Summer Adventures

So it's been a while since I've posted.  Here are five things that have happened since I've last wrote:

1. I had an organ removed (my gallbladder for those of us who weren't paying attention).
2. I bought a bike. I ride it to work on days it doesn't rain and other places too. I took it into Boston last week, this week I'm riding to a concert.
3. I made straight A's (which isn't too difficult considering I only take two classes a semester but it is grad school and I'm still proud of myself.
4. I have seen ever member of my team post AmeriCorps sans my TL (for obvious reasons). In being able to see them all I went on an epic adventure from Boston to New Jersey, to NYC, to Philly, back to NJ, and then back to Boston.
5. I have decided to give up Facebook for the month of June. This has led to me wanting to finish the year with a new personal challenge each month. Next month I'm going to attempt to not consume meat. I don't know what I'll do after that, whatever I fancy I guess. I'm open to taking suggestions.


Here are three things that I've decided I'm going to do:
1. I'm going to Clambake on Thursday. It's a street/indoor show with 8 bands. It's sponsored by WFNX and I've been hearing about it since before my gallbladder removal. I'm stoked. I'm riding my bike down to House of Blues. I'm going by myself but it should be a good time anyway.
2. I'm going to Atlanta to visit my family and see a Braves game. I've already bought the ticktes. I'll be there Sunday 9/11 through Tuesday 9/13
3. I'm going to raise tadpoles into frogs. I have the tadpoles and one of them has already sprouted legs. The other one is lagging behind a bit. I can't name them until they have arms. Cause I'd prefer to give them gender specific names. I'm also kind of afraid one won't make it through metamorphosis and I'll be quite sad.
4. I'm going to complete everything on my summer bucket list. I made a summer bucket list, I stole the idea from a friend who made a Boston bucket list with her roommates. (It is my belief that most solid ideas are stolen from other people).
5. I'm going to go camping this summer. I haven't quite figured out the details on this one. It may end up that I go up to a campsite and do it all by myself. Who knows, I'm hoping I can convince some friends to come with me.


So I think that's about as much of an update as I can offer right now. But life is alright. Bumpy, sure but definitely alright.

Promotions

I applied for a promotion at my job. I was offered the position and have now accepted it. So that's cool. I go back and forth every day about what I'm doing here. For awhile, I was kind of over it. The kids were challenging me on a daily basis, I was frustrated with school, my gall bladder had developed a stone and I was dealing with some serious pain and I had a tug in my heart string to move back to the great state of Georgia. Yup that's right I admit it, I was ready to move back to the south and sew my oats (or whatever the saying is). Now not so much, things got better. The kids make me smile more, I've learned to live with the constant pain and I got a handle on school. However, I still miss Georgia. I find this weird as I had only lived there for a few months, if that. I think perhaps I'm missing my family. I miss having friends closer to me.

Often times I feel alone up here. That kinda sucks. I'm making friends but nowhere near the speed I was making them last year. I haven't volunteered since the end of July. Granted I work for a nonprofit organization. I miss the work I did last year. I miss traveling the country with 9 other people. I'm supposed to meet up with some of those wonderful people in the next couple of months and for that I am excited.

Life is what it is right now. I can't say more I can't say less. Perhaps, I should invest in a more private avenue to share my thoughts.

This post is kinda lame, but promotions are cool and I still love Boston. I also appreciate the friends I've made since I've moved up to the great state of Massachusetts.


