Hello blog, here's some stats:
Current location: Perry Point, MD for Transition
Next location: Savannah, GA
Project: bedding oyster shells (which help filter the water and create a better ecosystem...or something) with the University of Georgia's marine research dept.
time frame: 3 weeks
Things I'm looking forward to:
Seeing my mom for memorial day weekend (she's coming up to visit!!!!)
Going to Orlando on June 5, 6, and 7 and seeing all my pals :)
Working on an amazing environmental project and getting a sweet farmer's tan
Exploring Savannah
Seeing Jessie Lagala and Abbi
Transition is the time between projects where the whole Corps goes back to Perry Point to regroup, train, and get ready for the next project. This transition has been pretty amazing. I've absolutely loved hanging out with all my housemates and friends here that I haven't seen in quite some time. Even though it's only been a couple months, each day feels like a week from all the new things that happen. It's a strange thing, I mean think about it, how many brand new things happen to you on a normal day-to-day basis. Not too much. People have schedules and routines, but here it just feels like an overload of new info especially when you don't know what you're doing the next day. You could be going to DC to clear out a canal (and to get some awesome poison ivy on your leg!), you could be working in a building constructing bunk beds (and having your teammate lift you up and throw you on a mattress), or you could be having an intense PT session (I'll explain that in a bit).
There were some down sides, though, such as the young'n I was seeing. I had to end things with him; he wanted a relationship about the same time I realized I had no real feelings for him. I hate hurting people and it's been so long since I have that I almost forgot how awful it makes you feel. I even found out that before "breaking up" he had made me a mix tape! I'm such an asshole, I don't know how I let us get on different pages. I should've been way more responsible with his feelings, but I forgot that he was so young; he's never even been hurt by a girl before. Ugh.
About PT. So Sean, the Badger Unit Leaders, says to himself "it's been raining all day. What's the best way to get these AmeriCorps kids fit. I know, I'll have them roll around in the mud for an hour and get scabies."
Okay, maybe none of us got Scabies, but his PT session could easily have lead to mites that burrow below your skin and give you diseases. Basically he set up about 20+ exercises in a giant circle in this dirty field that geese often occupy. Each team started at an exercise and stayed there for 1-2 minutes (can't remember how long). Then Sean blew his whistle and we switched. The whole thing could almost be seen as an exercise in diversity - by the end everyone was one color: muddy brown. I mean, half these exercises consisted of us rolling or laying directly in mud puddles. AND though the weather was warm, the mud was freezing. Now I'm not trying to get all theological on you, but IF there is a G-d, and IF he/she/it/Oprah was watching, I imagine they were ROFLing all over the place at 160 people willingly covering themselves in a mix of goose poop and wet dirt.
We also had a PT assessment test which consists of running a mile, push ups, and sit ups. On my first test I ran the mile in 12:36 (or something close to that). That was pretty much my time in high school, too. Keep in mind I'm not a runner AT ALL! I tried being a runner in college for a week, but it didn't work out. Anyway, for the 2nd test I ran the mile in 11:46. That's and improvement, right? So for this test I was joking with my team like "here's to being the last to finish!" because I happen to be on a team with super athletic people. And one of my teammates, tall Eric, was like "you should shoot for under 11 minutes" and I was like "Is that a joke?" and he was all "you can do it motivation motivation blah blah blah" and I was all "yeah right, maybe when pigs learn technology skills and can make a person into man-bacon". Okay that's not exactly how the convo went, but you get the gist. ANYWAY we do the mile run and check it out, I ran it in 10:24! Maybe that doesn't seem like fast to some people, but it was super fast for me! Plus, that's more than a minute improvement from last time. I was so happy! I've also started running on my own and I surprisingly like it. Today me and Eileen ran 2 miles and walked 1, it was great.
Being the least fit person on your team has it's perks - such as no one expecting you to succeed at anything physical. So when I throw a football across our mini field or catch it from that same distance, everyone's all shocked and stuff. Plus, I love the way they push me to do better without even knowing it. And they're all very supportive people, so I get help when I need it. No one judges me on my fitness capabilities, which is really amazing. Though I do love getting into a good intellectual conversation where I can actually hold my own a bit and not feel quite as inferior ;)
Update on the Julie situation: she and I were finally started to click, and she was improving so much as a person and worker, and then suddenly she was removed from our team. She only has 1 kidney and because of that she can't be in super warm weather, and since we're going to Savannah then to DC, she had to be moved. Now she's going to another team who's already bonded during 1st round and I'm scared they'll ignore her or won't know how to handle her. I was so upset when I found out (though a good portion of my team was relieved) I just think this is a bad idea for her growth and it totally screws up everyone's team dynamics. But she knew this was a possibility going into the program. I'm over my frustration now, and yes it will be nice not having her negativity and overall obnoxiousness around 24/7, BUT I can't see how this will be good for her. WE'RE her team, WE'RE her family, ya know?
Anyway, this transition has also given me some time to catch up on the important things in life that I had to sacrifice upon entering AmeriCorps; such as General Hospital. I spent last night reading recaps and watching YouTube clips. Pathetic! Ah well, at least I know the level of my lameness (on a scale of 1 to David Hasselhoff, I've gotta be at the most a Sanjaya...that's right, I referenced American Idol. I can safely do that bc I DO NOT watch that ridiculous show, which should earn me back some of those lameness points I lost). We leave for Savannah tomorrow at 8am for a good 11-12 hour drive. I can't wait to work on this project and be in warm weather! Oh man, I'm gonna be living on an island and going to the beach every day! There's just so much to look forward to that I can't help but smile.
