l.a. story

i arrived safe 'n' sound in la last night. after meeting mar's boyfriend, grove, and saying goodbyes to amerifriends (both the term and the people), i hopped into sniar's car. to my surprisement and glee, sniar, dax, compTron, and renee took me ice skating in santa monica. so sneaky...the fun continued at renee's place with sara, emily, stacey, jenni, and kim. thanks to all for the warm wishes via email, phone, text, and in person.

i am officially a weirdo. arguably, not a permanent condition. despite dan and preethi's noble attempts to prepare me, and recent visits to philly and nyc, i feel a bit overwhelmed. i am hoping that - given a few more days of pretending not to feel really out-of-place - i can persuade myself and others that i actually belong in the real world.

in the meantime, i am soaking up the sunshine, venturing out for the occasional errand, and retreating to sniar and bonnie's for the comforts of a fictitious life.

here comes the rain again

i knew it was coming sooner or later:

i stepped out of my house this morning, inhaled the fresh autumn air, soaked in the sun and the bay and the fall leaves. and started to cry. i walked toward perryville park for about ten minutes before sitting on a rock and letting the downpour begin.

i have become entirely absorbed into this pseudo-neverland and it is jarring to realize i'm not staying here forever. i am anxious for the next step; for the family and friends i have neglected this year. and i will miss my ameri-friends dearly.

after my tear ducts dried out, i walked for another few hours, took a nap (i am convinced sleep is the best remedy for everything) and woke up to a happier thought:

i am a blessed woman to have so much love and beauty in my life. and if it takes a few tears to remind me, then add it to my blessings.

(give me) one moment in time

and i'm not talking about the '88 olympics.

last night was a rare joy. the only bar in perryville was packed with anxious onlookers waiting for west coast poll results. people played cards, flirted boldy, and discussed recent nba trades to diminish nervous tension. around 11pm est, the room exploded: cheers, laughter, hugs, tears, dancing. lots of dancing.

my thoughts were all over the place: the likely birth of a public service academy. voter turnout. a blue mideast. or west. or whatever. elementary school polls about whether i'd live to see a black man elected president.

i stepped outside to share my joy with a few west coast friends:

me: so great! i can't believe - happy - music. hugging - ya know?
(friend says something profound about historic moment)
me: ...yeah! so exciting! i just - it's, well - ya know? i'm - happy!

i have a way with words.

i returned to a solemn room of friends preparing to hear obama's acceptance speech. i couldn't have devised a better culmination to my year of service.

another interview with an ameri-self

four weeks into my americorps nccc experience, i interviewed myself. approaching the end of my service (16 days!), i thought i'd ask an ameriwhorps the same questions and see how they compare:

q: good talking with you again, ms. sparklepants. it's been...what? about 9 months?
a: 9. almost 10.

q: well, let's start in the same place - what are you most thankful for bringing?
a: my scriptures (bible, book of mormon, doctrine & covenants, pearl of great price).
q: wow. your water-resistant tennies didn't hold up?
a: ha. that or i decided running barefoot is way better.
q: seriously though, why the scriptures?
a: it's been hard to keep my faith calibrated, honestly. with all the moving i felt like i was constantly looking for a new congregation, acclimating, finding transportation...it just became hard to stay focused on why i was going to all the trouble. and reading my scriptures really helped with that.

q: solid. so what item has proven most pointless then?
a: sadly, most of my cold weather gear. i spent so much time in the south that i've hardly used my coat and scarves. i can't wait to go home and sport them through the winter.

q: final packing question. what item do you most regret leaving behind?
a: still my music. i really miss the tunes. BUT my dresses are a close second.
q: dresses? really?
a: i know, right? it's crazy. sometimes i daydream about them...eek. can we take that off the record?
q: sorry sparkle. what's done is done.
a: brutal.

q: next question - what surprised you most about your nccc experience?
a: how much vacation time we got. it was great.

q: true enough. and what has surprised you most about yourself as a corps member?
a: i can be a real kill-joy sometimes.
q: ew.
a: yeah. the good thing is i recognize it now and i am working on it - i get that way when i start doubting other people's commitment to a common goal. if i don't keep it in check, i get stressed and put out the vibe that fun is an absolute no-no.
q: what do you do when you catch yourself in no-no mode?
a: take a deep breath. crack a joke. slip off my seriouspants. anything to lighten the mood and acknowledge the need for change.

