Up On the Roof...not anymore



Big Blue, our home and work.



Hello readers.  I am in Hattiesburg, Mississippi y'all now.  It is hot as hell and to be quite honest, I haven't complained too much, yet.  We are here working with R3SM and are getting adjusted quite well.  Since I last posted we have met our sponsors and have gotten our feet wet in Big Blue's construction project.  Let me give you a little run down on our sponsors.  Miss Sheila is our main sponsor.  She is an ex-colonel and runs her company as such.  She told us that she would meet with us once a week and discuss our progress in the project and just to catch up with our team.  She is tough, but I feel some people on our team need someone that is as tough as Miss Sheila.  Darryl is our site supervisor and works with us everyday.  He seems to really enjoy the job we are doing with him and loves the house completely.  He is teaching us all different things everyday and is really helping us learn about construction.  He is hilarious and jokes around with us all day.  We were told that by coming here we could build the second floor, or most, of the second floor of Big Blue.  When we arrived, we found out that the plumbing and the electric work is not done yet.  Due to this little problem, we are at a kind of stand still for the process of the house.  We have been doing little odd jobs such as painting, sanding, random touch ups, some floor work and cleaning.  These jobs have kept us busy, but we are really looking forward to what we will be completing by the end of this round.

Tuesday was our first day of work here.  We got an orientation to R3SM in the morning from Miss Sheila and then got into work right after.  Our team put together saw horses where we can do some work on.  It was a pretty easy way, but a good way to adjust to the new project.  

Wednesday morning we woke up at 5am for PT because our new work hours are 7-3 due to the HOT HOT heat of the day.  Everyone got up for PT without a fuss and we all were working out pretty hard.  It was about 5:25 and then we heard a loud hissing noise.  I thought we were going to have to move because of sprinklers coming on, but boy was I wrong.  We looked over at the parking lot where our van and the other van was parked that we picked up from Maryland.  There was a man going from our hissing van to the other van, when he then made that van hiss louder.  This individual was slashing our tires, right in front of us.  We all immediately ran into the house and called 9-1-1-.  The police came quickly, but nothing could be done because the man was gone.  It was a nice wake up call for us to be safe around our house.  The tires eventually got fixed on both vans, but it took some time.  Jamie and I painted an island in our beautiful kitchen.  Delta 4, another team from campus,  was here before us last round and they completed the first floor.  We got to paint the island because of all of the work that Delta 4 did, the island wasn't completed.  Tuesday I worked on this with Jamie and we got it done and it looks good, if I do say so myself. 
We were all just amazed all day that we witnessed a man actually do something like that to our vans.



The blue island in our kitchen.

Thursday found me doing more painting on the house.  We found out on Sunday, Father's Day, that David on our team became a father.  He took a personal day because it was National Go Skate day and he is an avid skate boarder, so we took it upon ourselves to surprise David with a baby celebration.  We went straight to Walmart after work and bought blue balloons and baby outfits and cute baby stuff for David and his son, Leyek.  He is adorable, the pictures look exactly like David and we are all so happy for him.  We have a nice roof area of the house that past teams have used as a place to escape and it has a great view of the sunset.  We went up there after the baby celebration and sat and watched the sunset as a team.  I was singing Up On the Roof by the Drifters the whole time.  Apparently a neighbor saw us because we found our Friday that we aren't supposed to be up there and we are banned, for the rest of spike! Awesome.

Friday was our last day of work for the week.  Friday marked 12 days straight of work for River 10.  We were exhausted.  It kind of dragged and seemed to go slowly.  I was on painting duty of a staircase for the day.  We ended work and literally did nothing for the night. 



Another major room we are working on, both bathrooms.



One major room we are focusing on.



