habitat day 1

41 degrees, gray, and snowflakes in the air.  i was cold and now am very sore.

but it was a great day!

my first day of habitat for humanity was today.  i got there early and met the house leader, paul.  what a nice guy!  initially he said we'd be cleaning out the garage, but he also saw the look on my face when he said that.  his key guys seemed to be there, as well as a couple other volunteers.  in the end there was only one other woman there.

for the first task i was paired up with vince.  i'm not sure what was up with vince, but it became clear almost immediately that he was pretty clueless and not big on experience or common sense.  we unpacked a bathroom vanity and screwed it to the wall.  i managed to keep him from making more than two mistakes.

i don't know what paul saw/sensed, but everything went smoothly after that.  he paired me up with another guy and sent vince and the other woman off to paint and then clean the garage.  ray and i got to cut and install trim for the rest of the day.  paul completely trusted us to use the power tools without being watched over.  he just let us go.  the trim was not just simple boards -- it had a curved design to it, so cutting and fitting it required some special steps and extra care.  fun!  we finished all the closets and a couple of rooms.

at lunch i thanked paul for letting me do the "real work," and he said you could tell the people who really want to do stuff.