No particular themesa

I have no particular theme for this blog, just an update on events thus far.

The houses are coming along, and the drywall is fully up in the first one and the ceilings are finished in the second. Early this week, contracters laid the foundation for 3 more houses. I've been told that work on those won't start until after we've left, so I'm glad I got my time in doing the early stages on the two that we've been working on.

My most recent job has been doing floating (putting mud in the seams between drywall pieces). It's a bit of a neverending task, and it will wear you down after 3 straight days of it. Between each board one has to put up a mesh tape that the mud sticks onto, slather on the mud and smoothe it (a task that's hard on the wrists), and sand it down to the smoothness of the surrounding drywall once it has dried a day later. This doesn't sound so bad on its own, but each seam requires three layers. I hope this hasn't come off with a tone of complaining, it's a fairly simple job that has let me get out of the sun for a few days, but I'd hope people realize the amount of effort that goes into making a nice, seamless wall for you to lean on.

The only other highs and lows I can think of in recent times was not recieving another position as team leader (this one as a support team leader in Vicksburg, MS) early this week. I hope that my previous post's comments on my momentary frustration with NCCC's inherant lack of freedom didn't have anything to do with it, but oh well. You live and you learn, and next time I may hold my metaphorical tongue. I think more likely it was the fact that the amount of positions was much more competitive (only 5 total). The good part is that my interview at least went much better this time around, I got some more good experience with the job-hunting world, and my friend Andy recieved a position there, and I'm really happy that she did. She's been really excited about the idea of being an STL there, and it's a great fit for her. It would have been cool to be co-STL's there, as we are each other's best friends on the team, but I've been finding other opportunities elsewhere that may be very good for me.

There's a program out of Washington and Oregon called the Northwest Service Academy that specializes in conservation work. They have a team-based yearlong program that starts in the winter, but I'm most interested in a few internship positions that start in September. They are based out of Portland, and do a lot of work I'm familiar with and charged about. Dad, you may find it interesting that a lot of the jobs involve streambank restoration and riparian surveys and whatnot. There's four different positions that sound appealing, so wish me luck.

Otherwise in the life of myself, I'm embarking on a new path in my life that will give me a cool new title: Grillmaster. One of the great things about AmeriCorps is picking up a lot of soft skills. My favorite thus far is becoming quite a cook. I've constructed my own smoker out of some terra cotta planters and an electric hot plate, and I am experimenting with my first run. It's going to be pulled pork shoulder, and it's turning out very nice thus far. I'm in hour number 5 of 8. This could be my masterpice for the year, though I'm setting my sights on beef brisket for some time next week.