Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in mtwoutwest's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Friday, March 24th, 2006
8:30 pm	Slidell, LA again It has been quite some time since I have written in my journal and it feels really good to sit and try and write. I have so many things to document that I think it will take some time to focus on sitting and writing to update, but I think it will be good for me. So, I am back in Slidell, Louisiana for another tour of disaster services with my team. We are now a 9 member team and have grown closer and closer to one another as time passes. Before I know it, these people will be forced out of my life in the same way they were forced in. I am frustrated much of the time with so many little things that make up our team Blue 4. I have grown to know, both by loving and dispising, the unique characteristics of each of my team members and I am caught in a bitter sweet feeling of simultaneously thinking, YES! only 4 more months with you and I am out! and oh, I am going to miss you all so much! So, being back in Slidell is interesting. We are down the street from the sponsor we had during our first tour of disaster relief, Operation Blessing. There were quite some obstacles I had to overcome with my team and with this highly religious organization and it is interesting to be back serving in the same community. We spent our time here the first time gutting out houses and blue roofing damaged roofs. Things have improved since we were here last, but so much needs to be done. We are now here partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build the homes destroyed because of the hurricane. We first came down to gut, to throw away, to clean up debris and now we are here to rebuild, to grow and to give "a hand up not a hand out." Slidell Habitat typically will build 8 homes in a year, kind of like NCCC will typically have projects in its signature initiatives and in a certain region, but because of disaster, Habitat in Slidell has a goal to build 100 homes this year and we are here to help! As I write this entry, I am impressed with my ability to persevere. After driving from Los Angeles on March 17, unpacking, doing laundry and repacking, spending three days out processing our LA project and in processing our Slidell project, filing two months of paper work and restocking for disaster, getting three hours of sleep the night before we leave, flying all day and into almost half the night yesterday trying to figure out where we are going, living, working, and logistics, I am ready for the weekend. I really hate the attitude of, "You're young, you can do it with no sleep, lots of chaos," or whatever because it is not encouraging and makes me feel old when I feel like I can't keep up. Then a reality check kicks me and tells me that too much is being asked of me. So, I am sitting in spike housing, which is a side building of the First Prespyterian Church. We have three sleeping rooms fit for 11 volunteers each, one computer, one shower per sex, two fridges and a decently sized kitchen. My team will live in these arrangements until May 5, 2006 and then we will move somewhere else in the SE region to help out in some other disaster relief capacity until the end of our service term in July. It is going to be rough. The volunteers we share our housing with are "Alternative Spring Breakers" from colleges all over the country. It is really neat because since we will be here for five weeks, we will learn the tasks on our job site and supervise, coordinate, train and motivate the volunteers. We are here now with a group of Ohio State and Missouri State students and it just so happens that today on our first day, First Lady Hope Taft and First Lady Janet Huckabee were on the site building right along with us. I am familiar with some of the things Hope has done in Ohio with Make a Difference Day and with City Year and general promotion of community service. My team was split up today at four different homes learning different parts and steps of building a house and I happened to be assigned to a house with Hope and Janet. They are incredible women and they know their shit. Hope taught me how to install a window and the importance of leveling it before nailing it to the house, etc. and we had a good conversation about how she knows my cousin, Brian Ferguson because he works in DC for the Ohio State office for her husband. I really am not impressed with Governor Taft's politics, but am impressed with Hope. There were lots of cameras there from local newspapers and knowing that NCCC it not proposed for a budget in 2007, I took charge of making sure we were in the photos with her and made sure I made press contacts. I am reminded of my track and field days in high school when a photographer took my photo and wanted my name and permission to put me in the paper. I would NOT give him my name. I just did not want to be in the paper! I was surprised today when I so diligently followed the camera and reporter, making sure the AmeriCorps message made it in and that Hope knew who we were, etc. Of course, I was a bit timid, but made sure it was at least known we were there. My passion for service in this capacity has helped me grow in so many ways. Something funny that happened today: We were nailing plastic to the plywood walls on our build site and an Ohio State student started to nail nails into an "O" shape for block O. I got so excited and we all decided to do script Ohio in nails on this newly finished wood wall and now open canvas. Everyone got into it and by the end, we had all signed it and took a great photo. I was in it because of my residency and being an alum of OSU. It was such a nice way to be welcomed into this community so far away from Ohio because I had so many familiar things help me get settled. So, I think I have to get off so I am now monopolizing the computer, but will write more later. More to write on: LA highlights: lavendar, avocados, stars, hiking, the generous people Comparing Slidell from the first time to now My team and NCCC budget Hurricane building codes and how to build a house Idea of service here is the norm, whereas on projects elsewhere in communities, we are the rarity. (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 11th, 2005
8:52 am	Slidell to Northern Louisiana The Mennonite community here cooks breakfast and dinner for us each day and we eat MRE's for lunch (Meals ready to eat). Every evening after dinner, the Mennonites sing and pray together in a informal setting to come together as a groups because they are from all over the country. It is nice because they have the same traditions across the board and like to share in prayer with everyone. So, we were told in the beginning to not correspond with the Mennonites, that we were only to eat there and nothing else. Well, Galen, one of the pastors thought this was odd and asked us to come sing with them. I went with a few of my teammates and it was so beautiful and meditative. They learn how to sing at a very young age and sing all different parts, mostly tenor. So, Galen asked if we would sing for them on Friday evening. Heather and I sang the melody of Noel and Alice and Kate sang high and low harmony. We sounded amazingly good! It was great to be welcomed by them and to give them a show and thank them for their cooking. Galen gave a speech about God and his work down here and I decided not to judge and just take in what he said and think about it. It was nice to hear from Galen about his experience helping people. He told us, "Don't give up, don't ever give up." He told us we had to keep helping others regardless of our troubles because it is healing in the process. I loved that he said this because of some situations we as a team have come across down here that have been less than pleasant. People have doubted our work ability as a female dominated team and just not respected us in the way we thought a very Christian organization would. But, we were welcomed by Galen and found our peace of mind and our motivation in his work. It was so nice. I want to share a few stories of the people we have met here and helped fix their homes. We met Bill and Erica, who