NOLA

a few weeks ago i went down to New Orleans to do some contracted playground-building work for my old employer, and i stayed on for a few days to volunteer for another organization that builds playgrounds around the world.

in the 2 weeks i spent there, i participated in 4 playground builds, dodged 2 tornadoes, shielded myself from unusually cold weather, toured the 9th ward and st. bernard parish (among other devastated areas)*, heard some great local music (Washboard Chaz), found some cool dive bars (the Circle Bar), witnessed the traditional season of debauchery (Mardi Gras), cheered for the less oligarchical floats (in the Muses), caught some beads and other cheap crap (made in China), hung out with old friends (Jenn Potts) and met some new ones (from San Clemente, CA)... i had a good time while there, but it was challenging to comprehend what happened there, what racial and socio-economic divisions there were, are and always will be, how crime has risen, and what anyone could do to help the situation... it's puzzling.

*devastated areas? anywhere outside the French Qtr anyway. there were water marks as high as 9 ft in some places. the only time water makes a mark like that is when it sits without receding for weeks. we built a playground in the East Bank between a new mobile-unit school and its old school building whose roof caved in and which reeked of mold. what a travesty. i had no idea. i'd heard about the flood waters and seen the gutted houses (with nothing but a chandelier hanging in one), but i'd never smelled that intense mold or understood the X's on the front of many places (marking the date, the initials of the group that searched, and the number of people or what animals were found dead). crazy.

disconnected

so close but so far away. i've been so removed, so disconnected from the world lately. i guess that's the privilege i have. i don't really have to think about the world all the time... or do i (especially since i'm planning this world trip with my sister)?... yes. i need to get going and plug myself back into the world.

well, the problem i have at the moment is that i'm not feeling altogether myself these days... i'm feeling a little ill, i'm not clearheaded, and i'm homeless & unsettled. so you can see why a big part of me feels a little out of sorts... sad, isn't it?

i guess it's not so bad. it does feel good to begin a new era again... you know, sheding old stuff and renewing my independence... only last weekend, i moved out of my apartment of 2 1/2 years in San Francisco, and i'm slowly saying goodbye to people. you see, i'm continuing to travel & Second for my old job (for supplimental income), and i'm staying at my brother's place in between trips until the end of February or maybe March... who knows?

in the meantime, i'll keep myself busy with the Seconding on playground builds and with helping my brother Tony out on publicizing his new book (soon to be released in the Spring).

off the map

I know. I've fallen off the face of the planet, right? well, that's why I hate these damn personal internet pages; somehow, it's almost an expectation never to drop out and stop updating them. i mean, heaven forbid we all go back into the world of the living and start interacting with each other more in person... so why bother to keep this page up to date? I don't know. I guess I want to be able to look back at this blog someday and remember all the places I've been... that's what this page is coming to: a personal journal, a list of random life occurrences, a place to put myself out there in the hopes that my friends and family will want to check in to see how I'm doing, and a chance to (re)connect with people.

speaking of the real world, a lot has been going on in my life. i'm about to embark on a completely new journey and experience in life. i quit my job. i'm head over heals in love. i'm about to travel the world with my sister for about 6 months... and today is the first day of the rest of my life. God is good.

since I last wrote, I built playgrounds in Sacramento, Austin, Venice (IL) and Houston, I built an ice rink in Buffalo, and I spent some time in Western North Carolina with my siblings and friends there. I also spent Thanksgiving with a good friend in Springfield, MO, and then Christmas with my family in Wethersfield, CT.

then everything at work flipped upside down, and I decided to quit. I left on good terms though, and I still plan to do some externally contracted work for them... in the meantime, I'm leaving my home of 2 1/2 years in SF, having to get rid of almost everything I own, and preparing to essentially live out of my bags for a whole year... coach-surfing, seconding for my old emplorer, moving back to NC maybe, and traveling the world with my sister.

the world (my world) is in flux, but i have an unusual peace about how it's all going to work out. I've just got to let go and let God.

unbelievable

time is flying by. i've been so busy that i haven't taken the time to write about it. and now it's too late to remember everything... but i'll try.





