Well, we survived the night. In fact, I waited so long to update because I’ve been “busy” recovering from a week of shortened sleep, racing thoughts and freezing weather. That sounds horrible – I’m sorry for that. It seems everyone has been worn down lately from too much to do, little sleep from trying to do it and still more to go. Such is college after spring break. More about that later.

Back to the shack. The University Center Luv Shack won the “People’s Choice” and “Most Cans Collected” Awards. I’m so proud of my team – they built a charming shack, stuck it out during the freezing night, and helped two other teams tear down and haul off their shacks. It was an incredible display of teamwork and compassion.

However, I am glad it’s over. At least 12+ hours with each other in a shack in freezing weather can get a little rough, no matter how nice you may be.

Timeline of events

Wednesday evening – Met after praise service to decide how we were going to build the shack. Teammate Curtis designed a pulley system for 8×8 shack for a garage door. Team thought it was great, but could we build that in time? Decided to meet at the UC at 7 a.m. Thursday to collect junk and begin building shack at 8 a.m. on library lawn.

Thursday morning – Slept through both alarms. Stephanie called me at 7:20, arrived at UC by 7:30. Eight or so team members meet at UC, collect junk, and finally arrives on campus and begin building at 9 a.m. Collecting materials and unloading them took more time than expected! Garage door idea nixed. Guys begin building frame of shack. Girls stand around trying to figure out what to do, since guys took the tools.

Thursday afternoon – Return from a morning full of classes and finally see completed shack. Cheers! It looks amazing! Pizza boxes, paint, bicycle wheels, wire and other junk decorate shack. It even has a loft! Hang out with team members Kylor and Matt to patch interior holes. It’s a bit too breezy for the forecasted rain and freezing temperatures.

Thursday evening – Come back to the shack for keeps. Church members drop by to view shack and offer hot chocolate and cookies. Delicious! Team members hang out,  later joined by fellow UC members for some singing. Later cram 15+ people into shack for ghost absurd stories (Pigs, transvestite wolves and tanning?…). Eight members stay the night and attempts to sleep around 1 a.m. Still awake at 3:30 – sit and freeze for 4 more hours or go home and do something? Choose latter

Friday morning – Join group for donut breakfast and wait for judging of shacks. Everyone is exhausted, cold and ready to go home. Judging finally begins and group is free to tear down shack. Guys destroy shack with pleasure. Awards distributed – go team! 4 truck loads later (guys helped with 2 other shacks) – we’re free. UC students help throughout the destruction. Time to recuperate!