needed their roof tarped. Erica was nine months pregnant when they had to evacuate and she lost the baby in the mix of the hardship. She and her husband and their five year-old son were robbed by insurance inspectors and they are living in a tiny FEMA trailer trying to get their lived back together. It was so sad to hear Erica tell us her story, but she told us we gave her hope because we are fresh and young and here to help her. We gutted a house on Saturday as our last job in Slidell and we met Ray and his daughter, 7 year-old Caroline. We had to move out all of their house belongings, which is depressing when the little girl watches us in suits, masks and helmets pick up her winnie-the-pooh stuffed animal collection with gloves on and throw it to the curb. But, we cleared 2,000 cubic feet of their household debris and continued ot hack away at the house. We cleared their home of 1,600 square feet in a day. Nothing but the roof, cement and framing was left. Ray was so impressed and excited to start over. We chatted on our breaks and he told me he has lived in that house since he was born in the 70's. He survived one flood ten years ago and increased his insurance, but they still would not help. He was so happy we were their to help him. And he was so incredible about the whole thing. He said he and Caroline are safe and the things will be replaced. The courage that these people have just shocks me. From what I have seen in the past week to what I know will be here for years, I just can't forget about the needs here in the south. We are moving on to NOrthern Louisiana to help restore a camp for children who are disabled that was ruined by hurricane Rita. It will be away from all the obvious destruction, but is still needed and necessary. Everyone on Blue 4 is healthy and we are growing stronger together everyday. I think that is all I have time for now. (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 4th, 2005
12:03 am	Work in Slidell and New Orleans On Friday, we went to some houses in Slidell that had filled out work orders and we helped remove debris from their homes and from their yards. It is amazing to me because the houses seem fine on the outside, but everything has been flooded and the insides need to be gutted because they are full of mold. The team worked very hard despite the long, tedious circling drives in between jobs trying to find the houses with street signs missing and mailboxes not in the appropriate places. Some interesting things happened on Friday and today with work. First of all, we met a woman named Mrs. Holden who had debris fall all over her lawn and she needed us to move a bit of it. Mrs. Holden is a lady of about 75 and very little. She brought us all over to her backyard where a tree had fallen on her garden. She showed us a little plant that had sprouted despite the fallen tree. It was a lovely rose bush with a few small red roses on it. She said that the tree represented all the stuff in our lives that keep us down and that it is unpredictable. But she said we are strong, like the rose, and we need to rise up despite any trauma or tragedy we have experienced in our life. Mrs. Holden is a very religious woman and spoke of God's influence, but she was just so sweet and simple that I had to remember her story. With so much heartache in this area, it is nice to see hope, if only a little bit. We traveled to a few more jobs and found some X's marked on some of the homes. Apparently FEMA marks houses they have visited with an X. To the left of the X is the date and under the X they write how many dead bodies they found in the house. We luckily found zeros on all of the X's we cam across this week, but it was still disturbing. We went to New Orleans today to help gut a church. We were misinformed about our role and therefore unequipped for the wet and moldy debris. We worked for the morning and then headed back because our gear got wet was then not suitable for the job. I am frustrated with the chain of command and then I was criticized that I wanted to take my crew out of the unsafe conditions. There was some support, but little until I got my supervisor on the phone to explain to Operation Blessing that we were not to move into wet debris without waterproof suits. Anyway, it was great to be there and we will work on getting the proper equipment before me head down there again. The whole city has a dark water line about 11 1/2 feet from the ground where we were told was how high the water stood for weeks. It continued from the downtown area where we were until the highway and all along the wooded areas of highway 10. My teammate, Alice said it reminded her of a scene out of The Never Ending Story when Atreui is horseback riding through the swampy quicksand. It just looked so dark and mysterious, but we knew what the dark line was from. We returned to our spike housing, did laundry and washed up and headed back to New Orleans for dinner in the French Quarter. I ate some cajun food- the typical gumbo and jambalaya. I also tried alligator and it is what everyone says it is, "Tastes just like chicken." We are headed to take a tour of the Gulf coast tomorrow to cities on the shore, but East of Slidell and New Orleans. Then it is back to helping the residents of Slidell. (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 1st, 2005
9:51 pm	Slidell, Louisiana, getting started Blue 4 is settled in Slidell, Louisiana living in part of a shut down furniture department store of sorts. It took us a whole day of travel from Sacramento to Pheonix to Dallas to Baton Rouge and then we stayed in a tent city in Baton Rouge for one night and traveled to Slidell, Louisiana where we are stationed. So, first things first. When the team arrived at about dinner time to the Baton Rouge tent city, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was like a carnival had been set up, but no one had come to have fun. The tents are ginormous and set up on flat land on the bank of the Mississippi River under highway 10. Surprisingly, the cots were comfy and the heat stayed on all night, the porta potties and porta showers were luxurious compared to some portapotties I have seen. There was a group of religious folks cooking meals for us and it was amazing southern cookin. We met up with some other NCCC teams, some western region, but a couple were from the south eastern region. It was nice to mix and mingle. It was weird because we had all accommodations made for us, just in a very strange, tent like way. The electricity was on and I was able to charge my phone and walk around in slippers. The next morning, we went to FEMA headquarters in Baton Rouge and had our pictures taken for badges. I was briefed on what my tea would be doing and got our vehicles. We are driving three very large trucks, fitting for the South, but necessary for the mud and debris we must drive over in neighborhoods. We traveled from Baton Rouge to Slidell, which is a suburb thirty minutes outside of New Orleans. I was told to take 12, but then told to take highway 10, which took twice as much time to get to Slidell, but the route took us over the Lake Ponchatrain bridge and into the outskirts of New Orleans. I could not believe my eyes- the areas off the highway were so damaged, demolished, stained, ruined, I just stared with disbelief. Apparently the whole area even as far as Slidell, which is all under sea level, was flooded in some capacity. All the cars we saw were brown and yellow from the salt water beginning to erode the paint finishes. Everything I have read and seen on the news is true. Boats were crashed onto trees and trees were in houses and houses were missing roofs and windows and trash still flooded everything in sight. Corporate billboards were down and cut in half, McDonalds' signs were bent and broken, just barely hanging in the wind. We stopped to get directions, but although the traffic was bumping and made it seem like gas stations were open, most everything was empty and destroyed. It helped to drive nearer to New Orleans before we arrived in Slidell because it instantly made it real for me and the team why we are here. It is obvious that the destruction will not be cleared and lives