Life needs mouthguards

I discovered two incredible things tonight at Muay Thai, thanks to my mouthguard.

First, when you wear a mouthguard, you cant talk real well. I actually knew this already, but I had never really thought anything of it. the cool part though, is that when you cant talk, you have a tendancy to listen and think more. you listen more intently because its hard to say "what?" You think more about what is being said, because youre sort of on your own to figure it out. You breathe through your nose, and you just settle and think. Maybe I should wear a mouth piece in my daily life.

The 2nd benefit, is of course that it protects you. But why would you do things that might cause you harm? Because life might cause you harm. Maybe if your not occasionally doing something that could cause you harm, you should rethink your hobbies and add a little more risk in your life. Someday you will get old and regret having never needed to wear a mouthpiece (or you'll be old without the teeth you lost because you werent wearing one and you should have been).

The Genesis Group

I have come to a new beginning in my life. It seems the ideal epiphany to come to would be to figure out what I want to do in order to make lots of money and grow wealthy in order to buy BMWs while affording luxurious vacation homes for my parents. Would we all like this sort of transformation and guidance. Read no further if you are vigorously agreeing.

I have decided to give away 1,000,000 dollars by the year 2017. The inspiration came from me seeing a lady on TV at the State of the Union who had created a business that made millions off of a few simple ideas. She looked as ordinary as myself, and I have many simple ideas...more everyday. All I really need is 10 ideas, each producing 10k per year. Seems easy when you break it down like that.

So, as often has been the case in my life, I am nothing without the people around me. If you are reading this, I am assuming we know each other and you are one of the aforementioned people around me. Want to get involved in my grand scheme?There are currently two ways. 1) If you have an idea that you think just might be crazy enough to work, I am likely to agree. or 2) you can take part in the first small manifestation which I like to call...

The Genesis Group seeks to pool "tithe" money. I call it tithe, because there is a biblical reason why I give the amount I do. You, of course, don't need to believe in God or tithing to give. You simply have to want to help others by giving your money and you have to have at least one idea for who you want to give it to. You get to choose the organization the first time you take part in the pool. the rest of the time it will be a consensus or democratic vote. the amount to match of mine is $38. I get paid this Thursday (3/22), so I am looking to make a donation by Friday. let me know if you want in.

love y'all, --Will

I'm back?

I just saw the new movie "300." It was absolutely incredible. Somehow I feel like there really was a larger takeaway message there. Maybe it was that we should fight and be willing to die for where we stand. Leonides stood for the freedom of his people. Maybe the message is that everyday should be treated as training for that moment in your life when you will have the choice to stand for what is right against all odds and despite total costs. In that moment, we might die, or we might buckle and give way to evil, living "a long life." (this was verbalized as the hope from Leonides to the traitor at their last meeting, moments before Leonides died) Maybe the Spartans had it right when they lived life in search of a "good death," not shrinking in fear from the worthy adversary, but hoping and excitedly looking for that moment and enemy that would put them to the test, a test that they prepared their whole life to pass. The test of giving your life for another, standing in unison on the side of good.

Maybe living life in preperation for this is really the only way to LIVE LIFE. Otherwise, arent we all just waiting to die?

read andrew's blog

Andrew has a bunch of new postings. he has been spending time in Dar Es Saalam. definately should read it.

andrewinafrica.blogspot.com

Merry christmas,

--Will

No comment

Maybe my posts are getting routine and lame?

I am going on Hiatus.

Merry Christmas.

DAlen Rice
143 Leonard St
Mooresville, NC
28115

Muay thai is heating up

I have been told that I talk about Muay Thai too much. Thats quite possible. I find myself thinking about Mixed Martial Arts and Muay thai as I fall asleep, and then I realize that indeed I am not even close to sleep, and that I have concentrated so hard on visualizing possibilities that my body has worked itself into a semi-fight stage. My senses are firing more than normal, and I am even more awake than normal. So I cant think about it, or I will never sleep.

Mom, dont read further if youre in a worrying mood.

