Hello Employment

Again, it has been a long time since I've blogged last. Really I think that was because I have been bored and didn't think that my life was worth writing about...Well November is full of changes!

I have a new job that I start on Monday the 2nd! I will be working as a one on one para educator in a school for autistic children. I have no idea what age level I'll be working with, but I'm really excited for this job. I don't think I've wanted a job more. And I'm excited for the challenge. Thank you to all who helped me get this job! Another excitement of this job is that it is the same school that my roommate works at so we will be able to carpool! I'm hoping we aren't in the same classroom, because our apartment isn't big enough for us to spend all hours of the day together, but we will manage!

Let me tell you about the new apartment. We moved from Jessie's studio apartment in DeKalb, IL to a 1 bedroom basement apartment in Sycamore (the next city east). Our friends (Jessie's friends) had just bought a house that closed at the beginning of Aug, and we helped them paint the main level, and brought us down here to the basement to see if this would be something Jessie would be interested in. It wasn't too long after that when I decided I was moving out here. Robert and Melinda couldn't get their antique bed upstairs so I didn't have to go buy a bed! I'm using that one and we set up Jessie's loft bed perpendicular to the queen bed I'm sleeping on. We have a good size living room with lots of books! and I love the kitchen! I'm the only cook in the apartment, but at least I've had that to fill my days with over the last two months. Our computers are side by side and I sit on the ottoman up against the wall to use as a desk chair. We also have a love seat to watch movies on or harbor guests for the night. We are getting another love seat as soon as we can find someone with a truck we can use. The newer love seat is at church in storage for us waiting. We also have the best bathroom in the house. It has a whirlpool tub with jets!. There is a little hallway that goes to no where just past the entrance to the bathroom and we built Jessie a closet unit so that us two girls could have separate closets! It was a lot of fun to build that together, and finally have all our stuff in place!

I can't believe that October is coming to a close already! I'm no where closer to making any friends out here, which is odd for me. I'm going to go to a new church on Sunday, I like working with the college group at Jessie's church but I'm not feeling like that is the right community for me, and it is time for me to start looking for some place new. This new church is large like UPC so I'm hoping that they will have a lot of people my age to connect with. I think I'm going to go check out the Lutheran Campus Ministries, and see if they have some sort of activity for graduate age level students. I'm tired of not having my own friends, and tagging along with Jessie, just to get out of the apartment.

What else...I've started running every afternoon with the dog, and that has been amazing...I'm hoping that the weather stays nice for a little while longer so I can keep this up. Halloween will be fun from my perspective. The rest of the house hold is going to a Halloween party and I'm manning the door and utilizing Robert and Melinda's TV to watch Ghost Hunters Live! It has been a tradition of mine for the last 3 Halloweens, and I'm looking forward to a 4th year. I look forward to being on my own that night, and will be great! I'm just not in the mood to try and find a costume at this point! That and I will get a lot of crocheting done.

With that, I think this entry is done. I need to do the dishes, and I'm stalling...Hope everyone is doing well! TTFN

2 months since the last post...

Wow, wow, where to begin...

First and foremost, I should mention that I am no longer working with PDA. New opportunities arose, and have sent me to IL. Yup, that is right, I'm back in the mid-west! I would have never guessed it, but here I am. I was in Seattle for 2 weeks, just long enough to pack my car, say good bye and drive out here.

Now the job search begins. I'm almost to the desperate part of applying for Target. At least Target would be something I already knew. There is a little bit of comfort in that.

Jessie is my roommate now, and she is taking me to get my sub teaching cert. on Monday. and I'm applying for a position at the school she works at that is basically a classroom paraprofessional position. The job title is classroom counselor, but the whole school is a self-contained special ed/alternative ed school. It is both privately and publicly funded, but is considered specifically a privet school. Sounds like a job right up my ally, at least until I get the nerve up to go back to school. I'm holding off on that until at least next fall, so that I'll have residency.