will not be "back to normal" for a long while from now. We got settled in the department store cot city and today we had our first day of work. We finished a started gutting job on a house in one of the Slidell neighborhoods. The team suited up in poly jump suits to protect us from the installation, we wore gas mask type face protectors because of the mold spores all over and of course we had our safety glasses, gloves and steel toed boots on. The house was a one story 60 by 24 square foot house and we used hammers, shovels, sledge hammers and brooms to rip apart the walls and sweep everything to the curb. When we finished, we searched for the next house, but street signs are still missing, mailboxes are blown away and streets have just recently been cleared of debris. Okay, so we are partnering with a FEMA sponsored organization called Operation Blessing. Apparently because Operation Blessing has volunteers trained in disaster willing to work for free and are nonprofit, FEMA supplies them with the tools and equipment to help communities and Operation Blessing takes work orders from residents and tries to help in ways such as blue tarp roofing on houses that have lost the roofs, gutting houses that have been flooded completely and are beginning to mold, removing debris and shrubbery off of properties, etc. They do basically anything that continues their mission to alleviate human suffering in times of trauma and tragedy. I am uncomfortable with the way Operation Blessing runs because they force prayer on clients who are obviously suffering and have nowhere else to turn. I know this is a controversial issue, but I believe it is one's own choice of how and whom to pray, but especially in times of tragedy, people are willing to do anything to get help, such as convert. Shouldn't one want to convert on their own free will? I am also confused because we are a government program, therefore not religiously affiliated, but in my experience with the NCCC, we have only partnered with Christian organizations. It frustrates me because we have to say we are hee to help with Operation Blessing, but the NCCC is not religiously affiliated, but it really, really, seems that we are. Perhaps there are no other religious organizations reaching out to help, like Muslims or Jewish organizations but I doubt that. Anyway, regardless, I and my team are here to help in any way and we have been assigned to Operation Blessing and I will do the best I can. We are headed to New Orleans to help gut a church that is 70,000 square feet! There will be 500 volunteers there and we will have the opportunity to be in New Orleans with the people, working with them and listening to their stories. The thinking behind gutting the church is that if they revitalize the church, the church can help the community as a giving organization. It makes sense as far as where the need is, etc. I have been informed that we will be in Slidell for awhile because the tent city in New Orleans is not ready yet (missing prota showers) and that the work is not as organized as it is in Slidell. We will probably switch from Slidell to New Orleans periodically during our stay here, but who knows. I am enjoying myself for the most part and I have been getting good feedback from my team about keeping it as organized and running smoothly. I am not sleeping much and I am incredibly homesick. I have no time to really think about this though, which is good. If I did, I would cry and cry. It is December 1, 2005 and I am still wearing a t-shirt outside and I still have yet to feel a glimpse of the holiday season. The only thing that feels good is that I am surrounded by the spirit of giving with my team and Operation Blessing and everyone in the communities we have been in thus far. There is so much to be done and not nearly enough time, money, resources. It will be hard to leave, but I am determined to work as hard as I can for the time I am here. (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 26th, 2005
9:56 pm	I ran my first 5K! I ran a 37 minute 5K with a four minute bathroom break and a bit of a slow start with the other 17,000 runners. Every Thanksgiving morning for about 20 years now, the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services has hosted a Run to Feed the Hungry to benefit the food bank. 17,000 runners! Whoa. I am really enjoying running now. It is a distresser and really relaxing once I get into it. We had an AmeriCorps*NCCC team of about 50 runners and walkers and it was such a beautiful way to spend Thanksgiving away from home. For the first time, the whole Corps (230) was on base for the holiday. This was because we are transitioning either to disaster or to a Western Region project. We all had turkey together and then the Team Leaders met up later that night for some fun. It was great to be back with people who are going through the same difficulties I am with leading a team of my peers. It was just inspiring to listen to their stories and get and give advice. And just hang out! (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 19th, 2005
9:34 pm	disaster relief assignment in New Orleans Tomorrow morning at 3:45 a.m. my team and I will depart Sacramento California for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Blue 4 has been assigned to work with FEMA for three weeks on Operation: Mopping Up stationed in New Orleans, Louisiana. I haven't written in a long while and so much has happened. We finished our project at the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Service on November 22, 2005. It was sad to leave, but we received good feedback on our hard work ethic, organization and our young spirits that helped brighten the food bank in its busiest time. I am realizing more that this job will demand much from my emotions. It was difficult to establish a relationship with the people at the food bank and then have to say goodbye. It was hard to get comfortable with our positions and then have to pack up and leave. I am scared for disaster relief. I did not think we would be going to the heart of the disaster. I found out very little, but know that we will be living in Slidel, Louisiana in a warehouse of sorts for a bit of the time and we will drive into New Orleans (about 30 minutes) to work everyday. Operation: Mopping Up is all about debris removal from houses that have been flooded. It is the next step in cleaning up the city. We are the first Western Region team to go into New Orleans, which is great because my hardworking and amazing team will have no problem setting high standards, but it makes it difficult because we have no one to prepare us for what is ahead. FEMA is very unorganized. I am not sure why this is or if it even matters because we are going to New Orleans to help in any form we can to help the people get their lives back in order. The biggest thing I am looking forward ot is speaking with the locals about their experiences and just hearing what they have to say about the history of New Orleans, the lively spirit I have heard too much about and just individuals' own experience with the hurricane. I cannot even try to fathom experiencing a hurricane. The French Quarter has been untouched, so Bourbon Street is open, but no one is there, for obvious reasons. I am looking forward to just going there to do what I can. I am feeling scared about the unknown, lonely because I am leading a group of ten who have one another, but I have to keep my distance, excited to see New Orleans and work for FEMA, angry at FEMA and how unorganized they are because it scares me that disorganization might lead to being unsafe, confident because I know I can do this and I know I will get things done with my team. I told my team that whatever anxiety they are feeling, they must multiply that by eleven because I am responsible for ten members plus myself. I asked them to be patient and to be considerate that we are all in this together. Aimee and Alice came to my room the other day and we were chatting about FEMA and our assignment, etc. I asked them how we were going to do this as a team and succeed. We shared how scared we all were and then Aimee came over to sit next to me and called Alice to sit on the other side of me, she put her arm around me and said, "We are going to do it like this." And we all hugged each other. I loved this. I love that Aimee and Alice are there for the team and that they are starting to get the team aspect of the program and the importance of caring for one another. I am not sure how much I will be able to write, but I am glad I got this entry in before I leave. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 13th, 2005
