So... Hi...
Sorry about the slight delay of about nine weeks... I didn't have internet access at all. When I did, I was way too busy to even think about starting one of these. So here is a crash summary of what you missed.
I started out in North Carolina for fire training. I lived on an airport on U.S Forestry compound. They had amazing food that never stopped coming. After I got my red card, I worked with my new composite team (Phoenix one) with Elk neck state forest till time comes to burn. We worked primarily at fair hill for a week and a half. All we did was plant trees and drive gators all day. We then left perry point to head down to suffolk VA to put together a string of burns of ten. Most exciting, thrilling and exausting feelings I think I have ever felt. I loved it all. After the burns we headed up to Black Water National wildlife refuge. I never saw so many bald eagles all at once.
We then left BWR after four days there and headed back to perry point. I then left perry point to head back to the Great Dismal Swamp in southern VA for a prescribed burn that never happened. Instead we helped out at the birding festival there. When I returned to Perry Point I was united with my team for the first time in eight weeks. I then only spent two days with them because I got called on disaster to Yazoo city Mississippi. An F-4 tornado ripped through 100 miles of the state. That is where I am right this very moment! Glad to be caught up some what!
For pictures of my first round head to my facebook page or Phoenix one face book group.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Mini spike, Breaking glass, Flower show and Fire firefighting.
So This morning we had our first fire fighting training PT. Nothing too different about it. But we did do cals on a geese infested crap lawn. We just ran four miles. Afterwards, Shawn drove Jesse, Victor and myself to the library so we can take one of our online FEMA classes. We have to take two exams in the class and I decided just to do one. It’s pretty interesting information I thought. We then went back to that awesome pizza place in town where I got two Philly cheese steak pizza’s. Everything is just amazing there. We met Jon, Shawn and Jesse at the Restaurant where Jon was slaying in some madden tournament . He was going for the big bucks. Afterwards we just decided to head back and just relax for the rest of the night. A lot of socializing and a couple of episodes of the office.
Sunday was very chill and relaxing. I had a good day. I didn’t do a whole lot. I just went and used the wifi somewhere to do my online firefighting course for FEMA. I watched the USA Canada Olympics hockey game. Not so good results but still good game. I went for a good run and played some card games. Had some sandwiches for dinner. Mainly I’m just getting ready for the week. I have to get ready for the congressional visit tomorrow and the mini spike as well. The mini spike is going to be fun. We’re going to Denton Maryland and its three days long and supposed to assimilate a real spike. I am also ready for tomorrow because its our last day of actual training! So excited!
Monday, Was another early PT. This one was a little different. We did Three short intense work outs rather than a bunch of them. After wards we had to go to University of Delaware for Special training to control our hormones if you know what I mean. Also we got a briefing on our main rolls and our assistant rolls for our teams. I’m a POL or Project outreach liaison. I will be in charge of ISPs and recruiting new sponsors for NCCC. My assistant roll is to be a Media rep. Pretty much what it sounds like. You try to get attention and get interviewed by the paper, that sort of thing. When we got back to campus, Sterling and myself went shopping so we can eat while on minnie spike. Shopping like this is totally different. Going for ten people and a tight budget. Afterwards I finished my last course for Fema to become a fire fighter. I just chilled the rest of the night in the dinning room discussing our clues. Our clues to where we are going are that we are going somewhere near the best St. Patty’s day parade. We also maybe certified for use of the chainsaw and Archery. Very excited for tomorrow. Going a crossed state!
href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Kk
Tuesday was most known for the first day of our mini spike. Mini spike is just a three day spike to get us ready for the real spike. A practice spike if you will. Well, first thing in the morning I packed all my work clothes into the designated red bag then I put everything else in my book bag/backpack. We had vehicle inspections and room inspections that morning. Finally We got on the road at noon. Everyone was pumped. We thought we were going to be in a small town but I miss judged a little bit. We are at a girl scout camp in the middle of the woods. Even our house that we are staying at in the camp is even more isolated. The best part is though, we are about 15 yards off a very awesome lake. It’s going to be sweet. We met our host bob, He is the guy that will be putting us to work. He seems like a pretty chill guy. We had this Egyptian dish that Diana made for us. It was amazing. Never had anything like it! Afterwards we had our spike reveal, we played the game of jinga. Some of the blocks in the tower had letters written on them. Eventually we just tore it all down and started the puzzle. We finally figured it out and it said “you are here”. So our first spike involves four different projects. One of them is here, and two other ones in different locations that I can’t remember at the moment and the last one is just outside ocean city. I forgot what exactly we will be doing but we will be teaching Archery and will be certified to use a chainsaw. Everyone is so excited because we all love it here. After the reveal we had smores over the fire. We basically will be light camping for 8 weeks. I fell asleep watching the Shaw shank redemption. Then I just went to bed in my new comfy bed.
I woke up at six and had PT at seven with the team and then quickly went to work. I painted one bathroom myself and helped sterling painted another bathroom. Bob was awesome and bought everyone subway for lunch. Gotta love that guy. After work we had some pretty good hamburgers for dinner then heading out to Panara for wifi. When we got back we watched the movie crash then went to sleep.
Woke up somewhat early around 7ish. So now that I’m a fire fighter in training, I have to do PT five times a week. So instead of eating breakfast with my buds I ran some miles. I was a little uneasy about running here. Since I’m not at Perry point anymore. After running I had quick small meal then off to work painting. I painted with sterling till lunch then I guess they needed more help painting somewhere else so Emily and myself went over their and just went to town on the bricks and edging. I was pretty glad to be done with the painting. Felt exhausted. After dinner we had a team meeting for about 45 minutes, then we had the rest the night off.. We just had a great night enjoying each others company and stories. Nothing organized but just an amazing night. You just can’t explain some things. Now I had to get up early for PT the next day so I went to bed fairly early. Last day at the house tomorrow. Going to be a sad day when we leave.
A definite split day, We woke up early and had an intense PT in our living room that over looks the lake. It was pretty warm. So at 845, Emily and myself went over to the community center to finish our painting. We had to leave at noonish no matter what because that’s when we’re supposed to be back home at the point around three. So Emily finished the Brick trim while I painted the upper wall paneling. We Didn’t get to finish but people will be coming back here next week to finish it. We then jammed eleven people into the van and had a very cramped ride back. We all shot out of the van and was so glad to see everyone again. Even though we were only gone for three days, it felt like months. I guess that’s just how it is when you spend every minute together with people. I pretty much just caught up with everyone at the pint about their mini spike and every thing. Had some green tea with Jesse, Had dinner with Victor and Raven seven, last b ut not least, talked a lot about fire fighting, I cant wait till training in North Carolina after the transition round this week. I am also very nervous and excited to hear about who is in the composite team for the first round. I personally have mixed feelings about it. I mean., I don’t want to miss my spike but I also want to do the fires out west this spring because I know its high and dry out their.
Saturday, we did an interesting pt at the beginning. We did several different exercises for a relay. After PT Some of my team along with wolf five went to do an ISP in Baltimore at the loading docks. The Highlight was breaking the glass in the huge dumpster. We took bricks and steel pipes to them. Later, Jesse and I went to the Den and chill. I fell asleep and immediately went home to pass out. A very long day overall.