July: Liz Middleton visited, Whitney's B-day and Flint/MI Playground Build

August: Rock the Bells (8 hs of awesome Hip Hop in an outdoor concert), Playground Build and personal time in Twin Falls/ID, Green Bay/WI Playground Build, Woodburn/OR Build and visit with Matt Forness in Portland




September: Burning Man, the wdydwyd? project, Heather in town for more than 3 weeks
(starting in August), Design Day in Austin/TX, Pirates Rock Orchestra Puppet Show in SF, Ra in town for a weekend visit!, Playground Build & personal time in Vancouver & Whistler, Folsom Street Fair, Design Day and Playground Build in Illinois, Thursday night church at Dolores Park Church, Design Day in Buffalo/NY for an ICE RINK!, and my first visit to Burbank.

time flies

wow. i'm such a slacker when it comes to blogging. i've just been busy with other things, i guess... what? well, let me see.

right after my birthday, i went back to NC for a quick visit with family and friends (in Boone and Asheville) before heading to a staff retreat in Lewisburg, PA (at Playworld Systems, Inc). my trip home was great, especially seeing my adorable baby niece...

the week after that, though, was only okay. i wasn't fully present at our staff retreat because i was too distracted by my past trials and my current ambiguity within the organization... suffice it to say that i went through an emotional rollercoaster last winter and then i was mandated a break from what i was hired to do -- manage projects. after that i began questioning my role and my ability to stay with the organization... since this last mental/emotional relapse, i've had other work-related problems: my computer died 2 wks ago and i've been completely distracted by trying to set up a new system... the whole ordeal has helped me put things into perspective, though. in the end, none of this really matters. so what if i've lost 13 GB of music, 30+ hours worth of work, and 2 years worth of old emails, email addresses and pictures. it's not the end of the world, right?

well anyway, besides all those major distractions, i've had the pleasure of doing Pilates with Hahva Neff, traveling to the Mississippi gulf coast and to the Florida west coast to build playgrounds, hosting Corey Belt for a few days in SF, seeing some free bluegrass at Amnesia, and... i can't remember what else. this week, i'm throwing a housewarming party for my 2 new roommates (Eileen and David), going to the How Weird Street Festival in SF, and traveling to St. Louis, MO, to build a playground.

geez

i can't believe it's been so long. i've been so distracted... and less interested in blogging lately, i guess. but this worth sharing. we hit a fire water main while auguring holes for a playground in Tucson last Friday, and then this. nearly 3 hours later, the city successfully turned it off. within 3 days, the pipe was fixed, the ground recompacted and graded, and the playground build postponed for 2 weeks.

work has been quite the rollercoaster lately. i've not been traveling as much as i've been served up, challenged and delivered from a couple very difficult projects. i'm on the up swing, though... in fact, after my annual performance review a few weeks ago, i've been able to investigate doing drama therapy and taking a few message therapy classes. more on that later.

in general, though, i haven't been the most balanced. after my ankle injury on 11/22, i was on crutches for 5 weeks, then started doing physical therapy and riding my bike to work again. :) i'm getting back on by feet again, in more ways than one.

here are just a few things i've been up to since last time:

-remotely building a playground in SF's western addition in mid-december (while on crutches, i couldn't lead the build, so i prepared everything for another project manager to lead it for me during build week.)
-home in NC for the week between Christmas and New Years
-physical therapy
-seconding at an athelic field build in phoenix
-leading a playground design day meeting in tucson
-doing site prep (only) for the playground build in tucson (see picture above)
-mad professor at dub mission
-board game nights
-syriana, munich, hong kong,... life and debt (2001), charlie and the chocolate factory (2005), spellbound (2002), the aviator (2004), being julia (2004), kinsey (2004), tarnation (2004), capturing the friedmans (2003), meet the fockers (2004), mad hot ballroom (2005), rize (2005), born into brothels (2004), house of flying daggers (2004), the bourne supremacy (2004), the weather underground (2002), and all of Mos Def’s feature films... :)
-nights up late working (... this job has turned me into a workaholic w/ insomnia)

my right ankle

I guess one excuse for my slack correspondence is that work has kept me rather busy. thank goodness for breaks like a holiday to give thanks. the days off gave me the moment to breathe, but my stillness is accidental… I sprained my right ankle on Tuesday while hiking down a steep slope from a natural hot spring in new mexico (n of albuquerque). i was alone, but someone had also just left the spring, so i called ahead to him. he helped me to my friend's car. i had to drive home with my left foot and my right ankle propped up on the glove compartment door, my backpack, a sweatershirt and eventually some ice. thank goodness it was automatic. during an hour and a half of driving, i had spoken with my insurance, work, family and my friend in albuquerque, while watching the sun set over a beautiful backdrop... so, i survived and doing well b/c I chilled at home (SF), hung with my brother and his wife, and went to see harry potter and then rent, the next day... unfortunately, I still have to go to Miami next week for work, but it’s really not all that bad b/c I’m just seconding for another project manager. hopefully, i'll be able to be still, learn to better delegate, and heal a bit.