5:23 pm	Met the founder of the Sacramento Food Bank Our project at the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services is going very well. My team partners off each day and works in the five departments, learning from community volunteers and assisting the food bank during the busiest time of year. A large part of AmeriCorps*NCCC is service learning. We want to be able to learn about social issues, the community we are working in, the people who live there, and how to get involved in making a change through service. Service learning can be anything from sharing our work stories at the end of the day, chatting with a community volunteer who tutors adults at the SFBFS and has for since it opened, or scheduling a meeting to discuss the large social issues of poverty and education in California and the United States. All of these have happened and all are types of service learning, formal and informal. I really enjoy watching my teammates or listening to them when they are telling stories or talking with the community members because this is really the best way to get to know the people and community. This morning Natalie, Heather and I drove to Father Dan Madigan's church and attended mass. Father Dan founded the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services over thirty years ago. He has little to do with the daily running business of the food bank but much to do with the inspiration and the motivation behind all that it does. We took the highway to get there, but crossed a delta bridge and rode down a winding country road with beautifully colored fall trees everywhere and vineyard patches along the way. The church is quite small and old and sits between two vineyard patches. When we walked in we passed cages with white pigeons in them that seemed to say, "welcome" as we walked by. Heather enjoys sitting in the second row, so we went to the front and sat down waiting for mass to start. Out came a fully grown great dane dog to greet everyone. Apparently this is Father Dan's dog who goes with him almost everywhere. The dog greeted us and then returned to the alter while Father Dan came out. The dog stayed there the whole mass! Father Dan looked at the three of us and asked us if we wanted to lead the songs today. We all said no, that we were just guests, etc. and then we told him we work at his food bank and we are from AmeriCorps. He said, "Oh, welcome! I will have to mention that. I have to find a song leader." And he moved on to find someone to lead the songs. Father Dan is hefty like Santa Claus and speaks in a thick Irish accent. He is a bit old and forgetful, but incredibly kind and witty, so the whole mass was an enjoyable experience. During the homily, Father Dan spoke about the food bank and why it is important. He talked about how strong people are for carrying on with their lives even when faced with hardship such as poverty, abuse, addiction, etc. He admitted he would not be as strong as most of the clients of the food bank and that it is our duty to help those in need. He basically was referring to the fact that it could be me or you any day so we have an obligation to help our fellow neighbors. He then spoke about AmeriCorps*NCCC and what great work we do for the food bank and how our energy refreshes the food bank every year. He then called us to the pulpit to introduce ourselves and tell the church where we are from! Of course he would not take no for an answer and of course, Heather and Natalie looked at me to lead the way as the Team Leader. So, I climbed the steps of the pulpit and just said a bit about the NCCC like the overall big picture and then broke it down to our eleven member team. It was great to be able to get up there, but so funny because it was so informal and off the cuff that by the time we got nervous about what we were doing, it was over. Mass continued and when it came time to take communion, Natalie got up and went when it was her turn. Father Dan pulled her up front and handed her a bowl of bread and told her to serve the body of Christ. Natalie said she didnt know how and he said, "yes you do." So, she served the bread with him to the church members! It was so funny! It was just so laid back and welcoming, yet very spiritual and calming. When mass ended we talked to many community members who approached us like we were celebrities and then thanked Father Dan, who ironically, thanked us for what we do. We went out back to look at his farm animals like the llama, goats and donkeys. It was quite a trip. Heather, Natalie and I went to a local cafe for breakfast and chatted about religion, Father Dan and the food bank and got to know one another a bit better, so it was a great time! I was overwhelmed today with what it truly means to have a sense of community. Everyone talked and laughed and prayed together today in an almost barnyard setting. It seemed real and I was inspired by the authenticity of it. AmeriCorps*NCCC is a nonpartisan government program that does not endorse or denounce any religion. We work for the food bank, but wanted to meet the founder so we went to church. It had nothing to do with *NCCC, it was our personal choice. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 25th, 2005
6:35 pm	Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services Day Two So today was the team's second day at the SFBFS. We are stationed all over the place in the food locker, clothes closet, the guest services area, the mother-baby program and right now we are trying to complete some special projects which involve painting tutoring rooms, sorting the various bins of donations to bring them in from outside before the rainy season sets in and other needed tasks. Today I had the opportunity to be in the Intel computer after school program with the bigger kids. Intel sponsors hundreds of computer based after school programs across the globe, which I did not know. This program teaches the children how to use some software pertinent to technology these days. Yesterday I thought it was a great thing because these "under privileged" children are learning Bryce 05 and learning how to do graphic design type things. I was learning a bit about the programs they use that apparently are what Pixar uses to make the cartoon animated films. So, today, I worked with Jesse, who is 9 years old and in the fourth grade. I also worked with Willie, an 11 year-old in 6th grade. It was fun to help Jesse with his homework because I got to help him with his language worksheets. He didn't understand the difference between possessive and plural s's on the end of words so we reviewed them and I helped him with his assignment. Willie, however did not do so well. Yesterday, I watched him merge two digital projects into one with a landscape and robots and do things that were beyond my comprehension with Bryce. Today, I saw him write a paragraph on a current event and he chose hurricane Wilma. I watched him write a paragraph, but it didn't have one capitalized letter nor did it have any periods or punctuation. He also confused the possessive and plural and had numerous spelling errors. When talking with Aimee on the way home, we realized we had very good schooling offered to us when we were young. I began to talk about how sad it is that the fundamentals are missing with kids'education today. Jesse is still learning his grammar rules, but Willie is in 6th grade and should know how to diagram sentences and be using prepositions and direct objects. But he still does not know the difference between plural and possessive and he struggled with punctuation. He is a whiz on the computer, but when I watched him type, he didnt type words, he typed letters to see the computer spell them for him. So when his sentence read, "Hurricane