Saturday we woke up at 9:30 for PT.  BIG mistake.  In Hattiesburg Mississippi, y'all at 9:30 am it is already 92 degrees and hot.  The run, workout, and sweat killed me.  I literally will never wake up again and do PT at this time.  We all lounged all day in the AC in our bedroom until the girls all went shopping.  I didn't spend a dime and I am proud of myself.  I instead tried on gorgeous lime green heels for the girls while they were dress shopping.  We got back and a few of us went down the street to the Boom Boom Room, a local bar.  Apparently the man, Benny, who owns it loves AmeriCorps and gives us a large all you can drink discount.  It will come in handy when I am not saving money for a weekend trip like I am for next weekend.  Today was used as a literally relaxing day.  This whole weekend and week I have really done myself some serious service by watching Laguna Beach, Newlyweds, and SVU all the time.  No big deal. 

Tomorrow starts a new work week, with hopefully some new work for me!  I love Hattiesburg and it is a lot of fun.  This weekend a couple of teammates and I are going to New Orleans to visit some friends from other teams.  I am so excited.  Can't wait actually.  Until then I will work hard and enjoy Big Blue and the hot hot heat of Hattiesburg.  Have a good week!

Thank God for hometowns

So, last week I told a little white lie, I was not really in Lorton when I posted, I was on the train on the way home for the weekend! I surprised my favorite 10 year old for her birthday.  I was on hour 1 of a 10 hour Amtrak train ride from DC to South Station.  Let me tell you, I probably will not ever take a train 10 hours again unless I am heavily medicated.  It was not fun, but getting into Boston at 8am on Saturday morning was so worth it.  Mom and Dad picked me up since they were the ONLY people who knew I was coming home.  I won't lie, I may or may not have shed a few tears walking off the train to go see them, I was that excited.  We drove home and I thought Bridget would be asleep still, but obviously she was up watching animal planet snuggling on the couch, just like I left her in February.  Mom walked in with Dad before me and told Bridget they brought her an early birthday present, that's where I came in.  The look of pure shock on her cute face was worth the 10 hours, the personal day, and worth the wait for the past 4 months.  That was the hug I needed the most and it lasted a good 5 minutes.  I stayed home for the weekend until Monday afternoon.  I took my first personal day Monday so I could enjoy Bridget's birthday Sunday, recital the same day, catching up with friends I have missed a lot, visiting MaryKathryn and Bridget in school, seeing my 8th graders who I have missed a lot, and catching up with my family who I have missed more than words can say.  Surprising them all was just as fun, Paul's reaction was great with some profanity, MK screamed on the phone, and Bobby couldn't have been more perfect.  Surprising people may be my new favorite thing...watch out.  Thank God for hometowns! (another Carrie reference FYI, great new song)



Me and my Bridgie.



Tuesday was back to work as usual.  Going home was just the little push I needed to feel like I am ready to push through work until summer break.  We were still working on boardwalks.  There are 5 in total for the entire trail (1.3 or so miles).  We worked Tuesday to Friday on these boardwalks, and let me tell you, we worked HARD.  I actually put in the lowest amount of hours this past week because of my personal day, only by 3 or 4 hours or so.  And by lowest, I put in 60 hours this week.  Wednesday-Friday were all 12+ hours.  Sickening huh?  I wouldn't change it for the world. 

A boardwalk before...



The same boardwalk after!

 By Friday, our last day in Lorton, we finished all 5 boardwalks!  We were so proud of ourselves because we started them last week and finished them all this week.  In order to do 2 of the 5, we had to carry FULL sized telephone poles.  Yes, full.  We didn't cut them at all, we carried the entire 20' and 23' poles.  We carried them as a team one step at a time.  How many times in your life can you say YOU'VE lifted a full telephone pole?  My count is up to 2, no biggie though.  Friday was our last day with Marc the sarcastic Ranger. We worked until 6pm to get everything done.  Our trail is just about finished, but another volunteer group is coming soon to help Marc finish the trail.  We did a lot of hard work and it was a lot of fun learning a new skill.  Saturday was used to clean the van, the house, and to get ready for our departure Sunday for part 2 of our spike. 


