Bitter brawl lends to promising future.

I'm starting to get lazy with my blog posts...this isn't good.

Friction hit the classroom hard at 7 pm last night. Voices were raised, tension filled the room, and the 3rd years got a bit of a show. When the hostility was brought upstairs, things were different. It was as if we never had a fight. Issues were discussed calmly. Resolutions were proposed. Things got done!

I DO NOT want another one of these incidents to happen again. It was embarrassing. I know that we are never all going to agree on things every time, but we can't just hold in our problems until the day that we can't hold it in anymore and we lash out onto everyone else. Maybe this fight was necessary. We have seen how bad things can get between us, and now we must work hard to make sure that it never gets that bad again.

On a happy note...we finished the sub floor of the house on the piers side. There, like always, was a bit of confusion, and we had to redo some parts of it. But we fnished it this morning... Actually, as I'm typing this, about 4 students are out at the site working to finish it. We have found that 4-5 is the perfect number to have working on a job. It's enough to get the job done and there's no one standing around and no one getting in the way.

Porches are next...and that's me! Wish me luck!

Why can't we make up our minds?...Stubborn kids!

This week has been one slow week. There's really nothing going on on the site because we are waiting for the SIPs to come in, which will take about 3 weeks. We are spending the time designing more. This is good because once we get what the two porches will look like, then we can start constructing them. I've been working on the front porch and the roof that covers it. I pretty much got the roof down, we just need to make a decision between notching into the SIPs panels or fabricating brackets for the beam to nailed to or buying hangers of some sort. The porch part is a bit more complicated. The choices are clear...level the ground in front and put in pavers, or dig out the ground in front and put in a deck. The first choice would require a retaining wall, which can be as simple as railroad ties that can be found almost anywhere. The pavers would be cheap to buy. We would also design some sort of built-in seating because we would be taking away the comfort of a deck. The second choice would look more polished, but it would cost more and perhaps take more effort with digging out the yard. I really think that the class as a whole needs to make a decision fast, and then more investigation could be given to the details. Both options are possible. I feel like I'm just sitting here repeating myself. There's not much more I can show without designing the thing myself, and I hesitate to do that because I don't want the class to feel limited with design. I know that's hard to explain, but it makes sense in my head.

The bottom line is...the class needs to start making some decisions, and fast. This next weekend, we are installing the sub-floor for the pier system. I'm not sure how long that will take. Knowing us, it may take a week because we'll probably do something wrong and have to redo the whole thing. Now I pray that doesn't happen, and we are getting better at construction. It's all a learning experience. At least this time, we have some students with experience in building sub-floors.

Another issue going on is the budget for the project. Janina and I are working to keep the budget organized. Habitat for Humanity seems to think that we don't get donations from anyone, that we're not "pulling our weight." But this is not true. We have gotten SOOO much money from donations. We've also gotten a lot of materials and labor donated. Fundraisers will most likely be happening soon though. We are in the process of designing T-shirts, and we hope that they will be a hit and maybe we can sell them to whomever wants one...like they did last year. Maybe we should revert back to what we were researching in the Fall Quarter about fundraiser ideas?

We'll see how things turn out. Let's hope for the best!

...hmm? I wonder where everyone went...

The Little Bumps and Bruises Along the Way

It's been about a week since I last posted. The Mardi Gras break was last weekend and at the last minute, I left for 2 days. The vacation was not all that great. I got to see my family for a day, but I ended up being left there and spent a whole lot more time than I wanted to. I had some fun, but I would much rather have stayed in Ruston and worked on the site. The guys that were here did a great job on the piers and starting the rebar. Those of us who left jumped right in on putting rebar into the grades that we dug the week before. I have spent too much time on my stomach leaning into the grades to tie the rebar that my stomach really hurts now. My eyes are starting to hurt from constant glare and sunlight. I only wish that I could be getting a tan, but unfortunately it's still too cold for me to where short sleeves. Today, I got myself scratched by a nail poking out of a board.

Accidents have been happening on site a lot this past week. Poor Ashley broke her ribs after slipping and falling part way into a grade before the break. Shannon has a toe problem...(I don't know.) Morgan slipped just today. But all these bumps and bruises will not keep us from working on the house. Ashley is back with us (grabbing at her torso every now and then) but she had a smile on her face today. My face was covered in mud from working in the dirt. I dug a hole that was 3/4 the size of me. The inspectors joked that I was digging Dale Nugent's grave. I love Dale! He's amazing, and he's gonna get a great big dinner from all of us for all of the hard work he's put into this house...and all the times he's saved our butts!

...My eyes hurt...I'm done for the day.

Laissez les bon temps roulez!

So we are again at a stand-still. The elevation certificate is holding us up because we can't get a building permit without it. Hopefully that all gets taken care of on Monday, but in the meantime, we have to do something. Design work is really starting to come in from more people. We started a new thing at our group meetings (that are not during class time). We pass around a "speaking stick", which is usually some toy that's lying around in studio, and the person holding the stick has the floor. They can talk about whatever is on their mind...from good praises to problems with other members of the group or problems with the project in general. It's been a good tool so far, and we have really avoided some bad arguments.

So Mardi Gras break is this weekend thru Wednesday. Since I did not attend the Austin trip, it's only fair that I get to home away for Mardi Gras, right? Well, we'll see... Saturday is a big day. If things go well, and we get all the things done, then maybe I'll get a chance to sneak away for a couple of days.

Now I must take a nap.

...insomnia has been my life for the past week...