Wilma destroyed homes." It actually read, "Hurricane Wilma destroyed Holmes." He said the computer told him it was right, but i repeatedly asked him what was wrong with his sentence. He got annoyed and I then asked him if he knew when to capitalize and when not to. Once we reviewed it, he got it, but it was so disturbing to see him struggling. I told Aimee that I think the technology based after school program is a good thing, but it makes things so much harder for these kids in the long run. Willie knows how to merge projects together on Bryce 05 this year. The thing about the information age is that things are constantly updating and changing. If children receive the basis of education such as elementary skills of what makes a sentence and how to process a mathematical equation, then they can easily adapt to the constantly changing information age. But Willie is lost to this as a 6th grader. His teachers and parents are not giving him the attention he deserves to learn the basics. It is so disheartening, but I know that if I help Willie and Jesse for the next four weeks, I can help make a small change. Already Jesse made sure he said bye to me at the end of the day today. I loved it. Im not sure how much of this makes sense, but I had to write something. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 23rd, 2005
4:05 pm	First phase project Tomorrow morning, Blue 4 will travel to the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services and begin our first part of phase one. We are local this time, which is a big destresser as I watch fellow Team Leaders round their teams up for prep for disaster services. This year is unique for the NCCC because 50% of our resources, meaning projects, will be devoted to some kind of disaster relief. With so much devastation in the SE region of the US, we are needed more than ever. this poses some kind of problem to the already unmet human needs we would have responded to with our regularly scheduled projects in the west, but the NCCC staff has worked it out so that starting tomorrow, phase one will last 8 weeks, but every team will have half of a project in the west and then half disaster relief. My team will respond to the critical need at the Sacramento Food Bank for the next fours weeks and then will switch with a team that has been on disaster. Therefore, the needs here in Sacramento will be met, but by two teams. this allows the teams to get a variety of service experiences and avoids early burn out. Disaster relief work is very strenuous on the body and mind and the teams never stay more than four weeks at a time before rotated to home base or a western region project to recoop. I am very excited about working for the Sac Food Bank and Family Services because there are various things for our team to do. We will partner off during the day, which gives teammates an opportunity to get to know every member on the team in a on-on-one work environment. We will work in the following programs: 9 am to 2 pm: food locker program and clothes closet distributing food and clothes. 9 am to 2 pm: Mentoring in the Mother-baby program and distributing supplies to them 9 am to 3:30 pm: Community Learning Center mentoring and tutoring adults obtaining their GEDs. 9 am to 3:30 pm: working in the Women's Wisdom project with women who use art as a healing mechanism for some kind of trauma in their life. 2 pm to 5:30 pm: Intel Computer Clubhouse working with children and technology. 2 pm to 5:30 pm: P.L.A.C.E after school program working with children. Every program allows for each Corps Member to learn something new and work with a variety of community members/volunteers. I am so excited because it has something for those who want physical labor (food/clothes distribution) and those who want to mentor (mother and baby program, community learning program) and those who want to work with children and art (women's wisdom program and the PLACE) I am not sure how everything will work and I do not have any more specifics on the project, but I start tomorrow and will get a feel for it this week! (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 20th, 2005
10:21 am	My team, the final week of training, deployment It has been too long since I last wrote because I have been so busy. We are almost completed with our Corps Training Institute, which was a three week long training for our Corps Members. I have been on an eleven member team for the past week and a half and this Friday, all 230 of us will climb the steps of the California State Capitol and declare our commitment to ten months of service to our country. Just writing those words gives me chills and such a rush that I can't describe. This whole experience thus far has been a whirlwind of activity. I feel like I am in a time warp that consumes my life, but in so many great ways. I have a routine of getting up at 5:30 a.m. to run and going to meetings and trainings and then cooking dinner with my team and cleaning up and then reconvening to have "team time" to get to know one another and build our team structure. this is very hard because I am responsible for myself and ten other people- for our safety, our well being and also facilitating these many meetings and trainings. This position as a Team Leader has really allowed me to step out of my comfort zone. I am enjoying it, but it is a high and low kind of position. I have really great days and then really bad days. There is never a dull day, which i guess is great, but it is just interesting how things change so suddenly based on our different team members' daily attitudes. So, my team? Well here is what I know... Alice, Aimee, Adam, Heather, Jess, Natalie, Lynne, Kyle, Shannon and Kate. We are known as Blue 4 because that is the color and number we have been assigned. However, we have collectively decided to call ourselves the Bleu Cheezies, as our team is a bunch of cheesy people, or corny people. We find the humor in puns and silly things. We have lots of fun together, but we are all quarky in our own ways. The past two weeks have been interesting because I have been able to observe the team in many different situations and be able to process how they handle things, what they like, don't like, etc. We have a cheer and when we are done with it, we do the snoop dogg dance. If you do not know it, I think I can demonstrate during Winter break, but it is just a fun dance to do and move your hands up and down and turn. I love to dance and there are many dancers in the group as well. We are from Long Island and Memphis, we are both introverted and extroverted, we are adopted, we have real and fake red hair, we have Madonna worshippers and country listeners, we have one from Wyoming because let's be honest, who is from Wyoming? :0) We have Maryland football fans, we are sensitive and sarcastic, we have hard New York accents and soft southern accents, we are here to get money for our education and to be participants in a national movement, we are the AmeriCorps*NCCC Class 12 Blue 4 Team. I cannot begin to describe who my teammates are because it is just too hard and it does not do their personalities justice, but that is a glimpse. I am learning quite quickly that good enough is good enough and that almost everything is bittersweet. I think this sounds a bit sad, but I don't mean it to be. I am a very particular person and I have very high standards. However, my mission to "get things done" in AmeriCorps involves developing leaders and strengthening communities. My own sacrifice is crucial in this process because the program is not about me. By letting go of a few things and learning how to depend on others is something huge I am learning this year. I also try daily to find the silver lining in situations and seek the good in people because it is always there; it is just hard, very hard, to find sometimes. Everyone is capable, they just need the support and instruction that they can respond to. This is such large task I think I have taken on this year, but my people skills are going to improve and I am going to learn more than I thought I could from nine other people. I really believe that "everyone can be great because everyone can serve," as MLK said. And I am going to make myself greater and those on my team greater through our collaborative effort and service this year. I said the other day while taking a deep breath that, "it takes a really strong person to develop leaders." And I am trying to be as strong as I can. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 19th, 2005