mardie wrote to my folks:

"I hope you all have had a relaxing weekend. We have had several wonderful meals at home – including a yummy brisket from the best BBQ place in Texas. (www.saltlickbbq.com) Bryan and Hope are both in town. She is being very patient with her ankle - much more so than I would be. It is no easy thing to get around on crutches. Many stairs to hop in this town. And her ankle is a dozen shades of blue. Keep sending her healing love!!!"

on the go

i just finished 2 very challenging playground builds of my own: in Detroit on 10/20 and in Dallas on 10/27. then, i flew back to SF just in time to give a workshop on "Engaging Youth in your Community-build Playspace project" at the KaBOOM! University of Play conference on 10/28. then, i seconded for the U Play! playground build in Oakland on 10/29... finally, i flew to austin (where I am now) to second for Tabitha's last project (a field refurbishment) before she leaves KaBOOM!.

amidst all this travel, i managed...
-to go to LA for their Burning Man Decompression Party on 10/15;
-to host a pre-halloween accessories party with my roommates on 10/22;
-to visit with my cousins John and Louise (and their spouses) while in Dallas;
-to see MOS DEF & TALIB KWELI (!) in concert at the Mezzanine on 10/30;
-to go out on 6th street in Austin with my co-workers for halloween.

whew! will i ever give it a rest? maybe, but i won't even have time to think about it until veteran's day weekend and/or thanksgiving.

but first i go to tucson, az, for a design day meeting next wednesday, and after that, i head to NM to second for another project manager's playground build.

been a while

... since i've had time and stillness to write 'bout myself online. it's not that i'm too busy; it's just that i'm usually too distracted. there's so much happening for me to stop and tell about it all. (not that i have to, but) i want to describe everything i've seen, done and heard, but i also want to be relatively quick about it. so, just to save the time, i'll attempt a somewhat brief list of everything since i last wrote something of substance... plus, i want to catch up so i can start keeping better track of all my random and wonderful life experiences.

okay, let's see...

-after a little stop in western NC to see my fam & friends for july 4th, i lead a playground build project in buffalo, ny. this build was the first time i TRUEly felt really awesome about the work i do for community groups. it was a real, grass-roots build done without the support of any umbrella organization. our community partner was a struggling neighborhood association that merely recognized how desperately they needed a safe playground for their kids. it was very challenging yet rewarding project... also, while up there, my second and i got to visit niagara falls for the first time ever! july 5-9

jen and i at niagara falls, canada

-i helped (or seconded) another project manager's playground build in minneapolis. july 11-14

-i stayed over a day in minneapolis to lead a design day meeting for a new project there (to be built in 2 months time). july 15

-i got handed off another project, and i traveled to lead a design day meeting for a build (to happen take place 2 months later) in chicago. july 18-19

-i lead a playground build in wasilla, ALASKA!, and my second & I had an incredible time sightseeing, fishing & flying in south-central Alaska. july 22-31

wet on build day in wasilla

whitney & i on a glacier lake

watch out, whitney's flyin'

the glacier lake we landed on

fishin' in AK

caught

-i finally took a day off to run errands and enjoyed some of downtown san francisco (like the ferry building, City Car Share, Museum of Modern Art, shopping). august 2

-i lead another design day meeting for a new playground project (to be built 2 months later) in detroit. august 15-16

[recap: i had 3 projects on my plate, and i just finished 2 of my own projects.]

-mardie oakes and my brother, tony deifell, (aka MoTo) got married at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin County, CA. the wedding camp weekend* was extraordinary in so many ways, including a house concert with The Weepies, a taco truck for the rehearsal dinner, kite flying, massage, a beautiful wedding ceremony, vintage wear, home-style dinner, an interactive reception, a really cute photographer that they hired, a Polaroid guest book, a make-your-own-cupcake wedding cake, a surprize roller-disco party with black-lights and booze, and a pristine location with so many amazing family and friends. august 18-21
*this special event and time with family is the first of a series of recent random fun moments that have reminded me how much i love living in SF.

mother and son

mom & dad dancing, as always

on the way to the surprise wedding roller-disco

-i traveled to miami to second for another project manager's attempted* playground build in miami. august 22-24
*this build was cancelled due to threats of hurricane katrina, which grazed fort lauderdale the night before the day we would have lead the build.

