Habitat Nostalgia

So I effectively fulfilled the half of my sweat equity that entails working with an affordable housing affiliate in one day. I crawled out of a twin-sized bed this morning, that I shared with another person, at seven o clock... that said, I was sorely tempted, to play hookie. Obviously, and thank goodness, I did not. It was a lot of fun, especially since a friend I did Habitat with all through high school was there, and orchestrated the whole build. The experience taught me, as all my other Habitat builds have, that all Habitat trips are invariably the same, albeit in a good way. The skilled supervisors are always hillarious in that sort of brief, no nonsense way. There will always be a gaggle of people who are essentially there so that they can talk to each other, and not work unless forced to. There will always be a shortage of tools, or something similar, that will result in a lot of standing around. It is always a fulfilling experience despite the setbacks.

Maybe these things aren't always the same, but things were similar enough that I felt I had jetisoned back in time four years, only it was the winter instead of the summer, and I was only doing this for one day, instead of a week. We put up a few roofing trusses and laid some cement, a foundation, and put a few posts in the ground. Doesn't sound like much, but while we weren't as productive as we should have been, it ended up being quite a lot of work. The whole experience showed me what well oiled machines my church Habitat endeavors were, since we usually put up more than five houses in the week.

It was great to have Amanda there to talk about things that no one else would understand. I also got to tell her more about the ride, and relate it to our experiences in high school. The fact that we'll be sleeping thirty to a room struck a bell with both of us, and she reminded me to go to sleep quickly before the snoring occured. We even talked about having a reunion build with the kids we all went with in high school. Since most of us are twenty one now, we saw things going very differently; here's to hoping that it happens, and even more that our hosts don't kick us out.

After the build, I came back home, showered, and then went on a ride with my roommate Chris. For those that don't remember, he's my cyclist roommate who tries to kill me on bike, in one way or another. We went in street clothes, for the most part; partly because it's sort of chilly still, and partly because it was supposed to be a leisurely exploratory ride. It was immensely fun seeing where Port Republic would take us, and chosing roads based on how they looked from the start, rather than planning anything. At one point we ended up on a road Chris knew, where we pulled off the road to let the traffic that had been building behind us pass. A motorist said something unintelligible (at least I couldn't hear it) to us, before his girlfriend hit him. It really set Chris off. It was funny.

We ended up in Purcell Park, where bikes aren't allowed, and a few of my friends were hanging out. Totally didn't plan it. We also didn't honor the "no bikes allowed" part, and did a lap on the gravel path, and played some "bike frisbee". I suggest you try it; almost every sport is improved on bike. Besides soccer. Or swimming. After the park Chris suggested we do a little biking in our highest possible gear. It was as "awesome" as you'd expect.

On a last note, my grandfather donated two hundred dollars to me, bringing my total to $2700-something. Feeling pretty good about the fundraising aspect.

That is all. Peace out hombres!