Time has flown...

It feels like a year has gone by since I've blogged.  I'm a bit disappointed I haven't been able to keep at it.  Needless to say, things have been busy, and I plan to use the rest of the time to catch up.  More to come soon, I hope.  Stay tuned!

Major Catchup

So I realize it has been a month since I've blogged, and in reality, it's been almost two since I've actually written anything in an entry.  Well, here's the short of it:

My life has been consumed by my team, in the most overwhelmingly rewarding way.  We finished our project in Vermont, traveled south back to Perry Point for transition and preparation for our next project, and traveled to that 2nd round project, which happens to be New Orleans!

So much to come, to catch up on, to reflect on, but in the meantime, as usual, I've gotta go.  The never-ending responsibilities of a team leader are calling me right now, but I will do everything in my power to keep this updated.

Things are well, I hope you are too.

The Nature Conservancy of Vermont

Servathon! And my love for GPS

The National Alliance to End Homelessness

Great ceremony today... I'll expand on this soon...

Greater DC Cares

Team-building, and our goodbye to Camp Highroad

A Bonfire Celebration

So the Hard-boiled Dozen has been working hard the past few weeks on an on-going project, which involved a whole lot of invasive species (plant) removal.  We've had some workouts, we've been scraped up a bit, and enjoyed some close run-ins with Poison Ivy, all in efforts to make the roads and trails clearer and safer for the incoming camp groups.  It's satisfying seeing how much has been cleared.  However, we were able to really appreciate everything we've done on Friday night...

Throughout the past three weeks, we've been transporting all of the dead brush and invasive species to a large field, and on Friday night we were treated to a gigantic bonfire of the pile that has formed.  I have never seen a fire this large before, and it was very exciting for the team to get together to watch, roast some marshmallows and veggie burgers (extremely carefully), and watch the flames light up the field around us after it being so dark out.  It was a blast, and it was a great way to celebrate our success in clearing these trails.  Now, let the weekend begin... we're exhausted, and its time to recharge for our final week with Camp Highroad, as we transition to Perry Point, and over to DC.

Oak Lodging and Mountain Boarding

Another busy (and as you can see, fun) week with Raven 4.  We're finishing up a lot of smaller projects right now, one of them including the maintenance of Oak Lodge, where incoming school, girlscout, and boyscout groups will reside for their camping experience.  We sanded, stained, moved, assembled and bunked beds, and cleaned the overall lodge.  Morale was high Thursday afternoon when we finished our final beds and mopped.  Just a week and a half before, the lodge was filled with graffiti on beds, dirt from our boots, and plenty of powder from all of the sanding we had begun with.  Now the rooms had come together, three beds in each, and the main room was fully cleaned, furniture stained.  The camp groups would arrive in a week and they'll be fully prepared to get the best camp experience possible.

We finished up the week with a treat from the Camp Highroad staff.  The Executive Director prepared some equipment for us and taught the team how to mountain-board.  We had a great time, and it was a nice way to wrap up the week, outside in 70-degree weather, enjoying a bit of an adrenaline rush down the hills.  For most, if not all of us, this was something new, and yet another thing on the list of new experiences we've gotten to try.

Is that Willow Lodge?

That's what we found ourselves saying as we entered the massive adventure camp.  Raven 4's been enjoying our work here, but we've also loved living here at Willow Lodge, the three-bedroom brick house that houses the 12 of us.  Not knowing what to expect, we were excited to find out we'd have a place like this, with a large living room, our own kitchen, and two bathrooms.  It's located at the bottom of a hilly trail within the camp.  We're fairly secluded, with not much else around, so its definitely been a bonding experience for the team.  The nearest store is about 15 to 20 minutes away, so the past couple of weeks have meant a lot of together time, as we only have one vehicle, of course, and the walk would be quite a trek.  But we're loving it, and it's nice to have our own Raven 4 lodge for the month that we're staying here.  Below is a picture of most of us taking a moment after work for a group picture.

Camp Highroad Updates and Photos

We're just about halfway through this first project.  With a split project round: Virginia, DC, and then Vermont, I'm sure there will be a lot to report on.  Our limited access to the internet has kept me lagging behind on these updates, but I will do my best to catch up.  In the meantime, enjoy this photo of us, taking a moment to enjoy the scene around us

Raven 4

Ah yes, the pictures are finally in!  Here we all are, at our Team Reveal, when we first became a team, a family, a force of nature, THE Hard-boiled dozen.  Enjoy the beauty that is Raven 4. 

