My friend and colleague Rocky invited me to his friend Roots’ Hi-5 Run. It was totally my bag! Running a 5k while high-fiving people as we ran past them? Yes please! This was an important step in becoming a Resetter, if I wasn’t already. Rocky seemed to think I’d be into it, and he nailed it. This brought me into the company of so many people who embraced the joie de vivre I sought to enjoy, and collectively putting a chink in the armour of the vapid daily living so many people subscribe to, willingly or unwillingly. It was at one of these Hi-5 runs where I met Moosh. When I asked her about how she found out about the Hi-5 run, she said she met Roots at “Camp Reset”. I asked her what that was, and she simply said, “It’s an adult camp where they take your phones away for the entire weekend.” I immediately loved it. I held off having a cell phone, opting for a pager with an incredibly long 1 minute revised version of WKRP in Cincinnati hoping my singing and the sheer length would promote people to key in their number rather than leave a voice message. It was around this time I cancelled my invisible answering machine. Perhaps some people have trouble with a detox of their digital lives, but I was instantly fully on board. Moosh sent me a link to the website and I promptly subscribed with my email address.
I had been seeing adult camp pitches on Shark Tank, and did some online searching, but I never took the plunge. They seemed a bit too much like Animal House, promoting all-inclusive drinking and such, and meanwhile, there was something more grounded about Camp Reset. So when I got an email putting a call out for help organizing, I responded. Then in late December 2016, I got a thank you email from the organizers. They got in touch as promised in mid-January, but then I didn’t hear back for some time. I was distracted and busy with the end of my first semester and the beginning of the second, so I didn’t get in touch to see what was going on until March. The response was perfect, and made me feel even more connected. It was vulnerable, and taking responsibility for the gap in the process which resulted in my falling through said gap, preceded by the words “To be honest, receiving your message made our hearts sink.” But it all had a happy ending. I not only was honoured with being able to do a workshop, I volunteered to be a camp counsellor my first year. To say I dove in head first is an understatement, but as I continued to learn more about the community, and meet the people in the community, my desire to be part of it just grew and grew. So diving in head first was without worry or reservation.
I don’t celebrate my birthday, but one of the organizing events was on my birthday. I thought to myself, what a great present! I felt so connected to the people I met, and the secret of it being my birthday, and enjoying the day so throughly, was incredible. Many people already knew each other, but I felt embraced and welcomed, and so my Reset continued with a level of immersion I knew might not be typical of a noob, and it seemed I was perceived as a veteran Resetter. This may have compounded by the link and desire to connect to the organization and remain as involved as possible.
I was paired with Treble as co-counsellors for our cabin. Everything we planned and figured out was organic, and we riffed off each others ideas, “yes and”-ing each other at every turn. I felt so lucky to be paired with her.
When I arrived at the luggage area, far earlier than I was needed, having misread the call-out, I found myself in a position to help organize the luggage packing into the U-Haul with Venus. It’s not something anyone ought to boast about, but I have to admit I was pretty damn good at organizing them bags and instruments! Venus would throw the bags up to me, or place them on the U-Haul edge, and I’d find it’s special spot with it’s brethren in the most glorious baggage cuddle puddle! We were a well oiled machine! I finally had to run to catch the bus up. I was sweaty but filled with adrenaline.
I found my way to the back of the bus, as a late arrival, and I didn't know anyone at the back of the bus. There was a double bank chair for me. By myself. I felt some of the awkwardness of youth creep in, afraid I wouldn’t make any friends and be seen as the awkward recluse who didn’t want to talk to anyone. But the kid in me fought back. I knew it would turn out. I started to talk to the two in front of me, but they seemed focused on the action in front of the bus. As I sat down from my kneeling position, and looked out the window, reflecting on my current inability to engage with people despite not being shy. That was when Crockett came back to his seat beside me, and introduced himself. We exchanged some preliminary information, and then FM came over to say hello to him and Black Panther. FM and I ended up talking all the way to camp. We shared good chunks of our life story, and I embraced the deep connection we managed on that ride. When we got closer to arriving, he headed back to his seat, and Genesis’ In The Air Tonight was playing moments before turning into the camp drive way, and as I looked forward, the drum solo hit and most of the bus air drummed the solo! It was magical, and a snapshot I’ll never forget.
