Habitat for Humanity

Building Houses, Reshaping Lives
One Family's Dream is Only a Few Volunteer Hours Away from Being Complete

When you first walk up to the house, you notice the newly poured cement sidewalks, surrounded by dirt, white rock, and weeds; soon grass will be planted in the weeds’ place.

The smell is almost overwhelming, with the paint fumes and the saw dust. There are volunteers, about 20 or so sweating and painting. You can practically feel the determination of the volunteers to make this house a great place for the family to live.

The floors are covered with saw dust, paint drippings, and extra wood pieces that have been sawed off. The windows have been outlined with tape, ready to be primed and painted.

You wander down into the basement, where the floor is also littered with excess wood, sawdust and paint splatters. You look up to a ceiling that has not yet been completed and the wiring and pipes are peeking out.

Then, you see the family who will live in this house, staining some boards of wood. This is what a Habitat for Humanity work day is like on a Saturday morning, one work day of three a week that volunteers work.

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit Christian organization devoted to building houses for low income families. It was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, and through the work of countless volunteers has built over 300,000 homes.

The Lincoln affiliate of Habitat for Humanity was started in 1988. Currently, there are 18 other affiliates of the organization in the state of Nebraska.

Michelle Williamson walks into the room you are in. She is skinny, of average height, with medium length brown hair, and bangs. She tells you that she started volunteering her time in 1995 and is now a director for the Lincoln affiliate.

Michelle also says that funding for the houses Habitat for Humanity builds is mainly based on the donations it receives. And that approximately $200,000 are donated to the Lincoln Habitat for Humanity affiliate yearly.

Those donations fund most of the projects. If the donations are not enough, they apply to get private grants, and they also make some money off of the mortgages of the houses they build.
There are about 180 volunteers who work on each house. Most of the volunteers are church goers and students who need community service time.

Since the Lincoln affiliate was started, they have built 106 homes. They take on approximately 6 or 7 projects annually.

The soon-to-be owners of the house, Michelle said, consist of a single mother from Africa. She has two children: a daughter who is 14 and a son who is 15.

Her son, Samson, has severe autism; and she was worried for his safety because their neighbors complained about his episodes while they were living in their one bedroom apartment.

When they move into the new house, Samson will get a room in the basement, in hopes that any of his episodes won’t disturb the neighbors. The basement also includes a bathroom with a hot tub, for Samson to relax in if he has an episode. They are excited, as this house is a dream for the family.

Today their dream was being primed and painted. Thanks to the volunteers who put their time and effort into making this family’s dream come true, the house is almost finished. Only then will this house be the perfect house to fulfill this family’s dream.

And the Disappointment Continues

So, let's see...We finally went to get ice cream!! :) I got a chocolate malt from Amigos and it was goooood haha.

GAH!....That Josh kid is a pain in my ass....he's in our classroom and he just took the pictures that Macy took of him sitting on me and he uploaded them to Facebook....I'm going to beat him....and then Macy.

Grr....anyways, back to our ice cream...er, we ate it :D. Then we went back to our rooms to have a brain storming party. Why you ask? Cause we had to do this stupid interview project and we had to brainstorm some questions. In party form.

Then we went downstairs to the vending machine...and low and behold there was a DANCE PARTY! Just kidding...normally Tiff and I would like dance parties, but those people who were dancing last night were freaking weird....they had their shorts all pulled up high and yeah, not pretty...unless you mean pretty awkward.

After we witnessed the awkwardness, Tiff and I saw some college guys playing volleyball ^-^ Oh yeahh. So of course we went to watch! :) We liked what we saw.
Then we got distracted...(nothing surprising)and we started looking up random songs on YouTube. Then I just had to show Becky and Tiffy a video this guy did where he's singing A Whole New World from Aladdin. It's super duper creepy...Watch it!

So then, we had to show Hannah when she came a knockin' on our door...and her reaction was so funny that she went and got Meggie. And Meggie's reaction was the funniest cause, wow, her eyes were huge...and if you didn't watch that video (with sound, you NEED the sound) go do so, cause then I'll just be rambling like an idiot...kinda like right now...awkward...O_O

Haha anywho...then I took a shower....and I didn't have to wait in line, which was weird, so....I dunno haha. Then I snuck into Sami and Becky's room (It was after room check) and Macy was there with her laptop, and we looked at some of her pictures while I brushed my hair. Then we listened to some music, and took some pictures and videos on the web camera thingy on her laptop.