I miss you guys and I hope I'll be able to see all my Orlando friends in a few weeks!!!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Shocker! I'm actually updating! Sorry about all the not updating I've been doing since I've been in the Corps. It's a constant joke in AmeriCorps that we're all sealed inside this AmeriBubble where nothing from the outside world can penetrate, and it goes both ways. It's so easy to forget that anything else in the world exists. I'll be listening to the radio and it'll say something like "The stock market is down again" and I'll be like "Holy crap, I forgot there was a stock market!" I'm really really sorry that I've been distant. I just hope you believe that it had nothing to do with a lack of interest in any of my friends, only with and overflow of experiences that consume so much of my time.
Quick recap of what my job is here. We're working with the Parks department of Putnam County in Hurricane, West Virginia. We are renovating an office for our sponsor so he can work more efficiently getting grants and trying to boost the area's economy as well as provide a constant flow of volunteers to the community. Our sponsor, Lowell, is awesome and I love him. We are also renovating a place called Hometown Park. We preserved a pavillion that had been there for 20-30 years and we built one from scratch. Unfortunately, our sponsor had applied to AmeriCorps with the intention of getting about 7 people for 6 weeks, and instead got 10 people for 8 weeks. Meaning there hasn't been nearly enough work for everyone, especially the women who are constantly excluded (but more on that later). We're also working in the richest county of WV so it's been a bit hard for some of us to reconcile what we're actually doing here. That being said, I've never gotten to know 9 other people so fast and fallen for all of them. I love my team. For the most part.
ANYWAY. Let's talk West Virginia. Let's talk about EVERYONE'S ability to completely disregard the feminist movement of the '70's and think that giving women the right to vote was all that the ladies ever needed. Suffice to say, my taste for WV men is that of bitter annoyance. And the women aren't much better bc they allow it to happen. The one lady that works for the Parks Dept., while being very nice, consistently lets the men belittle and condescend to her. Another example, Rine was standing next to a WV man that was working with us that had some heavy materials in his hand that he was handing out. Rine put her arms out to take them, and instead of giving it to her he walked around her to give it to Eric. Another one; some of the girls were walking outside and ran into one of the Parks workers here who said he needed help with fencing and asked if any of the boys were available. When the girls said no, but that they could help, he said nevermind and that they would do the fencing some other time. Personally, there was this man making blatant sexist comments about women, mostly to get a rise out of us, but also because I'm sure he believed everything he was saying. Since I was in my A (wearing my uniform) I couldn't go balls out crazy and tell him that making fun of women wouldn't make his tiny west virginian penis get any bigger, I instead referenced several women throughout history who made the kind of impression on the world that he could never even hope to achieve. The upside of standing next to a moron is that you can make fun of him without him knowing, and if he doesn't know he can't tell my TL to get me in trouble. The downside is that he never really knew how much I insulted him.
It's not all bad though, like I said our sponsor is really great. And we've done some super fun ISP's (Independent Service Projects). Remember, I'm require to do 80 hours of ISPs outside my normal work day. We've built a dog park, helped organize and run a Disney Princess's Tea Party (where little girls came dressed as princesses, except one awesome little chick who came as Spiderman). We worked at a dog shelter where I got to wash and play with dogs all day, which made me miss Rocky soooo much).
My team and I get along really well. I mean, there's definitely conflict within the team, but none with me thankfully! The only issues I've had have been with Julie (along with everyone else). I'm not entirely sure if I've explained the Julie situation. She's by far the worst human being I've ever met. At least I thought so for most of this Spike. And that's saying a lot because I generally like everyone and try not to judge people if I can help it. But I've had to explain to this 19 year old Bostonian (who appears to have had absolutely no discipline growing up) what an insult is and how they can be hurtful when said to someone in front of a crowd. She doesn't know any basic social skills. I mean, she was transferred on my team bc our team worked so well together and bc she screwed up too much on her original team. She yells, bitches, curses, goes nuts over the stupidest shit. But besides how completely inconsiderate she is, she's 10 times more unprofessional. She doesn't seem to get that you can't interrupt someone we're working for to tell them 500 stories about your boyfriend or your mom or a friend of a friend who got drunk and tried to stab his girlfriend. NO ONE GIVES A SHIT. And it's completely inappropriate to talk about that on the job. Or to yell at our sponsor to get you a hammer. Or to snap at a teammate in front of the head of the local 4H club that we're trying to recruit for a volunteer day. I finally had enough after that last one (which happened on the day I found out some really awful news about a friend) so I ratted her out to the TL because enough was enough! A few of the people we're working for already told Jessie (our TL) that they noticed that Julie never finishes what she starts, always slacks off, and never cleans up after herself. So Julie got written up and since it was only me and tall Eric that were around when she snapped at us in front of the 4H lady, she knew who to blame. Instead of realize that the ONLY person all 3 incidents had in common was her, she blamed me and was bitchy to me for a couple days. And then something crazy happened. It was like me ratting her out was the release of all my anger at her, and at the same time her realizing that I wasn't a pushover who would constantly baby her, brought us closer...somehow. Recently we've been getting a long really well. Her very existence doesn't bother me as much. It's crazy, but it's good. As for the rest of the team, they still can't stand her.
