First semester half way through...Already?!

Hey Guys, wow, it's been a while since I've updated my blog.

CRAZY! Well, new things in the life of Dylan... transferred from my little, private school to a big, public school. I started last week and boy, has it been a transistion. I am still taking all my regular classes such as Biology, English 3, Spanish 3, U.S. History, Computers, Art and Algebra 2. The classes aren't too bad, but they are GINORMOUS and I mean it. I have upwards of 35- 40 kids in each class and since I transferred in late I sit in the back in almost every class. "/ Which is a huge bummer since the front is like my HOME.

Right now my school is conditioning for basketball. It is considered Dead Period so the coach can't train us but, we do have private 24 Hour Fitness trainers who work us for about 3 hours every Tuesday and Thursday.

Gotta keep it short and sweet.
latterrr(:

-Dyliee

Summer's leaving us....

For most public schools in my area, school has once again begun. Thankfully my small private school doesn't start until Sept. 1, but for close to everyone else; they are back in their school routines. Backpacks are on and pencils are out.... summer was a good break but who doesn't wish it could have lasted longer. Another year for students to come and go. (: Welcome Back to School My Friends ! !

Sly Park Basketball School

Sly Park Basketball School :)

A few days ago I went to Sly Park Basketball School up in Sly Park. I had a blast. It was truly amazing and very fun!! For our 5 on 5 teams, we were the Sacramento Monarchs and we placed 2nd in the championship. We lost by 6 which was a bummer but was okay because we bonded as a team and grew from the experience. I placed 5 out of 95 girls in the Hot Shot knock out competition. I also tied with my friend Michelle for the Free Throw Champions (this was also out of 95 other girls). 

Above are pictures of the people I met at Sly Park! && Then Me and Jordan one on one in the championship game.

Intense...like camping? No, like a Motel, Hotel, Holiday Inn...

AWA HITS The El Dorado County Fair!
This Thursday-Sunday (June 18-20)

Today was the "set up" day at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California. The Camp Grandma, Tyler, Chris, me and the newest member to the AWA recruit team Leslie, arrived in Placerville to set up our booth. We are located right when you walk into the fairgrounds. We will be in front of the Oasis and next to the Classic Car show. The Shark Exhibit had to be relocated because it was far too large. (: Today, we set up our EZ UP which wasn't so easy to set up. Then we put up our 3 foot tall FREE ADVENTURE CAMP banner, and then we put it up again and again and again. 3 feet was a little too tall for our EZ UP tent. This meant a few more hours in the sun trying to figure a better place and way to put the banner up. Idea: Raise the EZ UP another 6-8 inches. This will make the banner hang higher so you no longer have to duck under the banner in order to get inside our booth. Tomorrow we are headed back to Placerville to set up our 12' foot AWA raft and to fill buckets of sand and put our EZ UP feet into the sand piles in order to make the tent taller.

Today definately was an INTENSE day but not like camping more like how Pitbull would say...."hotel, motel, holiday inn." ha. If you all haven't noticed Pitbull is by far my music obsession.

-Dylan

Pitbull Punches && Then Keeps Performing....
whats the real story....? ? ?

Apparently in Colorado, during Pitbull's famous Bojangles song a man from the audience "makes it rain" by throwing money straight into Pitbull's face. Pitbull keeps singing but brings the man up on stage. As he does so the man continues to throw money all over pitbull while he's singing. Pit then slams him one in the face and continues to sing... never missing a beat. The man was hauled out by security but the police were not called. The man was let back in once he convinced the security that he meant no harm to the famous reggeaton rapper Pitbull. Don't mess with Pit. Mr. 305.

Akon Does The Same Thing....

In 2007 a mysterious "object" is thrown at Akon while he is talking to his fans at a concert tour. He has security find the guy then has him brought on stage where he then launches him onto his shoulders and flings him into the audience.


Why...?
Is it because of where these artists have grown up that they need they have to "handle" and "deal" with people in this way. Now, don't get me wrong I love Pitbull and I like Akon, but is that necassary to do. Do they need to take such harsh acts?? What do you think?

Walking down a horror corridor...

PROM. ahhh! So, basically school is out. Yes, I said OUT. We are free! && I am officially a JUNIORR. yessurhh! Anyways, another year has flown by....and another summer enters our lives, full of summer flings, blowouts and makeups. exciting.

