On May 21, 2012 I started on what would be one of my most interesting college experiences. I was a little nervous, but also excited. Little did I know what I was getting into though.

Week 1 of camp went by pretty smooth, everyone was really nice and welcoming. We got introduced to all this new technology and sites. SoundCloud, flickr, twitter, the works. It was all cool.

Week 2 we had to setup our sites and WordPress. We got introduced and more acquainted with very interesting characters. Our counselors were a very diverse and interesting crowd. Some of them seemed weird to me, but who was I to judge. And some of the people at camp had odd names like “Hatchet jack” , “Joe Beets” , and “Slide Guy!”. I began to question if all of them were even real people. Oddly enough though, Alan had dissapeared from camp and Martha seemed really worried. Things were starting to get weird, he was being dodgy. But don’t take my word for it see for yourself…

All of this was very unsettling. And I remember even earlier Alan mentioning something about an ELECTRIC FENCE?!! Why would we need an electric fence… at camp? Despite All these weird going-ons, I overlooked them. I was enjoying myself at camp, was very bogged down with my UMW course as well as my camp assignments.

Week 3 focused on visual assignments, which was awesome. I think I discovered a new passion for photography, but also discovered that there really was more going on at camp than meets the eye. In the councelor video for that week, Martha (this was when they THOUGHT they were off air) was clearly frustrated and thrown off. She still hadn’t seen Alan. And he was so indifferent to it, he could see her upset, and just threw her off. There video kept going through all this weird electric interference as if there session was being tapped or something. It was then I decided to keep an eye/ear/monitor open to stuff, thinking I could figure out what was going on. What was in that sachel that Alan had anyway??

I also noticed tension between members. “Jim Groom” who I’ve heard through rumors was some kind of DS106 Guru, maybe even the creator was being a bit of a jerk as well. One of the councelors seemed to be very outspoken though, towards him and anyone who was  acting up.

No checks and balances of directors’ power in @MagicMacguffin-where are the critical thinkers? It’s not camp-it’s a bloodsucking vamp #ds106

— Jim Groom (@jimgroom) June 4, 2012

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@jimgroom @MagicMacguffin Why, because YOU’RE not in charge, Mr. Groom?

— zazzy (@hotnzazzy) June 4, 2012

I think it wasn’t in her best interest to do so though now that I look back on it…

Week 4 we started on our Design stuff. These assignments were getting tougher, but I enjoyed them. My creative juices were really flowing. But things were still off, I noticed Martha was still complaining that she hadn’t seen Alan in 2 weeks. What kind of directors don’t see each other in 2 weeks?! Alan kept making these claims of working in shed #4 w/ “Marco”. What was in shed #4 anyways? and why did it seem so off limits to Martha? Alan kept acting really goofy too, like he was high or something. He kept making a joke out of everything and just brushed Martha’s inquiries aside.

That week Zazzy the cooky councelor completely dissapeared off the blogging map. Her last blog post was June 14 – a Thursday. Last she was talking about some bad sloppy joes she had eaten and was just all kinds of off. I then noticed that others were beginning to dissapear too. Councelors, campers… it was all weird. Even Hatchet Jack, who I thought was in on some weird consipiracy dissapeared the same day as Zazzy. His last tweet:

@hotnzazzy Hatchet Jack is afraid of mines and caves. When Jack was a youngster he went in cave & he can’t talk about it. Ever. Ever. #ds106

— Hatchet Jack (@olHatchetJack) June 14, 2012

At this point I was nervous, and slightly scared. I decided to continue to stay low key and just blog along like I was unaware of anything. Better to play it safe, and assume the role of the dummy. 

Week 5 we started on audio assignments. Which was really outside my comfort zone, but I went with it. I was being challenged day in and day out to be more and more creative in different ways. Alan also claimed to have fell down some hole, and went missing for 4 days. He tried convincing Martha that he didn’t have cell phone reception so couldn’t call her, yet he had his laptop with him! He even used the internet to blog… if he did that, why didn’t he use the internet to tweet for help? I wasn’t buying it, and neither was Martha. She was furious at this point. I was a bit afraid that she would dissapear too.

Week 6 was a continuation of our audio unit. Campers were cranking out creations every day. It was awesome, we got hit by a crazy storm and lost power for days. Some, but not all of us apparently. After I got my electricity back (after 5 days of torture!) I dug up some videos. Peep this ….

Martha got Alan to take her to Shed #4!! How did she go from not seeing any wiring or electricity or ANYTHING but dirt and mold… to just going along with everything?! What was it that Alan showed her? I was getting frustrated at this point, while we were jollily making radio shows…. crazy stuff was going on at camp. I wasn’t going to be a sitting duck, I made it a point to get to the buttom of everything. But all in due time…

Week 7 and 8 we did video assignments at camp. Those 2 weeks were the most time comsuming and busy. We really were creatively challenged. And I feel like all the campers really went all out with there work. Funny thing was it was during those 2 weeks that I uncovered the strangest stuff. I noticed Martha itching her neck, it looked as if something had punctured it. She was no longer herself either, going along with everything. Almost coming off as robotic, she was also very very paranoid it seemed. Always looking around, what had those CVI guys done to her? The beloved, opinionated, fiery Martha was gone. I knew it for sure. The lake was sometimes glowing, a weird orangish color. I saw a video I think i wasn’t supose to of Martha telling Alan that she got “orange glow” on her, but washed it off. Alan just reassured her that they said there were no side effects. Who was they? – the CVI guys?

At this point I found out that Martha was going to Shed #4 a lot, almost like she was obsessed with it. I remembered though Alan telling her weeks ago that it was only recommended to be in there once a day for a short period of time. Rumors of a spaceship sighting in the lake were also circulating, as well as sightings of Alan at Arizona and up north. What CVI some government thing? Dealing with Aliens or something? Why is such a huge company investing so heavily into little old Camp Magic Macguffin and our directors?

Week 9 was remix week. My creative paradigm was completely restructured. It was an amazing week for camp, our creativity was at unimaginable levels. I noticed a lot of feedback and praise from Alan too. I noticed that he paid particular attention to my camp activities, much more so that Martha. Was Martha mad at me? or did she not like my work? I was questioning the situation. Soon enough though I would find out the truth.

This is the end of week 10. I don’t really know what will happen to me after this post. I think that they might be on to me at this point, and if they aren’t… well they sure as hell are going to be after seeing this. Alan has been commenting on my stuff like crazy, NOT because he likes it. But because it is fueling camp. Even “Martha” did so too. Not in a metaphorical way, in a literal one. I lost my glasses going down the tunnel, and almost got caught doing this. But it was well worth it, the WORLD needs to know the TRUTH!!

I may not have all the answers, but I know enough now. And this should be enough for you too, don’t get too deep. These things never end well my friends.

My only wish: If they manage to do me in, may I go to Thug Mansion Blog Mansion.