Jessie and I moved into a basement apartment 1bedroom, of a house where some friends of ours just bought and moved into. It is a great place! We are finally finishing up unpacking and this place really feels like home. All I need to survive now is the Internet, so I don't have to spend the days at the library here to get online. Jessie is already complaining that I'm trying to make her fat by cooking...she has lived off of cereal and yogurt, and microwave meals for the last year. But I'm cooking real dinners for us.

I get the apt. to myself with the dog this weekend as Jessie heads to a wedding in MI with her family. I'll be pretty lonely but I'm sure I'll survive. I wish everyone from Seattle could come see this place. It has a big back yard with a fire pit in it. and I can see a whole lot of stars from the back yard at night. It is a little weird being in a small town, but cool at the same time.

My cousin is running in the Chicago Marathon in Oct, and we are going to get together. I'm going to try and get out there to watch him finish...at least that is my hope...I'm not sure what parking is going to look like down there. I have yet to make the drive into Chi-town on my own. I'll have to do that before the marathon just to learn where I'm going.

Well that is the update on me, I need to head home and take care of Molly, and feed myself while I'm at it. Hope y'all are doing well, and I'll try to update more often than I have. But for now it is hard with limited net access.

God Bless

Pray for my patience...

1. I've been really sick all week!
2. Group leaves 8pm Fri.
3. Phone call at 8:30am Sat. morning
4. Group from South NJ, (Near PA) arrives at 2:30pm
A. Me sitting in my office, Team Leader comes in, "what's for dinner?"
1)We don't provide meals for Sat. It is technically our day off, and it is expected that you are going out to provide your own meal.
B. That wasn't the case last year.
1)Lots have changed from last year...I don't have a problem getting food together for you but I need to be invovled in the process because what you choose to eat tonight cuts into what is planned out for the rest of the week.
C. Well, we've been down 4 yrs in a row now and this hasn't been a problem.
1)Not a problem, I'm just telling you that with my budget, things have changed a bit. I don't mind cooking something for you, it just needs to be factored in with the food I've already boughted for the week as a whole, and I need to be involved in this process.
D. Well, we don't want to cut into your day off.
1) That is very kind of you, but as soon as you arrived, my job starts.
E. Well, it wasn't like this last year.
2) I understand this, but HQ has put more rules in place, and I've tried to organize them into the working camp here. We can figure something out, I have leftovers we can reheat.
F. Why isn't everything the same?
1) Because the way food was organized last year, was hemoraging money, and we need to be good stewards of our resources.
G. Well, then where can we go to eat?
1) There is Remulades on Bourbon, there are lots of places to eat in town. I guess it depends on what you want to eat.
H. Just tell us a place.

At this point I took them to Remulades, and there was going to be an hour wait...which they whinned about. So we went to the sugar shack...Made me pay for my own. And then complained when we got back to camp that I wasn't going to lakeview pres with them...I'm sorry, I told them I wanted to back to City Church which they were welcome to come with me, but the service last week lasted 3 hours and I had no idea how long it would last this Sun. I love the fact that this group of adults makes me want to teach Jr. Highers more than anything else in the world. Silly adults...START ACTING LIKE ONE!!!

Can you tell I'm tired?

Again, I am sorry this is weeks coming! I have been busy and as the summer winds down I've been out enjoying more of the city than I really have time for. Because of that, I am now sick, and taking a much needed down week for myself. It helps that I have only 6 volunteers this week.

What have I done the last couple of weeks? Well I had a visitor in my trailer this past week. Needless to say, he was unwanted, and there for has been killed. For those of you who have never seen this kind of spider before, let me introduce you to a brown recluse. They are very poisonous. To give you a little perspective on where this guy was, just to the right of the frame, is the opening to my bed! My dog barked once at it, then ran between my legs and hid. I threw the thickest souled shoe I had at it then swept it out of the trailer. I had the creeps the rest of the night.

I took Steph to see Charmaine Nevelle, and we met some Germans who had sat in front of us. Steph being from Germany, offered to take them on a tour, and asked if I could drive. So I gave a tour without talking! Yes, Jen didn't talk! Rarely did Steph ask me a question, I just drove. But it was fun. We got a free dinner out of the deal, and had a nice time. We also took them to the most famous Cemetery in New Orleans. It was raining at that point so Steph and I went back to the cemetery the following week. We each separated and took our own photos. I'll admit it was nice to separate a bit, because it seems like we do a lot together, yet at the same time she goes out a lot more than I do. I am a very independent person, and it is hard for me to want to go out and hang out with someone I see all day long.