-i flew back to SF (& to where my sister heather had been hanging out on her own after our brother's wedding the weekend before)... and immediately started packing for Burning Man. august 25-28

-i planned, organized and managed a community of 21 burners in camp wdydwyd?. august 29-september 5
*our event: to take portraits of folks answering the question, why do you do what you do?, and a 4x8 live-painting project, open to any passers-by
*our location this year: ego x 7:20
*our members' origins: san francisco, los angeles, asheville, durham, atlanta, new york -> all of which made for a really awesome intentional community of people
*my highlights: all the diversity of EXTREME and AMAZING art there, an INCREDIBLE time with my sister heather, the freedom, my borrowed beach cruiser, the expanse of black rock city this year, and our portrait project... among SO much else.

siblings

siblings & the man

the last crew to leave our plot of BRC land

[recap: i've just returned from a whirlwind of wedding events, work travel, and a week of Burning Man paradise... but i still have those same 3 projects on my plate... yet, i love it all and i especially love living in SF.]

-i just got handed off another playground project, and i went to lead a design day meeting for a build (to be done in 2 months time) in dallas. while there, i stayed with my cousin louise and her husband justin. september 7-8

-i helped pack our office to move up to san mateo from redwood city, ca... and later, that next weekend, i go to the Power to the Peaceful festival (w/ Michael Franti) in golden gate park with my friend kirsten. september 10

-i lead my build (and closed the project) in south chicago. september 12-16

chicago kick-off

-i returned to our new office space and enjoyed it (& being home in SF) for a whole week. my boss (the director of project management) and our administrative assistant (Laura) fly out from DC to help settle us in, and thanks to their help, it looks great! well, laura had never spent any time in SF, so i showed her around town, we had sushi at Central Station (mission x 17-18), we ended up in north beach, and we drove to work the next morning together. september 19-21

-i got all dressed up in my brown-n-black zebra, fly-girl outfit, and i went down to the SF civic center plaza to dance, people-watch and enjoy the 2nd annual Love Parade (originating in Berlin after the wall fell.) i love SF. september 24

photo shoot after love parade (w/ borrowed tina turner wig)

-i lead my own playground build (and closed the project) in minneapolis. september 25-29

wet on build day

-i came back to a weekend full of bluegrass in golden gate park with my friends, whitney (from work) and kirsten (from corey). we heard gillian welch, tony rice & peter rowan, dolly parton, doc watson, earl scruggs, steve earle, the be good tanyas, emmylou harris, stiff dead cat, and guy clark. september 30-october 1

-finally, i'm home for a bit... AND i lead my own design day for a new playground project (to be built 2 months later) HERE -- in san francisco! october 6

design day meeting in SF

-today, mardie & i went over to their friend jim's place to watch the blue angel's fleet-week show over the bay. (it was such a beautiful and perfect san francisco day, too.) then, we went out to dinner with mardie's friends richard and jen to betelnut (on union st). finally, after tony finally got home from a 9-day business trip, i left MoTo to very randomly (and independently) stop by an art opening event at the Galeria de la Raza. i admired the art, had a couple drinks and went on my way back home again... ah, i love san francisco.

now, coming soon:
-Burning Man decompression parties in SF (tomorrow) and LA (next weekend)
-filming dinner party at MoTo's on monday.(there's a film with will smith (The Pursuit of Happiness) being filmed right outside mardie & tony's, oct 9-13.)
-my playground build in detroit (oct. 17-21)
-my playground build (with eye-candy as my second for the week) in dallas (oct. 24-28)
-halloween and day of the dead in san francisco
-seconding for another project manager's playground build in southern new mexico (Nov. 14-18)
-home (nc? or ct?) for thanksgiving
...

playground build in ALASKA!

i have been SO busy lately... getting ready for Burning Man, for my brother Tony's wedding and for several other upcoming playground builds (in Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit)... i'm also (somehow) managing to enjoy SF, sign up for the City Carshare program, organize our camp for BM, and maintain my sanity.