7:14 am	San Fran fun I have some really great trips lately, one that involved going to San Francisco for the weekend for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. It was free and in Golden Gate Park. I saw Patti Griffin, Joan Baez, Gilian Welch, the Be Good Tanyas and some others. It was so fun to just hang out and listen to good music for two days. San Francisco is an incredible city. When I arrived there with four of my Team Leader friends, I was overcome by some strong emotion about my father and his youth in San Francisco. It was really weird because we drove into the city on a typical bridge and we drove on typical city streets to the hotel and yet, i still felt something in the air. This is not the "air of the 60's" but it was just something I felt. I began to tell my friends about my dad and then decided to call my dad and tell him what and how I was feeling. When my dad was around my age, he moved out from Ohio to San Francisco to establish residency and go to school, or basically find himself, as almost every 20 something year-old tries to do. This freedom and investment in himself was taken away from him when he was drafted for the Vietnam War. He was just beginning to live his young adult life and had to return home and ship out. I can't imagine if the experiences I am having now were taken away from me. I know we do not have control of our fate, but I have to beleive in the idea of freedom. I recognize how selfish this is, but I try to stay humble. I got pretty emotional thinking about being drawn to San Francisco just as he had when he was about my age. He thought I had been in the City for several days to have such strong feelings and we both had a good laugh after he asked how long I'd been there and I said "Ten minutes!" I had not even seen anything "San Fran" specific that would make me feel this way and I had literally been in the city for ten minutes. He appreciated me thinking about him and said it was good to know a part of him was back in the city. My dad is so wonderful and said to focus on my time and make my own story. I love him so much and appreciate all that my parents have done for me and all that they have been through. This of course, makes me very homesick. I am not sure if this entry does the situation any justice, but I am grateful to be out here serving my country the best way I can. I hope to write more, if my schedule permits. Until then... (Comment on this)
Friday, September 16th, 2005
8:17 pm	Camp Mendecino in the Redwoods! So, this past week, the Team Leaders and staff went to Camp Mendecino, located between Fort Braggs and Willits, California in the south end of the Redwood forest. The redwood forest is vast and only the giants are on the coast, but these "smaller" redwoods are still much larger, taller and stronger than any tree I have seen in the Midwest. The camp is owned and run by the boys and Girls Club of San Fransisco. there are roughly 300 campers who come for the summer who experience hardship at home in San Fran such as gang involvement, drug use, neglect, etc. The camp is fabulous- 2,000 acres of trails with typical camp-like activities, but since it is in the redwoods, it just seems so magical. We had lots of training up there and we did four service projects to help the camp out during their off season. I had the opportunity to lead one of the four groups and our assignment was to chop 3 cords of wood for next year's campfires. A cord of wood is 4x4x8 feet and wood is typically cured or seasoned in the sun for about a year to let it really dry out. If you burn it too soon, the wood will smoke and sizzle as it burns and if you burn it inside, it will coat the fire chimney with more soot than usual. It was a neat experience to learn how to use an ax and a splitting maul, but also to lead a team, which is what I came here to do. There were seven of us and we had a blast. I took some photos and just really had fun learning so much! We slept on bunks in "cabins" that were really just slabs of cement with walls and canvas "windows." We went to the tree, which is the largest tree on the property. It took thirteen of us to circle around it and grab hands to connect. It was very cool. That size is typical of the giant redwoods, but kind of unique on these camp grounds. There is not much else to report, except I was able to get to know some more Team Leaders very well in our bonding time around the campfires we had. We were allowed to have campfires and s'mores, which were bonuses. the only thing missing was a guitar, so Carmelita, another team leader, and i sang songs. We sang Pasty Cline, Dixie Chicks, Carole King, that Killing Me Softly song, and others. People seemed to enjoy it. I got a little sick and am still not feeling 100%. I planned to go to San Fran this weekend, but think I will lay low around here to prepare for the Corps' arrival on Thursday! I cant wait! There is also a free bluegrass concert in San Fran on Oct. 1 and 2 and Patti Griffin and Gilian Welch will be there. We have the weekend off, so I think I will head to the city then. Well, that's all for now. :) (Comment on this)
6:58 pm	Sierra Nevada camping! It has been quite a long time since I have written in my journal, so I thought I would take a moment to update everyone on my recent weekends, which involved camping trips. As part of our training, the team leaders drove to the University of Nevada in Reno, Nevada, which is about a two hour drive through the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. We had a tool training presented to us by the Great Basin Institute and the Nevada Conservation Corps, also an AmeriCorps program, only a State program. We learned about fires in the west and how fires are actually a natural and good thing for forest restoration. However, when humans came to the southwest area of the U.S., we disturbed this natural circular process. There are many layers to a forest and in order to revive the soil and make room and nutrients for other native plants, fires occur in the dry heat. but, humans have brought non-native species from other parts of the U.S. to "help" the dry and arid look of Nevada. The result is lots of ample dry "firewood" that burns really quickly and uncontrollably. There are many organizations in Nevada that focus on fire prevention. they do this through fuel reduction and non-native plant removal. Fuel reduction is the actual burning of the out skirts of forests to minimize the fuel. This is planned by fire departments and volunteer fire rescue teams where people reside. I guess the idea is to burn the fuel (trees on the out skirts, small plants, debris, fallen bark) in a controlled environment in human populated areas of the forests so that when the fires naturally occur deep in the forest, the fires stop very far from civilization. This minimizes death and injury to humans. Removing invasive or non-native plants is also important because those plants reap the benefits of the soil, leaving the native plants that have the capacity to survive better on little water and arid land drying out more quickly, creating more fuel for the inevitable, natural fires. These plants were brought by humans from the East and South during the Gold Rush time and, like I said, take up more water and nutrients from the very arid land. The GBI and NCC also create and maintain paths through the Nevada forest to minimize human impact on the natural habitat. All forest land in Nevada is public, which means it is incredibly hard to monitor by Police and Fire, but good because the residents own it. It creates problems among the GBI and NCC with back country "cowboys" who have lived on the land and roamed the land since the Gold Rush and believe it is theirs. The people do not obey the trail rules and create problems for enforcement because lots of the areas are restricted because of safety from fires. So, I