My ability to spar has been gradually increasing everytime I go. Also, the intensity seems to be ramping up slightly. I am kicking harder when we work with pads and I am getting timing down better to block kicks and counter. Unfortunately, it also seems that the more I learn, the more familiar I become with whats left to learn...i.e. experiential education in the form of getting hit. Tonight I got hit in my right eyebrow a few times and once in the nose. It was the first time I got hit in the nose, and afterwards I didnt allow the mistake to repeat. All the while, I never felt too tired to go on or too scared. Despite getting kicked lightly in the side of my face later, I wanted more. the pain hasnt deterred me, and has made me want to learn all the more.

After class, myself and this other guy usually do some submission wrestling. Somewhere over the course of us rolling around, I busted my lip and bled on myself. I didnt notice. My jui-jitsu is still so basic. I am learning though and getting stronger.

The drawback is tommorrow my eyebrow may be swollen and the girls may not think I look so pretty. for the most part though, I am pretty sure the parts of me that are attractive have nothing to do with my face...so thats a bonus.

Almost the weekend. We are having a big AmeriCorps party Saturday night. I sort of stopped drinking due to my training, but I will probably let me hair down for the special occasion...not that I have any hair because I reshaved the mohawk due to popular demand.

love you. write comments. stay safe. call you loved ones. --Will

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!!

I ended up going to Thanksgiving with a friend of mine from work. I did nothing but eat, meet people, eat more, and then lay on an uncomfortable bed and think about sleeping. It was really low key (eating doesnt take much energy) but I didnt get much rest. Oh well. I can go to bed early tonight.

Christmas is coming. Write to me to tell me what you like so I can buy something you want that fits that theme. I am not skipping Christmas this year...but I may take another easy way out and buy you all books!

I have a new email will.dalen@gmail.com

Muay thai is coming along well. My neck is usually sore a few days after, but it comes with the territory. I have been picking larger people to spar with, so that makes things pretty interesting. usually I grapple with someone after we are done as well, to truly drain myself of ALL energy.

My friend Kristen comes into town this week! I am pretty excited. She was on my NCCC team last year and I really enjoyed spending time around her. Kristen is thinking of moving to Charlotte to go to school at Presbyterrian Hospital for Radiology. I am super stoked. Hopefully I can take a half day on saturday so we can hang out some. Regardless, its going to be fun to catch up and hang out.

Merry Christmas future greetings!

--Will DAlen Rice

Regret?

Tonight was the first time I had a seed of a hint of doubt about my tattoo.

Tattoo some of you may be thinking? I am pretty sure most of you know, but in case you dont, I got a tatto 2 years ago, for Christmas. It says, it mirrored text, "be great" across the left side of my chest. Every morning I see it. It reaffirmes and reminds me that the one absolute I have in my life is my desire to die a "great" man.

It has its drawbacks. Greatness is probably most closely linked to struggle. The more struggle involved, often the more reward possible. While it is possible to live a blessed life with everything going your way, dont plan on it happening to you (unless your life is reality TV show produced by Disney).

So, what caused me to have regret? Well, tonight I started my REAL training at a Muay Thai gym in Statesville. This is the kind of place that is going to push me, teach me as much as I want to learn, and develop me into what I want as an MMA competitor. Everyone was training without a shirt on. I knew if I took mine off, I would be forced to make myself continue more when I wanted to stop. Even worse (or better?), somebody else might see it and push me more than I wanted to be pushed. Essentially, I feared that it would hold me more accountable than I thought I could be. Then I sort of realized how this type of thinking on my part was really what I had planned all along. So, I kept running. I kept crunching. I kept doing all the sadistic isometrics our probably-ex-army-ranger-turned-real-thai-fighter/crazy-exercise-instructor told us to do. And then it was over. And tommorrow I may not be able to lift my arms. And I think I want to spar more even though I got matted with a leg sweep that knocked the wind out of me (dont worry mom...i grow back, and the mats are soft, and wind eventually fills my lungs again once i find it, and he bought me a sport drink cause he felt bad).

