Just as I had to dedicate a little piece to my leaving Bellingham for Camden, so I have to dedicate a little piece to my exit from JVC and the journey home. Here is a short series about the past couple of weeks and the events that came to pass.
After we left Camden, we drove to Pine Grove Furnace State Park, about 30 miles north of the Maryland border. After celebrating Mass (fittingly enough, this was July 31st- the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola), we drove to the campsite and pitched our tents.
The Camden hikers (myself and three of my housemates) had made sure that we could all lie down to sleep in the tiny tent that we brought along with us, but we made one fatal error: when we checked, we just lay down on the floor of the tent. We didn’t use our sleeping bags. So, of course, there was not enough room for all of us. Worse, the humidity at that time made sleeping inside a nylon tent unbearably hot. (Being the resident Pacific Northwestern girl on the trail, I liked to think I was a pretty tough camper. Pacific Northwestern camper and hiker friends, ye be warned: we were neither born nor bred to camp and hike on the east coast. The heat alone could kill us, but the humidity could do it faster.) After the first night in a tent (I bunked with a lovely, obliging JV who had a two-person tent to herself), I just slept outdoors on picnic tables. (I don’t mean for that to sound whiney, because in fact I really liked it. The fresh, warm night air made for a much more comfortable night, and a solid wood table was a better sleeping surface than the lumpy ground.)
The morning that the hike began, all the hikers we out of bed, dressed, and had taken down all of the tents by 7am, when the JVC staff had said they would arrive and feed us. We waited. And wait. And then, we waited some more. Turns out, the JVC staff usually tells the hikers that breakfast begins at 7am, and purposefully shows up at 7:30, when most JVs are just beginning to stumble out of their tents. Evidently, we were the exception to the behavioral patterns of past JVs. (Now, I understand why they might do something like that, but I think I can speak for most of the other hikers when I say that we were a little offended. After we’ve put in a year of service and proven ourselves, we’d prefer to be treated like adults.)
The other thing that set our group of hikers apart from past years was this: Every year, we are given the option of tacking an extra ten miles onto the first leg of the hike. In past years, about five or six JVs have done this. This year, all but thirteen of us opted for the extra ten miles! (I was among the elite group of hikers who had more realistic expectations and stubbornly stuck to the original plan of hiking 13 miles. I realized at the end of the day that I would have been able to hike 23, but I didn’t know that in the beginning. Like I said—realistic expectations.)
We ate breakfast, packed lunches, stretched, prayed, and headed out through the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Appalachian Trail is considered hallowed ground, even by the most secular of hikers. There is trail etiquette that we always respect the land, hike in relatively small groups, and pack in and pack out all of our things (read: no littering). The single, solitary navigational instruction we received was “Hike south. Follow the white blazes.” (I couldn’t resist the temptation to whisper to hikers, in my best Gollum voice, “Follow the white blazes. Don’t follow the lights!”)
The white blazes turned out to be simply white streaks of paint on the occasional tree, and thankfully it was all the instruction we needed. My favorite incident of having no idea of where to go is this: On the second day of the journey, after a fairly easy first half hour of hiking, my group reached what looked like a rock wall. It was probably at an 80-85 degree incline from the flat ground on which we stood. We walked right up to the wall, whereupon we turned right, looking for a white blaze on a tree. Nothing. We looked left. No white blaze. Confused, we stood around like the lost fools that we were, and then finally looked up at the wall again. Near the top, perhaps twenty feet overhead was a crooked little tree protruding from the rock face. And, wouldn’t you know it, there was a white blaze painted on it. Although the rocks were spaced out enough to use as stairs (in a sense), it was still quite an awakening to what lay in store for the rest of the day!
We didn’t know it then, but the first day was the easiest in terms of the type of terrain we crossed. I took quite a fall that day, as well; unused to how clumsy hiking boots can be, I stumbled over a tree root and didn’t regain my balance fast enough. (It would have looked like a cartoon character running in place, but in slow motion). I landed on a large, flat rock and slid along it, taking most of the impact in the forearm and elbow of my right arm. I initially fell to my left, but since I was falling so fast that I feared I would hit my head, I twisted midair and clenched my right arm to my body, hoping it would bear the full force of the fall. Better my arm than my head. Other than my arm, the water bottles strapped to my backpack bore the brunt of the impact. (The brand new aluminum one nearly bent in half!)
