Rivers and Roads

My name is Megan and I am about to take part in the journey of a lifetime through the West Coast with Americorps NCCC. For the next 10 months, I will be documenting my life and the experiences I have throughout this adventure. (These views are not those of AmeriCorps NCCC but my own personal reflection.)

[megarne]

Last Few Days of Round 3

Monday 5/18/15

We woke up to an overcast day but that would not stop us from going to Yosemite one last time. We all ate breakfast, packed lunches, and loaded into the van. We were waiting for everyone to get in the van. We were still waiting on Jack to come to the van about a half hour later. Then Jack told us he wasn’t coming. This put us in a bad position. Aaron went to talk to Jack who refused to come to Yosemite because he doesn’t like it. We are only allowed to go if the whole team goes. Plus we were going to make up 3 PT’s that we had to do. Aaron text our Unit Leader who said we weren’t allowed to go since the whole team wasn’t going. I was bummed.

So I looked up bus tickets to Yosemite so I could figure out a way to go tomorrow. But of course it is supposed to thunderstorm all day tomorrow. Since we weren’t going anymore, we decided to complete some work we had to do for Service Learning. We watched a Caesar Chaves movie on Netflix, then had a reflection of the whole round.

After that, I went to my room to start packing and do laundry. After that I laid in bed for a while and watched some movies on Netflix. At 5pm, I went to the dining hall for PT. While we were waiting Aaron dropped the newest news for Gold 3. We would be getting another new team member. Her name is Michelle and her team would be disbanding after round 3. I am not going to lie, I was really frustrated to here that we were getting someone new. Especially with Aaron on his way out with his new job, and Jack wanting to leave during transition. It was just the tip of the ice berg for today. So we played Frisbee for PT, and immediately after I went on a long run to clear my head.

Some of the boys went into town for dinner, but I just wasn’t in the mood. So I stayed behind with Aaron and Colin. During dinner, I prepped Aaron for his last interview that would be happening tomorrow. Then we talked about processing and how much there is to process in this job all the time. After dinner, I watched another movie on Netflix and passed out in my bed really early.

Tuesday 5/19/15

Day 2 of being off! Today I did nothing and it was amazing! I finished up all the paperwork for my roles, bought some concert tickets, watched a lot of trashy reality tv, and worked on my blog. It was a nice day to just hang out.

Wednesday 5/20/15

Last day of work!! Today we were working with the botanist interns pulling weeds on a side of a mountain. When we arrived to the worksite, we had to walk over 1 mile (in the hot hot sun) down the roads in search of these weeds. Our instructor couldn’t find them, so we had to walk back up to the van which was exhausting. Then we met up with 3 other interns at a patch where the weeds were.

We got out of the van and started picking. Man oh man did those weeds hurt. They were really prickly and caused us to get really itchy. We bagged over 14 trash bags of these weeds.

During the day, Aaron had his hand off call with our last sponsors for this year. We learned that we were going to be camping, there would be 2 showers set up one for the boys one for the girls. We would only be able to shower about twice a week. There is no running water, but jugs of water will be provided. WE are working 5- 9hour days a week! Then one of our days off will be spent driving 2 hours to a town to go grocery shopping and do our laundry. We will also be living and working with the CCC’s again. Luckily we will have someone who completed this project last year as our crew leader on site which will be pretty cool.

After work, I began to pack and just hung out. I watched Catching Fire and some other shows, and went to bed.

Thursday 5/21/15

Another day off! I woke up later than normal, did the final load of laundry, and took care of my poison oak. At 11, we deep cleaned the van for a while. Then we went into town for some quick gift buying and Mexican food. After we got back, we all passes out on the couches in the rec room. After 30min, Seth walked in waking us up. We talked about our experience here and the round. After that, we quickly packed our red bags and packed up the van.

Later that night at our final dinner, we went around and recognized everyone for their accomplishments they have done that round. Aaron ended it by giving us really meaningful speeches about us. He talked about how even in my roughest days I still always ended it with a smile. He hopes I have a teammate like me on my team next year who takes the time to get to know the TL, but most importantly asks how the TL is doing. He said I was a huge help for keeping him sane. After dinner and awards, we called it a night.

Friday 5/22/15

Back to campus we go! Since the walls are paper thin, the boys woke me up nice and early. After brushing my teeth, and packing up the rest of my things, we loaded the van and prepared for our last meal. Troy cooked us omletes that were awesome. We said our goodbyes to Troy and Smitty, while Aaron went to check out with Joe. The plan was to be on the road at 8am. It took us until 9:30 to get going. Aaron ran into a lot of trouble paying San Jose for all the food they cooked. So in this time I took a power nap and hung out until we could leave.

Once we were on the road it was a straight shot back. I was able to drive the last leg to campus. We pulled right up to our dorms, next to Erin, Chris, and Caroline who I was so excited to see! After unpacking, picking up our green bags, and getting our room assignments, we all went to go get Thai food. I am sticking to this whole vegetarian life style for the rest of AmeriCorps so I got Tofu pad-sea-ew which is my favorite.

Back on campus, I went and ate with Caroline and Erin who told me all about their round. They told me they were going to Vancouver for their last round. I thought it was crazy to think they were going to Canada, but I learned it was really Vancouver, Washington.

After lunch, I unpacked all my belongings and went outside to make a few calls back home. Then I talked to Erin for a while longer about the American Dream and how we are living it. That the world should revolve around a career but about living. Then I helped unload groceries. Took a trip to the tattoo parlor with the boys. Then we were on duty. Duty stinks especially the first night back since everyone goes out to the bars. When you’re on duty, you have to stay on campus. But hey at least I can catch up on all the blog days I missed.

-Meg

[megarne]

Paddle to the Sea

Wednesday 5/13/15

Waking up this morning I was pretty bummed. This weekend has been amazing and it was a lot of fun to be around my parents for a bit. We ate breakfast, my brother fixed my computer, then we packed up to leave. At 10am, we left the house turned in our keys, and my parents took me to Mountain Sage. We met up with Tevin and Aaron, and I said goodbye to my parents. Once they left we met with Regina who assigned us different projects. I weeded the nursery area, Tevin worked on fixing the pipe that was still leaking, then Aaron painted signs. I put on the Umphrey’s McGee show from Asbury Park and got to work. It was really nice just to pull weeds and chill out. While this was going on Aaron had his hand over call with our first sponsor next round and it went well. He thinks the first part will be really good. At lunch, we took an hour break to sit and talk about different possibilities, his job, our place, and whatever else came to mind. When Seth returned from his meeting, he took Tevin and I to get Mexican food. After lunch, we worked for another hour pulling weeds. Tevin joined me. Then we packed up, talked to Seth some more, and left.

Thursday 5/14/15

Today we were staying at San Jose to help Jenna prep for a large group coming this weekend. To start off the morning, Tevin, Seamus and I moved the boards that were covering the windows off, and organized the boards by the cabins. When we were finished with that, Jenna had us join Dylan, and Colin tying down the tarps. This day turned out to be a lot of fun. We spent the first hour talking about the what ifs. What if Aaron leaves? What if I am the TL? What if we get a new TL? What if we get disbanded? What if we get to pick what team we are on? There were a lot of laughs and a lot of yelling. Then it started to rain so we headed back down to the dining hall for lunch. After lunch, we put our rain gear on and went back to work. We had even more fun making the tarps into parachutes, and playing around. IT was a lot like how we use to be like. We didn’t even realized how long it has been since we all had that much fun.

After work, we all took showers to warm up and hung out the rest of the night. It was a really good day.

Friday 5/15/15

Today Jack, Seamus and I stayed behind to work in the kitchen at San Jose camp. A huge group of 65 people were coming in for the weekend, and Jenna needed more support in the kitchen. We had the morning off, so I completed all the paperwork I had to get done for the round. Then I showered, and joined in on meditation for PT. At 12, we went to meet with Art who would be our supervisor while we were here. He told us to wait until after lunch. At 1:30 lunch was over and we began work. We were there to help prep all the meals for the weekend. We started by cutting a lot of fruit, making salads, cooking pasta, making sauce, and other various things. At 5:30pm, Art gave us a break until dinner since we did so much. After dinner, we helped wash dishes and prep for tomorrow. It was a long day so when I was finally off, I went to bed.

Saturday 5/16/15

Another day of cooking at San Jose camp. We had to be in the kitchen by 6:30am. I was able to cook all the French toast which was fun. After breakfast, we cleaned the dishes and started to prep for lunch. I was able to learn how to cut garlic which was cool. Except I smelled of it all day. Then around 10am, Jenna pulled Seamus and I out to help move lumber. I got to drive the Sonoma truck which was fun. We had to load the truck with lumber and move it over to the storage shed. The lumber was used to create a new deck at one of the buildings. The rest of the wood be used in other places. It took us two hours to move all the wood. Thank goodness the four other staff members helped us because it was a lot to do.

After lunch, we helped cleaned up the dishes, and prepped for dinner. At 2:30pm, we were off the clock. We were finished with work and was able to relax. The rest of the boys went to do Paddle to the Sea and were able to canoe all day.

Once the boys returned, we planned to go to the movies tonight. Aaron, Dylan, and I wanted to see pitch perfect. After dinner we loaded into the van, and headed out to Sonora. Aaron, Dylan, and I grabbed our tickets, some snacks, and enjoyed the movie. The movie was fantastic and I had a blast singing and laughing!

After the movie we had to wait until Colin got out of Mad Max, so us three went to Applebee’s for some snacks. We were waiting to hear back from Colin when the rest of the team walked in. Then we headed home. It was a pretty good day!

Sunday 5/17/15

So instead of spending the day cooking at San Jose, I was able to join the boys at Paddle to the Sea. We left around 8:15am to drive an hour and half. Once there, I met all the interns for the Tuolumne River Trust and helped unload canoes. Paddle to the Sea is the paddle-a-thon for TRT to raise money for their organization. Every day they paddle different legs down the Tuolumne River until they reach San Fran. They have been doing the event for 7 years now.

After a quick game of soccer, Patrick (Executive director) gathered everyone up for an orientation, and paddling demo. We ended up only having two canoes for the 6 of us which meant one person would have to sit in the middle the whole time. Instead, a guide named Colin offered his extra seat for someone. Of course no one on the team stepped up, so I did. I rode with Colin down the 5.5 mile of river. It was actually a lot of fun. He used to be a water guide in Colorado and was now a carpenter in the area. The course had some crazy rapids and sharp turns. Since Colin was a guide, we got to go down the path first. We would stop about half way in the rapids, then get out to help the other boats so they wouldn’t flip. The water sure was cold, but felt nice to get out and stretch my legs. We would wait until everyone has gone through, then we would go.

After the first rapid we were happy that no one flipped. But as we turned a bend, we saw one canoe flipped upside down and a bunch of boats pulled over to help. Of course, Aaron, Dylan, and Tevin were the ones to fall out of the canoe. Aaron looked so scared, and the other two were fine. Apparently they collided with another canoe and flipped. They were okay but shaken up. They found it really funny later on.

We paddled until 1pm where we stopped for a lunch break. TO get to the break point canoes had to maneuver through an S curve. All the boats made it. Until we came around the corner and saw Seth and his family had flipped their canoe. They came around too fast, hit a tree and flipped the canoe. Everyone was fine. The kids were cracking up that they were all wet.

At lunch, a few speakers spoke about the river, then we were back on the river. We had a few more rapids to go through which were fun. Colin and Seamus drove themselves into a huge tree, where Colin ducked as if I fire was happening instead of steering them. It was really funny.

At 4pm we reached the camp destination. We got out of our canoes, I thanked Colin for a good day, then ate some of the free food provided. Then we managed to get ourselves free shirts and water bottles for helping out. We had to wait a bit for the canoes to get loaded up, so Seth’s kids kept me entertained by turning me into a tree woman. Every pocket became stuffed with branches, rocks, leaves, or anything they could get their hands on it. It was funny.

Then it was off to home, where we had dinner, watched a movie and went to bed.

-Meg 

[megarne]

Vacation!

Saturday 5/9/15

Community Service Day!

We arrived at Mountain Sage Coffee, and devised a new plan of weeding. Then Jamie one of Regina’s employers, showed up and told us what the newest plan was. Seamus and I were going to start all the volunteers out front to weed. The rest of the boys would be running to the mulch shop to pick up mulch and deliver it back to us. As volunteers showed up, they would check in with me and start weeding with us. Of course Seth’s kids were with me the whole day but it was a lot of fun. They had their little red wagons that they would go and pick up weeds from everyone. I talked to a bunch of people from the Eco Club we finally spoke at, community members, and different organizations.

I spent a lot of time talking to one girl and her dog Archie all about her life. She was from Texas, left two years ago and has been biking, walking, and hitchhiking from Seattle, all the way to Groveland. She is currently building a tree house she plans on living in for a few months before moving again. We had a lot in common and it was cool to learn. At lunch time Regina did another water conservation talk which was really informative.

After lunch, we started a new area weeding, then I moved over to paint a sign. That is when my parents showed up! I was so excited to see them. I introduced them to Seth and Regina, then they left to go check in at the house we were staying at. I worked on my sign some more, then went over to help mulch. A little later my parents returned and we began to clean up from the day. That is when the boys went over to check on the pipe. It was still leaking so they tried different methods to fix it. Finally, Aaron just let me leave with my family.

Once we arrived at the house I was stunned. It was beautiful and reminded me a lot of home. I took a really long shower, and then came out to hang out with my parents. I helped my mom cook dinner for the team who would come over later. Around 6:30pm the boys showed up. They all looked so nice and dressed up. They came and played a few games while my mom and I finished up cooking. Then we ate dinner and my parents got to know my crazy and wacky team. After dinner and dessert, the boys headed out. Then my parents and I planned out our trip to Yosemite tomorrow and watched some TV. It felt so weird having a normal life again and being in the real world. I am really lucky to have such amazing parents come out and visit me.

