Believe it or not, I’m sitting in a bar right now. Every business in Nederland, it seems, has wifi. Even the bars. And then, when we were here for Frozen Dead Guy Festival, I heard that even the coffee shops serve beer. Heh.
Today was our official field day. I know that I said we had one last week, but today was the one that we were supposed to have back in March. We treated today like a real fire, it was essentially a drill. So we gathered up around 8:30 and got "briefed" on the fire situation we had facing us. We skipped PT and went right to the area where we were going to dig line. It was about a forty-five minute drive from the work center. We were actually digging line for a purpose, though – there’s a prescribed burn planned for that area on Sunday.
So anyway, we got out of the trucks, briefed again on our plan of attack and we started digging. We had been split up into three separate squads, but we all started out digging the line together. To dig a line means to dig up the ground until you reach mineral soil, something that won’t burn. We used a variety of tools, all of which you should google because I’m not going to explain them. I used a scraper and a Pulaski before lunch. After lunch I was on a combi for the rest of the line we dug. We started the line up hill and then went across the hill, moving the dirt up the hill. Then we went down on the other side. Going down was actually just as difficult as going up because you had to watch your footing even more. After that, the squads broke up and cleared the green from the area that is going to be burned (the "black"). This means that we took a lot of the still-green slash (branches, limbs, etc) out of the black and moved it to the "green" (the area that will remain unburned). At one point, Chad circled us up and reminded us that, should we run a fire-shelter deployment drill, don’t actually deploy your real fire shelter. I had a feeling he was telling us this for a reason, so I was just waiting for it to happen.
They kept calling out fake weather reports and fire behavior changes over the radio all day. Emily was about to have us "grid out" an area (sweep it in a line like a search party) to check for hot spots (spots where the ground is still smoldering) but we were called on the radio to meet up with another squad and pretend to dig a line around some spot fires that had cropped up. That brought us right up to lunch time. We broke for lunch where we were on the hill and it was nice to get the packs off. I found out a few days ago that my pack weighs about thirty-seven pounds. I have no idea how it could be so heavy. I think it’s the MREs and the batteries that add the extra weight. We have to have six quarts of water in the pack, which makes for a lot of the weight. But it didn’t feel this heavy before. Oh well. Once I got the pack off, my back stopped hurting. And it wasn’t so bad for most of the day. My shoulders seemed to take the brunt of it, which I prefer to having my lower back carry it all. So it’s fine (for now, heh … today was just Day 1).
Anyway, after lunch Chad (our main supervisor) circled us up and told us that the groups who are doing the burn on Sunday were hesitant about the lines we had dug. They were good, but he said that they wanted a line down the middle, just in case they didn’t want to burn it all right away. So we dug another line uphill. I was toward the end of the line and, by the time I got up the hill, I was the last person because the people behind me had stayed down at the bottom for some reason. Once I made it to the top, the decision was made to head back down and improve the line, to get all of the "duff" out of it (the small burnable material like pine needles and dead grass).
So we were about halfway back down the hill when they called for us to just stop what we were doing and get down the hill. The fire behavior was apparently beyond our control so we had to head to our escape route. We had only gone a few yards when they called for RTO, Reverse Tool Order – aka, turn around. Our escape route had been "cut off" and we had to run to our deployment site. So the order was called to drop packs, meaning take our line gear off. When you have to do a fire shelter deployment, you take your fire shelter out of your pack, a bottle of water and your tool and you just go, you leave everything else. So everyone was scrambling to grab everything we needed. Running with all of that is pretty awkward, I dropped my shelter once and my water bottle twice. We ran about a quarter of a mile and then Chad pointed to where our deployment site was. People were already lying down in the grass, so I joined them. It was pretty exhilarating. We treated it like a real deployment, talking to each other to make sure everyone was accounted for. We had lost two people – they had been held back as a test to make sure we were all paying attention to our numbers. Everyone also had to hold up their shelter, water and tool to prove they had it.
After that was all over, we walked back to where we dropped our packs and repacked our things. Then we loaded up and headed back to the trucks where we sharpened tools for a while. We did an AAR (After Action Report … the government sure loves their acronyms), where we circled up and discussed what happened that day, and then headed back to the work center.
It was a great day. I’m not gonna lie, it was rough. Digging line tires you out real quick and there isn’t much chance for recovery, you just have to keep going. Everyone was huffing and puffing, which made me feel a bit better about my own shortness of breath. And the fact that I'm a klutz really seems to come through in this line of work. The packs don’t help, but I know I’ll get used to it. My feet feel decent, surprisingly. Everyone was warning us about how today was going to prove that our boots weren’t broken in but I think I’ll be okay. I don’t have any blisters and I didn’t really feel any sustained hot spots. The ankle bracelet that I made will have to come off, though. It’s sad, but I can’t wear it with a boot that laces halfway up my calf. What I noticed more was that my sports bra straps had started to irritate me after a while because of all the pressure from the pack. I think I may have to find sports bras with wider straps or something. We’ll see how it goes the next time.
Today was definitely challenging, but I don’t think I questioned it. I just tried to keep going. My ability to stay positive has actually surprised me in the past few months. Even when things get crappy, I’m still not reconsidering my commitment to NCCC, which is good. I think Surf taught me that; after three seasons, I came to realize that even on my worst days, there’s no where else I’d rather be than on a field in the middle of who-knows-where, getting yelled at by Matt Hurley. I think the same goes for wildfire. At the end of all of this, I’ll look back and see how far I’ve come and how glad I am that I stuck it out.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Field Trips!
