New Radio Hitch-Hiker’s

AAAAAAAAAA!! Pack a towel, baby, we’re outta here.

I’ve been doing a lot of volunteering lately. However, as much as I’d love to claim credit for it as spontaneous acts of pure altruism, I originally got started because of a speeding ticket. The judge offered me a chance to keep my driving record clean and avoid paying a fine by doing 25 hours of community service. It sounded like a great idea to me. It’s turned out to be a really edifying experience. The local organization I’m working with provides opportunities to help with a lot of different kinds of projects.

Among the things I’ve been doing is helping out with Special Olympics team practices for bowling and for soccer. They need volunteers to help keep the participants on task, assist them in developing the fundamental skills they need to play, and to be just generally supportive. The participants’ skill levels vary widely, but they’re all enthusiastic and really good sports about everything. It’s such a positive atmosphere, you can’t help but feel good after a while.

I was a little worried before the first soccer practice, though. I only ever played soccer for part of one summer when I was a kid, and by “played soccer” I mean mostly stood around the field waiting for the other kids to bring the ball my way. I had about as much grasp of what was going on in the game at any given moment as George Dubya has about the economy. At these practices, though, my historic ineptitude hasn’t been a problem; there are coaches and other volunteers there who know what to train them on, and it’s helpful just to be there reinforcing what they’ve said. It’s pretty humbling—and inspiring at the same time, which is strange—to realize that I would have to practice for years to be as good as some of these people.

I feel kind of guilty, like I’ve gotten off easy getting credit for doing this. It’s all pretty warm and fuzzy when you’re there and spirits are high. But then sometimes I remember that I’m seeing a lot of these people at their happiest. They’re out having fun together, in a social context where they’re all peers, which is probably pretty unlike the rest of their daily lives. And these are the lucky ones, they have families who can afford the time and effort that their conditions require.

Laura came home early on Thursday afternoon, to work on paperwork here instead of waiting at the hospital until the storm hit. Our power went out at around 2:00. We passed the time by reading and trying not to watch the trees thrash around outside. Occasionally we’d hear a sound like a sedan hitting the roof of the house. We made dinner of crackers, cheese, pepperoni, and artichoke dip, and went to sleep early since it was so dark.

The next morning, the power was still out, and the backyard was literally covered with debris. I couldn’t work, so I spent the entire day cleaning up the yard. Two of our huge trees lost one large limb each, and by “large” I mean that where it broke off the branch was thicker than my thigh. One fell from about 50 feet onto a smaller (i.e. thigh-diameter trunk) tree, knocking it down. The other large limb fell directly between our house and the neighbors’, settling across two trees but not breaking them.

There were so many branches to deal with that I didn’t finish Friday, so I was out there again for most of Saturday and part of Sunday. The weather was gorgeous all weekend, thankfully. We’re actually pretty lucky that there’s no apparent damage to the house, and that our power was only out for about 30 hours. And all the firewood we have now should last us through the winter, if we can manage to keep it dry. But man, I’m tired today.

In other news, this “semagic” LJ client just ate another entry of mine. Rackafrackin varmint.

Wow, the past two months have flown by. So much to say, I’m not sure where to begin.

The move went as well as you could ever realistically expect any move to go. Lots of work, but no big surprises. I got a U-Haul, and two guys to fill it, and a trailer to pull my car. I was a little nervous about that, since I don’t have much experience pulling trailers, but it was pretty easy to get used to. The truck itself was a beast, I practically had to stand on the gas pedal to get it to move. (By the time I got back in my car, I had already adjusted to the truck, so I ended up gunning the engine. I did this consistently for much of that weekend. 😛 )

The house is wonderful. I can’t believe how much better it is than my old apartment, especially since it’s costing a lot less. It’s on a really quiet street, out of the way but not too far from downtown Durham or from Chapel Hill. It’s got a great porch in front, and a smallish deck in back. My family has been asking me to send some photos, but I haven’t taken them yet. Maybe this weekend.

The yard is shaded by lots of tall trees, which help keep the house cool and private. There’s a wild plum tree in the front yard. All through June it produced more plums than I could keep up with. They’re a lot smaller than what you’d find at the grocery store, but they taste just as good. Next year I want to try to make some preserves.

Speaking of food, I’ve been eating really well lately. My girlfriend is an excellent cook, and loves food as much as I do. I wasn’t very motivated to cook when I was living alone, but now we almost never eat out. As a bonus, this has brought me to all new heights of frugality. Then again, I guess I have been this frugal before, but only when I felt like I was depriving myself.

I’ve felt a lot more busy since the move, which is natural, because I have been more busy. It’s been the pleasant kind of busy, though; I just wish there were more hours in the day to do everything that I’ll be getting to gradually. I’m slowly getting more organized, though, so hopefully I’ll feel more on top of things soon.