Speaking of the rest of my team, have I mentioned how much they rock? We were always the team laughing in the back row during CTI (the training during the 1st month of AmeriCorps), and not too much has changed. For me at least, like I said there are some inter-team squabbles, but I'm not too involved. I've been pretty good at remembering how much I love this program whenever I get fed up or am in a bad mood, which helps me not be bitchy to people. We also have these 8 person wrestling matches that are so much fun! It's sucks though bc it's usually boys vs. girls and none of the guys on our team are pansies, so we pretty much get our asses handed to us. Especially now since we all know each other's weaknesses (such as tickle spots and aversion to feet). OH but me, Lili, and Emma got the boys back EPICLY! Little Eric's (little being a relative term, as he is about 6', but tall Eric is 6'6 so....) brothers were in town so all the guys were at a hotel doing not-too-kosher AmeriCorps things. After going to WalMart for some supplies we totally ambushed them with silly string and water guns! It was AWESOME! haha. We also do things like gallon milk challenges and water balloon fights. I talk with some other Corps members about their team dynamic, and it just isn't the same. I've defiintely bonded with everyone. Emma and I have gotten really close. She's a big SciFi geek in the best kind of way and I can talk to her and Rine about everything. Little Eric has become like a little brother - I feel protective over him and I like fighting him and all those sisterly things. I have so much fun with Lili and I have deep conversations with Austin - when he's not being completely insane and jumping on top of tables and walls. Tall Eric and I are like the grown ups who have fun watching the boys go nuts, but he'll just as quickly join them as mock them. Joe and little Eric are big teddy bears. I don't know how I got so lucky, but did :)
Also, it's 80 degrees outside. 80 FREAKIN DEGREES! I'm in heaven. It's been cold for soooooooo long here. I was painting lines on a basketball court with tall Eric yesterday and the heat was bouncing off the pavement and it was ridiculously hot but I loved every minute of it. Florida, I miss you so much! One of the teams next round is going to Orlando to work with Disney's Wildlife Reserve, and though I'm happy not to have gotten that project (bc I joined this program in part to experience NEW people, places, and things), I was a bit jealous that they were going to live somewhere filled with MY friends and MY places and MY kind of weather.
Damn this blog is getting long. I'm gonna try to update more so this doesn't happen. I've only got one or two more things to cover, I swear!
My next project is a DREAM. We applied for and got Summer of Service. This means living in Washington DC for 2 months!!!! AHHHHHHHH I'm so excited. And guess who's a SUPER fan of AmeriCorps? This guy named Barack Obama! It would be so freakin awesome to meet him (again...hehe). Summer of Service is going to place me and someone else in charge of a group of kids to do mini AmeriCorps projects with them. It's going to be hard work, but it'll definitely help me decide if I want to come back to AmeriCorps next year as a Team Leader (which I'm very much considering). I just can't believe I'm going to live in DC. And go to NYC on the weekends. Not to mention that Elieen (my AmeriBestie and housemate from Perry Point) is going there with her team, too. It's unreal.
It's actually a split project, so from May 16th to the end of May we're going to Savanna, GA to plant oyster beds on one of GA' islands. Which sounds awesome for several reasons. 1) WARM WEATHER 2) working IN the water 3) 4 hours from Orlando. My whole team wants to go to Orlando to go to Disney or IOA. I already have plans to go to Orlando twice, once with them to do the Disney thing, and once with just a couple teammates to see all my friends that I love and miss soooooo much! I'll give everyone details the closer it gets.
Okay, so as some of you may know, I came to AmeriCorps with a broken heart (sorry for not telling all of you about it, it was more of an unexpected private whirlwind kind of thing), and the last thing I expected was to meet anyone here. And yet....he started out as the Mr. Right Now type (you know; pretty, funny, not serious at all) a great distraction from feeling like complete and utter shit during my down-time the first month I was here. And out of both of us living in rural areas without much to do, we kept talking nearly everyday this whole Round so that now, despite my best efforts, I kind of like him. It's silly and fun, and we both know that it's completely an AmeriCorps thing, but I'm a sucker for a guy that makes me laugh as much as he does. But.....oy vey.....he's young. I'm a cougar! :( it's actually pretty funny...and also very wrong on a creepy pedophile level. But, if Demi can pull it off why can't I? Right???
Anyway, thanks for truckin' through my whole blog! And I really am gonna try to update more often ;)
Quick recap of what my job is here. We're working with the Parks department of Putnam County in Hurricane, West Virginia. We are renovating an office for our sponsor so he can work more efficiently getting grants and trying to boost the area's economy as well as provide a constant flow of volunteers to the community. Our sponsor, Lowell, is awesome and I love him. We are also renovating a place called Hometown Park. We preserved a pavillion that had been there for 20-30 years and we built one from scratch. Unfortunately, our sponsor had applied to AmeriCorps with the intention of getting about 7 people for 6 weeks, and instead got 10 people for 8 weeks. Meaning there hasn't been nearly enough work for everyone, especially the women who are constantly excluded (but more on that later). We're also working in the richest county of WV so it's been a bit hard for some of us to reconcile what we're actually doing here. That being said, I've never gotten to know 9 other people so fast and fallen for all of them. I love my team. For the most part.