We had our first field day on Friday. We divided both teams up into smaller groups and each went off with an instructor to start applying what we learned over the previous two days. My group went with Emily, who happens to be Ervin’s older sister. She felled a tree and then we practiced limbing and bucking. Felling or falling a tree is essentially cutting it down. Limbing is when you remove the braches and bucking is when you cut the trunk into smaller pieces that can be carried away. So we did that for one tree, and Emily had us size up another tree. Then she hung a tree by accident, so we had to get some extra help from some other instructors to try and bring it down. It was a mistake and miscalculation on Emily’s part, but it was also a really good learning experience to see how to deal with situations like that. So it wasn’t really a problem. It did take up a little of our field time. Adrienne was the only one who got to fall a tree with the time that we had left. But that’s okay. It was cool to see her in action. The rest of us at least had a chance to practice our cuts on stumps. Mine was pretty awful. Well, Emily said it wasn’t that bad. My face cut was decent for a first try, but when I came in with my back cut, I was way too low and I ended up cutting underneath my face cut. Whoops. Oh well. Now I know what not to do.
On Saturday, the team joined Earth 4 at UC Boulder to help out with an MS walk for an ISP. After that, some of us stayed in Boulder and walked around for a bit, got lunch, etc. I wandered into a leftist co-op bookstore at one point and it was pretty cool. I want to go back and get a few things that looked like they would make interesting reads.
On Sunday, the team gathered up and drove back to Denver. We spent Monday at Red Rocks to help kick off AmeriCorps Week with the other wildfire teams, the local team and some AmeriCorps VISTA and state/local members. We spent the day pulling out two invasive species from the fields around Red Rocks and getting sunburned. After lunch, there was a ceremony to honor some CCC alumni, as well as some AmeriCorps alumni and members. Keenan, the one wildfire TL, was among the group. They had the comedian Josh Blue as entertainment.
After all that, we went grocery shopping and then headed back to the bunkhouse. This week was better food-wise, but we also went about $120 over budget. Apparently, though, we’re not the only wildfire team having an issue with the cost of food. So I guess we’ll see what happens.
On Tuesday morning, we awoke to six inches of snow on the ground and more falling. We did PT in the weight room that day, something called House of Pain. You take a deck of cards and flip through them, each card representing a different exercise. So all Jacks were twenty crunches, all 2s were wall-sits for 30 seconds, etc. It was interesting. Because there was snow everywhere, we couldn’t work outside. So we spent the whole day doing JHAs – Job Hazard Analysis paperwork. It was really boring. JHAs are basically forms that you have to read and sign concerning any and every little job hazard that could possibly exist. Working for the Forest Service presents a few obvious ones that wouldn’t ordinarily exist in normal jobs. However, there was one JHA that explained hazards of office work and how to remedy or prevent things like paper cuts, strained eyes and sitting too long. Really terrible.
Today was a little different. Apparently for this round, on Wednesdays we’ll be working with Open Spaces in Boulder. They’re an organization that preserves … well … open space in Boulder. Today, we went to an area near a park and cleared brush that was obscuring a fence, pulled old fence posts and cleaned up garbage.
Tomorrow, it’s back to the work center. Not sure if we’ll have another field day. The snow has melted some. We’ll see.
On Saturday, the team joined Earth 4 at UC Boulder to help out with an MS walk for an ISP. After that, some of us stayed in Boulder and walked around for a bit, got lunch, etc. I wandered into a leftist co-op bookstore at one point and it was pretty cool. I want to go back and get a few things that looked like they would make interesting reads.
On Sunday, the team gathered up and drove back to Denver. We spent Monday at Red Rocks to help kick off AmeriCorps Week with the other wildfire teams, the local team and some AmeriCorps VISTA and state/local members. We spent the day pulling out two invasive species from the fields around Red Rocks and getting sunburned. After lunch, there was a ceremony to honor some CCC alumni, as well as some AmeriCorps alumni and members. Keenan, the one wildfire TL, was among the group. They had the comedian Josh Blue as entertainment.
After all that, we went grocery shopping and then headed back to the bunkhouse. This week was better food-wise, but we also went about $120 over budget. Apparently, though, we’re not the only wildfire team having an issue with the cost of food. So I guess we’ll see what happens.
On Tuesday morning, we awoke to six inches of snow on the ground and more falling. We did PT in the weight room that day, something called House of Pain. You take a deck of cards and flip through them, each card representing a different exercise. So all Jacks were twenty crunches, all 2s were wall-sits for 30 seconds, etc. It was interesting. Because there was snow everywhere, we couldn’t work outside. So we spent the whole day doing JHAs – Job Hazard Analysis paperwork. It was really boring. JHAs are basically forms that you have to read and sign concerning any and every little job hazard that could possibly exist. Working for the Forest Service presents a few obvious ones that wouldn’t ordinarily exist in normal jobs. However, there was one JHA that explained hazards of office work and how to remedy or prevent things like paper cuts, strained eyes and sitting too long. Really terrible.
Today was a little different. Apparently for this round, on Wednesdays we’ll be working with Open Spaces in Boulder. They’re an organization that preserves … well … open space in Boulder. Today, we went to an area near a park and cleared brush that was obscuring a fence, pulled old fence posts and cleaned up garbage.
Tomorrow, it’s back to the work center. Not sure if we’ll have another field day. The snow has melted some. We’ll see.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Rrrrrrrr!
Wooo!! Chainsaws! So after some abridged PT this morning (allegedly – that run seemed just as long as it was yesterday and I sucked today), we spent the first half of the day in a class on chainsaws. Our packet for the class is about an inch thick, it’s crazy. I could not stay awake either, it was awful. I’ve been getting plenty of sleep but I just want to conk out every five seconds sitting in the work center. And there was so much information. I feel like I can’t remember any of it. Well, I remember some of the most important parts like don’t use the chainsaw over your head, make sure to look for overhead hazards, clear the area, have a safe zone, watch your kerf while cutting … but there was so much more than that. After lunch, we spent a little more time talking and then we got to play around with some actual professional chainsaws. All of the chainsaws have names – Sasha, Otis, FSU, Monique, Mr. Orange, Tyler Durden. No one was allowed to take Tyler Durden. I seem to recall Ervin telling me something about that particular chainsaw but it escapes me now. I took Otis, which I found out was Ervin’s chainsaw last year.
