11Dec11
Heading back to the States tomorrow.
Feels weird.
For the first time, this is really feeling like I’m at home.
I’ve got a great crew here in Jacmel now, even if most of the Americans aren’t back yet.
Gayly, Patrick, and Sarah from Olive Tree are awesome to hang out with.
Dr. Ken’s place is pretty chill to crash at.
Clayton is great to just have stopping in randomly and hanging out with.
Nick and I can work together on random projects, just for the sake of it.
It’s just a good time to be here.
It’s been great to have Josh here this week too. Always makes life a whole lot better.
Weird part is, even with this becoming like home, it was still a very frustrating week.
The projects took longer than expected. More stuff just kept popping up. Things weren’t being done like I hoped they would, and people were setting different priorities for their own work than I would have preferred.
It was a rough week.
Plus, because I was getting frustrated, I got myself burnt more than usual on the welding cause I wasn’t paying attention to things like I should have been. (That, and the fact that my welding gloves were ripped at the spots I am most likely to touch metal with, like my right thumb. Pa Bon.)
On the plus side, we got the work done. And, I got my new boots in, and know that I have new welding gloves coming.
This project was a great learning experience, and I am much more prepared to do larger scale welding projects down the road.
It’s been good for Gayly and Patrick learning as well, though they still have some more work to do.
For a test, I let them take on one door by themselves. It’s functional, but there is definitely room for improvement. I planned it right though, cause that door is more of an “emergency escape” type door. It is rarely seen, and most people don’t even know it exists. It was a good place for a practice door.
Is it weird that I’m sad I’ll be leaving my truck here? I want my truck to come home with me cause it has all my stuff in it. I think I’m gonna feel naked at home without it.
Some thoughts for while I’m home:
-1 – I’m gonna have to go to Dan Kennedy’s for a “refresher course” on the self-defense with handguns and shotguns. Not so much cause I need training, but cause it sounds like a good excuse to meet up with Cherith and Dan and head out to the range.
-2 – I’m back to wanting to buy a .22 handgun. I can’t bring it to Haiti yet, but it would be good to stay practiced up just in case I need to use a handgun down here. Long term, I would like to bring one in for others to practice with as well. .22 is just nice and cheap to shoot. And, most of the guns I have seen here, I’m not sure their owners know how to handle them properly, especially the haitian security guards, which is a scary thought.
-3 – I’ve got a good handle on things that I need to restock now. Surprisingly, I only managed to lose 2 of my “personal tools”, though that included my lineman pliers and my tape measure. I’ll replace the tape while I’m home, but somehow I picked up another pair of Klein pliers down here that despite my best efforts I have not found the original owners. Jehovah-Jireh I guess.
-4 – I’m also working on how to get another guitar down here. I am the official worship leader for church on the beach now. I love it. That is the biggest reason Jacmel is feeling like home. It’s a great setting of corporate worship down here.
Anyhow, that’s my thoughts for tonight as I drift off, knowing that by 7am, I’ll be in a mad scramble to get loaded up and head to Port-Au-Prince to start the journey home.
God Bless.
