Blog Question and update about blogs silence as of late

Hey everyone, I know this blog has been quite and truthfully, I have been lucky to be working at a great job post AmeriCorps that I really enjoy but it has meant that I have been working outside 35 - 37 hours a week and I have been spending most of my extra time (two days a week) relaxing for the next stent of work. That being said, I really can't complain too much because working at a job you can genuinely enjoy is always a wish come true, particularly in this economy.

That being said, I would like to start with a question I was sent by a reader of this blog. You may recognize the question and if you do, please shout yourself out in the comments to this post.
Question: "Did you get a two week break for thanksgiving holiday AND some sort of break for the Christmas/New Year time?"

My answer: Keep in mind, this is based off my experience and the best source would be one of the top staff members at your campus, but during my term we only got one of them off. From what I remember, each campus would give their corps one of the two holiday seasons off (two week period) while others were "on" then they would switch. If it is still run that way, you will get one of the periods off but probably not the other. You'd have to ask your TL or campus staff to find out which.

With your break, my advice, take the time to rest up and visit with family and friends. If FEMA still provides their FEMA Corps with free WIFI, take full advantage of it but be aware that they can track anything you view so keep that in mind and don't get yourself in a bad spot. Motel wifi can also be used, but I highly suggest investing in Pandora One while you are serving with AmeriCorps if you are given WIFI. It made work a while lot more enjoyable, and bringing some digital music from home (say on a flash drive) was very nice during my time. Spending 10 months away will give you a change to really get to appreciate and enjoy things you may have never thought of before. For me, it was being able to listen to music outside of YouTube which very well might still be blocked on those wonderful blackberries.

Let me know if there are any other questions (forum widget on the right side is the best way) and I will do my best to answer them. It is a motivation to post outside of talking more about memories I have from my time.
P.S. More posts about my time in Colorado and general advice still to come, just finding the time due to the reasons stated at the top of this post.

Stay tuned.

Out-Processing and future posts

Regarding the absence of entries this past month, there are more on the way as well as a continuation of the Colorado posts in the near future.    The Q&A area is still open for questions (see the right side of the blog for the submission form) and will remain open.

Out processing started off on a Friday as teams gradually arrived back to the region campus followed by the weekend which was open and free to visit with friends from other teams.  Starting on Monday there was a week of activities and meetings that were needed to finish up our ten month term of service.  Each day the things on the agenda would range from three to four things on a busy day to two things on a slower day for us, usually involving turning in equipment and so on.   This being said, the schedule did change a number of times and this was simply one closeout at our campus and experiences will vary some depending on the region campus.

By the time we all arrived back, many of us were ready to finish the ten months and were keeping track of how many days left we had before we were done.   Its been a great time all in all and our corp has had many great people volunteer ten months of their life to help those affected by disasters.   Many corp members may have not seen the end result from their work during some of their assignments but the contributions made have made a difference.    For me, Colorado made the ten months for me in addition to spending the time with my team and the transitions with the corp as a whole.

Keep an eye out for new posts and new questions are always welcome.  More to come.

Entertainment for off days (Colorado Post #1)

This is the first of a series of posts about my time in Colorado.   We worked six days a week and there wasn't much time to write new blog posts, so here goes.   

Entertainment for days off:

On days off depending on how many days you are working and how busy you are at work, you may feel inclined to spend your off day/s relaxing and taking it easy.  When it comes to entertainment, many blogs have suggested local libraries as a place to borrow movies and books to enjoy for days off.  However, with the chances of short notices when it comes to changing housing could make it hard to return library material. 

My suggestion, look into Redbox as a way to borrow movies on the weekends or your day/s off.     Also, consider signing up for Netflix once you finish training if you are working with FEMA and getting the blackberry that has a mobile WiFi hotspot.     Both of these options can be cheap ways to enjoy movies without having to worry about late fees or having to pay different library systems for DVDs you weren't able to return.

Also, try to take some time to explore the local areas where you get sent.   AmeriCorp NCCC programs give you a financially free ability to travel to different parts of the country, so take advantage of this and explore.   Get the most out of each place you go and take pictures to remember where you have been.    More posts to come.

Start of Round Two

After getting back from our two week break, happening over Thanksgiving, we had a week for transition as we prepared for our second projects. Most of us arrived back on Sunday, however many had to deal with flight delays due to the weather on the east coast. An important thing to consider if you need transportation from the place you are arriving at (airport, train station, ect) to your campus, shuttles may be grounded due to bad weather if the campus feels that the roads are hazardous to drive on. Luckily for me, I was able to get back to the campus and our campus ended up asking Corp Members to help drive some of the evening shuttles to pick more people up at the airport, however all shuttles after 7 were canceled and some people had to wait in the airport til the next morning when shuttles could get back out to pick them up.

