The scoop

Ok, so you've all requested to hear more about Toolman, so here it goes. On the ride down to Louisiana, we sat next to each other in the captain's chairs in the middle of the van. We ended up talking to each other a good portion of the way home about a lot of various things...school, friends, family, etc. etc. Just general getting to know you kind of stuff. Then we got down there Sunday around 12:30ish, but we weren't allowed to work because we had to go through orientation before we went out in the field. Toolman was really upset because he wanted to work...it was the whole reason we were down there. So he managed to find some way to do something...he started moving around fallen lightpoles with a forklift thingy. I was pretty impressed by that because the rest of us were just kinda lollygaggin. This is when I started to pay a little more attention to him. The next day we went to our first work site which was Aunt Sally's, and I just payed attention from a distance and noticed that he worked hard, and not only that he was a pretty sweet guy because he talked to Sally and gave her a hug and stuff. It was cute. So then that evening I took my guitar and went outside to play some praise songs. My new friend Monkey went with me because she can actually sing well, and I can't. Anyway, he came out with us and joined us. At first he kept talking about how he can't sing well and stuff, but then he was singing anyway because he just wanted to praise the Lord. That's rare...a guy who isn't confident in his singing but sings anyway. So then I was really paying attention to him. Different people came and left while we were singing but Toolman always stayed. Then it got down to me, Toolman, Carpenter Girl, and another guy. We all sat around and talked, but eventually it got to be mainly Toolman and I talking. We talked about all kinds of stuff, but mostly photography because it's something he's interested in, and so am I as most of you know. So we talked for about an hour and a half or so before we finally went to bed.

The next day I started to notice a trend. It seemed like whenever we weren't working, Toolman would go to wherever I was and Carpenter Girl would go to wherever he was. Hmmm...interesting. So that night, we all went outside again to praise Jesus which was so cool. Quite a few people were joining us for a while, and it was pretty awesome that I was kinda leading it because I had the guitar. Anyway, my arm got tired after a while so I decided to quit, but then Toolman, Carpenter Girl, this other guy, and I sat around talking. Once again, it was mainly Toolman and I talking until I decided to go to bed.

Then Wednesday came, and this is where the story really starts to take shape. Half way through the day, I hurt my back, so I had to go sit out in the van and try to relax for a while. Toolman was the first person who came specifically to check on me. He just wanted to make sure I was ok. Then we went to the next site. It was only me, Toolman, CG, and Snake Dance there for a while because our leader took the rest of the crew back when he got more supplies. We were not really doing anything productive, but at some point CG said something kinda dumb and Toolman just said jokingly, "Shut up, woman." So then she said that saying woman was like saying go make me a pie. I said it's usually more like, "Go get me a beer woman." So then Toolman goes, "She's right. Tessa, will you please go get me a beer." Now, I know we were just joking around, but he called her woman and called me by my name and said please. Anyway, when we were done, I was going to drive the other van back to camp, so I said "who wants to ride with me?" and Toolman was like, "I do!" then CG followed. Do y'all see the trend? Well, later that evening, we all went to Wal-Mart. When we were getting in the van, CG waited until everyone else got in to make sure she could sit next to Toolman, so not only did she sit next to him, but they had to share a seat. I was not happy, BUT he kept turning around to talk to me during the ride. Then we got to Wal-mart and we all went our seperate ways...and Toolman went with me. We ended up sitting in those kids couches in the toy section and talking for about half an hour about toys and growing up and stuff. Then CG came and found us and saw us together and she was not a happy camper.

Thursday came, and Monkey worked very hard to resolve the problem with CG and succeeded. We all had a girls' night and got her to open up and got to know her better, and everything was fine from there on out. Nothing significant happened with Toolman that day, but I did notice something. I was taking a break while we were working and I said that I couldn't do something because I was too short or something like that and Toolman was nearby. So when I went back into the house, he was doing exactly what I said I couldn't do. It was kinda like indirect teamwork. That evening he also asked me to be his "nametag buddy". Yeah, it sounds dumb, but I thought it was cute. It was kinda our inside thing.