Summer is here so that means AWA Summer Camps for Kids. Oh yes! ( http://actionwhitewater.com/camp-adventure.htm ) You can catch AWA on Twitter. ( http://twitter.com/theAWA ) && you can also catch AWA at the El Dorado County Fair Thursday through Sunday. You can see our booth located near the Marine Exibit in the Children's section. (: The Camp Grandma ( Christine ) will be there along with Dylan and Chirs. Robin and Gabe will make guest appearences. There will be a boat set up and books to show what our camps are like.

Trouble Maker on the South Fork of the American River
Rogan && Taylor make guest appearances! Go Rogan! Go Tay Tay! (:

So, You're Going Rafting: how to be prepared
Rafting: be ready, have fun
Being Prepared: What to Expect and Have Fun on your Raft Trip
Whitewater Rafting: demystified
Just Do It - Rafting: being prepared so you can have fun
Of Course You Can: whitewater rafting, step by step
Step by Step How To for Whitewater Rafting

You've been invited to go whitewater rafting, congratulations! What?

You're nervous. You can't swim. You don't know what to do. Are you going off waterfalls? Are you fit enough? Are you old enough? Are you young enough? What do you wear? How do you wear it? Do you need special shoes?

Don't worry, everyone has these questions. You'll be just fine. On the South Fork of the American River, in Northern California, some 65,000 + people go rafting each and every year. California whitewater rafting is an excellent stop to add to your vacation. If you've been invited, it's great to be cautious but you shouldn't let this stop you from attending the trip.

Here are 14 easy steps to make your trip a breeze:

RELAX! If you're rafting with a professional company, you're in great hands. They know what they're doing and they know how to get you down a river

Go with a can do ATTITUDE. It's alright to be nervous, this is something new, something exciting but don't be a whiny baby. Breathe, listen and enjoy.

Rafting has different seasons, what you WEAR depends on the season:

SPRING rafting ~ tends to be cooler, you should definitely consult the company you're rafting with but a thin wetsuit may be appropriate. More commonly, wetsuit booties or wool socks with your STRAP on sandals or old tennis shoes (more on foot ware below), shorts, wool sweater, splash jacket or dry top, possible wool cap. (this is all for cooler weather rafting).

SUMMER rafting ~ Strap on sandal or old tennis shoes, shorts (you can wear a bathing suit but trunks/shorts are recommended for you're sitting on rubber and bathing suits tend to get moved off the bottom and you end up flashing the people behind you. Hey, we're not judging, this may be your intention but we just wanted to let you know), t-shirt, hat and sunglasses. Some companies wear helmets and you may or may not be able to wear a hat while rafting.

No matter the season, no matter your skin tone, SUNBLOCK! We like to recommend all natural / biodegradable sunblock as they're learning these are causing problems in ocean reefs, so we might as well keep the river clean, if possible. Some ingredients to avoid: PABA, octinoxate, oxybenzone, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor and the preservative butylparaben.

Proper SHOES - Shoes must strap to the foot. Crocs and their composite foam ankle strap do not count as they do not bind to the foot. Old tennis shoes are good because you can tie them. Name brand foot ware Teva, Chaco, & Keen all make sandals that bind to the foot. Water booties with a sole are fine. No one wants you swimming without your consent but if you do swim you want something on your feet.

Trust the GEAR. You'll be wearing top of the line personal floatation devices, in nearly all instances these are Class V coast guard approved flotation devices, the highest rating. The rafts are some of the toughest boats on the water, they're made to commercial standards with commercial quality materials.

COMMIT fully to the experience. If you're offered the opportunity to swim a rapid, do it! This is an incredible place to be (the river canyon), you ought to experience everything it has to offer.

DON'Ts ~ Don't bring a towel to the river! There's no place on the raft for a towel. One in your car, for a shower after your trip, sure, but not to the trip itself. Don't wear suntan oil. Oil + Skin + Rubber = swimming. Don't consume drugs or alcohol prior to your trip. Your participation is required to get the raft down the river, this can prove difficult if you're under the influence. Alcohol and rafting don't mix. The water is cold, alcohol lowers body temperature, long swims while inebriated are dangerous. Don't bring cigarettes down the river.