So we each got to take the bar apart, see all the vitals, take out the air filter, take out off the flywheel cover. It was pretty cool, I enjoyed that far more than sitting around. I remember a lot more too, but then I’m a visual person. Then we got to start chainsaws and see what they felt like. I went to start mine and it just would not go. I kept yanking on the cord and I got nothing. Ervin was egging me on and I finally just gave in and told him to do it. Well, it wasn’t just me – it was flooded. So Ervin and one of the Forest Service guys had to work at it for a while. Eventually, they got it started but they found out that the idle needed to be fixed because it would just cut off after you started it unless your finger was on the trigger. So we learned two methods to starting a chainsaw. I finally got it started on my turn. It felt pretty cool. They’re heavy, but they’re not as heavy as I thought they would be.
After work, we found out how the break situation is gonna work. Half of the teams are going to take break during the scheduled AmeriCorps break, which is June 27th to July 6th. The other half would take a break from May 23rd to 31st, pending Kevin’s approval. I’m currently in the May break group, but I might be able to switch to the June/July break. We’ll see. I feel like the May break is poor scheduling. It’s so last minute. We would find out if the May break is official on Tuesday, which would give me roughly a week to buy tickets and arrange transportation. Meanwhile, the June/July people have more time to figure out how to get home, what tickets to buy, etc. I dunno, we’ll see what happens. I might end up being able to switch with someone and go home in June. I’d like that because it would give my mom a chance to take off from work for the time that I would be home.
Meanwhile, this morning is the second morning that my MP3 player hasn’t worked, so I’ve had to run without music. Boo. I need a rhythm. I can run without it, but I’m gonna call Sandisk’s tech support and see if I can fix it. I really enjoy running with a tempo, with instrumental and lyrical motivation.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Be careful what you wish for ...
Well, this morning was a change. I woke up around 7:00 am to give myself a little time to eat breakfast and get ready without rushing. We reported to the work center a 8:30 to begin with PT. We ended up having to wait around until 9:00 am for the other team to show up. They commute from Boulder, so it’s hard to say whether it was traffic or a miscommunication about report time. Anyway, once they got there, Chad (one of our Forest Service supervisors) led us on a run, about two miles. It was mostly uphill, about 65% trails and 35% road. The weather was nice, sunny and a bit cool. I was usually trailing behind the front group in the pack but I was most focused on maintaining a steady pace for the entire run.
After the run, we circled back up at the work center and did a bunch of calisthenics from the Navy Seal work out. We did a lot of push-ups and crunches. We also did a variety of pull-ups. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who needed a spotter to hold my feet and give me a bit of a boost on the pull-up bar. I have only ever successfully done one pull-up in my entire life. So one of my goals is to definitely be able to do a series of pull-ups without a spotter.
After PT was done, we changed into our uniform and gathered up to take an inane exam on NIMS, the National Incident Management System, a bunch of hierarchical guidelines put into place after 9/11 for disaster response and so forth. So dumb. So we took the exam, and then sat around for a while and talked some more about policies and what we can expect. It was kind of a slow day today and we got out early again. Tomorrow, we have a class on chain saws and … other things that I can’t remember right now.
So after we arrived yesterday, we unloaded our stuff and settled in a bit. Earth 4, the team we’ll be working with (that is living where we were supposed to be in Boulder), met us there and we got issued some extra gear that we didn’t have. As an ATL, I get the added privilege of carrying an extra box of batteries and some flagging tape. Work finished early because we didn’t have a whole lot other than going over some logistics. So we came back to the bunkhouse and got more comfortable.
I went grocery shopping right after work and it was really a slap in the face. The cost of living in Colorado is much higher than where we were living in Texas, and the cost of living in Boulder is even higher than in Denver. So, even at a Safeway supermarket where I could use my mom’s phone number to get the club card deals, and even with the tax exemption, we were still about $30 over the weekly food budget. It sucked. And I know that I didn’t buy nearly as much food as I did in Texas. I keep trying to remind myself that the first week is always tough because you have to buy everything, there’s no food base. But still … I think we’re going to have to find another option. We’re going to be eating a whole lot more than we normally do just because of the work we’ll be doing and how much more our bodies will need. I know I can only work with what I’m given and no one on my team is going to starve. But I don’t like knowing that people won’t be full. I guess we’ll see what happens next week. The plan might be to go shopping at a Wal-Mart supercenter in Denver while we’re there from Sunday into Monday for the kick off of AmeriCorps Week. Unfortunately, even if we save money there it won’t matter – the budget doesn’t roll over. We get $315 for ten people every week, regardless of how much we’ve spent the previous week. It’s a big pain, especially when we could use the extra. We saved a ton of money while we were on our first spike in Texas. But ultimately, we saved AmeriCorps money as an organization. We don’t get to be frugal only to splurge later. It’s annoying.
Once we got back from the grocery store, everyone unloaded the groceries while I got to unpack my stuff and settle into my room. I’m pretty organized, there’s room for just about everything. Living in the bunkhouse for seven weeks should be pretty comfy.
So after work today, a few of us went into town for about an hour. I went to the library to get online and do a little Googling, check my email. The Nederland public library is a little big bigger than a Subway. I’m not kidding. But it has free wifi, so that’s really all that matters. I need to take some pictures of around the bunkhouse, work center and Ned. It’s beautiful. Every time I turn around the view just seems too good to be true. How can sights like this exist?
Okay, I’m going to take a shower and get ready for bed. Got another long day tomorrow.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
In Transition
So here we are, the night before our second round starts. We got back to Denver on Wednesday afternoon. Only a few people ended up going to the Rockies game. I was one of those who decided to stay on campus. I was tired! I took my time unpacking and settling in. Nikki and I walked to a Tokyo Joe’s in Englewood for dinner. That was a treat, I hadn’t had sushi in a long time.
