Shipping Off

Monday morning was my shot at redemption. I set my alarm for 5:10, knowing that the sun would be showing itself right at 5:50. After hitting snooze twice and slowly flowing into consciousness I finally gathered my wits at 5:20 realizing that I was in a race against the sun.

Day Of Rest

Of our five scheduled days in Arizona, Sunday was the one day that we had not arranged to do any volunteering - primarily because I think everyone, including the PTF, was using Sunday to catch their breath.  You might remember a brief post from me Sunday morning, explaining an attempt to catch the sunrise. Well I missed out on the sun, but found a pretty good alternative.

Race Day: Pat's Run

We got up around 4am and were moving a little slow, but still made our way down to SDS (the stadium) by about 4:45.  We arrived in Lot 59 to see volunteers already hard at work, putting the finishing touches on the Finish Line Expo. Also, in a humbling moment, I watched as security swept the parking lot, with over a dozen dogs sniffing every car in sight. Shortly after arriving, we met up with Judy (race committee) who put us to work, helping prep the VIP tent. We set tables, stocked refreshments, and because Judy was trying to diversify my course offerings to include HomeEc, she had myself and Taylor arrange pastry platters.

Checking In

Race Day was incredible, and I'll have a full day's update a little bit later - right now, I'm heading to the mountain next to ASU to try to catch the sunrise!

Pat's Run Eve

Wow, what a day. I just got back a few minutes ago from picking up the final member of my student group, Taylor, from the airport in Phoenix. After suffering an injury during soccer practice last week, we weren't sure if she was going to make it out here, but we were able to make it work, and now our team is complete. After an awesome day of meeting new people, hearing great stories, and making the final preps before the big race, we've got plenty to bring her up to speed on - and I guess I've got quite a few updates for you as well...

Time Travelers

I'm sure that at some point we've all wished that there were extra hours in a day.  Well today, our group traveled back in time, gaining an extra three hours, and I can assure you that it was exhausting, but worth it.  We left Norfolk, VA at 5:15am EST, and after catching a connecting flight in Charlotte, we landed in Phoenix shortly after the East Coast hit noon...but in our new time zone, the day was just getting started at 9:10am.

Coming Full Circle

In 2004 Patrick Daniel Tillman was killed by friendly fire in the mountains of Afghanistan while serving his country as an Army Ranger. Due to his previous profession as an NFL linebacker, the media blew it up as a big story, and the government loved it, considering they had reported that he died in action, at the hands of foreign enemies. Over time, the truth would come out, the public interest would fade, and Pat Tillman became "that football player who died in Iraq," to most people, and that was about it.  Well first of all, he didn't die in Iraq, and secondly, he was much more than a football player - a truth that I look forward to learning more about as I head out to the Pat Tillman Foundation in Arizona today.

Work Hard, Eat Hard

Thankfully I am able to type this, as my fingers have thawed out from this morning.  Yes, it was ice cold again.  The air temperature was in the low 40's, however, the wind chill made it feel just like Monday morning all over again; and the wind was relentless.  

The day started out with a few odd-jobs that needed attention, but the main task of the morning was the lifting and installation of the first truss on Mac and Tammy's home.  It was an awesome team effort, which included lifters, spotters, guiders, climbers, and nailers.  Basically, we had a group of people lift the truss up over the front of the house, meanwhile it was guided by others using y-shaped 2x4 pieces to guide it through the house into the hands of Drew, who was up on top of the house.  Drew then passed it through to the back corner, where I was stationed with Lauren spotting me (I only almost fell off the ladder once).  With a huge effort of pushing from the y-people and lifting from Drew, we were able to lift the truss up, slide it into place, and begin stabilizing it with nails.  It was a pretty neat experience to have so many people necessary for the completion of a critical construction phase.

Warming Up

On Tuesday morning we made our standard 7:30 departure and arrived at a much warmer work site.  The temperature was in the low 40's, but was a marked improvement from the high 20's that we had on Monday.  Bob mentioned that he had plenty for us to do throughout the day, and the energy was high, as I think everyone was just pumped to be feeling their fingers again.

Bob pointed out a couple of things to me that he wanted done on the house #2's interior, so I grabbed a team of Dana, Olivia, Sarah, Ian, Lauren, Kari, and Jen.  Olivia and Dana got to work on rearranging a door frame that was a little uneven, while the rest of us started on putting up the second layer of 2x4's on top of what I think was a closet.  Later in the day, I got to work with Sarah, Becca, and Lesleigh, as we were tying and pulling string around each wall of the house.  Now, while this was something that I barely understood while Bob was asking us to do it, I later realized that it essentially serves the same purpose as a level on a larger scale.  By pulling the string tight around the walls of the house, you are able to see if there is enough daylight between the string and the wall...insuring that the walls are all straight.

Settling In & Getting To Work

We got in yesterday (Sunday) at about 4pm and met Derek, who showed us around The Church of the Holy Comforter (HC), who is our host for the week.  The church is located right on the outskirts of Downtown Sumter, next to the library, and a block away from the police station.

As far as living arrangements, we are a step above last year's single meeting room, as we have 4 classrooms - one for myself, Johnathan, and Ian (the only two male students on the trip), and then we split the girls up into groups of 6, 6, and 5.  While we have a little more space to spread out, we gave the ladies the bonus of the classrooms that have couches.  We've got a really nice kitchen to use, along with a game room, dining area, and somewhat of a general meeting space...basically we've got plenty of area to occupy.

Shipping Off

Bags are packed, paperwork is in order, and departure time is set. I'll be meeting the students at 8am tomorrow morning, we'll pack the vans up, and aim to go "wheels up" at 9am, departing for Sumter, SC. Pictures and update to follow Sunday evening. Here's hoping for a nice bump in temperature as we head six hours south.

Spring Preview

This spring I will chronicle two exciting trips that I'll be taking.  As usual, while in the midst of exploring everything each day has to offer, I'll try to provide daily updates of the experiences described below:

1. Habitat for Humanity - Sumter, SC - March 2013

As the adviser for CNU's Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter, I will travel with the students down to Sumter, SC for Habitat's Collegiate Challenge.  The details of our trip, beyond the location, are pretty vague at this point, but Habitat trips always consist of some meeting some awesome people and doing some incredible things.  Definitely looking forward to adding Sumter to my Habitat trip list consisting of Hilton Head, New Orleans, and Flagler Beach.