There are plenty of rafting companies to choose. On the South Fork of the American, 33. Pick someone you feel comfortable. Most all prices are going to be within $10 of each other, so the importance for you, is comfort. Most all will provide a professional trip but there are different attitudes and energies to each company.

No, generally there are no WATERFALLS. There are drops but nothing that equates to a waterfall. The boats are made to do what you'll be doing, relax.

Yes, chances are you're FIT enough. This is not an olympic paddle crew time trial. You'll be pulling your weight along with 5 or 6 other people.

The trips are professionally GUIDED. You'll have a professional, competent guide in the back of the raft controlling the action.

AGE, check with the company you're rafting. There are rivers where tighter age ranges do come into play.

Finally, don't disqualify yourself based on unfounded PRECONCEPTIONS. You're going to love this adventure. We raft young kids to grandparents, you can do this!

You're welcome to find free information on summer camps and what you might expect from a camp, videos of camp-life in action and photos, visit our summer camp page. Action Whitewater Adventures has been providing quality raft trips to families and youth groups for 20-years on the South Fork of the American River.

So far yet so close...

Well less than a month to go before school is out and summer is in. Less then a month to go before each grade advances to a new and higher level in their education. We say "goodbye" to seniors and "hello" to new freshman. At this point in the year, we are all emotional-knowing that it will be a while before we can see our friends again. A new beginning to a journey we started so many years ago. I, personally, will soon become a junior. This will be the year I learn about colleges and have to attend the infamous "C Day Meetings" with the head college counselor Ms. Fels. Driving will become a new priority as I soon forget all the young and lame sophomore drama. No longer will the "he said she said" drama be the biggest part of my worries-No, now I'm planning shopping trips, parties, prom, etc. To put it in a nutshell...BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS! Life is moving so quickly it's hard to breathe. I find myself wondering where to day went as I wake up at 600 and find it already 1200 before I'm hitting the lights and snoozing the computer. Does it ever slow down? Gosh, I seem to live for that rush...constantly moving....stressing....worrying about being somewhere or someplace. It seems like just a week ago I was starting my new and exciting high school career as a freshman. Walking amongst all the other kids (all 22 of them). :) For those of you who know my school. ha! Headed to home room with Mr. Neukom and ending in Physics with Dr. Peck. Then, it was starting Sophomore year. First period Mr. Wells ending again in Chem with Dr. Peck. Now, in less than a month, I'll be a junior. Ugh, it's just so hard to handle and grasp. I can't even imagine how my parents are feeling. The end is so far yet so close.... (:

New News: Sacramento Country Day's Girls Softball Team Makes Playoffs!
Yeah, you heard correctly. The newly started team has done it; they have made the playoffs winning a grand total of 2 games!! Eh, it doesn't matter. We beat out the baseball team. In their first year they didn't even win a game let a lone make it to playoffs. :) (4 teams in our league) But, who cares...we still did it. We overcame many obstacles and actually made it for ourselves. I'm so proud of each player on the team. There were only 3 previous softball players before and they helped the rest of the team unite and overcome the fears of the game. Thank you to everyone on the Sac Lady Cavs Team. Here is our line up (last names will not be added): Rachel-catcher, Sam-1st, Nora-2nd, Maddie-short, Shanna-3rd, Dylan-pitcher, Eva-left, Sadie-center, Mack-right and Amelia as flux right. Our playoff game is tomorrow, thursday, at 700 in Lodi. Good luck to us all. Oh, and sports booster is Wednesday of next week which is May 20th. Sports Boosters will be handing out awards for all Spring Sports players. Come and support. :)

Rafting Green: Green in Sexy

I, like you, have been inundated with the word, Green. For me, I'm not tired of it, in fact, I find it interesting how many 'main-stream' companies are embracing the concept but I worry many will tire of the barrage. Some tuned out long before this recent surge began and they're probably untouchable when it comes to converting them to Green champions. Others are in the wait and see mode of learning and then there are those of us who are interested and dabble in Green exploration and of course, the complete Green geeks.

I'm not looking to get political or to do too much preaching. It's just that all this talk has got me to thinking. How can I help folks who want to be more Green be more Green. Here are some simple steps to being a Greener whitewater rafter, a Greener vacationer.