below is the Build Day summary from a couple of weeks ago where I built a playground just north of Anchorage, Alaska! my second and I had the best time up there. we went fishing (& caught some!), driving, hiking, flying (in a little 4-seater over a glacier and landing on a glacier lake), site-seeing, and canoeing. the trip was fantastic, the mountains were spectacular and the culture was so unique! i loved it.


end of build day

Build Day summary, written by me:
Last week in beautiful Wasilla, Alaska, home of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race headquarters, Hope led a fantastic playground build with 135 volunteers from The Home Depot (along with AARP) and Iditarod Elementary School. Whitney rocked the Build as Hope’s Second, and PSI’s Chad Willow jumped into gear as a great installer. Overall, the Build was a relatively normal playground build – the only HUGE difference was the so-called “mulch pile” that came in the form of over 20 pallets of 45 bags of mulch each. Yep, that’s right! It was shipped up from the “lower 48” and unloaded from two containers on Prep Day 1 by a forklift and pallet-jack. Also, on Prep Day, volunteers outlined the US Map. In fact, Whitney’s highlight was finally outlining the Alaska that’s to scale with the rest of the US (have you ever looked at it?? It’s huge!!)!!! Unfortunately, they didn’t get the chance to paint it (or the Hopscotch and 4-square games) on Build Day due to the rain.

The cold and wet Alaskan weather, however, didn’t stop Build Day volunteers from building an awesome outdoor classroom with a “community” bulletin board (modified to host a removable dry-erase board), 2 planter benches, 5 planter boxes, an incredible impromptu butterfly garden, a playhouse, and a great playground. This new playground was particularly bright amidst the surrounding pea gravel, and it added some awesome play value to their existing playspace with a Tire Swing, Monorail, Babble-on and Spiral Slide. To keep the excited youth at bay, volunteers led some well-organized games and craft activities, including stepping stones, paint-by-number murals, and decorating painted fish cut-outs (from Masonite board). At lunch, the mayor of Wasilla herself helped make sure everyone got fed. Everything finished up for an on-time Board-cutting, accompanied by three songs from the youth.

Media:
-ABC
-Anchorage Daily News (paper)
-The Frontiersman
-Q99.7 (provided music and PSAs)

VIPs:
-Mayor Dianna Keller (of Wasilla)
-Bob Doyle, Chief School Administrator
-Stephanie Martin, Community Affairs Manager, The Home Depot
-Homer D. Poe
-John Klapperich, President of Q99.7

Side Projects:
-outdoor classroom
-“community” bulletin board (modified to host a removable dry-erase board)
-2 planter benches
-5 planter boxes
-a butterfly garden
-a playhouse

Highlights:
-Whitney’s highlights include Alaska on the US Map, the “Iditarod Song” performance by the kids, & the first time that the community bulletin board team sunk the board in the holes, only to find out that it was 5’ tall!!
-Hope’s highlight was when, at the closing, the mayor made a point to say that The Home Depot’s motto is “Improve Everything we touch,” and if everyone lived by this motto, the world would be a better place.

build in Buffalo

Last Friday (July 8), Hope led an amazing, much-needed and transformative playground build in a very low income Buffalo neighborhood called the Fruit Belt--named after its fruit-basket of street names. Jen De Melo was her Superstar Second, Bob Woodson her smiley PSI Rep, and Bob Hedden her incredible installer. The Home Depot and the Fruit Belt United, Inc--a small neighborhood association that operates to benefit the community and for the promotion of social welfare--joined forces with neighbors, parents and a few other local groups (191 volunteers in all) to transform a small, empty lot into an extraordinary playspace. Despite some communication challenges throughout the planning, like no (direct) online access, and after digging through foundation on both Prep Days with 2 (unplanned) two-man augers and a jack-hammer, they were finally ready for the big day. After a slow start on Build Day, the momentum grew as the music got going and people starting coming out of the wood-work to help out. After lunch, kids put their final touches on the side projects while volunteers mixed concrete, moved the remaining mulch (110 CY in all), and cleaned up for an on-time Board-cutting at 3:30. As everyone gathered for the ceremony, a small parade of youth eagerly lined up, cautiously peered inside the playspace, and then intermingled with the volunteers to celebrate their new playground. Everyone was so excited and awestruck by the playground that the party didn't stop after the heart-felt Board-cutting ceremony. The DJ threw on some more tunes as volunteers finished cleaning up and celebrating in style.

