn't taste that great in reality, but since it takes ages to make and I'm generally starving by the time it's ready, it kind of tastes amazing. And there's a sense of accomplishment when one makes a real meal over a rustic fire.

Chefs Shep and Chris.

5. Tents. Hanging out in a tent is super relaxing and also makes me feel like I'm five and playing in a fort I've created or something. Plus I love the way the breeze sounds in there. Lovely.
6. Games. We didn't get a chance to play any games at last weekend's camping trip, but games are usually a camping staple. Dominoes or cards for hours on end. 
7. The dirt. All that dirt makes for the most incredible shower experience when I get home. Oh man. So great. 


And camping wins by a nose! 

Anything Once: Urban Camping Or “The night I became a gamer”

Lobsters, what are your deal breakers when it comes to finding a potential mate? Girls that are taller than you? Back hair? Having a last name for a first name? Here are another blogger's thoughts on that topic.

For me, it was “gamers,” as in guys who play video games. I was never allowed to play any growing up and cultivated a very strong disrespect for anyone who indulged in this pastime. It seemed a sign of laziness, violence, ADHD, etc. This cartoon might capture my sentiments:

cartoon borrowed from here 

As my husband and I returned from our perfect honeymoon, after our perfect wedding, I settled into my perfect marriage. I anticipated some challenges in having to live with a boy for the first time – strange smells, junk food, rowdier music. What I got instead was a video game console being set up and used for hours every day. Somehow, I had accidentally married a gamer.

It was a great shock to my system. For months, I tried to understand the draw of these games he was into, and I just couldn’t get into it. All the while, I heard a great deal of talk about the Nintendo Wii console coming out. After months of anticipation, the day came near. I learned that he was SO excited, but he didn't expect he would be able to get his hands on one for months after it came out. I figured the longer the delay, the better.

The night before the release, we made an evening run to Target, cause it's my favorite store so I go there whenever I can find an excuse. While I was walking the isles towards the item I needed, I saw the look in his eyes as we passed by the Wii display. Intrigue, excitement, longing, sadness. I couldn’t keep him from it. I just couldn’t. I turned to him and with resoluteness announced my plan:

“We’re paying for this item, we’re walking out of this store, and you’re getting in that line [that had already been forming for a couple of hours]. I am going to go home to get some chairs, blankets, food, and entertainment, and I’m coming back. You’re going to wait in that line, and I’m gonna be right there with you.”

The shock and disbelief and joy I got in reaction was worth a much greater sacrifice. I knew there was no going back, and I also knew I would do this one hundred times over. I think there has never been a greater act I have done for our marriage before or since that night.

And I did it. I camped outside of a Bay Area target, right by the freeway, all through the night until those doors opened at 8am. We hung out with the other game-boys, shared some of our snacks [most of them did not have wives bringing them food and hot chocolate]. I curled up for a snooze or two in the car, I drove the car in circles around the parking lot trying desperately to get warm [it was frickin’ freezing that night!].

And after an act of dedication like that, how could I not feel like I had been initiated into this new culture? Of course plenty of those guys were insanely nerdy, but they were also really nice and some were even pretty cool and down to earth. And if I was going to freeze my toes off for that game console, I was going to find a way to like it. Even if my devotion preceded my positive opinion, I had indeed been converted. I would even call myself a "gamer-advocate" today . . . but more on that in another post.

Anyone else camp out for anything you [or a loved one] cared a lot about? Anyone shocked that I did? When have you shown a tremendous act of devotion to a thing or person? So tremendous that it is even a bit embarrassing and it takes you about 6 years to confess that act publicly?