ANYWAY. Let's talk West Virginia. Let's talk about EVERYONE'S ability to completely disregard the feminist movement of the '70's and think that giving women the right to vote was all that the ladies ever needed. Suffice to say, my taste for WV men is that of bitter annoyance. And the women aren't much better bc they allow it to happen. The one lady that works for the Parks Dept., while being very nice, consistently lets the men belittle and condescend to her. Another example, Rine was standing next to a WV man that was working with us that had some heavy materials in his hand that he was handing out. Rine put her arms out to take them, and instead of giving it to her he walked around her to give it to Eric. Another one; some of the girls were walking outside and ran into one of the Parks workers here who said he needed help with fencing and asked if any of the boys were available. When the girls said no, but that they could help, he said nevermind and that they would do the fencing some other time. Personally, there was this man making blatant sexist comments about women, mostly to get a rise out of us, but also because I'm sure he believed everything he was saying. Since I was in my A (wearing my uniform) I couldn't go balls out crazy and tell him that making fun of women wouldn't make his tiny west virginian penis get any bigger, I instead referenced several women throughout history who made the kind of impression on the world that he could never even hope to achieve. The upside of standing next to a moron is that you can make fun of him without him knowing, and if he doesn't know he can't tell my TL to get me in trouble. The downside is that he never really knew how much I insulted him.
It's not all bad though, like I said our sponsor is really great. And we've done some super fun ISP's (Independent Service Projects). Remember, I'm require to do 80 hours of ISPs outside my normal work day. We've built a dog park, helped organize and run a Disney Princess's Tea Party (where little girls came dressed as princesses, except one awesome little chick who came as Spiderman). We worked at a dog shelter where I got to wash and play with dogs all day, which made me miss Rocky soooo much).
My team and I get along really well. I mean, there's definitely conflict within the team, but none with me thankfully! The only issues I've had have been with Julie (along with everyone else). I'm not entirely sure if I've explained the Julie situation. She's by far the worst human being I've ever met. At least I thought so for most of this Spike. And that's saying a lot because I generally like everyone and try not to judge people if I can help it. But I've had to explain to this 19 year old Bostonian (who appears to have had absolutely no discipline growing up) what an insult is and how they can be hurtful when said to someone in front of a crowd. She doesn't know any basic social skills. I mean, she was transferred on my team bc our team worked so well together and bc she screwed up too much on her original team. She yells, bitches, curses, goes nuts over the stupidest shit. But besides how completely inconsiderate she is, she's 10 times more unprofessional. She doesn't seem to get that you can't interrupt someone we're working for to tell them 500 stories about your boyfriend or your mom or a friend of a friend who got drunk and tried to stab his girlfriend. NO ONE GIVES A SHIT. And it's completely inappropriate to talk about that on the job. Or to yell at our sponsor to get you a hammer. Or to snap at a teammate in front of the head of the local 4H club that we're trying to recruit for a volunteer day. I finally had enough after that last one (which happened on the day I found out some really awful news about a friend) so I ratted her out to the TL because enough was enough! A few of the people we're working for already told Jessie (our TL) that they noticed that Julie never finishes what she starts, always slacks off, and never cleans up after herself. So Julie got written up and since it was only me and tall Eric that were around when she snapped at us in front of the 4H lady, she knew who to blame. Instead of realize that the ONLY person all 3 incidents had in common was her, she blamed me and was bitchy to me for a couple days. And then something crazy happened. It was like me ratting her out was the release of all my anger at her, and at the same time her realizing that I wasn't a pushover who would constantly baby her, brought us closer...somehow. Recently we've been getting a long really well. Her very existence doesn't bother me as much. It's crazy, but it's good. As for the rest of the team, they still can't stand her.
Speaking of the rest of my team, have I mentioned how much they rock? We were always the team laughing in the back row during CTI (the training during the 1st month of AmeriCorps), and not too much has changed. For me at least, like I said there are some inter-team squabbles, but I'm not too involved. I've been pretty good at remembering how much I love this program whenever I get fed up or am in a bad mood, which helps me not be bitchy to people. We also have these 8 person wrestling matches that are so much fun! It's sucks though bc it's usually boys vs. girls and none of the guys on our team are pansies, so we pretty much get our asses handed to us. Especially now since we all know each other's weaknesses (such as tickle spots and aversion to feet). OH but me, Lili, and Emma got the boys back EPICLY! Little Eric's (little being a relative term, as he is about 6', but tall Eric is 6'6 so....) brothers were in town so all the guys were at a hotel doing not-too-kosher AmeriCorps things. After going to WalMart for some supplies we totally ambushed them with silly string and water guns! It was AWESOME! haha. We also do things like gallon milk challenges and water balloon fights. I talk with some other Corps members about their team dynamic, and it just isn't the same. I've defiintely bonded with everyone. Emma and I have gotten really close. She's a big SciFi geek in the best kind of way and I can talk to her and Rine about everything. Little Eric has become like a little brother - I feel protective over him and I like fighting him and all those sisterly things. I have so much fun with Lili and I have deep conversations with Austin - when he's not being completely insane and jumping on top of tables and walls. Tall Eric and I are like the grown ups who have fun watching the boys go nuts, but he'll just as quickly join them as mock them. Joe and little Eric are big teddy bears. I don't know how I got so lucky, but did :)
Also, it's 80 degrees outside. 80 FREAKIN DEGREES! I'm in heaven. It's been cold for soooooooo long here. I was painting lines on a basketball court with tall Eric yesterday and the heat was bouncing off the pavement and it was ridiculously hot but I loved every minute of it. Florida, I miss you so much! One of the teams next round is going to Orlando to work with Disney's Wildlife Reserve, and though I'm happy not to have gotten that project (bc I joined this program in part to experience NEW people, places, and things), I was a bit jealous that they were going to live somewhere filled with MY friends and MY places and MY kind of weather.
Damn this blog is getting long. I'm gonna try to update more so this doesn't happen. I've only got one or two more things to cover, I swear!
