Tommorrow we leave for Arkansas for about a month. Have a happy thanksgiving to everyone.
My Myspace account has changed places to http://www.myspace.com/dalen17
I started a snapfish account for sharing pictures, but havent really posted them yet. if you want to be able to see them, let me know and I will add you to the shared list.
be great...
--DAlen
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Back in SC
This is kind of a long one...
Finally made it back to Charleston, SC. I have been in Baxley, GA for the past week learning about wildfires and prescription forest burns. Prescribed burning is when a certain forest is set on fire in order to help maintain it the way it was originally intended. Forest fire is a natural thing and many forests depend on it in order to thrive in the way they always have before Smokey came and told us to keep forests from burning. Anyway, besides learning how to set these fires, we also learned how to control them to a certain degree and what to do with them when they were done burning (they call it mop-up). We got free camelbacks from one of the parks people as well (thanks Shan)! Now, I am a 2nd level wildfire fighter, which is the lowest level, but still means that I might be able to get a position on a crew out west should the desire strike me (it definitely is an exciting and lucrative new option).
Besides the many hours spent in a classroom, we also got to do a burn of about an acre of land. We learned how to lay hose from a small fire engine unit, how to dig trench to contain the fire, and where to carry your drip can (gasoline-diesel mixture) in order for stuff to burn. A physical fitness test was required to, where we carried 45 lb vests 3 miles in less than 45 minutes without running.
Funny story involving my pack test. My shoulders were getting tired from where the vest rested, so I decided to put my arms over my head. Then I noticed my shadow from the night lights. Whenever I flexed my biceps, the shadow got noticeably larger to, so that kept me entertained for a while. Then, one of the instructors jogged up behind me and complimented me on my biceps as well. Yeah, so I walked for about another mile with a huge grin on my face.
Also, while we were down there we found out what our Disaster Relief (DR) project would be. We will be sent to Little Rock, AR, where we will stage and assembling packages for people to assist them in restarting their lives. It won’t be as emotionally draining as going to the center of the disaster, but the days should still be long and we will still be making a difference. Apparently, everything in the hit areas is very jumbled and they have more volunteer support than they can handle. Of course, with all DR assignments, things could change between now and Thursday, especially with Wilma about to destroy things.
I got a bunch of pictures. I am not sure if they will be posted here, or at myspace. check http://www.myspace.com/12313535 if u cant find them here.
That’s pretty much it for now. Mom, thanks for the gift. Jamie and Amberle, thanks for the picture, you’re now sleeping at my bedside. Much love to everyone,
--DAlen
Finally made it back to Charleston, SC. I have been in Baxley, GA for the past week learning about wildfires and prescription forest burns. Prescribed burning is when a certain forest is set on fire in order to help maintain it the way it was originally intended. Forest fire is a natural thing and many forests depend on it in order to thrive in the way they always have before Smokey came and told us to keep forests from burning. Anyway, besides learning how to set these fires, we also learned how to control them to a certain degree and what to do with them when they were done burning (they call it mop-up). We got free camelbacks from one of the parks people as well (thanks Shan)! Now, I am a 2nd level wildfire fighter, which is the lowest level, but still means that I might be able to get a position on a crew out west should the desire strike me (it definitely is an exciting and lucrative new option).
Besides the many hours spent in a classroom, we also got to do a burn of about an acre of land. We learned how to lay hose from a small fire engine unit, how to dig trench to contain the fire, and where to carry your drip can (gasoline-diesel mixture) in order for stuff to burn. A physical fitness test was required to, where we carried 45 lb vests 3 miles in less than 45 minutes without running.
Funny story involving my pack test. My shoulders were getting tired from where the vest rested, so I decided to put my arms over my head. Then I noticed my shadow from the night lights. Whenever I flexed my biceps, the shadow got noticeably larger to, so that kept me entertained for a while. Then, one of the instructors jogged up behind me and complimented me on my biceps as well. Yeah, so I walked for about another mile with a huge grin on my face.
Also, while we were down there we found out what our Disaster Relief (DR) project would be. We will be sent to Little Rock, AR, where we will stage and assembling packages for people to assist them in restarting their lives. It won’t be as emotionally draining as going to the center of the disaster, but the days should still be long and we will still be making a difference. Apparently, everything in the hit areas is very jumbled and they have more volunteer support than they can handle. Of course, with all DR assignments, things could change between now and Thursday, especially with Wilma about to destroy things.
