Door to Door for EWB

I spent yesterday afternoon slipping and sliding on driveways, playing with neighborhood dogs and going door to door asking for donations. This is not a normal Saturday afternoon activity for me. I was lucky to have an experienced member of the group show me the ropes and explain the project to people in a clear and concise manner.

What project would get me out in the snow looking for money?

I have recently joined a group of MSU students on campus called Engineers Without Borders. No, I am not an engineer. I am a geographer working towards a second degree in sociology. I fit in because this group is a mix of students with a variety of backgrounds who are interested in long term sustainable development that provides a broader world perspective. In this particular case we work together to establish a long term relationship with Kenyan communities in order to put in hand pump wells and compost latrines at the local schools.

Why?

Currently, female students miss hours of class while fetching water. The water they fetch is often unclean and causes illnesses which increases time away from class for both them and their classmates. The latrines that are utilized are unsanitary and contribute not only to illnesses but also to ground water contamination. The hope is to not only put in sustainable wells and compost latrines but also empower the communities to take a more active role in addressing their needs.

One pump costs close to$15,000 U.S. just for the drilling and materials. Our goal has been to raise $350 a week and work on obtaining some large grants. We have about 15 students working diligently on these goals. We also have some informational meetings and fundraising events coming up.

If you are interested in donating, giving fundraising ideas or simply asking more questions- drop me a line. I will post updates and upcoming events as well.

Call Smokey!

If you read yesterday's blog you will remember that I wished my friend Scott, the professional fire performer, safety as he played with flames. I still wish him safety but think I was the one that was receiving a warning from some unseen power.

This evening, I came home after a longer than usual day at work. I turned on the computer and then began to methodically boil frozen ravioli, bake garlic bread, and open a can of cheater sauce (I know, I know, homemade is better). At some point I set the lid to one of the pans on a burner, I set an oven mitt on top of this lid, and I turned on (what I thought was) the other burner. I then proceeded to talk to my sis, check my email and as I was playing with the TV antennae I realized that something was burning.

Not slightly burning- oh no- on fire. There was smoke billowing into my living room. I am sure I exclaimed some profanity out loud before, during and after running into the kitchen and throwing the flaming oven mitt into the sink for a dowsing of water. I also used a different oven mitt to toss the lid in the sink too. I then opened all my windows…

…to no avail.

The fire alarm went off. Not my little (yet annoyingly effective) apartment fire alarm but the building fire alarm. I quickly turned off all burners, the oven, etc, put on my shoes, made sure nothing was still flaming, and headed down 6 flights of stairs and into a crowd of neighbors; very few of whom have I actually met.

As I walked towards them I said, "It is my fault! I am sorry! I was cooking and I caught an oven mitt on fire…" We had to stand there while the loud building fire alarm (complete with flashing blue light) went on and on. I chatted with my next door neighbor, who gave me a hug. She and the guy who lives down the hall were very consoling and tried to make me feel better. I did have to declare several times to several different people in front of the crowd that yes, it was me and I caught an oven mitt on fire and yes the fire was out and no there should not be a fire in my room. This all whil everyone stood out in the cold until the firemen arrived in full garb with their sirens wailing.

I commented to a gal I was talking to that this was the most ruckus I had ever caused in my whole life (I have been a part of a bigger ruckus but that was not my fault… and it happened to involve a fire alarm as well come to think of it). I also had to announce to the fire men and all those around what apartment number I lived in so that they could locate the cause. While mentioning where I lived, I announced to the crowd that they could slide any letters of grievance under my door.

The firemen came, they went up the stairs, they came back down the stairs, they needed my key. Yes, they had axes but keys are more civilized. They went up the stairs, came back down the stairs, declared the apartment safe, and we went up the stairs. A fireman awaited me at the door and told me that I "did the right thing by getting that mitt under water." I am sure he was not trying to reassure me of my idiocy but was trying to cheer me up. I thought, "Brilliant! I remembered something I learned in kindergarten! Water puts fire out. Go me!"

As I entered my apartment, leaned my head out my door and offered my floor mates the option of using my Oust if they needed a little help getting the stench of charred 100% cotton and algodon out of their nostrils.

I had no takers. The guy down the hall laughed.