Then....I went to bed :) Haha, not a very interesting day. And then there were like NO guys at all for breakfast....but that's prolly cause I had to get up early for that stupid interview project.

Ooh...lunch! Kay bye :D

Lunch...was lame. It was just me and Becky. Haha just kidding....we ate and then we tried to chill in the little lobby but then Tiffy and Sami popped up and we went back into the cafeteria to get some....ICE CREAM! :O

Then Macy came and she got some food and I got mad at her for putting those pictures up, so I poked every single mozzarella pocket thingy she got. And she PUNCHED me!

Yeah, then Tiff and I went back to the dorm to nap. Only, we didn't take a nap. And we were told we could be late to class....so we set our alarm again, and we were finally all settled down when Becky texted me telling me that we had to be to class at one. So then we picked up and left, only to find Sami, Macy, and Becky coming into the dorm building. But we journeyed on. And then when we were walking to Andersen, we saw....a hobo. And we went inside and he was out there picking up cans, so Tiffy decided we should give her farmers' market money to him. So I wrote a note, it read:

Aly and Tiffy went to give $$ to a hobo, brb!
Love,
Aly y Tiffy

Hahaha. So then Tiff found a can and put the money in it and gave it to him and he told us that if we smoked, then he had a pack of cigarettes....? And we said no, or no thanks or something...and then he told us that he was partly blind and we were thinking "aww!"

So yeah, no we're back in class, and we have a deadline that my crappy story prolly won't make....soooo, bye :D

Special SEXtion

There was an article published May 11, 2010 addressing a university newspaper that had an edition on sex called a “Special SEXtion,” that the Board of Regents was not very pleased with. The “Special SEXtion” had articles on many touchy subjects ranging from subjects such as sexting, to sexually transmitted diseases, all the way to sexual assault.

The Board was distressed about the edition and was trying to censor it -one member claiming that he was offended by it- and also claiming that they fund the paper and were almost subtly threatening to stop funding it if the paper did not see it their way. However, the edition, blunt as it was, was not really doing anyone harm.

First, the paper did have the freedom of speech. They had the right to express all of their opinions and views on the chosen topic. And it’s not like the articles were obscene. A long as it did not interfere with any other persons’ rights they had that right to publish that edition.
Second, the purpose of the edition was not to offend anyone. It was merely to inform the public on everything sex. People probably learned something new and benefited from the information that the paper had given them. For instance, if the article on STDs listed many of the common STDs and the symptoms, the public benefitted from that because they were just given things to look for if they are sexually active or are planning to be sexually active.

Third, they told the audience a place where they can seek help for various STDs and such. A place that was located on campus. That’s advertising right there, they were helping the university as much as the people who were reading the articles.

The paper should fight the Board of Regents on their future editions, if problems arise in the future. They shouldn’t let anyone take away their first amendment rights, after all.

Go here for the full article.

Lunch Disappointed Me =/

No attractive looking college guys at lunch today.....that really bummed me out :(...but Josh did forget his lunch tag thinger and he /had/ to eat Runza...good and bad :) Haha, eat it Yoshie!!

Oh, and I also forgot that this morning when Tiff and I were opening the blinds on the windows, we looked out them when Tiff said "Hey, that looks like Scott!" and she started waving at him. And he had his head tilted back, so that it looked like he was looking at her. So either he didn't see her, or it wasn't him...haha. OR it was him and he just didn't wave back. If that's the case, well then, silly Scott, when someone waves at you, you're supposed to wave back....makes you seem rude haha.

And then, after we got ready for class today, we decided to see if the windows opened up. Originally, we wanted to throw these little military figure things out the window, cause they had parachutes, and hey, that's cool. But yeah, we got the window open......but now there's a screen in the way! Grr...we just can't win at this place, huh?