That is all
   Sara

Save AmeriCorps

The Corporation for National and Community Service is in jeopardy. Congress is considering cutting funding for this program which would eliminate several programs nationwide, it would mean job cuts, it could mean that certain nonprofits will fail due to the lack of help that they were previously receiving. At the end of this post I have provided several links so you can better inform yourself about what's going on. But here is a link to sign the petition to Save AmeriCorps: http://www.change.org/petitions/save-americorps

AmeriCorps is part of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Corps members give up a year of their life to help people in need. There are several organizations that stem from the Corporation for National and Community Service including: SeniorCorps, Learn and Serve, and AmeriCorps. These programs help millions of people across the country. They provide people and resources to help lead volunteers, institute new programs, maintain current programs and sometimes even provide disaster relief. While I personally am not a fan of large government programs, the Corporation for National and Community Service provided me a valuable learning experience that I will take with me for the rest of my life. It changed me for the better as it has thousands of others who have been through one of the programs. I wish I could give proper statistics and numbers for how this organization has helped our nation to be better, stronger and smarter. Instead all I can do is tell you about my experience in the program I served.

Over my ten months as a corps member for AmeriCorps' National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). I documented much of the work I did in this blog. I worked with several nonprofit organizations, helped with flood relief resulting from the Nashville Tennessee Flood of 2010. I helped rebuild houses and better school systems in New Orleans; a city still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and now from the Oil Spill. I tutored failing kids in California, I built houses for migrant farm workers, who would otherwise be living in squalor.  I even got to build playgrounds with KaBOOM! In ten months, I feel that I accomplished more than most people do in perhaps a lifetime.

Before I joined AmeriCorps, I had negative feelings about America and the state it was in, but had no idea of how to make changes. I didn't know what I could do to make a difference. I applied to the organization for several reasons, but probably the most compelling reason for me was I didn't have a job, but I wasn't ready for Grad school or the working world. I was able to spend 10 months doing community service work instead. I was able to learn new skills that I've been able to take with me. I learned how to be a better team player, a better leader, and the value of communication and flexibility. All skills most people need to be successful in the working world. Sure I could have gained these skills anywhere, but I was able to do it faster and possibly better in NCCC.

People who are in favor of cutting the program usually have this to say:
"The Corporation for National and Community Service was started by democrats, and we all know that they just want to frivolously spend government money on things that don't matter."
"AmeriCorps is a waste of money, it costs millions of tax payers money and what is there to show for it?"

This is what I have to say.

First and foremost, what many people don't know is that the organization has bipartisan support. George W. Bush signed the bill that allowed for people who completed the program received more money, John McCain voted for it. It's not just a democratic organization for bleeding hearted liberals. In my experience, I met all kinds of people in the program. I am a libertarian, I don't like big governments, I didn't vote for Obama in 2008. I certainly didn't consider myself to be apart of "Obama's Youth" or whatever Rush Limbaugh want's to call the program. It's not a brain washing organization. I still feel the same way about Obama, as I did before I joined the program. I still feel the same way about our country and how it should be run as I did before. I do have a little bit more pride for this country. I do feel that we as a people need to step up and work together to make it a better place.  I don't think that's a bad thing. I don't think that it's horrible that in 2009, I would've done whatever it took to get out of this country, and in 2011, I think we as a people should do whatever it takes (in a positive way) to make this country a better place. That is a positive paradigm shift, if I've ever heard of one.
My AmeriCorps NCCC class was composed of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. We had Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Athiests/Agnostics. We had people who came from rich backgrounds and those who grew up in less than desirable means. People from all across the country came together for 10 months to make a difference. My point being, it's not a democrat or republican thing, it's a people thing. The program helps people, not just bleeding heart liberals.

Now about the money. CNCS is expensive. I won't argue that. Making this country a better place, helping people, isn't free. It can't be. Yet CNCS isn't taking the millions of dollars it receives and paying for Presidents of failing banks to take vacations or fly around on private jets. Instead it's taking the money and using it to help children who are failing, to help cities who were impacted by national disasters, to help people get back on their feet.

Here is how AmeriCorps NCCC spends some of it's money to make that happen:
Corps members are given a modest living allowance (less than $150 every two weeks). To work over 40 hours a week. Not at a desk job, no I was covered head to toe in dirt, pulling out insulation, I was covered in sweat putting up drywall in New Orleans in the summer time. I built houses in the desert. It was hot, and I worked hard. One week we spent hours raking leaves in a public park because the park couldn't afford to do it. We helped make that park beautiful. We helped people get back into their homes after they experienced disaster. We helped people in need for 40+ hours a week. And we were paid less than $2 an hour to do it. Correction, not paid it's a living allowance. But can anyone really expect people to give up 10 months of their life completing over 1600 hours of service for nothing? Personally, 1.88 an hour isn't enough for some of the work I did last year. Yet, I did it anyway.