My trail buddies were very concerned—they heard the landing and got nervous. I lay for a second on the rock, momentarily concerned that I might have broken my arm. After wiggling my fingers, shimmying out of my backpack, and inspecting both the swelling and the wound, I stood back up, put on my backpack, and said, “Let’s keep going.” The swelling was pretty bad, so popped a lot of aspirin at lunch. I lost a layer of skin to the rock on which I landed, but it barely bled. (But, man, putting hydrogen peroxide on that puppy hurt like a son of a b*tch!) Later, in the campsite, I realized I couldn’t carry anything heavy with my right arm—that went away in a few days. To be honest, I’m happy that it became an interesting anecdote and not a medical emergency. Can you imagine breaking your arm in the middle of the woods and needing to go to the emergency room?
The best part of the hike, hands down, was the final day. We split into our normal groups (sans a few people who were too injured to finish the hike) and took off for the last six miles. Where Buena Vista Road intersects with the Appalachian Trail, each group stopped and waited for the rest of the hikers. After we all met up at that trailhead, we finished the journey together, as one group. We marched down Buena Vista Road toward the Blue Ridge retreat center, singing whatever we could think of. The JVC staff met us on the road (by then we were crooning “God Bless America” because it was the only thing we could think of that everyone knew all the words to!) and we all converged on Oregano Field, FINALLY having finished the journey back to whence we came!
After showering, first aid, and tending to our sore feet, the hikers hit the happening* town of Waynesboro, PA. (Any place that had burgers and beer looked good to us, though. I had a great time there!) Dis-Orientation itself began a few hours later with dinner and a prayer service. Thus, our last three days as Jesuit Volunteers began.
* Denotes sarcasm.
Showing posts with label jvc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jvc. Show all posts
Friday, August 20, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Leaving Camden
Just as I had to dedicate a little piece to my leaving Bellingham for Camden, so I have to dedicate a little piece to my exit from JVC and the journey home. Here is a short series about the past couple of weeks and the events that came to pass.
My exit from Camden felt like a long fall from a cliff into deep water; that is, once my time there began to wind down (roughly around the time I packed up most of my belongings and shipped them home), it felt like I was slowly moving toward an end that took forever to come.
The goodbying began over two weeks before we were to actually leave town. This is because because there are so many people involved with the JVs who wanted to take us to dinner or something for a proper goodbye. To allow myself a moment of perfect honesty, by the end of those two weeks it was getting kind of hard to access any real emotion about leaving. In the first place, very many of the people who wanted to tell us goodbye were people that I didn’t know very well; I felt like I was getting to know them for the first time at my own goodbye party. Being fully present at those sorts of events was exhausting for me—I felt like I was trying to feign a lot of enthusiasm that I just didn’t have in me. This was hard for me to come to accept, because when I left a year ago I felt as though I was bleeding love and sadness, longing for a place I could return to and a time that I couldn’t return to. While intense, it was also great. I felt alive and in love with my family and friends.
Don’t take this to mean I wasn’t sad to leave; I certainly had to sort through a lot of emotional laundry about it all. But, while I can be quite sociable and enthusiastic at times, the fact is that I needed a lot of private, quiet time to process things that I just wasn’t getting. The end result was my feeling more or less numb about many things, when I should have felt some deeper feeling of warm sadness or bittersweetness. All the feeling within me for the bigger moments dried up as I tried to be present at events that didn’t mean as much to me. One can only have so many emotional evenings in a row before she shuts down. It was self-preservation.
There are two notable exceptions to feeling this way: my last day at Northgate, and the last time I saw my cousin, Nick.
On my final day at Northgate, I spent the bulk of the morning preparing cards and notes for my coworkers and some of the tenants (there are over four hundred tenants, total, so don’t think too lowly of me that I only wrote to a few!). Irma, the entire social services office, the management office, and the maintenance workers all threw me a little goodbye party. In a cute nod to my habitual grammar policing, they intentionally misspelled the writing on my cake. (Back story: every single cake we ever ordered for a social services or staff event has had a misspelled word—not because the baker messed up, but because whoever had ordered the cake had misspelled it on the form. I only ever pointed it out one time, but since then everyone derived a perverse joy from watching me read the misspelled cake and bite my tongue.) The cake read, “Fairwell, Molly!” Smart-asses…
It was very sweet of everyone to stop everything to see me off. I will be the first one to tell you that in that building, nothing ever stops moving. There is always an emergency to take care of, whether it’s a maintenance problem or a tenant’s physical or emotional health gives out, and the few of us on staff are constantly on the move, putting out fires as fast as we can. So a little cake, a little song, and a little prayer meant the world to me on my last day in the most intense environment I have ever worked in.
