When a Dragon Breathes Fire, Does he Burn his Mouth?

Hi all,

Every once in a while, the girl that I work with really catches me by surprise. (Like the dragon question, and asking if the beaver was glued to the wall). When considering all the implications: for starters, the fact they don't exist and then the logistics if they did, I still have no answer. So I usually just laugh. Luckily, she's a pretty happy camper most of the time, and seems to enjoy it as well.

Today I had my "orientation" class, which is not exactly how I envisioned it would be. We drove out to see a straw house (google it if you'd like...you use straw bales for insulation, essentially). They decided (they, being the other co-workers) that we need a place to hang out - which is true. So they formulated a plan to build an economical, Green, and very simple building. There's a guy who has a engineering background and I think he realized how far in over our heads we might be. Their house isn't MUCH bigger (albeit with running water, a bio-toilet - don't ask..., and 2 stories) but still cost around 60,000 WITH a ton of volunteers. I think they'll still look into it, but I'm not sure how long it would take for them to build (they planned their house for 6-7 years!) and how to pay for it.

In the end though, I think the most important thing was realizing that this orientation wouldn't exactly be helpful. I mean, it was fine to hang out, but the cliques are well-established and I haven't seen any efforts of team building (although, in all fairness, it might have happened in the 6 months before I came? At any rate, the group lacks cohesiveness). It's a shame really, as it could be a terrific support system. Not that I feel like I'm particularly lacking in that area, but I know some households are run by people who run workshops and don't really have time to train in new co-workers.

My thoughts for the day...
Hope all is well,
Steph