My next project is a DREAM. We applied for and got Summer of Service. This means living in Washington DC for 2 months!!!! AHHHHHHHH I'm so excited. And guess who's a SUPER fan of AmeriCorps? This guy named Barack Obama! It would be so freakin awesome to meet him (again...hehe). Summer of Service is going to place me and someone else in charge of a group of kids to do mini AmeriCorps projects with them. It's going to be hard work, but it'll definitely help me decide if I want to come back to AmeriCorps next year as a Team Leader (which I'm very much considering). I just can't believe I'm going to live in DC. And go to NYC on the weekends. Not to mention that Elieen (my AmeriBestie and housemate from Perry Point) is going there with her team, too. It's unreal.
It's actually a split project, so from May 16th to the end of May we're going to Savanna, GA to plant oyster beds on one of GA' islands. Which sounds awesome for several reasons. 1) WARM WEATHER 2) working IN the water 3) 4 hours from Orlando. My whole team wants to go to Orlando to go to Disney or IOA. I already have plans to go to Orlando twice, once with them to do the Disney thing, and once with just a couple teammates to see all my friends that I love and miss soooooo much! I'll give everyone details the closer it gets.
Okay, so as some of you may know, I came to AmeriCorps with a broken heart (sorry for not telling all of you about it, it was more of an unexpected private whirlwind kind of thing), and the last thing I expected was to meet anyone here. And yet....he started out as the Mr. Right Now type (you know; pretty, funny, not serious at all) a great distraction from feeling like complete and utter shit during my down-time the first month I was here. And out of both of us living in rural areas without much to do, we kept talking nearly everyday this whole Round so that now, despite my best efforts, I kind of like him. It's silly and fun, and we both know that it's completely an AmeriCorps thing, but I'm a sucker for a guy that makes me laugh as much as he does. But.....oy vey.....he's young. I'm a cougar! :( it's actually pretty funny...and also very wrong on a creepy pedophile level. But, if Demi can pull it off why can't I? Right???
Anyway, thanks for truckin' through my whole blog! And I really am gonna try to update more often ;)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
West VA!
I have a feeling I'll be periodically updating this list, but for now let me break a couple things down for you so you can get the AmeriCorps slang:
TL: team leader
Spike: when we go for an extended stay in an area we're working at.
Rounds: You go on once Spike each Round, which is about 2 months. I believe there are 4 Rounds, but I can't remember.
You can also add "Ameri" to pretty much any word. AmeriSister, AmeriTurkey, AmeriLove (which can lead to AmeriBabies).
The Spike I was hoping to get was to New Orleans, if only bc I miss miss miss warm weather! However, I just found out that my team is going to Hurricane, WEST VIRGINIA! That's right, I left Florida to go live in Hurricane.....
Aside from working all day outside in the cold, I'm super pumped! We're going to be restoring old historic buildings and building a playground, clearing trails, painting, etc. etc. I'm also excited about our accommodations. I thought we'd be sleeping in tents or something, but as it turns out my whole team is going to be sharing a house with laundry machines and a kitchen! I can't wait to get out there and start hiking and seeing mountains! The organization sponsoring us is lead by this guy (can't remember his name) who really loves AmeriCorps workers. He said he's gonna take us out periodically on the town and to minor league baseball games. I'm freakin excited to get out there and start working! Plus I'm sooooo done with all this training.
Speaking of the training. Some of you noticed that I wrote how annoyed I was on facebook. Let me tell you why. They piled ALL OF US into a small, very warm, room for disaster relief training with the Red Cross. They then proceeded to speak to us in monotone voices and show us boring videos that were poorly made in the 80's or early 90's. They did this for 8 HOURS! I had also gone to Firefighting PT that morning, so I had been up since 5 am. Naturally, I dozed off a few times. So did everyone, more noticeably so did a couple of boys that were sitting directly next to me. Despite the fact that I was hardly the only person passing out, my name repeatedly kept getting called by some other TL to wake up. And when he called my name, everyone else woke up to. So i was made the public example all afternoon. Now, there have been some things here that I haven't agreed with, but I love this experience and this program so I haven't said anything. But that training was ridiculous. I couldn't even make myself feel guilty for falling asleep! Especially since people who got to sleep in were passing out. Not to mention a few other TL's AND one of the Red Cross presenters (he fell asleep in his chair during one of the videos). I got NOTHING out of that training, except two booklets which I could've easily read on my own or with my team.
Sorry for the rant, it just really pissed me off.
Today I leave for a mini-Spike in Virginia to clear some trails for a few days (lots of manual labor on these Spikes!). I'm very happy to be getting out there and living the AmeriDream! So if you call me and can't get through, it's probably because I have no signal where I'm at.
I hope everyone doing well. I miss you guys sooooooooooooo much!
TL: team leader
Spike: when we go for an extended stay in an area we're working at.
Rounds: You go on once Spike each Round, which is about 2 months. I believe there are 4 Rounds, but I can't remember.
You can also add "Ameri" to pretty much any word. AmeriSister, AmeriTurkey, AmeriLove (which can lead to AmeriBabies).
The Spike I was hoping to get was to New Orleans, if only bc I miss miss miss warm weather! However, I just found out that my team is going to Hurricane, WEST VIRGINIA! That's right, I left Florida to go live in Hurricane.....
Aside from working all day outside in the cold, I'm super pumped! We're going to be restoring old historic buildings and building a playground, clearing trails, painting, etc. etc. I'm also excited about our accommodations. I thought we'd be sleeping in tents or something, but as it turns out my whole team is going to be sharing a house with laundry machines and a kitchen! I can't wait to get out there and start hiking and seeing mountains! The organization sponsoring us is lead by this guy (can't remember his name) who really loves AmeriCorps workers. He said he's gonna take us out periodically on the town and to minor league baseball games. I'm freakin excited to get out there and start working! Plus I'm sooooo done with all this training.
