Born to Run?

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone and everyone who, for whatever reason be it accident or on purpose, has come to stumble across this blog.  I wish you all the best and I hope you eat your fill, if that be your tradition.

Today has already been an atypical holiday for me.  Weather pattern aside (gorgeous, by the way) I have already broken away from my traditional “sit around on the couch and watch the parade/ football game” activities.  This morning, I ran my first 5k race.  It was my goal for the end of CTI to be able to run it non-stop.  To me, someone who really never ran anywhere for any length of time until the end of September, this seemed like an attainable, but challenging goal.  So, let me officially say “done and done.”  I ran the race, grabbed an orange, and then found myself crossing into the boundaries of Push-Up City (the only city I know of with roving boundary lines…).  My official results haven’t been posted, but I estimate I ran it in about 33 minutes or so.***  All in all, there will definitely be less guilt on my part about feasting today.

In other fitness news, I never posted about the second of four Baseline tests we took earlier this week.  To recap, this is the push-up, sit-up, and 1.5 mile run.  The new numbers: 50 push-ups (up from 33), 64 sit-ups (up from 48), and 13:14 run (loss of about 40 seconds).  All in all, I am satisfied in the progress for three weeks work.  Now the goal is to keep pushing myself throughout the next year. 

Enjoy your turkey!   

***I just checked my official results.  Coming in 896th place for the 5k, my time was 31:10.4.  That means I averaged a 10:03 mile.  Better than I thought!

Induction = Reverse Graduation

This is the last entry that I will be making under the “CTI” category, because as of 1:00 pm today, CTI is over!!!

The last official morning of this experiment in “training” us to be true NCCC members began with a shocker at breakfast: frost on the grass.  Ice crystals enveloping each blade.  Enough to leave footprints as I walked to the kitchen across from my dorm hall.  Frost is not a new experience for me, but seeing this struck me hard.  It reminded me that even here in California, there is the potential for nights cold enough for winter-esque weather conditions.  Thank goodness I am leaving for Mississippi on Monday.  I need to get further south than I currently am.  I am bound and determined to avoid “winter” as much as I can this year. 

So, naturally, on the first morning of frost we’ve had out here, the first thing we are asked to do is dress in our short-sleeved polos and stand in the middle of an open field for half an hour while a group photo is taken from above.  The ratio was laughable from an organizational standpoint, 500 corps members/ team leaders : 1 photographer with a megaphone.  If nothing else, the end result should be a photograph of an accurate representation of what a mass of like-attired and cold people with the average age of 21 looks like.

Each team then had their pictures taken.  These will be framed and hung inside the administration building as our first legacy in the program.  People seeking out the Director’s office will walk past us and hopefully stop to take a look at all our smiling faces.  Needless to say, I shaved extra nice this morning.

At 10:00, we all were ushered into the theater that is across the street from campus where the official Class XIV Induction Ceremony was held.  It was a nice program that recognized the completion of the first phase of our year and marked the moment when everyone became recognized as full members in the program.  Yes, this was a sort of trial-period for everyone.  Some people find they aren’t willing to accept or live with what the lifestyle calls for.  Other people are asked to leave.  It’s rare that either will happen within the first month, but it does and has happened. 

I’m still here.  I took the pledge this morning.  And each day I find another reason why this was the right choice for me to make.

Speaking of which, I thought I would share with you all the mission statement, pledge, and oath that we are asked to take.  The first two we had to memorize, and we say them repeatedly during CTI, but they sum up nicely the philosophy of the program and I think they will give some insight into why I’m here.  And, they just seem a nice way to give closure to this part of the blog. 

Mission Statement:  “AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps will strengthen communities and develop leaders through team-based national and community service.”

Induction Oath:  “I, Daniel Nikolits, do solemnly pledge that as a member of the AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps, I will serve as a leader and active citizen of my community and my county and will accept equally the opportunities and responsibilities of citizenship. 

I will support and uphold the mission of AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps to strengthen communities and develop leaders through team-based national and community service and commit to my role as a full participant of the AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps, Sacramento Campus, agreeing to abide by the guidelines established to ensure a healthy and productive community experience for all Corps Members. 

I will participate as a self-governing member of our nation.  I will inform myself about the problems of my community and my country.  And I will work with other citizens to solve those problems.

