I will be returning to Tulsa, OK on the 17th of December (thanks mom) and will be in town until the 3rd of January! Book your plans with me now.
-J
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Wrap Up of CTI - Next Chapter: SPIKE
It's been a little while since I've last written anything in here, sorry. I've been quite busy with living, breathing, eating and sleeping; computers are way down on the list.
I found out my first SPIKE last week, we're going to Salt Lake City, UT to work with the food bank collecting and organizing food for impoverished, hungry individuals. We will be there for one month until December 16th, and we leave on Monday. We'll be staying at a camp for special needs kids that is currently in the off-season in the mountains bordering the city. When we get back from Christmas break (am I going to Tulsa for break!? Find out next time!) we will spend a week at the Sacramento Zoo doing animal work and general maintenence, then a week of firefighting training getting our Red Cards, then a week at the zoo again, then a week getting chainsaw certified. Exciting times, I know.
Other notable notables:
--- I recently found out I can still do some tumbling. I attempted and successfully completed a round-off back layout on Holmes Field; it's basically a backflip but with your legs straight out, like you're "laying out". Get it? It's fun.
--- Yesterday was the talent show. There are a LOT of very talented people here at this campus, definitely way more than you would meet in everyday life. I was extremley surprised and impressed by the level of ability some of the Corps members have. Also at the end all the TLs (Team Leaders) performed a "tradition" where they all lined up and each one chewed an Oreo cookie, then brushed their teeth with toothpaste and spit the goo into a cup. Then the last two TLs drank it. It was disgusting... My old Pod Leader Patrick was the one to drink a cup.
--- Today we "graduated" from the Corps Training Institute to become official Americorps NCCC members, I got a certificate with my name on it and everything. To celebrate our team laid them on the ground and did pushups, kissing the diploma on every down. I love my team.
--- I just went to a "poetry slam/open mic night" for Corps members. I just intended to watch, but got inspired and wrote/performed this while I was there. It killed, I was pretty happy about that, seeing as it was the first time I'd ever written anything and performed it, and it was on such short notice. I wrote it on the back of the Americorps pledge, quite fitting I thought.
I see these people bearin' hearts,
Up on a stage in stops and starts,
And though delivery is shakin' their breakin' my heart is achin'
These lyrics awaken in me a sense of somber connection.
To the threads we all weave,
And the air we all breath,
It grows this seed in me,
A seed into a tree,
A boy into me,
Full-leafed and Green,
Wait, scratch that, Silver,
Or Gold, or Blue.
Don't be the crease that's in the fold,
Be the page that touches page and brings old soul to old soul,
Please make a difference to the whole.
I see these people bearin' hearts,
Up on a stage in stops and starts,
And it's makin' my heart race,
For the future of our nation's face,
Americorps, from a place, to a place,
Go forth with grace.
-J
I found out my first SPIKE last week, we're going to Salt Lake City, UT to work with the food bank collecting and organizing food for impoverished, hungry individuals. We will be there for one month until December 16th, and we leave on Monday. We'll be staying at a camp for special needs kids that is currently in the off-season in the mountains bordering the city. When we get back from Christmas break (am I going to Tulsa for break!? Find out next time!) we will spend a week at the Sacramento Zoo doing animal work and general maintenence, then a week of firefighting training getting our Red Cards, then a week at the zoo again, then a week getting chainsaw certified. Exciting times, I know.
Other notable notables:
--- I recently found out I can still do some tumbling. I attempted and successfully completed a round-off back layout on Holmes Field; it's basically a backflip but with your legs straight out, like you're "laying out". Get it? It's fun.
--- Yesterday was the talent show. There are a LOT of very talented people here at this campus, definitely way more than you would meet in everyday life. I was extremley surprised and impressed by the level of ability some of the Corps members have. Also at the end all the TLs (Team Leaders) performed a "tradition" where they all lined up and each one chewed an Oreo cookie, then brushed their teeth with toothpaste and spit the goo into a cup. Then the last two TLs drank it. It was disgusting... My old Pod Leader Patrick was the one to drink a cup.