q: all right. last question. latest thoughts on life after americorps?
a: uhhhh...i'm skeered!
q: the economy keeping you up at night?
a: it definitely is more of a concern to me than 9 months ago. now, i'm nervous about getting a holiday job to tide me over till the new year.
q: then what?
a: you don't let up, do you? ha ha. i am excited about a fresh start - i'm looking at a few arts-based non-profit organizations on the east coast and getting creative about finding work with them. my main priority is to find seasonal work until the new year.
q: that's a far cry from your answer last february. what changed it?
a: life. americorps nccc has been a positive and intense learning experience for me. if i want to be a good team leader i'll need some time and space, you know?

q: makes sense. we're out of time, but i'm going to sneak in one last question. knowing what you know now, would you recommend this program to others?
a: absolutely. it is not for everyone - all the moving, living with 10 people, diving into new tasks and learning as you go...but it has been an incredible experience for me. if you are considering nccc, read everything you can about it on americorps.gov, personal blogs. find family or friends who have done the nccc program specifically and pick their brains about it. but once you've made up your mind, stick with it and you will have the ride of your life.

q: thank you miss sparklepants. it's truly been a pleasure.
a: you bet. thank you.

why so serious?

MIDAXLANTIC PALOOZA (OCT 2008)
bodies on the track (front to back): cc, katie, chels, tj. harper's ferry, wva.
dax and me in the shenandoah river. near harper's ferry, wva.
just the best sunset ever. silhouettes (left to right): chels, me, katie, teej. overlooking shenandoah valley from skyline drive. somewhere magical, va.
DELAWARE MAGIC (AUG 2008)
supervising demolition in a wwii bunker (left to right): amanda, aimee, red, me. lewes, de.
getting serious with kara. lewes, de.
done (left to right): amanda, red, me, aimee, will.o.w.. lewes, de.
charging the atlantic, s.o.s. style (left to right): elliott, tracy, danny c., liz, red, christaine!, amanda, stan. cape henelopen state park, de.
THE CANNON COLLECTION
i just can't stay away from them.

parting words

as katie, chels, and dax dropped me at the dulles airport last weekend, dax challenged: "finish strong, cc." and that's what i'm trying to do. it has been a 9-month roller coaster ride and i am exhausted.

fortunately, i haven't had to try that hard because working in the musician's village with habitat for humanity is freakin' sweet! this week i have worked alongside volunteers from the church of christ, ipma (international paralegal management association), and xerox. i have installed siding, insulation, and baffle & caulked and painted to my heart's content. each day has challenged me and it is a satisfying way to wrap up my stint of service.

besides, the construction manager sounds like seth rogan and i spend most of my days climbing ladders and rafters...i mean, really. what's not to love?

flavor of the week

being in galveston, tx, is A-W-E-S-O-M-E. living in the fema camp is pretty posh as it turns out. i share a large, air-conditioned tent with 9 other women. we have an internet cafe and a fitness tent, clean, portable showers, & people cook for us morning and night. the biggest downside is that if you use the same porta-potty repeatedly (as most seem naturally inclined to do), you start to recognize...anyway, the living setup is great.

work itself is pretty fab. i share space with red cross workers, southern baptist conference, salvation army, and so on. i have spent the past three days on red cross ERVs (emergency response vehicles) - and the salvation army equivalent - distributing hot meals, cold drinks, and toys to families throughout galveston. it's very rewarding work. with joseph and vince (texas), des and jeanne (canada), tirtza (california), and martin (mexico), we're at 1500 meals and counting.

basically, my life rules this week. i am back with the beloved wolf 5, which feels like christmas came early. i could go on...or just leave it at: love to all. blah. blah. blah.

texas, here i come

i just found out i'm leaving for texas. tomorrow morning.

foolish games...seriously?

yesterday, badger 6 (the team with which i am currently working) and i were playing "would you rather...?" and "if it would...?" and i posed the infamous question:

if it would solve world hunger, would you punch your mom in the face knowing you could never apologize, explain, or discuss the incident?

it's dark, i know. and sort of ridiculous. but roll with me - we have limited entertainment here in the americorps. the usual questions followed: do i have to hit her full force? can i, at least, pay for the reconstructive surgery? world hunger?

approximately 70% of the polled group - including our sponsor at ULM - said they would hit their moms without question. despite close bonds with their mothers, they simply could not justify weighing that relationship over millions of starving people. the minority group (including my temporary team leader's mother - who we phoned in texas for a response - and me) argued that we simply couldn't imagine hitting our moms. especially without explanation.