Sunday 5/10/15

My Dad woke me up around 8am for breakfast and so we can get ready to leave for Yosemite! We had scrambled eggs and toast, pack our lunches, and headed out for the day. I love having my parents here and talking to them. I forget sometimes how much I missed them. Once we got to Yosemite, we pulled over to look at the first over look. It was breath taking. Then we drove over to Bridalvual Falls. The sun was right over it so it was tough to see the waterfall unlike last time. Then we parked a little ways out and took the swinging bridge trail. We walked by a river, saw the upper and lower falls, and then made it to the bridge. Too bad the bridge doesn’t even swing. Next we went and parked the car, and walked over to the Lower and Upper Falls trail. It was about a mile long, but the falls were really cool.

When we finished that, we ate lunch and made our way over to the mist trail via the shuttle service. Then it was time to hike The Mist Trail which was one of the top things I wanted to do. The hike was pretty difficult as the elevation incline was intense. The whole 1.6 miles seemed all to be uphill. But we finally made it to Vernal Falls. I was freaking out a bit because My Morning Jacket’s new album cover is the picture of Vernal Falls. Plus I am really obsessed with that album. My Dad and I decided to hike up closer to the falls. The steps were slick, short, and on a tough incline. When we got closer to the top, we definitely understood why it was called the Mist Trail. We were soaked. After snapping a few photos, and looking at the rainbow, we headed back down to meet up with my mom. Then we took the trail back. Hopefully I’ll get back here with my team and finish the whole Mist Trail.

Once we got back to the car, we loaded up and headed home. We ate veggie wraps for dinner (My favorite). I took a bath, then watched The Voice. It was an awesome day!

Monday 5/11/15

Today started a lot like yesterday. We were out of the house by 9 and on our way to explore a new part of Yosemite. The first stop was at Inspiration Point. We took a few pictures at a Vista point, which was incredible. Then we hiked the trail. It was a steep trail, and long. Every few minutes we would pause to catch our breaths then check at the view. It was really cool getting hire up in the air. When we finally reached the top of the trial, it was kind of disappointing. The neighboring trees have grown so high, that the view was blocked. But still it was a great accomplishment. We sat and ate some cliff bars, listened to UM, and watched all the lizards running around. Then we hiked back down.

Next we drove for a bit up to Glacier Point. We stopped at another vista point before we got to the top. We had to be at 6,000/7,000 ft in the air. Half down and the waterfalls were awesome to look at. Then we moved to Glacier Point which was incredible. You could see everything. We paused for a lunch break while we looked at the views.

When we were finished, we went to hike Taft Point. It was a beautiful trail, and probably my favorite. It was easy to walk and very pretty. The moss on the trees really made it stand out. There was granite rocks everywhere, and the trees were so tall. My mom loved taking a lot of pictures during this trail. When we reached near the end of the trail, it just becomes like a dessert feel. All sand colored rocks everywhere. As we got closer to the end, we notice two groups of people slack lining across gaps in rocks. Not to mention we are about 7,500ft in the air. We watched as a guy walked over the slack line across the cliff! It was insane! We then hiked over to the railing which over looked everything. Talk about scary. My dad and I went right to it. My mom took her time but was able to look over. We then climbed some other parts which was pretty scary but awesome. Talk about an adrenaline rush.

Once we finished the hike back, we called it a day. We had about a two hour drive home so leaving at 4pm was a good move. I fell asleep for a bit which was nice. Once we were home, we showered, ate dinner, and hung out.

Tuesday 5/12/15

Today, I just really wanted a chill day. I was tired, and new I would need to be rested for the rest of the week. So my mom and I worked on a puzzle for most of the morning while my Dad read outside. Around lunch time we went to the lake and walked around. Then we left and stopped at a café. The café had the best veggie sandwich I have ever had. We spent the meal talking about what I am doing, and my pans for next year. It makes me really happy knowing I have my parent’s full support in the decisions I made.

After that we went to San Jose Camp and I showed them around. We ran into the team too. After that we went home. I watched an episode of Finding Carter, then worked on the puzzle again. Then we ordered some pizza, my dad and I played a Yosemite memory game. Then we watched The Voice and went to bed.

I am really sad to have my parents leave. I loved every minute of them being here, plus it was nice to feel a part of the real world again. I am not looking forward to saying goodbye. Too bad we couldn’t have made the trip longer. Oh well, we will hopefully have another adventure next year.

-Meg 

[megarne]

We Are Going Where?

Monday 5/4/15

Today I slept in pretty late. I did laundry and cleaned up. Then I sat by the river and read, while I listened to some new music. Then I worked on my blog. And hung out with the boys. Days off are great!

Tuesday 5/5/15

Talk about an easy day. We went out to Sonora to finish building cages that the boys have been working on. We had to connect four barbed wire sheets together to build a cage that would go around native species in the woods. We worked in groups, some people would start the cages, while others finished them. We thought it would take all day, but by 1pm we had them all completed. Seth can by at lunch time to talk and see what we have done. He wanted us to go back to the office, but we explained how we had a lot of work to make up, so we got the rest of the day off to complete PT and some other meetings.

Wednesday 5/6/15

We started the morning off at Mountain Sage Coffee. I gave everyone a sheet with their role requirements for my community service day. Everyone worked on their stuff while I reached out to different organizations about our event. I then met one on one with each person to make sure they did everything on their list. After lunch, we went over to the Ranger station to meet with Chris and Dusty. We were to help install signs on a trail the CCC’s just finished building. The boys tackled these huge boulders to create a railing on the cliff, while Seamus and I cleared out weeds and debris. We were going through and clearing everything out, when Dusty came over and pointed at all the poison oak in the bush. The bush I just so happen to be standing in a few minutes ago. Of coruse instead of being in a long sleeve shirt, I was in a t-shirt so the likely hood of the oak is huge. Dusty quickly got me some poison oak whips so hopefully that will help. After that incident, I helped the guys install the signs about the area and the trail. Then I went to the top to help with the small rocks that had to be moved. When we were done, we drove down the trail a little bit more, until we reached the loading docks. If we had more time we were going to white water raft down the river. This would be where we started. Then Claire arrived and we headed back to the Ranger Station for a meeting. They only needed Aaron so the rest of us drove home. After we finished, I immediately showered and washed my clothes in hopes I didn’t get any oak. I guess we will find out in a week or so.

Later that night, I had speculation that it was reveal. Aaron was acting really weird, especially when we locked eyes. He would only show Dylan certain text. Then I went on Facebook to see a team post about going to Alaska. So reveal was happening. I overheard them talk about Habitat for Humanity in San Diego and I got really excited. About two hours later, Colin and Seamus coming running into the rec room saying we have a scavenger hunt. Different quotes, and jokes made up our hunt. Each clue gave us the name of our sponsor. Some of the clues were more difficult then others. “Like bump on a log” “Every house has one of these” But we slowly figured them out. When it came to the last clue, Colin had to shimmy out on a log over a river to figure out the location of our project. We were screaming and laughing at how ridiculous this all was. When Colin finally grabbed it, he yelled out “Mendocino” and all our voices dropped. Mendocino, we have already been there for minispike. Aaron was so bummed about our project that he didn’t even take part in reveal. So we went to his cabin to find confirmation. He came out and they started to explain. I made Colin shine a light on Aarons face to see if he was lying. To figure out it was all a joke. But he was serious.

We have a split round. We will be going to Susanville, CA for 11 days. We will be living in a house off the grid, and doing infrastructure repairs throughout the community. Then we will be moving to The Lost Coast to build trails. We will be camping with solar showers, coleman stoves, and no running water. We will also be living with CCC’s again and working with them. Our team was not excited. We thought we proved ourselves this round, and to be going into a really tough project was not what we had in mind. We all really hoped to be back in a city.

The rest of the night I spent up talking to the boys. We were all really sad to end the year with this project. We received the pre site checklist and read everything over. We started doing more research and realized that even though we don’t have the ideal living space, or project, The Lost Coast is going to be beautiful. We slowly started to perk up.

We were also really nervous because Aaron has been receiving interviews for his dream position in City Year as a Program Manager. He has past round 1 and 2 and has one more to go. If he gets the job, which he most likely will, he will be leaving the program early. This really stinks, but we wish nothing but the best for him. It is his dream, so none of us can be mad at him for it. So the night was spent talk about this round, possibility of being split up, having a new TL, or being on different teams. It was a sad night.

Thursday 5/7/15

We woke up to a rainy cold morning. Aaron and I walked down to breakfast where Troy made us crepes. As we were heading over to eat, I paused and noticed a flat tire. Immediately we knew things were going downhill for us.  So after eating an amazing breakfast, the team set out to fix the flat tire. Dylan and I had to figure out how to get the spare tire free while the boys jacked up the car. It took a little bit to do this. Once we got the car high enough we removed the tire. But couldn’t get the jack up any hire to get the spare on. That is when Colin went to the other side of the car to notice that that tire was flat too. So we had to stop what we were doing, and call for a tow truck. Seth showed up to figure out a game plan for the rest of the day. While we waited for the tow truck, Seth would drive Tevin, Jack, Seamus and I to mountain sage to start trenching and weeding. Then he would drive back and grab Colin and Dylan and bring them here while Aaron went with the van.

Once we started working and Seth left, we ran into trouble. Where we were trenching, there was hoses, and pipes through the area. We didn’t want to do anything to mess it up, so we went inside for a bit until the rain stopped. Once it did, we went out to the back area and weeded until the others came. Then we all weeded the area together.

By late afternoon, it was bright and sunny. We finished up our work, and headed home. I drove Seth’s car back, while a few of the boys stayed behind to wait for Aaron to get them. After dinner, we decided to go out in Groveland. Seamus and I grabbed a few drinks at the Pizza Factory, then we walked over to the Iron Door Salon for Karaoke. Colin joined us too. We picked out some songs to sing. Then we talked to this older group of ladies in their 70’s who were on vacation. Every year or so these group of best friends from high school take a trip together. This year it was Yosemite. They invited us to go sing and dance with their group so of course we did. We sang “Brandy”, a Carole King song, and finally splish slash. We ran into some of our friends from Mountain Sage which was awesome too. Near the end of the night we ran into a miscommunication problem with Dylan and Jack and ended up leaving later than those two would have like to. Oh well we still had a blast!

Friday 5/8/15

Woke up this morning to rain and a little bit of hail. Today Seamus, Dylan, Colin, and I were to go and work with Dawn and Jake building cages. The rest of the boys went to Mountain Sage to begin trenching for the irrigation system. Of course, the other group left early so we didn’t realize that Jack had taken the keys with him. So we searched all around the camp to find them. Then Aaron had to drive back to give us the keys. Then we met up with Jake and Dawn. We followed them to the hills across from Rush Creek Lodge. As we turned down the road, we immediately started sliding on the road. So we pulled off, parked, and got in the US Forest Truck. Thank goodness it is big enough for all 6 of us.

Once we arrived at the site, we climbed down a steep hill looking for Mountain Lady Slipper which is a native plant we are trying to protect. Jake is a botanist intern, so he told us a lot about all the plants we were around. We then walked around in search for them, which was a little harder than I thought. The boys kept finding them everywhere. I felt like the kid at the Easter egg hunt who was last to get any eggs.  After we located a bunch of it, we decided to start moving all the cage pieces. So we climbed back up the slick hill. (I only fell twice!) Then we started unloading the cages. We had about 50 huge sheets to pull out from the back. Then there were a lot of rods to come down too. So we created an assembly line in order to help shuttle everything down. It took us an hour to get all the pieces to the area we would be fencing.

We then climbed back up for a lunch break. We should have just brought our lunches down before, but that would have been the smart thing to do. After lunch, we climbed back down the hill to the area with the plants. We then learned how to build a cage. It was pretty easy to do. We each planted a rod, then connect two sheets to it. The cages came out well. By 3:30pm, we ended up building two huge cages.

After we got back home, we received two text. Both from Aaron saying he was driving Jack to the airport in Sacramento, and then one about how a pipe burst at Mountain Sage. Later that night when the boys all came home. They told me to remain calm. They said that tomorrow may not be what it is supposed to be. While they were trenching today, Seth hit a pipe and cut straight through it. They ended up creating Old Faithful at Mountain Sage. Then the mulch wasn’t delivered for the other projects. If there is one thing I am learning is to always be prepared for things to go unexpectedly for the community service day. After a crazy day, we ended up all sitting by the fire and talking for a while.

-Meg 

[megarne]

We Did What?!?!

Monday 4/27/15

Today is Seamus’s Birthday! And what better way to spend it than at Yosemite National Park! We woke up for breakfast at 9am, then everyone took a nap until 12pm. After lunch, we loaded up the van and were on our way.

Arriving at Yosemite is unlike anything I have ever seen. We immediately pulled over and got out to look at the views. They were incredible! After the first stop, we made our way to Bridalval Falls. It was about a mile hike to the waterfall. Once we got there, we were amazed, but had to get closer. So we start rock climbing. They warn you that you could slip and injure yourself, but it was so much fun. We climbed up rocks in order to get close. We must have spent one hour just climbing and hanging out. When we were done, we went back to the van.

Then we went and drove around the valley to find something else to see. We parked, ate a snack, and decided to check out Mirror Lake. It was a little over a 2 mile hike to get there, but it was really cool to see. During our hike, I listened to Alabama Shakes new album over and over again. It was so good! At Mirror Lake, we came across a group of deer that I was able to get really close to. This place is so awesome. At 6pm, we all were hungry so we decided to head back home. I can’t wait for my parents to come and visit so I can go back to Yosemite.

