Day in the Life--Sunday

Two weeks to go!!! When I say I've got 4 weeks to be in the US, it seems short, but 2 weeks here stretches endlessly in front of me.

It feels like not much happened today, but I'm sure I'll be able to write a massive tome nonetheless.

8:02: Time to get up. No group=no breakfast, so we're on our own. My tent is miraculously dry. I lay awake for quite a while last night waiting for the inevitable trickle, sure that each time the tarp snapped in the wind, a stake was coming loose and it was going to blow off. My rig held, though.

9:00: Meeting time. Seth will be meeting with one of us each day to do "mid-summer" evals. I'm last on the schedule--by the time we talk, I'll have only a week left here. Everyone updates Seth on what happened yesterday, when he was off, but since I was too, I have nothing to add. I do have some mail waiting for me, though. :) Why is it that I haven't been to a wedding in 5 years, but within 2 months of my leaving the country, the two friends I've known longest are both getting married?

9:25: Schlepping rocks in the hot sun. The sweat lodge is an ancient Navajo tradition, and something all our programs end with. As one of my zones of responsibility, I need to return the lava rocks to the fire pit after the last use, and pick up all the rocks and pointy things that wind up in the area where people walk barefoot. I start to lay out the old tarps and sleeping bags that insulate the sweat lodge, then remember that Seth said to wait until the grass dries.

9:40: The River Room. My favorite place to be. Not. Now that I've learned to replace zipper pulls, though, I can be a bit more effective. I actually fix 4 tents. It takes all morning. I am daydreamy--thinking of Idaho for some reason, and anticipating Seattle--but the real issue is that getting the new pull onto the zipper is highly frustrating. They should just slide on, but seldom do, and I've yet to figure out why.

12:15: Time to go get lunch. It's YOYO again, but there are plenty of leftovers. I am STARVING--a hazard of backpacking--and down a salad, a big plate of spaghetti and beans with avocado, some fruit, and a bit of peanut butter crack. Without any formal cleanup, the afternoon starts early.

1:20: Some AP participants bought spears when they were on the rez, and for some reason these are still in the staff room. I am assigned the task of preparing them to mail. Hmmm. I get some cardboard from the recycle pile and make a nifty mailer for the small arrow. I'm just wondering how I'll handle the 5' spears when John comes in and suggests PVC pipe. As he's returning with it, Panim pulls in. Deissue time!

2:00: This group is huge. We help the kids unpack the trailers, and I take over the tent & cooler wash station. All tents and stuff sacks need to be dipped in a garbage can with soap & water, then rinsed in one of clean water, then hung on the line to dry. Getting a dripping tent onto a clothesline is harder than it sounds. All the coolers, ammo boxes, water jugs, and sundry other eating items also need to be scrubbed and hosed. Fortunately, we have a lot of help. It's hot and the kids have fun splashing and squirting each other.

3:10: Deissue is winding down. I don't want to abandon them, but I'm not really doing much. I take the recycling to the carport, where I am promptly trapped there by a downpour. I stand and wait it out--the recycling bins in there are full anyway, so I'll have to sort the stuff outside.

3:20: Dig through nasty recycling bin. Why don't people empty their drinks before throwing them in? Why is there stuff in here that isn't recyclable? Need to wash my hands, pronto. I do so in the BCP, where E. alerts me to and influx of good stuff in the Refugee Food Bin.

3:50: Back to the spears. John has found a cardboard tube as well, so I carefully pack the artifacts for mailing. I hope they make it in one piece.

4:40: Time for some random projects. Finally finish the paper recycling sign I was making for that can last week. A trash bin in the carport would help, too, giving people an alternative to putting garbage in the paper pile. Since we aren't allowed to park cars in the carport any more (3 bangups earlier this year), groups pack in there all the time now, and there's always garbage around. Seth helps me find a can to put up there. He jokes around a bit...he's much lighter lately. He also tells me that the softball team that everyone around here seems to be on won their game at 3, so they'll be in the championship at 6 tonight, so D. will want to go watch, so I'll need to switch dinner for night crew with him. Night crew sucks.

5:10: Since I'm not doing dinner, I putter for a few minutes. Tidy & sweep the River Room. Pick up some detritus outside the shed. Score some dried pineapple and chocolate raisins from Refugee food.

5:20: Relax a bit and email some before dinner. I feel a little guilty, but J. is here watching tv, too.

5:55: D. comes in and says that was the easiest dinner prep ever. We're all kosher, since Panim is a Jewish group, which makes meal prep weird. We have to use different dishes, equipment, everything.

6:00: Dinner. Corn on the cob!!! I'd forgotten about that. And pound cake with fresh berries for dessert. Nice.

6:50: Kids are doing dishes. J. & I are night crew. I rarely do night crew with him, but he & D. are my favorite co-workers. He actually sweeps and cleans out the sink, 2 things that are usually relegated to me. Putting away food seems to take forever. We have to use the kosher containers, a lot of which are Nalgenes, so J. drops half corncobs into one while I fit weenies into another. One of the kids wipes the tables. Wow. We're done by 7:30. Woohoo!

So the question now is, do I walk in Mancos or go to Mesa Verde for my entertainment tonight? I'll have to leave within 5 minutes, but I'm still not sure.