What else have I done? Steph and I have become regulars at a bar on Wed nights to sing karaoke. I have this knack for singing ABBA...But it is fun. I introduced Steph to an all american shot: chocolate cake! It is her new favorite thing.

For those who don't know, I applied to Northern Illinois University as a post-bac to get my teaching certificate. I have been accepted! I am deferring the acceptance until Jan. because I'm getting conflicted information on how the program runs. The English Ed. advisor is telling me I have to take the program as a master's candidate, and take and pay for graduate level courses. Or I could get a history ed. degree as an undergrad. Basically making the program 4 years long. I'm not ready to commit to a 4 year program when all I want is to teach. I have enough student loans, I don't need 4 more years worth.

So in the mean time, I am telling my boss here, that I want to come back in Sept. but also applying for jobs in the Chicago area. If something great comes up I can always move up to Illinois and walk a way from PDA. Or I can always come back. It also helps that Illinois has a 6 month residency requirements, so if I was to start a job in Aug, I could be a resident in January.

Well, that is me, and what I am up to. I better go get some real work done now.

Finally a break...

It has been a very long three weeks. With constant volunteers in house, and dedications (Praise God), and trying to get things organized here on village. Project Homecoming didn't work on Fri. so I had the group stay here and complete a whole lot of village organization and other big projects that needed to get done here.

On Thurs. I got to go on a swamp tour down in Houma. It was nice to be on a boat, where the movement created a breeze, where there wasn't a breeze.It has been extremely hot down here. Heat index of 110-115. I got to see alligators in the wild. and some large birds. We've had some great thunder storms this last week too. Once the rain starts, the temp. drops about 20 degrees. I have to admit that there is no getting used to heat like this, I am slowly acclimating to it.

Last night I went to Laura's for dinner and she took me to the Chalmette fireworks, which were nothing to Seattle's but they weren't too bad. Then I blew off my own fireworks. I didn't go down town because it was going to be too crowded, and I wasn't up for dealing with the large crowds. It rained most of the afternoon yesterday, so the 4th felt just like a Seattle 4th. It is raining now too, and it is refreshing.

I'm waiting to hear from NIU about getting in in the fall. I have to admit that my hopes are up; but a huge part of me wants to stay here as well. I also need to search for scholarships and more grant money. Now that I am 26 and independent according to the government, I am now qualified as a non-traditional student. Add that to being a first generation college student, hopefully I can find more financial aid for school.

So I am looking for places to live in Dekalb, as well as possible jobs. reality has set in that I might have to go back to Target, and I'm ready for that if it happens. But I'm going to try for a higher position within Target, so that my schedule will be more flexible. I'm also going to see about giving tours down here of the lower 9th ward, and see if I can't pick up a little more cash.

I gave a tour to a group yesterday. I got a call at 6:45ish am on a Sat morning to see if I could give this group a tour. I had no problem giving a tour on my day off, but I didn't need the phone call that early in the morning. The group didn't have anything to do with the phone call, nor did they know that that phone call was coming, but still, it was a little obnoxious. Well, I'm going to go work on the blanket that I've started...my goal is to have it completed by the end of the week, even if I have to watch every movie I own to get it done...my crocheting is slower now since it is hot outside, than it was this past winter.

Just along for the ride

I am freaking out a bit. I think I just screwed myself over! It didn't even cross my mind that school would start in Aug, not in Sept. Quarter systems were so much easier to deal with. Well, I guess I'm just going to have to wait until I get accepted then I'll hold on for the ride. here goes nothing.