Friday was our last day. Most of the day nothing eventful happened until we were getting ready to leave. I was standing, waiting to get in the van and he came up behind me and started giving me a shoulder rub. I didn't ask him to do it, he just did it. Yeah...yeah. So then we started heading back to Ohio. After a while, Monkey thought it would be a good idea for us all to go around and say something encouraging about each other. So everyone started with me because I was in the back of the van, but when it was Toolman's turn he said he wanted to start in the front and work his way back to me. So when he was talking about everyone else it was a lot of stuff like "nice personality" "good work ethic" , etc. But then he came to me and said that he really liked getting to know me and talking to me on the way down and the night that we talked about photography. He said he felt like we had a lot in common. Then he talked about the day I hurt my back. He said he saw how upset I was because I wasn't able to help anymore and he realized that I was for real. That I was really there to serve God and help people and that he thought it was so cool to see someone so dedicated to Christ. Whoa. I was floored.

So after we all slept for a while and we were getting closer to Ohio, I suggested that we all go to Chuck E. Cheese's for my birthday and Toolman was all about it. So that evening, I sent an e-mail to the whole team and also invited everyone to church since it was my last Sunday playing guitar because I'm going to start running sound again. A couple hours later, Toolman sent an e-mail saying he'd be there.

So Sunday comes, and he actually shows up. I was on cloud nine. It was so cool to see him at my church. After church we all went back to the house and just hung out for a little while until we left for Chuck's. Unfortunatly nobody else could join us for various reasons. But it was fun nonetheless. When we were about to sit down, he said that he was going to go get a drink and asked me if he could get me anything, so he got my drink which I thought was really sweet. There were other little things here and there, but this story is already long enough.

So yeah, there's still a lot missing from the story. I don't know what will come of this. I know that I at least have made a great guy friend, and you never know it could be more. I'm praying that it will be. It would be cool if y'all could pray for it too. A few people have said that they notice "something." So we'll see. Sorry it was so long. I'll keep y'all updated. Lots of love ladies!!!

God bless!

Pepto

P.S. Go to http://www.ob.org/projects/hurricane_relief/blog/tara_smith.asp and scroll down to the "nest of rats" story. That's us and Aunt Sally. Toolman is the guy on the left side of the picture.

The scoop

Ok, so you've all requested to hear more about Toolman, so here it goes. On the ride down to Louisiana, we sat next to each other in the captain's chairs in the middle of the van. We ended up talking to each other a good portion of the way home about a lot of various things...school, friends, family, etc. etc. Just general getting to know you kind of stuff. Then we got down there Sunday around 12:30ish, but we weren't allowed to work because we had to go through orientation before we went out in the field. Toolman was really upset because he wanted to work...it was the whole reason we were down there. So he managed to find some way to do something...he started moving around fallen lightpoles with a forklift thingy. I was pretty impressed by that because the rest of us were just kinda lollygaggin. This is when I started to pay a little more attention to him. The next day we went to our first work site which was Aunt Sally's, and I just payed attention from a distance and noticed that he worked hard, and not only that he was a pretty sweet guy because he talked to Sally and gave her a hug and stuff. It was cute. So then that evening I took my guitar and went outside to play some praise songs. My new friend Monkey went with me because she can actually sing well, and I can't. Anyway, he came out with us and joined us. At first he kept talking about how he can't sing well and stuff, but then he was singing anyway because he just wanted to praise the Lord. That's rare...a guy who isn't confident in his singing but sings anyway. So then I was really paying attention to him. Different people came and left while we were singing but Toolman always stayed. Then it got down to me, Toolman, Carpenter Girl, and another guy. We all sat around and talked, but eventually it got to be mainly Toolman and I talking. We talked about all kinds of stuff, but mostly photography because it's something he's interested in, and so am I as most of you know. So we talked for about an hour and a half or so before we finally went to bed.

The next day I started to notice a trend. It seemed like whenever we weren't working, Toolman would go to wherever I was and Carpenter Girl would go to wherever he was. Hmmm...interesting. So that night, we all went outside again to praise Jesus which was so cool. Quite a few people were joining us for a while, and it was pretty awesome that I was kinda leading it because I had the guitar. Anyway, my arm got tired after a while so I decided to quit, but then Toolman, Carpenter Girl, this other guy, and I sat around talking. Once again, it was mainly Toolman and I talking until I decided to go to bed.