After all the housekeeping stuff and phone ceremony, I entered my cabin with my new shoulder bag, and in it contained the Five-Minute Journal, a white canvas journal I bought at Indigo over a month prior. Osiris was alone when I entered and asked me a question about the programming. I opened my bag, and reached in to grab my program, and he said, “is that what I think it is?” I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, and he said, “The Book.” I affirmed that the easy-to-identify white canvas book inside was The Five Minute Journal and asked him if he had one too, assuming he also used it to reflect daily and nightly. “Yeah man, I wrote it.” My mind was blown. If I hadn’t already felt it, I would have felt, more than ever before, that I was with my people. I mean, I bought a book about celebrating gratitude, and here I was face to face with one of the authors who brought it to life. That was pretty much the tone of the weekend.
 |
| Hi-5 Run start! |
I had been seeing adult camp pitches on Shark Tank, and did some online searching, but I never took the plunge. They seemed a bit too much like Animal House, promoting all-inclusive drinking and such, and meanwhile, there was something more grounded about Camp Reset. So when I got an email putting a call out for help organizing, I responded. Then in late December 2016, I got a thank you email from the organizers. They got in touch as promised in mid-January, but then I didn’t hear back for some time. I was distracted and busy with the end of my first semester and the beginning of the second, so I didn’t get in touch to see what was going on until March. The response was perfect, and made me feel even more connected. It was vulnerable, and taking responsibility for the gap in the process which resulted in my falling through said gap, preceded by the words “To be honest, receiving your message made our hearts sink.” But it all had a happy ending. I not only was honoured with being able to do a workshop, I volunteered to be a camp counsellor my first year. To say I dove in head first is an understatement, but as I continued to learn more about the community, and meet the people in the community, my desire to be part of it just grew and grew. So diving in head first was without worry or reservation.
I don’t celebrate my birthday, but one of the organizing events was on my birthday. I thought to myself, what a great present! I felt so connected to the people I met, and the secret of it being my birthday, and enjoying the day so throughly, was incredible. Many people already knew each other, but I felt embraced and welcomed, and so my Reset continued with a level of immersion I knew might not be typical of a noob, and it seemed I was perceived as a veteran Resetter. This may have compounded by the link and desire to connect to the organization and remain as involved as possible.
I was paired with Treble as co-counsellors for our cabin. Everything we planned and figured out was organic, and we riffed off each others ideas, “yes and”-ing each other at every turn. I felt so lucky to be paired with her.
 |
| Unsure the transferable skill of this, but it was fun! |
When I arrived at the luggage area, far earlier than I was needed, having misread the call-out, I found myself in a position to help organize the luggage packing into the U-Haul with Venus. It’s not something anyone ought to boast about, but I have to admit I was pretty damn good at organizing them bags and instruments! Venus would throw the bags up to me, or place them on the U-Haul edge, and I’d find it’s special spot with it’s brethren in the most glorious baggage cuddle puddle! We were a well oiled machine! I finally had to run to catch the bus up. I was sweaty but filled with adrenaline.
I found my way to the back of the bus, as a late arrival, and I didn't know anyone at the back of the bus. There was a double bank chair for me. By myself. I felt some of the awkwardness of youth creep in, afraid I wouldn’t make any friends and be seen as the awkward recluse who didn’t want to talk to anyone. But the kid in me fought back. I knew it would turn out. I started to talk to the two in front of me, but they seemed focused on the action in front of the bus. As I sat down from my kneeling position, and looked out the window, reflecting on my current inability to engage with people despite not being shy. That was when Crockett came back to his seat beside me, and introduced himself. We exchanged some preliminary information, and then FM came over to say hello to him and Black Panther. FM and I ended up talking all the way to camp. We shared good chunks of our life story, and I embraced the deep connection we managed on that ride. When we got closer to arriving, he headed back to his seat, and Genesis’ In The Air Tonight was playing moments before turning into the camp drive way, and as I looked forward, the drum solo hit and most of the bus air drummed the solo! It was magical, and a snapshot I’ll never forget.