It was a little strange at first to regroup. There was a steady stream of returning teams throughout Wednesday and Thursday. I kind of felt a little aloof and removed at first. People I knew were returning but I didn’t feel an immediate draw to see anyone. I think I really felt the absence of my team – we had gone from spending every waking (and sleeping) moment together to not knowing where or what each of them was doing at any given time. It was odd. I also missed the presence of Wolf 4; during our last night together, someone made the point that our two teams had probably gotten to know each other better than anyone we had met during CTI. Both CTI and our first rounds were both about four weeks long, but our two teams had spent much more time together. So yeah, the return was a little strange for me at first, especially since most of my team was excited to see other Denver people and I was just kind of there. The week gradually got better, though. I fell back into place and got to hang out with people I hadn’t seen since CTI. I also got to spend time with people whom I hadn’t even had the chance to meet during CTI.
Ervin told us that transition weeks were designed to allow teams to decompress, but that wasn’t really the case with me. There were a few times where I had some moments to myself. But I had to go to ATL (Assistant Team Leader … yes, I’m an ATL now) and Peer Helper trainings. Bleh. Oh well. I’m not gonna lie, I used the time to make a ton of friendship bracelets.
Speaking of … I’m going to take this moment to ask for some help. When I was younger, I made friendship bracelets like a machine. I could do all sorts of patterns, too – stripes, zig zags, diamonds. But every single stripe bracelet I’ve started lately has turned out the same way: it curls up as soon as I get a few rows done. I’ve tried tightening the knots, loosening them … nothing seems to remedy the curling. If anyone knows the secret, I’d be forever thankful.
In other news, we found out at the project briefing for our second round where we’ll be living for this wildfire spike. Well … sort of. At our briefing, we were told that our team would be living in Boulder and commuting to the work center in Nederland. The house sounded pretty sweet … until we found out two days later that plans had changed and now we’re going to actually be living at the work center in Ned (technically, it’s about a two mile walk from the actual town). The work center has bunkhouses for the seasonal Forest Service firefighters. Apparently we managed to arrange to have one just for our team. It’s got five bedrooms, each with two beds and its own bathroom. There are two refrigerators, two dishwashers, two stoves, two washers and two dryers. There’s satellite tv and big couches. I’m pretty excited, that will be a sweet retreat at the end of the workday. And it will be nice to not have to wake up extra early to commute to work. I will probably roll out of bed on more than one occasion for this next round. The only drawbacks are no cell service (so I’ve heard) and the closest access to internet is two miles down into town to the public library. But the bunkhouse has a landline and I have a calling card. Besides, during CTI I spent every Sunday walking down to Mile High Café in Englewood. So I’m used to walking for my email at this point.
Another perk is that we’ll be getting our “red cards,” which apparently prove that we’re wildland firefighters and give us free public transportation. Buses run from Ned to Boulder and from Boulder to Denver all the time, so that will be great as well. I’ll definitely put that to use, I really want to explore Boulder!
So that’s it. I should probably get to bed, tomorrow’s a big day. We’re going to wake up early, eat breakfast, drive to the work center, drop our stuff off at the bunkhouse and then get to work. I think we’re supposed to have a field day tomorrow so it’ll be a little different than a normal workday. After work is over, I get to go down to Boulder to go grocery shopping for the week (*cue apathetic “woo!”*) and then hopefully unpack. I’m not sure how I feel, I don’t think the reality of what I’ll be doing has set in yet. My red bag is packed and ready for dispatch. My line bag is as packed as it can be without all of the stuff they’ll assign for us. I feel like I should be nervous, but I’m not, at least not yet. I’m not really jumping-jacks excited either, though. But it’ll probably kick in tomorrow. We’ll see. I think I’m just ready to get into it. I know I’ll make mistakes and I know that I’ll forget things more often than I’ll remember them at first. But I really just wanna have someone kick my butt into gear, I miss having my boundaries pushed.
It was a little strange at first to regroup. There was a steady stream of returning teams throughout Wednesday and Thursday. I kind of felt a little aloof and removed at first. People I knew were returning but I didn’t feel an immediate draw to see anyone. I think I really felt the absence of my team – we had gone from spending every waking (and sleeping) moment together to not knowing where or what each of them was doing at any given time. It was odd. I also missed the presence of Wolf 4; during our last night together, someone made the point that our two teams had probably gotten to know each other better than anyone we had met during CTI. Both CTI and our first rounds were both about four weeks long, but our two teams had spent much more time together. So yeah, the return was a little strange for me at first, especially since most of my team was excited to see other Denver people and I was just kind of there. The week gradually got better, though. I fell back into place and got to hang out with people I hadn’t seen since CTI. I also got to spend time with people whom I hadn’t even had the chance to meet during CTI.
Ervin told us that transition weeks were designed to allow teams to decompress, but that wasn’t really the case with me. There were a few times where I had some moments to myself. But I had to go to ATL (Assistant Team Leader … yes, I’m an ATL now) and Peer Helper trainings. Bleh. Oh well. I’m not gonna lie, I used the time to make a ton of friendship bracelets.
Speaking of … I’m going to take this moment to ask for some help. When I was younger, I made friendship bracelets like a machine. I could do all sorts of patterns, too – stripes, zig zags, diamonds. But every single stripe bracelet I’ve started lately has turned out the same way: it curls up as soon as I get a few rows done. I’ve tried tightening the knots, loosening them … nothing seems to remedy the curling. If anyone knows the secret, I’d be forever thankful.