After I’d gone door-to-door in the apartment building to tell a few of my favorite tenants goodbye (word got around—it took me a good hour and plenty of running up and down stairs to get out of there. So many people wanted me to stop by, and because I have fewer mobility issues than most of the tenants, it was easier to just pass the word along that I should stop by!), turned in my keys, and hugged the social services ladies goodbye, I walked out of the building for the last time. I headed straight for the subway to Philadelphia to meet up with Nick.
For those of you who don’t know, Nick is my cousin. He served in JVC from 2000 to 2002, first in Camden, then in Brooklyn. (He lived in Brooklyn on September 11th, 2001. He was unharmed, but my whole family was terrified until we got a phone call from him.) Nick is also the reason I became a JV. He planted that seed in my heart when I was fourteen. Yes, many people and experiences watered that seed between then and the day I applied to the program, but he was the initial reason I wanted to serve with the Jesuits. It was great to live so close to him this year, especially because he has lived on the East Coast since his JVC service began.
Nick and I hung out in a bar for a few hours that Friday and just talked about my volunteer year. We talked about the best and worst moments, what I will miss, what I couldn’t wait to leave behind, how our volunteer service shaped us. Just before I left, Nick gave me a little post-JV-year pep talk. I swear, I would have given a whole year of service all over again, bearing every single burden I had to bear, just to hear that pep talk. It meant the world to me.
Because the truth is, (allowing myself another moment of honesty and vulnerability) this past year was unimaginably hard for me. I faced incredible difficulties in all facets of my life there—my work, my community, my city—and I confess, I have never felt so uncomfortable with myself or my surroundings in my life. Worse, as my entire life in Camden was defined in terms of either my community or my work, I had no outlet for my feelings. I missed home far more than I anticipated I would—even in late July, I would tear up from homesickness. I was fairly traumatized and hugely saddened by my work, and I never really felt as though I could discuss those feelings at home. In terms of close friendships and relationships, in the worst moments I felt that I had lost far more than I gained. Often I felt there was no one to talk to who made me feel understood, appreciated or loved. Although these feelings prove that I need to spend much more time on the Litany of Humility, the fact is that it is very hard to function emotionally and spiritually without feeling understood or appreciated. (In fairness to everyone in Camden, I always knew, even if I didn’t feel, that I was loved.)
So to hear such a sweet compliment from a family member, one that I have looked up to for as long as I can remember, and the only person in our family who can truly appreciate what I’ve been through (because we both went through it!), it validated and healed so much of what I was struggling with. It was the most understood I’ve felt in a long time.
The following day, I left Camden for the last time. All of my community members were returning to the house after Dis-Orientation except for myself, so I was the only one leaving for good. (On the way out of the city, I happily narrated a la Good Night, Moon: “Goodnight, row house!” “Good night, corner store!” “Good night, crackheads on the corner!” “Good night, Ben Franklin Bridge!”)
We drove south to Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania (where the hike was to begin), about 30 miles north of the Maryland border (where the hike was to end). We attended Mass as a group, drove to the campsite, pitched our tents, and crawled in for the night. The Hike to Dis-O would begin in the morning.
My exit from Camden felt like a long fall from a cliff into deep water; that is, once my time there began to wind down (roughly around the time I packed up most of my belongings and shipped them home), it felt like I was slowly moving toward an end that took forever to come.
The goodbying began over two weeks before we were to actually leave town. This is because because there are so many people involved with the JVs who wanted to take us to dinner or something for a proper goodbye. To allow myself a moment of perfect honesty, by the end of those two weeks it was getting kind of hard to access any real emotion about leaving. In the first place, very many of the people who wanted to tell us goodbye were people that I didn’t know very well; I felt like I was getting to know them for the first time at my own goodbye party. Being fully present at those sorts of events was exhausting for me—I felt like I was trying to feign a lot of enthusiasm that I just didn’t have in me. This was hard for me to come to accept, because when I left a year ago I felt as though I was bleeding love and sadness, longing for a place I could return to and a time that I couldn’t return to. While intense, it was also great. I felt alive and in love with my family and friends.