Tuesday 4/28/15

Today we worked at San Jose Camp, which means I was able to paint again all day! I started with painting large arrows to direct cars into the campground. I outlined two that were already on the ground, then was able to free paint three other ones. I was able to use this reflector glitter on it to make it shinny which was fun but messy. I also turned on my Dad’s Favorite playlist and had a great time dancing and singing. I worked on the arrows all morning. After lunch, I decided to repaint the Family Camp sign that is on the deck in front of the office. I didn’t have the write paint brushes, so I ended up finger-painting the majority of it. I brought my stereo out, and jammed out while painting. It was so much fun, and the end results were amazing! Later that night, we sat down and talked to Mike who is the Crew Leader for the CCC’s. We interviewed him about his position, and what the CCC program is all about. A few of his crew members joined in and helped explain from their point of view. I think a few of my teammates might end up applying for a position with them!

Wednesday 4/29/15

The craziest day in AmeriCorps! We woke up and left the house by 8am. We had about a 2 hour drive to Pinecrest dam where we would work with the US Forest Service to help pull illegal boats out. I spent the two hours driving, and blasting the rest of the songs from my Dad’s favorite playlist. We only had coordinates and not an address so it got really confusing trying to find Seth. At 10am, we turned down a random road, in hopes to come across Seth. About a minute into the drive, Seth pulled up in front of us. He went back out to the Ranger Station to figure out where the US Forest guys were. So we sat in the car and played Taboo. I am getting really good at guessing when Tevin is it. It is really funny.

About an hour later Seth shows back up and tells us he has found them. So we drove off to meet up with the guys. Once there we followed them about 20 minutes in. Then he told us we had about an hour drive until we got to the worksite. Great. Thank goodness I was driving, because I probably would have freaked out otherwise. The road was super rocky, and on the edge of a cliff. One wrong turn and we would have been toast. I just turned up the music and got in the zone.

At around 12pm we made it to the worksite. We then hiked a mile up a hill to the top of the damn where everyone else was. The dam as crazy cool and so high up. We walked all the way across the dam which was super cool. The lake was beautiful and so blue. Too bad the drought is so serious in Cali. The lake was about halfway full. We learned that people leave their boats here illegally. They drill a hole in the boat and submerge it underwater. Then they plug the hole in it when they want to go fishing. So there was a crew at the top of the lake getting the boats. Then a crew was canoeing in the water and bring the boats down. Then another crew moved the boats on land, then the last crew pulled the boats up.

Since the boats were taking a while to come down, we decided to go clean up trash at the camping sites just above us. The US Forest guy said our van should definitely be able to make it up the hill. So we walked back down, ate our lunches, and drove up the road. This time the road was a lot crazier, the rocks were bigger, and we were bouncing all over the place. We came up to one point where three huge boulders were in our path. There was no way would be able to go over them. So I called it off, telling them it is just too dangerous. Luckily we stopped at a point where I had some room to turn around in. We were about 6,000ft in the air, right next to a cliff.

So we started turning. We went inch by inch, forward, then back, then forward again. We were about half way there, when the back left tire lost traction on the ground. We were stuck! So for the next hour and half, we tried so many different methods to get the car going again. We placed rocks and dirt under the tire, cardboard, tarps, and everything was failing. We tried removing things in front of the van, just digging it out, but of course the van is rear drive so that didn’t work. Then we got creative. We loaded everyone into the car, and put weight on the left side hoping it would help. It did for a second but we would need a lot more weight. So then we got the idea to start rocking the van. The boys begin pushing the van back and forth, while I lightly tapped on the gas. That is when it finally worked! Thank goodness. We had to rock it back and forth a few more times, and then we were free! Only took 1 hour and half to do it. But I must say we had a lot of fun. No one yelled at each other, no one got pissed off. We just had fun and worked together to get it all done.

It was about 3pm when we got back over the boat site. They wanted us to pull all the boats up. We attached the boat to a truck which would pull it up the wall. Then we would lift it over the top and put it in the truck. We had to do this for 9 boats. By the time we were done, we were all exhausted. It was about 5:30pm, before we got on the road to go home. We drove that hour back to the main road, then set off for gas. Did I mention that the whole day we had about a quarter of a tank? Thank goodness we didn’t run out while we were out there and stuck. Once we got gas, we went to a pizza shop for dinner then headed home. We finally got home at 9pm, and all of us went our separate ways to bed.

Thursday 4/30/15

We went to a local high school to present to their whole student body. Everyone partnered up to tackle a classroom. My first presentation was with Colin, to a college prep class. They were really excited to hear about us and what we do. Having Colin as a partner is super funny and entertaining. I had to try and stop from laughing the whole time. In our next presentation, Jack joined us. We talked to a Spanish class who wasn’t too thrilled but still gave us the support we needed.

After the presnetaions, we drove to Rush Creek Lodge which is right outside of Yosemite. We were to learn how the benefits of trenching, and trench. When we arrived, Joel showed us all around the construction site telling us all about the water conservation the hotel will be doing. It was really interesting. Then we learned how to trench. So we partnered up and tackled a line to dig out. It took us a while to figure out how to do the trench. I wasn’t feeling so great either so it was pretty rough. I had horrible cramps, and back aches that it really hurt to move the shovel. After 3 hours of trenching in the heat, we were done for the day. Once we got back, I went and took a long shower, and stretched. Hoping I would feel better later tonight.

After dinner, I did my mock interview activity. We went through a presentation about the basics of interviewing. Then we completed an activity. Everyone went one on one with each person and asked one question. They would mark down how the person’s body language was, answer they gave, and any suggestions. Everyone was very active in the day which made it a lot more fun. At the end we discussed how the activity went and what we each learned about ourselves. The boys thanked me for putting it together as some of them have interviews coming up.

After going over some other business, Tevin, Colin, and I decided to go to the camp fire for the new CCC crew that came up this weekend. This crew is from San Jose, and are a bunch of kids our age trying to change their life around. Most were addicts, and lived a very rough life. They were here for the weekend and so was two members of the Miwok Indian tribe. They were holding a reflection ceremony around the fire. The leader’s names were Roni and Pablo. The first activity we did was about a golden heart. We had to write what was holding us back from being pure. What we wanted to let go so we could become our ultimate self. We then burned the golden heart letting go of what keeps us back. Then we did a band activity. We wrote a saying that stuck most true to us, or what we need to do to be better. I wrote “Be Me” on mine. Then we each explained our bands and showcased them on our bodies.

After that we all gathered around some drums for a drum circle. We learned three different songs, and how to stay on beat. During each song, everyone had to take the lead and sing the part. I don’t like singing on the spot like that, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Tevin being Tevin got really into it by dancing and singing his heart out. After the drum circle I talked more to Roni about her life and thanked her for inviting us in. The night really brought inner peace to me.

Friday 5/1/15

Today was my turn to finally work with Dawn. Tevin, Seamus, Aaron, and I set out to help her clear out a cattle rig. In order to keep cattle in a certain location, they have a grate over the road that scares the cows from crossing over it. Apparently they rig hasn’t been cleaned out in 6 or so years. So we first had to dig it out enough for a rope to get through the bottom of it. While we did that, we played different games to keep us entertained. Around 11:30, a tractor showed up and removed the rig from the ground. Then it dug out the dirt in the ditch for us. All we had to do was dig it a little deeper. Then we put the crates on and were finished. So we took a lunch break for a bit, and I talked to Dawn about living here and her kids.

After lunch, we had to move some equipment up a huge hill to help the farmer build the rest of his cattle fence that was destroyed in the fire. Talk about a hard walk. Plus I was carrying these huge framed fence posted. We were exhausted by the time we got to the top. We quickly placed everything and left. Aaron’s dream came true and he was able to drive the US Forest Service truck back to our van.

After work, we went home, did PT, ate dinner, and then watched a movie. It was a pretty good day.

Saturday 5/2/15

Another Saturday at Mountain Sage Coffee Company! Today more people and friends of Regina came out to help us fix up the place. I sheet mulched one area, then decided to weed everything in sight. I started with the main path that took about all day long. I just turned on some music, and got to work. I find weeding really therapeutic, it is monotonous but I enjoy it these days. At lunch we took an hour break and Regina lead a discussion about water conservation. She told us about the benefits of sheet mulching again. Then we talked about swells and how to preserve rain water. All you have to do is dig about a foot deep trench in front of the plants you want to water, and make it in the path of where the rain water would flow down. The pit is filled with mulch, and the mulch will collect and hold the water. It helps water all the plants significantly, while also causing the root system to go deeper into the soil. It is all really fascinating stuff. We then dug out our own swells. Then I went back and finished weeding the front. Once the day ended, we sat with Regina and discussed the projects and game plan for our community service day. Once I got the projects in mind, I was able to plan it out more accordingly.

Sunday 5/3/15

A day off means a day relaxing. I woke up and watched another indie movie on Netflix (Short Term 12 has been my favorite so far). Then I read a book, hung out, took a nap, and watched more movies. I am loving these relaxing days.

-Meg

[megarne]

10 Mile Canoe Trip

Monday 4/20/15

Today I went into to town with the boys for a little bit. I went to Mountain Sage of course and worked on my blog. I also looked more into my Chicago trip! I was also able to call home which I haven’t been able to do as often as before. Then I went home and just hung out for the day. Later that night, Colin, Jack and I played some card and board games. We were joined by two CCCs for a while. They were really funny and we all got super competitive with this rebound shuffle board game we found.

Tuesday 4/21/15

Today we were to paddle 10 miles down the Tuolumne River to clear it of hyacinth. It took us about 2 hours to drive to the area we needed to. Then we waited for Seth to arrive. Once we got there, we left our van at the end point, and drove up to the starting point. I partnered up with Seamus for the day. He would be the front, and I would steer in the back of the canoe. Once all the boats were in the water, we headed down to clear the invasive species. Once we reached a big patch of it about a mile in, we realized we left all the tool in the van at the end of the river. Whoops! So it just became us paddling down the river all day. We started off going slow and sticking together. Seth had to mark off all the different areas of hyacinth. At one point, Seamus and I got out to clear a small patch by the shore. While we were breaking it apart, tons of craw fish came out from underneath. It was so cool!

So then we kept on paddling. About 7 miles into the trip, we all hit a breaking point. Colin and Aaron paddled past us an hour or so ago, I had to pee, and our arms where beat. So we pulled off shore to see if we could A. get cell service to call Aaron B. Pee, and C. to see if we were close to a major road. Of course there was no bathroom. As we walked the road, I almost stepped on a snake. I lost it! The boys couldn’t stop laughing, it was pretty funny. Then we got back in the canoes and hoped we would be their soon. To kill the time, Seamus and I started singing songs at the top of our lungs. It drove the other canoes crazy so they pulled behind us more. We sang all the classics until finally we saw Colin and Aaron waving us down. They were at the end of course about 45 minutes before us. It was about 5pm and we were all exhausted. Seamus, Seth, and I drove back to the starting point to get then van. Then after loading up the canoes, I was finally able to go to the bathroom.

To finish the day, Seth bought us pizza since we were still 2 hours away from home and missed dinner. We ate the pizza, and slept all the way home. We arrived back to camp at 11:30pm. Talk about a long day. We were all cranky and ready for bed. We were all walking zombies until we reached our cabin.

Wednesday 4/22/15

Seeing that we had a really long day yesterday, today was much easier. We went to Columbia Community College to go recruit and speak about the Tuolumne River because it is EARTH DAY! We arrived around 11am, and set up our table. While we talked to students about who we are, Aaron had his 1-on-1s. I was the last one to go, and broke down to him. I told him I was having a tough time figuring out my place, and felt like I haven’t been myself lately. He noticed it and provided me with advice on how to make things better. After our one on one, I sat in with Seth and a new employee Trent, to help write out an application for Trent’s position. It was really cool to be a part of that and know what the organization is looking for. After work, we went home, and I played Rummicube with Colin and Dylan.

Thursday 4/23/15

Today, Mike our Unit Leader was coming out for his mid-sight visit. We worked at San Jose Camp for the day. In the morning, I helped with racking and cleaning out different rec stations. At 10:30am, Colin and I went to Tenaya Elementary School to talk to the principal about getting involved in the rim fire recovery program. She was super nice, and thrilled to be involved in it. Then we went back to camp, and met up with Seamus and helped him clean the rec room since the huge group was coming tomorrow.  Around noon lunch was ready then we were reassigned to help Joe clean all the bathrooms. I didn’t realize how many bathrooms there were, until I had to clean them all. Mike came and joined us for a little bit and we told him how the round was going.

After we finished the bathrooms, I helped Troy put away all the dishes. Mike helped me out and I was able to talk to him more about being a TL next year. He told me how competitive this year was and how they have so many outstanding candidates but can’t accept them all because everyone they offered a position to accepted already. After the dishes were completed, we had our talk with the whole team and Mike. We went over pros and cons, how Seth was doing, and what advice we would give to the next team. It was really easy.

Later for dinner, Job Corps culinary students came in for the weekend to gain experience cooking for large groups. They prepared dinner but did not make a vegetarian option. Aaron and I couldn’t get by just on white rice, so we went out to Groveland for dinner. During our whole car ride we talked about how America needs to reevaluate their priorities. That we should not be peer pressuring the world into thinking that the American Dream is the only thing worth doing. That people need to get out and explore. Focus their time on something other than themselves. It was a fantastic conversation. We ended up getting Mexican food and had a great night out.

