Isn’t it ironic? No, really, is it?

Alright, so everybody uses the term irony wrong, so this is an anecdote that may or may not be ironic but could be described by a term related to ironic:
So we’re about to head out to find some internet and go to urgent care to find out if Rob’s oozing belly button is life-threatening and I’m running a little late so I dash out the door. As I slam it shut and try to hurry down the stairs, my middle finger is left behind, crushed in the door jamb. I thought it was just stunned so I shook it furiously as I tried to suppress my expletives. It wasn’t until my team leader made an exclamation of disgust, “You’re flinging blood everywhere!” that I realized this might be a bigger problem than I had originally estimated. Sweetheart that he is, Josh ran up to the house to acquire paper towels to stem the flow of gushing blood. Upon his return he immediately applied his acquisition to…the front seat of the van which I had apparently flung blood upon. We all stared at him dumbfounded as my more concerned teammates dug into the first aid kit while blood flooded underneath my fingernail. To sum up, in my haste to get to the internet I injured myself badly enough that when we got into town I had to go with Rob to the urgent care and ended up getting no internet at all. I would say the positive side of this is that I got a prescription for 20 vicodin, but vicodin doesn’t work for me so after taking it for several days to no avail, I switched back to ibuprofen. Although, my prescription did come with a coupon for giant rotisserie chicken and until we figured out that Giant was the brand name, we were pretty frickin excited.

This entry will be completed on Tuesday during the next internet run as we will (hopefully) be finding out our next project tonight which I want to add to this week’s blog. Also, that gives me more time to think of stories that are both amusing and not centered around my injuries…
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With 1 week left here in Virginia our next project has been revealed to us. On May 12th we have a 22 hour, 2 day drive to look forward to as we head down to Lake Charles, Louisiana! Now…Louisiana has never been really high on my list of places to live but I find I’m rather excited for this new venture because we’re working for *dun duh dun!* Habitat for Humanity! Oh yes, that’s right, Ima learn how to build houses from the ground up and if we’re really efficient we’ll learn how to side’em and roof’em too. Huzzah! Now that you’re all good and jealous I can tell you the best part—I’m living in a double-wide. That’s right, one bedroom, nine people, no secrets. Just the way I like it. Rob likes to wake up early and talk loud, EJ goes to bed late jamming out to her (loud) stereo. The kitchen is separated from the bedroom by an island. There is one light for both rooms. One bathroom indoors plus 4 showers in a nearby trailer. We’ve already broken so many boundaries in this team that I’m excited to see what more there is. Kendra and I share a room at the moment and stopped shutting the door while we use the bathroom 2 weeks ago, Kenny, who led us in "awkward" PT,--Hip thrusts, groin stretches and chest isolations to say the least--has been lobbying for “Naked Weekend” for quite some time and today we had to change out of our herbicide clothes after work before we could load up the van and the people who forgot to bring extra just jumped in sans pants. Since “team-cest” is against the rules I’m not sure how we could get much closer but we’re creative, we’ll find a way.

Raven 5? yeah, we're close.


Along this vein, “Team Spoon” has been suggested as a team builder. …and so has playing Dungeons & Dragons. By the same person-Rob.
This brings up another important topic: Team Mottos. Most of which are variations on a theme:
“Rob, Don’t.”
“Rob, No”
“Rob, Get Off Me”
“Don’t touch me, ew”

This is Rob.



The last few motto suggestions are in relation to our work at Mason Neck. Between 15 tons of garbage dragged out of the forest to sweating with chainsaws on the plantation to breaking nearly every tool we come in contact with we find ourselves frequently repeating the following:
“Why? Why? Why?”
And my personal favorite-
“Raven 5: Ya done fucked up.”

Everyday we ask "Why, why, why?"

Okay, you can all dry your eyes, I have returned to the internet after a 17-day hiatus. And oh the updates I have. The day after my last post will forever be marked in history as The Day It All Went Wrong or the epic April Fools Disaster. It started off with some harmless boot-hiding and lunch swapping which escalated as the victims plotted against the perpetrators. It ended with a mattress thrown outside over the side of a hill and an expensive ring missing and nobody willing to take credit. Shouting and threats ensued and 3 members packed up and left for Perry Point for disciplinary hearings. Eep.
And then of course there is me being me and getting hit in the back of the head with a log I was carrying with Kenny.

Don't ask how this happened, I have no flippin clue. I am just that coordinated, I assure you.
I rock at life-4 stitches and I couldn't wash my hair for 5 days, ew.

We recently were informed that the if we write any of our sponsors' company names that they have programs that e-mail them to let them know they were mentioned on the internet. So I would hereby like to formally welcome the representatives of AmeriCorps NCCC, For Love of Children Outdoor Education Center, and Mason Neck State Park to my blog. I hope you enjoy it and I love you all.

And now I feel the need to preface this with the disclaimer that this may sound derogatory towards Mason Neck, but really, it's just funny.

3 members of my team (1 being myself) independently began calling our work site "The Plantation" which has spread like wildfire and been officially adopted by the whole team. A) We're in Virginia. B) There is no shade in this field. C) We're chainsawing dead trees wearing thick chaps over thick pants, helmets with face shields and earmuffs and thick leather gloves. Mmmm sweat. D) It was 80 degrees at least all that week. This name is deserved.
Even so, our scale "Tiny" insists that none of us are losing weight. I doubt the rice & beans we ate on Sunday are contributing to this problem. The pizza our sponsor bought us for lunch after walking in on us eating the aforementioned rice & beans for supper might be a reason...

Andddd I'm out of time, out of stories, out of my mind.