Don’t take this to mean I wasn’t sad to leave; I certainly had to sort through a lot of emotional laundry about it all. But, while I can be quite sociable and enthusiastic at times, the fact is that I needed a lot of private, quiet time to process things that I just wasn’t getting. The end result was my feeling more or less numb about many things, when I should have felt some deeper feeling of warm sadness or bittersweetness. All the feeling within me for the bigger moments dried up as I tried to be present at events that didn’t mean as much to me. One can only have so many emotional evenings in a row before she shuts down. It was self-preservation.
There are two notable exceptions to feeling this way: my last day at Northgate, and the last time I saw my cousin, Nick.
On my final day at Northgate, I spent the bulk of the morning preparing cards and notes for my coworkers and some of the tenants (there are over four hundred tenants, total, so don’t think too lowly of me that I only wrote to a few!). Irma, the entire social services office, the management office, and the maintenance workers all threw me a little goodbye party. In a cute nod to my habitual grammar policing, they intentionally misspelled the writing on my cake. (Back story: every single cake we ever ordered for a social services or staff event has had a misspelled word—not because the baker messed up, but because whoever had ordered the cake had misspelled it on the form. I only ever pointed it out one time, but since then everyone derived a perverse joy from watching me read the misspelled cake and bite my tongue.) The cake read, “Fairwell, Molly!” Smart-asses…
It was very sweet of everyone to stop everything to see me off. I will be the first one to tell you that in that building, nothing ever stops moving. There is always an emergency to take care of, whether it’s a maintenance problem or a tenant’s physical or emotional health gives out, and the few of us on staff are constantly on the move, putting out fires as fast as we can. So a little cake, a little song, and a little prayer meant the world to me on my last day in the most intense environment I have ever worked in.
After I’d gone door-to-door in the apartment building to tell a few of my favorite tenants goodbye (word got around—it took me a good hour and plenty of running up and down stairs to get out of there. So many people wanted me to stop by, and because I have fewer mobility issues than most of the tenants, it was easier to just pass the word along that I should stop by!), turned in my keys, and hugged the social services ladies goodbye, I walked out of the building for the last time. I headed straight for the subway to Philadelphia to meet up with Nick.
For those of you who don’t know, Nick is my cousin. He served in JVC from 2000 to 2002, first in Camden, then in Brooklyn. (He lived in Brooklyn on September 11th, 2001. He was unharmed, but my whole family was terrified until we got a phone call from him.) Nick is also the reason I became a JV. He planted that seed in my heart when I was fourteen. Yes, many people and experiences watered that seed between then and the day I applied to the program, but he was the initial reason I wanted to serve with the Jesuits. It was great to live so close to him this year, especially because he has lived on the East Coast since his JVC service began.
Nick and I hung out in a bar for a few hours that Friday and just talked about my volunteer year. We talked about the best and worst moments, what I will miss, what I couldn’t wait to leave behind, how our volunteer service shaped us. Just before I left, Nick gave me a little post-JV-year pep talk. I swear, I would have given a whole year of service all over again, bearing every single burden I had to bear, just to hear that pep talk. It meant the world to me.
Because the truth is, (allowing myself another moment of honesty and vulnerability) this past year was unimaginably hard for me. I faced incredible difficulties in all facets of my life there—my work, my community, my city—and I confess, I have never felt so uncomfortable with myself or my surroundings in my life. Worse, as my entire life in Camden was defined in terms of either my community or my work, I had no outlet for my feelings. I missed home far more than I anticipated I would—even in late July, I would tear up from homesickness. I was fairly traumatized and hugely saddened by my work, and I never really felt as though I could discuss those feelings at home. In terms of close friendships and relationships, in the worst moments I felt that I had lost far more than I gained. Often I felt there was no one to talk to who made me feel understood, appreciated or loved. Although these feelings prove that I need to spend much more time on the Litany of Humility, the fact is that it is very hard to function emotionally and spiritually without feeling understood or appreciated. (In fairness to everyone in Camden, I always knew, even if I didn’t feel, that I was loved.)
So to hear such a sweet compliment from a family member, one that I have looked up to for as long as I can remember, and the only person in our family who can truly appreciate what I’ve been through (because we both went through it!), it validated and healed so much of what I was struggling with. It was the most understood I’ve felt in a long time.
