Not a light lunch

Last Thursday I, along with three co-workers, took my Habitat-weary muscles about a mile up 14th to spend a couple of hours doing a little more good in the world. PwC is a big supporter of Martha's Table, a local organization that provides all kinds of services to those in need - education, daycare, a decent meal - and we usually send a group of volunteers up once a week to do whatever needs to be done for a couple of hours. The Martha's Table folks have partnered with local farmer's markets and often receive donations of any produce left at the end of the day. Someone must have had a bumper crop of kale this year, because the walk-in fridge was absolutely filled with the stuff. Giant Rubbermaid totes, heavy duty garbage bags, cardboard boxes - overflowing with kale.

So, in an effort to actually make use of it before it turned all nasty and squishy, the four of us set to removing the leaves from the stems and tearing those leaves into bite-size portions, then dumping pan after pan into the sink for a thorough washing before its conversion into soup. Two hours of kale shredding - I was pretty grateful for the latex gloves, or otherwise my hand might have been stained a lovely shade of green for the foreseeable future. Actually, it was pretty amazing to see what four sets of hands can accomplish in a couple of hours when faced with an astounding pile of produce.

As much as we would have loved to stick around for some kale soup (ok, not really - we were pretty kaled out at that point), our stomachs were gurgling for something a little more hearty. We'd just spent the last couple of hours in a ginormous kitchen surrounded by food and leafy green things, so of course we turned to a location where the food carries a much more neutral color scheme (you know, the browns and tans of the world), the land of starch and grease, a D.C. icon. Ben's Chili Bowl is conveniently located just a few blocks away, so we walked on over and indulged in heart-attack fare for a late lunch. I had my first taste of a half-smoke, and while there's really no definitive answer for how it gets its name, D.C. lays claim to this slightly spicy sausage that's a notch above a hot dog. Throw it on a bun, smother it with chili and onions, throw some potato chips on the side, and you've got one nap-inducing lunch ready to go. I made the first bite with a knife and fork, and after being chastised for being so neat, I proceeded to throw caution to the wind (even wearing a white sweater - I mean, I was inviting danger), cover my hands in spicy chili, and chow down. Major clothing crisis averted by strategic neck-craning on each bite. Cube buddy Stephanie opted for the chili cheese fries, which are equally greasy and also tasty. Maybe my body could use some kale.

Power tools empower

As part of PwC's community service initiatives (we do more than taxes!), they occasionally give us the chance to shirk traditional work responsibilities for the day and descend en mass on some organization that's been kind enough to agree to take on a bunch of accountants/lawyers/type-A personalities for the day as we attempt to do some good in the world. The lucky recipient of the gang from 1301 K? Habitat for Humanity! So yesterday, after loading up on the bus, fortifying ourselves with coffee, enduring our rather incompetent driver, and hoping and praying that they sky wouldn't open up on us with a ginormous rainstorm, we found ourselves in a southeast section of the city that I would probably not otherwise find myself in, willing and ready to...well...to build a house.

Today my body hurts in ways I didn't know it could hurt. I mean, it's really not too bad and actually serves as a good reminder that I should work out more, but can you pinpoint the muscles you use to (1) carry windows from a work shed to a home and then up a flight of stairs, (2) shave down a too-small window frame using what I think was a reciprocating saw, (3) move and stack scaffolding, (4) fill an enormous dumpster with construction junk, and (5) destroy old wooden stuff (held together with stubborn nails, of course) with a sledgehammer? This is totally counting as my workout time for the entire week. And now I know about things like window flashing and properly leveling a window in its frame! My cube buddy Stephanie and I learned quite a bit from Dave and Claude, two regular volunteers who come out as part of the Wednesday Crew.

And what would a construction site be without a little inappropriate talk and possibly some innuendo? Courtesy of the guys..."I can't get it up!" (actually referring to shifting the window up in the frame before screwing it in to close up the air gap at the tap) and "can we go all the way?" (those words may have come out of my mouth...quite innocently, I might add...as I was peeling the backing off the waterproofing tape going around the window frames). One of our favorite phrases of the day? Screw it! And this was in a positive context! It's pretty exciting to actually get the window in place, leveled and ready to go, and shout "screw it!" to the poor guy who's stuck outside (usually Claude) so he can quite literally screw it...you know, screw the window into its frame.

Fortunately, it only rained on us a little bit, and the home we were working on already had a roof, so we could seek refuge inside during the heavier drops. Oh, hard hats also serve as pretty decent rain hats in a pinch. The weather ended up cancelling today's outing (us Pdubbers are spread out over three days so we don't drive the regular crew completely crazy...oh, and for reasonable logistics), so I'm really glad we got to go yesterday!

And may I just put out there...who shows up at a home construction site NOT expecting to get dirty, do some actual physical labor, and maybe come across a bug or two? Most of our crew was pretty willing and had a good attitude for the day, but come on, you bug and dirt weenies - get with the program.