River 10 moving full telephone poles...beasts

Part 2 takes place in Hattiesburg Mississippi, y'all.  We started our travel Sunday and drove for 8 hours.  We stopped in Asheville, North Carolina for the night.  Today we continued our trip for another 9 and 1/2 hours to get to Hattiesburg.  In Hattiesburg we are working with R3SM, which means Recover, Rebuild, Restore Southeast Mississippi.  We are building floor 2 of 2 in a volunteer housing facility.  Our housing we are building will help house up to 60 volunteers that come to Mississippi to help rebuild it from Katrina hitting.  We will be living in floor 1 that a team from our campus helped build last round and we will be building floor 2.  It is going to be absolutely awesome.  We are ready to move on and start to build and do construction.  We just arrived in Hattiesburg today at our new home, Big Blue if you will (the houses name) and we are ready to take on a new part of spike 2. 

That is all for now.  I will fill you all in on my adventures this week sometime!

Tics on tics on tics

Me and the Ditch Witch...from last post.

Hello readers! Here I am in Lorton, VA at Mason Neck State Park still blazing our lovely trail.  This past week has been the longest week that we have had here, by far.  Go figure, it was our first full week of work in Virginia, poor River 10.  Anyway, let me start with last week.We had the greatest ISP.  Our team got to volunteer at a festival being firework Marshall's.  Let me tell you, it was hard work....not.We got to wear cool colored vests and make sure that nobody skipped the do not enter sign onto a lovely golf course.  Who did we actually stop you ask?  Well, Sam and I were guarding and watched one cat come on to the fairway of this particular golf hole we were at and scurry away.  Man, it was hard work.  We really are feeling the fact that this program is never just a 5 day a week program.  Given this fact and knowing how tired we were, we got Sunday off, thank God.  This Sunday was the only day we had to ourselves.  I took advantage and literally did nothing.  It was perfect. 

Monday through today we were at it again, blazing our trail at Mason Neck with Ranger Marc.  Marc really is a Virginian gem.  He is so sarcastic and witty that he makes us laugh everyday.  He has taken note who the hardest workers are on our team and uses us enough to make us tired and sore at the end of the day.  This week had a few highlights.  First, we finished the trail!  We were told it was a mile long, but in all reality, it is around 1.5-1.6 miles.  We knew at the end it was totally done because there is a beautiful field where, eventually, there is going to be a field where animals can roam, especially deer and there are bird nests for eagles.  Real live bald eagles.  So cool watching them fly around.  We finished the trail and felt an immediate sense of accomplishment. 



Some trail pics with my cool app on my smarty pants phone



The trail may be finished, but trail work never ends.  There are places along our trail that will hold water if Virginia so happens to "storm" aka rain.  Crazy southerners/everyone else in the nation calling rain just storming.  Anyway, these places that are deeper in the ground and have places where water could build up, we have to build boardwalks.  We would call them bridges, but Marc informed is that bridges need architectural approval and we don't have that.  So, we are building raised boardwalks...bridges.  These aren't your ordinary boardwalks. They encompass many aspects of life, such as 6x6x8 pieces of wood, 4x4 flat wooden structures, and 5ft pieces of telephone poles.  Since all of these wooden structures do not have their own arms and legs, us AmeriCorps Members need to get things done and move them ourselves.  Yes, this includes the 5ft pieces of TELEPHONE POLE.  Imagine that, telephone poles.  So, the first day we were using the poles, Marc decided to take me with him and teach me how to cut the pieces and carry the poles, just me and him.  Since, as I previously mentioned, I am jacked, this seemed like a task that was easy to complete.  Little did I know, these pieces of telephone pole are treated wood and are heavy as all Hell.  I struggled, so did Marc.  For one boardwalk, we cut 6 5ft pieces.  We then carried each of the 6 pieces to the truck and loaded them up.  To cut these large heavy blocks of solid wood, we used what I described to my team as Outback Steak House steak knives (that the Conceison household has several of).  Literally the blade of the "sawzall" was tiny.  It too a while, and I was sweating.  Needless to say, today, the day after my power lifting telephone poles day, I was dead. 



