I know I’ve pretty much been gone most of this month.  Things have been pretty crazy, and are finally winding down.  Here is a little overview of what I’ve been up to and what is to come:

–  Packing, packing, packing!
–  Giveaways (one has CLOSED, but there will be at least one more for the summer).
–  Traveling (hoping to get to Canada this summer.  It has been far too long!).
–  Tech Trek (I’ll get into that later).
–  Mountainous adventures and visiting family.
–  More reviews, and possibly a first video on my YouTube channel (stay tuned!).
–  Tips & tricks for makeup, packing, etc.
–  Dissertation writing, editing, etc.
–  Booking for future events (I already have a room for CES 2016, and am so excited!).

There has been one pretty important event this month, which involves summer camp I work…well, worked.  It is only a week (this one in particular ended Saturday), but as with many things, it can feel like it lasts a lifetime.  Anyway, this year marked the last Tech Trek I will ever work.  For those of you who are not familiar, Tech Trek (AAUW) is a science and math camp for girls who are 12-13 years of age.  Many of them are interested in going into a math and/or science field when they grow up, and it is an excellent opportunity for them to see that there is more out there than just the gender-typed professions.  I should note that there is nothing wrong with women taking on gender-typed roles; this camp just provides other experiences that girls may not have thought of.  I digress…

Each girl is sponsored by a branch that pays all expenses for them (including meals, excursions, etc.), and this year they are going national.  It used to only be offered in California.  The process is much like that for a job interview.  The girls write an essay and are interviewed.  Many of them must provide an oral presentation at the end of camp, or produce an essay detailing their experiences.  During camp the girls go to a core class, attend a guest speaker panel, network, bond with their dorm mates, go on field trips, and get a lot of hands-on experiences with various workshops.  Each camp is different, with varying activities depending on their location.  All-in-all, it is a one-of-a-kind experience that any chosen girl is lucky to have.  

For the past 13 years, I have been a part of Tech Trek, and due to circumstances out of my control, I decided that this would be my last year.  My friend (we met at camp), who has worked camp for 14 years made the same decision.  To be honest, we were both much more sad about it than we thought we would be.  As Friday night rolled around, I realized that this would be the last time that this group of women would be sitting together.  It was the last time we would be in the dorms “shooting the breeze”…everything was really “the last”.  You know that moment in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where Tula says that she stopped to take a mental picture of what was going on?  Well, I had that moment during their slumber party Friday night.  The girls were dancing around, and it was one of the happiest things I had ever seen in all the years of being a part of Tech Trek.  And then it dawned on me that this was it.  A sad yet serene moment, and now all of us originals are gone.  The end of an era.