Speaking of the training. Some of you noticed that I wrote how annoyed I was on facebook. Let me tell you why. They piled ALL OF US into a small, very warm, room for disaster relief training with the Red Cross. They then proceeded to speak to us in monotone voices and show us boring videos that were poorly made in the 80's or early 90's. They did this for 8 HOURS! I had also gone to Firefighting PT that morning, so I had been up since 5 am. Naturally, I dozed off a few times. So did everyone, more noticeably so did a couple of boys that were sitting directly next to me. Despite the fact that I was hardly the only person passing out, my name repeatedly kept getting called by some other TL to wake up. And when he called my name, everyone else woke up to. So i was made the public example all afternoon. Now, there have been some things here that I haven't agreed with, but I love this experience and this program so I haven't said anything. But that training was ridiculous. I couldn't even make myself feel guilty for falling asleep! Especially since people who got to sleep in were passing out. Not to mention a few other TL's AND one of the Red Cross presenters (he fell asleep in his chair during one of the videos). I got NOTHING out of that training, except two booklets which I could've easily read on my own or with my team.
Sorry for the rant, it just really pissed me off.
Today I leave for a mini-Spike in Virginia to clear some trails for a few days (lots of manual labor on these Spikes!). I'm very happy to be getting out there and living the AmeriDream! So if you call me and can't get through, it's probably because I have no signal where I'm at.
I hope everyone doing well. I miss you guys sooooooooooooo much!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Happy V-Day!
A LOT has happened since the last blog but I'll try not to write a book here. First of all, we got chosen for our teams. Basically there are 3 units; Raven, Wolf, and Badger. Now I know what you may be thinking..."how does a Badger fit in with the spookily awesome Raven and prideful wolf?" But let me tell you that the Badger can be just as vicious. For example: Did you know that British forces were said to have released man-eating badgers in the vicinity of Basra, Iraq, to kill terrorists following the 2003 coalition invasion? That's right, MAN-EATING BADGERS! Wolfs and Ravens? Yeah, they can suck it!
So I got selected for the Badger unit (not sure if you picked up on that) and in each unit there are teams. I got placed on Badger 1 with one of my roommates Lili. Allow me to briefly describe my team (you don't really have to read this part, it's more for reference with future blogs):
Lili: my roommate. 20 years old. Hippy. Very bubbly, happy, and excited by everything. Loves tie-die and scarves. She and I definitely get along well. We definitely have our differences; she's pro-life, is against hunting but eats meat and I think she's a republican but I can't be sure, mostly bc I refuse to talk about politics with anyone here if I can avoid it. We've agreed to leave politics out of things, so hopefully she and I will still get along as well by the end of the year.
Eric K: frequently hangs out at our place even before we got placed into teams. 19 years old. When we played the board game "who's the biggest pervert" he lapped it 2 and 3/4 times while we waited for Lili to finish it once. Previous stoner and hard rock lover. A gentleman at heart and all around good guy.
Joe: 20 years old (will turn 21 in march), big lovable guy who sometimes says too much but is generally funny. Has no shame.
Emma: 22 (i think) often quiet but very smart. She kind of reminds me of Gretchen from the nickelodeon show Recess. Is incredibly nice and I really look forward to getting to know her.
Austin: 23 year old film major who studied in Miami. Looks a lot like a red haired Elijiah Wood. We didn't exactly click right away, but after some hanging out time I began getting to know and like him.
Rine: aka Katherine, 21 (or 22). Super cool badass chick that I instantly bonded with. Very liberal, funny, and laid back.
Eric M: New to our team, came about 2 weeks late into the program. He's 6'6 and very nice. Studied Neuroscience. He fits pretty nicely into the group so far, which is awesome.
And that's all of them. Our team leader is Jessie and she's pretty cool as well. The biggest problem we have is that none of us take anything too seriously. We're always laughing and joking around during training, but really, how else would we stay awake through 8 hours of CPR and First Aid training?
Overall, I really lucked out here. I get a long so well with my housemates and teammates it's ridiculous. There are houses and teams of girls and guys here that fight and hate each other, but I haven't really experienced any of that. Well....there are ladies in my house who don't get along which has caused some drama, but it hasn't affected me.
PT is going well. It's 3 days a week at 5:40am (Mon, Wed, Fri) but the firefighters have PT on Tues and Thurs. I decided to crash their PT for an extra work out and HOLY CRAP did it kick my ass. Theirs is all endurance. We ran for like 35 minutes straight and I was dead. I had to take a break while they did more cardio. I finally was able to get back in for the relays but shit, I was owned. So I've been going to their PT every week because I don't wanna be the teammate holding everyone back.
Last night we had a Gender Bender Valentine's Day Party. If you go to my facebook you'll see what a studly man I make. The best part, though, was seeing how into it the guys got! Full on make up and fake boobs and everything. Mom, you'd be proud how every boy got to live out their inner drag queen dreams ;)
So I got selected for the Badger unit (not sure if you picked up on that) and in each unit there are teams. I got placed on Badger 1 with one of my roommates Lili. Allow me to briefly describe my team (you don't really have to read this part, it's more for reference with future blogs):
Lili: my roommate. 20 years old. Hippy. Very bubbly, happy, and excited by everything. Loves tie-die and scarves. She and I definitely get along well. We definitely have our differences; she's pro-life, is against hunting but eats meat and I think she's a republican but I can't be sure, mostly bc I refuse to talk about politics with anyone here if I can avoid it. We've agreed to leave politics out of things, so hopefully she and I will still get along as well by the end of the year.