1. Carpool with friends to your destination. On the South Fork of the American River, many folks drive from the San Francisco Bay Area or from Southern California to the Northern California Foothill destination. If you're rafting with friends from the same area, look to coming up together. Some rafting companies have discounts worked out with bus lines, if your groups is large enough you may all take a luxury bus from your area to the river. This can save you money as well as reduce the ole carbon footprint.
2. Cook with propane. If you have the ability to use a propane barbeque rather than charcoal, do so. Propane burns cleaner. This is a tough one, the taste of charred cooking is so good... There's talk of the stuff coming off the charcoal not being good for your health either, so, you now have two reasons to reconsidered charcoal.
3. Since you must wear sunblock, look for all natural, organic sunblocks that avoid: PABA, octinoxate, oxybenzone, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor and the preservative butylparaben. Studies are showing the sunblock we wear is killing coral reefs in the ocean. While there's no coral in the river, it can't be bad to avoid using the stuff, bad is bad, right? One recent study claimed some 6-million gallons of sunblock are washed into our oceans annually!
4. If you're really into watersports that require a personal flotation device, then you might wish to look to Astral. They use a more environmentally friendly foam in their vests. They're one of the top vests made as well. So, you get to be environmentally cutting edge and cutting edge in your outdoor equipment as well.
5. Shop locally, shop organically. Have you gone organic yet? We have at my home. When you do, here's something you'll learn very quickly, food spoils far faster. For us, we paused, scratched our heads and asked, what the heck is in the other food that lets it last so darn long? Buying organic for the most part means your foods have traveled less distance to get to you and thus have a smaller carbon footprint. In many cases the products used to grow the foods is far better for the earth, the animals are treated better, raised more closely to life in the wild, etc.
6. Just by whitewater rafting you're Greener! Getting down a river requires human power, not electric or fuel run engines.
   
7. Employ reuseable water containers. It's important to get your hydration on, very important. For shear convenience and hygeine many companies switched to individual, throw away water bottles. Man, it was convenient too! But, this creates a lot of waste in both the number of bottles lost overboard and in the empties that get thrown away after each trip. Switching to metal or even glass bottles can be a great compromise. For me, nothing tastes as good as coming out of glass. Here's a link from Rachel McAdams' website, Green Is Sexy, that sells semi-designer glass bottles, Love Bottle.

For those that are interested or completely geeky, I hope this quick hitter is beneficial to your vacation planning. There are many great site popping up that educate, advise and share the newest in Green ideas and products. It's all a learning process and none of us can be completely gentle to the world surrounding us, we're a product of our society. And, some constructs of this society make it virtually impossible not to tread heavily at some point. So, do what you can do. If you're excited about the changes you can make, make them. If not, no worries. Green is coming around, it's impacting all of us. Even the most non-intersted party will be Greener by decades end. Try and find some fun in the race to be Greenest.

See you on the river!

For loads of free information on summer camps and what you might expect from a camp, videos of camp-life in action and photos, visit our summer camp page. Action Whitewater Adventures has been providing quality raft trips to families and youth groups for 20-years on the South Fork of the American River.

-Christopher Pyle

H.O.R.S.E.

Mhmm, so yesterday was one of the biggest, exciting, most intense cutting edge day of my life. As usual I was in the 'lab' with my varsity coach working on my shooting and in walks an exceedingly tall, bald man. My coach goes wild and I'm stuck shooting by myself for a few minutes, next thing I know my Coach is introducing me and I'm playing H.O.R.S.E. with one of the All Time Great ex NBA players. He was a first round draft pick and played for the Sac Kings. Turns out I beat Harold Pressley at his own game and I am now owed a Jamba Juice by this great man. He was one of the nicest men I have ever met, hands down and it was an amazing experience!

Then, my Dad surprised me with another work out after the one I had already had with my coach & Harold Pressley. So, I was off to another gym in Natomas where I soon found out I was going to have a one on one session with my favorite basketball player ever. Now, unfortunately things came up for her and we are rescheduling for another day this week. My favorite player who is personal friends with my Dad is Edna Campbell retired number 12 for the Sacramento Monarchs. She was amazing when she played; she had the smoothest dribble I have ever seen. Even though her and my Dad are good friends I have yet to meet her. I mean I've met her but to play with her would be amazing. So, of course being a softy I am, I started crying when I found out I was going to be working out with her. It was such an honor, no matter how close my family is with her....to be on the same floor with her would be such an honor. I'm looking forward to this upcoming season...even though this season just ended. I'm getting excited about it again!