feeling a little defensive, i dug in: think of a time when someone you really trusted betrayed you inexplicably. remember how hard it was to let it go? now multiply that by 100 and assume that's how your mom would feel. my prodding wasn't nearly as productive as i had hoped it would be. then, i had an epiphany.

what if all those times...it was just...they were trying...world hunger?

so you've decided to join the americorps...

you've decided to dine with strangers/dumpster dive/haul rancid meat out of a freezer. welcome to the americorps:

I DINED WITH STRANGERS
madonna and david met alyssa and amanda at the unitarian church on sunday and invited the entire team to dine at their home the following saturday evening. seeing as none of us actually knew each other, it was awkward for a few minutes. however, it didn't take long for friendly banter to emerge, eating contests over the squash curry and black bean soup to commence, and a tour of the house/family history to be given. it was delightful. then came the lounging and games. madonna, david, housemate sara, and i played a geography version of rack-o, several of the girls started knitting, amiee and tyler retired in front of the television upstairs and sarah updated us on her texas cousin's whereabouts and well-being. all-in-all, we felt right at home. then came the coffee (for some) and the apple pie (for all). we packed into the van with much thanks around 11pm. i never anticipated feeling so comfortable dining with complete strangers...

yet, it was such a success that we couldn't resist when tom and jane (a couple who volunteer regularly with the flood relief center in fond du lac) invited us out for dinner and a bonfire the next night. again, we got a photographic introduction to the kids and grandkids, cozy dinner chats, and s'mores around the fire. when we left around 10:30, half of us had committed to return the next night for warm beds in which to rest.

TOM AND JANE
they just deserve a section of their own. as i lay on their family room floor on monday evening with my red blankie watching a pbs special on objects and memory, i thought: "i've never felt so at home away from home". amanda, alyssa and i took over the camper in the driveway while sarah, bre, and tyler took beds in the house. the next morning we woke up to hot breakfast with tom and jane. i left for work with hugs and a playful "thanks, mom! thanks dad!"

i came two hours late to dinner on friday due to some necessary dumpster diving (see below). tom and jane fed me at the counter as they did dinner dishes and we discussed their afternoon bike adventure. this time, jane informed me that she and tom purchased their first bike helmets ever after discussing bike safety with amanda and me on monday night. tom asked why i'd chosen to become vegetarian. much like rosemary's, i parted ways with a "god speed," an open invitation to stay with them any time i find myself in fond du lac, and a very full tummy. i miss them already.

DUMPSTER DIVING
we were scheduled to drive south to new orleans bright and early on saturday morning. you can imagine my concern when i misplaced the minivan keys after a brain-frying day (directly related to our 4-hour speed solitaire competition the night previous). after searching everywhere else at the fairgrounds, i determined that i must have tossed them in the dumpster while cleaning out the van.

i hopped up on top and fished around. no luck. i hopped in (just after taking my first shower in 7 days) and tossed all the big bags out of the dumpster. no luck. i went inside, a short - and very sincere - prayer running through my head, found my headlamp and an overturned bucket, and hopped back in. i crouched on the overturned bucket and shined my lamp downward while fishing out the smaller bits of garbage. still crouching on the bucket, i announced: "those are the keys. i found them" to nobody in particular at least 4 times after i spotted the hot pink carabiner to which the keys were attached. in total, the search effort took 45 minutes. i don't want to know what passersby thought as i emerged triumphant with headlamp, bucket and keys, and started hauling bags of trash back into the dumpster.

IF I WASN'T A VEGETARIAN BEFORE...
i made my first trip to milwaukee last week to help a racist, sexist, ageist woman clean out her basement. she was very skeptical about our intentions at first, including our desire to remove a freezer full of rancid meat. she insisted - despite the odorous evidence - that the freezer had not been unplugged when we arrived (it had, according to fema records, been unplugged since june 2008). when i convinced her i had not unplugged the freezer and that the meat was truly foul (no pun intended), she insisted the freezer was not a total loss:

"it's brand new. it's not 2 years old."
"i hear you and i'm sorry to say i think it's best to call it a loss."
"we can clean it. we really can."
"well, let's take a look."

so she and i hauled slimy, bug-infested meats out of her freezer until it was empty. in the end, the whole freezer came out, i nearly vomited, and she asked for our addresses so she could keep in touch. such a 180 and such a committed vegetarian for the next little while...