Sunday was the most amazing day I had in a while, I had an ISP at five in Philadelphia but the morning was so chill. I slept in, woke up ate breakfast and just relaxed. It was a beautiful day, So Victor and myself went to play Frisbee outside. Later, at three we left for Philly. I have never been to Philly so I was really excited just to go there. Little did I know about the flower show… When we got there everyone was in aww. This HUGE convention center in the middle of downtown Philly was literally a jungle on the inside. We talked to our sponsor for a little bit and he said this is the largest flower show in the world. We had an hour and a half just to walk around and check things out before we had to get to work. They had huge life size objects made out of pure plants/flowers. From Elephants to hot air balloons. This place was real, its not like they just sat these plants down and called it a show. They had dirt hulled in and planted the trees and plants in themselves. The place smelled amazing. The crew and myself felt this amazing lively feeling. As if we just arrived on some tropical Island for vacation. We then soon went to work. We helped tear down one section of the show. We worked for Camden Children’s from just a crossed the river in Camden New Jersey. We started by digging out our own plants and flowers then moving around to other sponsors because Camden would like to keep some of the trees that they planned to throw away. We had real bananas, oranges, and coconuts for lunch that were just found around. Then we mostly just loaded everything to the bans to be sent back to home. This was the most amazing ISP ever that I could ever think of. I Never thought I would be doing garden work and climbing over rocks and streets in doors in the middle of Philly.
Monday was an epic day for me. We had a debriefing and briefing about our mini spike and about our normal first spike. Well then Sean wanted to see all the fire fighters in the hallway for a couple of minutes. Little did we know we were about to find out our First round composite team. Little did I know. NEVER did I guess. I was picked to be a first round draft pick for the squad. I right away had mixed feeling about it. I will miss my team dearly and all the cool stuff they will be doing but I guess it’s a huge honor to be selected as first round draft pick. I then went to a team meeting in a wreck room to discuss the team jobs we must do to get ready for the directors briefing with the head chairman of hour region. We then went to B15 to work o some slides and rolls to get ready for the presentation. I . I felt like we would get more done at the library, so we al went to the library to work on it. It went much much smoother. I soon wrote a horror in the team journal. On Tuesday once again we have a team briefing with staff members at b14. We then Had a meeting with the unit leader. We afterwards had to finish up our slides for the presentations but needed internet so we went to this cool café and sat outside and ate these amazing dark chocolate milkshakes.
Afterwards we had a unit meeting then I went outside and played kickball, Basketball and Frisbee with my teammates and friends. Then had dinner then had our first composite team meeting for fire fighting I can’t wait to see how this all turns ut.
Today is the big day. We had our meeting in directors briefing today. Everyone is dressed up I’m all ready to go but I know I won’t say anything crazy. Afterwards we discovered that we did awesome, he said it was the best first round briefing he has ever heard. So our team was very happy. After the brief we ate lunch then went to YMCA. Jon Rachal and myself just went in the pool and doggy paddled, hot tubbed it up then sauna. Then I had the best ice cream ever. I had cotton candy ice cream at this place just outside the point. After we had a rehearse of our induction. Then had the rest of the day off.
Today we did a bunch of random things we had our PT test early in the morning which consisted of pushups, sit ups and a mile run. After pt we worked on our team spike. Then we went on a health and wellness run to this plaza. I went to bank of America and took care of some much needed business.. I then went to target for some sunglasses and some other things. Then I met ever one else at Barnes and nobles. Got my self some coffee and chilled. When we got back to the point we played some ultimate Frisbee for about two hours. It got intense at times. A collision of a bloody nose. Steve Henderson- “I’m sorry I cracked my nose against your forehead”. I had the rest of the time off till at night when I had a meeting with my fire composite team.
INDUCTION
Friday March 12. Day of induction. We all woke up early because in the morning we all had to get in our nice formal uniforms and be ready by 830 to leave for the hall for induction. Then we all sat in induction til till about 1130 then we had cake and celebrated afterwards. Back at the point to clean and pack. Everyone5was very busy getting ready to leave the next morning. I wasn’t but most people were. At 130 I had a composite sponsor team briefing with mike and Shawn at B15. I think we will be doing some interesting work this round. The meeting got over at 330. I then had to get back to 9H for a surprise party for my departure! I was told it was a meeting! Thank you everyone! That lasted til 5. I then had to be down at the VA Theater for rehearsals. I was there till 10. I had a great time doing stand up and improv. Everyone had great acts! Amazing stuff. I then finally had the rest of the day off. Typical day. I then shared some pasta with Jon and tea with Steve. Chilled the rest of the night with my buds!
Saturday was a big day for a lot of people. All the regular teams left except for some and all the fire fighters. We will leave early Sunday morning. So it was a really sad day. People that you spent every moment with the last five weeks will be gone the next eight. I will miss them a lot! Anyways, we had a meeting for the fire fighters in the morning to get all the gear. Then we went to the Y which is always enjoyable. Then after we got back to the empty 9H. I had the most elaborate sandwich ever! Then a ton of pancakes. I had to start packing for North Carolina that night. I had to put a weeks worth of clothes in a three by three red duffle bag. That night we had stir fry with some people and a ton a cake left over from induction.
Sunday morning I said my goodbyes to my team for eight weeks. This was even more sad then the day before. I will miss them all as I set out on my Fire fighting adventures with my composite team. We had some interesting music on the way to Kinston North Carolina and also some different conversations. We were all so happy to get here! ITS WARM AND GREEN! We live at this forestry place right on an air port. I think this place is a really unique place. Not really urbanized by any means but an air port. The facilities are all nice! Two beds per dorm and a huge committal bathroom in each dorm. We have a pool table and flat screen tv in the wreck room and don’t get me started about the food. Just imagine going to a very nice buffet restaurant for free every meal and every day.
Monday, First real day of training. I would love to say I was excited when I woke up but I had to wake up at five a.m. to run five miles. It was actually pretty cool because it was kinda warm I guess. I stepped in a big water puddle though… After PT we had an amazing Breakfast then ready for class at eight! This training isn’t as boring as the rest of the training was. We learn about interesting things. During my breaks I went outside and watched some commercial airliners practice touch and goes. I never saw airliners do that. After training I rested for a while then had dinner. Then I played some Frisbee with some people while watching C130’s take off. It was just amazing. Which leaves me to where I am now. Typing this in my dorm room at 8:06 PM. Hopefully with the wifi I’ll be able to post another post before I leave North Carolina. Going to do some field work tomorrow! Excited!
Sunday was very chill and relaxing. I had a good day. I didn’t do a whole lot. I just went and used the wifi somewhere to do my online firefighting course for FEMA. I watched the USA Canada Olympics hockey game. Not so good results but still good game. I went for a good run and played some card games. Had some sandwiches for dinner. Mainly I’m just getting ready for the week. I have to get ready for the congressional visit tomorrow and the mini spike as well. The mini spike is going to be fun. We’re going to Denton Maryland and its three days long and supposed to assimilate a real spike. I am also ready for tomorrow because its our last day of actual training! So excited!