Then Wednesday came, and this is where the story really starts to take shape. Half way through the day, I hurt my back, so I had to go sit out in the van and try to relax for a while. Toolman was the first person who came specifically to check on me. He just wanted to make sure I was ok. Then we went to the next site. It was only me, Toolman, CG, and Snake Dance there for a while because our leader took the rest of the crew back when he got more supplies. We were not really doing anything productive, but at some point CG said something kinda dumb and Toolman just said jokingly, "Shut up, woman." So then she said that saying woman was like saying go make me a pie. I said it's usually more like, "Go get me a beer woman." So then Toolman goes, "She's right. Tessa, will you please go get me a beer." Now, I know we were just joking around, but he called her woman and called me by my name and said please. Anyway, when we were done, I was going to drive the other van back to camp, so I said "who wants to ride with me?" and Toolman was like, "I do!" then CG followed. Do y'all see the trend? Well, later that evening, we all went to Wal-Mart. When we were getting in the van, CG waited until everyone else got in to make sure she could sit next to Toolman, so not only did she sit next to him, but they had to share a seat. I was not happy, BUT he kept turning around to talk to me during the ride. Then we got to Wal-mart and we all went our seperate ways...and Toolman went with me. We ended up sitting in those kids couches in the toy section and talking for about half an hour about toys and growing up and stuff. Then CG came and found us and saw us together and she was not a happy camper.

Thursday came, and Monkey worked very hard to resolve the problem with CG and succeeded. We all had a girls' night and got her to open up and got to know her better, and everything was fine from there on out. Nothing significant happened with Toolman that day, but I did notice something. I was taking a break while we were working and I said that I couldn't do something because I was too short or something like that and Toolman was nearby. So when I went back into the house, he was doing exactly what I said I couldn't do. It was kinda like indirect teamwork. That evening he also asked me to be his "nametag buddy". Yeah, it sounds dumb, but I thought it was cute. It was kinda our inside thing.

Friday was our last day. Most of the day nothing eventful happened until we were getting ready to leave. I was standing, waiting to get in the van and he came up behind me and started giving me a shoulder rub. I didn't ask him to do it, he just did it. Yeah...yeah. So then we started heading back to Ohio. After a while, Monkey thought it would be a good idea for us all to go around and say something encouraging about each other. So everyone started with me because I was in the back of the van, but when it was Toolman's turn he said he wanted to start in the front and work his way back to me. So when he was talking about everyone else it was a lot of stuff like "nice personality" "good work ethic" , etc. But then he came to me and said that he really liked getting to know me and talking to me on the way down and the night that we talked about photography. He said he felt like we had a lot in common. Then he talked about the day I hurt my back. He said he saw how upset I was because I wasn't able to help anymore and he realized that I was for real. That I was really there to serve God and help people and that he thought it was so cool to see someone so dedicated to Christ. Whoa. I was floored.

So after we all slept for a while and we were getting closer to Ohio, I suggested that we all go to Chuck E. Cheese's for my birthday and Toolman was all about it. So that evening, I sent an e-mail to the whole team and also invited everyone to church since it was my last Sunday playing guitar because I'm going to start running sound again. A couple hours later, Toolman sent an e-mail saying he'd be there.

So Sunday comes, and he actually shows up. I was on cloud nine. It was so cool to see him at my church. After church we all went back to the house and just hung out for a little while until we left for Chuck's. Unfortunatly nobody else could join us for various reasons. But it was fun nonetheless. When we were about to sit down, he said that he was going to go get a drink and asked me if he could get me anything, so he got my drink which I thought was really sweet. There were other little things here and there, but this story is already long enough.

So yeah, there's still a lot missing from the story. I don't know what will come of this. I know that I at least have made a great guy friend, and you never know it could be more. I'm praying that it will be. It would be cool if y'all could pray for it too. A few people have said that they notice "something." So we'll see. Sorry it was so long. I'll keep y'all updated. Lots of love ladies!!!

God bless!

Pepto

It was AMAZING!!

Ok, so this will probably be a fairly long post because I have a whole week to catch up and it was chock full of awesomeness. So as most of you know I went down to New Orleans this week for spring break. We actually stayed outside of New Orlean's in a town called Slidell. Our "camp" was in an abandoned grocery store and parking lot. The girls had bunk beds in a couple different room, and the guys had cots in the old cooler and a room across from the cooler. Then we had a meal tent and shower trailers out in the parking lot. All in all, it was pretty nice, and we were definitely fed well. A group of menonites cooked breakfast and dinner for us at camp and then we had MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) for lunch. Those MREs rocked my socks.