RANDOM TIDBITS THAT THRILL ME
- i went to arkansas for the first time.
- i visited memphis for the first time, including the lorraine hotel (where dr. king was shot) and beale street.
- an in-the-undetermined-future mlk bike tour, including stops at several historic sites.
- warmshowers.org (the cyclist's equivalent to couchsurfing.com).
- bike on washington "trek to re-energize america".
- the little farmer in fond du lac, wi.
- making pumpkin pie from scratch for the first time.
- staying up until 2am to taste the fresh apple pie alyssa and i made.
- having excellent access to the world wide web at my new housing.

visual indicators

it's been awhile since i've posted photos to my blog. for facebookers - apologies - this might seem repetitive:
ROUND 2
a pious attempt to make sushi at landlord glen's. nola, june 2008.

wolf 5 with fee's family. metarie, la. june 2008.

SUMMER OF SERVICE (S.O.S.)
blues 3 co-crew leader david and i start off strong in a summer of sneers. nola, july 2008.

elliott and i orient ourselves to s.o.s. sponsor, animal rescue new orleans. nola, july 2008.

blues 3 at graduation (front to back, left to right): bubblez, robert, gigglez, shorty by nature, chris, babe lincoln, piggtailz, bre, josh, and red. dillard university, nola, august 2008. missing from photo: joe, chelle, eric.

red and i model for the grand opening of "joe knows best" hair salon. dillard university, nola, august 2008.

off-duty with two of the best guys i know - dan and ohio jeff. french quarter, nola, august 2008.

off-duty taking awkward photos with stangers...olivier hotel, nola, july 2008.

THE DISASTER ZONE
getting in our get-up (left to right): amanda, cc, nicole, housemate sara, alyssa, tielure. brandon, wi. september 2008.

safety always comes first whether you're on-duty or dining at bangkok thai. safety glasses provided by the local veterans affairs office. osh kosh, wi. september 2008.

odds and ends

i'm not sure when i'll have internet access again...maybe tomorrow. maybe in 3 weeks. so...i'm going to biloxi, ms, for three weeks to work with a faith-based non-profit doing construction work. after that, i should rejoin wolf 5 (and other ameri-friends) at camp hope in new orleans. here's hoping :-)

i'm doing well. much love to all.

you know you're in over your head when...

1. you actively daydream about escapist endeavors abroad
2. you seriously contemplate what you would do if someone offered you a one-way ticket home
3. you neglect to blog for fear it might stimulate a degree of introspection

so. the past few weeks have been - we're all friends here - hellish for me. but let me back up a few paces: fond du lac, wi, and it's residents - a dream. individuals on the disaster team - stellar. disaster recovery work - rewarding. as if by magic, "the team" (a.k.a. the collective soul that emerges from the 9 outstanding individuals on disaster with me) + me (as stand-in team leader) + organizing work = a nightmare. i'd be hard-pressed to think of a month during which i've cried - or wanted to cry - more. now that is out, let's discuss happier things in my life.

like the fact that i live at the fond du lac fairgrounds. that's right. every night i bed down in a building adjacent to the cow palace. cow palace, you ask? it's an industrial-sized barn-ish building that houses several arcade games and a giant flat screen tv. on warm nights, i drag my sleeping bag outside and soak up the starry sky and scent of early autumn.

but that's only the start of fond du lac's magic. this city of approximately 45,000 has a beautiful library, an amazing mom-and-pop restaurant i discovered while lost on a walk and in dire need of a restroom and sustenance, and multiple invitations to speak (and eat) with local volunteer groups.

additionally, it turns out that teammate alyssa is an avid "speed solitaire" player. to cannons, this is more affectionately known as nerts. we've turned a few other teammates on to this game, resulting in some heated competitions.

i could go on about michigander-driven karaoke renditions of the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald, proximity to oshkosh bi-gosh!, and other bits of goodness. but i think i'll settle on rosemary.

i met rosemary on monday while doing mold remediation in her basement. she is a widow, mother of ten, and a once-avid cyclist who has biked across most of europe. she actually demanded that our team take a mandatory cookies-and-milk break. what's not to love? i thoroughly enjoyed hearing her stories about meeting her husband, card-playing with the ladies once a month, and biking across denmark. when we parted ways she apologized that we hadn't met under better circumstances and made us promise that if we were ever in fond du lac again, we'd give her a ring for cookies and a chat.

my time is up on the computer. so i'll have to save my tales of tall bikes, choppers, and jenna's hospitable family for another time.

much much love to all.