Tommorrow holds VISTA training in the mountains. Tons of fun.

love y'all...happy voting day.

a few new things

There are a couple new things going on.

1. I finally finished working on the master bathroom here at the house. Now I have my own shower. I used a whole lot of caulk on it, so its likely to still be standing when the rest of the house falls over. The drywall still needs a little work, but its in a place thats not seen much, and water doesnt touch it.

2. It can now be currently listed that i am a dog-sitter. I am house and dog sitting for a couple that is somehow related to Habitat. I feel like I have talked to this guy before about something else, but I cant remember. I am meeting them tonight after...

3. Muay thai has now become a staple part of my diet. Mondays always happen at the Y, but I am also trying to fit Thursdays in as well, at a place in Statesville. Its a great facility, except its 20 miles away and it costs a lot. I am negotiating, especially since I only will be going once a week.

4. The ballet starts this week, and I dont have a way to get free tickets yet. I told Haley I would take her, so I gotta think real hard and start making phone calls to publications.

5. My new email adress is will.dalen@gmail.com
write a small note, so i can make sure y'all get it into your adress books.

love you,

--Will

More Mold Please

So, I may have mentioned that I got to go under one of our houses a few weeks back and do some mold treatment. As a follow up to that incident, I placed a call to the people in charge of the crawlspace to find out what else should be done. They suggested that I:

1. buy one of those white painters suits (Tyvek)
2. buy a real GOOD respirator
3. get a wire brush
4. crawl under the house and brush it all down and then remove it from the crawl

Well, I had experience doing this, so it was going to be quite familiar to me, kind of like being back in the good 'ol NCCC again. I didnt want to relive the moment, but it was nice to have previous experience, knowing what it would be like.

Then, he called me back and told me that he would send his guys in to do the job instead. Even better.

Ever noticed how listening to the Counting Crows either validates your sadness and makes you feel better or it makes me feel better because you dont feel the same way they do? Either way, it seems sad music does the trick. Just like the lady I worked with at the speedway last week. She was always seeming so mad, that whenever I saw her I couldnt help but laugh and be glad I wasnt her. I told her this, and of course she smiled and together we laugh at her sullen mood. She gave me the finger to, through the mirror while smiling, as a joke. She wasnt my server though, so I didnt have to worry about her mood effecting my tips.

I drank a bunch of free champagne that night. It mixes quite well with tea, but not so well with carrying large trays of expensive glassware.

--DAlen

My last entry?

Well, I created this blog to keep my loved ones and friends up to date while I was travelling in NCCC. Now that my life has become somewhat more stabilized, I am thinking of maybe letting it go. Any public opinion? I know my mom and Carla are big fans, but does anyone else read this?

Tommorrow is the first night of race weekend. I managed to swing a gig as a buss-boy at the speedway club. Jerrod says I can make at least 300 dollars for tommorrow, friday, and saturday. After that money and with my next paycheck I am going to be REALLY close to debt-free on credit cards! the end is near. Then it will be time to create savings and maybe pay some of my students loans off.

Rain Storms here tonight. love y'all.

--DAlen

Beach Weekend!

Last weekend was spent soaking up the sun and sand in lovely Charleston, SC. Well, actually we did go to Charleston, but there wasnt really any sun. Saturday after work, we basically got in our car and drove south. It was lightly raining off and on all day saturday, so we were glad to get out of here. Unfortunately, the rain was off and on all the way down to SC, and all the way to the beach. Night one of swimming and fun at the beach was cancelled due to inclement weather. It wasnt all a bust though, as myself, Steve, and Tak were privelidged enough to spend the evening with the lovely Jenny and even lovelier Bria (two VISTAs from my PSO in the ATL). There was much laughter and mischief once the lights went out and we all reverted back to the 4th grade.