Boardwalk number 1...note the telephone poles



We have 2 boardwalks ready to be boarded up so they can be waked on by people really soon.  My other accomplishment of the week had nothing to do with the trail, but more so the environment.  Being in the woods is really awesome, legs covered in mosquito bites, drenching myself in bug spray every morning, wearing a hard hat so tics don't nest in my hair, and being completely head to toe full of dirt.  Sarcasm.  My big accomplishment this week was successful killing about 5 tics.  3 on me and 2 on my teammates.  Needless to say, I fear no insect anymore.  They're all great, spiders, tics, beatles, bring em on. 

Today marks the end of week 3 here in Lorton.  We love the project and are happy with our work, however, I think River 10 needs a change of scenery.  I look forward to working with Marc for another 5 days, but then I am ready to move into our 15p again to head to Hattiesburg for the remainder of our spike #2.  One week from Sunday and we will be on the move. 

I am just so happy to have 2 days off, in a row, this weekend.  Who knows what this weekend will bring for me...we will see.  Have a great week everyone!



I cut a tree down with a pole saw.  I was a liiiiiittle
happy it finally came down.



Blazing trails everywhere: DC, Mason Neck State Park, and Head Quarters

  

Abe and I.



Saying what up to Barack



Greetings from Lorton, VA.  This state is absolutely gorgeous.  We are really enjoying ourselves here so far.  Last long Memorial Day weekend I had some visitors from home.  It was really nice seeing 4 of my friends I haven't seen since February.  We spent the weekend hanging out and catching up.  I couldn't have been happier with the weekend.  It was really nice to see familiar faces.  Leaving them left me pretty sad, but the Monday of Memorial Day helped a lot.  I went into DC most of my team.  We thought there would be no other way to celebrate Memorial Day than in our nations capitol city.  We went to every monument in the Monument Mall.  I met Abe Lincoln, who is huge.  We did a lot of touristy things, since there were a few of us who haven't been to DC before.  As we left the Lincoln Memorial, we ran into a Memorial Day parade.  Who would have thought on such an important day that Washington DC would have a parade! We sure didn't.  We enjoyed the parade in the blazing heat.  Kris Allen (American Idol) was in the parade and I decided to yell at him and tell him I voted for him on Idol.  He pointed at me.  Happy Memorial Day to me.

Tuesday was back to work for us all.  Trail blazing is really hard.  I learned how to use the Ditch Witch which is a large piece of equipment that helps create the trail, take out roots, and get large stumps of down trees out of the way.  I felt pretty bad-a using such witch.  We unfortunately got it stuck in a ditch the same day.  Oops, whatever.  Wednesday was followed by the same ol same ol.  Benching parts of the trail, clearing brush, etc. 



Hangin at Head Quarters



Thursday was an exciting day for River 10.  We are so close to DC (obviously) and that is where the National Headquarters for AmeriCorps is located.  We were asked to go to headquarters and learn the behind the scenes work of NCCC and the entire program.  We spent the entire day in the office doing question and answers with the director, head recruiting agents, media reps, and anyone who wanted to come in and say hi to us.  They praised us up and down for the work we are doing and told us that it is nice to see the people they work so hard for.  It really was an interesting day to learn the in's and out's of AmeriCorps.  After we spent about 5 hours with the head of our program, we went to the Holocaust Museum.  This Museum was amazing.  It really was an eye opening few hours walking through this amazing place.  We all really took our time going through the museum to see everything that happened during the Holocaust.  Pretty emotional end to the day.  This day was great.  We really enjoyed going to head quarters and seeing our program's directors and head people.  It was nice to get some questions answered by the people themselves.  I really love DC and being in the city.

