Today deserves a swear word...actually a lot of them.
Work is crazy, fun, unpredictable, loud, out of control and so many other things. But I never thought it could be scary until today. The school is a Mon-Fri business and besides that obvious benefit for its employees, it really saved a lot of grief this weekend. There are two buildings, one for infants and toddlers (where I work) and one for preschoolers. Last night the infant-toddler building started on fire and is completely ruined inside now. Yeah, fire! Apparently something in the attic caught and smoldered for about an hour before bursting into flames and alerting someone. Seven fire trucks showed up to put it out and they had a hard time because of the way the roof was built so they took chain saws to the roof in order to let the heat out. That means that the entire inside of the building is gone because everything hot from the roof and ceiling fell down on the inside. It is difficult to see the amount of damage from the outside because the building walls on the outside are brick and cinder block so it is still standing. But the inside is like a nightmare. I have never experienced any kind of destruction like that. It is very scary. A bunch of the teachers showed up to work today cleaning and trying to salvage stuff. Here is some idea what we lost...
40 kids worth of diapers and wipes, formula, bottles, blankets, food, dishes, clothes, bibs, etc
5 high chairs
4 rocking chairs
3 changing tables
3 saucers for the infants
16 cribs that cost $500 each
a stroller worth $600
a climber worth $800
3 refridgerators
washer and dryer
2 vacuums
2 microwaves
tons of toys, stuffed animals, art supplies
pictures of the kids
shelves, sleeping cots, cupboards, play kitchens
you get the idea, a lot of stuff
Seriously devastating. Another lady and I spent almost all day dragging stuff out of the building to be cleaned or moved around back. We wanted the front of the building to look okay for Monday morning when all of the kids show back up. I am seriously afraid that I will have nightmares after that. It was so depressing to see all of the loss. And stressful because now we have to figure out where to put 40 kids without all of the stuff that we need like diapers and cribs. We had to call all of the parents early this morning because it was all over the news last night and all day today as well as in the paper. So obviously they were all freaking out wanting to know what was going on too. I had to do some of the calling as well. Some of the parents were very nice about and others weren't. But I would be nervous if I were a parent too. Because it immediately comes to mind that if the fire has started the day before, 40 kids would have been in the building. 40 kids under the age of three! Now I am absolutely exhausted, have a horrible headache that won't go away probably from inhaling those nasty fumes all day, and have to be back at work by 7 am at the new building for kids who are moving to that location. And I don't think that I will be able to sleep. Here are some pictures.
This is what the floor looks like, debris and several inches of water.
Our sad looking charred diapers.
The toddler room didn't get as much of the fire but still had tons of damage.
The building from the outside facing the road.
The Big Ticket Festival
So I thought I was being brave. Okay maybe that isnt the right word for it but it felt that way. I decided to drive 2 & 1/2 hours to northern Michigan to go to a music festival. I drove up midafternoon on Friday and drove home (very) late on Saturday. I almost hit a fox! I was a bit nervous about going by myself and spending all that money but then I decided "what the hell", it will be fun. And it was. it was worth the money, it was worth the long drive, and it was worth going by myself. You can call me a loser (or a loner), I am okay with that. Anyway, it is a pretty big event and I missed half of Friday's concerts. But here is a rundown of what I did see and do...
3 stages (1 rock, 1 main stage, and 1 that was more of a "coffeshop" feel)
On Friday I saw:
-Superchick (yeah they were a lot of fun)
-Aaron Shust (who was much better in person than on the radio)
-Kutless (played some of my favorite songs and had some of the best bass! I loved it!)
-Rebecca St James (was good but I am not a real big fan of hers)
-Casting Crowns (Very good performers and related to the crowd well, it was their first festival)
On Saturday I saw:
-AG Silver
-Heath McNease (calls himself acoustic hip-hop, he was hilarious and a great singer)
-Mark Harris (rocked the "coffeeshop" tent)
-Warren Barfield
-Decyfer Down
-Falling Up (these guys had good stage presence and one did a back flip wile playing his guitar)
-Paul Colman (he was funny, had the men in the crowd singing falsetto)
-Hawk Nelson (I like this group, they goofed off a lot and seemed to have a lot of fun with each other)
-Skillet (as always they put on a great show)
-Building 429 (they were better than I was expecting, I am a new fan)
-Jars of Clay (one of the greatest bands in my opinion, their voices are amazing!)
-Newsboys (really got the crowd rocking, the dummer was on a vertical spinning platform while playing, amazing!)
-Sevenglory (another good show and funny guys)
Andrew Paulau spoke one night about his life with a famous pastor dad, Luis, the guy on the radio with a funny accent. I thought the toughest part about the festival was trying to decided which stage to be at. There was also a skateboard ministry hailing from Boise Idaho! I was surprised to see that license plate. Yeah I took a picture. Oh Bebo was supposed to come but he broke his leg and his doctor wouldnt let him travel after his surgery, There were tons of people there and next year they are planning on a 3 & 1/2 day festival. Keep that in mind for June 2007! One of the cutest things that I saw was a lady dancing in front of me holding her corn on the cob and waving it around. Yep lots of fair food. I ended up sitting with someone for all of the concerts on Saturday night. He seemed like a nice guy and liked kids. And I seem to have a thing for old men lately, As I was walking out to leave, a old man caught up to me and started chatting. He told me all about how he passes out Bibles at these kind of events and how he had 3 boys and now a bunch of grandsons. He also told me about Whitney (the survior of that car accident mix up, who is from that town) because he knows her and had just seen her. He started talking in a Irish accent when I told him my name and then he grabbed my hand and kissed it and told me to remember than he loved me. It was so cute!! I love nice old people! So, there was my experience in a long nut shell. I am glad I went and hope to go back next year for sure. So just a few pictures for you.
I loved seeing the full moon out at night, it was beautiful!
Jars of Clay was amazing
The Newsboys had big confetti machines
What is wrong with me!
I have been working at the preschool for about 2 months. That's 8 weeks. And I have been sick 6 separate times already. I know that I catch a lot of germs but this seems a little excessive. 3 colds with 3 flus. The last flu hit me so fast I didn't even know that I was sick. I went to work and was there about a half an hour feeling fine when I had to go throw up in the bathroom. Then I couldn't even get up off the floor to drive myself home. It was embarrassing. I am taking Vitamin C and Zinc along with a general vitamin. I am eating pretty healthy and I wash my hands all the time, they are always dry to prove it. Plus we bleach the toys everyday. Anybody have any other ideas? I feel like I don't have an immune system. It sucks. On a better note, I went to a big music festival and got to see some of my favorite bands play like Kutless and Skillet. I will write more about that later.
This is what the floor looks like, debris and several inches of water.
Our sad looking charred diapers.
The toddler room didn't get as much of the fire but still had tons of damage.
The building from the outside facing the road.