think that is a good enough overview of the importance of forest fires and the problem there is with them. We camped in Dog Valley, one of the areas that is dedicated to the Donner Family. Apparently when traveling to California during the mid 1800's, the Donner family went through the Sierras and did not anticipate such a harsh winter. They ended up mostly freezing to death, but some survived by eating their relatives. I want to read more about it, but it was interesting to camp there. We were at 7,000 feet and the Sierra Nevadas get to be about 14,000 feet. We went on a hike and the moon and tree line sunset was amazing. I hope my photos turn out. We could not have a campfire because during the summer and fall the fire risk is high because it is so dry. The temperature got to at least freezing during the night because we woke up with ice on our sleeping bags. The team bonded the night before by sitting around a nonlit campfire ring without any light but the stars. we all agreed to play "hot seat" where the one in the hot seat was encouraged to answer any questions asked. It was nice because we all asked personal achievement questions and got to know each other much better. It was a good activity too because there was no light so we all had to listen carefully to one another. We went to sleep and woke up and went home. Very cold, almost boring, but very educational and beautiful! We were supposed to do some trail work with GBI, but the plans fell through so this experience was really just to give us a chance to camp together and get logistics down. (Comment on this)
Monday, September 5th, 2005
1:57 pm	weekend trip to the Redwoods This weekend, I went to Northern California with Molly, Emily and Dan (who we call Newq because of his last name, Newquist). Emily went to school at Humboldt University, which is in Arcata, California, and had friends up there she wanted to see. Molly, Newq and I had all never been to the Redwoods so we joined Emily in her 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit and traveled 6 hours up north to see these magnificent trees. We arrived Saturday night and went to "downtown" Humboldt, which has about 7,000 school residents and about 30,000 permanent residents. Everything about this little town is adorable. Arcata is known for its alternative energy sources and its natural marsh that filters water rather than using a chemical plant. Despite two or three banks, the town banned corporate influence and pretty much everywhere you go has handmade, sweat free merchandise and organic, homegrown food. It is a quaint little hippie town surrounded by redwoods with access to the ocean. Wow. It is right above the city, Eureka, which is very conservative, so there is a bit of town rivalry, but not much. We woke up on Saturday morning and went to get brunch at a restaurant called Wild Flowers. I had a spinach, feta, tomato, homefries omelet with tofu tahini sauce to top it. This is the first eggs breakfast that I have not added ketchup or salt and pepper to make it better. The food was mouthwatering delicious! With our full and happy stomachs, we drove fifteen minutes to the beach. I am not sure what the beach was called, but it was fabulous. The average temperature in Arcata year round is 65 degrees. The days get to be about 75 or so and the nights get down to a nice Ohio Fall evening cold. So, being by the water, even though it was sunny, was very cold. The four of us played frisbee, took pictures, walked up and down at high tide looking at tide pools and saw some urchins caught in them, and we climbed the rocky cliffs on the shore. It was such a wonderful afternoon! We then headed to the Humboldt Community Forest that has thousands of Redwood trees. It was the most amazing experience I think I have ever had. The trees are so straight, stoic and firm. The quiet was almost frightening, but the bit of sun that came through the trees and the occasionally sound of birds was comforting. We walked up and down the trail, climbed in hollowed out redwoods and hugged a few of them, too. It was so awesome! We then went to a festival downtown that was to support Humboldt's sister city in Nicaragua. It was full of live music, hand made jewelry and grilled fish. We ate pizza and danced and just chatted. We then headed to Emily's friend's house and made sushi for dinner with ingredients we got at the local co-op. We saw the tail end of a sunset at the marsh, which is very essential to the ecosystems, apparently. It is the zone between land and sea and it very fertile. I am not sure of specifics, but it was beautiful because some of the microscopic organisms reflect off the water and sky and at sunset, the land naturally glows. We got up very early this morning to get back to base. When driving up, we had passed the famous Avenue of the Giants, which is where the famous founders redwood tree is and where a majority of the largest ones are. So, at about 7:30 a.m. we rolled out of the car and hiked a bit more to see the massive, beautiful founding forest. It is called the founding forest because when people realized the trees needed to be preserved, they "founded the forest" for education purposes. I tried to take photos of the whole weekend and I hope that the few I took of the massive redwoods will help give some perspective on how large they actually are. I read up on some interesting facts about the forests and why it is important to save the redwoods. It turns out that these are, in addition to being beautiful and comforting, very unique in the rainforests of northern California. One massive redwood will produce 500 gallons of water in any given day. There are actually three climates that the trees experience because they are so tall and because California rain and sun permit them to grow. There is the ground level and the mid level and then the canopy that gets all the sun and does that photosynthesis thing. Each part of the forest is important, especially the fallen ones. The dead ones help the saplings grow in their early stages and there are many other organisms that feed on the dead tree to help themselves grow and to help decay the dead tree. Redwood Sorrel, which looks like clover will grow all over the ground level, feeding on fallen redwood. Redwood bark is incredibly spongy because of the rain that they store in their trunks, which makes it very hard for a redwood to burn completely in a forest fire. When we climbed into a hollowed out one, it was because of fire damage, but the tree kept growing. That was the coolest thing, I think- being able to climb into a living tree. The bark also has some kind of natural bug repellent, which I forget the name. So, when walking around, there are no bugs to bother people! This was such an amazing experience and it really helped me see how minuscule humans really are in the life process, but also how much damage we can do to everything. Redwoods are illegally (and sometimes legally by the Pacific Lumber Company) cut down, which is a concern because lots of them are as old as 2,200 years and need to be preserved. But seeing these trees helped me see how everything it related to each other and just helped me get a better perspective on my own impact. Just being there for an afternoon to put my eyes on them and to sit and look at them and just hear silence, was truly peaceful. I am headed to work tomorrow and this Friday we will head to Camp Mendocino which is also up north, but not as far as we went this weekend. We will work through the weekend and have team building at the camp. I will write again when I have the chance, and will probably upload some photos soon. (Comment on this)
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