Now we aren't expected to live off of less than 150 every two weeks. We are also given a modest food budget. $4.50 per person per day. Yep try feeding 10 people on $45 a day. It's tricky and I ate more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the last year than I ever wanted to.

We are also given a place to sleep. Now don't get confused. Some of my friends lived in tents, I lived in a variety of living situations. I lived in a dorm. I lived in a 4 bedroom apartment with 9 other people. The room was large enough to fit two beds and a cot. I lived in volunteer housing in New Orleans, I showered in a trailer, I ate in a large cafeteria, and I slept in a class room with 20 other people. I was not put up in a 5 star hotel. During training I slept in a cabin with no heat in Mendocino in October. It was freezing.


I got to do a lot of really cool things, but it wasn't a vacation. It was a year off of sitting around. I worked and I worked hard, and so did my friends.  I feel better knowing I made a difference. And here's the thing, I didn't leave AmeriCorps to go work some cushy job. No, I decided during the program that I wanted to dedicate my life to helping others. I want to work for nonprofits. I want to continue to make a difference. Most of my friends are doing the same thing. You can't spend 10 months of your life and go back to the way things were before. This program made me more aware of my surroundings, of what people go through when they don't have help. It made me want to actively participate in helping others. I don't think it's a bad thing.

CNCS is one of the few government funded programs that I actually believe in. It's better than welfare. It's better than the government bail outs. Not only does this organization help people in need, it helps to train the next generation of leaders. It teaches young people how to do better, work harder, and work together to make a difference.
 

Here are some links if you want to learn more:
Sign the Petition to Save AmeriCorps
http://www.change.org/petitions/save-americorps

The Corporation for National and Community Service
http://www.nationalservice.gov/

AmeriCorps
http://www.americorps.gov/

United Way's Stance
http://www.uwpiedmont.org/advocacy.php

An Article about the BiPartisan nature of AmeriCorps
http://blogs.wsj.com/capitaljournal/2009/03/27/the-real-story-of-how-americorps-became-bipartisan/



The video one of my teammates made for our time in Mecca, CA.

You can also read about my previous adventures in NCCC on this blog.




This post is strictly my opinion and is not the views of CNCS, AmeriCorps or any other program I mentioned. I can't speak for them, I can only speak for myself and the good I saw in my 10 months of service

At a loss for words...

I've been kind of off the map, well slightly off the map. Certainly off the map for me.

This is due to a few factors:


1st. I was sick, went to the hospital with a 104.1 degree fever. I got carted around on a wheely bed (gourney? who cares wheely bed sounds cooler) and taken to different rooms for testing. Mostly I laid in bed waiting for the doctors to figure out what was up. I learned a few things, one I have a gall stone and will eventually have to get my whole gall bladder removed. I'm not excited about losing a body part. Even if I still don't quite understand its purpose. Something about bile. I dunno. I don't want to just toss it out like I'm not appreciative of it's efforts in my 25 years of life. It's done some good work I'm sure. I don't just want to toss it away like a used towel. Finding a surgeon is taking more time than it should. Mostly due to the fact that I'm not comfortable removing one of my organs.

2nd. The semester has started and I have school work. I should be constantly reading but I haven't been. I have been reading and doing my work, I'm too much of a nerd not to. But I've been doing it last minute thus feeling over whelmed.

3rd. Increased amounts of sleeping, for whatever reason I'm having trouble sleeping. So I spend most of the night waking up a bunch and then the sun rises and then I go back to sleep. I think I spend more time trying to sleep than I do actually sleeping. Either way I've been having really vivid dreams. So vivid that I'm not sure if I'm asleep or awake. It's weird. So I guess I've been sleeping but not very well and for too long.