So anyway, we got down there Sunday afternoon but couldn't work until we went through orientation on Monday morning. So we just hung out around the camp and then later in the evening we drove to New Orleans. Even though it was dark, we could see so much destruction and abandonment in the city. It was crazy. I thought that there wasn't much left to do since it's now nearly 7 months after the hurricane, but I was wrong. We found that to be even more true when we actually got to go out and work.

The first work cite we went to was for a lady named Sally. I'll never forget her for the rest of my life. When we were walking up she was crying and telling us how thankful she was that we were there to help her and that we were all angels sent by God. Then she went around to give us all a hug and said, "I can see the love of Jesus in all of your faces." That was so awesome, I'll always remember it. But I must backtrack a bit. On our way to Sally's we got lost, so we had to turn around and then we were sitting at an intersection and noticed a guy who's car had died, so we pulled into a gas station and went out to help him push his car. Then we were waiting around so we could jump his car and we started talking to him. He told us that it was so nice to see other believers around. He kept saying that everyone down there really appreciates us coming down, especially us being a bunch of college students on Spring Break. So that was pretty cool. Now back to Sally's house. We really just had to clean out two of her bedrooms and a bathroom. It took all afternoon, but we got it done. She was so thankful, and she got everyone's address so she could send us something to thank us. It was so awesome being around her and working together with my team.

Speaking of my team. I ended up not driving down, which was such a good thing. We all rode in a van and it was so much fun because we got to know each other, and then working together, we got to know each other even more. By the end of the week, we were like family. There's more to that, but you'll have to talk about it with me in person. :D

The second site we went to was this 84 year old lady named Pearl. She was a sweet old lady with a real Louisiana accent. It took us two days to finish the job, but we got it done. When we finished, she gave us a check to give as a donation to Operation Blessing (the organization we were working for). Then she told us to tell our parents what a wonderful job they did rasing us because we're such wonderful people. The next job we went to was our attempt to hang drywall. We did ok, but it was pretty good considering none of us had really done it before.

The next day we finished gutting out a house and got to meet a team workin on the house next to us that was a church group from Indiana. They were pretty cool. We all ate lunch together and they were envious of our MREs. It was funny. The last day we built a little shelter house thingy that we called a shanti for a well pump for a lady named Pauline. It took a lot longer than we expected so we left like 6 hours later than we had originally planned, that's ok though.

On the trip back we talked about what we learned from the experience then a little bit later, we all went around and talked about the strengths that each other had. It was really cool. Yeah, so I might get to see some of the crew later today because we're going to try to go to Chuck E Cheese's for my birthday. By the way, if any of y'all want to come, that would be cool.

There's so much more to the story, but this is getting pretty long and I'm getting kinda tired. So I might right more later or I might have to just tell y'all in person. I will say though, that God is AWESOME! I grew so much this week and found new brothers and sisters. It was so encouraging to see these people that have lost everything but are still so hopeful and thankful that we were there to help. It felt awesome to serve people in the name of Jesus. I hope I get the chance to do something like that again.

Well, I'm gonna hit the hay soon. Peace out.

God bless!

Pepto (a.k.a. Birthday Girl) :D

Update: Ok, so it looks like a guy from my crew is going to be at church tomorrow. I'll call him Toolman. So if I seem like a nervous wreck, it's because I am, but I'll also be in a GREAT mood.

Wish you

HELLO FROM LOUISIANA!!! This will be short because this computer is slower than molasses. I just wanted to let you all that I've been having a GREAT time and met lots of totally AWESOME people. It's been an incredible experience. I've made some new life-long friends including some guys. I know...shocking, isn't it? I must be going now. I'll tell y'all all about it when I get back. Love ya ladies!!!

God Bless!!

Pepto

Wish you

HELLO FROM LOUISIANA!!! This will be short because this computer is slower than molasses. I just wanted to let you all that I've been having a GREAT time and met lots of totally AWESOME people. It's been an incredible experience. I've made some new life-long friends including some guys. I know...shocking, isn't it? I must be going now. I'll tell y'all all about it when I get back. Love ya ladies!!!