I got a bunch of pictures. I am not sure if they will be posted here, or at myspace. check http://www.myspace.com/12313535 if u cant find them here.
That’s pretty much it for now. Mom, thanks for the gift. Jamie and Amberle, thanks for the picture, you’re now sleeping at my bedside. Much love to everyone,
--DAlen
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Tommorrow starts the fire training
Tommorrow morning at 10:00 am we will get into a van and drive 6 hours to Georgia, to a small town called Baxley. There, we will learn about how to start fires in the woods and how to dig and cut and kill everything surrounding them so that they dont spread beyond where we want them to be. If California keeps burning we might get sent there to help with their flaming problems. Otherwise, we will be done on Friday and we will return to Charleston...
Once we get back, we will most likely have a few days off before we get on a plane headed south, somewhere between Mississippi and New Orleans. We will work 21 days straight, sometimes for 14 hour days. I anticipate by the 8th day I will have completely lost my mind, probably finding it again around the 14th day before losing it again on the 18th. I dont think I will die and have any permanent damage, but I will definately be a changed man when i return. My muscles will work constantly to support some of the burden caused by the disasters and if I get put behind a desk doing case work I will probably lose it emotionally at least once a day. Disasters look bad on TV, but they are much worse in perso, and we are diving in head first to a pool that aint deep enough. I anticipate 2 of my team members will quit, but I pray that we all make it through. much love to everyone out there supporting me. put me in your prayers.
--DAlen
Once we get back, we will most likely have a few days off before we get on a plane headed south, somewhere between Mississippi and New Orleans. We will work 21 days straight, sometimes for 14 hour days. I anticipate by the 8th day I will have completely lost my mind, probably finding it again around the 14th day before losing it again on the 18th. I dont think I will die and have any permanent damage, but I will definately be a changed man when i return. My muscles will work constantly to support some of the burden caused by the disasters and if I get put behind a desk doing case work I will probably lose it emotionally at least once a day. Disasters look bad on TV, but they are much worse in perso, and we are diving in head first to a pool that aint deep enough. I anticipate 2 of my team members will quit, but I pray that we all make it through. much love to everyone out there supporting me. put me in your prayers.
--DAlen
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Finally we got our assigment....
Well, after a small scavenger hunt and much anticipation...we found out that we dont know yet where we are going. What we do know is that we will be doing DR (Disaster Relief) either in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, or Jackson, MS. We just finished our DR training, so that is good and I am excited. Its going to be a changing experience, extremely mentally and physically draining. We will only be doing that for a month, because that is the max allowable time the Red Cross will let people work. Apparently, after a month people start to lose it and no longer can perform their functions in assisting disaster victims. We get sent out in a couple weeks. First we go to Georgia for firefighting training. Superstoked about that too...
Well, the ropes course got cancelled, so we will be doing some indoor stuff in the morning, but otherwise tommorrow should be a relaxed day. Going to rest and relax.
Tommorrow morning is going to be a dry run of our pack test for firefighting. 45 minutes to hike 3 miles with 45 lbs. Of course it will be a very wet, dry run if it keeps raining like it has been. Think I will be able to do it though. I am getting in real good shape.
I have met the girl of my dreams...the problem is that my dreams keep changing, and some nights i have more than one dream. I have superdeep spiritual conversations with one girl, secretly lust after another, and have been trying to go out with another who is wanting to hang out but because of random problems our engagment always falls through. And then there are the great girls on my team that I will be spending 9 months with, who i will no doubt become very close to.
I got some guy friends to...and we may be crouching altogether in the end trying to preserve our masculinity in this sea of women.
Please leave comments so i know people are reading this. leave questions to. seriosuly, ask me anything!
Well, the ropes course got cancelled, so we will be doing some indoor stuff in the morning, but otherwise tommorrow should be a relaxed day. Going to rest and relax.
Tommorrow morning is going to be a dry run of our pack test for firefighting. 45 minutes to hike 3 miles with 45 lbs. Of course it will be a very wet, dry run if it keeps raining like it has been. Think I will be able to do it though. I am getting in real good shape.