 |
| Moments before air drum madness! |
After all the housekeeping stuff and phone ceremony, I entered my cabin with my new shoulder bag, and in it contained the Five-Minute Journal, a white canvas journal I bought at Indigo over a month prior. Osiris was alone when I entered and asked me a question about the programming. I opened my bag, and reached in to grab my program, and he said, “is that what I think it is?” I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, and he said, “The Book.” I affirmed that the easy-to-identify white canvas book inside was The Five Minute Journal and asked him if he had one too, assuming he also used it to reflect daily and nightly. “Yeah man, I wrote it.” My mind was blown. If I hadn’t already felt it, I would have felt, more than ever before, that I was with my people. I mean, I bought a book about celebrating gratitude, and here I was face to face with one of the authors who brought it to life. That was pretty much the tone of the weekend.
I had been hearing about the silent disco on the second night, and contemplated what it might be with a few others. Someone speculated that everyone had their own headset, but I dismissed this. There was no way they had a couple of hundred headsets. Except that they in fact had a couple of hundred headsets. I’m glad it wasn’t really a spoiler for me, because as I walked out my cabin and made my way over, from a distance, I saw it. No music could be heard, but I saw a large group of people dancing emphatically in the field in the twilight. It stopped me in my tracks as I took it in, and I made a mental picture and mimicked taking a photo like a mime. When I finally got there, FM was handing out headsets, and he said a few quick instructions that were over my head. I put on the headset, and started dancing. At one point, a lady I didn’t know made eye contact, pointed at me, and then made her way over to dance. I didn’t know what I did to deserve recognition. I didn’t think my dance moves at that moment were worthy of such attention, but eventually I figured out it was because there were channels you could choose, and that the colours from the headsets were not random, but indicated what channel you were on. That explained why there were so many DJs. We were both on the Red channel, which would remain a channel of specialness through out my silent disco career.
Right after imitating Obama while reading a movie script and before the workshop I was leading, Goons asked if we could postpone my workshop so they could complete the communal puzzle in the cafeteria, which was almost finished. I naturally agreed, and I was glad I did. Seeing everyone cheer and feel the satisfaction of that competed puzzle was beautiful. With my workshop, I was inspired by my group, and ended up connecting with L’il Robbie who added me to #WriteShop, a group that meets every morning to write. It was just another example of how appropriate it was for me to be in this community, and made me wonder how I had managed accomplishing anything without it. But of course, it’s full of people who love to accomplish things, so of course I would end up here. L’il Robbie and Bangarang hosted a writing event that spanned an entire day of communal writing, followed by a hot tub complete with beers! That writing would eventually become the first 4000 words of my novel, Substation.
At some point, I found myself at the water, and connecting with a whole slew of people, but it was a snapshot moment that I’ll never forget. I found myself part of a circle of people in the water, and somehow, we all started splashing water into the middle of the circle. It was at least 20 people in a very large circle, spread out, about 10-15 meters in diameter. It was beautiful. Not long afterwards, I gave Love a ride around in the water on my back, and she did the same for me, and I high -ived people on the dock as she walked me by them. It was not lost on my that I ended up here by high fiving people. I then orchestrated having her stand on my shoulders, before diving into the water. Watching her enter the water in front of me was magic.
When the Olympics got rained out, it was a welcome relief, even though I was bummed not to experience Luna’s Reset Olympics activation. I ended up connecting with her and Chocolate Masala, the two people I knew from before discovering Reset. It was a special time, sharing our experiences. While I would have loved to be involved in the Olympics, Luna more than made up for not being able to execute her Olympic plans with the opening ceremonies the following year.
The untalent show was genius. I came up with a plan for a magic show with the few things I had in my possession to make a truly awful and shitty magic show where how I did things were painfully obvious, and not magic at all. It backfired for certain people, because a trick that everyone saw, somehow, depending on the angle, actually worked as effective magic. When Boomer volunteered, another trick worked well, and was so not magic. When I summoned Bliss however, she threw me for a loop, naming some crazy Tarot card instead of a card from a regular deck. Luckily my background in improv saved the day, and I fell a little more in love with Bliss for being so quintessentially herself. Everyone that performed was awesome. I adored it. It became my new favourite thing.
