FALLING TREES COULD BE FATAL

In my search of trying to figure out how to start this blog I realized that if I ever wanted to write something, I would have to stop thinking and organizing and start writing. So here I am. Today was the first day I have been to the site since we left for Christmas break (that’s about 2 weeks). Oh how the site has transformed. The site was untouched for years maybe even forever, (except for the multitudes of trash that had been dumped there.) Pre-habiTECH exposure, walking INTO the site, was like walking through some portal taking you out of Ruston and into some magical forest. I know I sound corny when I say that but it’s true. Nature's architecture is equally, if not more important to the built environment. It’s almost a shame to even build on this site, well was. Now the site is completely clear cut with the exception of about 2 trees. The protective blanket, the trees of magic is gone. (YES, I’m being a dramatic, hippie, tree hugger, but its just not the same.) The sad part about the whole experience is the realization that we are/will be architects and our attitude towards the site is the same attitude that $developers$ have in dealing with the site. Maybe the money aspect was not exactly our reason for doing it, but mediocre complacency is definitely a factor. I am not judging us as a class for being wrong for taking most of the trees and changing the whole integrity of the site, because apparently this has to be done due to tight time constraints, building codes, forces of nature, and pure logistics of building. It is just discouraging to realize that if architects can't do it, then no one can do it.
BUT ENOUGH OF MY SAPPY TREE STORY.

This morning we get out to the site and of course things start to go wrong from the get go. Little did we know that our site and building was drawn wrong from the beginning. No pointing of fingers, but this would have been nice to know before we started laying out our building. So what do you do? I go back to the drawing board, and we will just have to try yet again tomorrow. In the meantime we decided to cut ANOTHER tree. Great. I guess subconsciously I did not want to be apart of this madness so I got stuck with filming the action. In my attempt to film the event I am gradually starting to get frightened by what I am seeing. Mike is at the base of the tree cutting a wedge out of the 90’ tree. Some sort of T.V. cable is tied around the tree(b/c we didn’t have rope) only to have 6 people on the other end of the cable pulling the tree TOWARDS them. Simple math. If you pull a tree towards you, it’s going to fall TOWARDS YOU. So back to the story. Everyone realized that this was going to happen, so in a general consensus it was said that once the tree was falling, you should RUN YOUR ASS OFF AWAY FROM THE TREE. One of these 6 people assisting with the tree timbering was a nice gentleman from Habitat. As I watching this very exciting event, I realized that he had decided to stay where he was and simply hide behind a tree. Hide behind a tree. Over and over I keep replaying the event in my mind. I keep seeing the tree FALLING on top of this man. Thankfully it was only the branches that knocked him in the head and back and arms and head and back and arms……. But you can imagine me freaking by what I was seeing. This man was about to be hit by a huge tree, and there was nothing I could about it but watch. Needless to say I did not get the footage and I m a little upset about that.

After that thrilling event, we continued to clean the never-ending site mess in hopes of one day building our house. When we got back from the Christmas break we found out that everyone who was working at the site got poison sumac. Thankfully Janina and I were in charge of the getting drawings permit ready and submitted to the building inspector later that day so we were the only ones who did not get it. Today, we were prepared. We wore long sleeves and gloves in hopes of saving our precious skin and after we left the site we purchase poison sumac oil removal scrub and took the necessary precautions so that we wouldn’t get it. Lets just say I hope it works but I am highly allergic to poison ivy and (ill probably DIE!- lol jk). I have been itching really bad since this morning so the chances that I have it are high.

I’ve just finished correcting the drawings in lonely Hale Hall. We will see what happens tomorrow. Hopefully we can move onward and learn from our mistakes.... well that’s all that we can do really.