Friday was kind of a dull day.  Woke up to an overcast sky.  None of us really wanted to do anything.  We had PT at 6am which I have created Friday to be "Friday Funday" so we don't really do strenuous PT for this day.  Every other day of PT is pretty hard still because I am a drill sargent.  Wok on this day was tough.  We had Thursday pretty much off from trail blazing so we were not motivated.  Mother nature must have known because after lunch it rained, HARD.  We left work early and it literally flooded.  It was insane.  We rented a movie for the night for the team.  I am pretty sure most of us were in bed by 10pm.



River 10 with our park sign


Saturday we had our community engagement day at the park.  It was National Trails Day so we helped out with their bay cleaning day.  It was short lived, so we were done by 11am.  Most of us napped and hung out all day until we had an ISP at night.  We were firework marshalls for a near by festival.  We got to sit on a golf course and have a front row seat to a great display of fireworks.  No complaints here.

That's it for this week in Lorton.  Pretty basic week, blazed some more trail, did some PT, and went to the National Head Quarters for our entire program, NO BIG DEAL. 
I hope all is well where ever you may be reading this.  I miss everyone, especially that witty ALMOST 10 year old at home!  Until next time.

World War II Memorial...found the best place on Earth!

Long van ride and trail blazing...we look good





Today is the end of day 2 in Lorton, Virginia.  We are blazing a trail.  Not too sure if anyone reading this has ever done such a task, but it is HARD.  Before that, we had an exciting road trip to get through before we got here.  We left Vicksburg on Monday after an awesome week of transition work, laying at the pool, and catching up with familiar faces we missed.  Monday came quick.  We got in the van at 8am to depart for Virgina.  Monday we drove 8 and 1/2 hours to Knoxville, TN.  We stayed the night in a hotel to wake up at 5:45 to leave at 6am on Tuesday morning.  We drove 9 hours Tuesday.  I can honestly say that we live in a beautiful country.  I really know why Bobby's advice to me was to not fall asleep in the van.  The mountains were amazing and the land everywhere is nothing like I have ever seen before.  My team was probably sick of me saying how beautiful it was, but it was amazing. 



Our home.



Tuesday we arrived in Lorton at Mason Neck State Park to meet Mark, the ranger.  He took us to the James House where we live.  It is LITERALLY amazing.  On the bay, tons of beds, 5 bathrooms, a huge kitchen, a long dining room table, and a plethora of seats in the living room.  It is unreal.  The girls took the room with 4 beds so we can just be with each other all hours of the day.  We unpacked a bit and threw on PT clothes and went right to work.  After that van ride, PT was not fun. 



After day 1. Gross.



Wednesday we got to get right to work.  Mark said we would have orientation, but his orientation was here are the tools, go at it.  We did just that.  We are blazing a 1.7 mile trail from scratch.  It is attached to another trail that is made of rock and already a path.  Our trail is made of dirt and we are blazing it with just our tools and our strong muscles.  It is hard work.  I love it.  We blaze the trail and stop where there are hills to make it even with the ground.  Making it even is called making a bench.  It looks like somewhere you could stop and sit, so it is called a bench.  After day 1 I can say that I haven't sweat this much since my last hockey game of high school.  Sweat was dripping off my face and we all smelt horrible.  I haven't loved such physical labor so much in my life.  We all came home and were starving.  However, we did PT again because the PT coordinator on our team (me) is hardcore.  After PT we got to eat Terrell's favorite soup, Hobo soup.  It was spicy as all hell, but so good.  The best part of dinner was the fact that we all sat at our table and ate together.  It was a nice day as a team that ended with dinner and movie with each other.

Today was day 2 on the trail.  Same work as day 1.  Lots of sweat, LOTS.  Oh and I got my first encounter with snakes.  I nearly died.  Not died, but I am that afraid of snakes that I was looking all around for the rest of the day.  3 nice big black racers.  They're not venomous, no worries, but they were large.  We ended the day with another nice family dinner made by Sam and I.  All sweaty and a mess again, we looked DAMN good.  Now we are at Caribou Coffee house using their free WiFi and having coffee. 