Further, I agree to continue to serve my country as a leader and citizen, not only through my involvement in the AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps, but throughout my life.  I make this pledge freely and without promise of personal gain.”

Pledge:  “I will get things done for America – to make our people smarter, safer, and healthier.  I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.  Faced with apathy, I will take action.  Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.  Faced with adversity, I will persevere.  I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.  I am an AmeriCorps member and I will GET THINGS DONE!”

Three Days in the Redwoods – No Bear Attacks!

Sorry to my readers who have been longing for the next chapter in my life for more than a week.  A combination of factors (including the slowest computers in the world) make it a frustration to update.  I’ll try not to let more than 10 days go by in the future, but I apologize in advance if I do.  Also, just to update from my last post, whatever virus that was affecting me back on the third has almost run its course.  My cough has not departed completely, but I don’t look and sound like a chain smoker anymore (aka no more coughing fits).

Last weekend was a great break from CTI.  Because of Veteran’s Day, we had a three day weekend (no PT!) and since Red Unit was scheduled to leave for camp on Monday, when the holiday is observed, we had Friday off.  So, after using that day to take care of preparation and packing for camp, on Saturday my roommate, three of the girls from my team, and I took a trip to San Francisco.  Hopping on the Greyhound at 7:00 am, we arrived in the early morning and toured around Chinatown (and it’s many souvenir shops), Pier 39 (for a sweet seafood lunch), Fisherman’s Wharf (for a little shopping, street performers, and the Bushman!), and Haight Ashbury (better known as ground zero for the Summer of Love in 1967 – hippies can still be found there today!).  The weather tried to wage psychological warfare on us however.  For the first three weeks I’ve been out here, it has been consistently sunny and 70, but on this particular Saturday, the forecast was rain all day.  And that was no lie.  By 3:00 we were soaked.  We took the bus to the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was so foggy/ cloudy/ overcast/ crappy, that from the observation deck at the foot of the bridge we couldn’t see it!  That just makes for a lot of very sad and angry looking pictures.  It does give me a great excuse to head back to the city, as it was a lot of fun and we didn’t see everything we had wanted to (like the Full House houses).  The rain did work in our favor, however, as after walking around wet and cold for a few hours, we all needed something warm to drink.  So, we stopped into the first cafe we could find in the hippie quarter, which turned out to be a serendipitous boon.  The cafe was actually the ground floor to a bed & breakfast called the Red Victorian.  It has 18 rooms, each of which are decorated with a different theme and given a different name (like The Rainbow Room, The Summer of Love Room, The Sun Room, etc).  Not only did I get a great Chai Latte and Nutella, Walnut and Strawberry Crepe, but I found a great place to keep in mind if ever I plan to go back to the city.

Monday, as I mentioned, began the Red Unit’s trip to Camp Mendecino a couple hours drive north of Sacramento in the midst of the redwood forests.  The camp is run by the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of San Francisco, and in exchange for letting us book the camp during the off season, we help out during our stay with end of the season maintenance and repairs to the camp.  More importantly, it is a chance for us to get off base and out of Sacramento for a few days!

Monday morning began with a drive in the rain, as the weekend’s weather was lingering over the state.  We had to face a continuous mist and rain for the first day and a half of camp.  And our sleeping quarters?  Essentially wooden tents: framed structures with a roof, bunk-beds in them, but no closed windows – only canvas flaps that covered the openings in the wall.  Most of us were expecting temperatures to drop pretty low at night, so we packed warm.  We lucked out, though.  The storm front seemed to keep things mild and it never got as cold at night as it could have. 

Few things were affected because of the rain.  We had to move the “campfire” into a fireplace in the main lodge, and people probably drank more hot chocolate and coffee than they would have if they weren’t constantly damp and cold, but otherwise we were like the postal service: rain, sleet, snow, or shine.  The purpose of the camp was to do some more team building activities, as we only have a week to go before we are officially done with training and begin our first project (thank god).  Notably, we had to go to a ropes course where our team was tasked with a fairly harrowing obstacle.  Nailed between two tall pines, some 30 feet above ground, but looking over a drop into a ravine that was near 100 feet down, was a rounded timber.  Attached to a climbing harness as if we were climbing a rock wall, we each had to individually climb up the tree on pegs nailed to the trunk, balance ourselves atop the beam, and walk across it.  It was great, because it gave our team the chance to come together by sharing an experience that pretty much scared the poop out of us all.  The view from the atop the beam was amazing, looking around at the side of a small mountain range, surrounded by soaring redwoods, trying not to look at the river flowing gently some 10 stories below…  Everyone in my team attempted the obstacle; and each met their personal goal.  I was truly impressed by the balance and coordination that some of my teammates posses. 

