The Tale.................of Sir Calvin

Texas is great, because everything about it is big. It's state is big, it's trucks are big, it's people are big, even spiders, humidity etc. (The list is endless). So far in Texas, I have enjoyed quite a multitude of wonderful experiences here in the Lone Star State (where even cockroaches drive large trucks and think hybrids are kind of silly).

So far this week, the days have passed by in a similar, yet quite enjoyable manner. My work team (named 'The MacGyver's after some dude in the 80's who I don't know but that's ok) drives to the home where we work at about 9:00 in the morning and then we get to work. So far, we have been tiling and putting down grout (which, until a little while ago, I thought 'grout' was a small woodland mammal), or at least, we have been putting off that impression. For a few days, Gabby, Marshall, Sam and myself just scraped mortar between tiles, which is a VERY rewarding experience (if, by 'rewarding' you mean 'mind-numbing') I tried to become a tiler, but very soon I realized that this job required a special something I didn't have (namely, an ability to do something productive) and my team leader Andy, sent me back to kneel on the floor and scrub the cracks again. Fortunately, I was the only person with a camera so this enabled me to get up and wander around at any point in the work to photograph and videotape Marshall's humerous episodes of working with the hose (among other things).Still, this is a VERY essential step that we must take before we can work with grout.

Throughout the work upon the site, we have made steady progress upon the tiling the floor and grouting in between in several rooms; I credit this to Joe Crisp standing in front of the fan until it puffs up his shirt and Nick Morehouse covering Michela (also known as Michala on this blog) in mortar, for both activities are very efficient and quite entertaining to watch. As for myself, I have been upgraded to grout spreading, which allows me to spread the brown, gluish-like substance that look alarmingly similar to dog feces on the floor, inbetween the tiles so that it holds them together in the same spot, then Sam and Gabby come by and clean the tiles so the only goop I have spread is in the cracks and not on the tiles.This job is ideal because it allows me to make a mess and then has others cleaning up after me, which has been my dream job since about 2 years old. Today, I have finished two bedrooms and have started another so I do have some work under my belt.
Now, in fact, Stephen and the others are now doing the medieval torture that is scraping the grout lines, so I can't do too much work, otherwise I won't have time to watch them for giggles.

Other than this though, I have learned many things. Academically, Gabe has taught me how to properly pronounce 'versatile' (say Ver-sa-tile!).Socially, I have met our wonderful team leader, Andy, who is the Straight man to our team's Marx Brothers. Furthermore, I have bonded well with the whole group. From Marshall the Marshmellow is a one rad dude who looks like Alfred E. Newman, to Michaela who has the best singing voice ever (Imagine Bonnie Tyler on steroids!)

I have failed miserably at keeping this blog short, but when confronted with such a cornucopia of material, what is a crazy Episcopalian who has been mistaken for Shaggy Rogers from Scooby-Doo to do? In any event, I want to help spread the message........

MacGyver Love To all!