MLK Means Mandatory Volunteering

The door outside the theater

Yes, I know it actually means Martin Luther King. But as an AmeriCorps service member (my technical title), it means a mandatory work day; specifically, a mandatory volunteer day. Let's just say I had a less than stellar attitude about waking up early on my day off to volunteer because someone told me I had to. I signed up to volunteer at this place called The Arts Exchange, and the two other AmeriCorps girls at my site signed up, too (though only one actually showed up, ha).

Frozen fingers - purple for Luwam,
white for me

It was freezing. The inside of the building was colder than outside, and I was in the group working in the basement. The purpose was to paint the theater, classrooms, and some hallways. I painted the basement hallway. It was a creepy basement and a creepy hallway. My first thought was, I've seen this place in a nightmare. It reminded me of Shutter Island or one of those movies about Alcatraz. Or even Sunland, the decrepit mental institute in Tallahassee.

Basements are scary

I did learn a lot about The Arts Exchange, though, and met a couple of the artists who have space there. That was cool part. Luwam and I explored the building on our snack break and wandered through some closed (but not locked :) doors. It used to be an elementary school until some community group bought it so artists and dancers and whoever else can use it. Like Vampire LARP-ing and a martial arts studio (seriously). I like community stuff like that - people who love and care for an old building and use it for some offbeat purpose. One of the artists had a pretty awesome mohawk and a really cool earring (making the whole thing way more legit). Another looked like a pirate, sans the parrot.

Geared up

So was the day as terrible as I thought it would be? Yeah, kinda. Those things are always unorganized, I probably have some form of asbestos poisoning, and my fingers would have gotten gangrene if I'd stayed 10 minutes longer. But I warmed up to the actual Arts Exchange - the building and what it does - and I had fun making up songs while painting in the basement. One was about asbestos dust using Luwam's name, sung to the tune of "Look Down" from Les Mis. So even though it was not awesome, it wasn't a total waste. And we left early to get Panera.