Took my chevy to the levy

Hey all, I'm sorry it has been 10 days since my last post. Things have been uber crazy here the last two weeks. I have officially wrapped up family week and father/son week. Family week I had 75 people here total, and I was training Steph, my new partner. Essentially I was on my own. Steph was great though, she jumped right in. I got rave reviews from the groups from family week. So much so, that now my boss is begging me to stay longer. As for father/son week, it proved to be a little more of a challenge. I had one group leave early because they felt like they were standing around on the site too much. But they should have brought that up with the construction assistant because if they were standing too much they would have been sent to another site.

We dedicated miss Victory's house yesterday which was amazing! That woman has been though so much in the last 4 years that it is about time she gets her house completed and back.

As for me, I'm struggling a bit. I am definitely not getting enough time to myself. I miss Jessie, there is something about that friend that puts perspective on life for me. I turned in an application to Northern Illinois University this week, and got all my transcripts sent out. Some how I didn't miss the deadline, and I didn't miss FAFSA's deadline either for fall. So I'm trying to get in as a post-bac, for the teacher cert program. If I don't get in then I am going to come back down here for the fall and continue doing this job. I feel very good about these decisions. I've been stressed out all week over them, but putting up some guidelines helps. If I get into NIU, it is going to be a crazy Aug. I'm leaving here on Aug 10th spending 10 days with Jessie, then heading home for Leslie's wedding. If I get into NIU, then I'm driving to NIU after the wedding, if I don't get into NIU, then I'm spending part of Sept. home, then I'll fly back down to NOLA.

I pray that I get answers on directions quickly. I can only hold off my boss for so long. But I'm thinking of packing and what I can start sending back home ahead of me. But July will prove to be a little more relaxing with a couple of weeks off from volunteers. Well, I need to go eat, and do laundry, and clean this messy trailer.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Maybe if I keep singing "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" Mr Rogers will come make everything okay.

It all started with getting off the phone with mom last night at midnight...my work cell rings, someone decided to fall off the top bunk and land on her arm...possibly broken. The mom to that girl was in hystarics, it didn't look broken but possibly seriously sprained, I don't know yet they are still sleeping. I had to be up at 5:15am this morning, and the cranky pushy lady from yesterday is in the kitchen with her grupy know-it-all husband, who just told me that we couldn't cook the sausage patties in cookie sheets in the oven. Then I told him that I've been doing it for months, and he said oh, ok. I did not get enough sleep to deal with these two people this morning. Did I mention that there is no AC in the dinning hall? yeah I walke in at 5:15 to it being 85 in the dinning hall. Everything is propped open lets hope it cools down a bit.

Not so sure it is going to be a good day, but I plan on blogging more later.

Pet Peeve

I hate it when older generation pushes, and I mean pushes kids who were using the microwave out of the way because the old lady blew the circut, and had to wait until I fixed it...more importantly, I wasn't even in the room, when 2 other PDA staffers were, so there was no need for me to be the one to deal with the "emergency" when really, it was a matter of changing the place that the microwave was plugged into. Nothing makes you more important than the person already using the microwave.

The Week in Review!

Sorry to all who follow this on a regular basis. My friend Jessie came into town from Chicago, and I knew that with her here I wouldn't have time to blog, or call many people.

Jessie was on vacation, and I happened to not have any volunteers this week! So we started the week off on Monday by going to the Dauphine St. house that was slated to be finished at the end of this week. (We did it!!!) Jessie and I got the lovely task of replacing window paynes in sectional windows on the second story of the house. Needless to say, the roof pitch was 45 degrees so standing on the roof was not really an options. Well, we solved this issue by having one person sit on the window ledge and lean out the window while the other holds their legs for safety and hand the tools needed.

Jessie did that whole window that you are looking at. first she had to peel out the broken payne with a paint scraper. Then she needed to scrape the edge clean, using a caulk gun she added the window grip (glue). Then we placed the payne in. Remember how I'm always talking about the need to be flexible, well the window payne didn't exactly fit right. So we created some make shift spacers to help keep it in place. Getting another caulk gun, we re-glazed the window. Glaze is messy. Jessie's body was so exhausted that her abs and legs were shaking...a lot! She was getting frustrated with the glaze, so I jumped up on the window and leaned out, using a wet rag, and a tool on my pocket knife, I cleaned up the glaze and made the window look professionally put in. We had one more payne on the same window so Jessie took it out, and secured the window, and I got back up and did the glaze. This window that Jessie is sitting at wasn't so scary because we were in a bedroom and knew if we jumped through the window that we were going to be solid. The other window that we had to do was at the top of the steep stair well. There were also 2 paynes to take care of on that window. One on the bottom and one at the very top. We did our normal routine that we had established for the bottom payne, but the glass didn't fit at all!!! So we had to put it off until Tuesday.