Story of Me

This is Alison Buchli. A typical teenage girl. Most days you can find her sitting in her lime green mushroom chair in her room, texting her friends about their plans for the weekend, oh, and reading her 100th vampire book. Literally her 100th vampire book, she keeps a list of them.

The first thing that strikes you about Alison is that she is a girl who comes across as being smart, like a nerd. Slightly clumsy, like a nerd. A girl who likes to read, like a nerd. A girl who is a complete perfectionist when it comes to school, like a nerd. A girl who does her homework, instead of copying it, like a nerd.

This is a story of more than just a nerd. It’s a story of a girl who tried to be something she’s not, just to fit in, and how she gave up on it. A girl who tried to fit into a clique, and ended up making her own version of a clique. A girl who is happy being herself, and no one else. A girl who likes the quote “you were born an original, don’t die a copy,” and made it her mantra.

Who is Alison? She is a girl who is proud of the few achievements in life she has made, such as winning her first medal in track, and completing a scholarship pageant. A girl who would rather read the book than watch the movie, because the book has more detail and room for imagination. A girl who would rather listen to an upbeat song than a slow song, because she doesn’t like to feel weighed down and sad. A girl who gets called a nerd, even when she says really stupid things.

However, this intellectual bad ass, as she prefers to be called, actually has a sense of humor. She can make almost anyone laugh. She says ridiculous things that her friends end up quoting later on. For instance, she and a friend went to the pool in the summer and some children, from ages seven to thirteen, would not leave them alone. The kids would splash them and ask them to play spin the bottle with them. Finally, Alison got tired and turned to her friend and said “Those kids need to grow up. Seriously, they need to stop sucking on their mother’s breast like an infant, and find some real lunch.”

Of course, what makes Alison interesting is that although she’s funny and has a so called “nerdy” side, she is compassionate and loyal to her friends. She takes life seriously. She is stubborn, and sticks to her beliefs and her friends and family. And although she makes light of situations by cracking jokes, she cares about the things she is involved in.

Good Morning, Sunshine! :)

Ahhhh, good morning! It's a beautiful day here at journalism camp. I didn't go to sleep until 2:15ish or so because my roommate and I were talking/doing our homework (yes, we had homework). I prolly should have gone to bed sooner, since I had been up since 4:30 the day before, but what's the fun in that?

So, class got over at 9 pm...which made me mad cause the photography class got out at like, 8:45...and Tiffy, Sami, Becky, and I (oh and Lauren too, sorta) went to Blockbuster to rent a movie, but we ran out of time because we had a dorm meeting thing (which our counselors were late for, I might add) and we said we would come back later. And at the dorm meeting, we saw the t-shirts for camp. The t-shirts that Sami, Tiff, and I designed....and then our design won the contest. But we didn't get them last night :(. But I do know that our design was changed, and I was not a happy camper when I learned of this. Instead of the green they were supposed to be, they were white, and the picture on the front was soo not how we designed it....but then at the meeting, they brought a box of t-shirts in and they were green! Which gives me hope that the new t-shirts (yeah, they had to redo them cause apparently for all the journalism majors here, none of them can spell the word journalism. J-O-U-R-N-A-L-I-S-M. C'mon people! {But their mistake might have turned out better for our design...we can only hope! =D}) might have our original design and colors! Yay! :D

Then after the dorm meeting, when we realized how many girls were actually on the 5th floor, we all scrambled to get a shower. I got one, and I quickly showered and gave my shower over to Tiff. Then I headed over to Becky and Sami's room to hang out with them and brush my hair. Macy was there, looking at the pictures she took in her photography class. They were of some attractive looking soccer and basketball players, all gloriously (and then not so gloriously) without their shirts on. ;) Oh, and then she had to show me the ones where Josh sat on me. Not cool. I even tried to get my revenge through her, and it didn't work.

So then Tiffy came to the room and we danced...and Macy tried to take pictures of it, which was also not cool because neither of us had any makeup on.

.......Oopies, we never got that movie =/...We can go tonight then :D.
.................................And ice cream too. :D *Makes mental note*

Then Tiff and I decided that we were hungry, so we went down to the 1st floor to visit the vending machines...I got chocolate (!), and Tiff got some Doritos and Starbucks. Then, we feasted. :D

After that, Tiffy and I went back to our room and talked, and then we did some of our homework when we couldn't think of anything else to say.