After our two nights of roughing it, the Red Unit packed up and left back for Sacramento.  Only somehow our van missed our turn early on, and before we realized that we hadn’t seen a lot of these small towns on the way up and that none of us remember driving through wine country before, we were already an hour south of where we wanted to be.  So, we decided that fate wanted us to take the scenic route and so we continued on down the 101 to Santa Rosa.  We stopped there for lunch at Carl’s Jr. (my first truly Californian fast food joint) and rang up a $73 and change order.  From there we journeyed onward, allowing the local in the van, Mike, to navigate us back to the highway we wanted.  Incidentally, Mike is about as local a guide as we could have hoped for – at one point we drove quite literally past his hometown, some 5 minutes away from his parent’s house.  He did well, and we made it back to Sacramento only slightly more than 2 hours later than all the other vans.  Nothing like arriving fashionably late.

In one week’s time, I’ll be done with CTI.  Next Wednesday morning we have a ceremony to make us official corps members (I guess for now we are still in our liminal phase?) and then Thanksgiving break and then Mississippi.  I can’t wait.       

Virus

Something has been attacking my body this week.  One of those small, unseen critters that worms its way into your blood and wreaks havoc on you.  Coughing, sneezing, feeling tired, looking like the Before person in a DayQuil commercial, etc.  It’s made getting through the week tough, and keeping up with this blog tougher.  In spite of my cold, however, the week has been very good (especially when I don’t look at it through the lens of a sick person with an incessant cough).

Halloween was an interesting night to be hanging around the base.  A number of people dressed up, even though none of us have that much money to go through and resources are limited.  Among the highlights were the team that went as all four Ninja Turtles, Tori (my teammate) who made a kickin’ dress out of garbage bags and duct tape, and the guys who took whatever they had lying around in their rooms (rucksacks, flashlights, belts, and whatnot) and basically turned themselves into abstract monster artwork, a la the Garbage Monster from Fraggle Rock.  For my part, while on the phone with my sister explaining to her that I really had no plans for the evening, my friend (and former pod-mate) Nicole, asked if I “wanted to dress up like a burrito…?”  She is a huge fan of a restaurant chain called Chipotle, which specializes in burritos, and on Halloween if you come into the place dressed like their specialty, they give you one for free.  Who can turn down a free burrito?  So a group of about 10 of us drove their, wrapped ourselves in tin-foil, and – laughing all the way - got ourselves some delicious Mexican-American fare for nothing.  The employees thought we were hilarious.  Well worth it.

Last night was even more worthwhile.  At 5 o’clock my team finally found out where they will be sending us for our first project: Biloxi, Mississippi.  We’ll be working with an organization called Urban Development Ministries (I think) in three capacities.  First, half of our team will be working construction, finishing houses for people on the coast who are still living in FEMA trailers from Katrina and Rita.  Second, a quarter of our team will be coordinating the volunteers who arrive to work (which could be upwards of 200 people, we’ve been told).  Lastly, a quarter of our team will be working on coordinating the food for all the volunteers.  So, there are some significant leadership positions that we’ll have the opportunity to fill.  I’ll post more details as I learn them.

If that wasn’t great enough for a night, it was my teammate Becky’s birthday today, so we celebrated it last night after dinner (hot dogs and Kraft Mac & Cheese…mmm…).  Then, I went out with three van-loads of people into midtown Sacramento to go Swing dancing.  I haven’t had the chance to really get someplace and dance like that (aside from the weddings I’ve attending, and then the dancing styles are varied) for about 8 years.  It was fun to see what I still remembered, and nice to get off base for the night.

But today, my cold kicked into third gear and I’ve pretty much slept off most of the day.  I’m feeling pretty good at the moment, but that could just be the medicine talking.  So, I’m going to go and see if I can make myself look more like the After person and have it last.