Join “The Whiner Pool”!

I’m trying to toughen up for this build.

I’m inspired by my friend Chris Kelley, who was blown up twice in Iraq and still complains about nothing (actually, he was blown up three times, but he doesn’t even count the first one). I’m inspired by the Haitian people, who had little to begin with and lost it all, and still persevere. I’m even inspired by my very own motto as a camp counselor: Don’t talk about it, just do it.

But, let’s face it — I’m gonna whine about something. The question is, what’s going to be first? The weather? The lack of running water? Chapped lips? Food? Spotty WiFi? My aching feet? Or am I going to come up with something new and different this time, something I’ve not yet whined about?

This is your chance to get in the pool. (Remember my marathon pool? Dann Stevens guessed within five minutes of my actual 8:23 finish time!) For ten bucks, you can pick a number. I’ve assigned numbers to 90 possibilities, either when I’ll start whining or what I’ll be whining about.  There will be two winners –the closest time, and the closest “whine.” Judging will be done by those poor souls around me on the build who have to listen to it. Winners (not whiners) will be lauded for their incredible perception and intuition in a blog entry about the whining. In bold. In colour. If possible.

1.

2.

3. Sunburn/bursting into flames. (Anne Hengehold)

4.

5.

6. Friday — dinner. I may behave in front of the homeowners, but once we're done... (Bonnie Botsford)

7. The problem with lifting heavy things? They’re heavy. (The Bauers)

8.

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10. Friday — breakfast. I have smiled through this whole week. Until now. (Anne Hengehold)

11. Thursday — lunch. When we realise that we're so far behind that we're going to have to work late tonight. (Chuck Canham)

12.

13. My phone's dead. Again. (Steve Morrell)

14.

15. Haiti is hot? Rats, I thought it was just near hot places on the globe... (Cathy Dempesy)

16. Thursday — night... the night we work late because we're so far behind... (Deb Oberg)

17. My work gloves suck. (Jill Lemke)

18. Monday — build afternoon. Yeah, this was fun until the heat started to build... (Kristen Becker)

19. Is it because I'm Canadian? - Valerie Priester

20. Anyone else get bug bites? (Bonnie Botsford)

21.

22. Monday — dinner. Sure, I might be polite all day, but... (Steve Morrell)

23. No bacon? (Diane Vermette)

24.

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26. Thursday — build morning. We've been building for 24 hours. I thought there would be shade by now... (Bonnie Botsford)

27.

28. Next build, I'm totally bringing a chair... (Ellen Hassett)

29.

30.

31. Portajohns. (Sue Campbell)

32. Are there snakes? (Tegan Taylor)

33. That fan really cools the place down. (Anne Hengehold)

34.

35.

36.

37. Sunday  — arrival at accommodations. (Bonnie Botsford)

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42. Tuesday - breakfast... Yes, we're doing this again, and no, your body didn't recover last night... - Valerie Priester

43.

44.

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46. I can't get this to work... (a whine with multiple build/travel possibilities) (Peter Loomis)

47.

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49. India, Thailand, Haiti… are there no poor people needing housing in temperate climes? (Jim Sheldon)

50. Is it going to be this hot all the time? (Deb Oberg)

51.

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54. Sunday — trip to the airport. When I start to realise what I've gotten myself into. (Anne Hengehold)

55.

56.

57.

58. If I could just get a little nap... (Bonnie Botsford)

59.

60.

61.  Whaddya mean a margarita cart isn't appropriate? I'm the Safety Monitor, people need to be HYDRATED. (Cathy Dempesy)

62. Tuesday — build morning. Wait... we're doing this again? (Steve Morrell)

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68. The Secret Service are making me nervous... (Anne Hengehold)

69.

70. Who's snoring? (Chuck Canham)

71.

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75.

76.

77. Wednesday — breakfast. This is when the novelty has really worn off, and I realize I have another three long hot days ahead of me... (Sue Campbell)

78.

79.

80.

81. Tuesday — dinner. By now I'm overheated, maybe sunburnt, and probably dropped something on my foot. (Bonnie Botsford)

82.

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89.

90. Saturday — Opening Ceremonies. This is when they show us slides of what the build is going to be like. I bet it looks hard... (Jolene Baller)

TO ENTER:

A) Click on the Carters’ photo at the top, and go to my donation page — donate $10 for every entry you want in The Whiner Pool. 

B) Forward the acknowledgement e-mail you receive from Habitat to me at homesathome@mac.com, and in the e-mail, choose one of the open numbers. If you don’t, I’ll assume that you donated out of the goodness of your heart, and not to purchase the opportunity to mock my weaknesses.

C) The "whines" and "times" are already written, and have each been assigned a random number 1-90 — you don't have to write a thing! Pick your number, I’ll post your name with the corresponding time/whine next to your number on this page.

D) Heckling is fair game. Start thinking of ways to provoke me to whine, because I’ll get texts when I’m in Haiti. And I will fold like a deck of cards…