In other news, we found out at the project briefing for our second round where we’ll be living for this wildfire spike. Well … sort of. At our briefing, we were told that our team would be living in Boulder and commuting to the work center in Nederland. The house sounded pretty sweet … until we found out two days later that plans had changed and now we’re going to actually be living at the work center in Ned (technically, it’s about a two mile walk from the actual town). The work center has bunkhouses for the seasonal Forest Service firefighters. Apparently we managed to arrange to have one just for our team. It’s got five bedrooms, each with two beds and its own bathroom. There are two refrigerators, two dishwashers, two stoves, two washers and two dryers. There’s satellite tv and big couches. I’m pretty excited, that will be a sweet retreat at the end of the workday. And it will be nice to not have to wake up extra early to commute to work. I will probably roll out of bed on more than one occasion for this next round. The only drawbacks are no cell service (so I’ve heard) and the closest access to internet is two miles down into town to the public library. But the bunkhouse has a landline and I have a calling card. Besides, during CTI I spent every Sunday walking down to Mile High Café in Englewood. So I’m used to walking for my email at this point.
Another perk is that we’ll be getting our “red cards,” which apparently prove that we’re wildland firefighters and give us free public transportation. Buses run from Ned to Boulder and from Boulder to Denver all the time, so that will be great as well. I’ll definitely put that to use, I really want to explore Boulder!
So that’s it. I should probably get to bed, tomorrow’s a big day. We’re going to wake up early, eat breakfast, drive to the work center, drop our stuff off at the bunkhouse and then get to work. I think we’re supposed to have a field day tomorrow so it’ll be a little different than a normal workday. After work is over, I get to go down to Boulder to go grocery shopping for the week (*cue apathetic “woo!”*) and then hopefully unpack. I’m not sure how I feel, I don’t think the reality of what I’ll be doing has set in yet. My red bag is packed and ready for dispatch. My line bag is as packed as it can be without all of the stuff they’ll assign for us. I feel like I should be nervous, but I’m not, at least not yet. I’m not really jumping-jacks excited either, though. But it’ll probably kick in tomorrow. We’ll see. I think I’m just ready to get into it. I know I’ll make mistakes and I know that I’ll forget things more often than I’ll remember them at first. But I really just wanna have someone kick my butt into gear, I miss having my boundaries pushed.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
A Little Background
I mentioned last night that I was updating my blog while we were lying around in our hotel room. Nikki was lying next to me on the bed and she would glance over occasionally to see what I was doing. She read the part where I explained the canoe trip and, seeing all of our names, she asked if I had explained who everyone on the team was. I realized that I had never done that before, I had only mentioned people in passing. Those of you who read this (all two of you) might be curious as to who all of these people are. Thus, I’ve decided to take this time to introduce you to my team and maybe a few others.
Earth 5:
Ervin – Aka, “Swerve.” Ervin is our team leader. He did NCCC last year as a corps member and this year he’s back to give us rookies a little guidance. He’s 21, from South Carolina. He has an older sister with whom we’ll be working when we start our wildfire rounds. Ervin may seem like a man of few words at first, but he’s actually a funny guy. He’s a bit of a wilderness man. He loves hiking and sleeping in his hammock. Ervin was my first temporary TL and I’m definitely glad to have him as my permanent TL.
Harrison – Harrison is 21, from North Carolina. He’s actually an NCCC vet, he was a member last year along with Ervin. He was studying acting while he was in college, so his impersonations are dead on and he’s a total character. I think he’s funny as hell. He can be a real gentleman and, though I can’t really seem to tell you why, he’s definitely a southern boy.
Adrienne – We’ve managed to coax Adrienne into letting us call her “Addy.” If I had a sister, I’d want her to be like this girl here. Addy’s 23 and from Michigan. She actually lives directly across the hall from me in the dorms but I hadn’t gotten to know her until she ended up on my team. She loves her coffee and she’s really sarcastic, but I adore that about her. She’s also not afraid to be honest or be herself. And she’s one hell of a runner, she keeps me motivated. I tend to have more close guy friends than girl friends, and I’m delighted that Adrienne has proven to be an exception to the rule.
Levi – I actually knew who Levi was before we got to Denver, thanks to an NCCC Facebook group. My first impression was that I wouldn’t like him at all. But on our first temporary team, we ended up together. He’s pretty much proven my first impression to be wrong and I’m glad. Levi’s the youngest of the group at 18, but the kid has done a ton of stuff in his life thus far. He’s on a search and rescue squad back in his home state of Maine. Ask him about that, cars or motorcycles and you’ve got him started. He’s got a story about everything.
Paul – Paul actually reminds me of my brother in a lot of ways; the funny things he says or the way he always has to show me something on YouTube. He’s 20 and also from Michigan. He spent some time in the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) before coming to NCCC. Paul is always a surprise, you never know what he’ll do or say next. The kid is a cluster of energy, he is always bouncing off the walls or jumping around.
Michael – Alias M Squared, Squid. For the purposes of this little bio, though, I’ll refer to him as Mike. Mike adds the spice to our team. He’s 23, from the Bronx and he is one cool cat. He’s totally chill and he’s a sweetie. He’s also a joker and an all-around fun guy. He’s “married” to Nikki, but he keeps divorcing her so he can flirt with other girls. And speaking of Nikki …
Nikki – Nikki was among the first friends that I made during CTI. She’s 23 and from Ohio. She is frequently described as the sweetest girl you will ever meet. This is true, but don’t let her fool you – she’s more than meets the eye. She’s a great girl to hang out with and, like Adrienne, she’s an exception to the rule. I was so happy when I found out she was on my team. Nikki is the Jane Bennett to my Elizabeth (brownie points to those of you who get the reference). We are each other’s motivation and she is one hell of a trooper.
John – Aka “Uncle John.” John’s the oldest of the group at 24. He’s from Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, but he recently lived in Philadelphia for a time while he was doing another AmeriCorps program. So he actually knows where Lansdale is and we’ll occasionally talk about Philly. John was also on my first temporary team at the beginning of CTI. He’s got a quirky sense of humor that I adore and he shares Adrienne’s passion/obsession for coffee.
Travis – Travis was another person whom I didn’t know prior to having him on my team. He’s 23 from “the streets of Brooklyn … Connecticut.” Travis is witty as hell and has flawless timing. Before I got to know him he struck me as an all-round nice guy and that’s exactly what he is. He loves baseball, playing soccer and he’s a loyal teammate. He’ll also blow you away at karaoke. And his purpose in life seems to be toughening me up, heh.