Raven 4 Soars off - Camp Highroad in Middleburg, VA

It started with a week of Transition, which entailed a whole lot of running and driving around on my part, tying up loose ends, finishing last minute paperwork, scheduling meetings for my team, and heading to staff meetings all throughout.  I swear that this job wouldn't be possible without some sort of writing utensil on you at all times.  There is so much to know and be aware of, and there simply isn't enough storage in the human brain, or least mine.  My planner has saved my life, and in turn, my team's.

Back to the week, though... My fantastic Assistant Team Leader coordinated the Briefing of our first round with the rest of the team while I took care of all of the business I mentioned above.  When I met up with the team for the presentation rehearsal, I was ecstatic to see that it had gone well, and everyone spoke fairly confidently as they presented individual slides.  The assistant team leader (ATL) did an incredible job, as did the entire team, and I am so appreciative of that.  The team presented the information to the staff, better than in rehearsal; I was so proud.

All that was left to do was travel.  We woke up Saturday morning to pack up the van, and we were off.  The drive is about 2 hours and 30 minutes, which may, in the end, have been 3 hours and some change.  We got a little lost, looking for Middleburg, VA, and for now I'm just gonna go ahead and blame that on the GPS. ;-)

Our sponsor Josh was our main contact and introduction to Camp Highroad, a Christian Adventure Camp for kids.  He gave us our Orientation, a tour of the Camp, which is over 600 acres, where we learned about what our job would be for the next four weeks.  Our main goal would be to prepare the camp for the incoming school groups, boy scouts, etc. that would be staying at the camp in a few weeks, which meant a whole lot of facility maintenance: trail clearning, invasive plant species removal, the cleaning of cabins, and more.  We've also been transporting a lot of brush and branches from the road and camp site, which have been organized into piles along the way.

We're hoping that after we leave, we'll be able to see the Camp in action, when classes are being taught and more kids are here.  A big goal of the program is to get kids outdoors, away from their TV and videogames, so they can grow more comfortable with the environment; give them a chance to experience things they might not ever have an opportunity to, especially kids living in the inner-city, including DC, which is about an hour away from here.  It would be great to see these kids using the cabins and hiking the trails we've worked so hard on.

More to come in later entries, as always!

Kayam Farm: Our project at Pearstone Conference and Retreat Center

Raven 4 enjoyed a preview of sorts as we experienced a few days at Kayam Farm, located in Reicesterstown, VA.  Located at the Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center, it serves as a place for community members to gather, grow crops, and also get involved with many educational opportunities as people learn about the different aspects of organic farming.

Our first spike would start later, so this served as our mini-spike, or "baby spike" as some people have come to call it.  In any case, we definitely had a great week, finally having a chance to get working as a team.  We worked alongside another team at the farm, Wolf 3.  It was great to get to know and work with some other Corps members, having another team on site.  Fellow Team Leader and friend, Sadie and I worked as co-supervisors and essentially combined our teams, Raven 4 and Wolf 3, to form the unofficial yet ultimate composite team, Ralf 7!

Responsibilities varied throughout the week, as we divided up the teams into smaller groups; Tasks included working in the greenhouse, setting up berry trellises, removing invasive plant species, feeding the goats, shoveling and general maintenance of the soil.  It was a lot of work, and quite a change, especially for the Corps members who had been solely in training for almost a month.  At the end of the day, dinner was always a big event, as the cooking was being done for 23 people.  But we got it done, and certainly enjoyed staying in the four cabins that provided us.

Our final day was great.  There was a bonfire and the team was given seeds to plant on their own.  The sad part was taking a Ralf 7 picture and dispanding to head back to the Point for our final week of training/transition.  The teams meshed and worked really well together, and we're hoping perhaps we can do it again at some point this year.  Until then, we had said our goodbyes (for the moment, as we'd see one another two hours later at our base).

For now, Raven 4 is off to gear up for the experience ahead.  But Ralf 7 will always be a part of us, no matter where we are.

Communities and Mini-Spikes

Well, it's happened.  11 folks who have chosen to commit to a year of national and community service have been designated to my team.  My role as team leader has gone into full effect this week, and Raven 4 has officially gotten its wings and taken off.  I've got a team now; time to get things done.

And oh, what a team have I got.  I won't go into much detail considering this is a public blog, but I'm happy to say I've quite a dynamic flock of individuals, and most importantly, a group that's as ready as I am for the shindig ahead of us.  In spite of the lack of sleep and long hours, there is something to be said about such a high level of motivation and abundance of positive attitudes from these CMs that can make every hour worthwhile.