I have met the girl of my dreams...the problem is that my dreams keep changing, and some nights i have more than one dream. I have superdeep spiritual conversations with one girl, secretly lust after another, and have been trying to go out with another who is wanting to hang out but because of random problems our engagment always falls through. And then there are the great girls on my team that I will be spending 9 months with, who i will no doubt become very close to.
I got some guy friends to...and we may be crouching altogether in the end trying to preserve our masculinity in this sea of women.
Please leave comments so i know people are reading this. leave questions to. seriosuly, ask me anything!
Induction Day
At 2:30 it becomes official...
I will get things done for America,
To make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.
I will bring people together to strenghthen our communities.
Faced with Apathy, I will take action.
Faced with Conflict, I will seek common ground.
Faced with Adversity, I will persevere.
I will carry this committement with me this year and beyond.
I am an AmeriCorps member and I will get things done.
I will get things done for America,
To make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.
I will bring people together to strenghthen our communities.
Faced with Apathy, I will take action.
Faced with Conflict, I will seek common ground.
Faced with Adversity, I will persevere.
I will carry this committement with me this year and beyond.
I am an AmeriCorps member and I will get things done.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Been a while...still training
Well, its been a while since I posted here. not too much has changed. we are still in the process of training. maybe i am missing something, but it seems some of our training is repetitive. today we heard our second 1 hour talk about our health insurance. it doesnt cover prexisting conditions, and if we do go to a doctor we need to bring our 5 dollar co pay and our insurance card...which has a tendancy to rub off in high rubbage wallets but a new one can be gotten from the insurance company...which doesnt cover preexisting emergencies, but requires a 5 dollar co pay and insurance card in case your face rubs off...or something like that.
Last weekend I went to Savannah for an individual service project. We worked at a place called Oatland Island Education Center. http://www.oatlandisland.org/ We mainly just did trail maintenance, but we also got to pet some wolves that had been hand raised. It was also neat to see the house cats hunting and eating the massive cockroahces that they have here. They call them palmetto bugs to make sound more favorably...but really they are just HUGE cockroaches. Talking people size here...and they always use the kitchen without washing their dishes. its like having extra roomates. got a chance to go to the beach in GA as well, where the waves were big as a result of a storm. apparently they were even bigger here in SC.
Today we have unit day, where all the blue teams will get together and compete in some manner. I know we are going to the beach in the afternoon, so thats good. This is all after we get our team pictures taken.
Last night I watched 3 hours of Ultimate Fighting Championship on TV. I really think that I would be okay sitting in a cubicle doing engineering as long as at night I was able to do something like that, or train for it at least. Wont have to make that decision for 9 months though.
We dont know where our first project is going to be yet. All my teammates are mad that our leader wont tell us. I dont think it makes much difference so it doesnt bother me, and I have kind of joined in with him and I tell them that I know where we are going.
Somehow I got sick over the weekend, but i got it pretty well dialed in and should be back to fully operational by tonight. I am able to get sick and better now in 24-48 hours.
Merry Super Advance Christmas, --DAlen
Last weekend I went to Savannah for an individual service project. We worked at a place called Oatland Island Education Center. http://www.oatlandisland.org/ We mainly just did trail maintenance, but we also got to pet some wolves that had been hand raised. It was also neat to see the house cats hunting and eating the massive cockroahces that they have here. They call them palmetto bugs to make sound more favorably...but really they are just HUGE cockroaches. Talking people size here...and they always use the kitchen without washing their dishes. its like having extra roomates. got a chance to go to the beach in GA as well, where the waves were big as a result of a storm. apparently they were even bigger here in SC.
Today we have unit day, where all the blue teams will get together and compete in some manner. I know we are going to the beach in the afternoon, so thats good. This is all after we get our team pictures taken.
Last night I watched 3 hours of Ultimate Fighting Championship on TV. I really think that I would be okay sitting in a cubicle doing engineering as long as at night I was able to do something like that, or train for it at least. Wont have to make that decision for 9 months though.
We dont know where our first project is going to be yet. All my teammates are mad that our leader wont tell us. I dont think it makes much difference so it doesnt bother me, and I have kind of joined in with him and I tell them that I know where we are going.
Somehow I got sick over the weekend, but i got it pretty well dialed in and should be back to fully operational by tonight. I am able to get sick and better now in 24-48 hours.
Merry Super Advance Christmas, --DAlen
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