Side Projects:
2 planter benches
2 picnic tables (one w/ a checker board top)
3 vine trellises
3 plywood benches w/ large cut tubing as the legs (designed by the kids)
Stepping Stones
Crushed-stone pathway
Garden
Painted iron fence
Installed chain-link fence
Installed mural on surrounding chain-link fence (in 1'x1' panels done by neighborhood kids, previous to this project)
Kid's Workshops
Painted flowers on sheets of masonite (to cut out and mount around the playground later)

Media:
ABC
The Buffalo News (paper)

VIPs:
George Holt, County Legislator
Don Allan, Sr., Commissioner of Community Service
Sister Philip Marie
John Tobia, DM
Brian Spence, SM
Mike King, SM
Tim Burgett, SM

on the road again...

we're about to hit the peak season at work, and i'll probably only be home for about 5 days this month. check it out:

dc - june 27-july 1
western nc - july 1-5
buffalo, ny (and niagara falls, for the first time!) - july 5-9
home (san francisco) - july 9-11
minneapolis, mn - july 11-15
home (SF) - july 15-18
chicago - july 18-19
home - july 19-23
wasilla, ak - july 23-31
...

crazy, huh? well, it sure keeps me busy, but i'm missing the opportunity to hang out with friends and to spend quality time in SF... :( oh well.

build in Winnipeg

Hope led another fantastic Build last Thursday with Suzie as her stellar Second and Ron Sweetman as her incredible Installer. The Home Depot Canada, the Elmwood Community Resource Centre, the United Way and the City of Winnipeg joined forces (201 in all) to build a fabulous playspace. After a rough (& very wet) start on prep day 1, they got everything ready over a full (& sunny) prep day 2 – digging all the holes and priming several areas to paint. (Hope’s shoes are now officially retired after tasting “Manitoba Gumbo,” or black clay & mud.) Their beautiful Build Day morning kicked off at 8:30 with a great pep talk by Annette Verschuren, the President of The Home Depot Canada, and with a warm-up led by the City of Winnipeg’s recreational director (accompanied by Homer D. Poe, the City of Winnipeg’s mascot, and the Centre’s mascot). The morning took off so much excitement that by lunchtime most of the side projects were complete and several volunteers were eating watermelon and slurping on slushies. (Winnipeg is apparently the slushie capital of Canada.) The day ended with an on-time Board-cutting at 3:45 and a big Thank You from volunteers’ kids.

All the volunteers were amazing! They moved 150 cubic yards of PEA GRAVEL!, mixed cement (w/ sand & gravel) by hand, did loads of side projects, and never complained once! The project really transformed the space – opening it up, sprucing it up and bringing life back into the place. Hope’s favorite part was seeing all the passers-by, neighbors and kids come out and watch in amazement.

Side Projects:
Painted the Centre’s facia, an outdoor stage, 10 park benches, 6 waste baskets, a hopscotch and 2 4-squares
Completed a 10’ x 100’ mural that read “Neighbours helping neighbours” and was tagged with 50’ of volunteers’ & kids’ hand prints
Built 4 planter benches, 6 picnic table tops (w/ metal frames) and (nearly) 2 BBQ pits
Refurbished their garden and weeded the surrounding area
Moved sand into an old sandbox
Created a small, limestone pathway

VIPs:
Annette Verschuren, President of The Home Depot Canada
Jeff Kinnaird, Regional VP of Operations, The Home Depot Canada
Randy Kelly, DM
Brent Ballantyne, Store Manager
3 other Store Managers
Kelly McNamara, PR Manager, The Home Depot Canada
Ingrid Zacharias, Exec. Director, Elmwood Community Resource Centre
Lillian Thomas, City Councillor
Terry Welling-Skorodenski, President of the City of Winnipeg’s Retirees’ Charitable Fund
Kathi Neal, Director of Marketing and Communications, United Way

Media:
The A Channel
CKY – CTV (one of Canada’s national networks)
The Herald
The Winnipeg Sun
The Free Press

time flies

man. i can't believe a whole month has gone by. so much's happened (as it always does) and i can't keep up... so here are the highlights.

i've been really busy at work. the summer time is our peak season, but that's beside the point. i just have way too much to do, all the time. long hours. no comp time. too much travel. a little bureaucracy. it's exhausting... but (mostly) all worth the experience of working with communities, building playgrounds, going places i'd never be able to go to otherwise, meeting new people all over, learning a lot, and getting better at everything i do. i'm thankful for it, but it's a struggle.