--- Today we "graduated" from the Corps Training Institute to become official Americorps NCCC members, I got a certificate with my name on it and everything. To celebrate our team laid them on the ground and did pushups, kissing the diploma on every down. I love my team.
--- I just went to a "poetry slam/open mic night" for Corps members. I just intended to watch, but got inspired and wrote/performed this while I was there. It killed, I was pretty happy about that, seeing as it was the first time I'd ever written anything and performed it, and it was on such short notice. I wrote it on the back of the Americorps pledge, quite fitting I thought.
I see these people bearin' hearts,
Up on a stage in stops and starts,
And though delivery is shakin' their breakin' my heart is achin'
These lyrics awaken in me a sense of somber connection.
To the threads we all weave,
And the air we all breath,
It grows this seed in me,
A seed into a tree,
A boy into me,
Full-leafed and Green,
Wait, scratch that, Silver,
Or Gold, or Blue.
Don't be the crease that's in the fold,
Be the page that touches page and brings old soul to old soul,
Please make a difference to the whole.
I see these people bearin' hearts,
Up on a stage in stops and starts,
And it's makin' my heart race,
For the future of our nation's face,
Americorps, from a place, to a place,
Go forth with grace.
-J
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Camp Mendocino and the Great Spike Mystery PART II
We were roused in the morning to the sound of PHYSICAL TRAINING. For what I'm not sure, probably working us up for a delicious stew, those cannibalistic Buddhists... We were forced to swing precariously from ropes:
Ascend terrifying heights:
Even fight to the death for survival rights:
They also forced us to put on little plays for their enjoyment. The little play my "team" created was so enjoyed by the Buddhists that they not only allowed us to leave, but they also gave us this token of their admiration:
We left that terrifying and awe-inspiring place with our sanity and dignity in shambles, but we survived, and are now stronger for it.
Tune in next time for the jaw-dropping, fist-clenching final chapter of CAMP MENDOCINO AND THE GREAT SPIKE MYSTERY where our hero discovers where his first spike will be!
P.S. If you would like to see more pictures from the harrowing tales of Camp Mendocino, please visit my facebook page as that is where I upload all my photos.
Ascend terrifying heights:
Even fight to the death for survival rights:
They also forced us to put on little plays for their enjoyment. The little play my "team" created was so enjoyed by the Buddhists that they not only allowed us to leave, but they also gave us this token of their admiration:
We left that terrifying and awe-inspiring place with our sanity and dignity in shambles, but we survived, and are now stronger for it.
Tune in next time for the jaw-dropping, fist-clenching final chapter of CAMP MENDOCINO AND THE GREAT SPIKE MYSTERY where our hero discovers where his first spike will be!
P.S. If you would like to see more pictures from the harrowing tales of Camp Mendocino, please visit my facebook page as that is where I upload all my photos.
Camp Mendocino and the Great Spike Mystery
For the past four days I've been deep in the redwood forest, struggling to survive without showers, heaters or plasma TVs, it's difficult to comprehend I know. During the first 24 hours our team of highly trained individuals was nearly slain by a wild beast.
Luckily for us it was too busy climbing over rocks to notice our presence or I'm sure we would have been doomed. From there we journeyed down a set of ominous train tracks:
They nearly led us to disaster. Once again however lady luck looked us in the eye and said "heck yes, go battle some wilderness, I got you fools" and we found a Buddhist Temple that took us in and gave us work and food:
We were then given a place to sleep for the night, only to be woken up to the sound of DANGER in the morning. Tune in next time for another installment of the jaw-clenching tale of
Luckily for us it was too busy climbing over rocks to notice our presence or I'm sure we would have been doomed. From there we journeyed down a set of ominous train tracks:
They nearly led us to disaster. Once again however lady luck looked us in the eye and said "heck yes, go battle some wilderness, I got you fools" and we found a Buddhist Temple that took us in and gave us work and food:
We were then given a place to sleep for the night, only to be woken up to the sound of DANGER in the morning. Tune in next time for another installment of the jaw-clenching tale of
CAMP MENDOCINO AND THE GREAT SPIKE MYSTERY
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
