Tuesday - 12 November
Today we took a course in ‘dirt-moving’ and I am very
pleased to announce that we all obtained our 'Dirt Movement' badges with flying colors! Like most things in
life, this is both straightforward (yes, we essentially moved dirt from Point A
to Point B) and also very involved. Moving dirt by bucket is actually more a study in
fluid dynamics, as follows:
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| May not look like it, but there is a plan here. |
- You have to determine how many people are needed based on the distance between point A and B, and ensure that proper adjustments are made for challenges in terrain (feet on both sides of footings) and proper body placement around obstacles (like concrete poles).
- From a timing perspective, care has to be taken to limit the amount of time that any one person spends in high-energy roles (like shovelling, or lifting), and making sure that one person is not stuck in the sun all the time. Role rotation is the most commonly used method for these topics.
- There has to be a bit of slack on the resourcing front – to cover for people that need to take a break, get a good picture, or venture forth and use the facilities. Group breaks and TV-timeouts are also required.
- Education and training components are also crucial. Although most time is spent in the classic ‘single-loop’ or the ‘double-loop’ style (when there are enough buckets and people), there are times when the more involved ‘double-loop-with-combined-return’ is used. This method requires both an intersecting-full-bucket-pickup and an empty-bucket-splitter role that can get confusing. Of course there is also the well-known ‘two-shoveller-bucket-placement’ role which in my mind is the most challenging.
- Last but not least, there is the human component. There are people who like to be ‘dumpers’ and people who constantly gravitate to the shovelling roles. Not that there is anything wrong with that…..
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| Bucket Placement - the most challenging role |
So yes, we moved dirt from Point A to Point B, but we also
are now graduates of the Chiang Mai ‘fluid dynamics explained by dirt’ program
and now we have our Dirt Badge for that. Oh, and we also learned how to dance
courtesy of Marc (so that is dancing!…).
Continuing with the theme of fluidity and flexibility, we
had changes to our supper plans this evening. Original plans for supper on-site
with some ‘general merriment’ around the pool had to be shelved because the
cook was not available. That’s OK – we hung out in the restaurant area and our
fearless team leaders planned to go out to supper (try to figure out where you
would take 17 people on short notice). When it was determined that the
restaurant just up the street was closed, Aommy and Mai were called and in
short order we were seated at a local Thai place just between the 7-Eleven and
the hospital.
The food was excellent! Aommy and Mai ordered for everyone,
and we added a couple of extra dishes. Rob, who seems to be the most
adventurous eater, ordered the ‘entrails soup’ that sounded and looked
‘interesting?’ but based on the reviews of people that tried, it was very
tasty. Here’s the kicker, though – once the dishes were counted and the bill
was tallied – it came to around 50 dollars. Imagine – dinner for 17 for 50
dollars. Try that at home! Since we were under budget, we then made a quick
stop on the way home for Bud’s of San Francisco Ice-Cream – a perfect cap to
our day.
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| Not your Momma's chicken noodle soup.... |
Kudos to our team leads on this one – Erin and Christina did
an excellent job!
Still happy and healthy – looking forward to Wednesday which
will either be floor-day or possibly (don’t get too excited, though) bricks!
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