Some others worth mentioning …
Wolf 4: As I mentioned, while we were in Texas we stayed with a team from the NCCC Perry Point campus. If I didn’t have my team, I think I’d want to be with Wolf 4. They really were one of the main reasons we had such great experiences during our first spike. Everyone was great fun and hilarious. Their team dynamic is priceless. Noelle, Sarah, Emma, Renae, Mark, Mike, Pete, Nash, Wade, Tisha: I adore you all and miss you terribly.
Rory: Rory was one of our site supervisors for Habitat for Humanity in Port Arthur. He is truly a great man. He’s a genuine southern man both in his kindness and humor. My favorite thing he said was, “He was so high he was driving around town without a car.” He was a great teacher and we learned a lot from him, both about building houses and about life in general. We always looked forward to a day of work with Rory because, even when a situation was less than ideal, nothing could go wrong while he was around.
And while we’re at it, a word or two about Texas …
First of all, Texans LOVE being from Texas. I think they’ve figured out how to put the lone star flag on any object. I saw a car with not just one bumper sticker of the state of Texas, but two. Do you know anyone who has a bumper sticker of their state? I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one in the shape of PA. I can’t imagine where I would get one. And this car had two. They’re not just from Texas – they’re REALLY from Texas. I don’t say any of this to criticize. It’s just different, something I find it amusing and endearing.
Now, when they say that everything is big in Texas, they aren’t kidding. It’s not even really something materialistic. I mean, yeah, I’ve never seen so many raised pick-up trucks in my life. But I think it’s more of an existence, an experience. There are miles of fields and, even in the more developed areas, the sky just seems bigger. It’s a sensation. There’s room to stretch out. You feel like you can breathe easier in Texas and I don’t think it’s because I went from being a mile above sea level right down to the coast.
And I have to say, we were lucky to be in Texas for the time we were there. The weather was gorgeous. It was as if we skipped spring and went straight to summer. For someone like me who hates to be cold, it was delightfully rejuvenating. Even when it was too hot for others I loved it because, in the back of my head, I knew it was snowing in Colorado and it wouldn’t be long before we were back in the mountains.
Earth 5:
Ervin – Aka, “Swerve.” Ervin is our team leader. He did NCCC last year as a corps member and this year he’s back to give us rookies a little guidance. He’s 21, from South Carolina. He has an older sister with whom we’ll be working when we start our wildfire rounds. Ervin may seem like a man of few words at first, but he’s actually a funny guy. He’s a bit of a wilderness man. He loves hiking and sleeping in his hammock. Ervin was my first temporary TL and I’m definitely glad to have him as my permanent TL.
Harrison – Harrison is 21, from North Carolina. He’s actually an NCCC vet, he was a member last year along with Ervin. He was studying acting while he was in college, so his impersonations are dead on and he’s a total character. I think he’s funny as hell. He can be a real gentleman and, though I can’t really seem to tell you why, he’s definitely a southern boy.
Adrienne – We’ve managed to coax Adrienne into letting us call her “Addy.” If I had a sister, I’d want her to be like this girl here. Addy’s 23 and from Michigan. She actually lives directly across the hall from me in the dorms but I hadn’t gotten to know her until she ended up on my team. She loves her coffee and she’s really sarcastic, but I adore that about her. She’s also not afraid to be honest or be herself. And she’s one hell of a runner, she keeps me motivated. I tend to have more close guy friends than girl friends, and I’m delighted that Adrienne has proven to be an exception to the rule.
Levi – I actually knew who Levi was before we got to Denver, thanks to an NCCC Facebook group. My first impression was that I wouldn’t like him at all. But on our first temporary team, we ended up together. He’s pretty much proven my first impression to be wrong and I’m glad. Levi’s the youngest of the group at 18, but the kid has done a ton of stuff in his life thus far. He’s on a search and rescue squad back in his home state of Maine. Ask him about that, cars or motorcycles and you’ve got him started. He’s got a story about everything.
Paul – Paul actually reminds me of my brother in a lot of ways; the funny things he says or the way he always has to show me something on YouTube. He’s 20 and also from Michigan. He spent some time in the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) before coming to NCCC. Paul is always a surprise, you never know what he’ll do or say next. The kid is a cluster of energy, he is always bouncing off the walls or jumping around.
Michael – Alias M Squared, Squid. For the purposes of this little bio, though, I’ll refer to him as Mike. Mike adds the spice to our team. He’s 23, from the Bronx and he is one cool cat. He’s totally chill and he’s a sweetie. He’s also a joker and an all-around fun guy. He’s “married” to Nikki, but he keeps divorcing her so he can flirt with other girls. And speaking of Nikki …
Nikki – Nikki was among the first friends that I made during CTI. She’s 23 and from Ohio. She is frequently described as the sweetest girl you will ever meet. This is true, but don’t let her fool you – she’s more than meets the eye. She’s a great girl to hang out with and, like Adrienne, she’s an exception to the rule. I was so happy when I found out she was on my team. Nikki is the Jane Bennett to my Elizabeth (brownie points to those of you who get the reference). We are each other’s motivation and she is one hell of a trooper.
John – Aka “Uncle John.” John’s the oldest of the group at 24. He’s from Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, but he recently lived in Philadelphia for a time while he was doing another AmeriCorps program. So he actually knows where Lansdale is and we’ll occasionally talk about Philly. John was also on my first temporary team at the beginning of CTI. He’s got a quirky sense of humor that I adore and he shares Adrienne’s passion/obsession for coffee.
Travis – Travis was another person whom I didn’t know prior to having him on my team. He’s 23 from “the streets of Brooklyn … Connecticut.” Travis is witty as hell and has flawless timing. Before I got to know him he struck me as an all-round nice guy and that’s exactly what he is. He loves baseball, playing soccer and he’s a loyal teammate. He’ll also blow you away at karaoke. And his purpose in life seems to be toughening me up, heh.