On Tuesday we got the payne replaced in less than 40min. (We were pros now after all!) then went out to Castnets for lunch with a bunch of people. I had my deep fried oyster po-boy and it was heavenly. When we got back we had to tackle the top payne. So Jessie was willing to go out on the roof and stand at the funky angle to replace it. But we did make a harness out of a thick extension cord that was around Jessie's waist and mine and to a support beam inside the house.

Jessie was a real trooper! She got it done. Then Monica, one of the construction assistants came and took some fun photos of us goofing off once the scary part was done with.

Wed. we got to head over to Diamondhead, Mississippi to set up the dining hall for the new village. We have moved the Pearlington Village to Diamondhead. It was a freaking hot day 89 degrees and there was no AC set up yet. We were both hot and sweaty and sticky and it turned into a 2 shower day! Thursday hit with a bang. I went to Sam's Club to pick up my food order for next week since I'll have 75 volunteers staying here, and I opened my e-mail to find that my boss and financial director had both been sacked! I couldn't believe it. I was in shock. I cried. They are the only two people who stood up for us volunteers and found us time off, and a break and worked really hard with us so that things can go smoothly.

Now I don't know what exactly is going to happen next, but replacements have been named and they start on Monday. I'm scared, and I kind of feel like I'm back in the politics of Target. So now I'm praying harder for my next direction and looking for jobs that start in Aug. because I have a hard time seeing myself here in the fall; which is sad, but it is a little more direction.

Jessie and I did take a lot of time to play this week too! We started in the French Quarter on Sunday after she got in. We walked every where and saw everything and had an amazing time in each other's company.

On Monday night I took Jessie to Snugg Harbor to see Charmaine Neville perform. We paid the cover for the 8pm show. Detroit Brooks, who is Charmaine's guitar player saw me sitting in the corner and sat and talked to us for a while. When the first show ended, we were talking with Charmaine's Cousin Bryce Neville. Then we talked with Charmaine for a while (since I do know her) and Detroit asked us if we were staying for the 10pm show, and we shook our heads because it was sold out. He winked and told us to stay put. When the bouncer came round to tell us we needed to leave, I looked at him and told him that Detroit had told us to stay put and he was okay with that, so we got to see the second show for free!!!! I was showing off a bit with all my connections, but it was so worth it. Afterward, we hung out with Detroit and Charmaine after the club had mostly cleared out.

Thursday night we went to Red Fish Grill for dinner and it was amazing! I found a new favorite drink called the Texas Tea. It is much easier to drink than a Hurricane.

Friday night was also amazing! We drove down to Houma, LA and we shopped for a while, ate Chinese food for dinner in the town square, and then went and played bingo at Town Hall. It was a lot of fun even though we didn't win. After bingo we were going to go to the Jolly Inn for Cajun dancing but it was closed so we ended up at another bar instead. It was a very late night, but so worth it.

Now I'm playing catch up, and trying to get ready for back to back weeks of 70 people. That being said, I should probably work! I'm sad to see Jessie go this morning, but I am lucky to have her as a friend who challenges me in life both personally and spiritually. Well I'm back to the grindstone.

Back to the grindstone

Last week was amazing! It was the exact week I needed. I saw the people I needed and had the experiences, now I'm back here ready to work some more.

When I got back my partner Kate had already left. And I walked it to excatly how I had left it...a little messier from the NCCC kids, but they cleaned this place up well. I miss having them around. They were a lot of fun to have around and it was really nice to have a team here long-term that I knew I could depend upon or ask to do anything and know it would get done. I've a small group here this week, which is good because I'm completely on my own. I like the smaller groups because I get to know them better. But I'm really looking forward to this week being done because that means that Jessie is here!!!!!