Anyways, I have basketball today at 330. Maybe Harold will come with my Jamba Juice!

Alright. I'm out.

Half Empty or Half Full...

So, I am half way through my Spring Break. I only have one more week before it's another 2 months of hard work, finals and homework. You may want to ask me, like so many others, how my Spring Break has been and guess what I'll tell you. :) My Spring Break has been pretty fun, pretty relaxing and I'm enjoying it. I've been working out for basketball every day. Gotta stay in shape and train for the Jr. Nationals. Yes, I was invited to go to Vegas and have a try out for the Jr. Nationals team. Exciting? I think so! Basketball has been a big part of my day...I'm working on improving my shot. Next year I want to average, in a game, approximately 40 points. Who knows if that is going to happen, but it's a goal to aim for.
Besides basketball my Spring Break has consisted of nothing. Except my father did wake me up early a few days ago and took me to the batting cages along with his own rendition of a basketball practice. It was tough, not going to lie, he ran me from beginning to end. Learning from Dad was pretty fun though; it was nice to have him calling out the drills. Surprisingly....I didn't even get mad at him! That's a plus.
The rest of my Spring Break consists of basketball and friends. :) enjoy your time off my friends or if you don't have time off....I'll enjoy it for you.

Break.

Located in California, I say Hello! :) Well, a few nights ago I went to my school's neon spring techno "tell me when to glow" dance. I brought my cousin, who happens to be one of my best friends, and we had a blast. Strobe lights and neon colors everywhere; it was INTENSE!

&& now...now it's break. Spring break has finally come. 2 weeks of freedom, 2 weeks of stress free wide open road, 2 weeks of breathe in that fresh air, 2 weeks of no madness. awh, oh how I am looking forward to these next 2 weeks.

So, what I am doing now. Well with my sophomore research project, I am getting a lot of information and facts. I'm using my behind the scene knowledge to give the best opinion/research paper I can provide. It's tough because rafting isn't a large industry so many of the things I find on the internet contradict rafting. It's quite interesting but, I'm still working through it all. I still have a lot of work to do.

My dad just finished labeling all the 2008 photos. He is trying to get them all sorted so that we can get all the pictures out to each person who rafted last season. check out our web for many photos and video that most likely has you in it. http://www.actionwhitewater.com (AWA: Action Whitewater Adventures)

I just finished watching a brilliant movie called Blood Diamond. A student at my school decided to do Conflict Diamonds as her sophomore project and surprisingly to myself I was so blind to the fact that the world needs serious help. So, when she did her presentation on these Conflict Diamonds in Africa I was literally in tears. I couldn't even imagine living the life of one of those kid soldiers or the families in the camps or even the men in the mining camps. So much hardship that these people have to live with everyday. How ignorant "man" is. It is sickening. Can you believe what we have created; our own people turning on each other. This is chaos.

So here I am thinking about that movie and listening to Adrenaline Rush, The Flobots, Sweatshop Union and Eightrack Mind, just trying to get in another zone. Listen to them and their opinion on the world. Every time I watch or hear something that makes me stop and think, I like to put myself in that mood even further and listen to music that expressing life and hardship or watch a movie such as Blood Diamond or Pride and Glory something that gets me thinking and gets me to remember that we don't live in a fairytale. We have life so good sometimes you just forget that the world doesn't revolve around you. There are others out there fighting for us and for themselves, creating war and havic for something as simple and yet so complicated like money and power, greed and lust. We fuel the fire, the war that is surrounding us. People who are blind do nothing but help the war live on. && it's sickening to think about.

I think this is important and anyone who can help...should. Also you can do other things to help such as before purchasing any jewlery, you can ask your seller if they diamond comes from a conflict area or not. Ladies and gentlemen...be aware.

Well it's late!