When I spoke to a few veteran Resetters about what an amazing weekend I had, I was dismayed to hear they didn’t have an equally magical experience. Apparently they found the experience less intimate that the prior camps, which perhaps was somewhat true for me as well considering the intimacy and connectedness I felt this year, but I think I was just too focused on getting as much programming as possible, a strategy that I abandoned the following year and which made my experience much more fulfilling. The first year I went was still incredibly amazing and magical. Stardust, Goons and I had a magical experience out on the field; The first night Mars and Venus led many of us in song and dance in the plounge by the water; Firefly had her first S’more that I made her after the Drum circle; Pizza (the food) arrived magically and without warning when it was most desired on the final night. Ultimately I didn’t care if it was less intimate. I was satisfied and content. I had found a group of people with whom I was keen to find intimacy, and who were ambitious, loving, caring, and adventurous. They wanted more out of life, like me. I couldn’t find fault in the experience.
Fast forward through many amazing Reset events and hangouts through the year, from Canada Day to Scott's cottage to Pizza (the food) after Thunderman's workshop, which connected me to many more Resetters, many of whom I didn’t get a chance to connect with as much at Reset, and all the way to the Residency. I wanted and needed to be part of Reset at White Pines. Suffice to say, it was everything I had hoped, minus the time I wish I could dedicate to it. I had planned a 3 week vacation to Egypt, and a family cruise that ended up having 70 members of my family on board. While I had to limit my activations given my restricted time, and felt I couldn’t contribute to my track as much as my partner and evil genius Pacman, I was satisfied by the experience for the bonds I made with my fellow residents, and feeling a part of the MAGICx4 that followed. Some members who were bummed about missing burning man mentioned that they coundn’t afford to miss Reset in favour of Burning Man. After the first half day of programming, which involved the opening ceremonies, cabin introductions, Pac Man and Rhythm and Plounge, I thought to myself, “I’ve gotten my money’s worth.” Had camp ended after that first evening, I would have been content, except that I experienced what followed, and if the rest of the camp was gravy, it was the richest, sweetest, and most delicious gravy anyone could ever taste!
While I would love to keep writing about how amazing the rest of that weekend was for me, complete with details, I will write it privately and enjoy it in the future for myself to relive it. It's less about becoming a Resetter, because by this point, I felt I was experiencing everything as a full fledge member of the community. Suffice to say, I had more Reset coursing through my veins than ever, and so many deep connections. Although there were still tons of people at White Pines, the intimacy level that apparently had been missing the year before was reinstated. And the food was unreal.
After camp, the Residency members graduated and we reflected on the experience. Not long after, there was a call out to moderate the Facebook Community, and I threw my name in the hat. I got the gig. I was stoked. The weekend when I started moderating was the same weekend I co-created a Nuit Blanche romp with Mr. Willis. The MAGICx4 continued, and felt every bit a Resetter. Through and through. Forever.
Right after imitating Obama while reading a movie script and before the workshop I was leading, Goons asked if we could postpone my workshop so they could complete the communal puzzle in the cafeteria, which was almost finished. I naturally agreed, and I was glad I did. Seeing everyone cheer and feel the satisfaction of that competed puzzle was beautiful. With my workshop, I was inspired by my group, and ended up connecting with L’il Robbie who added me to #WriteShop, a group that meets every morning to write. It was just another example of how appropriate it was for me to be in this community, and made me wonder how I had managed accomplishing anything without it. But of course, it’s full of people who love to accomplish things, so of course I would end up here. L’il Robbie and Bangarang hosted a writing event that spanned an entire day of communal writing, followed by a hot tub complete with beers! That writing would eventually become the first 4000 words of my novel, Substation.
 |
| Greeted at communal writing event with this on the driveway. |
At some point, I found myself at the water, and connecting with a whole slew of people, but it was a snapshot moment that I’ll never forget. I found myself part of a circle of people in the water, and somehow, we all started splashing water into the middle of the circle. It was at least 20 people in a very large circle, spread out, about 10-15 meters in diameter. It was beautiful. Not long afterwards, I gave Love a ride around in the water on my back, and she did the same for me, and I high -ived people on the dock as she walked me by them. It was not lost on my that I ended up here by high fiving people. I then orchestrated having her stand on my shoulders, before diving into the water. Watching her enter the water in front of me was magic.