Eric K: frequently hangs out at our place even before we got placed into teams. 19 years old. When we played the board game "who's the biggest pervert" he lapped it 2 and 3/4 times while we waited for Lili to finish it once. Previous stoner and hard rock lover. A gentleman at heart and all around good guy.
Joe: 20 years old (will turn 21 in march), big lovable guy who sometimes says too much but is generally funny. Has no shame.
Emma: 22 (i think) often quiet but very smart. She kind of reminds me of Gretchen from the nickelodeon show Recess. Is incredibly nice and I really look forward to getting to know her.
Austin: 23 year old film major who studied in Miami. Looks a lot like a red haired Elijiah Wood. We didn't exactly click right away, but after some hanging out time I began getting to know and like him.
Rine: aka Katherine, 21 (or 22). Super cool badass chick that I instantly bonded with. Very liberal, funny, and laid back.
Eric M: New to our team, came about 2 weeks late into the program. He's 6'6 and very nice. Studied Neuroscience. He fits pretty nicely into the group so far, which is awesome.
And that's all of them. Our team leader is Jessie and she's pretty cool as well. The biggest problem we have is that none of us take anything too seriously. We're always laughing and joking around during training, but really, how else would we stay awake through 8 hours of CPR and First Aid training?
Overall, I really lucked out here. I get a long so well with my housemates and teammates it's ridiculous. There are houses and teams of girls and guys here that fight and hate each other, but I haven't really experienced any of that. Well....there are ladies in my house who don't get along which has caused some drama, but it hasn't affected me.
PT is going well. It's 3 days a week at 5:40am (Mon, Wed, Fri) but the firefighters have PT on Tues and Thurs. I decided to crash their PT for an extra work out and HOLY CRAP did it kick my ass. Theirs is all endurance. We ran for like 35 minutes straight and I was dead. I had to take a break while they did more cardio. I finally was able to get back in for the relays but shit, I was owned. So I've been going to their PT every week because I don't wanna be the teammate holding everyone back.
Last night we had a Gender Bender Valentine's Day Party. If you go to my facebook you'll see what a studly man I make. The best part, though, was seeing how into it the guys got! Full on make up and fake boobs and everything. Mom, you'd be proud how every boy got to live out their inner drag queen dreams ;)
Monday, February 9, 2009
The static in this place is ridiculous. It's like I've traded my frizzy hair for static hair and now I look more like Albert Einstein than Bette Middler. Ah well.
The past few days have been grrrreat! There was a big pot luck at one of the houses with yummy food and then I went to someone's house and watched This Is Spinal Tap ("Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported" - haha, classic). We all have basements but the pot luck house had a mini room inside their basement. They call it the Chamber of Doom and we're all pretty sure someone was tortured down there. Speaking of torture! My housemates decided to check out the attic (I have no idea why) and they found a pile of clothes with blood on them. Freakin blood! I'm guessing whoever did the torturing in the Chamber of Doom moved the clothes to our attic.
I'm trying to think of all the cool things I can write in here, but honestly it's been so amazing I can't explain it all. A group of us took a walk the other day along the bay and played frisbee. It's just fun small things like that which have been great! Everyone's pretty funny and very nice. I've only encountered a few people who annoy me. I feel like I've bonded the most (aside from Rebecca, who rules) with Eileen. We both sort of feel like the "older" women in the house who are the least sheltered. We're both pretty liberal and have gone through the "college experience" and all that. But really, everyone in the house gets a long well...for the most part. Even the 1 bathroom situation hasn't been a problem.
Today was the first day of PT (physical training - I was in the van ready to go at 5:40 am!). Luckily, it wasn't nearly as intense as I thought it was going to be. I think the push ups were the hardest part. I can do girl ones just fine, but we were in a gym and my knees on the hard floor started to hurt after a while. And the cuffs of my pants kept hooking on my shoes and pulling down my pants. I was terrified that I was gonna accidentally moon someone during jumping jacks!
I'm adjusting to the cold...slowly. Yesterday a bunch of people played Everybody's It tag, but I couldn't stay out there. Half of them were in shorts and flip flops and I was like "BWAAA get me outta here!". They actually think 50 degrees is WARM. What planet are these kids from? I can't wait till we're on the gulf and it's 90 degrees and they're like "it's soooooooo hot, my brains are melting!" and I'm like "yeah, what!" heh. Actually, everyone's been pretty understanding about why I'm so cold all the time, so I suppose when we're in ACTUAL warm weather, I'll cut them some slack ;)
I will definitely be posting pics on facebook soon, maybe today (I've had a few requests....SANA). I miss you guys a lot and think of you often (especially the ladies...when I'm in the shower ;) haha.
One more thing. There's a bomb testing facility right near us! Throughout the day we hear sirens going off and bombs being fired. It's crazzzzy!
The past few days have been grrrreat! There was a big pot luck at one of the houses with yummy food and then I went to someone's house and watched This Is Spinal Tap ("Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported" - haha, classic). We all have basements but the pot luck house had a mini room inside their basement. They call it the Chamber of Doom and we're all pretty sure someone was tortured down there. Speaking of torture! My housemates decided to check out the attic (I have no idea why) and they found a pile of clothes with blood on them. Freakin blood! I'm guessing whoever did the torturing in the Chamber of Doom moved the clothes to our attic.