Monday, Was another early PT. This one was a little different. We did Three short intense work outs rather than a bunch of them. After wards we had to go to University of Delaware for Special training to control our hormones if you know what I mean. Also we got a briefing on our main rolls and our assistant rolls for our teams. I’m a POL or Project outreach liaison. I will be in charge of ISPs and recruiting new sponsors for NCCC. My assistant roll is to be a Media rep. Pretty much what it sounds like. You try to get attention and get interviewed by the paper, that sort of thing. When we got back to campus, Sterling and myself went shopping so we can eat while on minnie spike. Shopping like this is totally different. Going for ten people and a tight budget. Afterwards I finished my last course for Fema to become a fire fighter. I just chilled the rest of the night in the dinning room discussing our clues. Our clues to where we are going are that we are going somewhere near the best St. Patty’s day parade. We also maybe certified for use of the chainsaw and Archery. Very excited for tomorrow. Going a crossed state!
href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Kk
Tuesday was most known for the first day of our mini spike. Mini spike is just a three day spike to get us ready for the real spike. A practice spike if you will. Well, first thing in the morning I packed all my work clothes into the designated red bag then I put everything else in my book bag/backpack. We had vehicle inspections and room inspections that morning. Finally We got on the road at noon. Everyone was pumped. We thought we were going to be in a small town but I miss judged a little bit. We are at a girl scout camp in the middle of the woods. Even our house that we are staying at in the camp is even more isolated. The best part is though, we are about 15 yards off a very awesome lake. It’s going to be sweet. We met our host bob, He is the guy that will be putting us to work. He seems like a pretty chill guy. We had this Egyptian dish that Diana made for us. It was amazing. Never had anything like it! Afterwards we had our spike reveal, we played the game of jinga. Some of the blocks in the tower had letters written on them. Eventually we just tore it all down and started the puzzle. We finally figured it out and it said “you are here”. So our first spike involves four different projects. One of them is here, and two other ones in different locations that I can’t remember at the moment and the last one is just outside ocean city. I forgot what exactly we will be doing but we will be teaching Archery and will be certified to use a chainsaw. Everyone is so excited because we all love it here. After the reveal we had smores over the fire. We basically will be light camping for 8 weeks. I fell asleep watching the Shaw shank redemption. Then I just went to bed in my new comfy bed.
I woke up at six and had PT at seven with the team and then quickly went to work. I painted one bathroom myself and helped sterling painted another bathroom. Bob was awesome and bought everyone subway for lunch. Gotta love that guy. After work we had some pretty good hamburgers for dinner then heading out to Panara for wifi. When we got back we watched the movie crash then went to sleep.
Woke up somewhat early around 7ish. So now that I’m a fire fighter in training, I have to do PT five times a week. So instead of eating breakfast with my buds I ran some miles. I was a little uneasy about running here. Since I’m not at Perry point anymore. After running I had quick small meal then off to work painting. I painted with sterling till lunch then I guess they needed more help painting somewhere else so Emily and myself went over their and just went to town on the bricks and edging. I was pretty glad to be done with the painting. Felt exhausted. After dinner we had a team meeting for about 45 minutes, then we had the rest the night off.. We just had a great night enjoying each others company and stories. Nothing organized but just an amazing night. You just can’t explain some things. Now I had to get up early for PT the next day so I went to bed fairly early. Last day at the house tomorrow. Going to be a sad day when we leave.
A definite split day, We woke up early and had an intense PT in our living room that over looks the lake. It was pretty warm. So at 845, Emily and myself went over to the community center to finish our painting. We had to leave at noonish no matter what because that’s when we’re supposed to be back home at the point around three. So Emily finished the Brick trim while I painted the upper wall paneling. We Didn’t get to finish but people will be coming back here next week to finish it. We then jammed eleven people into the van and had a very cramped ride back. We all shot out of the van and was so glad to see everyone again. Even though we were only gone for three days, it felt like months. I guess that’s just how it is when you spend every minute together with people. I pretty much just caught up with everyone at the pint about their mini spike and every thing. Had some green tea with Jesse, Had dinner with Victor and Raven seven, last b ut not least, talked a lot about fire fighting, I cant wait till training in North Carolina after the transition round this week. I am also very nervous and excited to hear about who is in the composite team for the first round. I personally have mixed feelings about it. I mean., I don’t want to miss my spike but I also want to do the fires out west this spring because I know its high and dry out their.
Saturday, we did an interesting pt at the beginning. We did several different exercises for a relay. After PT Some of my team along with wolf five went to do an ISP in Baltimore at the loading docks. The Highlight was breaking the glass in the huge dumpster. We took bricks and steel pipes to them. Later, Jesse and I went to the Den and chill. I fell asleep and immediately went home to pass out. A very long day overall.
Sunday was the most amazing day I had in a while, I had an ISP at five in Philadelphia but the morning was so chill. I slept in, woke up ate breakfast and just relaxed. It was a beautiful day, So Victor and myself went to play Frisbee outside. Later, at three we left for Philly. I have never been to Philly so I was really excited just to go there. Little did I know about the flower show… When we got there everyone was in aww. This HUGE convention center in the middle of downtown Philly was literally a jungle on the inside. We talked to our sponsor for a little bit and he said this is the largest flower show in the world. We had an hour and a half just to walk around and check things out before we had to get to work. They had huge life size objects made out of pure plants/flowers. From Elephants to hot air balloons. This place was real, its not like they just sat these plants down and called it a show. They had dirt hulled in and planted the trees and plants in themselves. The place smelled amazing. The crew and myself felt this amazing lively feeling. As if we just arrived on some tropical Island for vacation. We then soon went to work. We helped tear down one section of the show. We worked for Camden Children’s from just a crossed the river in Camden New Jersey. We started by digging out our own plants and flowers then moving around to other sponsors because Camden would like to keep some of the trees that they planned to throw away. We had real bananas, oranges, and coconuts for lunch that were just found around. Then we mostly just loaded everything to the bans to be sent back to home. This was the most amazing ISP ever that I could ever think of. I Never thought I would be doing garden work and climbing over rocks and streets in doors in the middle of Philly.
Monday was an epic day for me. We had a debriefing and briefing about our mini spike and about our normal first spike. Well then Sean wanted to see all the fire fighters in the hallway for a couple of minutes. Little did we know we were about to find out our First round composite team. Little did I know. NEVER did I guess. I was picked to be a first round draft pick for the squad. I right away had mixed feeling about it. I will miss my team dearly and all the cool stuff they will be doing but I guess it’s a huge honor to be selected as first round draft pick. I then went to a team meeting in a wreck room to discuss the team jobs we must do to get ready for the directors briefing with the head chairman of hour region. We then went to B15 to work o some slides and rolls to get ready for the presentation. I . I felt like we would get more done at the library, so we al went to the library to work on it. It went much much smoother. I soon wrote a horror in the team journal. On Tuesday once again we have a team briefing with staff members at b14. We then Had a meeting with the unit leader. We afterwards had to finish up our slides for the presentations but needed internet so we went to this cool café and sat outside and ate these amazing dark chocolate milkshakes.
Afterwards we had a unit meeting then I went outside and played kickball, Basketball and Frisbee with my teammates and friends. Then had dinner then had our first composite team meeting for fire fighting I can’t wait to see how this all turns ut.
Today is the big day. We had our meeting in directors briefing today. Everyone is dressed up I’m all ready to go but I know I won’t say anything crazy. Afterwards we discovered that we did awesome, he said it was the best first round briefing he has ever heard. So our team was very happy. After the brief we ate lunch then went to YMCA. Jon Rachal and myself just went in the pool and doggy paddled, hot tubbed it up then sauna. Then I had the best ice cream ever. I had cotton candy ice cream at this place just outside the point. After we had a rehearse of our induction. Then had the rest of the day off.