this week

i'm fond of lakes and, thus, looking forward to my 30-day fema deployment in fond du lac, wisconsin. i will be working with a team of 10 other ameriwhorps - including housmate sara and wolf 5's very own jj - gutting homes and doing mold remediation from the june 2008 flooding.

it was not without some remorse, i left cape henlopen state park in lewes, delaware, this morning. top three reasons i felt torn about leaving (in order):

1. rad people (a.k.a. former s.o.s. crew leaders)
2. swimming with dolphins in the atlantic
3. demolishing a wall in a world war ii bunker
(don't worry. it's part of a historical restoration project.)

plans now and beyond

i have approximately 6 minutes to convey my message.
here goes nothing:

this week
i leave in 15 minutes to work in a south delaware state park
i might go on a 30-day fema assignment to wisconsin on saturday

this month
if not, i'll be kicking it in delaware until the end of the month
after that (if not on fema assignment), i'll have a week-long break

next round
i will be returning to wolf 5
wolf 5 will be returning to nola to work with habitat for humanity

next year
no firm plans as of yet.
ambitions include:
returning for another year of service as a team leader
returning for another year of service as an assistant unit leader
working in new orleans with green light
working in philadelphia with rebuilding together, rennie harris'
dance company), or neighborhood bike works

gotta run. xoxoxo.

a tale of two christys

you might want to hear more about my "summer of service" experience. and write of it, i will. but i need a few days to decompress. in the meantime, i must tell you about christy b. and christy c. we have many things in common and the list seems to be growing:

christy b. and christy c.
ameriwhorps
mormon
love acting
love dancing
left-handed
vegetarian
ate chicken today to be polite lunch guests

uncanny, right? mostly i'm just excited because i had a church buddy today, we dined at the seamons' home with cindy and kids, and great chats were had.

much love to all.

free to act for themselves

last night after we got home from the computer cafe, two of my participants were sent home from the program. not homesick-sent-home. dishonorable-discharge-sent-home. it was thoroughly unexpected after such a great day. and it was a tear-inducing series of events. sometimes i loathe freedom of choice.

tonight i love computer cafes

blues 3 (our sos team) is on a friday night excursion to a "computer cafe" in metairie (a suburb of new orleans). in other words, i can catch up on emails, blogs, and tony hawke's pro skake 4.

today was blissful, relatively-speaking. don't know if i've mentioned this - sos is hands-down the hardest thing i've tackled besides sophomore year of high school. david and i decided to do afternoon pt, which translated into a 7:45am meeting time. i did not get my first phone call until 6am, and no major drama occurred between then and leaving for work.

once at work (lowernine.org this week), blues 3 was given plenty of tasks for the day:

1) lawn crew - this consists of using canning knives, machetes, and weedwhackers to tame 3-ft high grasses. the purpose? to help residents who have not yet returned to the 9th ward since the storm avoid fines for unkempt yards.

2) the burgundy house - moving massive amounts of trash (some of it untouched since august 2005) to the curb for pickup and assisting with construction work inside (i put up my first wall frame ever!)

3) mr. turner's house - painting, mostly. mr. turner lives next door to the lowernine.org house.

on the way to the burgundy house, i bumped into kelvin. he was my site supervisor while working with the alliance for affordable energy in the holy cross neighborhood last round. it was great to see a familiar face.

despite hot hot heat, everyone worked really hard. of course, this inspired my famous maternal pride. at lunch, i took off with chris and joe, who had privately requested to visit "where my dad used to stay at" and "my house before the storm," respectively.

the 45-minute excursion included a stop at an over-grown lot near the levy breach where chris' dad explained he was born and raised and chris added the detail "my daddy says i orginated here". we then traveled to the other side of the 9th ward near the st. bernard parish line where we drove around until joe recognized his 2-story green house. he pointed out the water lines - both highest point (close to 14 feet) and standing (about 6) - as well as changes made by the new residents. it's these moments that make me love my job.

the rest of the afternoon was, well, hot. but we worked hard and packed up just as the afternoon rain arrived. back at dillard university we showered, headed to mcdonalds for a treat, and hurried back to campus for dinner in the cafeteria (i know. i know.). and now, the computer cafe.

chicago dan has friends in town so i'm entertaining the idea of an evening out (after room checks at 10:30, of course). yeah. it's been an outstanding day.

p.s. finding barack obama's "the audacity of hope" truly disappointing, i made a desperate trip to borders last week and picked up "how to be good," by nick hornby. it reminded me of a book party with sniar and dax last summer and how terribly i miss dave reading aloud to me.