The next day was sure to be full of blue sky and sunshine. Of course, that meant that it wasnt. The 3 of us left Bria to get rest and get better (she was a little sick with the Bubonic Plague) and went to eat breakfast with Blue 6. Uncle Leroi got to meet the entire team, and then they promptly left to do an ISP. So, we stayed and finished off their leftovers and did some dishes. Then it was to Charleston city to wander the market and cobblestone streets. The afternoon brought with it a relaxing Scorcesi Film (The Departed). Not to ruin the movie for you, but everyone dies. Typical for him. Last nights dinner was held at the Cantina under the hotel on Isle of Palms. Post dinner plans were again going to be swimming, but a much worse storm came and showed crazy lightening.

The lightening actually proved to be much better to watch than another movie, so Bria and I sat on her porch and watched 8-10 branch lightening bolts dance across the sky. It was amazing. I have never seen so many branches in my life. Unfortunately the frequency wasnt enough to make picture taking possible.

Today was our last day in Charleston. Bria went into the record books as being officially my third model. I got one good picture with Kat (first model) and maybe 5 good ones with Brianne. Hopefully I got some good ones with Bria, but I dont have my hopes high. The lighting was bad today and my batteries ran out. Oh well. We did find a wonderfully shady glenn on base with super old live oaks.

Back to work tommorrow. I am only working 2 days this week, because I am working the other 5 at the NASCAR race, hopefully making a bunch of money. So, Tuesday and Wednesday are going to be superbusy.

love y'all,
--Leroi

Life is indeed SWEET!!!

Life is good. the more I experience, the more i realize that its dang cool. The difficulty is realizing that life is good. You see, there is no one thing that makes life good. Investigating it on a level of single aspects leaves it up to some temporal results. Today is a good day. Tommorrow may be bad. You have to look at the overall picture. When you compare and contrast, the good pretty much equal out the bad. But you see, then you go back and you eliminate the bad, forget that life sucks on stormy days. Look forward to when the sun shines.

One of my friends just got engaged. Congrats Jamie. If ever there was a cooler woman, i dont know her. I am pretty sure she is essentially the woman version of me. She once described me as a cross between her really close ex-boy and the guy that is now her fiance. Pretty sure we will always be friends, whether or not we are near...72 hours will do that to people.

My job is great. the work isnt awesome, or challenging, or up to my mental capacity as an engineer. The pay is crap. the people I work with are cool. I push papers around a lot. but, the motive and goal is incredible. Affordable housing. poverty issues. its where i am supposed to be for the next year...and i will do it best i can.

today, for the first time in my life, i worked on MY garden. I transplanted a morning glory from down the street. i hope it doesnt die. the soil here is harsh.

today is the first of october. today marks the beginning of my training. this will be my year of cardio and strength training. 1 month structured serious self abuse in the name of progress, then 1 month of overactive lifestyling. rinse. repeat.

happy autumn! --DAlen
PS seriously, who sent me the text message!?

"What would you say you do here!?"

So, everyone is asking me what exactly my new job is. To start off, lets explain VISTA.

VISTA is:
-Volunteers in Service to America
-AmeriCorps branch that tries to eliminate poverty (despite knowing thats impossible)
-the only non-direct branch, which means that we dont swing the hammers, but rather create sustinable programs that enable the hammer to get swung
-the branch that seems to create more policy change than physical "i just did that" change

Now, as a VISTA member, I am working with a Habitat for Humanity Chapter, called Out Towns. Our Towns refers to Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, and Mooresville, now which are all partly mine, apparenetly (yes its true kids, not spelling well doesnt disqualify you from being able to own a town). I have an office at the Out Town office. Acutally, my office used to be split between Manny and Phil, the two contruction guys. Manny is in MS right now, and I moved all his stuff to Phil's desk, and took over his computer (which I actually relocated from the Volunteer area, where Syd mainly used it). My (our) original computer was blue-screening (aka broken).

So what do I do? So far, my main project has been dealing with homeowner warranty issues. I have sorted the mess all out. Many of the issues were already taken care of, dont apply because its been too long (we only service the homes for a year), or were an exageration (homeowners tell lots of fish stories). My next project looks like it will involve me educating everyone the benefits of Microsoft Project and the wonderfull world of the Gantt Chart. Scoot back in your chair before you fall off the edge.