Today we did a bunch of random things we had our PT test early in the morning which consisted of pushups, sit ups and a mile run. After pt we worked on our team spike. Then we went on a health and wellness run to this plaza. I went to bank of America and took care of some much needed business.. I then went to target for some sunglasses and some other things. Then I met ever one else at Barnes and nobles. Got my self some coffee and chilled. When we got back to the point we played some ultimate Frisbee for about two hours. It got intense at times. A collision of a bloody nose. Steve Henderson- “I’m sorry I cracked my nose against your forehead”. I had the rest of the time off till at night when I had a meeting with my fire composite team.
INDUCTION
Friday March 12. Day of induction. We all woke up early because in the morning we all had to get in our nice formal uniforms and be ready by 830 to leave for the hall for induction. Then we all sat in induction til till about 1130 then we had cake and celebrated afterwards. Back at the point to clean and pack. Everyone5was very busy getting ready to leave the next morning. I wasn’t but most people were. At 130 I had a composite sponsor team briefing with mike and Shawn at B15. I think we will be doing some interesting work this round. The meeting got over at 330. I then had to get back to 9H for a surprise party for my departure! I was told it was a meeting! Thank you everyone! That lasted til 5. I then had to be down at the VA Theater for rehearsals. I was there till 10. I had a great time doing stand up and improv. Everyone had great acts! Amazing stuff. I then finally had the rest of the day off. Typical day. I then shared some pasta with Jon and tea with Steve. Chilled the rest of the night with my buds!
Saturday was a big day for a lot of people. All the regular teams left except for some and all the fire fighters. We will leave early Sunday morning. So it was a really sad day. People that you spent every moment with the last five weeks will be gone the next eight. I will miss them a lot! Anyways, we had a meeting for the fire fighters in the morning to get all the gear. Then we went to the Y which is always enjoyable. Then after we got back to the empty 9H. I had the most elaborate sandwich ever! Then a ton of pancakes. I had to start packing for North Carolina that night. I had to put a weeks worth of clothes in a three by three red duffle bag. That night we had stir fry with some people and a ton a cake left over from induction.
Sunday morning I said my goodbyes to my team for eight weeks. This was even more sad then the day before. I will miss them all as I set out on my Fire fighting adventures with my composite team. We had some interesting music on the way to Kinston North Carolina and also some different conversations. We were all so happy to get here! ITS WARM AND GREEN! We live at this forestry place right on an air port. I think this place is a really unique place. Not really urbanized by any means but an air port. The facilities are all nice! Two beds per dorm and a huge committal bathroom in each dorm. We have a pool table and flat screen tv in the wreck room and don’t get me started about the food. Just imagine going to a very nice buffet restaurant for free every meal and every day.
Monday, First real day of training. I would love to say I was excited when I woke up but I had to wake up at five a.m. to run five miles. It was actually pretty cool because it was kinda warm I guess. I stepped in a big water puddle though… After PT we had an amazing Breakfast then ready for class at eight! This training isn’t as boring as the rest of the training was. We learn about interesting things. During my breaks I went outside and watched some commercial airliners practice touch and goes. I never saw airliners do that. After training I rested for a while then had dinner. Then I played some Frisbee with some people while watching C130’s take off. It was just amazing. Which leaves me to where I am now. Typing this in my dorm room at 8:06 PM. Hopefully with the wifi I’ll be able to post another post before I leave North Carolina. Going to do some field work tomorrow! Excited!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Last week of pure training
So Thursday was a long day and emotional day for everyone in the raven unit. We started the day off at 300 oclock in the morning to the sound of groaning. I was having a dream about panguins when they just started making this groaning sound. Before I know it, our newest addition or the rookie to our dorm room, Corry pain AKA the pain train, was throwing up all over his bed. Victor and I tried to help him out with the assistance of Jay. After an hour and a half of that we finally got back to sleep. Just four hours later we are awake and ready for our long day at Minker hall for our diverstity training that was scheduled from 9 to 6. We had some really cool activities, but also the big activity that is just like one big intervention. Its called the privilege walk. It lasted like three hours, but the first part lasted only about ten minutes. The last two and ahalf hours was emotionally draining for everyone. Everyone sat in a circle and one by one shared the most deepest darkest secrets if they wanted to or something that has been on their chest for a very long time. I don’t think I will every experience anything ever like it again. Just cannot describe what it meant.. Just very pure. Afterwards, Beth and I went into the regional campus office building to pick up my new bank info, I was so excited. Anyways, it was my first pay check and very happy for it. Had a great dinner with the team, baked beans, cornbread, bbq chicken, stir fry, stringed beans and tofu. Anyways, tomorrow I have the pack test at 7. Hope I do well.
So I was all pumped this morning ready for the pack test. I was all into the jumping thing with head phones. By the time we got to the b15 building, we had about an hour to kill before my heat was sent to the firefighting briefing. After the briefing, we got ready for the race. Its three miles with a 45 pound pack on your back. You have to complete it in 45 minutes or less and you cannot run. So I was off and I started out good but I struggled to find a pace for my speed walk. About half way I finally got the rhythm going good. I finished with 38 minutes. So I guess I did pretty good. I was happy. Afterwards I took about an hour nap then just chilled with Jesse in the room. Later that night we met Victor and Mercedes at the wolves den to go get pizza at this authentic pizza place in town. DELICIOUS! Later that night I just chilled with Mark and Jessica till I was too tiired to even think. But it was a good day.
Sunday, The day of rest. I finally got the chance to sleep in past 8 for the first time. Around noonish Jesse, Victor and myself decide to take a stroll to the library. We met up with someone we knew and he told us it was closed. Instead we decided to get a snack at a local restaurant. I just had fries and whatever. A couple of rounds of shuffle board and pool helped pass the time before I had to be back for my team gathering. We saw a sick rock band play there, the two guitarists were awesome. Later my team went bowling somewhere in delaware. We had a good time, I played like crap though. We had pizza and decorated our team shirts. We then left withour new shirts and went to play apples to apples in the dinning area for about an hour then went to sleep. Gotta get up early for pt in the morning 5 am..
Monday, probably the most strange day this week. We did an hour of PT starting at six then Curtis and myself made a ton of scrambled eggs for breakfast. After breakfast we had class down at the theater for a bunch of different things. First was just a debriefing from the head of the regional staff, then corps life briefings. We then had a two hour break before we had to be back down their. We then listened to a lecture about drugs and alcohol for two hours. I thought this was pretty entertaining personally. Afterwards we had our roll fair for our permanent teams. Finally the selection for the firefighting was made. I personally thought I wouldn’t make it but guess what? I DID! I was in shock. Afterwards I felt really bad for the people that didn’t make it. I thought some people really really deserved a spot. Anyways after cleaning we had burritos for dinner. Then I played the game ten phases for three hours.