God Bless!!

Pepto

It's over.

Winter quarter is finally over, and thank God for that. The last two weeks have been a nightmare in the area of school work. I've definitely had a few really late nights/early mornings. It doesn't matter anymore, it's all over with.

In other news...I leave for New Orleans tomorrow. We're not leaving till 11 pm, so I might be able to make it to rehearsal. It just depends on how long the wedding reception lasts, plus I might need to get a little sleep in case I'm driving. Anyway, it's a 17 hour drive so It will be quite a trip. I'm really excited about it, but I'm just a little nervous too. So keep me in your prayers this week. I'll really miss all of you.

I've been hanging out with Blue Jacket and Homeslice a lot lately. It's been great. We've really been bonding. We've been goofing off a lot and having a lot of fun, but we've also been serious and gotten closer to each other. In fact, Blue Jacket and I decided to be roommates again next year. That's exciting. She couldn't find a roommate, and I can't really afford to live alone, and we get along really well so it made sense. The good thing is though, both of us have other friends, and she'll still be going to WSU and I won't...so we won't get into one of those situations where you spend way too much time together. I think it will work out quite well.

So yeah, I need to go to bed because I have a loooooooong day ahead of me tomorrow...like a 36 hour day since we'll be driving through the night. I hope everyone has a great week, and I'll miss ya. Love ya ladies!!!

God bless!

Pepto

Rough road

Yeah, sorry it's been so long. Life's been pretty hectic and rough lately. This week has just been terrible. Monday started it all off. I spent a considerable amount of money on supplies for my final portfolio in photography...a lot more than I wanted to, so I wasn't too happy about that. Work was ok, not too bad, I just didn't feel like being there. Then I got a phone call from some company saying if I didn't my balance in full within 2 days, they were going to "seek judgement" against me. So I flipped out, called my parents, etc. etc. My parents told me not to worry about it though so I was fine after that until I went to the print lab. I spent about 3 hours there working on my zinc plate and when I was finished, I had pretty much ruined it, so that was upsetting. I was tired so I just went home planning to eat something real quick then go to bed. Well, I had a pretty hard time getting to sleep because I can't get to sleep if I can hear people talking and the roomies were talking. So I didn't get a whole lot of sleep.

Tuesday started off by waking up late. I barely made it to class in time, but I made it nonetheless. I had realized Monday night that I did't have my wallet with me, but I thought I had just left it at work so I didn't worry about it. I went to work after class to see if it was there, and it was not. I checked the lost and found downstairs, and it wasn't there. So I searched my car, my room, everthing...nowhere to be found. So I had to call and cancel my cards that were in there. I then went to Taste of Elegance to order a cake, but I couldn't pay for it yet since I didn't have an ID so I could use a check. That sucked. Then I went to McDonald's and used the little bit of cash I had to get a Double Cheeseburger and a McChicken. I get home, open the bag and there's a Fish filet and a small fry. I was hungry so I ate it. I then went to painting class and gradually started to feel really achy and my throat got sore and I felt like I was running a fever. Great...my day just gets better. So I went to work, and by the time I got off, I really was not feeling very well on top of the fact that I was just exhausted which was bad because I still had a long night ahead of me. I came home to watch House, eat dinner, and grab some stuff then I headed to the photo lab because my final portfolio due this morning. I got home at around 4:30 am and made it to bed around 5 am. Not good when you're getting sick. My alarm went off for 35 minutes this morning before I finally woke up which is bad because it was right by my head. I got up and went to photo class in my PJs, went through my critique, came home, and slept. It was good to get some rest, but I'm still really tired and achy all over. I also coughed up some phlegm and there was blood in it. I talked to my parents for a little bit and they told me to go to the VA Hospital. I can't because I have no ID or insurance card. So my mom told me to get Mucinex. I can't because if I write a check, they need to see my ID. So I'm just kinda stuck. So I'm gonna try to go get a new license tomorrow if I'm not dead so I can go to the hospital.

So if y'all could keep me in your prayers, I would really appreciate it. I need to try to find something to eat here because I'm starving. I hope all is well with everyone out there.

God bless!

Pepto