Friday 4/24/15

Today I would be hanging out with Seth while we prepped for a presentation I would be giving at Summerville High Ecology Club. The rest of my team went to the ranger station to build cages with Dawn. Seth and I first stopped at Mountain Sage to get coffee and make a few phone calls. Then we drove out to Sonora to his main office so I could add a few more slides to the presentation. At 1:30 we left to go to the school. Once we were there we had a lot of trouble figuring out where the classroom was. So we went to the main office to find out where to go. That is when we found out that the meeting was at 12:50, not 1:50 like our email said. So we wasted the whole day. So we got back in the car, drove the hour to camp, and dropped me off. While I waited for everyone to come back, I worked on a few things to make sure I got all my hours for the day. Later that night I started a new show on Netflix that is hysterical. I finished the whole first season (6 episodes) that night.

Saturday 4/25/15

Bring on the rain! Today we were working at Mountain Sage Coffee, learning how to sheet mulch. Sheet mulch is when you lay two layers of wet cardboard on the ground, then add four inches of mulch on top. The cardboard decomposes over time producing more oxygen into the soil, which allows plants root systems to grow deeper. It is a great technique to use when in a drought because it also uses more rain water to water the plants. All day we worked in the rain sheet mulching and weeding the front of the store. After work, we arrived to over 200 people fishing for fish camp. The place was packed. I went to the rec room to read a bit, when I met Diane and Paul. They are both in their 60’s and volunteer for the camp. They told me all about their life and some crazy stories from traveling. I told them what we did here, and they told me how impressed they are by us. The usual work they would do was already completed by us. They thought more people our age should do this program. It was nice having company at the camp.

Sunday 4/26/15

Instead of sitting at camp all day, we decided to go to Sonora for the day. I took the first part of the day to myself. I went and got frozen yogurt, then went shopping. I found an awesome jacket that I plan on wearing to Lolla in August! Then I met up with Tevin and Jack. Together we went to a sports bar to watch the basketball game. At around 5pm, we left Sonora and headed home to get some dinner. Later that night, I watched a movie until I fell asleep.

-Meg

[megarne]

Back to Updating!

Monday 4/13/15

In light of a long week hosting the church group, we ended up having an extra day off! I did absolutely nothing and it felt great. I read a book, listened to music, and did some paperwork. Later on in the day I decided to watch the movie Tusk that a bunch of people on campus told me about as well as my brother and his girlfriend. The movie by Kevin Smith and stares Justin Long. HE is a podcast person who goes to Canada to speak to someone. Went that falls through, he finds an ad for another man who has interesting stories. This man ends up being this crazy serial killer who turns people into whales. Yes you read that correctly, PEOPLE TURN INTO WHALES! I think this is the year I watch a lot of messed of movies, and this is yet another one. After watching it, I immediately told Aaron about it, and he began to watch it. The rest of the night was centered on the transformation of man to whale which was pretty interesting and funny.

Tuesday 4/14/15

Today was an outreach day. We met Seth at Mountain Sage Coffee to go over this week’s plan, as well as an “Even Better Ifs” from last week that could make for a better round. After discussing the plan, Colin, Seamus and Seth set out to Berkley college (3 hours from here) to speak at a meeting to save a camp that was completely destroyed. Dylan and Jack went back to San Jose Family Camp to work on projects around camp. Then Tevin, Aaron, and I set out to outreach at the local high school and elementary school. I also spent a lot of time sending out emails to other schools in Sonora in hopes to go speak to some of the students at the end of the week.

We left for Tiago High School around 1 pm. We met with the Principal, Secretary, and Head of the Service Club. We talked about our plans of getting schools involved with various projects. They hoped right on board and wanted us to come in two weeks to speak to the whole school about us and the Rim Fire Recovery! Then we went to the elementary school where we didn’t have as much luck, but was able to schedule a meeting with the principal for the following week to discuss our plans.

Once back home, I found my favorite chair, grabbed the book “Girl on the Train” that I got from the thrift shop and began reading. I got about ½ through the book that night, and I am so hooked! It has so many twists and turns and I just want to know how it all gets solved.

Wednesday 4/15/15

Up early, and off to Modesto which is about 2 hours from here. Today we were going to work with the Modesto group for the Tuolumne River Trust in order to remove invasive species from the Tuolumne River. We haad to do this because the Paddle To the Sea (Tuolumne River Fundraiser event) occurs next month at that leg of the course needed to be cleared.

We arrived at the office to meet Meg and Chris who helped us load up canoes and took us to the site. Seamus and I teamed up to canoe together, Jack and Tevin worked together, and Dylan put on a wetsuit and jumped right in. The water was really cold. The plant is called Hyacinth that was given to a women in New Orleans a long long time ago. When she no longer wanted the plant she put it in the river. The hyacinth spreads rapidly and water only helps it grow more. So from New Orleans to all over the US this plant has taken over. In the area we were working at, 6 miles worth of river has been clogged upby the plant.

Now we were not there to get all 6 miles cleared, but just to see if it was possible, and can it get done quickly. It took us a while at first to get going. They were tough to break up, plus we were just sending it down the river farther. (Makes me question why we were doing it in the first place if we are just going to create more clogs further down). Anyway, we made it fun as usual. At one point Jack and Tevin could not get in sync with paddling that they flowed down the river too far. It was so funny, but scary for them.  

After a few hours of figuring out what technique, and tools work best, we called it a day. We loaded up the canoes, picked up the supplies and drove back home. Once back, I quickly showered, ate dinner, and continued to read the book. Next thing I knew I was finished with the book and it was really good. I didn’t see the ending coming and it made it worth it.

Thursday 4/16/15

Today we went to Sonora to help with outreach. We split up into two teams. Team 1: Seamus, Dylan, Jac, and Tevin went around town to pass out flyers for the paddle to the sea event. Team 2: Aaron, Colin, and I stayed back at the Tuolumne River Trust office to phone bank for the event. We had a list of 275 people to call and discuss the event. While the boys started that, I created a flyer for our Mountain Sage Community days to also hand out. It took all morning to fix up the flyers and get everything ready before I joined the boys in phone banking. At lunch time, we received two packages. The first one from our team guardian who provided us with games, snacks, and a hammock!! Then I got one from my mom with all my AmeriCorps paper work in it.

After lunch, I spent the rest of the day phone banking people. I left a lot of messages but also talked to a few people every now and then. It was a draining day. After that, we drove back home. After dinner, I convinced Colin, Tevin and Aaron to watch Gone Girl with me. I love watching crazy twisted movies with people who have never watched them before. The boys were freaking out the whole movie! They all loved the movie which was awesome.

Friday 4/17/15

Instead of working with the team at the Sonora Ranger Station building cages, Seamus and I were dropped off at Sonora High School. We were presenting to two agriculture classes about the rim fire and how they can help. Both presentations went really well, and the school is on board to turn their greenhouse into a native species home for students to grow plants that will be put back in the forest.

After our presentations, Seth took Seamus and I out to lunch where I got this awesome grilled veggie sandwich. Then we were dropped off at the Tuolumne River Trust office to finish all the phone banking calls. It took us three hours to finish the 150 names left over from yesterday’s calling. But we were finally done with having to call anyone else! Once we met back up with the boys, we called it a day and traveled back home.

Saturday 4/18/15

Today we were split up again. Seth, Seamus, Tevin, and Colin were staying behind to work on the irrigation system at Mountain Sage Coffee Company. The rest of us drove the two hours to I Love Modesto in Modesto. I was able to drive all day today which was really nice. I threw on my favorite’s playlist and Aaron and I had a great time jamming out. Once there we met with Chris who was in charge for the day. He had us first unload tires from the back of a truck to make space for the trash. We were to pick up trash and clear out homeless camps near the river.

At 9am we gathered for an orientation about the day, and what we were going to do. Then we walked past some homeless camps and started the day. We had trash bags, gloves, and the trash grabber tools. There were over 50 people walking around and collecting trash. The further we walked down the river the more homeless camps we came across. Each camp was told to evacuate by today. I felt bad because we threw out so much stuff. One camp we tore down looked like a beaver dam. It had built itself a cave structure out of twigs and branches, then created walls with comforters and a fireplace. It was a nice set up. I felt bad that the organization didn’t provide options to the people who were living here. They just told them to vacate the area without any options to go somewhere.

We cleaned up miles along the river with the guidance for the police. While we were waiting to clean up the last site, Aaron and I got into a deep conversation about age and perspective. How age really determines how we perceive the world. I talked about how when I was 18 I didn’t even think to care about these issues. And now, it is on the forefront of my mind. I also made friends with the lead guy’s dad who told me a lot about his life and traveling. He said he was extremely proud of what I am doing with my life and wished more people were as passionate as I am about my job. It was really nice to here.

After stuffing our faces with pizza after the event, we drove the two hours back to Mountain Sage to get the boys. They had completes there project and were weeding. We were also invited to Regina (the store owners) house for a concert tonight. We were all really excited to go!

At dinner, we decided that Aaron, Colin, Tevin and I were going to go to Regina’s house for the concert. So I went upstairs and changed. When I came back down, Aaron and Tevin had decided they didn’t want to go anymore, so we just said forget about it.

Later that night, Colin and I went out to the campfire Jenna started for us and the CCCs. She had s’mores and the fire going. We sat and hung out with two of the CCCs and a staff member until 10pm. Most of the CCCs went to bed when we arrived. It was a fun night learning about their program and why they got into it.

Sunday 4/19/15

So I only have 8 hours of ISP hours to complete in order to graduate with my 80 hours. So we spent all day Sunday working at San Jose Camp completing different tasks to get these hours. Of course I volunteered to paint all day! I grabbed the green paint and brushes, a wheel barrel and headed out to paint. I stuck my head phones on and blasted O.A.R. as I painted tables and benches. It was really fun!

Around 1pm, Smitty picked me up from the meadow and drove me back to the dining hall for lunch. After lunch, I realized I had completed my 8 hours of service for the day. I walked back to the meadow, finished a few of the benches I had left. Then I walked the stuff over to the cabins that Seamus, Jac, and Aaron were working on to finish up their hours. Then I was free!

So I showered, and watched a bunch of movies. Then I fell asleep at 9pm because I was so tired.

-Meg

[megarne]

Blogging

I have read so many blogs before I joined and they all faded out and stopped writing towards... you guessed it... Round 3! I promise I am still writing, just haven’t had much time to post lately. I have been pretty warn out, so free time has resulted in Netflix and sleep lately. I will be all up to date by Friday I promise!!

-Meg

[megarne]

Best Week (So Far)

Monday 4/6/15

For the rest of this week we will be working with a church group from Modesto which is about 2 hours from here. This is their annual mission trip where church members and mostly high schoolers come out to work for a week. We will work with about 24 of them. They arrived at 10am, and we went through a quick orientation, name game, and safety briefing. Then we were off to work.

We stayed at the Family Camp today to clean up debris the trees have dropped around by the cabins. So we had to rake and move piles of pine cones, branches, and leaves from the ground. As the group got to work, I was able to hang out with H., who is our sponsor’s daughter. She is 5 years old and a riot! We went house hunting in the cabins, then she wanted to help everyone work. We got rakes and started creating piles, which of course she would run and yell cannonball as she jumped into them. She also had Tevin and I refer to her as King! It was a blast hanging out with her and listening to the crazy things she came up with.

When it was around 1:30, we stopped for a lunch break. H. ate right next to me, smelling my food, and telling me jokes. She had Seamus and I cracking up! After lunch H. and Seth left for the day, so I really had to step up and help out. We decided to regroup and tackle the last areas more efficiently. We all were assigned roles and worked on areas until they were complete. We were able to cover a lot more ground than before lunch. The church group is really awesome. I talked to them a lot about high school and their plans after. They couldn’t believe I graduated college already! Then the chaperons are really interesting as well. We taught them how to play contact, which had all the kids screaming and yelling at each other. It was so much fun and I am looking forward to working with them.

Once it hit, 4:30 we were done for the day. We all showered up, changed and got ready for dinner. Aaron and I were saying that this round revolves so much around food times. It is crazy! At least it is good food! After dinner, I called it an early night and went to my room to watch Whiplash. (Another terrific movie)

Tuesday 4/7/15

We woke up to rain, and that rain didn’t stop until we went to bed. Today our group of 27 had the task of setting up all 65 tents on the campground. We split into three group, the arrangers, the movers, and the packers. This failed really quickly. We couldn’t get the truck to start, so we first had to hand move all the mattresses and extra cots to each tent, IN THE POURING RAIN! Once we started using a different truck, I was in charge of packing the truck with all the mattresses. Seems my packing skills have been put to work this year. I would get about 30 mattresses in each load. Then we would drive up the hills and drop them off to the groups to unload and set up. It was a miserable day. The church group were cold, we were soaked, and the downtime between each load made everyone super cranky. Not to mention Aaron and I also got the truck stuck in mud and had to get everyone to push us out. Finally at 12:30, we were done!

I showered immediately so I could hopefully get feeling back into my hands, and toes. Then I put on every layer I could find in my red bag, and sat by the fire. I played a few hand motion games with the church group, and worked on some stuff for after AmeriCorps. After lunch, I went and finished whiplash since I fell asleep last night. Then I played Dominoes with Jack for a bit. Then the team watched Jamanji before dinner.

As we were watching it, it began to sleet, then hail, then snow! It was the first time I saw snow all year and it was great! At one point I went to go back to the fire and the CCC’s were outside having a snowball fight. Colin and I locked eyes, and decided to join in. It became the CCC’s versus us two, so we recruited some of the church kids to help us! Thank you Drew and Luke! It was so much fun! Everyone was slipping and sliding, and being hit by ice balls instead of snowballs. But still had a great time!

After dinner, the team watched Se7en, which is such a crazy twisted movie. I saw it once before but thought it ended in a totally different way then what I saw. Then it was off to bed, where we keep blowing out the fuse and have no electricity. So it was freezing. Thank goodness our sleeping bags have so many layers, and I brought so many layers. I slept like a rock!