Tuesday was a different day. Much like everyday. Just very different. I had drivers training today! Yay! Its not like what you think. We basically went over the regulations with what Americorps has as rules. For an example, every driver must log in when they drive and log out. It was held in the badgers kitchen. Such a strange place for training. I think it was a good training to keep us entertained. It definitely wasn’t very boring. After the 9-4 training we went to Walmart. I have a feeling I had a good recovery since going their everyday in New Mexico. After Walmart we went to the YMCA in a nearby city. Rachael, John and myself went in the pool for the hour we were their. Just felt amazing. Took all the soreness away. Afterwards, when we got back, Curtis and myself scrambled to make a good dinner. We ended up making a great stir fry. Beth had us do a little bit of hunting to find out our minnie spike. At the end, we discovered we are going Denton Maryland. I’m more than excited for this. We will find out more about this tomorrow. All I know is we will be painting out houses for girl scout camps. Also Denton is in easern Maryland. Gotta get up at 5 for pt tomorrow goodnight!
Today, Wednesday, We had PT this morning, It wasn’t as intense as the ones we had before so it wasn’t too bad. After PT we had a Conflict Resolution class till noon. It was somewhat interesting. Just picture peer counseling jammed into a three hour time period. We then had an hour break before we had our first mini spike briefing. We are going to Denton Maryland, Which is on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay. Its kind of lower bay area. We will be staying at a lodge with several bedrooms and bathrooms. It will also have a full kitchen. We will be doing various jobs such as painting and pulling weeds. After the briefing we had a formal team meeting at B15. We just talked about team building fundamentals. Later on we had dinner and beth made some amazing veggie ravioly pasta. Later, Some of my friends and myself went to the wolves den just to use the wifi. It was a great feeling. We took the bay road there which has just been opened for the first time since the snow melted. Came back about an hour later and have to get up at five am again for pt on Thursday.
Thursday started off with the exact same PT session we had the day before except with the wolves. After PT we had 30 minutes to get ready to go to the heat center in Aberdeen for CPR and first aid training. I really liked all the training we did. I thought it was very useful. Afterwards I went and ran three miles then made it back just in time for dinner which was very awesome veggie meatloaf. Not exactly sure how it is possible but it was amazing. We then went to Bel Air to play laser tag against Wolf 5. We Didn’t win, just throwing it out there that we were outnumbered by 5 people. When we got back I chilled with some pepes in the dinning room and with Kareem and Diana in the Day room.
So on Friday I got to skip PT because I had to go to tool training in the morning at some place in the hills outside somewhere near the Pennsylvania border. I thought it was pretty cool. Most of the lecture was just safety common sense. After this we headed back to Perry Point and Shawn, Jon and myself just chilled at the Canine which is a restaurant on the other side of the hospital. We then headed over to b15 at regional headquarters and met the campus counselor for corps life class. I thought It was interesting on how it went. It sort of reminded me of Peer counseling. We did a couple of ice breakers. Afterwards, Curtis and myself took our road test with Beth. I felt reallly comfortable behind the wheel of an eleven passenger government van. Just was a little hard for feeling because I was in uniform with my steel toe road mate boots.. I passed with flying colors apparently. I then went for a quick three mile run then had BlTs with Jon and Steve. I cleaned shortly afterwards then played Phase ten with Danielle, RD, Victor, Mike and Ambrosia. I had to leave early because it was getting late and I had to sleep because I have fire fighting PT early in the morning.
Getting ready for the pack test. 45 pounds... 45 minutes and three miles. Thats the cut off.
Pack test briefing with Wildland Fire Fighter directors. Its a fancy conference room.
Some of my team mates. Left Beth, Curtis, Right Shawn and far right steve.
Me in my dorm. This is how I dress nowadays. Just kidding.
My roomate Victor with Jesse's sunglasses on.
I'll leave you with a picture of what we're doing as I published this post. Jesse eating the amazing Chesapeake Bay Sea food. Good stuff!
So I was all pumped this morning ready for the pack test. I was all into the jumping thing with head phones. By the time we got to the b15 building, we had about an hour to kill before my heat was sent to the firefighting briefing. After the briefing, we got ready for the race. Its three miles with a 45 pound pack on your back. You have to complete it in 45 minutes or less and you cannot run. So I was off and I started out good but I struggled to find a pace for my speed walk. About half way I finally got the rhythm going good. I finished with 38 minutes. So I guess I did pretty good. I was happy. Afterwards I took about an hour nap then just chilled with Jesse in the room. Later that night we met Victor and Mercedes at the wolves den to go get pizza at this authentic pizza place in town. DELICIOUS! Later that night I just chilled with Mark and Jessica till I was too tiired to even think. But it was a good day.
Sunday, The day of rest. I finally got the chance to sleep in past 8 for the first time. Around noonish Jesse, Victor and myself decide to take a stroll to the library. We met up with someone we knew and he told us it was closed. Instead we decided to get a snack at a local restaurant. I just had fries and whatever. A couple of rounds of shuffle board and pool helped pass the time before I had to be back for my team gathering. We saw a sick rock band play there, the two guitarists were awesome. Later my team went bowling somewhere in delaware. We had a good time, I played like crap though. We had pizza and decorated our team shirts. We then left withour new shirts and went to play apples to apples in the dinning area for about an hour then went to sleep. Gotta get up early for pt in the morning 5 am..
Monday, probably the most strange day this week. We did an hour of PT starting at six then Curtis and myself made a ton of scrambled eggs for breakfast. After breakfast we had class down at the theater for a bunch of different things. First was just a debriefing from the head of the regional staff, then corps life briefings. We then had a two hour break before we had to be back down their. We then listened to a lecture about drugs and alcohol for two hours. I thought this was pretty entertaining personally. Afterwards we had our roll fair for our permanent teams. Finally the selection for the firefighting was made. I personally thought I wouldn’t make it but guess what? I DID! I was in shock. Afterwards I felt really bad for the people that didn’t make it. I thought some people really really deserved a spot. Anyways after cleaning we had burritos for dinner. Then I played the game ten phases for three hours.
Tuesday was a different day. Much like everyday. Just very different. I had drivers training today! Yay! Its not like what you think. We basically went over the regulations with what Americorps has as rules. For an example, every driver must log in when they drive and log out. It was held in the badgers kitchen. Such a strange place for training. I think it was a good training to keep us entertained. It definitely wasn’t very boring. After the 9-4 training we went to Walmart. I have a feeling I had a good recovery since going their everyday in New Mexico. After Walmart we went to the YMCA in a nearby city. Rachael, John and myself went in the pool for the hour we were their. Just felt amazing. Took all the soreness away. Afterwards, when we got back, Curtis and myself scrambled to make a good dinner. We ended up making a great stir fry. Beth had us do a little bit of hunting to find out our minnie spike. At the end, we discovered we are going Denton Maryland. I’m more than excited for this. We will find out more about this tomorrow. All I know is we will be painting out houses for girl scout camps. Also Denton is in easern Maryland. Gotta get up at 5 for pt tomorrow goodnight!
Today, Wednesday, We had PT this morning, It wasn’t as intense as the ones we had before so it wasn’t too bad. After PT we had a Conflict Resolution class till noon. It was somewhat interesting. Just picture peer counseling jammed into a three hour time period. We then had an hour break before we had our first mini spike briefing. We are going to Denton Maryland, Which is on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay. Its kind of lower bay area. We will be staying at a lodge with several bedrooms and bathrooms. It will also have a full kitchen. We will be doing various jobs such as painting and pulling weeds. After the briefing we had a formal team meeting at B15. We just talked about team building fundamentals. Later on we had dinner and beth made some amazing veggie ravioly pasta. Later, Some of my friends and myself went to the wolves den just to use the wifi. It was a great feeling. We took the bay road there which has just been opened for the first time since the snow melted. Came back about an hour later and have to get up at five am again for pt on Thursday.