As for the administrative side of things, it's still as busy as ever.  This week involved some budgeting for our first mini-project next week, the coordination of food shopping for 80 people, plenty of time on-duty making rounds, enforcing policies, saving lives when I can, driving driving driving, planning/running and postponing meetings, adding these postponed meetings to my ever growing to-do list, assigning specialty roles to the team, and yes, already writing up folks and putting together incident reports.  Typically, this all happens in one day; and throughout that time, our CMs give us many reasons to keep it that way.

But it's gotta be said that our Unit is an incredible community of people who have already inspired me and reminded me why I am here.  Everyone's ready for spike, to get going on projects, and to work hard in general.

Our first mini-project happens next week, a 3-day project with the team.  It will be nice to see our team out in the field.  Here we go!

The Journey has Begun...

I expected this to be demanding, but it is certainly something else to finally be going through it. I think it has been a couple of weeks now, and I'm realizing how difficult it is going to be to blog this year. But I am committed, so I'm going to make this work.

What in the world have I gotten myself into? Corps members arrived last Monday, and it's as if it has been one continuous day that has somehow lasted a little over a week now. I've always maintained a fairly busy lifestyle through school and jobs I've had in the past, but this is an experience that has overwhelmed my life to the extent that the personal has gone out the window. And yet, as utterly exhausted and adrenalized I've been throughout the past week, I've never had more of a drive to keep going than I do here.

It started last Monday, and I'm going to exaggerate here for effect. What felt like a natural disaster hit the region, as it did many other parts of the US. At least 2 feet of snow covered Perry Point, the day before our Corps members arrived to the campus. Now keep in mind, this isn't New England. I think there may be one snow plow stashed away somewhere in the city just in case of a flurry. So you can imagine how exciting it was to find out that a state of emergency was called, the VA was shut down, and vehicles were grounded. With flights coming in from all over the US the following day, we prepared for madness we knew would arise from cancelled and postponed flights of a good amount of the 212 corps members on their way in soon.

It was quite a day. My assignment for the day was to greet corps members as they arrived at BWI airport. I arrived in the morning, and ended up remaining there until about 11PM that night, awaitin postponed flights. Meanwhile, back at the Point, in-processing was in full swing and all of Team Green was at the peak of their game, getting these folks uniformed up, paperworked, ID'd and housed as efficiently as possible. The following day was more of the same, and a whole lot of in-processing to get the Corps the basics.

Shortly after, Mother Nature struck again. I suppose she decided the first curve ball was too easy to reach. I don't even know how much, but I believe at least another foot of snow graciously covered our base, and the VA shut down for two days. Keep in mind these two days were scheduled to be our first two official days of training. Wow, have we been flying by the seat of our pants! But in the end, a week later, the Team Green Monster has smashed through the snow, and we've got a stellar Corps here that is ready to hit the ground running, no matter how cold and deep their trembling feet get in this crazy VA winter wonderland.

In the interest of getting back to the point, and straying away from this rediculous writing mindset I've gotten into, I'll mention this. I'm exhausted, but exhilarated. Despite my lack of personal time, the time I've spent in just one week has been incredibly productive and eye-opening and enjoyable.
Tomorrow I find out who my Corps members are for the year. Oh so much more to come...

The Plunge

Awhile back, a good majority of Team Green participated in the Polar Bear Plunge, a fundraiser where thousands of people come together to take a dive into the Chesapeake Bay in 20 degree weather in just their bathing suits, all to raise money for the Special Olympics.  It's a great event, and hopefully if I'm not sick next year, I'll take part in the dive as well.  But it was great to volunteer.  Check out the picture of Team Green below.

From the Village to 9H

What's now been three weeks has felt like three months, with the Corps members arriving in just over a week.  We've had a variety of trainings so far, with one week left to prepare; it's time to really put everything together and hit the ground running faster now.

It's been an eventful week.  After of incredibly fun weekend with the Team Green staff, the men of the Raven Unit began the move to Building 9H, where we will live in a dorm-like setting for the year.  9H was once a hospital here at the VA, and we are gradually transforming it into the dorms that will house the Raven and Badger unit corps members once they arrive.  It's quite a change from the village, where we began, living in houses with individual kitchens, living rooms, etc.  But having been here for a week now, I can see that a sense of community will build fairly easily.  It's a lot like going back to college, with a common room and a dining hall, known here as our "dayroom" and giant "kitchen" which has several cooking areas.

The Raven Unit will live on the second floor, and the Badgers will take up the first floor (Wolf Unit is living in the village), each floor with their own dayroom, kitchen, laundry room, etc.  It will be an interesting experience; the 7 of us on the Raven Unit will essentially act as RAs, in true college fashion, as opposed to last year when TLs and Corps members had their own houses.  We're setting up a TL lounge, a place for us to congregate, or escape at times, if necessary.