Wednesday 4/8/15

The rain and snow is finally over! The day started at 8am, with breakfast, gathering tools, and making lunches. By 10am, we were off to Camp Towanga to help the camp remove broken down trees and branches that were created by the Rim Fire. I was up for driving today so I was very nervous driving on the roads with sharp turns and snow. The roads ended up being fine, and it was a gorgeous view.

Once there we met Maria and Ken (Director), of the camp who showed us what we were doing. We created an assembly line to move branches from the top of a hill to the bottom so chippers would be able to access it. We spent all morning moving piles, playing contact and talking. After lunch, we moved over to a different pile to continue doing what we were doing. I worked by Alex the church leader, Joreen a volunteer, and Alyssa a high school senior. We talked about school, education, NCCC, and more of what we do. Alyssa might apply to NCCC for the winter term!! Then we all moved back over to finish working on the first area we started.

Assembly Line

Piles of branches we made

Group Photo

Gold 3 with our sponsor Seth

The days wasn’t bad, but man are my arms tired from passing all those logs. Once back at camp, I took a shower, filled out some forms, updated the blog, and hung out by the fire. After dinner, Jack and I played Dominoes for a bit. He won again. Then we talked to the CCC’s Chett and Toni for a while. Once the CCC’s left, the church group asked us to play mafia with them. Of course I couldn’t say no! So we spent the next two hours playing Mafia which was so much fun. They play a lot quicker and jump to conclusions faster so it was a lot more fun to play, plus we got to play more games than usual.

Thursday 4/9/15

Today we were heading back to Tuolumne Trails to work on various projects around the campground! We got to a late start, due to not having cell service. We couldn’t find the church group vehicles as we were leaving, so we were driving around the camp ground, outside, and near roads trying to find them. Little did we know they were already at the worksite. Once we got there, we were split into different groups.

I joined “The Point” group who were working at the most stunning overlook of the mountains in Groveland. I was working with Joreen, David, Alex, Dylan, and a family of three. We were to remove an invasive species in a loop/island that was turning into a trail to see the mountains. We played “Got It”, “Contact”, and the movie game to pass time. We also just talked and joked around. We took a lot breaks to just sit and look out at the view. It was an awesome group to work with and I am starting to get really sad that they are leaving so soon.

View From The Point

Work Crew

At lunch, I sat with a bunch of the church group who wanted to guess what we were like in High School. They said I was the valedictorian of the school. Aaron was also his. Dylan was the trouble maker. Tevin was the cool kid. Jack was the backup to the cool kid. Seamus was the nerd. Colin was the hipster. It was funny how accurate they were for some people and completely wrong they were about others.

After lunch it was back to work were we started to create piles for the burn box group to burn. Then before we knew it we were done. Everyone met back up at the main building where we reflected on the day, then closed out the day by playing Tango Tango. The group loved played the game, and it was a blast!

After work, we showered to remove any poison oak, then went to the meadow to play Frisbee for PT. Then we raced back for dinner, which was followed by a meeting about Caesar Chavez. Then it was time for the open mic night with the church group. Performances included the cha cha slide, jokes, impersonations, singing, and lip sync. We all had a blast. Then we concluded the night with more epic rounds of Mafia.

Open Mic

Friday 4/10/15

Last day working with the church group and man is everyone sad. Today we were working with the US Forest Service helping clear weeds in a meadow. Bad thing is it took us over an hour and a half to get to the worksite. We had to drive around all these crazy roads, mountains, then backroads. Once we were there, we went through an orientation about the Turbin Mustard, which is the weed we would be removing. This weed has fruit at the top that spreads thousands of seeds creating new plants. We were removing all the ones we could find before they released their seeds.

We had a lot of fun talking, laughing, and singing once we added Aaron’s speakers to the mix. I worked with Alyssa for the beginning part talking about prom, senior year, and her joining NCCC. I told her if she gets into Baltimore region I would make sure my friends in the area take her out to explore. That way she has people around. At lunch I sat and talked with the church group about music, and other stuff.

After lunch, I worked with Jake, Joreen, and Chip in another area pulling out the weeds. H. came over to work with us as well. H. was in search of as many lady bugs she could find. She caught 13 by the time the day was over. At 2:30 we all piled back into the cars and took the hour long drive back home.

The group really wanted to check out Rainbow Pools so we decided to join them for our PT. I got the great idea to run the mile to the waterfall. Man was it tough with the elevation and hills, but rewarding. Then I walked around to meet the group, watched them swim, and meditated for a bit. Then I ran back home. I quickly showered before dinner.

At dinner, we handed out a thank you gift to Alex the leader for an amazing time. Then we awarded Jake, a senior, for having the best attitude, hardworking, and for being overall great this past week. We had Jake give a speech about the award which started a long train of speeches. Each person got called up to say thank you and what they learned for this week. I told them how this was one of the best weeks in AmeriCorps thanks to them. Also that anyone who gives up their spring break to volunteer, will go far in life and truly make a difference. It was a bitter sweet ending to this week filled with laughs and a few tears.

After the speeches, we had our weekly safety meeting to discuss plans for the weekend. Then I went back to the dining hall to get some tea, when Jake, Drew, David, Luke, Greg, Troy, and Jack invited me to sit in on their small group prayer and discussion. Seeing I am trying to learn more about religion, I thought this was a great idea. They didn’t pressure me to speak or pray, but just to listen which I liked. It was nice to hear what the boys were taking away from this week. After the small circle, Troy brought out his world famous cookies, and I helped a crew do the dishes.

Like any other night, we decided to close out this week by playing…you guessed it…Mafia one last time. We stayed up to 10:30 playing the game. It included lots of laughs, accusations, and yelling but it was all in good fun. The night ended with a bunch of Facebook adds, and them planning to come out to our graduation in July which would be amazing. I am really going to miss this group and seeing them every day. They all are amazing people, and I am really thankful to have met.

Saturday 4/11/15

We were all up at our normal time in order to have our last breakfast together. Troy made us cinnamon buns as a thank you for everyone’s kindness and helpfulness. Then there were lots of hugs and see you later. We will be heading to Modesto in two weeks for an ‘I love Modesto’ cleanup and we were invited to the church for dinner and to see everyone, we can’t wait!

Then we packed and loaded the car for the weekend. We were working at an ISP in Sonora at a thrift shop in hopes of finishing up all out ISP hours soon. Seth gave us the key to his house to stay for the weekend since he and the kids were staying at the Family Camp, and his wife was away. We didn’t turn that down.

We showed up to the thrift store ready to work. The owners were so excited to see us show up. Seamus and I sorted and hung clothes for the store, then we cleaned the main area of the donation center which had hundreds of books, vhs, and games. The other group folded and sorted towels, sheets, curtains, and other things in another room. I also started my binge watching of Coachella! I just loaded it up on youtube and watched a bunch of the videos. I also had enough cell service to call home and talk to my mom about her trip to Yosemite soon!

After work, we drove to Seth’s house to change and chill before we went out for Dylan and Mine’s half birthday dinner. While waiting I watched Milky Chance perform at Coachella, who were incredible minus the lead singer having no voice and being really sick. Then we went off to the town of Sonora to get Thai food and join in on the town’s second Saturday. This event has tons of local musicians playing in every store on the historic strip. My favorite group to watch was this rock group who the lead singer played his own stuff, covered Jimi Hendricks, and played the guitar amazingly behind his back. They also had some visitors join in and play some New Orleans tones.

Once the event was over, we headed home where I watched Alt-J, Hozier, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones performances, and went to bed. It was nice being able to go to sleep warm and in no layers compared to at camp.

Sunday 4/12/15

I woke up at 8:30am, so much for sleeping in all day. So I quickly showered and packed up some of my belongings. I decided to walk into Sonora for the day to work on some stuff. It took about 25 minutes to walk into town from Seth’s house but it was really nice.

Once in town I went to Sonora Joe’s Coffee shop since it was the only coffee place opened at 10am. I order my usually Toffee Nut Ice Coffee, and found a table to sit at. I also ordered a veggie eggs and toast. As I waited for my food, I opened up my laptop and began working on my blog. My breakfast came in about 10 minutes and it was delicious. Scrambled eggs with onions, mushrooms, and avocado, plus toast. I am starting to like all these vegetarian options.

As I continued to work on my blog, I started talking to two army vets who sat at the table next to me. I believe their names were Steve and Joe. Steve had two beautiful dogs who were part husky/wolf. We talked all about our lives, where we have been and what we’re doing. They were really impressed with the career paths I have followed. We spent about an hour talking. Once they left, I started rewriting my resume to tailor it to Volunteer Coordinator. At 1:45pm, I walked up to the church on the corner where I hoped one of my teammates would come pick me up.

At 2:10pm, I realized they weren’t coming to get me so I began the trek back to Seth’s house. Thank goodness I had the time to walk back, I had so much ice coffee the walk would sure help get some of my energy out. I finally made it back home a little after 2:30pm. All the boys were just laying around on their phones and computers. I went out on the porch and watched more sets from Coachella like RAC and Jenny Lewis. I finished up my resume and felt like I did a whole lot in one day. When I moved inside for an outlet, Dylan and Colin asked me to join them in a game of trouble. I lost miserably.

Then we got a text from Aaron saying we had to leave soon since Seth’s wife would be home shortly. We packed out things and got back in the car. I had 4G for most of the ride so I was able to keep up with my Coachella obsession and watch St. Lucia’s performance. Once back I raced to my room to watch Vance Joy’s performance. We came back too late for Troy to cook so we were on our own for dinner. Some of the boys drove into town to get food, they couldn’t find me to see if I wanted to go too. But that’s okay, I would just eat a few snacks in our trunk. Later that night, I watched Florence and The Machines set which was extraordinary and made me super excited for Lolla. Then I went up to bed and called it a night.

        Until then,

-Meg

[megarne]

Round 3: Groveland, CA

Tuesday 3/31/15

I’m trying something new this round. I am going to write every night then update it to my blog, whenever I have the time to.

Like any day as we prepare to leave, the morning is filled with last minute packing and cleaning, followed by many hugs and goodbyes. We were checked out and on the road by 8:30am. As tradition, we blasted Karma Chameleon as we pulled out of campus.

The drive was a short 2 hours and before we knew it, we were walking up to meet our new sponsor. Seth, crept up on us and was so excited we were here! This is his 5th time working with an AmeriCorps team, but the first time with the Tuolumne River Trust. He was quick to introduce us to Patrick, the executive director. Seth then began to explain about the Rim Fire and our role here. The fire spread to the size of Chicago. It destroyed so much land, but thankfully only 9 homes. With our help, we are going to create long term volunteer opportunities and partners. We will be doing various projects from recruiting, building cattle fences, cleaning debris, working with environmentalist, and helping with the biomass efforts. This is awesome and really open to our interests to help guide the path of this project.

After the meeting we headed out to Seth’s house to talk more and meet his family. As we pulled up to his house, Arron yells “Those deer aren’t real” then one bolted across the street. It was hysterical to see his shock and surprise. As his house we met his wife, and two kids who are adorable. Then we discussed more of who we are and our interests for this project.

At 12pm, we all headed out to a hotel in Sonora for a public meeting to hear how the county is trying to tackle the wild fire. We met our cosponsors who are the US Forest Service. They were all so nice and eager to hear how we are going to help.  We also met towns’ people and other organizations who are all involved with the recovery efforts. The meeting was centered on resilience and what were the major issues were, and where should grants be applied to. This was a great intro to our project because we know what the challenges of the community are, and how we are going to help.

After the meeting, we headed out to where we would call home for the next 8 weeks. We live about 45 minutes outside Sonora, and 30 minutes from Yosemite. On our trip we stopped at an overlook to see where the fire hit. The spot is known as the Grand Canyon of California, and it is crazy to look at. Every direction you looked we could see where the fire hit. Now we are understanding why we are here. We also stopped at Mountain Sage Coffee which we will be spending a lot of time there not only for wifi but for community outreach days. The coffee shop is a one story house with a coffee bar, photo gallery, tree nursery, and live music. We will be working there 4 Saturdays throughout the round.

Once we were done exploring, we headed to the Family Camp! First of all the campus is amazing and exactly what I was hoping for. Second there is no cell service which I am happy about. I decided on some personal goals for this round and they include

-Getting off my phone even more

-Cutting meat out of my diet, here I come vegetarian lifestyle

-Cut cheese out (I will not add it to a meal, I can eat it if it is cooked in the meal)

-Focus on myself more

By not having service, I hope I can enjoy being where I am and live in the present. I also hope it brings our team together. But there is wifi here. Aaron hasn’t decided if we can have access to it yet, because he is worried everyone will be too attached. I am indifferent about the whole thing.

Back to the Family Camp, Jenna is our housing contact. She introduced her and her staff to us, then showed us our cabins. We have 3 cabins that are closed in and have electricity. I have my own cabin. Then Jac and Aaron share one, and the four boys are in the other one. After unpacking, Jenna took us on a tour of the campground. There are 65 tents, bathroom facilities, game room, staff lounge, fire pits, and a river that we have access to!

We also were able to see where the fire hit the camp and the damage it did. We will be working at the Family Camp once a week to help out with the recovery efforts. After the tour, I spent some time talking to Seth about his past experiences and interests. I am so glad he is our sponsor. He is willing to help us and utilize us not only as a field team but as active members in the community.

Tuolumne River

My Cabin

Campground

Meditation Spot

Around 6:15 diner was ready. It was prepared by Troy our cook who is really nice. He cooked a fantastic meal and we are less nervous about having someone cook for us. After dinner and helping Troy with all the dishes, I grabbed my notebook, found a chair under the lights and sat by the river. The river is calming and relaxing. Plus I can finally see the stars every direction I look.