Thursday started off with the exact same PT session we had the day before except with the wolves. After PT we had 30 minutes to get ready to go to the heat center in Aberdeen for CPR and first aid training. I really liked all the training we did. I thought it was very useful. Afterwards I went and ran three miles then made it back just in time for dinner which was very awesome veggie meatloaf. Not exactly sure how it is possible but it was amazing. We then went to Bel Air to play laser tag against Wolf 5. We Didn’t win, just throwing it out there that we were outnumbered by 5 people. When we got back I chilled with some pepes in the dinning room and with Kareem and Diana in the Day room.
So on Friday I got to skip PT because I had to go to tool training in the morning at some place in the hills outside somewhere near the Pennsylvania border. I thought it was pretty cool. Most of the lecture was just safety common sense. After this we headed back to Perry Point and Shawn, Jon and myself just chilled at the Canine which is a restaurant on the other side of the hospital. We then headed over to b15 at regional headquarters and met the campus counselor for corps life class. I thought It was interesting on how it went. It sort of reminded me of Peer counseling. We did a couple of ice breakers. Afterwards, Curtis and myself took our road test with Beth. I felt reallly comfortable behind the wheel of an eleven passenger government van. Just was a little hard for feeling because I was in uniform with my steel toe road mate boots.. I passed with flying colors apparently. I then went for a quick three mile run then had BlTs with Jon and Steve. I cleaned shortly afterwards then played Phase ten with Danielle, RD, Victor, Mike and Ambrosia. I had to leave early because it was getting late and I had to sleep because I have fire fighting PT early in the morning.
Getting ready for the pack test. 45 pounds... 45 minutes and three miles. Thats the cut off.
Pack test briefing with Wildland Fire Fighter directors. Its a fancy conference room.
Some of my team mates. Left Beth, Curtis, Right Shawn and far right steve.
Me in my dorm. This is how I dress nowadays. Just kidding.
My roomate Victor with Jesse's sunglasses on.
I'll leave you with a picture of what we're doing as I published this post. Jesse eating the amazing Chesapeake Bay Sea food. Good stuff!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Americorps NCCC Perry Point, (Dances With Wolves)
So I’m here at Perry Point Maryland and it has been very busy. Well first of all when I arrived I just missed the shuttle to the campus. So I had to wait two hours for the next one. As soon as I got on the bus with all the other corps members everyone was talking to each other. No one hesitated. I probably met at least 50 different people in a span of three hours. We all ate at the fire station together the first night. It was kind of like an introduction of the program. Afterwards we just pretty much got settled in. I was assigned to a very large dorm room with three room mates. DJ, Victor and Jesse. DJ is from the Chicago suburbs, Victor is from Fenton MI and Jesse is from south Florida.
The next morning we all had breakfast at the hall. It was good, we had hash browns, eggs and bacon. We then found out our temporary pods. Which was confusing because our new team leader was not there. We figured everything out then I we started the orientation called “in processing”. Very much like the “hurry up and wait four hours” thing. A lot of paper work and getting fitted for uniforms. After the long day we had dinner back at the hall for one final time. Same thing as the night before, still amazing. So at nightfall, Victor and myself took a trip to the village to go to the wolves den, didn’t realize it was like a mile away. The houses were pretty cool. I was wondering what it would be like to live their for a night. Little did I know I was about to the next night…
DANCES WITH WOLVES
Morning number two day three, Maryland is in the midst of receiving 36 inches of snow. We unofficially called it a snow day. We still did some things, we covered some small stuff that day but had the rest off. We started our first meals together. As a pod, we eat together. So ten people cook and eat breakfast and dinner together generally. So anyways, my roomates Jesse, Victor and myself decide to take a trip to the wolves den in the snow storm. The wolves den is basically the wolves units getaway area and computer lab. We chilled their for a long while. Right before we were about to leave we were told we can’t return to the dorms because the weather was just way too bad and the winds were blowing up to 50 mph. We had to stay with one of the wolves units houses. The difference between what I was used to is that the wolves live in houses when we ravens and badgers live in dorms. I thought this would be quite the experience. I stayed with some people who were pretty cool. We ate dinner then went a crossed the street to play apples to apples. I so happen to know someone from Saginaw MI that lives their so it was interesting. We played what felt like four hours. Then we watched fight club, we tried to finish it but it was already one in the morning and I had to get up early and head back to the dorms. So I danced with the wolves for a night.
In the morning, Thursday, I made it back in time to shower and eat breakfast. Then we ravens had a meeting together, it was good. We went over basic rules. Then as our team we took a little stroll to target in Bell Air. I didn’t get much but a water bottle and a hat. After that, we went to pandara to use the wifi. Pretty chill day it was.
On Friday we had to get up early and head to Omega in Delaware. Physicals… So excited! Not! We were there for about five hours. It was broken down into several sections. The hernia exam, urine exam, hearing test, vision test and the two injections. TB test and the Tetanus shot. I thought it was actually kind of fun because it reminded me of Armageddon when they all went for their shots. That’s kind of how the atmosphere was here.
On Saturday we had our orientation meeting from 9 am to 4 pm. It was pretty much just over the basics and covered everything for the fire fighting program. Really a long day for all that. We also finally got fitted for our road-mate boots too. Mine just fit just right. It was actually pretty funny that night because everyone was so anxious to break them in, everyone wore them with civilian clothing.
On Sunday we finally had an opportunity to receive some ISP hours. ISP hours are hours that you must complete on your own time. So almost everyone had a chance to go and so the advantage was taken. We all shoveled side walks out of four feet of snow in Perryville. We did that all morning and just chilled in the afternoon. Oh yeah, I forgot, it was valentines day.
Monday was a national federal government holiday, so we had the day off for the most part. We just had a short meeting for the units then we had to see our TB results. Everything went fine. Then a bunch of people and myself went to the movies that afternoon. Some saw Avitar, some saw Valentines day, some saw The Olympians and myself and a few others went to see the movie Wolfman. It was a disappointment in my book.
On Tuesday we had a briefing with the American Red Cross. A very looonng meeting! It was from 830 to 430 in the afternoon. Afterwards we had a potluck for our unit. For the next day we are getting our new permanent teams.
Wednesday was a big day. The day of the last of pods and the awaken of the permanent teams. I was pretty sad but deep inside kind of anxious. First though we had a meeting for disaster relief shelter stuff for most of the day. Then we went bzck to the dorms and started to clean because congress was coming on Thursday. Around five oclock we had a ceremony at the fire hall for our team reveal. The way we did it was pretty creative. We had to take a name from the box and find that person and give it to them. Like wise with yourself. Once we have done that there was a song title on the corner of the paper. Mine was “let it be”. But as soon as your song came on , you move to the center of the floor and whoever went there too was on your team. I was pretty excited to see that Rachael and Curtis were on my team. After we got back we had pancakes for dinner then off to clean my room for congress tomorrow.