When the Olympics got rained out, it was a welcome relief, even though I was bummed not to experience Luna’s Reset Olympics activation. I ended up connecting with her and Chocolate Masala, the two people I knew from before discovering Reset. It was a special time, sharing our experiences. While I would have loved to be involved in the Olympics, Luna more than made up for not being able to execute her Olympic plans with the opening ceremonies the following year.
The untalent show was genius. I came up with a plan for a magic show with the few things I had in my possession to make a truly awful and shitty magic show where how I did things were painfully obvious, and not magic at all. It backfired for certain people, because a trick that everyone saw, somehow, depending on the angle, actually worked as effective magic. When Boomer volunteered, another trick worked well, and was so not magic. When I summoned Bliss however, she threw me for a loop, naming some crazy Tarot card instead of a card from a regular deck. Luckily my background in improv saved the day, and I fell a little more in love with Bliss for being so quintessentially herself. Everyone that performed was awesome. I adored it. It became my new favourite thing.
When I spoke to a few veteran Resetters about what an amazing weekend I had, I was dismayed to hear they didn’t have an equally magical experience. Apparently they found the experience less intimate that the prior camps, which perhaps was somewhat true for me as well considering the intimacy and connectedness I felt this year, but I think I was just too focused on getting as much programming as possible, a strategy that I abandoned the following year and which made my experience much more fulfilling. The first year I went was still incredibly amazing and magical. Stardust, Goons and I had a magical experience out on the field; The first night Mars and Venus led many of us in song and dance in the plounge by the water; Firefly had her first S’more that I made her after the Drum circle; Pizza (the food) arrived magically and without warning when it was most desired on the final night. Ultimately I didn’t care if it was less intimate. I was satisfied and content. I had found a group of people with whom I was keen to find intimacy, and who were ambitious, loving, caring, and adventurous. They wanted more out of life, like me. I couldn’t find fault in the experience.
Fast forward through many amazing Reset events and hangouts through the year, from Canada Day to Scott's cottage to Pizza (the food) after Thunderman's workshop, which connected me to many more Resetters, many of whom I didn’t get a chance to connect with as much at Reset, and all the way to the Residency. I wanted and needed to be part of Reset at White Pines. Suffice to say, it was everything I had hoped, minus the time I wish I could dedicate to it. I had planned a 3 week vacation to Egypt, and a family cruise that ended up having 70 members of my family on board. While I had to limit my activations given my restricted time, and felt I couldn’t contribute to my track as much as my partner and evil genius Pacman, I was satisfied by the experience for the bonds I made with my fellow residents, and feeling a part of the MAGICx4 that followed. Some members who were bummed about missing burning man mentioned that they coundn’t afford to miss Reset in favour of Burning Man. After the first half day of programming, which involved the opening ceremonies, cabin introductions, Pac Man and Rhythm and Plounge, I thought to myself, “I’ve gotten my money’s worth.” Had camp ended after that first evening, I would have been content, except that I experienced what followed, and if the rest of the camp was gravy, it was the richest, sweetest, and most delicious gravy anyone could ever taste!
While I would love to keep writing about how amazing the rest of that weekend was for me, complete with details, I will write it privately and enjoy it in the future for myself to relive it. It's less about becoming a Resetter, because by this point, I felt I was experiencing everything as a full fledge member of the community. Suffice to say, I had more Reset coursing through my veins than ever, and so many deep connections. Although there were still tons of people at White Pines, the intimacy level that apparently had been missing the year before was reinstated. And the food was unreal.
After camp, the Residency members graduated and we reflected on the experience. Not long after, there was a call out to moderate the Facebook Community, and I threw my name in the hat. I got the gig. I was stoked. The weekend when I started moderating was the same weekend I co-created a Nuit Blanche romp with Mr. Willis. The MAGICx4 continued, and felt every bit a Resetter. Through and through. Forever.
