Getting into the swing of things

Today was a gorgeous day in Minnesota! And now it's a beautiful night! I thought I'd take a moment to catch my breath and reflect back on the day/week so far.

This week has been really intense as far as really digging into the projects we're working on. It's really crunch time for both ARISE and Cooperative Energy Futures. For ARISE, we're each really focusing in on our research sections and spending a lot of time reading, learning, and sharing what we learned. I'm really taking in a lot about sustainable urban planning, livable cities, and low greenhouse gas designing. I almost feel like I'm learning more doing this project than I have in many classes I've taken because I'm forcing myself to learn it for something that is a real life, incredibly important project. I guess it's just a different kind of learning where I'm learning a lot quickly to fill an immediate purpose; I'm really loving it!

For Cooperative Energy Futures, we're spending the week calling and getting in contact with the 30 or so homeowners who have expressed interest in taking part in our pilot project for a community energy efficiency. We're each taking on certain members to contact and set up 1-on-1 meetings with to really explain how the program will work and talk about next steps. Right now, the biggest part is getting everyone to get an energy audit to see where there is room for efficiency improvements in their homes, supplying people with direct installs as a first step (little things people can do themselves to save energy: CFLs, water aerators, etc), and setting up a community meeting for all the homeowners taking part in the project to come together with us to answer any questions and figure out what people want to see in the project.

Tuesday and Wednesday were a little bit of slower days for me, so I took some time for myself to go running, read, write, and explore new parts of St Paul. On Wednesday I went for a bike ride down to the Mississippi River and found a trail that led from the road down to the river's edge. It reminded me of home, going down the trails to the Merrimack River, so I really liked it! When I got down to the river I found a little mini-beach where I hung out for a little while, wrote in my journal, and drew for a bit. It was really nice to have some relaxation time by myself.

On Tuesday night we had our usual group potluck and we had a guest come join us named Mary Morse, who works with a local organization that does similar stuff to Cooperative Energy Futures. We talked a lot about generational differences, technology, and how things are changing over time for better or for worse. It was a great conversation and a great meal!

Today was a really hard-working day! I was in meetings from 10-5, with only an hour break for lunch, so it was a pretty intense and productive day. We really got a lot done with working on research for ARISE and really fleshing out the next steps for CEF and contacting homeowners.

Tonight after a hard days work we had a great night of fun! We all had dinner on our own, but then met up at 7:30 to head down to the Mississippi River and to have a dessert party. We set up on this great big rock overlooking the Mississippi and we had our amaaaazing desserts as we watched the sun set. It was beautiful and delicious! Then as it got darker we just hung around and then we danced and made music! Jason played drums on a bucket, while a bunch of the rest of us crafted instruments out of spoons, bowls, and water bottles. We danced for a while and had a great time! Then once it finally got pretty dark around 10, we all walked back home. What a beautiful day!