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shitting in the ravine
Wednesday, September 28 2016
location: Cabin 11, Camp Hollywoodland, Los Angeles, California
Being still on Eastern Time, I awoke early. I found various strangers at the bathroom brushing their teeth and what not, and I realized I wouldn't be comfortable taking a morning dump in the cramped quarters of the bathroom. So I set off on foot northeastward up a ravine whose access was blocked by some sandbags and a Jersey barrier. I found some old neglected open-air buildings, some of which were partially buried in soil slumping from the steep, sparsely-vegetated slopes. On the slope above them, behind a surprisingly-lush bush leafed out in tough leathery leaves, I eventually managed to find a foothold sufficient to defecate. Unfortunately, the closest thing to toilet paper was a pile of hard dry leaves that crumbled into particles when I went to use it. Coming back from that experience, I had to go immediately to the shower.
Down in the front yard of the mess hall, there was a yoga thing happening. I was feeling shy and exposed, and went off to find a cell signal. I later learned there were patches with a signal in the mess hall, though there were many more bars to be had up at the barracks. The main use I had for my smarphone on this trip was to check the state of the presidential, especially what appeared to be yet another delicious Donald Trump meltdown.
Given the nature of The Organization, all the food to be served during the retreat would be vegan, starting with a breakfast of burritos that would've been appropriate for any meal. That was promising. As for the details of the retreat, it's probably best that I kept the details thin. Suffice it to say, today consisted of a mix of departmental updates and something called "mindfulness," wherein we were supposed to use meditative yoga techniques to avoid fretting about the future (a good technique for those on death row, as I mentioned to a colleague). I'm not into that sort of thing; for me it all felt a little like awkwardly attending church services with a friend. Supposedly mindfulness is all the rage in Silicon Valley these days, and, for all the good and refreshing things about The Organization, it's still very California, and this, among other things, makes it eager to jump on whatever the latest trend happens to be (unless, of course, it involves tormenting animals).
[REDACTED]
At the end of the day, we all gathered in a circle out in the front yard and, in something called "the love bubble," random people offered words of support for others in The Organization, a ritual identical to the one called "Energy" back at CollegeClub.com, my first (and most cultish) dotcom. It's harder to feel cynical about such a ritual when it's supporting a good cause, but the similarity to a one I'd found exploitative and icky was a little hard to shake.
We were scheduled to have spaghetti tonight, but instead it was vegan fajitas. A group of us had debated whether or not to go into Hollywood for dinner, but we never made up our mind and so when dinnertime came at the mess hall, it seemed easiest to stay in. Later I hung out with the other male members of the IT team and we took turns shooting balls at a basket across a distance of about 28 feet. It was a difficult shot for computer professionals, and after dozens of shots I'd only made two baskets, slightly worse than the two others. Eventually we were joined by others in The Organization until there were many balls flying at once towards the basket.
For linking purposes this article's URL is:
http://asecular.com/blog.php?160928 feedback
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