The Raven TL gentlemen reside in a room on one wing of tyhe building, so the three of us will be the point of contacts for that end.  The 4 Raven ladies reside in the other wing, and will head up th eother half of the building.

Better get going, though.  We've got a lot of cleaning to do, much furtniture to move, and a good amount to inventory and label with our kitchen kits.  And launndry's got to get done at some point today.  More to come when the moment frees itself up...

Myers Briggs Test - ESFJ

So a few of us are relaxing tonight at a fellow TL's house, and we've gotten pretty engaged in a discussion on Myers Briggs, a test that's been around for a long time that determines your personality type.  A few of us have taken it before, but it has been awhile, so we all took the test respectively tonight online after searching for it.

It was interesting finding out our results, and how it compared to others.  There are a total of 16 personality types, and a couple of matches within the group.  It was particularly interesting in determining our leadership styles, considering it may describe how we'll interact and function as leaders this year.  According to the test, I am an ESFJ.

The test can be taken right here: Human Metrics - Myers Briggs Test.

MLK Day Parade in Baltimore

Baltimore City!  About 50 degrees and sunny.  As a part of the National Day of Service, we drove into Baltimore to walk in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade, representing AmeriCorps and the NCCC.  It turned out to be a blast, as there was a huge turnout from spectators and the collective enthusiasm of our group combined with that of the crowd.

We're back at the Point now, winding down to begin another week of training.  More to come soon!

Week One Update

Lots happening here at the Point.  First full week of training just wrapped up.  Some great training on supervisory skills with a lot of application to the NCCC.  Team Green has been getting to know each other pretty well, especially within our Units.

We're all exhausted, both from supervisory training and physical training, so the weekend's here just in time.  Next on the schedule is the MLK Day parade, where we travel to Baltimore and walk in the parade representing AmeriCorps NCCC.

Just received news of the disaster in Haiti earlier this week.  It's hard to fathom the magnitude right now.  Since it is a crisis outside of the US, this wouldn't be something they would deploy us for, as this is specifically National Service, but they are looking into ways we can help from here.

More to come soon.  Things are busy and happening.  Happy weekend!

Raven Pride

Raven Unit, at our "Unit Reveal" - My unit for the year, as revealed on Monday

The Point is poppin'!  And as you can see, it's been a week and I'm still as uncool as ever.  But it has been busy here, and it will only get busier as we go along.

I arrived at Baltimore/Washington International Airport last week after a brief 1-hour flight from Boston.  A shuttle to the Point brought me back to ol' Building 15 where I met up with the staff and received the keys to my house.  The first day was fairly easy-going, and ended with grocery shopping and settling into our new houses.  I've got four other roommates, all from various parts of the country, a great group of guys I've gotten close with quickly.  There's no better start than having a living space with people you get along with well.

After a laid back weekend, we were prepared for our first day of training on Monday.  It's been pretty busy, considering the hours of training, the coordination and driving of vehicles, our physical training schedule, paperwork, physicals, and meetings; not to mention, a 3-mile run around the Point last night with a few other members of staff at pace much faster than my norm. Needless to say, I'm pretty tired, as is the rest of Team Green, but it is the kind of schedule that keeps me energized.

Four weeks of solid training ahead, and more blogs to follow!

Packing, Preparation, but no Pressure for Perry Point

Team Leader Training is three days away.  I don't really have a considerable amount of packing to do, as I've stored clothing at Perry Point in November.  However, in three days' time after realizing what I need, or equally do not need but want to bring with me, that may change.  But consolidating and minimizing is my first challenge of year, one of many to come, and this may be the easiest.

I know a bit of what to expect, based on my first year of service , but I also know, and have been told, to expect this to be a fairly intense and challenging year, and I'm only going to really experience that intensity as it happens.  In other words, the hardest parts will be the unexpected: situations or issues that arise on a close-knit team working a busy schedule, traveling often, and being attached at the hips for ten months straight.  Oh, and not to mention, being responsible for the well-being and success of these 10 or so individuals in their year of service.  No pressure, right?  Fortunately, I don't find myself getting deflated very easily this upcoming year.  I know what my team can and will get out of this experience, and I know how to give it to them.  They've got to get something out of it.  At the very least, I'm sure we could win confidently in a mean game of 11-legged race.

What's next?  Well, we'll see.  The training will commence, we'll begin our traveling, and we'll help and change communities for the better.  A whole lot will happen in between and during as part of service, so all I can do now is prepare and look forward to it.

Until then, I'm posting this video as I did on my previous blog; it is called the Lost Generation, and it always puts me in that service mind-set.  It's still relevant to everyone, I think, and not just the young person's perspective.