I went inside to try to eat the meal I had begun to prepare. The ravioli needed boiling, the bread wasn't done, and the sauce was still unopened.Still, in the end, I had burnt bread, and chewy ravioli with the cheese all but boiled out of it.

mmmmm… now, that was tasty.

What did I learn from this? Never ever buy the frozen round whole wheat raviolis. I think the spirits of long dead Italian chefs gathered to curse me for purchasing and then attempting to first cook and then *gasp* eat such a delicacy imposter.

On a positive note- my apartment no longer smells like fish.

I think tomorrow night, I will order delivery.

*** and yes, there is a pic of the burnt mitt on my picture site-- mwendepics***

Yesterday's Interesting Events

1) It has become a habit for me to turn the computer on first thing every morning. Today, I got up, hit the on button, went in the other room, and came back to find my computer already on my homepage. All I did was turn it on.

.2) After showering I went in to change and checked what time it was on my cell phone only to find that it had logged itself into my Verizon account online. There are approximately five steps that it had to take on its own to get to that point. I am beginning to wonder about my electronics and if they have minds of their own.

3) When I came home from classes I opened the door to the everlasting smell of fish in my apartment. It has been a week since we made fish tacos and yet I can not get rid of the smell. I have burned candles and incense and even opened windows in cold temps. Nothing works. I even jokingly called Bill and asked him if he left dead fish under my couch as a parting gift. Even though he thought that would have been a good idea he commented that he hadn't been brilliant enough to think of that while he was in town.

4) So, I went to Target to get some Oust to cover up the scent of the fish and found myself talking about lotion with some lady in the isle o' lotions. Although the conversation was a bit strange it was not as odd as the time I found myself comparing and contrasting the cost of tampons with a girl from one of my previous classes that I had just ran into… you know where...

5) After wandering around Target a bit I found myself at the check out isle where I had a discussion with check out gal about if I should get Oust or the cheaper Renuzit brand of deodorizer. We eventually decided to go for the Oust because we had not heard anything about the Renuzit. Embarrassingly, she rang up all my items and then I discovered the absence of my wallet.

6) I ran home, got the wallet, returned to Target, purchased my items, returned home, prepared dinner, got dinner in the oven, and sat down to read my newly purchased Fitness magazine only to discover that someone had ripped the, "Buddy Up For A Better Body – Great moves to try with any partner" out of the magazine. Granted, I bought the magazine mainly for the Salmon Cakes with Creamy Ginger-Sesame Sauce recipe in the Heart Healthy Eating section (oh and the What Works Best for My Belly work out was runner up… really), but still… I felt ripped off… even a bit violated. I cheered up once I realized it was probably some poor starving college student who needed some ideas on how to spice V-day up with his/her significant other. Obviously, they needed that section more than I did… right?

7) While typing this last sentence (probably not exact) I did something and something happened and I lost everything I wrote. No kidding. Ask my sis. She got to see me type cuss words into MSN instant messenger.

8) AND Just now, I typed over MSN instant messenger "scott" and up came the symbol of a little stick man dumping gasoline all over himself and lighting himself on fire. Interestingly, my friend Scott is actually a professional fire performer… Scott- please be careful out there!

Crunch-Crunch Pant-Pant

Last night, I went out to get the Diet Coke that I forgot IN my car. The sun was down and the parking lot lights were on. I did not have a coat on because it made it into the thirties yesterday and was still above twenty when I went out. It was one of those thoughtful nights. Quiet. Parking lot lights on the snow. No one around. Darkness hanging on the fringes more like a warm blanket than a dark drape.

I grabbed the Diet Coke and turned to see a man and a woman running with their dogs. They ran through the lit parking lot, their tennied feet making little crunching sounds, their dogs pleased as punch that they are so blessed to have parents that run (and with other people and dogs!), and the human voices passing with seeming easy between one another as the only sound in the night besides the crunch crunch and pant pant.

They were talking about how they like to eat their eggs. They were on a date. A running date, 7pm at night, in the snow, with their dogs, and talking about eggs.

I smiled to myself and said a little blessing for them before I went inside. All the way up the elevator I wanted someone there to chat with me about how we like our eggs. Funny, a 5 second window into someone else's life, a stranger's even, can tell us much about ourselves...