Welcome to Westmont.

This is where we build in Siler City- a place that reminds me much of mexico- for the food, the people, and the language. Yay spanish time.

So this would be casa numero dos for me- in the framing world. I really like this part because you can see the work that we have done each day when we are done- unlike three coats of paint or trim work of sorts...
This house is to be a two story so stay tuned for more picture updates, now that i am finally remeber my camera.

Last night sleep was not so easy- although i am not exactly sure why, it was raining very hard on my tin roof. Normally this helps me to sleep, but last night was a battle- i shall use this as my excuse for misspellings and incoherence. :)

This past Sunday i ran in my first race ever- if you want to call it that- a 5K in Raleigh called the monster dash - my time 30:03 and my race number 454- palindromes everywhere! 95 out of 209 - I really like the feeling i get after a run - i feel like i could perhaps conquer the world, or normally harder tasks, so i have tried to make it more a part of my habits. And by that i mean i have been running this week 2x's and last week once - so i wasnt too dissapointed in the fact that i had only run 1 time in the past 2 months and got that time. I am hopeing for a marathon with my dad in March- we shall see on both those parts.

My grandmother called me today and shared wonderful news of a donation to my Habitat for Humanity- thanks again. I am also very happy my grandfather is no longer in the hospital. It was nice to hear his voice, as he always inspires hope in me.

This past weekened i also was invited to 2 parties in Chatham County- i know right 2 in one day for this county- basically thought hell would freeze over... but it was soo much fun. Went to my boss's house and we carved pumpkins (we being americoprs and some of his friends) - and after i went to Lauren's boyfriend Hayden's house for his soup party. All in all a great night to live in Pittsboro and a good night to remind myself of my new friends.

Framing will continue tomorrow and after i must find some sort of halloween costume - i thought of being an owl- but i want to be sparkley and maybe wear a tutu so who knows where that will lead.

I shall make this post short in the hopes that i will return to write more sooner, like maybe tomorrow when i am cooking up my costume.

lomo bonita is my new favorite mexican restaurant

Busy. Busy. Busy.

It is October the first and i am sitting outside in a flannel shirt just warm enough- yay fall !

The past week has been a lot of work - late hours and long days- but all entirely worth it.  I think that my brain often feel like it may explode due to the amount of information coming in...

i know spanish and i know english 

- but construction- this is a whole different language, 

which i am slowly learning in english and in spanish.

in framing a house i have learned more vocab for 2X4's then most people ever thought imaginable. i like to learn though and it keeps me interested every day is new and different, even when i have done the task before because there are often new and different volunteers.

i think that more than framing that has been the lesson of the past week- learning how to teach others.  there are many groups who come to chatham county habitat to volunteer- the retired men and sometimes women, the all girls schools, the churches, the homeowners, singles groups, corporate companies,...

each of these groups has their own ideas about how they want the day to go and each of these groups has at ~15 people who all learn their own ways... you can see how i thought i might already know all these things being that i have worked in the service industry for ~ 8 years or something but let me tell you this is a whole new ballgame. 

patience is something that i have grown over the years and found it moreso in spain and in my last year of college than anyother time - now it is time to continue that growth and practice it.  Being a girl i think sometimes is a factor which makes all of this harder but more on women in construction later. 

Yesterday i attempted to go to a urban agriculture meeting with my coworker in siler city after work - before the meeting we drove around exploring the city * town - to see all the parts of it that we cannot see on our daily drive to westmont (where the house is that we are framing).  we then went to our favorite mexican restaurant, coincidentally the only mexican restaurant i have been to in town, for a sopes.  sopes are from heaven.  we were waiting to meet up with  a couple people from pittsboro, including my coworker- lauren's boyfriend.  welp, we ended up getting the meeting time confused and saw the end of it where we sat outside with a few of the people talking about things and stuff- you know how that is... at this point we were invited back to one guys studio space in downtown siler city (don't laugh city friends) and it was AMAZING... i mean really cool.  The tire park in bradford  has a competitor - this guy makes all sortsa art - lamps, tables, chairs ... out of old tires.  It was wonderful.  a night of dancing and singing and piano and drum playing and then of course the old record player.  I thought to myself on my drive home from siler city - this is why i moved here.  

back to life in pittsboro at the old mann house- i like this as well.  my roomates are very interesting people with idiosyncrasies that far exceed what i was expecting and make it about ten times better to live where i do.  i really enjoy when the two of them are at home - and even walked into the normally quiet michael singing along to david bowie yesterday..:)

jonah is always boisterous.  he also likes pizza more than anyother human i have ever met- which works great for me - being that i came in to a large amount of it last weekend upon visiting friends in the raleigh region. oh and to my wife stephanie (we were married as a class project in hs where there were not enough boys)- her visit from philly was wonderful.  so glad to see her so happy.  