River 10 building benches.

 The work we are doing is so awesome.  I couldn't be happier.  After leaving my friends again in Vicksburg for spike 2 it was nice to come to work that is so fun and fulfilling.  At the end of the 2 days we have worked, we have been a mess, sweaty, tired, and so happy with what we are doing.  We live in great housing, have awesome work to do, and are getting along as a team better than we ever have before.  River 10 is thriving and loving all we are doing. 

This weekend is a long weekend and I get visitors! We also have an all day ISP at a strawberry festival.  I can't wait to see Katie, Caroline, Kristen, and Robyn.  We are going to enjoy the weekend catching up and hanging out.  I need the comforts of home a bit, it has been a LONG time since I have been home and I am kind of feeling it now.  I feel like I am so close to home, yet so far away, so this weekend will be a nice touch of home.  I miss everyone! That's all from Lorton. 

Goodbye Memphis, Hello Mississippi y'all

I am back in Mississippi y'all.  But before I explain transition aka hell week, there still is lingering information about Memphis.

Our last two days of work were Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Tuesday we worked in a community garden.  We were elbow deep in poison ivy, weeds, and trash.  We worked with people who live in this particular part of the community that are trying to be rehabilitated back into the community.  Fun conversation.  I was in charge of weed whacking, or weed eating as the south says, for the day.  I did that until I almost threw the weed whacker across the garden because the string kept falling out of the bottom.  I don't have a temper at all.  But then I did some nice vine removing and enjoyed the day.  We ended our community garden clean up with PT at the local college.  Wednesday was a big day for us.  We did our last day of window installing.  We all know how much I love this project.  Our last day with Marky Mark, sad story.  He loved working with us, so we were sad too.  We successfully installed our 14th window putting the final count of window blocks installed up to 800.  Yes we installed 800 glass blocks using 1,800 pounds of mortar.  I couldn't be more proud of our team for these numbers.  It was a fun project and a new skill that I learned and am really proud of.  Maybe 10 Thomas will get new windows, who knows. 

Thursday was our very last day in Memphis.  We got up early and did some PT.  I decided to have the team run the greenline which we helped clean and make beautiful for the last 6 weeks.  I used this run as a time to look at our hard work and reflect on the last 6 quick weeks in Memphis.  I couldn't believe the work we had done on this site and all of the work sites for that matter.  The run really helped me take in the hard work I have put in with my teammates and all we have gone through to get to the last day in Memphis.  All from having awesome days as a team, losing two teammates, and now adding a new teammate Isiah, having horrible days, laughing together, working as a team, and really enjoying the city of Memphis in general.  After the run we had a lunch with our site supervisors.  This was a great way to recap what we have done with all of the sponsors.  They told us the impact we have made on the community and their lives.  We felt like we really were loved in the city.  Kirbster, that saint, said a nice thank you to us and a goodbye.  He is the cutest older man and I will miss him a lot on our next project.  The rest of Thursday was used to pack, clean the entire hostel, and the van.  We also decided that we were going to start a tradition on the team to have some sort of cooking contest.  This round was a bake off.  I was on a team with Beste, so naturally our team name was the Dream Team of Christine (that is both of our names).  We made unreal almond croissants, and these amazing cookies.  She bakes on a regular basis and I don't so I learned.  I will be baking from now on.  We did not win due to Sam making the all time classic, apple pie.  It was the best pie I've ever had so she deserved it.  The best part was we got the hostel staff involved and they were judges.  They took it so seriously, so serious that they made ballots and used calculators to really keep score.  It was a fun night for our last night in Memphis.  I am going to miss Memphis a lot.  I fell in love with the city and the people in it.  Who knows, maybe life will take me back to Memphis someday, it is that awesome.

