Shaving!?

It has been quite a while since my last blog update, so I think for this one I'm just going to give an overview of what's been happening over the past month or so. The major event was taking a trip back to northern VA around Christmas time. What an awesome time to spend with friends and family and to visit with my girlfriend, Bethany, for much of it. One thing I really like about my group of friends from high school is that whenever we see each other after long periods of time it always seems like we are able to pick up where we left off. This happens despite major changes in each of our lives.

December 23rd marked the first time I had shaved since leaving for Tucson at the end of August. As I looked in the mirror I couldn't help feeling like a sheepdog after a trip to the groomer, who looks like half its body has disappeared. It was a sad moment, but also a very refreshing moment. Tippy, my old dog, used to dread taking baths. She would whimper and look pathetic during it, but she was so invigorated afterwards that she would jump in the air and turn circles and then sprint laps around the yard. Of course the next thing she'd do was to rub her face and body in the dirt as quickly as possible, but I, fortunately, had no such urge.

Work at Community Home Repair has been going well. I tend to go in cycles between loving every part of work and not feeling motivated to drag my bike eleven miles along the path every morning and afternoon. I have noticed that I have started gaining a little bit more independence at work recently. This feels very good, but at the same time takes quite a bit more energy. There are some new volunteers hanging out at CHRPA for the winter. Older Menonite couples drive RVs down from their home states (usually colder, northern states) and park them in the CHRPA parking lot for the winter. They are snowbirds, but instead of coming to Tucson to play shuffleboard, they are fixing houses. I can only hope to be so energetic and giving by the time I retire. Last week I went to a job with one of those couples, Ted and Eleanor, way out in the middle of nowhere. This mobile home was from 1970 and had busted aluminum wiring (which has been illegal for a couple decades now), no hot water, a leaky roof, no working toilet, no plumbing under the bathroom sink, and a material kind of like cardboard and particle board mixed for shower walls. Needless to say there was plenty of work to do. I was put in charge of the bathroom and installed the sink, replumbed under it, fixed the toilet and the leaky shower. It can be tough to work with a mobile home that is that old.

Over the past month I have completed my grad school applications to U. of Maryland, Georgia, and Florida. I'm not entirely sure what career path I want to pursue, but know that I want to combine my interests in biology and helping marginalized members of our society. There are programs at each of these schools that take a cross-discipline approach to conservation and sustainability. It would be sweet to be able to facilitate some kind of service learning about nature and sustainability for underprivileged youth. Who knows though? A lot could change.

I have also recently been reading a lot more than before. I just finished The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne and am starting in on a book called Suburban Nation and another called The Motorcycle Diaries. Claiborne's book had some crucial ideas that I need to explore further. I'd love to post some thoughts about them soon and see what reactions come from them. Sorry this post wasn't exactly the most insightful thing ever written, but I think it will at least give people some sort of context for future posts since it's been so long since I last wrote. Thanks for sticking with me.