I'm trying to think of all the cool things I can write in here, but honestly it's been so amazing I can't explain it all. A group of us took a walk the other day along the bay and played frisbee. It's just fun small things like that which have been great! Everyone's pretty funny and very nice. I've only encountered a few people who annoy me. I feel like I've bonded the most (aside from Rebecca, who rules) with Eileen. We both sort of feel like the "older" women in the house who are the least sheltered. We're both pretty liberal and have gone through the "college experience" and all that. But really, everyone in the house gets a long well...for the most part. Even the 1 bathroom situation hasn't been a problem.
Today was the first day of PT (physical training - I was in the van ready to go at 5:40 am!). Luckily, it wasn't nearly as intense as I thought it was going to be. I think the push ups were the hardest part. I can do girl ones just fine, but we were in a gym and my knees on the hard floor started to hurt after a while. And the cuffs of my pants kept hooking on my shoes and pulling down my pants. I was terrified that I was gonna accidentally moon someone during jumping jacks!
I'm adjusting to the cold...slowly. Yesterday a bunch of people played Everybody's It tag, but I couldn't stay out there. Half of them were in shorts and flip flops and I was like "BWAAA get me outta here!". They actually think 50 degrees is WARM. What planet are these kids from? I can't wait till we're on the gulf and it's 90 degrees and they're like "it's soooooooo hot, my brains are melting!" and I'm like "yeah, what!" heh. Actually, everyone's been pretty understanding about why I'm so cold all the time, so I suppose when we're in ACTUAL warm weather, I'll cut them some slack ;)
I will definitely be posting pics on facebook soon, maybe today (I've had a few requests....SANA). I miss you guys a lot and think of you often (especially the ladies...when I'm in the shower ;) haha.
One more thing. There's a bomb testing facility right near us! Throughout the day we hear sirens going off and bombs being fired. It's crazzzzy!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
First Day
So I figured I would start this thang to give general updates to my friends and family (so no one gets mad if I don't call or write enough...and by "no one" I mean my mom ;) It's also to help me remember everything I can. Although I'll probably save the juicy stuff for my journal, so don't be expecting anything too crazy! haha.
Last night I stayed with this super cool chick Rebecca in Orlando. The flight to MD was relatively normal, however the kid that was sitting next to me had never flown before so he kept grabbing my arm and telling me how hot his step mom is.
When I got to the Point (Perry Point) they were like "This is the government bitches, so get ready for some paperwork" and I'm pretty sure I now have arthritis in my right hand ;) The place I'm living is called The Village (you know, like that creepy M. Night Shama-whatever movie). Its basically two blocks of just houses. Then they served us yummy dinner which included veggie burgers, yay! On the downside, I'm the only vegetarian in my house....I've been considering giving up seafood as well, but I don't wanna be a big inconvenience, although I doubt our budget includes purchasing salmon and oysters so we'll see.
Speaking of my house. HOLY CRUSTY LINOLEUM, BATMAN! It's actually pretty funny how gross the house is. The linoleum in the bathroom is literally curling up near the wall revealing the disgusting underneath.
There's 8 chicks, two per room, and luckily I'm in a room where I'm not in a bunk bed. There's only one bathroom. But everyone has been really accommodating and nice. And the girl I room w/ (Hilary) seems pretty laid back, she said there isn't much that bothers her which perfect since I've been known to be a bit messy at times (no comments, please). One more thing, we have no door knobs in the whole house. On the plus side, the door to my room is broken anyway so a door knob would do no good. We've named this door Forrest....cause it's a little retarded. But it's cool, it gives the house...um...character?
Tomorrow I get a uniform and begin training which consists of I-have-no-effing-idea-because-they-haven't-told-us-anything!
Lastly, it's cold. Freaking cold. It snowed when I got in. They told us it's gonna get below zero at night these next few days. Thank goodness I brought the heating blanket!
Till next time!
Tana
Last night I stayed with this super cool chick Rebecca in Orlando. The flight to MD was relatively normal, however the kid that was sitting next to me had never flown before so he kept grabbing my arm and telling me how hot his step mom is.
When I got to the Point (Perry Point) they were like "This is the government bitches, so get ready for some paperwork" and I'm pretty sure I now have arthritis in my right hand ;) The place I'm living is called The Village (you know, like that creepy M. Night Shama-whatever movie). Its basically two blocks of just houses. Then they served us yummy dinner which included veggie burgers, yay! On the downside, I'm the only vegetarian in my house....I've been considering giving up seafood as well, but I don't wanna be a big inconvenience, although I doubt our budget includes purchasing salmon and oysters so we'll see.
Speaking of my house. HOLY CRUSTY LINOLEUM, BATMAN! It's actually pretty funny how gross the house is. The linoleum in the bathroom is literally curling up near the wall revealing the disgusting underneath.
There's 8 chicks, two per room, and luckily I'm in a room where I'm not in a bunk bed. There's only one bathroom. But everyone has been really accommodating and nice. And the girl I room w/ (Hilary) seems pretty laid back, she said there isn't much that bothers her which perfect since I've been known to be a bit messy at times (no comments, please). One more thing, we have no door knobs in the whole house. On the plus side, the door to my room is broken anyway so a door knob would do no good. We've named this door Forrest....cause it's a little retarded. But it's cool, it gives the house...um...character?
Tomorrow I get a uniform and begin training which consists of I-have-no-effing-idea-because-they-haven't-told-us-anything!
Lastly, it's cold. Freaking cold. It snowed when I got in. They told us it's gonna get below zero at night these next few days. Thank goodness I brought the heating blanket!
Till next time!
Tana
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