p.p.s. another highlight of today - the magical day of wonders - was a call from "erin in panama". huzzah!!!!

piggtailz and other s.o.s.sy stories

PIGGTAILZ
i acquired this nickname on the 2nd day of s.o.s. and was quickly informed that i should not misspell it as "pigtails". now most of the participants on my team and a handful of others identify me by my frequent hair-do. other team nicknames include:

bubblez - briel, creator of my nickname
sockz - shelly, fully of sass and class
pantz - eric, whose trousers sag like...fill in the blank

RESCUE ME!
our first project is at the animal rescue of new orleans (arno), a no-kill shelter established in 2006 for cats and dogs. for any interested persons, they do ship animals all over the country for the cost of transportation. all animals are current on vaccinations and spayed/neutered. my current favorites are three labrador puppies, a beagle pup, a siberian husky, three caramel-and-chocolate-swirl kittens, and a charcoal grey cat. overall, the team seems to enjoy working there up until lunch time. realizing they will be there until dinner, the negotiations for an early dismissal begin:

"m'girl. m'girl. look. we pet the cats. we walked the dogs. we picked up the poop. we cleaned their cages. now it is hot out here!"

A SONG AND DANCE
word is:

- i should sing more often and my song is rihanna's "take a bow".
- i've got dancing potential, but my pop-lock-and-drop needs work.

working a 93-hour week didn't leave a lot of spare time, but i'm determined. despite fatigue and frustration, i am loving the summer of service program. it is a privilege to be actively involved in so many firsts (e.g. camping), fear facing (e.g. walking large dogs), and articulating shared experiences (e.g. how cold it was to walk through the flood water after katrina).

A FEW THOUGHTS ON KATRINA
being geographically and emotionally uninvolved in hurricane katrina, i never fully registered the impact it had on certain communities in our nation. even working for two months in new orleans last round only gave me small glimpses of it.

last sunday, we did a talent showcase and bubblez asked me to read a poem that she wrote on our first day of journal reflections. it was called "she's gone" and touched on her memories of the storm and her feelings about rebuilding in new orleans. most of the participants were 10 or 11 when katrina hit and all - or nearly all - were living in areas hit hard by the storm. i was struck by the silence that filled the room as i read lines about people on roofs, crying mothers, and the superdome. i felt like an imposter in a room of experience-driven solidarity.

MY GOVY PHONE
as an s.o.s. crew leader, i have been issued a government cell phone, affectionately known as "my govy". i can't always talk, but i do have it on my person 24-7. the number is 601.874.0182. i cannot send/receive text messages.

legitimite (and illegitimite) explanations of S.O.S.

S.O.S.: Summer of Service, an AmeriCorps NCCC-sponsored summer program for 14-17 year olds.
S.O.S.: Summer of (Soft) Slaps
S.O.S.: Summer of (No) Smiles
S.O.S.: Summer of 'Staches
S.O.S.: Summer of the Sillies
S.O.S.: Summer of Stink(y People)
S.O.S.: An Excuse to Sing the Song by Rihanna Repeatedly

i will be arriving in new orleans next weekend to set up for this program and for additional training. i will be co-leading a team of 10 high school students from new orleans with kara and david, who are awesome. we will maintain the following schedule for approximately one month:

6am - PT
7am - Breakfast
8am - 5pm - Project
5 - 6pm - Dinner
6 - 7:30pm - Free Time
7:30 - 8:30pm - Member Development
10pm - Lights Out

so far it looks like we'll have approximately...zero time off. good thing all the crew leaders are RAD! we will switch projects every week, completing 4 of the following during the program:

just the right attitude/catholic charities: food banks
audubon institute/nord: park/zoo maintenance, painting, and city clean up
northside disaster recovery: rebuilding homes
hope has a face: community beautification/post-construction clean-up
animal rescue of new orleans: cleaning, playing with pets, giving baths, etc.
ozanam inn: preparing/serving meals and maintenance at homeless shelter
arc: working with adults with disabilities on creative projects
lowernine.org: hanging drywall, door/window installation
care-a-lot: lawn maintenance for homeowners who have not returned to new orleans (helps them avoid city fines and beautify community)
rebuilding together: restoring existing new orleans homes, warehouse work
dillard university: painting/grounds maintenance from katrina damage

so that's what i'll be doing from june 28th - august 8th. after that...who knows?