And I feel like I'm really in college, cause the teachers are really lenient and I can text in class and get on the internet when I'm supposed to be paying attention. But I kinda get all paranoid cause, you know, in real school you have to hide what you're doing and be all sneaky like...not here, they expect it! Haha :).

But anywho, I slept like a rock last night. And I woke up to Tiff's insanely loud alarm haha. And then I rolled over to look at her and she was staring at me creepily. O.o

Then we went to breakfast, like, as soon as we got up. Cause we were hungry and it gave us a set time frame to get ready. But guess what?!?!? We got lost...again...again. I blame my lovable roommate, Tiffy, as she has assumed the roll of navigator. (But you know I love you, butt hole =D)

And yes, we know that its only a few blocks to Selleck, but in our defense...yeah, never mind....we've gotten lost for every meal. But if I could defend us, I would say that it was early and we were starving.

But anywho, this was our first time eating breakfast here, and yeah, couldn't go smoothly, could it? Haha, Tiff left her key in the room, which wouldn't be a problem since I had mine, but the meal tag is attached to the key...so yeah, she almost didn't get breakfast right then.

And then, there was this sandy haired guy eating breakfast by himself, and I looked over and he started to stretch his really nice arm muscles....*sigh* Obviously I had to tell Tiffy and Hannah( another Fairbarian, who was eating with us)...I think they were jealous. ;) Hehe

But if that's what turned out for the breakfast crowd...Oh my goodness I can not wait for lunch! :)

The Story Of Allison

This is Allison. Allison is from Omaha, Nebraska. On the outside she looks like your normal, everyday girly. But what you don’t know is that she has a darker past.

The first thing that strikes you about Allison is her super long and beautifully gorgeous blond hair. Then there are her eyes, a blue so light they are almost grey, and she wears very little makeup. She also has a slightly husky voice.

This is a story about change. About the changes in ourselves and the others around us. Changes in the people we choose to be around, the clothes we wear, the phases we go through in life. About the undeniable effect those changes have on the people we are today.

Who is Allison? She is a girl who has made bad choices, but moved past them. A girl who battled the eating order Bulimia and won. A girl who lost practically all of her friends at one point in her life. A girl who dealt with an unpleasant stepmother daily and who has grown stronger because of it.

When Allison was in kindergarten, she was terrified of fire and storms. So much so that she would develop an upset stomach. One day a fire fighter visited her school. She was terrified, yet tried to remain calm. The fire fighter talked to them about various fire procedures, and when she got home that night, her mother asked her how the speaker went. She nervously started to explain how you are supposed to put your hand to the door to see if it is hot. Later that night, she threw up in her bed.

Of course, what makes Allison interesting is that she went from one phase to another phase on almost the opposite side of the spectrum…

I'm Not Quite Sure That I Like the Meal Times Here...

So, dinner....almost got lost getting there....again. But we didn't, and we had pizza! :D Unfortunately, there were no seats in the cute little lounge area, so my roomate Tiff and I ate dinner in our fabulous dorm room. But then we went back to the lounge to chill with our other friends.

We had us a little chit chat, and then eventually I took this mean kid named Josh's seat and he sat on me! But he got in trouble for it...sorta...but that didn't make it any better.

However, I will get my revenge. Hahahaha! Beware Yoshie!

And I'm supposed to be typing this assignment thingy...but I can't think straight cause I've been up since 4:30 this morning....soooooo I guess I'm just lucky to be able to, er, type this :D

Kaybye :D

People Eat at Lunch?!?....NO WAY!

So, at lunch, get this....people were EATING! *Gasp*
Nah, just kidding. :)

People were socializing, eating (obviously), and I saw a few of the people from my little hometown of Fairbury eating and talking with people I've never seen before....they made some friends, oh yeah. :D

But that's the normal side of lunch....I also saw many, many, MANY, attractive looking college guys ;)....and a girl who tried to smell one of the decorative flowers....a.k.a a FAKE flower...glad that wasn't me! :D But then my sandwich got stuck to the roof of my mouth and I was grunting like an idiot....so yes, great day at camp so far =D