Friday we departed at 7am and drove back for 5 hours.  We got back to Mississippi y'all around 1:30 and honestly, we all were so excited.  Everyone was screaming all day seeing their friends, lots of hugs and stories.  Saturday we were grocery shopping and we had a ton of money left over from spike.  Since the budget closed Sunday, we got to each get 25$ to ourselves to buy whatever we wanted.  You would have thought we were told we could buy out Walmart.  Sam and I combined our 25 to make 50 and went to town.  Since our budget is usually $4.75 a day each to eat, we bought BRAND food instead of off brand.  The Americheck we receive goes fast and so does our food money.  We make do, but I'll tell you, Sabra hummus, real bacon, and yogurt has never tasted so good.  Everyone was finally back on Saturday and it is so nice to see the friends I missed for the last 6 weeks.  Saturday was also Rachel's birthday which made the day even more exciting for her to get back so we could celebrate being back and her birthday with Kathy the bartender.  We all did just that, for sure.

This week is pretty much hell for us all.  Constant classes, refreshers, paperwork, clearance, briefing, and debriefing meetings all day, all while trying to catch up with our friends we missed.  However, we got to see pictures of both of our housings for next spike in Lorton Virginia and Hattiesburg Mississippi y'all and they are AMAZING.  In Lorton the pictures I share someday won't do it justice, I know.  The back porch has like 10 rocking chairs with a view of a bay, 2 grills, 4 and 1/2 baths, 7 bedrooms, 2 floors (something different for the Conceison clan so I am excited), it is on the bay, and 10 minutes from work in the state park.  In Hattiesburg, our housing is great, too.  Its a big blue house so it's name is Big Blue.  We stay on the bottom floor and saw pictures of the construction we will be doing on floor 2.  It needs work, but River 10 is ready.  We are very excited to be leaving and blazing a trail in Virginia and doing hard construction on Hattiesburg.  It is going to be hot, sweaty, and tiring.  I. CAN'T. WAIT.

I am really enjoying my time in AmeriCorps and I can say I am genuinely happy.  I have met some of the goals I set for myself in February and I can feel a change in me already.  Some days this program brings you down and you don't want to do a thing, but I can say there are more days where I enjoy the people, activities, and spikes and that makes me happy.  I know now that it was worth the year and a half wait to finally be accepted to serve.  I hope home is good, I miss it sometimes and obviously my Thomas street peeps a lot.  I will post pictures when we get to Lorton next week.  We depart Monday at about 7am for our 17 hour drive to VA.  Should be the definition of F-U-N in a 15p for 17 hours.  We stop in Knoxville, TN for a night in a hotel then continue on.  We should get there Tuesday to start our work week then I GET VISITORS that weekend!! Can't wait! 

That's all I have from Mississippi y'all. 

Just a refresher...my address is:
Christine Conceison Class 18B
AmeriCorps NCCC
2715 Confederate Ave.
Vicksburg, MS 39180

We get letters and cards forwarded to us on spikes and if our housing allows deliveries, packages.  In case anyone has any looming mail they want to send me.

Countdown to Vicksburg...

So when I last left you, we were going to be constructing a green house at a community garden.  Instead of constructing the green house, we just completely cleaned the entire garden from head to toe.  It was a complete mess before we started, but when we finished, it looked amazing.  I wow'ed everyone with my photography skills by taking these two pictures...



Before.




After, same spot.


Anyway, for the remainder of the weekend, I relaxed.  Having two days off randomly on a Sunday and a Monday are great.  I just can't wait to be a person next spike and have real weekends.

Tuesday, back to the grind.  We FINALLY woke with the rising sun for PT.  We did not sleep through alarms or fake sleep so we didn't have to get up.  We did it.  We ran a good 2.4 miles and did another stellar workout made by the PT coordinator, me.  We then worked on the GreenLine with the Kirbmeister.  He is still so cute.  We did clearing the trail for a half day on one of the hottest days to date in Memphis.  I, per usual, used the large power clippers because I am still jacked and awesome.  We ended the day at noon and had a discussion with a man in town who works for a non-profit to learn the ropes of the housing system of Memphis.  It was interesting.  Our team went back to the hostel and did a reflection on diversity.  It was interesting to see what our team thinks and how we work together.  Once that was over, we had a cookout with all of the people who ran the ArtWalk.  It was awesome.  We went over positives and "even better ifs" of the whole event.  We were praised for our hard work again and ate a ton of free food. 