4th. Apathy... I've felt an overwhelming since of apathy ever since I got back from my conference in Orlando. The conference was underwhelming. I think my apathy stems from the fact that I came back feeling like people in my chosen field don't care. So why should I care. I know why I should care I just am having trouble caring. I think that might be because of the weather.

5th. I don't have a 5th but I like things in 5's and 0's. It's kind of a weird trait but everyone has their quirks.

2010 My Year in Review

If you don't feel like reading all those entries before this, here is a recap of my last year.

            2010 was probably one of the best years I’ve had. I traveled the country met hundreds of people, made tons of new friends and got to work on several different volunteer projects. I was able to fulfill not one but two of my goals: the first to donate a year or my life to community service, and the second to move to Boston, MA. This year has certainly been a roller coaster ride to say the least, I made friends, I got into arguments, I made up, I got into more arguments, I burned a few bridges, I reconnected with old friends, and I built a few playgrounds a long the way. I experienced love, heartbreak, depression, elation, I accumulated more debt, and I paid off some of that debt. And did I mention that I got to travel the country.

            This year was certainly memorable, and I’m doing my best to end the year the way it started. Today, I flew to Tampa from Boston, Ma with a layover in St. Louis Missouri. Traveling on the last day of the year seems so perfect considering I spent the last year of my life traveling. I’m hoping for an exhilarating night filled with fun, making new friends and hanging out with old. But who knows, this year has been crazy and unpredictable and I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up driving to Miami or something instead. In any case here is a listing of my year in review.

Cities I’ve lived in 2010:

Sacramento, Ca – on a retired air force base

Mecca, Ca – in a four-bedroom apartment with 9 other people, most of my neighbors were illegal immigrants. I got to wake up to the most beautiful sunrise on the planet. 

Chalmette, LA – in a once flooded School turned into a volunteer housing camp, walking distance from the Ninth Ward.

Nashville, Tn – in a church, with cable T.V. a giant movie projector and the most comfortable couches I’ve ever sat on. I also spent the majority of my day-covered head to toe in mud. It was phenomenal. 

Chalmette, La – this time in a 3 bedroom duplex where I shared a bedroom with four other people.

Loganville, Ga – in my dad’s guest room while I searched for Jobs.

Watertown, Ma – in my new apartment, 10 miles from the most beautiful city in the world.

States I’ve traveled to or through in 2010

California – Not only did I live hear, but I traveled up and down the coast. I got to experience both northern and southern California. Also, I got to go to Disneyland, how awesome is that?

Nevada – for a fun filled, weekend in Lake Tahoe, as well as a stop in Vegas on the road trip home. 

New Mexico – Most of my time in New Mexico was spent in a 15 passenger van, but I did get to do some minor site seeing and go to a swimming hole. 

Arizona – Again, I traveled through Az on my trip to New Orleans and back.

Texas – I finally was able to see Texas. I hate Houston, in case you were wondering but Austin was pretty cool, and I hope I can go back some day.

Louisiana – I was in New Orleans for several months, working with the Recovery School District. I was able to build playgrounds with KaBoom, restore bikes and experience the dirty south. As much as New Orleans will never be home to me, in the months since I’ve left it’s finally rooted itself into my heart.

Mississippi – I don’t like to think about Mississippi, because I went here with a guy I was dating and he broke up with me while I was there. I still had fun and I picked up a new pair of rocket dogs, which are in a land fill somewhere cause I wore them out.

Alabama –  I drove through Alabama on our way to TN.

Georgia – Not only did I live in Georgia for several weeks, I drove through it several times.

Tennessee – I was here for flood recovery.

North Carolina – I went on a trip to North Carolina, with the guy that dumped me in Mississippi. Looking back, I’m happy that the short lived fling is done and over with. Florida – A good place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there, anymore.