Yeah, So we Today we got up at 4:50 A.M to get our rooms ready for congress and up for P.T. at six. P.T. wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. It was alright, not too harsh, After P.T we had training in Aberdeen with the red cross for shelter disaster relief training. We did several simulations which had some very intense debates in them as well. My role was to be in charge of feeding the clients. I have learned that it is much harder than it seems and this is just a simulation! We were their from 9-4 pm. Afterwards we had to clean our day room or what we call the “ravens nest”. Then had dinner with my brand new team which Beth made us Curry. Was pretty good. Now I’m sitting here in the wolves den typing this with my buddy Victor.
So just for a recap on a lot of things, I’m having a blast. I love this style of life so far. Everyone is so close its ridiculous. The crazy thing is we only have known each other for a little over a week. So far the best way to describe it here would be like, its like college without the homework. I will miss my pod very much. Which included Jessica, Kareem, Kevin, Mark, Andria, Rachael, Curtis, Kenny, Lia and our TL Beth. We all grown so attached but as part of the training they want us to get flexible and used to change, so we swichted and got our permanent teams. Although they say it might change again. It wouldn’t surprise me. As far as meals go, we eat everything in our raven six refrigerator and cabinet. Each person automatically adds $4.50 for food towards the team. With ten people it adds up so we eat pretty good. So far I had meals such as stir fry, chicken alfrado, curry, tacos, spaghetti, lasagna and pancakes. Generally we have a bunch of kitchens and two teams share a kitchen. Mines awesome because we are right here in front of the dinning room so we get a lot of attention. Well, sorry about the wait I hope I get a chance to update sooner this time. I will leave you with some pictures that I have gathered over the last week or so.
Catch ya later!
Someone used to much soap!
The next morning we all had breakfast at the hall. It was good, we had hash browns, eggs and bacon. We then found out our temporary pods. Which was confusing because our new team leader was not there. We figured everything out then I we started the orientation called “in processing”. Very much like the “hurry up and wait four hours” thing. A lot of paper work and getting fitted for uniforms. After the long day we had dinner back at the hall for one final time. Same thing as the night before, still amazing. So at nightfall, Victor and myself took a trip to the village to go to the wolves den, didn’t realize it was like a mile away. The houses were pretty cool. I was wondering what it would be like to live their for a night. Little did I know I was about to the next night…
DANCES WITH WOLVES
Morning number two day three, Maryland is in the midst of receiving 36 inches of snow. We unofficially called it a snow day. We still did some things, we covered some small stuff that day but had the rest off. We started our first meals together. As a pod, we eat together. So ten people cook and eat breakfast and dinner together generally. So anyways, my roomates Jesse, Victor and myself decide to take a trip to the wolves den in the snow storm. The wolves den is basically the wolves units getaway area and computer lab. We chilled their for a long while. Right before we were about to leave we were told we can’t return to the dorms because the weather was just way too bad and the winds were blowing up to 50 mph. We had to stay with one of the wolves units houses. The difference between what I was used to is that the wolves live in houses when we ravens and badgers live in dorms. I thought this would be quite the experience. I stayed with some people who were pretty cool. We ate dinner then went a crossed the street to play apples to apples. I so happen to know someone from Saginaw MI that lives their so it was interesting. We played what felt like four hours. Then we watched fight club, we tried to finish it but it was already one in the morning and I had to get up early and head back to the dorms. So I danced with the wolves for a night.
In the morning, Thursday, I made it back in time to shower and eat breakfast. Then we ravens had a meeting together, it was good. We went over basic rules. Then as our team we took a little stroll to target in Bell Air. I didn’t get much but a water bottle and a hat. After that, we went to pandara to use the wifi. Pretty chill day it was.
On Friday we had to get up early and head to Omega in Delaware. Physicals… So excited! Not! We were there for about five hours. It was broken down into several sections. The hernia exam, urine exam, hearing test, vision test and the two injections. TB test and the Tetanus shot. I thought it was actually kind of fun because it reminded me of Armageddon when they all went for their shots. That’s kind of how the atmosphere was here.
On Saturday we had our orientation meeting from 9 am to 4 pm. It was pretty much just over the basics and covered everything for the fire fighting program. Really a long day for all that. We also finally got fitted for our road-mate boots too. Mine just fit just right. It was actually pretty funny that night because everyone was so anxious to break them in, everyone wore them with civilian clothing.
On Sunday we finally had an opportunity to receive some ISP hours. ISP hours are hours that you must complete on your own time. So almost everyone had a chance to go and so the advantage was taken. We all shoveled side walks out of four feet of snow in Perryville. We did that all morning and just chilled in the afternoon. Oh yeah, I forgot, it was valentines day.
Monday was a national federal government holiday, so we had the day off for the most part. We just had a short meeting for the units then we had to see our TB results. Everything went fine. Then a bunch of people and myself went to the movies that afternoon. Some saw Avitar, some saw Valentines day, some saw The Olympians and myself and a few others went to see the movie Wolfman. It was a disappointment in my book.
On Tuesday we had a briefing with the American Red Cross. A very looonng meeting! It was from 830 to 430 in the afternoon. Afterwards we had a potluck for our unit. For the next day we are getting our new permanent teams.
Wednesday was a big day. The day of the last of pods and the awaken of the permanent teams. I was pretty sad but deep inside kind of anxious. First though we had a meeting for disaster relief shelter stuff for most of the day. Then we went bzck to the dorms and started to clean because congress was coming on Thursday. Around five oclock we had a ceremony at the fire hall for our team reveal. The way we did it was pretty creative. We had to take a name from the box and find that person and give it to them. Like wise with yourself. Once we have done that there was a song title on the corner of the paper. Mine was “let it be”. But as soon as your song came on , you move to the center of the floor and whoever went there too was on your team. I was pretty excited to see that Rachael and Curtis were on my team. After we got back we had pancakes for dinner then off to clean my room for congress tomorrow.
Yeah, So we Today we got up at 4:50 A.M to get our rooms ready for congress and up for P.T. at six. P.T. wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. It was alright, not too harsh, After P.T we had training in Aberdeen with the red cross for shelter disaster relief training. We did several simulations which had some very intense debates in them as well. My role was to be in charge of feeding the clients. I have learned that it is much harder than it seems and this is just a simulation! We were their from 9-4 pm. Afterwards we had to clean our day room or what we call the “ravens nest”. Then had dinner with my brand new team which Beth made us Curry. Was pretty good. Now I’m sitting here in the wolves den typing this with my buddy Victor.
So just for a recap on a lot of things, I’m having a blast. I love this style of life so far. Everyone is so close its ridiculous. The crazy thing is we only have known each other for a little over a week. So far the best way to describe it here would be like, its like college without the homework. I will miss my pod very much. Which included Jessica, Kareem, Kevin, Mark, Andria, Rachael, Curtis, Kenny, Lia and our TL Beth. We all grown so attached but as part of the training they want us to get flexible and used to change, so we swichted and got our permanent teams. Although they say it might change again. It wouldn’t surprise me. As far as meals go, we eat everything in our raven six refrigerator and cabinet. Each person automatically adds $4.50 for food towards the team. With ten people it adds up so we eat pretty good. So far I had meals such as stir fry, chicken alfrado, curry, tacos, spaghetti, lasagna and pancakes. Generally we have a bunch of kitchens and two teams share a kitchen. Mines awesome because we are right here in front of the dinning room so we get a lot of attention. Well, sorry about the wait I hope I get a chance to update sooner this time. I will leave you with some pictures that I have gathered over the last week or so.