I am very excited for this project. I love where we live. I love that we are making a foundation for other teams, and doing a lot of meaningful work!

Later that night, I figured out how to work the VCR, so Colin and I watched “We’re Back the Dinosaur Story”

Wednesday 4/1/15

Happy April Fool’s Day and out first full day of work!

Sleeping last night was rough. It was freezing cold, plus snack, the cat, meowed all night. Anyway we were up nice and early at 6:50am to be ready for breakfast. Troy cooked hash browns and eggs which were delicious. By 8am we were divided into teams with the CCC crew and off to work.

Colin, and I teamed up with Katherine and Eddie from the CCC to paint. We had to paint all the benches and boards on the cabins. I teamed up with Katherine, who is awesome. We got along great, so I was pretty bummed to hear that she was leaving at 12. The CCC (California Conservation Corps) crew only stay for 6 days at a time and a new crew would be here by lunch.

At 10:30, we put a hold on projects until after lunch. We were to have our orientation with the US Forest Service, Tuolumne River Trust, and Family Camp who are all of our sponsors. We met Claire and Marie who I adore. They told us all about the Rim Fire and the devastation it caused. Then they told us about our role and how we will help! We also watched a video on it, and reviewed some maps. After the meeting, we talked to Jenna and Seth about camp rules and safety concerns.

At 12:30 lunch was ready. Aaron and I had BBQ veggie burgers with tator tots. After lunch, Jenna asked if I would be the project lead for the paint team. Two CCC members from the new crew, Selena and Christian joined Colin and I. Then Colin and Selena tackled the projects with the brown paint, while Christian and I worked with the green paint painting picnic benches. Christian was awesome to work with and not bad to look at either. We ended up painting 28 picnic benches.

At 5pm we were allowed to stop and head back to camp to clean up supplies. After cleaning, I got the access code to the wifi and received great news.

I AM A TEAM LEADER NEXT FALL!! I am so excited! Aaron freaked out when I told him. By dinner the whole team new and were super glad for me! I will be serving in the Pacific Region starting September 10th!

After dinner, I showered, wrote, drank some team, and then played dominoes and checkers with Jack. I was also able to talk to Dave, Nicole, Lindsey, and a friend from college. I found out Lindsey will also be a Team Leader next fall!

After catching up with everyone, I watched Beasts of the Southern Wild (fantastic movie) and went to bed.

Thursday 4/2/15

I intended to wake up early to go on a run, but man was it too cold. So I hit snooze until 7:30. At 7:15, I heard all the boys walking around so I sprung out of bed to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Which I found out I wasn’t. I sat and read ‘Dark Places’ until breakfast.

Seth had arrived by 8:50 and we left for work. We were working at Camp Tuolumne Trails which is a special needs camp and stunning! We were trimming trees out by the challenge course that have built. Trimming trees means removing trees in over populated areas to help prevent fires, and allow remaining trees to thrive and grow. We worked with loppers and handsaws. The morning flew by and we cleared a lot of the area.

At lunch we walked up to the main campus house which is a 3 story log mansion! We met John the owner of the camp and his wife. He took us on a tour of the facility then we learned about how the camp started. I talked with him for a bit about taking on an AmeriCorps team and we plan to talk more next week. Once we ate lunch, Seth, Aaron and I talked a lot about past teams, future, and the drive to grow in a career.

Once we got back to work, Seth, Colin and Tevin, went to go talk to high schools while we continued to clean the area. By 3pm we called it a day and went back up to clean our supplies. Then we drove home.

Back home we had a meeting about our schedule and projects we want to work on. As a team we decided we want to help Seth on one of the Grants he is on dealing with the irrigation system at Mountain Sage Coffee. We are going to help create, design, and build that system that takes water and sends it out to water different plants. I also took on the networking job, so Seamus and I are going to create a powerpoint about NCCC and our help with the Rim Fire.

After the meeting, we went on a 1 mile hike to Rainbow Pools. Rainbow Pools is a beautiful waterfall with a pool and cliff jumping. We sat and watched 3 people cliff jump which was insane. After the hike we hurried home for dinner which was vegetarian curry, which was incredible!

Then it was off to the showers where I hope I could scrub off all the possible poison oak I may have come across at work. Then it was a quick load of laundry, writing, and then finishing the movie I started yesterday.

Friday 4/3/15

Woke up this morning in an Amy Winehouse mood. So I blasted Valerie in my headphones while I got ready and ate breakfast. At 8:50 Seth arrived to take us out to work with the CCC’s on a trail. Seth and I would not be joining the team on the trail, instead we were to speak at a water conservation meeting. So we drove with the team up and down these crazy mountains with steep cliffs. One wrong turn, we were all done fore. Once we reached the worksite, I jumped out of the van and said how happy I was to be back on land.

The CCC’s were building a trail on a steep incline of 5,600 feet above sea level. It was insane! And exhausting! After a quick hike up the long steep mountain, Seth and I quickly turned back and left for the day.

Our first stop was Camp Mathes, which is a private camp that hasn’t really stepped up to help with the recovery of the fire since they were not affected by it. We talked to Joel, a staff member, about the camp and the fire. He told us how he was there when the firefighters were putting it out. He was actually leading the whole thing since he was around in the 80s when another fire hit the camp.

Next we drove out to Evergreen Lodge to talk to Luke. Luke runs outreach and volunteer events, and wants to do some work at Rainbow Pool with his staff, us and the at-risk youth who come to stay. We discussed possible dates and this may turn into my Community Service Day! The Evergreen Lodge is beautiful and every room we walked into smelled like fire, which I didn’t realized I missed so much.

After talking with Luke, we ran into a different Joel who works for a watershed company and a partner with Regina who own the Mountain Sage Coffee. We learned about the irrigation system he was installing at Evergreen to spread the water to the plants more. He also talked about his plans for the coffee shop and how we can help. It was great to learn more about the environment and what people are doing especially since California is in such a bad drought.

Next we drove out to the Water Conservation Admin Building to speak to stake holders. The drives were really long so Seth and I talked about our interests, beliefs, and values in life. He also provided me with great advice about being a Team Leader next year, and about what he sees in our team. Once we arrived at the meeting we were fed amazing food, then we spoke about the Tuolumne River Trust and NCCC role in the recovery and water conservation efforts.

After the meeting we went to Mountain Sage Coffee to see the shop we were partnering with and create a list of school to start recruiting. This coffee shop is amazing and would be my dream shop to open. There is a garden, hammocks, stage, picnic tables, tree house, barn, local photography, and handcraft jewelry, awesome coffee and amazing staff. I met so many awesome people who I would be working with in the near future. We spent two hours talking, exploring, and working. Once the shop closed we went to the Rangers Station to talk about projects, and Rainbow Pool collaboration.

After a day full of talking, we went back to camp to wait for the team to get back. To kill the two hours, we played basketball, helped Troy with dinner, and worked on some presentations. Once the team was back we had a talk about the week. Then we did some yoga, and ate spaghetti. I met Smitty at dinner who is a 76 year old volunteer for the camp. He has been coming here for decades and just loves it. I sat with him for dinner and learned so much about him and the history of the camp.

Then I went on a run to clear my head and mediate. I have been so go go go these past two rounds, that I just need time to chill. It is really hard working, living, and eating with the same people all the time. I prefer to keep work and personal life separate which is probably why I love transition so much, but it is hard getting back into the groove of things. So this round I am just taking more time to be me, and work on being okay with being alone. It has actually been pretty nice so far!

Saturday 4/4/15

First day off in Groveland was a success! I woke up at 7:30am not being able to sleep anymore. So I went to the rec room to listen to music and work on my blog. At 9am, Troy had breakfast ready. Then I took a long shower and read by the river. Around 11:30, Colin and I decided to go into Groveland to explore for a bit. We went to Mountain Sage Coffee. The staff remembered me from yesterday which was pretty cool. I ordered an iced orange dark chocolate latte which was amazing!

As I drank my latte I continued to read and finally called home to talk to my parents. I loved being able to hear their voices and I am even more excited for when they come visit! Around 1pm I left the store to go walk Main Street of the town. I stopped in a thrift shop, coffee place, and the local library.

After stopping to fill up the van, Colin and I went back home. Once back, I grabbed my stuff and walked the mile hike to Rainbow Pool to meditate and read. I stayed there for 2 hours and it was beautiful! Once back, I played basketball and talked to Aaron about our lives. Then it was dinner, followed by washing the dishes, writing, and reading until I finally finished the book. “Dark Places” is a crazy, insane book, that I recommend to anyone who like suspense.

Sunday 4/5/15

Typical Gold 3, we blew the fuse out last night, so I woke up colder than ever. My phone showed that it was 8:30, so I went down to see if Troy needed help cooking. No one was in the kitchen which was weird. Then all the clocks said it was only 7:30. Still weird. So I took a shower to kill sometime to see what was going on. Then when my phone said 10am, everyone was up and in the kitchen. I kept asking everyone what time it was and I found out my phone was just an hour ahead. Some twilight zone stuff!

So after a delicious breakfast, I went outside to work on my blog, and talk to Nicole for a bit about Lollapalooza! I spent all morning working on stuff on my computer that next thing I Knew it was lunch time. I was feeling really drained at lunch, so I went to my room to watch “No Cameras Allowed” and take a nap. “No Cameras Allowed” is one of my favorite documentaries about a guy who sneaks into tons of major music festivals and documents his life and getting in! Anyone who loves festivals and indie music as much as me, should watch it.

Around 4:30, it was time for our first team meeting of the round. We addressed goals we want to work on, issues we saw, and updates on our team positions. We also did 360 reviews. I learned that I am a good leader, and I am really good at speaking with strangers and having meaningful conversations. What I need to work on is my patience with the team, losing up, and working on addressing issues by not coming off as pissed off or agitated. I correlate a lot of this to how I was feeling the other day. It is hard working, and living, with the same people. It is hard for me not to carry work over into personal time, and stay relax. It is all a growing experience and these are the things I will work on this round.

During dinner we had Dylan’s ATL meeting, so we got paired up with our new team guardians for the round. My guardian is Jacarri! I am excited to work with him, so we can strengthen our friendship and get to know each other. Dylan also adapted my idea of Because We Said We Would to because I said I would. We had to come up with 8 challenging goals 2 for each of the four categories (personal development, Life After AmeriCorps, Fitness, Captain Funtimes). At each team meeting we will pull out a goal that we will have to accomplish that week. My first goal is to apply to 3 nonprofits for jobs. Just making sure I have tons of options as always.

Fun fact, it finally rained today! It rained from the moment we had our first meeting until bed time. I missed the smell of rain so much! I had to contain myself from not dancing in it! After dinner, I wanted to go watch a movie but we blew out the fuse again, so I went to the rec room to charge my laptop and finish my blog updates. Hopefully my laptop charges quick enough so I can watch a movie.

Until Next Week,

-Meg

[megarne]

Transition

Friday 3/20/15

Our time in LA is finally over. We had at least an 8 ½ hour trip back to campus. I took the first shift in driving where I got to leave the city, and drive up and down all these crazy mountains. Then the rest of the car trip, I used an app on my phone to create the celebration video. I took all the pictures and videos everyone took and mashed it into a super video we would present to the Gold unit tomorrow. It took me about the whole car trip to do the video because it kept freezing and then I would have to start back over. It was annoying to say the least.

Around 5pm, we finally made it back on campus. Laura and James were outside playing Frisbee as I anxiously started banging on the van window to get their attention. As soon as we parked the van, I ran out to say hello to them and some other people. It was nice to be back on campus with a bunch of my friends.

After unpacking, getting my green bag from storage, and setting up my room that I have all to myself, I made some dinner and got ready to go out. While all this was going on, I kept running into people I haven’t seen in a while. I was so happy to see them all!

Finally around 8:30, a big group went over to Harvey’s for some beers and to see everyone. It was packed! We all talked about our round and where we are going next. We danced and sang a lot to oldies that blasted through the speakers. I finally got home around 2:30 and realized I had to be up in three hours for an ISP my team was doing.

Saturday 3/21/15

Talk about the most miserable day ever. I woke up feeling fine from the night before. I showered, ate breakfast, and made a lunch. Then I was off to the van to meet everyone else. This was all before 6am. We were doing an ISP with a local volunteer community group, who needed to be trained and tested in disaster response. We were the lucky victims of the earthquake. We all were assigned roles, I was in shock and didn’t know what happened.

As I was watching other people get bandaged and injured with makeup and fake blood, I started to get really nauseous. I sat outside for a while to cool down. For the rest of the event I felt so sick and not a hangover type of sick. I slept on the pavement in between training sessions. I ended up getting extremely sick the entire day. I couldn’t keep any liquid or food down. I heard about the stomach bug going around campus and I just hoped it would pass soon.

After the ISP was over, I went straight to bed for a few hours. I woke up to go outside and talk with Jackie, Kevin, and James for a bit. Then I went to cook dinner for the boys. The one day I am severely sick, I would still need to cook. I didn’t eat anything just because I didn’t have the energy to. After dinner, I had to change and be on duty for the night. So I swept all the hallways and worked on my packet. Once I was done, I changed and hung out with Laura, James, Jade, and Colin for a while.

Sunday 3/22/15

I woke up feeling so much better! I spent the day cleaning my room, doing laundry, and hanging out. Jacarri taught me how to play Dominos which I ended up crushing him in. Then we looked around campus to find other board games and books we could bring with us to the campground. Other than that I didn’t do much besides read and hang out.

Monday 3/23/15

Back into the groove of meetings and paperwork. We were all up by 8am, reviewing our parts for the debriefing that would be occurring in an hour. During debriefings we answer a bunch of questions about the round, and how things went. Then another team, and staff ask us any questions about the round they may have. We do it with the same team we do the briefing for so it was Gold 8 the BLM team. We learned all about their adventures, then we told them about ours. The staff was really happy to see how we handled the project and how we managed to still stay strong.

