We got to the site and started working on finishing insulating the ceiling. The three of us got to be pretty skilled at it, if I say so myself. Emily would measure and cut and then Jonathan and I hang and staple. I'm also pretty good at cutting out chunks in the insulation to allow for pipes and beams, etc. I feel like I'm shearing a sheep when I do that, haha! Jonathan and I each hung more insulation single-handedly than a group of four from the Hillel group. Yeah, I know that sounds prideful, but we work hard and do a good job.
When we finished with that, the three of us went in search of a bathroom b/c the porta potty ran out of toilet paper. We eventually found a McDonald's and refreshed ourselves. As we were driving, we could still see buildings that are completely abandoned. One apartment building we could see completely through it to the other side. Emily pointed out that some buildings still have markings on the doors to indicate how many bodies were found in the house. Two doors down from the house we're working on is one such door, but luckily it has the number zero.
After purchasing some more toilet paper, we returned just in time to learn how to hang sheet rock on the ceiling. Ben, who works for the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, was there to show us the ropes. I was a little nervous of the power screwdrivers at first. We helped get a piece in place, but then the Hillel group went on lunch. Us three decided to work on actually hanging the piece of sheet rock while they ate. To be honest, we only had two lifts, so we could only have two groups working at a time. There are 10 of them, so 13 people split up into two teams is a little much. So we decided to take advantage of the smaller numbers and actually do a little work. Emily and JJ worked the screwdrivers, but then I took a turn. At first I had it going the wrong way. HAHAHA! I'm such a genius! After I took care of that, I tended to push in the screws too far. Emily took back over b/c JJ's screwdriver died. Her arms go tired, so I tried again, and lo and behold, I actually screwed in a few screws accurately! Woot! When the other group came back, we went on lunch. I hope they didn't think we were avoiding them, but there was just not enough stuff for all of us to be working.
We walked op the hill to look at the levee and the lake while we ate. Well, we tried to, but then it started raining, so we finished up eating in the car. When we went back inside, they were still working on the same two pieces of sheet rock. Ben helped them with that while the three of us worked in finishing up the insulation. We had to insulate this one small room that had all kind of pipes and boards that we had to cut around. The last row was too wide for the insulation, so Ben told us to put up some more 2x4s so that we could hang the insulation the other way. We had a lot of fun with this b/c we had to actually use our brains and be handy. Emily got to use the saw, which she loves, and I got to hammer and wedge. It was difficult at first, but by the third board, things were going pretty smoothly. All in all, we were pretty satisfied with our work. Ben was also pretty satisfied with our work I guess, b/c he suggested that tomorrow we spend our time going around to all the rooms and put up 2x4s where there aren't studs to nail the sheet rock too, and trim insulation, and just make sure that everything is set up for when people get around to putting up the sheet rock. I'm excited b/c we work well together and we enjoy it.
Unfortunately, b/c we were trying to finish up that last area, we didn't get out of New Orleans until 4, which means we hit bad traffic coming back into Slidell. Instead of about 20 minutes, it took well over an hour to get back. We got a good look at the castle building along the lake though! :-)
After a nice (lukewarm) shower, I made dinner for the group: Ritzy Chicken (fake chicken), corn and biscuits. Mmmmm, we all enjoyed it! Then we decided to take a walk to the bowling alley. Ben had told us that he bowls on a team tonight and told us where the bowling alley was and said we could come watch. When he told us how to get there, it really didn't sound like it was that far, so we figured we could walk there. HA! After wallking for a good 20 minutes, we stopped to ask how far it was to the bowling alley, and apparently we still had quite a ways to go, so we turned back. That was a good idea, b/c by the time we got back to the church, we were all exhausted. Building a house takes a lot out of you! We couldn't imagine doign this every day of our lives! We hopped in the car and drove to a nearby bar. I have a root beer. It was refreshing, and it came in a bottle, so I almost felt like I was drinking a beer. Ahh, Lent will be over soon...
So now I should be working on homework, but I am quite tired and so I probably won't get much done. Oh well...
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