Catch ya later!
Someone used to much soap!
Monday, February 8, 2010
The final push.
the blood being extracted from the center of my body and sent out to my extremities. Sorry about the delay, I’ve been pretty busy lately, I’m currently on a my flight from denver to baltimore to end the long process of the suspenseful anticipations. Wow, what a weekend, I did so much, I went to the market in bosque farms on on Saturday morning then I got fitted for my tux. After that, malled it up for a bit, then Molly’s, Amandas then finally jacksons for the fights. Sunday was mostly finalizing the last bits and putting all the puzzle pieces together. Oh forgot a minor detail, the superbowl. Which I may add I’m highly satisfied with the results.
At the market, learning the ropes of bargaining.
I booked it when I arrived in denver to catch this flight. Now its all so hard to bare to stand just to sit here and feel so mixed. I love it! Its all over, finally the process is all over. What a relief, Its safe to say we’re here. The end is finally here… The end? What am I talking about, This is only the beginning….
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Preparing for the world episode 3 (The Walmart Invasion).
Sunrise, gaze second to last before I leave. Saturday, for tis no other like it. Walmart, forget I will never.
Alright, I'll cut the crap. I've been pretty busy the last couple of days. A lot of organizing and thinking. On Thursday I didn't really go anywhere except when I ran in the morning. I have improved my time to about 20 minutes for three miles. Also another dog followed me to the house. This time a little Shih Tzu. After I ran did a "practice Pack". Everything fits nice and easy, no problems whatsoever but the weight may possibly be an issue. My bag came out to be 50 pounds even. Thats the number that borders free and not free. So I will take some dense items and put them in my carry on. I then tested out my space bags, they work great if you put pressure on them. On Friday(yesterday)I took a trip to Walmart and got the last things I'll need for the expedition. Hopefully this will be the last time I will have to deal with Walmart for at least a week. If Sam Walton was so genius, Why couldn't he come up with a more creative name? I know he started out small and everything but still... All he did was take the first three letters of his last name and added "mart" at the end. If that was me it would be "Hagmart". Now doesn't that sound attractive? "Hey Billy, I'm going to Hagmart, need anything?" or "Need butter? Come on down to Hagmart! All butter is 50% off!" ... Yeah I think not. Anyways, back on track, so then I ran for the last time. I got hunted down this time by a jack rabbit. Yep, it was the size of a large toy dog. After I ran I did my last load of laundry. Later on Noah, Andrew and myself saw a movie. Now here I am.
Twin size blanket and three hoodies in space bags.
So tomorrow I will try to post something. Hopefully I will have time. Just for the record, Baltimore just got like two feet of snow. This should be fun flying in. We're so close now I can almost smell it. Well see you at my next update.
Alright, I'll cut the crap. I've been pretty busy the last couple of days. A lot of organizing and thinking. On Thursday I didn't really go anywhere except when I ran in the morning. I have improved my time to about 20 minutes for three miles. Also another dog followed me to the house. This time a little Shih Tzu. After I ran did a "practice Pack". Everything fits nice and easy, no problems whatsoever but the weight may possibly be an issue. My bag came out to be 50 pounds even. Thats the number that borders free and not free. So I will take some dense items and put them in my carry on. I then tested out my space bags, they work great if you put pressure on them. On Friday(yesterday)I took a trip to Walmart and got the last things I'll need for the expedition. Hopefully this will be the last time I will have to deal with Walmart for at least a week. If Sam Walton was so genius, Why couldn't he come up with a more creative name? I know he started out small and everything but still... All he did was take the first three letters of his last name and added "mart" at the end. If that was me it would be "Hagmart". Now doesn't that sound attractive? "Hey Billy, I'm going to Hagmart, need anything?" or "Need butter? Come on down to Hagmart! All butter is 50% off!" ... Yeah I think not. Anyways, back on track, so then I ran for the last time. I got hunted down this time by a jack rabbit. Yep, it was the size of a large toy dog. After I ran I did my last load of laundry. Later on Noah, Andrew and myself saw a movie. Now here I am.
Twin size blanket and three hoodies in space bags.So tomorrow I will try to post something. Hopefully I will have time. Just for the record, Baltimore just got like two feet of snow. This should be fun flying in. We're so close now I can almost smell it. Well see you at my next update.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Preparing for the world episode 2
We are now in the heart of preparation. Only 5 days left until departure. Things for me seem relaxed... It kind of worries me. Should I be this laid back? Or am I just so used to traveling around and packing that it just doesn't bother me anymore. I'm sure my blood will start pumping as the shadows of the clock creeps closer to showtime. I've gotten a lot done the last three days. I also did a lot of research about what I must do when I leave here and head to Denver.
My new 31 inch suit case with some things I will pack as is.
First things first, I realize time is not stopping to give me a break as usual. Time is and will be working against me probably till I hop in that van and get shipped off to campus. I have been keeping up my running and slowly improving my time down. On Tuesday, I went shopping for clothing accessories. It is important for my packing strategies is to leave it in the packages. I do this because it will save me much needed space, its very hard to get things in packages the way they were before you opened them. So I figure why take them out if it will just waste space? So that is what I will be doing, packing 50% of unopened clothing products, such as, socks, undershirts, boxers and etc. Then today, Wednesday, I ran this morning in the rain, which felt amazing may I add. Shortly as I left the house this dog was running after me. I immediately thought "oh man! this isn't gonna end well". Then she was all happy and everything, She joined me for my 3 mile run. When I got back to the house, come to find out her name was Paige. There was a number on her tag and I went inside to grab the phone to call the number and she was gone. Shortly later Molly and I went to this place again, Walmart. The greatest place on this planet... NOT. It's just a matter of time before Walmart and Mcdonalds come together to run the country... Anyways, sorry for showing my affection for this store of beauty. Today I got some travel size stuff so I can pack light and use it for a while when I'm at campus. I will then buy the regular size stuff once I get into the belly of the beast. I also bought a laundry bag and some space bags. I hope they come in handy. Just for the record, the things we will be wearing the most, they will provide. The Americorps vintage T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, vest, coat, black cargo pants, khaki pants, shorts, white polo and steel toe boots. What on earth is a parka? I guess we get one of those too... oh and a rugby shirt? Some things I'm sure I would love to add to the prestigious Nick Hagerl wardrobe.
I have been looking at my flight itinerary lately as well. I noticed that I don't have very long layover in Denver. Once again, the clock will be working against me. I will have about 40 minutes to get to my next gate IF I land on time. That may seem a lot of time but from my past experiences, I know that is very short. I figure about 10-15 minutes from landing to get to the gate. Another 15 minutes to get off the plane(also depending on where your seat is). Then about an average of another 15 minutes to hunt down and reach your next gate. So its going to be a hustle for me. Even though they may have SOME tolerance for late people, I know my chances could be slim. If all goes well and I do make it on time, I know my bags will be running slow and most likely won't make it. So I'm going to pack two days worth of clothing in my carry-on. I think that is all I can do to help this situation. I may print out a map of the Denver airport as well. I must know exactly where every thing is when it comes to crunch time. Very little time can be wasted.
Well, that's all for now. Big couple days ahead, along with the weekend. Should be good. I will leave you with a photo of my suit case. I will probably leave a post on Friday or Saturday, Depends. See you then!
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