Habitat for Humanity, 4200 Kingston Rd.

Today was another great day at Habitat. My crew worked on putting up insulation (R-12, R-20, and Roxul) in units 9 and 8. Today was not the best crew I have ever had in the world (I still say that was the Markham church group, and I have all the signatures to prove it!) but they were a very good crew. I also really appreciate Brian’s taking the time lately to follow-up with me at the end of every day. I take the time to make sure I let him know how my progress has gone on whatever project, and in turn, he takes the time to come around to my units and do the walkthrough with me, talking about things like I missed filling a couple of gaps, or that the foam needed to be cut back in order to properly seal the cut made in the SIP to accommodate for the electrical wire. (Now I can start to wonder if the wires are 18/3, or 14/2, or what! And read up on products, etc! This is going to be so cool!)

Today I learned the finer details of insulation, how things should be done, and how they should not be done, and my success is a testament, once again, to C+’s amazing way with teaching. She made the lesson very clear to me, and how I was able to interpret it, and field any questions using common sense + her teaching allowed the day to go very smoothly.

I think that’s about it that I have to report today. Kudos to my crew for doing such a good job, following instructions, working well independently, and taking initiative to solve problems. They mostly worked in pairs, with my foaming/caulking/AcoustiSeal team member the only one going solo, and I am surprised and pleased that she had enough work to do even though her day was filled with these smaller projects. She was there with her daughter, and though her daughter was more interested in easier work than challenges, I still feel that she was a good addition to the team. She was also the youngest there, and one of my youngest crew members. She pulled her weight, and really worked well with her partner, who really enjoyed the challenge of doing some of the measuring and more difficult projects. At the end of the day, another one of my crew members, who was taking her lead from her partner (who wants to become a crew leader himself) surprised me. When I complemented her work to Brian, she gave me a huge hug, like that was the best thing anyone had said to her all week! THAT right there is a perfect example of why I go to H4H. She will live there, so she owes H4H that work; it’s part of her sweat equity – but it's still really nice to be complemented and recognized for her work, and I am really glad she got so much out of the day today. She was great, and her energy was really high all day. After Habitat she was going to her real job. Wow, what a day she puts in. I respect her for that alone! She was a very good worker, and I think that it’s wonderful she has a home here.

Lastly, I received open teasing today about being “Miss Canadian Tire”. I assume this is just all in good fun, and must admit that especially if it is, I enjoy that recognition from H4H people of my new job at CTC, although sometimes I wonder … maybe someone is even a little jealous that I am a supervisor there now?