Well for those of you who don't know me, I'm Dylan Sharee. My dad owns a small white water rafting company located in the small town of Coloma, CA. The name of out company is Action Whitewater Adventures. We specialize in summer kids camps. (rates and dates on our website at http://www.actionwhitewater.com). My dad has owned the company for right around three seasons now and we both love it very much. Rafting, in my opinion, is one of the best most calming activites to do. I love meeting new people, hearing new stories and seeing all the smiling faces.
Before rafting came into my life, I was strictly a basketball player. I play on the Sacramento Country Day Lady Cavaliers; I am the starting varisty point guard. I have been playing basketball since I was in second grade so it's something I truly enjoy!
This year I started something new, I am now on the Lady Cavaliers Varsity Softball team as the starting pitcher. I have never played softball before but I am having so much fun learning everything. My team mates are fantastic along with our positive coaches. We just had our second game yesterday and even though we lost, the team turned it into a positive experience and we all learned from our mistakes. This is the first year my school has had a softball team in over twenty years, so we are all very new to this.
So, I'm sporty. That's what we have gotten out of this entry so far. Well I'm not just sporty. I love to read. I should read a lot more than I do but when I get into a good book no body can stop me. My dad was a literature major in college so his love for English rubbed off on me.
I am also a big sister to a 19 month old boy. :) His name is Gabriel Townsend. He is amazing and sweet. Every day he learns something new, today I believe it was sirens. He sat with my dad on the computer all day listening to Firetrucks and Ambulances over and over again. It was so cute. He knows all his animal sounds like a donkey, a mouse, a dog, a pig, and a cow. He also knows where his elbow is, his chin, his head, his hair, his wrist, his arm, his knee, his chest and his foot are. He can also point out where your various body parts are as well. He is a joy to have around!

I also love culture. I love the Spanish language. I can sit all day and listen to Spanish and not get tired of it. It fascinates me along with dancing. Dancing is amazing to watch. Both the language and the dance are probably the two things I want to learn how to do the most before I die. I want to be fluent in Spanish and I want to be able to ball room and hip hop dance. :)

Well, now you know a little more about me! Keep reading for more updates. If anyone has some answers for me on the post below this, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

-Dylan

At The Moment

At the moment I am at my high school working on my year long sophomore research paper. I chose my topic to be on larger companies vs. smaller companies, specifically why larger companies seem to be more successful. My dad owns a small rafting company (Action Whitewater Adventures aka AWA) on the South Fork of the American River down in Coloma, CA (http://www.actionwhitewater.com). Now from my point of view my dad runs a tight ship; he seems to care about his customers and tries to give them the best trip possible and yet he is still one of the smallest companies on the river. This got me to thinking; what makes the large companies so large? Are they more successful? If so, what is meant as the definition of success? Are they run better than smaller rafting companies? If not, then why are they continually getting boosted above all and pulling more numbers annually? What are the operational differences of smaller rafting companies and those of a larger company? Is one clearly more superior to the other? Maybe you guys could help me with this being as to I'm stumped. All the research I'm doing hasn't lead me anywhere. I still don't understand how little companies such as my dad's who seem to go above and beyond for their clients seem to get jaded in the end.

In this post, by The Regeneration Station, it is said that "One of the biggest differences between these two environments is the amount of resources available. And not just money, but availability of up-to-date equipment and expert consultants. Large companies have very deep pockets, and money is committed to provide scientists with the best and most up to date technologies to perform their work. There are also a wide variety of experts in various fields that you have access to if you need niche expertise. In contrast, small companies don’t have the capital to buy much large equipment, and even nice fluorescent microscopes can be hard to justify let alone a new confocal. There will be many tasks that you will need to learn how to do yourself, as there aren’t as many hands available to perform the work. In small companies you need to be very resourceful, and make contacts at the local university to gain access to up to date equipment or expertise. Advantage: big company" (http://regeneration-station.com/2008/01/25/large-vs-small-companies-pros-and-cons/ -Direct Quote)

This might be true in most other businesses but it seems in the rafting industry that that is quite the opposite. It seems that the larger companies to want the cheaper way out while the little companies want to get to the top, so the little companies are buying some nicer equipment, trying anything and everything to get on top.

Have any ideas, insights, facts, opinions....anything and everything would be greatly appreciated!

-Dylan