After the meeting, we had a lot of time to kill until the community meeting after lunch. I sat and talked to Dave for a bit learning more about the BLM round, and talking about life in general. At the community meeting, they caught us up on stuff coming up throughout the week, as well as recognitions for specific corps members. After the community meeting, we sat with Blue 5 and discussed what they should expect for the CYFC project as they are going there for round 3.

Tuesday 3/24/15

Today we were up bright and early for our midyear baseline check. I was able to improve in all three areas! I did 48 sit ups and 48 push ups in 2 minutes. Then the most drastic improvements came with the mile and half run. I was able to cut 2 minutes off my time from the start of the year! I ran it in 15 minutes and 40 seconds! I was so happy!

After a quick shower, and breakfast, I spent an hour trying to add music to our celebration video we would be showing soon. While I was working on that, I was so anxious as today was the day Lollapalooza tickets were going on sale. My friends from home, Karen, Mary, and Jason, were all attempting to buy us tickets. Right before I was about to leave for the Unit Celebration, Karen tagged me in a post on Facebook saying she got us tickets!!!!!! So it is official, a week after I graduate AmeriCorps, I will be going to Chicago with 4 of my best friends to Lollapalooza! I AM SO EXCTIED!!

Trying to contain my joy and the unit celebration was tough. I was just so happy. At the unit celebration, each team took about 10 minutes to present their video about their round. I loved watching Gold 7’s video because they were in King County and it was great to see all the people we used to work with again.

After lunch, the only other thing on my agenda was to attend the LAA rep meeting. At the meeting we talked about LAA Day coming up on Thursday. We also talked about the highs and lows as the LAA rep this past round. Then we did mock interviews and discussed our requirements for the following round. It was a fairly easy day.

Wednesday 3/25/15

Another easy day on campus with only one meeting to attend! The meeting was a POL check-in which covered everything about talking to sponsors, and our community service day. The meeting flew by. As I was leaving, I ran into Jess who asked if I wanted to go with her to the Coffee Hangar that just opened up on campus.

So I grabbed my lunch and laptop and walked with Jess to the coffee shop. It was packed with AmeriCorps people! We took a side on the café away from everyone and got to work. I worked on some POL and LAA stuff, then worked on Lollapalooza lineup and which bands are playing when.

After two hours at the café, we both headed back to go see what our team was doing. I wasn’t allowed to get out of uniform until 5pm so I had to come up with stuff to keep me busy as the rest of my team worked on the other stuff I already completed. I just messed around in the computer lab looking up stuff about jobs and music instead. After I was officially off duty, I went outside to play volleyball with a bunch of new corps members I met. We have all been playing every night as teams waited for their dinner to be ready. It has been a lot of fun!

Later that night, James, Laura, Kyle, Kelsey, and I went over to Lion’s Gate to grab a few drinks and get off campus for a bit. We talked a lot about taxes and religion. The night was really awesome!

 On a side note, I heard back from AmeriCorps about my Team Leader application! I have an interview on Monday!! Fingers Crossed!

Thursday 3/26/15

Today felt like another day back in CTI, it was long and extremely hot out. Today was Life After AmeriCorps Day. We were to attend tons of sessions about potential career oaths to take. It started with a key note speaker who talked about identifying 7 specific features when finding a job that works for you. It was really interesting. Then I sat in on a session about international nonprofits, but it didn’t turn out to be what I expected it to be. I thought I would learn about nonprofits abroad I could work for, but it was about a nonprofit in Sacramento who works with refuges abroad.

After that, the Gold Unit attended a session with Jacarri’s old sponsor Katie who is amazing! She had us draw our ideal day. We had to use a lot of color and explain things. After she went on to discuss the colors we used and what each one signifies. It was cool to see the perspective and how the colors signify different feelings.

Then it was time for a lunch break, so a big group went to Alberto’s across the street which is an awesome cheap Mexican restaurant. Then it was time to check out a career fair that was pretty interesting but didn’t have a lot of programs I was looking for. For the rest of the day I sat in on a session about the PeaceCorps and realized how if I wanted to do that it would take another 4 or 5 years until my application would even be considered. Then I sat in on the Outward Bound program and realized I wasn’t really interested in it.

To close up the day, we had a meeting about how it all went, then it was finally over. We had a quick team meeting to work on our Spike Prep packet, then it was time for dinner, and some more volleyball. Later that night I went with Jade, Laura, and James, to the open mic night which is always fascinating. There are so many talented people in NCCC. People sang, danced, read poems, spoke freely, and just had fun.

Friday 3/27/15

Another simple day! We were up around 8am working on our Deployment briefing we would be presenting in an hour. This time we were back with our friends on Gold 4. We would learn how they would handle moving to San Diego and the impact that losing two teammates to the Fire Management Team would do to them. We would talk about our time in Groveland and how camping will affect us.

As all the other teams were having lunch with a staff member, our team just wasn’t available to do it. Jacarri has his GED English exam, Aaron had to get the tail light on the car fixed, and the boys didn’t pack a lunch. So I left campus and went to the Coffee Hangar again to look for more jobs to apply to.

When I got back to campus, Gary, Caroline, Erin, Chris, Matt, and Calley were hanging outside. So I joined them until I had to go check out tools for our next round. When I finished that, I joined them again. When they had to go to a meeting for the green unit, I stayed outside, read my book about the Dali Lama, and blasted some tones.

After their meeting, they all came back over and we hung outside for three more hours. We talked about music, road trip to Tahoe, team dynamics, our past life, and everything in between. Later that night, we all ate dinner, and got dressed to go to Lion’s Gate. The plan was to sing Karaoke since Kevin lost a bet to his girlfriend Jackie.  Slowly the whole campus knew to go to Lion’s Gate tonight. We arrived at 8:30 and there were already 30 corps members there. Slowly more and more kept showing up. Even some Team Leaders were there! It was so much fun! We all drank, and danced, and joined in on our friends singing. Plus I go to see so many people.

Saturday 3/28/15

So we talked a lot last night about going to get brunch today. Around noon, Erin, Jade, Laura, James, Gary, Chris, Matt, Dan, and I all headed out to Sacramento to get some brunch. We first stopped at this café downtown that didn’t really have what we were looking for. Jade then suggested we go to Crepeville for brunch. This was the best decision we made! There were so many choices just between a sandwich, wraps, or crepes. I ended up getting the basil crepe which was cheese, basil, tomatoes, and feta. It was so good!

After lunch, we walked around Sacramento for a bit. Then we decided to go to the American River to hang out. Once there we chased geese, searched for the sea lion in the river, and sat around. It was a relaxing day with some awesome people. When we were done we all went back to campus since some people were on duty that night.

Later that night, Laura, Tevin, James, Colin, Jade, Chris, and I played Boulderdash which is a crazy fun game. I wasn’t too good at it because I am not that funny. But we still had a lot of fun.

Sunday 3/29/15

At PT the other morning, Austin announced that there would be a volleyball tournament happening at noon. Teams of four could compete. I signed up with James to play and we were on the hunt to recruit new people to be on our team. I ended up recruiting a kid named Jacob who was a part of FEMA (Four FEMA teams came back to campus on Friday and now were back living here). At noon, the tournament was on its way. One girl’s team didn’t show up, so she joined us. So it was Monica, James, Jacob and I paying the first game. It was really intense and a close match which are always fun to play. As the games went on more and more people came outside. There had to be about 70 corps members and TL’s lounging out, playing volleyball or ultimate Frisbee. The tournament ended up going to around 3pm. Our team came in third place which is awesome! A team of TL’s came in second, then Austin and his crew placed first. I got a lot sunburn but it was worth it because it was an awesome day.

After volleyball, I took a quick shower and went out to Firestone Public House with the team for a team dinner. The food was amazing as always, and Aaron talked a lot about life and next round. Once home it was time to finish packing, and cleaning, then it was time to start packing the van.

At 9:30, Caroline, Erin, Jade, James, Chris, Matt, Laura, Parker, Dan, and I went to Harvey’s for one last night out altogether. Plus we wanted to say by to Frank the bartender before we all left again. We explained that we all went to Lion’s Gate to sing Karaoke then next thing we knew, Frank had it too. So of course we had to start singing. We could not stop laughing and singing. Some other corps members showed up and joined right in.

Monday 3/30/15

Last days on campus are always extremely crazy! We were up early packing and cleaning, followed by a meeting about traveling home after graduation. I moved my travel home date back a day so I can spend the night with a bunch of friends before going home. Then I took a long nap. I woke up in a panic that I missed the next meeting I had to attend. I hopped out of bed and ran to the meeting. I wasn’t late but super early.

The meeting was a panel about How To Be a Team Leader. Staff came and spoke as well as current Team Leaders. They answered any questions we had and also gave us advice for the interview. The rest of the day was spent hanging out and waiting for room inspections, kitchen inspections and last minute packing.

At 4:45pm, my phone went off notifying my interview was about to start. I interviewed with a the Green Unit Leader Mrs. Janine. She asked me why I wanted to be a Team Leader, how would I handle situations like site sponsor communication, alcohol, team relationships, and other scenarios that could happen while being a team leader. After I asked her a few questions, she asked some stuff off the record about my experience as a Corps Member and how Aaron was as a Team Leader. The interview lasted 45 minutes.

After the interview, the staff was holding a bbq for everyone. I had a cooked mushroom with tomatoes, and cheese which wasn’t too bad. I sat and ate with the crew I have been hanging out with all week. Once we finished dinner, we really wanted to find some ice cream so we walked to a few local stores. We stopped at a Russian food store that had really cool produce and food. We spent 20 minutes walking around the store. Then we went back home.

As we end every transition, we sat and played Mafia. We said our goodbyes, and got ready to leave the following morning. 

Until Round 3, 

-Meg

[megarne]

Music of LA

Of course I listened to a ton of music this round. Based off of the music I over listened to, here are my favorite bands to listen to while in LA!

-Alabama Shakes

-Blondfire

-Bombay Bicycle Club

-Coasts

-Crystal FIghters

- Holychild

-MisterWives

-The Mowgli's

-Saint Raymond

-Sleigh bells

-And of course: Vampire Weekend

[megarne]

Top 5 Moments in LA

5. Exploring LA

        -We explored a lot of LA and I enjoyed it all. From the beaches, to echo park, to downtown, and just driving around, I really liked experience everything.

4. Venice Beach

       - By going to the beach so much this round, I was able to feel closer to home. I was able to get my alone time and do what I enjoy doing. It could be walking, reading, writing, listening to music, or talking to locals, the beach became the biggest stress reliever. 

3. LA Works

      - I have never been apart of something so amazing like LA Works. They put on massive volunteer events that I not only was a part of but was also able to help lead. I enjoyed watching the transformation of the schools after an event was over. I really hope I am able to work for an organization like that in the future!

2. Mrs. Maritza's class

     - This round would not have been the same if I wasn’t in this class. Mrs. Maritza is an amazing teacher, and I had so much fun talking and learning from her everyday. She allowed me to have a voice in the classroom and made sure the students respected me. The kids were incredible and always gave me a reason to laugh and smile. I am truly going to miss seeing them all everyday.

1. Meeting C. 

     - Just by working with him for the 9 weeks he taught me so much about patience, handwork, and having fun. He made coming to work exciting and always had something to say. He really helped me change into a better person and I am so thankful for being able to meet him. 

[megarne]

Round 2 Accomplishments

The team served 16,540 nutritional snacks to the 3,621 at-risk youth the team supported throughout the project.  While serving in 3 LAUSD schools, the team tutored 479 students for a total of 498 hours throughout the school day.  Gold 3 worked with 410 students in after-school enrichment activities.  During a community service day, the team planned an event at 61st Elementary school painting 3 large murals with the help from 6 volunteers. Gold 3 was able to accomplish a lot in the 9 weeks they spent serving at the schools. 

[megarne]

Goodbye, LA

Monday 3/16/15

Only three days left in LA, and we are getting ready to leave. Being at school is starting to get really sad. We have to keep reminding the students that our last day is Thursday and their reactions are heartbreaking. They talk about how much they love us, and how we are their favorite team. They keep asking if the new team can just go to our new project and us three stay. I feel so bad.

But as sad as I am, I am ready to leave LA. This project was very long and tiring and I am ready for something new.

Tuesday 3/17/15

I spent the day getting all the little things I needed to do done. I updated all my forms, made sure my budget was updated, and waited for two of the boys to send me the portfolio to work on. School was good. I was able to watch my class complete dance class for the final time which was a lot of fun. They are performing to “We’re all in this together” from high school musical. The dance is adorable. I have also grown closer to a new student in the class called L. He keeps challenging me to soccer matches and really likes that I take the time to help him with his homework when no ever does at home. Add that to another kid who will break my heart on Thursday.

Wednesday 3/18/15

Today we shoot into over drive. We were up early for PT, followed by a quick run to the store to get an appreciation gift for the teachers we have been working with. After that we were off to school, were the students begged me not to leave the following day. After work we cleaned the house top to bottom. As we all tackled our own space, we also began to pack up all our belongings. I definitely gained a lot of stuff from this round. Finally, while the boys kept cleaning, I continued to work on the portfolio which covers everything about our round. I spent two hours at school and wasn’t finished. After another two hours at home, I was running around the clean housing dancing and singing because I was finally done! The portfolio took a lot longer than I anticipated. But I was finally able to submit it, and finish up the last of my ATL responsibilities.

I didn’t end up sleeping much because I knew how difficult tomorrow would be.  

Thursday 3/19/15

The day has finally come! Our last day working with CYFC, but most importantly the last day with my students.