My class at the community college is interesting - although i find it rather funny that the men teaching the class do not remember me from the 3 months i worked in the same office as them.  i suppose i could remind them- but i like being under the radar to an extent. 

the class is on building science .

on tuesday nights i go to a new homeowners class - which is going well.  i am learning a lot about owning a home.  this night also gives me a chance to talk with the homeowners in a nonworkish environment, sharing stories that we do not always get the time to talk about.  except last saturday-  these stories and more came out last saturday when i was in charge of the homeowners.  i think they brought out about 30 people plus.  i was stressin' because i had 4 houses going at once- but no matter because the homeowners are the best group to work with- shhhhhh.

i get to use my spanish all the time on these days and this particular saturday i got food for free too! homecooked mexican- yes you should now be jealous. . . and all the meat in the world if i had wanted it.  

this job is wonderful. this life change is much the same.  i feel more observant of everything- which i like- perhaps because it is new, or perhaps because i take the time to notice more.  

... and when i miss the people and do not want to be in the woods i do what i am now- drive to carborro with my dog and sit outside with my computer around others.  

i leave you all tonight with a picture of my house as it stood half-way through yesterday.  yes this was started last week. 

Rainy days.

It has been far too long.

sorry all.

Today - Tuesday 22 of Sept. it rained, off and on , on and off ... off and on. Again.

i suppose if i were not framing a house i would not hate it so much- but when trying to lay joists on a chalk line in the rain- well you see the problem here... good news is that i got to meet the family of this new house tonight at the New Homeowners Meeting ( i am required to go for work but would opt to go if it were up to me).  This is a class for all people who are approved to own a habitat home - and let me just tell you - these houses are nice, probably nicer than anything i have lived in (sorry mom and dad)

My rational:

1.  our houses come with a promise for the first 2yrs that your energy - heating and cooling will be less than 35 dollars. I lived in an apt. that was half the size and got double that in the extreme seasons.  

2.  our houses come with options for the money- tile floors and pergo - i mean i think my rents have a beautiful wood floor and that the wood floor in my old apt was wonderful as well- but they dont do carpet as much as they used to - decreasing health problems.  

3.  our houses are well built - this is where - now that i know- i really question my rents house- i want to make sure that they are getting the most for their money and silly structure things make me question. 

ok so maybe my house is nicer but i must say these houses are pretty great.  As i said before, we began work in Siler City today - something we hadnt done in while - i had not ever done before - building joists and knee walls and all sortsa vocab. i had never heard of (one disadvantage to being the only new americorps habitat member at my location)  

it was a mighty rainy day left work played with rux went back for the class and learned about the habitat homeowning process- really interesting and i am excited to spend time with the homeowners and their kids!   I then bought some groceries at the store, which for once in my life- i could see why people like chains.  I felt almost a sense of comfort in that i am new and know not a sole- yet my harris teeter is set up in the same fashion.  

i know i will regret saying what i just did, good job branding agents at the HT.   

i will write more of my new community college corse on monday nights and this past weekend with 6 cats and 2 dogs later. 

Tuesdays are destin to be the longest, but maybe best days of the week.

Yesterday:  i got to work nice and earlyish but not as early as i was aiming for... went to the worksite excited that we had a new americorps memeber joining- Keith.  We worked and he came out to help us onsite, which was great because we only had 2 volunteers.  It was a bit disheartining because there was so much work to be done on our house to have finals next week.  eek.

After that we were all scheduled to go on a Chatham county tour- the americorps &  4 grad students from UNC.  It was really intersting to get to learn about my new county and how different it is from wake.  We got to see a lot of siler city (if there is a lot to see - smaller than bradford) and hear about the demographics of the different areas.  We all had a bite after that and i saw people that i used to work with at southern energy management- which was really exciting too. 

I was really pumped about life after that 12 hour day of work - and then today it was rainy. 

Not too big of a deal to me because i had a workshop in raleigh.  We all got to go to Advanced Energy to learn about building specs.  it was an amazing oppertunity to see how progressive the habitat i work for really is- and believe you me i have no idea of the extent of all of it.  

We were used as the poster children of building to explain what improvements can be made to other builders.  We build houses with this program and can promise the homebuyers a power bill of <$35!  

Now throughout college no house i have ever lived in has ever come even near that - how great huh?

