Friends New and Old. The short edition.

Its been awhile. I've had some good times and some good adventures so thats cool. But more importantly, my Tucson life has been undergoing some drastic renovations.
First of all a word on how great it is to visit with good friends.

Hannah, Larisa and Emma (in reverse order to keep you on your toes)

It was great!
And now a word on the importance of being prepared:

Hey look, a spare tube!

Carry a spare tube, and dont rely on patched tubes.
Well, now that precedent has been set on saying more than a word, I guess I should also add that spending time with wise friends in who are in various circumstances yet comparable life stages was very refreshing. Over the past many months I've realized that I often go quite quickly from the top of the world while biking up Mt. Lemmon, or having a good day at work, to pining for old friends in Harrisonburg when I get invited to cookouts at Rocktown Bikes, to longing for my next grand adventure. And so, getting to spend time with Hannah and Larisa not only help provide good company and a good hike, but also a sense of perspective.
Friends from years past, are still friends. Its ok to be unsure whats next. And dreaming big is more fun with others!

That was two weeks ago. Since then its been all about meeting new friends. Specifically new housemates.

Sadly my house's roof is not quite as cool as Brandon (the YAV coordinator)'s 

From left we've got Brandon the YAV coordinator, Kathryn, Heather, Ariel, Amy Beth and myself. In addition to the above we also have another non-YAV, Steph, living with us. They are all super cool so you should just meet them yourself. Undoubtably you'll hear more about them in posts to come. Look forward to it.

Tyler Groff - AmeriCorps Recruiter

Dear friends, family, and most importantly, regular readers;
I'm sorry I haven't kept everyone up to date on my latest and greatest adventures and activities. The truth is my adventures have simply been too late and too great to actually share.
And so I'll just give you all a very quick update on the life and times of the one and only, Tyler K Groff.
Just yesterday, I officially and technically committed to living at the YAV (Young Adult Volunteers) house. To be clear, I will simply be a community member and just rent a room in the house. I'm not actually doing the YAV program. I'm excited to be living with people again!

Speaking of programs... the Bizanteen Bikes program is actively seeking AmeriCorps members for this coming year. At first glace Bizanteen is all about teaching youth how to do bike maintenance, refurbishing bikes, and selling said bikes. However, on the day to day level its more about interacting with youth who are going through some tough times. Over the past week I've dealt with someone who suddenly found out that they were going to be homeless that night. I've helped someone else find ways to get extra community service hours. In general my job has become so much more than just teaching someone how to make their wheels straight.
Furthermore, and rather importantly, we are in desperate need of additional volunteers. AmeriCorps' got a pretty cool thing going on. The term runs for a full year (although it is potentially possible shorten the term to your own needs), and is a half time position (900 hours). There is a $5,700 living allowance dispersed every two weeks, and a $2,362.50 educational reward granted at the completion of the 900 hours.
And so, if you know of someone looking to get involved in a cool program, someone who wants to be a good influence on teens, or wants to learn and teach bike stuff, let me know!
This next week we're hoping to get a more specific and solid job description nailed down. I'll be back on the recruitment campaign again when that happens, until then, spread the word!
Thanks.

Its not a shed!

I've moved! Thanks to Jon for helping me do so. Like the title implies, the new place is not a shed. But sadly, its honestly only just a bit better. These past several months have really made me realize how great it is to have great people to live with. I don't think I realized before how blessed I've been over the years. I have gotten to live with some great people. We've had good times and have grown to be good friends through it. Now I just wish I could move back in with any of you!
When I went to move in to my new place I had to call Zach to wake him up. Walking in Jon and I are assaulted by a mess of a place. The first time I went to visit it was a mess but they (Zach and Bailey) had promised to get it all cleaned up and that that it was normally cleaner. Well... Its a mess. The biggest problem is that they don't have a vacuum cleaner. and they do have a cat. And thats just the beginning of it! That is just the superficial stuff that affects me. More significantly, this past week Bailey found out that she's pregnant. She's 19. Zach is 18. When I first met him I thought he was at least 20. She's getting an abortion this friday and they've broken up. even though they are still living together... I think my fear of relationship-y drama is going to be inevitable.
But hey, maybe I just need to help them find a vacuum cleaner, kindly encourage Zach to be more responsible and do the dishes and maybe mediate a conversation or two! This first two days I've been pretty negative about the whole thing. I guess coming home Saturday night to Zach sitting there in the middle of the dump of a living room smoking weed doesn't help. But still, its true that I wont be home much. Last night I had dinner with the YAV's (Young Adult Volunteers) and helped some of them with their bike problems, Saturday I spent at the Menno Mansion and watched Space Jam for Jon's birthday, and this coming week I'll be starting my new job at Performance Bikes! (which I should probably say a word or two about soon) but the point is, I wont be home much! Maybe I'll just deal with it. Also, I'm going to get a motorcycle, probably this one, so that'll help with being able to go visit people and generally just be out of the house.

Whew, well now that that's all out, maybe I can start refocusing my attention on HAVING A NEW JOB!!! That really should be the headline here. They are working on filing paper work now and I'm hoping to get a call soon saying that I can go in some morning this week to get started! I'm going to be really busy soon but I'm going to keep in mind that its all for good things! Its for summer travel, its for a motorcycle, its for Brazil 2014.