Transition Week:
Transition week for us, which went from the Monday after we got back until Friday started off slowly on Monday with most of the day off until more people arrived, then we had a short corp meeting before breaking for dinner and calling it a night.
Over the next few days, we would have some meetings, a couple hour long trainings, a snow day including possibly one of the best PTs, involving a team wide snowball fight then the building of a massive snow fort. Outside of that, there was a considerable amount of sitting around and chatting while each days worth of training/activities were being figured out. It was nice to know where we were being sent for our second round so that we could pack accordingly as we came back from break.
It was nice that we were able to eventually get AmeriCorp Winter Parkas (Winter Jackets), which they ran out of and some people almost didn't get them, but I was able to bring the Parka with me and left my bigger jacket from home on campus saving some room in the van with the stuff that our team couldn't fit in our red bags or day packs.

All in all, the transition week went fairly well regardless of the time we spent waiting to see if we would have anything else we needed to be in uniform for on a few of the days. It was nice to be able to see the whole Corp again and visit in the down times as not all the teams will have the third and last transition at the same time, so it was most likely the last time the whole corp will be in the same place until the end of our term of service.

More to come in the next few days. Stay tuned.

Time for a Break

As the end of this round winds down, we are getting our two week break where we have the opportunity to go back to where we are from for those two weeks if we wish. For the break, you are responsible for covering the transportation costs to and from wherever you are going and being back to your campus when the break is over.

As for the time of break, there is no set time that each team goes on break, although each teams break is for two weeks (currently).   Will be nice to have a break before we start our next round.

Any questions?  More posts to come, stay tuned.

Q & A - Travel Profile

Q: What if we filled out the travel profile ahead of time before we got the welcome packet? - Michael P.

A: Filling out the travel profile once you have been accepted by an AmeriCorp program is good. Be aware that I don't officially represent AmeriCorp or other organizations, but unless you have heard different from an official source, filling out the travel profile (How you would like to travel ideally). Filling the travel profile out helps AmeriCorp plan how to get you to the training site when the round begins and where you are coming from. Unless someone from AmeriCorp who stated that they work for them and gave you their job title told you different, filling out the travel profile once you are able to fill it out or are asked to fill it out shouldn't be a problem.

Questions are always welcome here and they help make this blog more interactive. Any information sent along with the questions will be kept private and I only put a partial name after the question to show the writer that it was their question. No full names will be released for privacy reasons.
All questions are welcome. If I don't have the answers to the question, I will do my best to direct you to where you can find the answer. Keep the questions coming and expect some more posts within the next couple weeks if not sooner. Have a couple in the works currently. So long for now.

Experience of the Arlington Cemetery

How do you describe the sea of gravestones each representing a brave man or woman who has paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedom and life we all know and enjoy in this country? How do you describe the experience of knowing that each one of the headstones represents a family that lost someone in defence of our freedoms? Buried alongside presidents are many of the most noble and honorable men and woman that have sacrificed their lives in service of our country.

On October 20th, a group of us (within our team) took a Sunday to drive up to Arlington Cemetery while we are deployed in DC working at the FEMA HQs office. Walking around the Arlington Cemetery, it is a very sobering experience. Just the sheer size of the cemetery and what it represents. Its really an experience that can never be properly described to someone who hasn't been there in person.

The sea of white headstones, each one representing a fallen soldier who has given his or her life in combat, really makes an impact on visitors to the Arlington Cemetery.

Although the experience is indescribable, this video helps to show just how many honorable American Soldiers are buried here. And this is but one group of many groups. Every headstone represents someone who left family and friends behind. Each headstone represents a fallen hero.

Walking through the cemetery, constantly surrounded by the graves of fallen soldiers who gave their lives, is an experience that everyone should have. There is the famous saying "Freedom isn't free". Only when you visit a place such as this and experience it in person for yourself, do you fully realize that it isn't simply a saying but rather a reality that is easily said but less commonly understood.

The honor at which every one of the service men and women buried at Arlington Cemetery, creates a feeling and experience that makes a lasting impression on all who fully experience it.

In the upcoming future, I hope to also post a separate post about the Changing of the Guard, an honored ceremony that happens at the Arlington Ceremony, once an hour, on the hour. Keep an eye out for the post. There are also photos from our trip to the Arlington Cemetery, now on the Photobucket (linked on the right of this blog).

More posts to come.