i'm about to get on the road again... in the past month, i went to Winnipeg, MB, for a playground build (see next post) and to Houston, TX, (for less than 8 hours!) for a design day meeting (to begin a new project for another project manager). in the coming month, get this, i'm going...
-to DC for a week-long project management (PM) retreat,
-to Asheville, NC (home!) for the 4th of july,
-to Buffalo, NY, for my playground build,
-back to SF for 36 hours,
-to Minneapolis, MN, for another PM's playground build & for my design day meeting,
-back home to SF for a week, and
-finally to Wasilla (near Anchorage), AK, for my playground build.

ah. the life of a KaBOOM! PM...

now, you ask, what about life in SF? well, after my mom came to visit, everything's been on the up and up. meeting some new folks, out with friends, beautiful weather, biking through the city, confidence, seein' Digable Planets in concert (reunion tour), home-made sushi, home-made margaritas, spontaneous good times, and unusual encounters (e.g., with a random acquaintance that i met in Alaska). he had a lay-over in Oakland, and we ended up hanging out for about 24 hours... i'm all about meeting new people, but that was the first time i took the risk of trusting a complete stranger and hosting him while getting to know him. crazy, huh?... well, it all worked out, and now i have a new friend in Alaska that's going to hook me up with a fishing trip and a plane ride around Mt. McKinley at the end of july. :)

so before i jet set out of SF for about 3 weeks solid, i'm going down to the mission flea market, to Japantown for some sushi, into Downtown for the (Gay) Pride parade and festivities tomorrow, and to the Elbo Room for Dub night in the Mission tomorrow night... i guess i've got to live it up in the city, when i have the chance to.

lil' northern exposure

Just got back from a short business trip to Anchorage and Wasilla, Alaska, and... Wow. The mountains there are spectacular, huge and magnificent, and the culture is so rich and awe-some, yet unusual. First, the native influence is striking. Second, the people's survival (and adventures) through their brutal winters is amazing. Third, the isolation, vastness and hidden sprawl of humanity is surprising. And, lastly, their short "American" history/infestation has produced an odd mix of opinions... Just as the U.S. "bought" the Louisiana Purchase from the French, we also "bought" Alaska from Russia (in 1917, I believe). So there's that bitter taste of stolen, yet borrowed, and re-sold land that natives are left to deal with (especially when our current president seeks to rape the land of its natural riches). Meanwhile, signs of urban modernity are submerging -- youthful goth, growing gang activity, corporate expansion, and over-populated tourist populations... I guess there's good and bad in everything. Hey, if it weren't for corporate expansion, I wouldn't have had the chance to go up there and build a playground with their money and (re)invested interest in the community... Either way, it's tricky to balance the diverging interests between the public and the private sectors, especially in an environment like this.

solid ground

the last couple weeks have been okay. i helped another project manager build a playground in ogden, utah, and we had a lot of fun gettin to know the area (around salt lake city). then, last week i built in redding, ca, with the help of my superviser, and we had fun with the volunteers and playground installers... our site in redding was super rocky, and we had several technical/construction issues come up. it was really challenging, but i survived... our volunteers were great and, surprisingly, they didn't complain about anything (a bit rare in this job). overall, it was a good build, but i was super hard on myself about things. unfortunately, i sometimes let the littlest things get in the way of my well-being, and then i feel like i have no solid ground beneath me.

over the last couple of days, i've started to feel the earth again, but my heart is still unpleasantly distracting me. here's the thing: i'm officially on my own again, and i'm trying hard to recenter my inner love and embrace my independence. it's especially hard because he was so cool and i felt such a strong connection between us. oh well. i guess timing IS everything.

blasé... but in NC!

i'm on the up and up, again, but feeling overworked. two weeks ago, i flew to Winnipeg, Manitoba, for a 4-hour Design Day meeting. last week, i led a playground build with the City of Santa Ana, California. this week, i'm assisting another project manager on her playground project in Charlotte, North Carolina. (yes, i'm in NC again!) next week, i should be home (SF), but after that, i'll be on the road again (to Ogden, UT, Redding, CA, and eventually Sparks, NV)... ah, the life of a KaBOOM! project manager. what's more is that when i am in town, i still bike and take the train everyday to work (SF>Redwood City).