Virginia – My disdain for this state goes beyond words, but I had to get to Massachusetts somehow and it was on the way. All I can remember about Va are crappy drivers and stupid people.

Maryland – I got to visit Annapolis and hang out with a friend and sing Karaoke.

Washington, D.C. – Which isn’t necessarily a state, but they do have their own license plates so I guess I should put it on. I also got to celebrate 4^th of July in the nations capital. Now that’s a story for the ages.

New York – I went to upstate New York, and Brookyln, I also spent an hour and a half on the George Washington Bridge. I liked Rochester, but could do without seeing NYC ever again.

New Hampshire – I was able to spend the night in New Hampshire, before my job interview, I went to a Podunk town, but I have a feeling that New Hampshire is mostly country.

Massachusetts – I live here now. I was able to visit western mass, on a road trip and of course I live near Boston, so you know life is good.

Vermont– I drove through Vermont on my way to Montreal. I don’t remember much about Vermont other than, I stopped for coffee and was surprised to see snow covering the ground.

Quebec –  I went to Canada with my best friend, we hung out in Montreal for a few days and I got to try Pouitnne.

Pennsylvania– I had to drive through Pennsylvania, on my northeastern road trip and again on my move. I still haven’t been able to do Philly like I’ve wanted.

New Jersey– Again, I only drove through New Jersey, but I did have my gas pumped for me. Weird.

Missouri– I had a layover in Missouri on my last day of the year. It probably counts less than the states I drove through this year, but I’m adding it to the list just the same.

Connecticut - I had to drive through it on my way up to Mass, but I've also been there a few times with a friend, on such travels we always stop for Rein's Deli.

Places I worked for in 2010

WJUSD – Tutoring and mentoring high school students at Woodland High School in Woodland, California.

CVHC – Building houses and working in an after school program in Mecca, California

RSD – Doing a variety of projects for the Recovery School District, including painting murals, helping with fun days, and shredding documents in New Orleans, La.

FEMA – Mucking and gutting houses in Nashville, Tn after the flood.

SBP – mowing lawns, and doing whatever else the Saint Bernard Project asked of me in Chalmette, LA.

PG – Working with kids with multiple disabilities, in Watertown, Ma.

Things I had never done before in 2010.

Framed, mucked, gutted, and roofed houses, picked apples, skied , ate poutine, served crab to people, built playgrounds, organized a fundraiser, back country camped in Joshua Tree, visited Disney Land, ate a pastrami sandwiches and probably a lot more.

Merry Grinchmas

I'm in Beantown for Christmas. The good news I get to spend it with my best friend, the better news I have a few days off from work. But the bad news is that I have Canadian Moose Flu, which is what I've decided to name the illness that I contracted in Canada. I went to Canada Sunday night and came back with the Canadian Moose Flu on Wednesday. It was awful I spent the last few days trying to convince Comet and Cupid that I wasn't related to them. I am certain I'm going to grow antlers or something, and the next thing I know I'll be clinging to Dasher or Dancer yelling at Santa to turn the damn sled around! Okay not so much. I've never had the flu before but I haven't been able to eat or drink or indulge in any of the things people indulge in over the holiday season, like eating chocolate covered peanut butter balls, or cookie dough. I'm getting sick just thinking about it. I haven't felt this way since I got food poisoning in Summer 2009, that was embarrassing. Although I didn't get this sickness on my own it is the only thing I've been able to think about for the past few days. In all my focus on trying not to turn into a moose, I forgot that Christmas was coming. I bet Santa's left the North Pole by now, traveling the globe passing out presents to all the girls and boys of planet Earth or whatever it is that he does. I dunno, he stopped bringing me presents a few years ago.

Sometimes, I miss being a kid. But then again, you have to grow up sometime.

I forgot what I was going on about, the moose are at it again. Night all, Merry Christmas, or whatever you celebrate.

Sara

Life is good

Well sort of... nothing is perfect but my writing has been slowed. And will continue to be slowed until after Christmas I bet. Happy Holidays