I think today I am going swimming. tommorrow I get to do some direct service...but dont tell VISTA!

--Will DAlen Rice

MS...beautifull MS

I went to MS for the week. It was hot as hell. We framed an entire house. I feel at this point that I could oversee the framing process from the cutting of the plates, to the construction of the walls, to the final process of cap plating. Learning alot is an understatement.

There was also a chance meeting with my old roomy, DJ. He is down there, working it up with an NCCC team for another year. I also managed to catch up with one of my potential life mates, Tori. We went to Wal-mart and just basically hung out and reminisced. It was a short time, but very enjoyable and it seemed like it was just yesterday that we were all together.

Now, I am back here in wonderfull NC. Yesterday we went up to Babel Towers in the Linville Gorge. I jumped a couple times from the cliff. It really put the life back into me. Unfortunately the weather didnt cooperate and some very loud lightning forced us to "oh crap, we should leave." Somehow, the 3 girls i was with got lots of cuts, scrapes, and bruises. It seems that always happens when i get girls to go to water holes with me. Dont know why.

Tommorrow will be the re-start of my job. I dont know what I will be getting into tommorrow, but it should be pretty laid back. Thursday I might go to a concert. Life is easing back into normalcy for me, which means lots of fun here in Charlotte. Sometime this week I'll start training again, hopefully keeping it up for more than a month. Now that I have my UFC poster on the wall, I wake up to inspiration.

I may be getting a cell phone tommorrow. I can almost hear the gasps from everyone reading this now.

be great, be the change
--DAlen

New Spike tommorrow!

Tommorrow morning, I am leaving at 4:30am to drive to MS to help build houses. We will be staying in some type of Red Cross shelter, getting paid very little, but helping to make a difference. Its like an NCCC spike all over again (minus the blue 6 crowd, the longer-than-one-week stay, and everyone wearing the same clothes). I do miss NCCC.

What have I been doing for the past 10 days? Well, I stopped burning the forest, drove to Athens for my annual birthday party at UGA (Alex's b-day, not mine), drove to ATL for 4 days of orientation, met some cool girls, found a cool bar that rotates at the top of a building, came to Mooresville NC, finished a house to live in, moved in, worked 3 days in the office, worked one day framing walls and finishing top plates, and went to a baseball game. Somewhere in there, I also ended up seeing my old roomy eric, started wondering where my old neighbors Robin, Allan, and Chris are, played some Stout Frisbee golf with Cody, and hung out with Jerrod and his girlfriend.

Life is good...as long as you want it to be.

--DAlen

Yay comments!

Well, I got the comments. Thanks everyone. I'll try and dig up some good naked pics from somewhere. It could take a while though...girls dont really talk to me much.

I just discovered some really good music. Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Theyre gonna go big when people here them.

Only a few days left until the new job starts up. It looks like I might get a chance to go to MS to do some building right at the beginning of my service year. Maybe I can reunite with Tori.

How is the rest of the team doing? Anyone out there?

Life is good. So was Little Miss Sunshine.

The mohawk is back.

--DAlen

No Comments

I havent had any comments in quite some time...so I am wondering if anyone still reads this. So, I am resorting to time tested and proven tactics to get people to read my blog...

If there is a comment next time, I will make sure to post pictures of NAKED GIRLS and HOT GUYS...possibly even with FIRE IN THE BACKGROUND. So, tell all your friends.

So, yeah, this week was crazy long and hectic. Allow me to fill y'all/you guys in.

