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Published: August 2nd 2019
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Build Day!
We awake at 6:45am for a 7:30 departure to our build site. In typical fashion, we are all dressed and ready to go in the van and waiting on Chris. It only took until this very morning for NJ to realize that we are always waiting on Chris. Always. Which ensues in a raised NJ voice freak out, lol. We all (impatiently) await for him to lollygag out of the host and into the van--must be nice to be the last one out of the host and manage to score one of the best seats in the van. I pitch the idea of us getting tanks made since my good friend Amanda Seal just sent me a proof of artwork to approve. I send it out on the GroupMe to get a read on people's interest. We also take Dunkin orders and NJ runs in and grabs it all for the team. We show up at the site a bit late but with coffee in hand (perhaps it will make us more productive?), only to find out they take a coffee break and bring Dunkin' around 10:30am. Dylan from SC2SC16 (NJ and Sabrina's trip) joins us for the
build today.
After circling up outside the house, we break up into groups and get to work. My work and group assignment is a bit unclear, so Sarah and I take a large magnet around the parameter of the house and "vacuum" up nails and other fallen metal debris. We make the most of it and take pictures of each other and teammates. We take our coffee break and get back at it. Sarah then joins another team and I feel a bit out of sorts with what to do with myself. All the groups seem maxed out and well into their projects. I take some fun videos and help out where and how I can.
We stop for pizza and salad lunch where Paul, one of the main volunteer with this Habitat says, "Gotta take my cat to the vet--the mutt is on drugs and wakes up at 4am whipping all around--we have them on a harness with 50 foot ropes, had to reign it back to 20 feet--he went and messed with the pitbulls and that was a very expensive mistake." That gets a good laugh out of all of us, though perhaps the heat and
hunger may have been playing a role into the amount of laughter we experienced from that little tidbit. We wrap up our afternoon a bit early after demoing a chimney and cleaning up the scaffolding (I took a few time lapse videos and they look bombbb! Amanda would be proud!).
We head back to the host where we then decide to thrift in their thrift store downstairs. They told us it was all donations based and that there was plenty for us and to take what we want and leave any donations we can on the desk. We have a heck of a good time roaming through the many silly options available to us. We're even tempted to have another prom and go bowling again with all our good finds! I manage to make it out with a fun maroon moo-moo that reads "Can't Get Out of Bed Send Coffee," a faded black button down Hawaiian shirt with yellow flowers, and yellow skinny (& stretchy!) pants. I'm surprised they fit and admittedly almost don't take the yellow pants bc I thought I looked like a stuffed sausage. Luckily my find friends encourage me otherwise, which I'm glad they did.
Ryan tries on the moo-moo and we dare him to wear it to the post office to collect our mail--which he does, camelbak and all, LOL. I take a shower in the sketchy gym showers and put on my new clothes. It does feel good to wear different clothes, though theres no guarantee they are clean, but, Bike & Build, I don't care. We eat dinner outside and send some love Aiden's way via video. We send him 'happy thoughts' and exclaim "Arugula! Puppies! K2C!" on repeat. He loves it and even notices that some of us are in different clothes. So weird seeing each other in different clothes than our normal kits or 1 of 3 outfits.
After dinner, I start to put my new pink bar tape on my bike that I had NJ pick up for me when she went to pick up her bike today. The sun is beginning to set and I already got bike grease on my new pants >:E But luckily the tape is bright I can still see though its growing darker. Then. In roll two friends. And one of them is none other than SABRINA ORR!! One of my
very near and dear best friends from PBA. She visited West Palm when I was planning my first trip and she was immediately inspired to do her own trip, since she couldn't pull it off for summer 2014. AND THEN SHE DID! And I wanted to join her for that trip, but I couldn't pull it off for summer 2016 since I was in the middle of my grant job so I settled on watching her (& yes NJ too!) finish their trip in Santa Cruz. So that planted a seed that perhaps I would enjoy doing another trip. So I did. And here I am. AND NOW WE CAN RIDE TOGETHER!
We freak out (par usual) and repeatedly say "You're heeeere!" (again, par usual) as I show her around the host. She is joined with Sasha, who we got to meet (and some of us stayed with) when we were in Sererna Park, Maryland who also made us the Keys to Canada stickers we've been sportin' on our bikes. We show them around and then a group of us head down the road to a local bar where there's loud live music and drinks for everyone. I'm still
in a state of "pinch me" moment that this is real--on B&B again and with Sabrina! I enjoy my Moscow Mule, we catch up a bit, license pictures serve some laughs, and we walk back to the host. Sabrina and I lay our thermarests next to each other by the bikes and I excitedly and peacefully fall asleep, indeed, we are here--together 😊
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