Mexico Part 1: The Day I Threw Up
It was 105 degrees outside,
and we were pouring concrete. Shovel five parts sand and gravel into a tub, one part concrete, mix, add water, mix, pour, screed, and do it again. In 105 degree heat. It was hot, hard work.
We drank lots of water. So much that we ran out halfway through the day. Our rep brought us Poweraid, and we kept working. The sun felt like a ball and chain pulling our legs down. It was very hard to move nimbly.
Five parts sand and gravel into a tub, one part concrete, mix, add water, mix, pour, screed, and do it again. Sweat dripped from my forehead and burned my eyes. I couldn’t wipe it away because my hands were covered with dirt and cement. I couldn’t use my shirt because it was just as badly soiled/crusted. I ended up turning a little part of my sleeve over and craning my neck down to reach it. It kind of worked.
At about three my stomach started feeling a little queasy.
A half hour later, I had to take a break. I went back to work, then stopped again to settle my stomach. I sat down under a bit of shade and tried to compose myself.
There was a conflicting inner dialogue going on within me. One voice said, “Joe, you can’t throw up. You’re a leader. What if everyone else sees you and starts getting sick too? Sit in the shade (even though there’s not much of it), let your stomach settle down a bit. Just DON’T throw up!”
The other, more masochistic inner voice said, “Joe, you’re a leader. You can’t just be sitting around doing nothing. Don’t be such a baby just because your stomach hurts a little? If you need to throw up go do it while shoveling some gravel.”
I threw up.
I tried to walk away so no one would see, but I didn’t make it. I tried to cover it up with dirt using my hand, but my body was not taking orders well. I ended up missing the dirt and sticking me hand in the Poweraid pink bile.
After I a little bit, another leader gave me the keys to the car and said, “You should go take a break and turn up the air conditioning.” Something in me still wanted to keep working, but I didn’t have the strength to argue with him, much less my body.
The air conditioning felt good. McKenzie joined me in the car to take advantage of the cool. I shut my eyes, opening them again after 2 minutes or so. Only, the clock in the car said it had been 20. Apparently Brett had come and said something to me, but I was completely passed out.
After 45 minutes or so, I tried to get back to work, but three steps out of the car told me I wasn’t ready yet. I went back in and passed out again. It took 2 hours for me to regain some strength to get back to work. I got put in charge of light tasks like picking up trash and pouring water into the tubs for mixing cement, and then eventually, took on more strenuous jobs. I was happy that I could do anything all.
I had never thrown up because of heat exhaustion before, and I am glad I did. It’s good to know how far you can push your body. It’s good to know that you can feel like crap, and then pick yourself up and go on working. Now, I’m a little less afraid of throwing up and being sick. Now, I’m a little more confident in who I am and what I can do.
The experience was like hitting rock bottom and realizing it’s not the worst place to be, that in fact, it’s bearable.
Five parts sand and gravel into a tub,
one part concrete, mix, add water, mix, pour, screed, and do it again. After 10 hours in the sweltering heat, we finished the foundation of our house.
“I don’t even know how the last half got done,” everyone kept saying. “It was a miracle. I never thought we’d be able to do it.” We did it. Despite half of our team being teenage girls, despite 105 degree heat, and despite leaders throwing up, we finished.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under Joe Bunting the Road Rager. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
on June 28, 2008 at 6:33 am li wrote:
im sorry you threw up dear. i was reminded of something i was told this past year: one of the goals of a leader is nurturing them till they can lead themselves, and do without you, i.e. when they can take your job, so for those 20 minutes that you were taking care of yourself you gave them something too
on July 3, 2008 at 4:26 pm josh wrote:
holy moly
on July 28, 2008 at 5:40 am Andrew wrote:
A little poweraid pink bile in the mortar for added strength!
on August 15, 2008 at 11:26 am Please Leave if [vol. 16]: Go Away Aches and Pains! | Joe Bunting wrote:
[...] back hurt. I was dizzy. I was sick to my stomach (although I didn’t throw up like I did HERE which is good). Work had never been longer, especially because I had to make cold calls (I [...]
on August 20, 2008 at 5:59 pm Cy wrote:
What’s a little pink recycled juice between friends? Well, pink is questionable, but the rest just happens. Especially when teenage girls are watching. Oh boy!