There is a lot to do today as it is the first day of Hurricane Season (not rabbit season). I have a long to do list to prepare, and I need to create an evacuate to do list because PDA has decided that we don't have a functioning plan in place. Don't worry though, should I have to evacuate this camp, rest assured that I will be following Project Homecoming as they have evacuated a couple times already, so they know what they are doing, and I'm just going to step in line with them.

That being said, I better get this stuff done. More later.

Vacation

Note to self: don't check work e-mail when you are on vacation...it gives you a heart attack because you only skim it not read it.

At least my 90 person week is slowly dwindling from cancelations...

Anyway, I'm having a good time here in Seattle. I'm cold, but I'm glad to be home for a week. I'm already ready to go back and jump in and be the best hostess I can be at Olive Tree.

Fake Smile...

I think I've found the serpent's tounge. I have a volunteer here, who for the last 20min has not said one positive thing. It started with complaining that the video didn't work, moved on to the "lack of prayer" for send off, which on Mondays they got at the beginning of orientation. This guy is just a bully. The best part of it all is, people stand right outside my office door having these conversations thinking that either I'm not in here when the door is slightly a jar, or that I can't hear through the walls. He shadows his wife like she isn't allowed to leave his side, and flat out he just gives me the creeps. I'll probably bring up the video stuff and let people watch it on the office computer, but I really feel like if I was to challenge this guy at all that he would haul off and hit me. I don't scare easily, mostly because I can hold my own, but this guy's personality is kinda scary. I don't know...the only thing I do know is that I certainly won't be alone with him in the same room. I will definitely be surrounding myself with people when I have to talk with him.

Wrong Foot

This week has already started off on the wrong foot with my volunteers and there is only one group here so far!

The group here right now have been contacting me on an every other day basis for a while now! Okay, I totally understand that the logistics of this trip are difficult when you deal with plane rides, car rentals, and all that stuff. Now I don't get a whole lot of time to myself here as it is, but the one time I'm in my trailer on the phone with a good friend from home, my work cell rings and it is the group who is here. They need to see me. I told them that it would be a little while. When I got back to the main building to find them. Well, the freak'n phone call was just to give me the check and release forms. Seriously, you had to pull me from my own little quiet time for that?! Okay fine. So I'm writing the receipt for the check (which didn't need my immediate attention) and the group leader walks in and starts complaining and wondering why their group is split up at two different sites. Keep in mind that this group leader has been calling me for 3 weeks telling me they don't want to be split up and each time my answer is the same..."I don't have any control over that. PSL are the ones who break up the numbers they need at each place based on the need of each site." Really that is the best answer I could possibly give. So now they are asking me who they need to talk to so that they aren't separated. I already tried, and I'm going to give the construction managers a heads up! And I really hope that they stay separated.

I just want a group who is flexible!!! Really if you want to make God laugh, then make plans. The number one rule of mission work is to be flexible. I don't understand how a group who comes down roughly every 6 months doesn't get that they are not in control that God is in control, and the best part is these groups are from churches! Is it really that hard to figure out. you don't get to pick what sites you work at, what type of work you do. You are down here to do God's work and to help a community in need. I miss the SC group who was down here and reminded me what it means to be flexible, they were not only flexible for the sites and where they were serving, but for one another. Taking all the time needed, and still praising God for all that they got to experience, and enjoy, and do no matter how tired it made them.

Wow, all this and it is only Sunday, and I've only met one of my three groups...I hope that all these first impressions are wrong, but I'm not holding a whole lot of hope.

Last day with friends..

I miss having people my age around! We had a lot of fun on Bourbon St. And around. We got to see the same street performers as we had last year and that was fun. Katie took video of them last year this year I got the video.

Heart breaking

My heart got torn out and thrown across the street yesterday. I got a call from a friend who is a construction assistant who has been working on the most amazing house! It is small, but each room is a different color and Christina has done an amazing job on the tile. This home owner has been ripped off twice by contractors and Project Homecoming is picking up the rest, with the rest of her money. Turns out that this house is 10,000 dollars short to finishing. The previous two contractors didn't even acquire permits to rebuild this house and put up the walls before even checking with an electrician and plumber if all was good. So not only do we need to come up with ten grand, but we have to tare apart the walls to get to the electrical, and plumbing, and repaint and all this crap.