Check out our massive pile o' refuse...

...and the back of our home (which is actually two homes)...and do you see the two windows on the top floor on the right? The reciprocating saw and I got to cut through the blueboard insulation and send it plummeting to the ground so we could put windows in. I want to spend more time with power tools, please. I cut through nails with that thing!

It was rewarding to get away from my desk for a day and actually do something that gives back to the community a little bit. Sometimes I struggle to find anything redeeming about what I do at work on a day-to-day basis (the best I can come up with is "upholding the financial integrity of so-and-so and the economic backbone of our country!"...sounds semi-impressive, right?), and I truly appreciate that PwC does make an effort to give its employees the opportunity to put in a little community service time. Thank goodness for that community service charge code for my time sheet. And I hope this house that accountants helped build actually stands the test of time.

Shaping young minds

A couple of years ago, I was motivated to become a teacher for a day, have a positive impact on the youth of America, and honestly, take a break from the tax accounting gig to feel that I was actually doing something meaningful...even if only for a day. Take hold of these business concepts, kids! You CAN go to college! The world is your oyster!! Of course, I didn't just run off to an elementary school and take over a classroom; good ol' PwC set up a volunteer opportunity with Junior Achievement, rounded up a bunch of accountants, armed us with bags of supplies, and sent us off into the lion's den. I mean...into a local elementary school.

I thought it was a fantastic concept! Take some professionals (look where education can take you!), give them the opportunity to teach basic business/community/life concepts to the kids while having a little fun...bonding/learning occurs, and we all have warm fuzzies at the end of the day.

My memories of that first Junior Achievement teaching experience have faded somewhat. I do remember...I told myself I would never do it again. I was mentally and physically exhausted at the end of the day, and I don't know that the kids actually got anything relevant out of what we attempted to teach them. When we could actually get their attention. And keep their attention for more than thirty seconds. Honestly, it made tax look a lot more interesting and fulfilling (I'm upholding the economic stability of our country! Oh, wait, that's not working out so well right now....well, I'm sure there's some socially redeeming quality in my work). I was grateful to be spending my days among adults, even if some of them did act like children from time to time.

My resolve to avoid this experience didn't quite stick. Presented with the opportunity to participate in the program again here in DC, I hesitated only briefly before jumping right in again. Surely it's worth another shot! This will be fun! Little kids can be so adorable, and when they get something and that light bulb goes off it's just so great! Get ready, third graders - time to learn all about our city! We're tackling "economic development, local businesses, and career opportunities!" You get to measure blueprints, identify city zones, build buildings, open your own restaurant, learn how a bank works...I mean, this is some pretty awesome stuff. The third grade lesson was the one I taught before, so I was comfortable with the materials and the concepts. Ok. Let's give this another chance!

Frustration began setting in after about...oh, I don't know...fourteen minutes or so. The sustained noise level over the course of the day was just astounding. Then there are plenty of other things. Do you think that some kids have it while others just...don't? That dear sweet boy keeps trying, but I just don't know if he's going to get there, even if I hold his hand every step of the way. Can you teach someone how to learn? Or try to help them even want to learn? I don't know if I caught Miss-I'm-Only-8-Years-Old-But-I-Think-This (and by extension YOU)-Is/Are-Stupid-And-I-Choose-To-Roll-My-Eyes-And/Or-Ignore-You-For-The-Vast-Majority-Of-The-Day....until you offer me ice cream (I'm fairly certain the grammar in her head did NOT come out like that - it's all me, folks) on the wrong day, but seriously? How do you get through to some of these kids? It requires infinitely more patience than I possess, and at least I can rule out this particular career choice if I see the need for (another) big life change. I can't decide if it gets better or worse as they get older.

Were we this bonkers in elementary school? I mean, I know I encountered the occasional kid who just had to put on a show and talk talk talk, but were there entire classrooms of them? I'm wondering if I had a sheltered, nurturing elementary school experience. Probably so. Thank you, Mom & Dad, and thank you, fellow elementary school classmates. We had some good times.

The day did have its redeeming moments. We had some hugs thrown in there at the end from the sweet girls, a few of the kids really participated (and did such a great job with the projects!), and I'd like to think we made some kind of positive impression on them. I hope. They at least appreciated the ice cream. Oh, rats. Maybe all we really did was contribute to the obesity problem plaguing America's youth.

I have had some good teaching experiences! We taught/attempted to teach the local elementary school kids some Spanish when I was in high school - I have some pretty fond memories of that, actually. Perhaps it's just age giving a glossy sheen to days of years past.

Tip of the hat to all of you teachers out there. I couldn't do it every day. I can barely do it one day a year. Well, possibly two days a year. I'm potentially up for another round in the fall....maybe the kindergarten kids haven't learned "surly" and are still adorable little knowledge-sponges.