MONDAY
We had recieved word the previous week that we would be assisting with a muck fire, which had been burning for about 3 weeks (see Aerial burn that we helped set). The problem with a muck fire, is that it burns below the ground, and previously burnt material is able to somehow reburn. This fire, had actually burnt itself below the water table as well...some call it magic. In the latter part of the day, we manned hoses and added water to make mud puddles. The morning was a little less productive, as we moved about 2000 ft of hose in order to set up a GIANT sprinkler...a sprinkler running off of 6" diameter hose lay. Thats pretty ridiculous, since most of the time we are working with 1.5" diam hose. It looked to be a long week of muck.
TUESDAY- 14 hour Day!
Since we had burns to do, we didnt have to work the muck! So, we packed up and travelled to Archibold Bio Research Station. We did the first burn, with not too much problem. The 2nd burn, ended up being a nightmare. The fire breaks (lines, sometimes roads, where fire cant travel across the gound) were pretty much non-existant. One line we worked was tall grass. Other lines were palmetto mulch. So, you light the grass on fire, let it burn towards you a little, and then spray it out with water, letting the other side burn on into your bounded space. Then later you worry about whether or not fire started again and is burning somewhere at this very moment...somewhere it shouldnt be. Mulch burns as well as grass, so using it to stop fire is like putting your boat in the ocean to keep the pirates away.
WEDNESDAY
This day was sweet. We got ready for more muck fire, and then found out that forestry didnt need us anymore...so we did prep in the morning, and then burned out a unit here at our preserve. There was no holding...the fire couldnt spread. Take a torch, look for something that will burn, and add lots of fuel to it so it rips!
THURSDAY- my run in with the law
This was another good burn day, working with the game commission. Towards the end of the fire, I was standing out near the main highway, our south line. Suddenly, a Sheriff Deputy pulled up, lights flashing. She started asking me all these questions, which I didnt really know the answer to. Then she proclaimed that there was zero visibility on the road, power poles were about to be burned, and this didnt look like a controlled burn. I start to tell her it was a prescribed fire and everything was fine...but she walked away and started calling everyone to tell them about the chaos. The fire was really tame at that point, and visibility was about 5 miles. I guess maybe she had never seen much fire before. So, the fire department and dept of forestry both came by, and asked why they were called, because indeed nothing was going on. My boss got a kick out of it, and the burn boss couldnt really figure out the drama of it either. She eventually drove away, and everything was fine.
FRIDAY- the biggest 2 acres ever
We did a small sandhill burn of a property inside a gated community. Apparently, it was a very rich golf community, so there was a little added stress. We were burning wiregrass to try and promote some endangered plant to comeback. We could have yelled to each other across the unit it was so small. Unfortunately, again there were no control lines, so it was a balance of lighting/spraying with water. Then, we had to fully mop-up at the end, which means nothing can be left burning, or smoldering, or even steaming really.

All in all, I learned a lot, worked a lot, and made a lot of overtime, so life is good. One week to go, and its back to the big city!

--DAlen

3 easy steps to your very own prescribed FIRE!!!

Step 1: Light Fire

Step 2 and 3: Burn and Enjoy

is it hot in this fire or is it just me?

Life is still good down here. Yesterday and today we burned some units right here in our own backyard. It beats the heck out of travelling somewhere else to burn. i had a case of the mondays, which in this line of work and location translates to a little open flame induced semi-heat exhaustion.

I lit an edge of palmetto scrub yesterday...saw some 50 ft flames torching trees (unfortunetly). Then I ran out of fuel, and the only source of more torch mix was across the lake. so, myself and my roomate Parker decided to meet up, and each of us waded into the lake. luckily it was only about 2.5 ft deep. Of course, it was marshy, so we were both waiting for an alligator to come say hi. i actually was excited about getting my feet wet, hoping they would cool off, but it was really more like wading into a bath tub with leather boots on (kids, try this at home).

Anyway, I got pictures, and most of you will probably be forced to look at them next time I have been drinking and we are partying at my place.

Deep thought of the day:
What would your life be like if you decided not to be bothered by things? What if, say every month, you could concentrate and endure a discomfort, so much to the fact that it no longer became bothersome? This would mean that you could overcome 12 new pain-in-the-rear experiences every year! The current one I am working on is gnats. I am on the verge. As long as they dont actually get in my eye or in my lungs, i can take them buzzing around my ears. they start to sound like music after a while.

Next update: are the tractor brakes working yet? who knows? maybe it needs a new master cylinder? or maybe i get frustrated and lite it on fire. Stay tuned!

--LEroi