Personally I'm just as disappointed in Project Homecoming for not checking on the permits first. Assuming that someone who ran off with the money doing a crappy partial job went through proper channels seems a little reckless to me too! And now we have another woman who can't get into her home. And except for electrical and plumbing, she was getting so close. Christina thought we could finish the house in the month, but now we have a huge set back. I know and understand Christina's frustration, but I can't help be frustrated in the system that I work for. It doesn't seem right to have spent the money done all this work to tare it down and practically start over. It just doesn't seem like we are being good stewards of the resources that our clients have.

We have another home owner who is moving into her house at the end of this week, and now is having problems with the bank. The bank is claiming that she had a balloon mortgage, when she knows she had a 30 year fixed. On top of that she Paid off the house already! So now she is having issues there, and there is potential for her to lose her home. This woman spent 3 days with kids/grand kids on her roof after the storm, and the 2nd contractor she hired took her last bit of savings and ran. Leaving her with no money at all! It is hart breaking to hear these stories in the first place, but to know these people, and not be able to look them in the eye and say it is going to be okay...That is the hardest for me. These people have tremendous faith, even through all the bullshit they have been through, but it really feels like this government/banks/wealthy people are trying to brow beat down their spirit and it hurts like hell!

Flying Termites Are Worse Than Flying Monkeys

Okay, I know it has been about a week since I last blogged. Let me start off by apologizing, but my friends have been here and it has been an amazing week. The other two groups have been amazing too! Along with my UPC group, we had a group of "rag tags" from Marion, South Carolina, and a group from Virgina.


The group from SC has been amazing this week. They have taught me a whole lot about what my strengths are, and they have really affirmed for me that this is where I'm supposed to be and do. They had one man, who is special needs and he is my new best friend! Just such a blessing to see that all the experience I've had working in mom's classroom and growing up in such a great school district that blends regular and special education together. Knowing that everyone has a function in society and can work through anything. This man is an assistant scout master, a deacon at his church, just an amazing person, and I can only hope that I can be half the person he is in my life time! This group also planned out my life for me, having me stay with them while I go back to school to get my teaching cert. It is great! I'm definitely going to go visit them the next chance that I get.







Having open invites to people's homes and church communities is such a great reward for this job. To know that I am welcome where ever I go is amazing. And I'll get a chance to see the country. The people God has put in my life this week are exactly who I needed to be around!









The VA group jumped in with open arms to be flexible, and took care of their own, even through illnesses and termites.

Yes, I said termites. Monday night we had a lovely experience of the whole city/region being swarmed by small flying termites, and one of the men's rooms was completely infested. So much so, that I had to get every one's stuff out, put them in another room for the night, and Anna my AmeriCorps NCCC leader and I sprayed the whole room until we were coughing though the protective gear. It was an adventure to say the least. They were also crawling all over me for hours! It was gross. I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of it to show all y'all, but I went into leader mode and took care of the issue at hand first and foremost. At least my priorities are in the right place.

I'm looking forward to a smaller week next week. It will give me a chance to catch up on some of the computer work I need to get done. It has been a little on the chaotic side this week, but only one major incident I have one volunteer who is so dehydrated that his team took him to the hospital this morning. I hope he is alright. He has been such a blessing to me this week. He connected me with a woman by the name of Barbra Major, and she has a lot of connections in this city and is willing to hook me up with a group of people my age, and she said, if I want it she could find me a job in community advocacy. And that would be a cool experience to gain. She is also a very godly woman and knows the importance of prayer, and all that is important in deciding if we are to go anywhere else. I'm excited that some connections are being made. It is what New Orleans is all about. And I really do love it down here, even if there are poisonous snakes and spiders, and flying swarming termites!

Mom, your mother's day card is in the mail today! Sorry it is late. But I'll call you too!

Jazz Fest 09: Sugarland