Some others worth mentioning …
Wolf 4: As I mentioned, while we were in Texas we stayed with a team from the NCCC Perry Point campus. If I didn’t have my team, I think I’d want to be with Wolf 4. They really were one of the main reasons we had such great experiences during our first spike. Everyone was great fun and hilarious. Their team dynamic is priceless. Noelle, Sarah, Emma, Renae, Mark, Mike, Pete, Nash, Wade, Tisha: I adore you all and miss you terribly.
Rory: Rory was one of our site supervisors for Habitat for Humanity in Port Arthur. He is truly a great man. He’s a genuine southern man both in his kindness and humor. My favorite thing he said was, “He was so high he was driving around town without a car.” He was a great teacher and we learned a lot from him, both about building houses and about life in general. We always looked forward to a day of work with Rory because, even when a situation was less than ideal, nothing could go wrong while he was around.
And while we’re at it, a word or two about Texas …
First of all, Texans LOVE being from Texas. I think they’ve figured out how to put the lone star flag on any object. I saw a car with not just one bumper sticker of the state of Texas, but two. Do you know anyone who has a bumper sticker of their state? I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one in the shape of PA. I can’t imagine where I would get one. And this car had two. They’re not just from Texas – they’re REALLY from Texas. I don’t say any of this to criticize. It’s just different, something I find it amusing and endearing.
Now, when they say that everything is big in Texas, they aren’t kidding. It’s not even really something materialistic. I mean, yeah, I’ve never seen so many raised pick-up trucks in my life. But I think it’s more of an existence, an experience. There are miles of fields and, even in the more developed areas, the sky just seems bigger. It’s a sensation. There’s room to stretch out. You feel like you can breathe easier in Texas and I don’t think it’s because I went from being a mile above sea level right down to the coast.
And I have to say, we were lucky to be in Texas for the time we were there. The weather was gorgeous. It was as if we skipped spring and went straight to summer. For someone like me who hates to be cold, it was delightfully rejuvenating. Even when it was too hot for others I loved it because, in the back of my head, I knew it was snowing in Colorado and it wouldn’t be long before we were back in the mountains.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
"Drivin away, leaving it all behind ..."
Currently Reading: Don Quixote, Cervantes
Oh, heavens. I am so far behind, shame on me. Things have been so busy since my last entry.
We ended up passing off our Port Arthur house to a group of volunteers from Oklahoma, I think. While they adopted work on that house, we put decking up on the underside of the houses in Sabine Pass. Yeah, everyone thought that we were done with them. Every time we went back, it was to do a few finishing touches and they were finished. Well, now they're finished for real. Decking is frustrating. It's supposed to cover the insulation underneath the house, preventing birds from nesting up in it. But putting it up requires spending your entire day looking up with your arms over your head the whole time. We also had some issues with measuring the pieces and getting them flush on all edges. By the end of it, we had somehow found a rhythm. Still, we were definitely glad to finish that little project.
That next weekend, me, John, Nikki, Adrienne and Travis went canoeing with Wolf 4. That was lots of fun. We did a nine-mile stretch of river and spent seven hours on the water. It was awesome. We all had names for our boats. Nikki and Travis were Man Boat; Sarah and Renae were Gettin Wet for Jesus; Pete and Emma were Free Spirit; Wade and Noelle were Buzz Kill. Apparently as soon as Team Man Boat got on the water, they flipped. Poor things! Nikki lost her shirt and her sunglasses, Travis lost his hat and lunch. Still, we all survived. Mark and I half capsized at one point when we got stuck on a fallen tree. Nothing suffered besides us, though. I ended up with some prized bruises by the end of the day. It was great, good battle scars.
So canoeing was Saturday. On Sunday, Earth 5 had another ISP scheduled at Buu Mon. This time, we spent the morning fertilizing all of the buckets of lilies and lotuses. We only worked up until lunch, though, there wasn't much to do after everything was fertilized.
We kept decking on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. On Thursday, we went back to Beaumont, the first project location we had at the very start of our round. Everything had come full circle! We spent the day roofing. I loved it! It was a really nice day for it, too. The sun was behind the clouds all day and there was a light breeze. I spent all day putting shingles down on a roof, it was great fun. Unfortunately, it was downpouring hardcore when we woke up on Friday, so we reported to the warehouse. The site supervisors divided us up and took a few groups to different houses to do some interior work. I was a part of a group that remained at the warehouse and built some sheds. It wasn't bad. Adrienne and I cut 2x4s all morning. We helped assemble sheds after lunch.
For our last weekend two of the site supervisors, Rory and Troy, showed up to our humble shack on Sunday with some barbeque for us. That was a nice little gathering. And I believe we invented a new game while we were hanging out. It's called Triple Threat. It involves throwing around a frisbee, a football and kicking around a soccer ball all at the same time. Sometimes, you try to bombard one specific person with all three. But basically, it's just fun to try and keep them all going.
On Monday, we were able to go back to Beaumont and keep roofing. It was sunny and a little humid, though I know the rest of my team would probably say that it was really hot and humid. Personally, I enjoyed it. And we were roofing! So I had fun. After work, our team went out for our team dinner. We went to a Chinese buffet, because it was the only thing that would fit in our budget. Big mistake. I should never ever go to buffets of any kind. I always want to eat a little bit of everything and that always ends up being way too much.
After we got back from dinner, the livestock were grazing near the Y again so some of us were feeding the horses. There's one that was really friendly, she was a sweety. She really liked me. That, or I just had the right kind of grass for her.
