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.