That one pile of dirt that never makes it into the dust pan.

Today I went to Tri- City Volunteer Center. I definitely had a good time but I was super embarrassed. I had the chance to meet some people when I gave them their food. Some people where very picky, others were very courteous and thankful. I felt so bad when we didn't have something they needed. I tried my best to talk to them and tell them to have a good day. One guy asked me, "So what did you do to get in here?" I said it was for school. He asked because most of the people are there for court ordered offenses. He said he ran a red light so he had to go. I felt bad because he needed apple juice for his baby but we didn't have any so Casey brought him some baby yogurt. We hoped that would be okay.

I had to mop and that was a challenge because I have mopped with one of those yellow buckets with the squeezer. The boss of the place came over and started to show me how to use it. He said I put too much soap on the floor. But I didn't know how! He was telling me I should wear sneakers and not flip flops. I definitely didn't know that was a rule. That guy left and another volunteer walked over and he TRIED to show me how to mop TOO. I was so frustrated and embarrassed! I asked Angela to take over so I started sweeping for her. Leo and I were getting angry with the dust pan because it was broken and the dirt kept missing the pan. We finally just started sweeping out of the door because we didn't know what else to do.

Overall today was super fun, but I was very mad with the mean boss. He made me feel stupid and he started to have attitude with me! I was sorry I never mopped before!!! That is my story!!

Here we go again.

Due to a busy schedule (MVALs) and a bit off slacking off, this third post is really late (I'M SORRY MR. SPECKELS). So for my third day of volunteering, me and Patricia went to...you should guess by now. TRI-CITY VOLUNTEERS. Whatta surprise. I guess the reason why a lot of people go there (as you can tell) is because you can just show up, and they give you an automatic job; and because there are super easy tasks. So when we showed up there, we went straight to signing in and putting on our lovely neon vests. We saw Casey and Leo there when we were looking for tasks to do. When we saw that there wasn't really much to do, we decided to go to the thrift store; but some lady led us back to the food bank and made us pack potatoes. Patricia, Casey, and I started packing potatoes for about 10 minutes while Leo was doing something else. Once we were done with our bags, we went looking for more things to do since we were so bored, and another volunteer told us to put different kinds of foods in baskets/carts so we can distribute them to the needy. I thought, "Finally! Something different!". They have these little slips of paper they give to us naming the things that the person/family wants; we put them in the basket and give them to the person who's waiting outside. We put canned foods, vegetables, dessert, bread, etc. When I first gave a cart to a lady, it was nice to see her reaction of getting food. Doing this for a while, I noticed that a lot of people were picky about their food! There was big cake in one of the carts, so Patricia and I went and gave it to this one guy, but he refused! "Shoot, if he don't want it, I'll take it!", we said jokingly. We do this for the rest of the day, and I have to say, this was finally the job I was looking for: reaching out into the community. Today was accomplishing because I didn't have to pack things the whole time I was there; I actually GOT OUT and helped part of the community and got the satisfaction of helping others.

Even though it was a good experience today, I'm getting tired of going to the same place every time I volunteer. I hope to find another place, maybe a school or organization, that not only focuses on the homeless and the needy, but the whole community.

So I had this accidentally posted on my Animation Blog for Mr. Briano I just realized... also instead of waiting to see If it was posted here first I deleted it.. so bear with me as I attempt to rewrite this literary masterpiece I have just destroyed.

Joaquin, Bryan, and I have been working on this project for some weeks now and decided the reason we don't like it is that we are volunteering at a place which is not sufficient to our capabilities or even our attention, yet we still went there that fateful Tuesday even though that bitter nugget of knowledge was lodged between our molars of knowledge. Even though we hated the place we trudged on through the mucky swamps of boredom and dread. We lethargically slumped our unwilling bodies into the office and painfully signed our names on our ticket to hell. We had already worked 4 hours here and now it was time for another 2. We dragged our feet toward the brooms and continued our normal job of slave work just dreaming about that moment we got to sign our names at the end signifying we worked our time. Soon after what felt like an eternity (30 minutes) we were asked to commit the phalange killing job... bagging potatoes. I am Irish and I officially hate potatoes. WHO NEEDS THIS MUCH POTATO? We must have filled about 500000000 bags of spuds and by the end and my fingers were ready to jump off my hand. When my torture finally ended I was relieved. But for some reason I felt guilt. Volunteering shouldn't feel like this. I should leave feeling good. I think i need to come in with a more positive attitude or maybe change places. Many people are volunteering here anyways I think they have enough help. We'll see where I end up and hopefully I can actually go to a place where I can feel good about serving my community!

Equity Post #3

For this time of volunteering I decided to do wildlife again. It was really fun this time around. Over the course of this project I have really built a relationship with most of these kids. For this club we had a game show night. The college leader in charge told all of the leaders to dress super crazy so we could make the kids feel more comfortable around us. When we got there, there was a bunch of stuff to be set up. Like inflatable fools. Set up food and a lot of other stuff just so that it is easier for the college kids to do there job and run club. There were a couple new people there so I had to show them around and what to do and how things work. This time was a lot more fun than the other times I think it is just because of the kids. They make it fun to be there. I am definitely doing this after this project is over.

Easter Egg Hunt

On Easter, Taylor and I helped an annual Easter egg hunt.

Helping out (not so much)

Edwin and I went back to the center again. We did what we did before, we washed our hands then put on the vest indicating we are part of the group. When we walked around we realized that there was a lot more families visiting this time. This was a good thing for us because this mean that there will be less people for us to sing for. Though I feel bad for the people who didn't have a family to spend their time with. After we sang for the people in their rooms we went to cafeteria where we started playing music on the CD player and people broke out dancing. This time it was a lot more fun because I didn't fell out of place because I knew what I was doing.

Wild Land Drills

Today, at our weekly Monday we met up with firefighters to help set up a wild land drill. Since the weather is going to get hotter and dryer, we went to a hill where we could practice these drills. They used a Type 3 engine, which is all wheel drive and is lifted, so it can go drive on not so trust-worthy terrain. We helped them set up, and when they finished the drill we helped them put it down. They pulled hose, and set it up to fight the "fire" around 1000 feet. They need so many feet of hose since on a wild land fire, the terrain and weather is always unpredictable. It could go up trees, or the wind could change directions, and go very fast.



These drills are vital to Fremont. With the Niles Hills, Mission Peak, Morrison Canyon, and Coyote Hill, we have some big places to cover. With the wild land season right around the corner, every little thing helps. Practicing for the real thing is a smart move. Since we usually don't have many warnings, we can't get rusty. The explorers are here to help the firefighters prepare for that, since potentially we could help on wildfires too.