Wednesday we worked at Memphis Heritage clearing a storage unit in the Memphis Convention Center.  There were chairs from an old theatre that we had to organize in an old, dusty, probably asbestos filled room.  We, again, got free food.  Score one for River 10.  Once done with that, we headed back to the hostel where me and 4 other teammates got ready to head to the Red Birds minor league baseball game.  It was Wet Your Whistle Wednesday at the ballpark and we did just that.  Real fun to be one of probably 20 fans supporting the local young guys.  Go Red Birds!

Thursday, we rose with the rising sun to do PT.  And let me tell you, the sun came fast.  We all struggled through a workout and thankfully we were doing windows at First Congo so we didn't have to leave.  On this particular day, I successfully installed one full window and took out one full old window.  It was HOT as all H-E-Double hockey sticks.  But, I have come to realize, I love to sweat.  I don't mind the heat that much anymore.  Just gotta keep telling myself that.  Before dinner, our sponsor Michael came to have a reflection with us.  He brought along Professor McGowen from Rhodes College whom we had a reflection previously with.  He is such an interesting man.  We discussed our time in Memphis with Michael and gave him some feedback that he can use with the team coming here next round.  Good stuff.



A finished window with art work.


Friday we were back at the windows.  I put in 2 windows with Sam.  We all were kind of low this day so it was good I felt productive.  Not too much else to say about Friday except  that we are glad it ended.  Saturday we got to go into an alleyway in the VECA community to do some cleaning.  Every site supervisor on this day kept telling us that there were copperhead snakes everywhere and that we needed to watch out.  My anxiety was at it's full capacity over hearing the word snakes.  Needless to say, I raked the most careful I ever have before.  Garnet, the saint, was in charge of us for the day.  Since it was 92 degrees she said she wanted us to work a half day.  We ended at 11:30 where at this time, she bought us a HUGE lunch.  It was awesome.  I love free food. 

One good thing about Friday was that we got our project application to review for Lorton Virginia! The project sounds unreal.  We will be working and living in the national park where we will be blazing the trail.  Our house is going to be AMAZING.  It is a mansion overlooking a bay in the park.  There are 18 beds, a full kitchen, a grill, decks, and the best description ever, there are 8 toilets.  Not 8 bathrooms, 8 toilets.  Weird phrasing.  I will be utilizing each toilet at some point.  It will be the biggest house I probably have and ever will live in in my life.  I can't wait for this project and to be in a new location.  AND I can't wait for Katie, Robyn, Caroline, and Kristen to come visit that first weekend! I am more than excited. 

Anyway, Tuesday starts our last work "week" here in Memphis.  We work Tuesday and Wednesday and that's all she wrote for the city of soul.  Thursday is going to be used for cleaning, packing, and having a huge dinner with every site supervisor, hostel staff member, and our team (which is now down 2 team members).  We travel back to Vicksburg Friday and will be there by 5pm and I am SO EXCITED! I miss my friends from other teams a lot and I am ready to see them all.  Let's hope they're ready for me.

ALSO, shoutout to Dad-z on this one, today I went to Barnes and Noble.  Yes, a book store.  I was told I would love the book, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."  I had that and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" in hand, found a comfy chair, and read the first 30 pages of each.  I decided to BUY the wallflower book.  I took it home and read 100 pages.  I am a new woman. I will be reading the other book on spike 2.  Check. Me. Out.

Well that's all from Memphis.  I really miss everyone from home and I hope everyone is doing well.  Hi Paul, so good to hear from you, bro. 

Holla.