I had to go back to my raleigh apartment and clean a bit and noticed that - MY Bathroom was LEaking! ahh- the whole ceiling and walls-ugh.  I called maintence.  The guy said the toilet above me was leaking.  Kinda grooooossss.  I thought to myself, well at least i dont live here.  

While i should have finished cleaning and such griffin came to raleigh and got dinner with me(thanks mom&dad)  then murf came and met up with us.  i love my brothers.  they are the best.  we enjoyed a great meal downtown and i realized i must cherish each of the moments i get to spend with them so close, because our lives will be farther spaced soon.  they are growing so fast (i know i sound like grandma) 

i need to sleep and stop rambeling - sorry if there are incomprehensible pieces to this because i am sleeeeepy. 

also inclosed - me at the state of things- i was thinking back on this summer. more later.  

Moving. from . Raleigh.

Wow. 

who could ever think i had so much stuff... oh wait probably everyone except me.  Living on your own requires you to have so much more stuff than living with two others.  It has been nice to sift through items and decide what to keep and what to junk- although at time i really feel like junking it all!  I am reminded how luck i am to have so much - how privillaged i have grown up- and i am thankful.  

The guy in the apartment above me is rocking out so lound to a mix of country and rap - singing as loudly as possible - and i think possibly jump roping at the same time- i find this a good reason to leave this beautiful, historic, comfortable space and venture into my new home- the Old Mann House.  I like the name personally.  I do wish i knew more of the story behind it.

Today has just been moving - Thanks Dad- and a whole lot cleaning- sorta.  who knew that masking tape left so many marks on the walls- answer - not me. 

nothing more really to report. last day of raleighwood. 

feeling pretty good about it.

sorta. haha. no this is good and i am excited. sitting on the ever so clean floor of my old place. 

The first week. New things.

This week was my first at Chatham Habitat for Humanity/Americorps. I am not sure if i can even begin to tell you how excited i am for how much i have/will learn and how tired i am/will be.  

The first day was filled with ~30pages of paperwork for our government where they required more forms for this job than any other legally can- really (every form of id that has ever been made of me)- i could not begin to tell you why they need everyone of them but -eh whatever.

Post a million hours of paper work we went out to the sites and i was given the directions that i would lead a tile installation.  Right... was my initial thought- which was then followed closely with - they want me to do what?  It is my first day/ first week how am i already in charge - i know nothing.

Day 2: Wed. Sept. 9

I woke up and headed to the site after crashing in raleigh - more on that later.  I started my day and by the end of it - the midweekers, (as they are called) a small collection of retired men that live in a place called the governor's club- which i gather to be a well-to-do retirement community of people from the north that love golf, taught me how to install tile.  Oh, and i also painted a ceiling.

The next two days were more paperwork- setting expectations- setting goals for our homes ( 5 in Chatham Oaks and 5-i think- in Siler City) - and more organizational work for me and the other americorps- which for this week was one other girl- Lauren.  She was an americorps here last year and has made me feel much more confident and at ease with this whole new world of construction and living in the middle of a small town.  Lauren rules, and this is the first year she will have another female to work with so i think she likes me to.  We share hair things, yeah i know if you are a guy maybe you are lost- all you ladies know what i am talking about.

THEN CAME SATURDAY : 

What to say of a crazy, hectic, and incredibly productive day of work.  I had a group that i was in charge of from Chapel Hill.  Most of them were young professionals that came out with some of their friends.  We were tasked with painting the entire interior of the home and doing some more tile (that stuff takes some time and is my weakness due to the necessity to be completely square, but i will get it).  These guys and gals were the best crew to work with- great attitudes and man were they speedy.  I was sooo impressed and relieved.  We almost finished the tile and finished the paint with the help of the future home owner Luis, Mercedes and I forget the other name- will post later.  They only spoke spanish WHICH WAS AMAZING.  I miss using it - a lot. Overall, the day was a success and was a great experience.  

After work was done i had a goodbye potluck in Raleigh at the Shelton (aka the compound) and thought of how i will miss this place and the comradery of living where you can walk to all the things you need.  There is much to be said for convenience.  

I am now- Sunday moving. 

Packing up what has been a very long year in raleigh - so interesting to think back to when i moved in.  Being slightly moved in and out of different homes, i think, is begining to make me feel lost and restless- but order shall be restored this week.  When i no longer have my escape in raleigh i will be forced to deal with my decision to reside in the country and establish a schedule.  I know i will like it- i just have to get things in their places.. i hope. 

I need to clean and pack more. Much more to come. Welcome to my Americorps/Habitat/living in Pittsboro experience.  

This is where i work - Chatham Habitat