somehow, through all that, i still manage to have a bit of a personal life too.

i spent easter with my brother, his fiance, and their friends, and i also joined them for Food Club (a fancy potluck gathering). (the theme this time was colorful foods, and i made lettuce wraps.)... noah and i saw a very intriguing independent film called "dot the i" (Gael Garcia Bernal), and we went to this art opening/event in SF that had a cabaret, marching band and hip hop DJs... i met up with a very old best friend (from elementary school) when i went down to Santa Ana/Huntington Beach last week... among many other things.

now, i'm in NC for work, but i'm able to visit family and friends while i'm here! i went up to Asheville last weekend, and i'm going up to Boone this weekend. yay! i'm so excited to finally meet my new niece! and to see my brother and sister-in-law, too!... somehow, i've got to finish my taxes before friday, too. yikes.

my Pahrump playground build

From: Melanie Barnes (my supervisor)
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 2:45 PM

This post build report was written by the fabulous Hope Deifell:

Last Saturday, Hope led a great playground build with Melanie as her awesome Second and with Jonathon Mouer and Jason Meler out from Dave Bang for the installation. Prep Day 1 was relatively smooth, and on Prep Day 2 Hope debuted on "The Andy and Bernie Show" (a Pahrump TV talk show) with Charlie Desiderio, the Salvation Army marketing manager, at her side. Build Day was cold and overcast, but the 5-minute Jazzercise morning warm-up got everyone's blood flowing fast.

Her 12 Build Captains were awesome leaders for the 120 other volunteers on site. About thirty of those adult volunteers and an additional 27 volunteers (under 18) helped in areas other than the playground construction, including kids' games and carnival activities (i.e. face painting, Jolly Jumper, red rover and putt putt, among others). The big day ended with a big raffle for the kids, then an on-time ribbon cutting, and finally a birthday cake and celebration for Hope and another volunteer.

Play Enhancement Projects:
200-foot stone pathway with edging
3 planter benches

VIPs:
Major William Raihl, Clark County Coordinator, The Salvation Army
Charles Desiderio, Director of Development and Marketing, The Salvation Army
Thomas Kriese, Manager, The Omidyar Network

(Local) Media:
Channel 30 and 62, KPVT-LP and KHMP-LP
Channel 41, KPVM-TV

Highlights: all the youth on site, the incredible installers, the Christian rock music (not as much a highlight as a big difference from most other builds), and the light up "Birthday Princess" pin and a birthday cake that Melanie got for Hope.

my build in Modesto

what my supervisor wrote:

Hope and her Superstar Second, Suzie Lovercheck led an AWESOME build March 10 in Modesto, CA. KaBOOM! partnered with The Home Depot and Summit Academy to build a playground. The weather was beautiful and despite two man auger issues on site prep day 1 the build day was a huge success. The volunteers were led by awesome, responsible and responsive Build Captains: 5 from THD, 8 parents/family. The community partner was incredible, organized, helpful, very appreciative of THD, understood the partnership and empowering of the students. The volunteers were great and not only built the playground, completed side projects, but moved 270 CY of engineered wood fiber. The BOOMbox had a great point person assigned to it and was very effective and organized. The Modesto Home Depot donated items to enhance the raffle (microwave, toaster oven, electric grill/hotplate, blender, coffee maker, skil saw, drill, and a gas-powered outdoor grill)

Side Projects:
2 planter benches
2 picnic tables
75+ beautiful ceramic tiles (from fundraiser) mounted,
6’ x 40’ kids mural
16 stepping stones
250 THD Kids’ workshop kits

Media:
No media was present on build day (Aspire CEO, Don Shalvey is writing a letter to the editor)

VIPs:
Don Shalvey (CEO Aspire Schools)
Dave Waters (THD District Manager)
Sherry Caraway (Community Affairs Supervisor, HD Western Division)
Tom Hal (Modesto Store Manager)
Leslie Longeria (Modesto HRM)
3 other Store Managers

Highlights: students participation throughout Build Day – entire student body (350+) present at Kick-off and at Board-cutting, Middle School Dance group led morning stretch, School Choir sang “Rainbow Connection” at closing ceremony, a few students did documentary project throughout the day, K-5 worked on mural and/or Kids’ Workshops (in class shifts), 6-7 made stepping stones around the flag pole (one for each teacher’s name)

the Board-cutting ceremony yesterday