Round 3... in a nutshell. yup.

Hello? What? Does this thing still exist? Loyal followers. People. Friends. Probably only my parents... Hello. I'm back on the web! Whadup! I feel pretty guilty for passing over the past few months without any sort written documentation here, especially because a lot of cool things have been happening and life has been a great adventure! So, let's back track real quick and I'll share some of the highlights of the last couple of rounds!

BACK, BACK, BACK IN TIME! BACK TO FEBRUARY IN FARMINGTON, NEW MEXICO!

 The recycling bins I put together with all of the kids excellent art work! The original plan was to Mod Podge them but the results were unsatisfactory and I had to result to wrapping the entirety of each bin with layers of packing tape... classy

Some of the exceptional stars of the DRAGON FORCE, the 2nd and 3rd grade basketball team I coached! This was actually one of our special strategic plays in which we psych out the other team and then take it to 'em

Falafel pitas! The large kitchen at the Club provided an excellent environment for testing out a variety of new recipes

Checked out an excellent local landmark, Ship Rock

 

Thank you, New Mexico, for an excellent adventure!

But of course, February is long gone and between now and then there was March and April! And actually May too... man I'm probably the worst blogger in history.  What a refreshing review of the order of months in the calender year for you though!

Here's Round 3 with my shuffle team at Veteran's Green Jobs in Denver! VGJ provides free weatherization services for low income families in the Denver area, so they insulate houses, put in storm windows, weatherstrip doors, and install energy efficient furnaces and refrigerators, stuff like that.  Most of our team's work was in the go green restore warehouse, preparing the store for its opening in late May. We picked up donations, spruced things up with a bit of green and yellow paint, and sorted and moved A LOT of cabinets, fridges, stoves and all kinds of other stuff.  We also each got to spend some time out in the field with weatherizing crews in clients homes, helping with the insulation, weather-stripping, and clean-up. We did a bit of work each week in the VGJ office as well, organizing files and calling clients and scheduling appointments for auditing and weatherization.  In the end, we got a great well rounded view of all aspects of Veteran's Green Jobs and got to work with a lot of amazing people! Thanks, VGJ!

A very familiar logo

Got into some tight spaces...

But still managed to keep lookin' fineeee

Karen loading a cellulose block into the insulation blower machine. Cellulose is made mostly of recycled newspaper and is a cost effective option for attic and wall insulation

Gettin' stuff done in the warehouse

The conveyer belt we used to move a bajillion huge cabinets upstairs to storage, but definitely DID NOT ride up and down in an unsafe manor...

Oh, you know, just checking out some clients personal photos...

A giant werewolf got into the warehouse one day and screamed at us!

The team planned and hosted Bring Your Child to Work Day at VGJ, it was a big success

 Got to spend some time in the sky and hang out in Boise for awhile!

Got to chill with my main man, Ro, for Easter...

And watch him repeatedly taste the vinegar egg dye

Saw the Local Natives and Arcade Fire, AWWWWESOME!!

 Ahh... these are my feet after a day of ISP (Independent Service Project) with VOC (Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado) in the FCBA (Fourmile Canyon Burn Area) as a CL (Crew Leader) in a SAR (Seeding and Raking) project. This dirt came through my shoes and socks. I was amazed

And enjoyed a day in the sun with some buddies at the Denver MS Walk! Sarah and I also got to talk to a fellow volunteer for awhile who actually has MS.  It was so interesting to hear her story and about the research and hope for a cure that is continuing and growing in this community. A very cool day

Round 3 in Denver was amaaaaaazing, and the fun and adventures are continuing in Colorado again this round.  I'm back with my regular team, Water 2, working with the Rocky Mountain Field Institute in the Colorado Springs area, camping and getting dirty!  Stay tuned this weekend for another update on what we're actually CURRENTLY DOING and DETAILS and other WONDERFUL THINGS! It'll almost be like a real blog post!