So we all lounged around for a while, put off packing, and tried to spend one more good night with Wolf 4 as we could. Eventually, I packed up most of my stuff. A few of us in Earth woke up the next morning to see Wolf off to work. There was lots of hugging. Not gonna lie, I cried a little. After they left, we finished gathering up our stuff and Earth 4 showed up. We packed up, ate lunch and headed out. After a little driving, I started crying a bit. I think leaving actually started to hit me. I felt really detached, it was a little surreal. I'm really going to miss those guys. I think Adrienne pointed out the night before that we'd actually spent more time with Wolf 4 than we had with most of the people in Denver. We'd lived with them for a longer period of time than CTI, we were around each other a lot. We spent a lot of time together. Our first round is insperable from them. They were definitely one of the reasons our first project was such a good experience. They were great people, I'm really going to miss all of them. I hope we can keep in touch. If they have a project near Philly when I go home on breaks, I think I'll try to visit.
As of right now, I'm lying around in our hotel room in Amarillo. We spent last night in Dallas. We're apparently getting up wicked early tomorrow to make it back to Denver early enough to go to a Rockies game. We'll see how tired I'm feeling. It sounds like it would be a good time.
Okay, speaking of ... that's all I have as an update for now. I know I have more to talk about, but I think I'll save that for when I've settled back into my dorm. Sorry it's been so long! I hope it won't happen again. If those of you reading have any questions about what's going on with me, feel free to post them and I'll be sure to answer.
Oh, heavens. I am so far behind, shame on me. Things have been so busy since my last entry.
We ended up passing off our Port Arthur house to a group of volunteers from Oklahoma, I think. While they adopted work on that house, we put decking up on the underside of the houses in Sabine Pass. Yeah, everyone thought that we were done with them. Every time we went back, it was to do a few finishing touches and they were finished. Well, now they're finished for real. Decking is frustrating. It's supposed to cover the insulation underneath the house, preventing birds from nesting up in it. But putting it up requires spending your entire day looking up with your arms over your head the whole time. We also had some issues with measuring the pieces and getting them flush on all edges. By the end of it, we had somehow found a rhythm. Still, we were definitely glad to finish that little project.
That next weekend, me, John, Nikki, Adrienne and Travis went canoeing with Wolf 4. That was lots of fun. We did a nine-mile stretch of river and spent seven hours on the water. It was awesome. We all had names for our boats. Nikki and Travis were Man Boat; Sarah and Renae were Gettin Wet for Jesus; Pete and Emma were Free Spirit; Wade and Noelle were Buzz Kill. Apparently as soon as Team Man Boat got on the water, they flipped. Poor things! Nikki lost her shirt and her sunglasses, Travis lost his hat and lunch. Still, we all survived. Mark and I half capsized at one point when we got stuck on a fallen tree. Nothing suffered besides us, though. I ended up with some prized bruises by the end of the day. It was great, good battle scars.
So canoeing was Saturday. On Sunday, Earth 5 had another ISP scheduled at Buu Mon. This time, we spent the morning fertilizing all of the buckets of lilies and lotuses. We only worked up until lunch, though, there wasn't much to do after everything was fertilized.
We kept decking on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. On Thursday, we went back to Beaumont, the first project location we had at the very start of our round. Everything had come full circle! We spent the day roofing. I loved it! It was a really nice day for it, too. The sun was behind the clouds all day and there was a light breeze. I spent all day putting shingles down on a roof, it was great fun. Unfortunately, it was downpouring hardcore when we woke up on Friday, so we reported to the warehouse. The site supervisors divided us up and took a few groups to different houses to do some interior work. I was a part of a group that remained at the warehouse and built some sheds. It wasn't bad. Adrienne and I cut 2x4s all morning. We helped assemble sheds after lunch.
For our last weekend two of the site supervisors, Rory and Troy, showed up to our humble shack on Sunday with some barbeque for us. That was a nice little gathering. And I believe we invented a new game while we were hanging out. It's called Triple Threat. It involves throwing around a frisbee, a football and kicking around a soccer ball all at the same time. Sometimes, you try to bombard one specific person with all three. But basically, it's just fun to try and keep them all going.
On Monday, we were able to go back to Beaumont and keep roofing. It was sunny and a little humid, though I know the rest of my team would probably say that it was really hot and humid. Personally, I enjoyed it. And we were roofing! So I had fun. After work, our team went out for our team dinner. We went to a Chinese buffet, because it was the only thing that would fit in our budget. Big mistake. I should never ever go to buffets of any kind. I always want to eat a little bit of everything and that always ends up being way too much.
After we got back from dinner, the livestock were grazing near the Y again so some of us were feeding the horses. There's one that was really friendly, she was a sweety. She really liked me. That, or I just had the right kind of grass for her.
So we all lounged around for a while, put off packing, and tried to spend one more good night with Wolf 4 as we could. Eventually, I packed up most of my stuff. A few of us in Earth woke up the next morning to see Wolf off to work. There was lots of hugging. Not gonna lie, I cried a little. After they left, we finished gathering up our stuff and Earth 4 showed up. We packed up, ate lunch and headed out. After a little driving, I started crying a bit. I think leaving actually started to hit me. I felt really detached, it was a little surreal. I'm really going to miss those guys. I think Adrienne pointed out the night before that we'd actually spent more time with Wolf 4 than we had with most of the people in Denver. We'd lived with them for a longer period of time than CTI, we were around each other a lot. We spent a lot of time together. Our first round is insperable from them. They were definitely one of the reasons our first project was such a good experience. They were great people, I'm really going to miss all of them. I hope we can keep in touch. If they have a project near Philly when I go home on breaks, I think I'll try to visit.
As of right now, I'm lying around in our hotel room in Amarillo. We spent last night in Dallas. We're apparently getting up wicked early tomorrow to make it back to Denver early enough to go to a Rockies game. We'll see how tired I'm feeling. It sounds like it would be a good time.
Okay, speaking of ... that's all I have as an update for now. I know I have more to talk about, but I think I'll save that for when I've settled back into my dorm. Sorry it's been so long! I hope it won't happen again. If those of you reading have any questions about what's going on with me, feel free to post them and I'll be sure to answer.
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