November 2008
2 posts
WatchI cannot describe my excitement for the new Kanye West album
March 2008
5 posts
Mama's Boy
My parents, Mama and Papa Fish, are here visiting till Friday. I haven’t seen them since December, so this is really cool. They’re going to work with me tomorrow and then I’m going to show them New Orleans on Thursday. I am very happy. I missed my parents. Lesson to be Learned from this Post: I’m a sissy
The Beginning of the End (Stole it from a LOST...
I am entering a 24-hour blitz to get the house that Matt and I have been building done. By the end of tomorrow, our work will officially be done. I feel like Jack Bauer racing against a bomb. The last week and a half of this process has been one of the most frustrating and educational experiences of my life. I have learned what to do (and not do) to a build a home and it isn’t as easy as...
The Deal
juliaheffernan: What’s the deal with boys? This is the girliest question I have ever asked. But, seriously, I need to know. My best friend Julia asked this question recently in her blog. I would like to field the question, if I may. The Deal with Boys We boys are a complicated breed. But I can break down our decision making influences fairly easily by age. 0-5 Whatever our Mother says is Law...
Lock Down in Gen Pop
New volunteers just came in today. This is the third group of volunteers to describe the living conditions here like prison. They all come in and see the bunk beds and say something like, “I feel like we’re in prison”, or “So this is what prison looks like.” At this point in their tour, I take off my shirt, paint on tattoos and start lifting weights in the middle of...
Filler
I haven’t written anything in a while, but plenty has happened. Work on the house is going well; we’ve finished the outside and are working on drywalling and mudding. We finally have volunteers under the age of 60, but turns out, young people snore also. We had one of the biggest storms that I’ve seen in a while last night. It was like a bowling alley right over my bed, but...
February 2008
13 posts
Hurrah
A few days ago, a little girl saw my teammate Matt and I get into our pickup, wearing our Americorps uniforms, and right before I got in she said, “Bye soldiers”. As a rule, I think if a child mistakes you for a soldier, that should buy you a week of salutes and being able to say “Hurrah” like the Marines. Lesson to be learned from this post: I should not be allowed to...
Hmmm....
My Dad wrote me this email. Geoff, Did you see the news today? Yao Ming out for the season with a stress fracture in his foot - effectively ending any hope the Rockets have of hanging onto the last playoff spot in the West. He says the pain started when he was overworked by some smart-alec Americorps volunteer while laying sod in New Orleans. Just thought you should know. Dad I’m 98% sure...
Don't worry...I'm a professional
Today I recieved my Red Cross licenses for Mass Care, Shelter Operations, and Translating Compassion. That’s right. I am now officially capable of showing compassion for others. Bad news is that it expires in a year. So don’t come near me a year from now. Lesson to be learned from this post: If, in the future, robots wish to feel human emotions, they will only need to attend a 2 hour...
New house
My teammate Matt and I have been working on a person’s house for the last week. It is a new project for Camp Coast Care. We get to go to the same house everyday (except for one day when it was raining) and we get to see this thing through from beginning to the end. The homeowner, a very nice new father, has been trying to rebuild the home himself, but it’s just him and it has gotten to...
Old People Snore
If you are old, or “aged like a fine wine”, you can take comfort in the fact that no matter what state in America you grow old in, you will always snore like a friggin’ train that runs right outside the window. In the past 2 weeks at Camp Coast Care, I have shared a sleeping area with old people from South Carolina, Connecticut, Montana, Missouri, and Florida. And I have heard...
Camp Coast Care
I have left Camp Hope and started a new project in Long Beach, Mississippi. My team is living at Camp Coast Care, or as we say “The Cube”, and we are reconstructing old houses and building brand new ones. The camp is run by Episocpalians and Lutherans, so even in Americorps, I am still surrounded by Episcopalians. I’ve done mostly drywalling for the last week at the home of a very nice couple...
I know celebrities
I had quite possibly the most surreal 24 hours recently. My team left our current camp in Mississippi for a day to head to New Orleans. When we arrived, we were on Anderson Cooper 360. According to both my mother and Aunt Suzie, I appeared like a floating head behind Anderson for a few minutes. The next day, my team worked with NBA Cares and Hands On NOLA to lay down grass for a elementary school...
December 2007
4 posts
Americorps
I am in Americorps for the next year, so the majority of my posts will consist of updates on that experience. i’ve been in the program since october 17th and have had alot of interesting experiences, including CTI (basic training), a 5 day roadtrip from Sacramento, CA to St. Bernard, LA, hiking in New Mexico, visiting the Alamo, working at the Camp Hope kitchen, building a playground with...
First post. is that a boring title? ok, what about...
this is my first post on my new…what is it? a tumblr? really? t-u-m-b-l-r? ok. good choice of spelling youtube generation. im actually part of that generation, but im trying to develop an old soul. some say i have a boyish wonder, so i have to counteract it with the grumpy disposition of an old man who still calls Russia the Soviet Union. so i’ll allow you onto my tumblr, but you...