MLK Day

In the world of volunteering, MLK day is a big deal. It's looked at as a "day on, not a day off." Our group in Vinton was set to spend the day in Cedar Rapids at an event honoring King to be followed by constructing a garage for a neighborhood rebuilding organization called Block By Block. We were all ready to go with our uniforms on, coolers filled, hammers in hand, literally pulling our vans out of the parking lot when we were told that we'd have to stay on campus because of icy road conditions. Bummer. We still had a productive day, did some group reflection on what national service is all about, made a delicious dinner for ourselves of ratatouille, and watched Jersey Shore. All in all it was a great day.

In other news, I was convinced to join in on a game of ultimate frisbee yesterday for the first time ever. My friend Tyler (aka T. Saint) back in Boston will be surprised to read this as he has been trying to get me to play ultimate with him since our days back at BU. Usually my fear of failing miserably at sports, mixed with being generally out of shape, causes me to decline. But I decided to give it a chance, and let me tell you – it’s hard! Requires a lot of stamina and was way more exhausting than I thought, but a ton of fun.

Unrelated, but curious afterthought: In the spirit of trying new things such as ultimate frisbee, my new friend Mike Langen who I have nicknamed Mike Cougar Langencamp (after the famed musician) introduced me to an interesting dessert today that requires filling a coffee mug with snow and then covering that snow with brown sugar. Yes, brown sugar. And it was delicious. And the snow was from outside the front door of our dorm. Food for thought.