To start the day, the team went to the CYFC office to discuss the round and anything we wanted to see change with our Site Sponsor, Ms. Maritza (My teacher’s daughter). We spent about an hour discussing all different things we liked about the round, issues that needed to be addressed, and our funniest moments. Overall it was a good way to end our time working for her.

Then we all were dropped off at the school to finish working. We came around lunch time. C. came running up to me immediately. He begins to tell me that he cried last night because today was my last day. As he was saying this his eyes began to water, which made me begin to water too. But I had to hold it together. The rest of lunch, C. explained how he would miss me the most, and asked why everyone he really likes in his life leaves, which broke my heart. Then he asked if he could write me letters while I am gone so we could stay friends and so he can work on his spelling. I told him of course!

The rest of the school seems really sad to see us all leave. Tons of students said goodbye, gave me hugs, and made cards. Even students I don’t remember talking much too. Once the after school program began, Ms. Vanessa informed us that they are throwing us a pizza party to say goodbye. So I went into my classroom, helped students with their homework one last time. (Which every kid was begging me to help them). Then we went outside for a celebration! We were able to have pizza and snacks with everyone in the after school program which was a lot of fun. After the party, it was back to the classroom to finish up the day. The classes made us cards and pictures which were really awesome to read. C. kept telling me he was going to miss me, and I should really consider staying. Finally, as parents began to pick up their kids, I said my final goodbyes to the class. It was really sad but I was happy to know I made such a huge impact on their lives. C. mom even came up to thank me for being such a good role model for C. Next came our goodbyes with our teachers and site supervisors and then we were off.

Once home, we quickly changed and left for dinner. We were going to The Terrace in Venice for our goodbye dinner. At dinner we handed out Above and Beyond awards which Colin, Seamus and I received. Then we all went around and answered questions about our favorite moments, funniest stories, best times with the team, and appreciations for everyone. Then we went and grabbed some Cold Stone, and walked the pier on Venice. On the pier I took some time to myself to say goodbye to LA, and reflect on everything. This experience is so amazing and sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be doing all of it. After our walk, we loaded the van, headed home, packed the van, and went to bed.

Goodbye LA, it has been great!

-Meg

[megarne]

Community Service Event!!

Monday 3/9/15

Tonight we watched the movie Crash for my 5thtime. I watched it every year in college for my diversity classes. I really enjoy the movie because it makes you think about how your actions are connected and what the impact of racial stereotypes can have.  After the movie we discussed good and bad. If one decision you make determines you a bad person, or if every good person does a bad thing is it overlooked. It was really interesting. After the movie I spent my time writing my reflection for SLI about the movie, and the one for the round. I talked about how every time I watched the movie, I connected with a different character based on my living situation and environment at the time. It makes the movie new and interesting to me. After that reflection, I wrote my second one about the school system and the students I worked with and how it is extremely different from what I interned in.

Oh I forgot to mention, the best part of today was receiving a package from my senior year roommates Matt and Jenny. They were texting me about getting a package soon and it was finally here! They had sent me so many goodies. From Saint Patty Day decorations, to chocolate, to berger cookies, and toys, I was one happy camper. They sent me two new card games, Uno Dare, and Knots, as well as a gift card to buy more games! I miss them so much, and am incredibly thankful for their kind package.

Tuesday 3/10/15, Wednesday 3/11/15,

These two days blurred together. Between going to work, coming home to go straight to the library, to hitting the bed, nothing much happened. I did get a lot of work done which is good. I finished up the majority of paperwork for my roles, prepped for our community service project on Saturday, and listened to new music. By the time night rolled around, I either meditated or read “Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn (which is fantastic so far).

At school I am starting to get ready to leave which I am excited for, yet sad to leave my kids. C. kept asking to come with us. He tells me he isn’t ready to say goodbye to me yet and wishes I didn’t have to leave. He also asked me why everyone important to him ends up leaving, which broke my heart. I will miss C. so much. He has pressured me to be better, as well as him to be better, and we both have grown so much from knowing each other.

Thursday 3/12/15

Prepping for the community service day! The team arrived at the school at 7am in order to paint over a mural that we will be working on. The kids arrived as we were working and kept asking us what we were doing, what are we going to paint, ext. They were really happy to see the mural go which was nice. Later on that day, Hazel, our site supervisor from LA Works, came out with her sister to sketch the mural. It was awesome to watch. All I did was give them the quote and the space, and they did the rest. They first drew it out on paper with sharpies, then they sketched out the mural. Once they were done, the result was amazing! I am really excited for our event on Saturday!

Hazel and her sisters sketch

Today also was one of my favorite moments working at 61st Street Elementary School. C. came over to me at recess and gave me a hug. Then he told me he isn’t ready for me to leave yet. Then he said to me, “You know what Ms. Megan, I’ll always remember the things you told.” I asked him what I told him, and he began to list off

-Be kind

-Be nice

-Do my homework

-Be nice to teachers

-Treat my mom nice

-But mostly, I am smart

His words made me so happy. To know that this is what he is going to remember about me makes me extremely happy knowing I did good. I thought those words were going in one ear out the other, and the fact that he choose those saying meant a whole lot to me. I will truly miss him.

Friday 3/13/15

LA has hit a new high since being here. It was over 90’ degrees today! Man oh man did the heat drain me at work. I was so tired all day long. I kept zoning out during lunch. During my lunch break, I couldn’t even relax because I had to sort and organize all the materials for tomorrow.

After work, Aaron was able to tell us all about the information for our next project he received during the hand off call today. The hand off call is when Aaron speaks to our new site supervisor about the information presented in our check list. Our new site supervisor is named Seth, and Aaron thinks we are really going to love working for him. We learned that the work we will be doing will be tough but awesome. We will be doing a lot of recruiting in the towns nearby for the organization. We also learned that we are not the only teams staying at the Family Camp. There is the Conservation Corps, and a church group who will also be living where we are during our round. Yay friends! Our sponsor also wants to feed us which will be really nice! We also learned that we will either have 3 or 4 cabins. Either way, I will still have one to myself unless we get another teammate during transition. You never know.

After a quick trip to McDonald’s to submit paperwork, I was passed out in bed ready for our event tomorrow morning.

Saturday 3/14/15

Today is the big day! My first Community Service Day! I woke up not feeling stressed but excited for the day which was a huge change of pace from every other morning this week. We arrived at the school at 8am, and began setting up for the project. Dylan, Tevin, and Jack prepped the two inside projects, while Colin and Seamus set up the mural outside, and I set up the paint station for everyone. Time flew by, because next thing I knew the volunteers were showing up. Out of the 10 volunteers I had registered, 6 showed up which turned out to be the perfect amount.

I had Dylan, Tevin, Jack, and Aaron work on the murals inside to keep them occupied. Then I had the 6 volunteers, Colin, and I work on the outside mural. Then Seamus was in charge of the project and the paint station. Everything turned out great. The volunteers were amazing and very friendly. They loved talking to us about what we were doing, and the best things to do in LA. My favorite part of the project was at one point everyone was silent painting the mural. Then a Black Keys song “Tighten Up” came on and everyone quietly sang in unison to the song. It was really awesome to be a part of it.

Once 12pm arrived, we called the event and discussed how everything went. Everyone really enjoyed coming out and painting. They said it was planned well, and had a lot of fun! It was a stress free day which was amazing as I know how chaotic these events can be. After the volunteers left, we quickly cleaned up and went home.

Back home, we discussed how the day went and gave suggestions of how the event and prepping for the event could go better next time. I am looking forward to utilizing my team more the next community service project we do. That way I am not as stressed out leading up to the event.

After the discussion, some people went to go get Soul Food, while myself and the others went to the library to work on stuff. Once done there, I took a nap, and was awoken to the boys wanting to play some of the new card games Matt and Jenny sent me. We played Uno Dare which turned into a hysterical ridiculous event. Aaron ended up eating ketchup out of his hand, and Colin ate a ham burrito filled with fruity pebbles. It was really funny! Then the party next door began, which meant a mariachi band would be playing until who knows when super load.

So we left to go to…you guessed it… 800 Degrees for the last time. Then I drove Seamus and Aaron to Santa Monica for a showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. By the time I got home, I was exhausted from the day but the mariachi band was still playing. I finally fell asleep around 12am, to be awoken at 2am to the band still playing. It was a tough night of sleep.

Sunday 3/15/15

So a day that started as going to the beach with Gold 5 ended up being a day in Hollywood with Seamus and Colin. I woke up early in the morning, made some breakfast, and cleaned my room in preparation for the move on Thursday. Then once the whole team was awake, we went to a local car wash to clean out the van, so we didn’t have to do that when we got back to campus. After the car wash, and grocery shopping, Aaron took Seamus, Colin, and I to Hollywood.

Our first stop was Amoeba Music which is this huge record store. They have everything from vinyl, cds, music dvds, books, and more. I was in heaven! I aimlessly walked around the store for over an hour looking at everything they had. The collection was amazing! I came across a Modern Meditation Rock goes Zen cd in the clearance section for $2, and had to buy it. Almost all of my favorite rock songs are a part of the cd. The cd stripped the song down, and mellowed out the sound to make it nice and relaxing for meditation and yoga. I am really excited to listen to it while in the woods.

Amoeba Records

After the record store we walked the Walk of Fame in search of some of our favorite Hollywood stars (on the ground that is). We wanted to walk over to the Chinese theater which was about a 15 minute walk from where we were. We past a lot of cool shops, and street performers. When we finally arrived at the theater we checked out all the hand prints around the entrance. My favorite was from the Harry Potter Cast! After walking around there, we stopped at the mall next door to see the view at the top of it. It was really awesome to see Hollywood from above. Then Seamus and I got Cold Stone and we began our trek back.

As we walked out of the mall, we realized we were at the spot we first stopped at when we came to LA. We had to pull over at a gas station to switch drivers, and we stopped in Hollywood. It was surreal ending our last day off in LA, at the first spot we stopped at.

Now onto the next 4 days of Round 2,

-Meg

[megarne]

Another Week...

Tuesday 3/3/15

So finally after weeks of trying to set up a conference call with a potential sponsor, I finally got in contact with one. After talking for 15 minutes, listening to the program, telling her about NCCC and how we can help, she realized the organization just wouldn’t meet all the expectations. But she was really happy to have been contacted because she once looked into joining NCCC.

Once home, I felt defeated from the day. The call didn’t go well. Our site supervisor was on me again about some issues in the school, and I was just exhausted. Jack ended up planning a peer helper activity that night, which helped bring up my mood tremendously. The activity was about talking behind peoples back but making it positive. So we all put a piece of paper on our back, and everyone wrote positive words on them. Mine included words like “strong leader, role model, your support, your love, fun, creative and proactive, hardworking and always up for something.” These words really meant a lot because figuring out my place on the team isn’t always easy. This allowed me to see what characteristics my teammates think of me.

Wednesday 3/4/15

After work today we watched the movie Gasland for our Environmental Liaison meeting. The movie was a documentary about oil rigs in the United States and how the drilling is effecting the people surrounding it. The guy in the film was offered a lot of money for the extra acres he owned in order for a company to come and drill. He was skeptical about it and wanted to know from other people how it affected them. The results were insane. By drilling, the water people use to wash their clothes, cook, drink, and other stuff, became too contaminated to use. The company denied everything. People became extremely sick from the water over the years of drinking it. The water was so contaminated that people could actually light it on fire. The movie really made me think about water and oil drilling. Is it so important to access oil for who know what, rather than having access to the one thing our bodies absolutely need? Think about it.

Thursday 3/5/15

For our Service Learning Activity after work, we were going to watch a documentary on the LA Riots which occurred where we were living. Unfortunately, it wasn’t available in our library so we ended up watching Brown is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream. The documentary was extremely interesting, especially since it discussed the dominate race at our schools and community we lived in I really enjoyed learning about the Latino race.

Friday 3/6/15

So last night I received, a voice mail from Gold 5 asking us to go to the beach for the day. We had work so we ended up making plans to go get dinner after we got off. Seamus and I were the only ones from Gold 3 who decided to join them. We first went to an Irish Pub, but after 8pm they no longer allow 18 year olds in the restaurant. We decided to go to 800 Degrees instead, because we knew the young ones could go, plus they have a happy hour. We stayed at the restaurant for roughly 3 hours talking and eating. Kyle and I also met these two older guys at the bar who were really interested in AmeriCorps and how we got a part of it. They were a lot of fun to talk to, except the one guy was completely wasted. His friend kept apologizing for him. Overall it was a very entertaining night with Gold 5 as per usual.

Saturday 3/7/15

Saturday I took the day for myself. The team all went to an ISP, or some art show, and I choose to stay behind and work on the massive amounts of paperwork I had to get done. I went to the library around 10am, and didn’t return home until the library closed at 5:30pm. For the first three hours, I worked on my blog and listened to new music. I also spent a while texting my dad about hockey and music. Then I worked on the teams resumes, updated my budget sheet, filled out my LAA paperwork and completed a lot of other stuff. By the time I got home, I turned to Seamus and Aaron and begged them to go get milkshakes. So we went to Jack in the box and enjoyed a nice meal all together. For the rest of the night, I cleaned out my ipod, and did yoga. I had a great day and it was really nice to be alone for a while.

Sunday 3/8/15

80’ Degree weekend means we are off to the beach! We went around 12pm, and I quickly separated from the boys to go read and tan on the beach. I spent 4 hours listening to the wave’s crash, reading The Last Lecture and writing. It was so peaceful! Around 4pm I went to The Terrace to meet Dylan, Jack, Tevin, and the comedian Joe from the beginning of the round for dinner. We ate and talked which was nice. After dinner, we walked back to meet Aaron and headed home.

Beach Sunset

Setting up for American Ninja Warrior

Until Next Time, 

-Meg