6:57 pm	first service orientation woo hoo! Today the team leaders went to Habitat for Humanity of Sacramento and learned how to use some basic construction tools. It was really fun because I learned how to use some drills and saws I have never even seen before and I got to know a little bit about Habitat. I was quite unfamiliar with the nonprofit and they do some pretty amazing things. We are headed to a house to help hang drywall tomorrow for the whole morning. I think the routine for us when working with communities and nonprofits will be to meet with the nonprofit sponsor and get an overview of the project and why we are needed and what the nonprofit stands for, etc. It was really great to be given the background today before we got started on the work because now we know a little more about the tools and really why we are helping them tomorrow. So, about the shaved head. It still feels so great! I sometimes walk by a mirror and do a double-take, but smile in excitement because it looks and feels great. I can't stop touching the buzz, which is a problem because I wanted to get rid of my hair to come to grips with the vain aspect hair has to me. It didn't work. But I still love it. It is temporary and just fun. I realize now, with all the looks I get, that just by having buzzed hair I am making a statement. But, interestingly enough and for a girl who loves a good protest whether personal or political, I feel no sense of revolt with what I did. I am not "acting out" and trying to change people's perceptions. Although, I know I will change people's perceptions naturally. Once I did it, my sense of confidence and strength went inward and I feel stronger. I'm not sure if any of this makes sense, but it is also something I cannot explain any better. It was an unusual experience because I said to a few girls that I wanted to shave my head and they all wanted to do it with me! So Nicolette- my suite mate, Molly, Lori and I all shaved them together. I have some awesome photos that I will upload as soon as I can. I wanted this to be a personal experience, so it was hard to have all the company, but it helped me have the courage to finally do it. I cut my own ponytail, which I am donating to Locks of Love and then I cut all the rest off and went straight for the clippers. there was no guard on it, so it is very, very short. But it was such a liberating experience! I loved feeling my hair fall off onto my shoulders and then my scalp actually got cold. I felt overwhelmed by the other Team Leaders who anxiously waited outside to see us with no hair. Overall, It was great, though. They are very supportive and love it, too! (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 31st, 2005
10:06 pm	I donated my hair to Locks of Love... ...and shaved the rest off. Wow. I feel amazing. More later, have to ride the great feeling I have right now. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 30th, 2005
5:28 pm	Another day... So, today and tomorrow I will spend my time in a very long training about "Supervisory Skills" and how to be effective as far as giving good feedback, supporting and directing and having the idea of situational supervision and action, etc. The training had role playing components and lots of scenario type discussions. It was very helpful, but we were in the same seats in the same room all day. Tonight we are getting pizza and listening to a panel of previous Team Leaders. We have a good enough grasp on what is expected of us, so we can now ask questions and get some advice. The staff keeps saying that the hardest job here in the NCCC is the role of the TL. They are the liaison between the Corps and Staff and have many different leadership "hats" to wear. i am so nervous, but feel very supported. Got to go. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 28th, 2005
5:44 pm	First weekend in Cali So, today is Sunday and it is really, really hot. All of the AC units broke, so we are all sitting around trying not to move, but are sweating just by breathing. It is alright, but I feel a bit sick because of it. We are eating as a team tonight- breakfast food for dinner. We arranged to eat Sunday through Thursday as a family and then fend for ourselves on the weekends. So, yesterday, I went with Emily to Davis where the University of California at Davis is. We went to the Farmer's Market and I had the best California white nectarine of my life! We walked around for awhile, saw Brother Grimm (Scary and dark, but really, really fantastical and a good flick) and then we went to the Co-Op in Davis that was quite large. I stocked up on Olive Oil soap (Kiss My Face brand) and Tom's of Maine toothpaste because they do not sell natural products at the Base Exchange (military department type store). When we got back to base, we tried this 24 hour Mexican Restaurant called Adalberto's and it was cheap and delicious! This is really bad for me because I love mexican food! I did some laundry and then we all headed to the local bar called Harvey's, which is a hop, skip and jump away from base. We sang Karaoke. Well, when I say "we" I mean I watched lots of people sing and I finally got up and sang "I want to Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston with Emily, Mark, Jason and Jessica. It was great fun. I am relaxing today and doing some homework assigned to us about project reports. I will write more later. Oh, yeah. I forgot I wanted to mention the two things I appreciate about the people in California. I hear spanish spoken everywhere I go- the Barnes and Noble, Farmer's Market, etc. It is really nice to hear it constantly and I even understood a bit, only a very small bit, of it. It is also very interesting to see many different Asians in the community. I am used to the "black - white" issue, but it is good to see different faces around. (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 25th, 2005
9:05 pm	just some thoughts of reflection So, i was given a drug and pregnancy test yesterday and it was quite an experience. I recognize the law and I recognize that this program is a government funded program, and therefore it would be best to abide by the law, but how many times do you think congressional officials, senators, the president and his cabinet have pissed in a cup? The whole thing is interested to me. The weather here is incredibly hot, but i now understand the concept of "dry" heat because the humidity is really what gets people. I am glad to be without it. The scenery is gorgeous- palm trees every time I look up! It reminds me that I am some distance from home, but allows me to appreciate it because they are beautiful. I am learning the rules and policies and gaining a better concept of my role as Team Leader. I will be responsible for many challenging things, but it is great because the staff here is incredibly supportive. Ok, that is all I have- PT tomorrow at 5:45 am so I am going to sleep. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 24th, 2005
9:45 pm	So today is Wednesday, August 24, 2005 and I have had three days of training. I went through a physical today with the other 26 Team Leaders and from what I hear, the physicals used to be military style and incredibly humiliating. Spending time with the other young leaders chosen for this program has been a rewarding experience. We found out lots of logistical things today and last night a few cool cats came to my room and we read short stories to each other from the "Politically correct bedtime stories." It was amazingly funny. I cant seem to describe how people are here, but I know that we definitely fit well together. From the way that conversations have gone, the others have the same ideals as I do and seem to be here for the same reasons. I have talked to my suite mate, Nicolette and some other girls, Emily and Molly and they all came from backgrounds similar to mine. We have to budget our food as a team of team leaders this month and we will learn how to facilitate this for our team when the Corps arrives in 4 weeks. We get $4.50 per person, per day, so you can imagine that we have decided to collaborate. When we went around the room to say our favorite foods for each meal, i was so excited to hear "smuckers natural pb," "soy dream," "grain fed chicken eggs," "hummus" etc. all called out instead of generic, highly processed foods that tend to be less healthy. I was concerned about this because with the PT component of the program, it would not make sense to eat poorly. And it shows what the others obviously care about- themselves and animals and they recognize they have to share the earth too. That is all for now, I am going to sleep to rise at 5:45 a.m. for a good workout. (Comment on this)