The following day, I left Camden for the last time. All of my community members were returning to the house after Dis-Orientation except for myself, so I was the only one leaving for good. (On the way out of the city, I happily narrated a la Good Night, Moon: “Goodnight, row house!” “Good night, corner store!” “Good night, crackheads on the corner!” “Good night, Ben Franklin Bridge!”)
We drove south to Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania (where the hike was to begin), about 30 miles north of the Maryland border (where the hike was to end). We attended Mass as a group, drove to the campsite, pitched our tents, and crawled in for the night. The Hike to Dis-O would begin in the morning.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
(Flexible Number of) Slow Takes Thursdays Vol. 2
So, I know that 7 Quick Takes are supposed to happen on Fridays, but keep getting inspired to do them on Thursdays. And mine are never very quick, so…
I move to institute (Flexible Number of) Slow Take Thursdays here on Drops of Jupiter! And if no one follows suit, that’s perfectly OK, especially if they already write Quick Takes on Fridays!
1. Habitforge: Leo Tolstoy once wrote (I’m paraphrasing) that morality and the whole essence of a person lies in the smallest of their actions and habits. After reading that, it dawned on me that not all of my actions and habits reflect the type of person that I want to be. (Specifically, I am quite a messy person. But I don’t really think that fits with the rest of my personality, and it certainly does not reflect the type of responsible adult that I want to be!) I let the notion drift around my head for a while, but not with any idea of how to change my behavior.
Enter inspiration from my lovely friend, Lindsey. She wrote a post on her family blog about Habitforge.com, a website that allows you to set up a goal and desire, and then tracks your daily progress on completing the goal for twenty-one consecutive days (on the premise that it takes three weeks to establish a habit). If you miss a day, you have to start over! So I set up an account and entered three goals: making my bed each morning before work (getting to it on my lunch break does not count!), picking all the laundry up off the floor and either putting it away or in the laundry basket before bed (my mother will be the first to tell you that I’ve been terrible at that for the last twenty-three and a half years!), and hitting all of my prayer devotions every day (I was getting woefully lazy at keeping up with those!).
I think what makes this so effective for me is the fact that I can see my daily progress (or lack thereof), and if I mess up, there’s no one to blame except myself. I hope to have become a habitually neat and responsible person at the end of this voyage, and then set new goals once I’ve mastered these! Thank you, Lindsey!
“You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one." -Henry David Thoreau
2. Running: Along the lines of my wanting to be more responsible for myself, I’ve decided to be more proactive about the care and feeding of my body. As easy as it is to blame anything I don’t like about myself on genetics and lack of time or resources to exercise and/or eat well, the fact is that I am the only person responsible for my health and well-being! I don’t want to reach middle-age with manifold health problems because established crappy habits in my young adulthood. Moreover (and more importantly) my body is a gift from God (see Psalm 139:13-18), and the best way to thank Him for it and honor His gift is to take good care of it!
But, like my messy habits from early in life, it was hard for me to establish a routine to hold myself accountable for my habits. I’d typically go for a run whenever I felt like it, which sometimes meant only once or twice a week.
However, I’ve since been inspired by Christine, my roommate. She’s training for the Hood to Coast Relay in Oregon this coming August, and to keep herself on track she writes her running stats on a calendar so that she can commit to five runs per week. I don’t know if I can handle five quite yet, but since Easter I’ve been writing my mileage on a calendar. It hasn’t been spectacular so far, but it does motivate me to do better each week.
3. Work: Once again, work has been inordinately stressful lately. Without getting into the details of how it happened (who knows might read this blog!), the facts are these: Upper management (read: my supervisor’s boss) decided to change the chain of command in the social services office. We now report to the management/ leasing department instead of to Irma, the department head.
(Which, to my way of thinking, is a huge conflict of interest. The social services department was established specifically to advocate for our tenants when the rules and regulations of the leasing office shouldn’t necessarily apply to them for various medical and psychosocial reasons. Management suddenly controlling social services undermines the purpose and effectiveness of the office, and certainly undercuts our ability to serve our clients. It’s like forcing the defense attorney to answer to the prosecutor during a trial; the prosecutor would certainly win every case).
One of management’s first moves was to take away my office and give it to our new advancement director (a fancy term for the guy who raises funds for this building), and put me in his old office. On the surface, this shouldn’t seem like something to get upset about; it’s a nice office with a window to the park just outside. But it is situated far away from the social services office, within the building community center. The new geography has effectively removed me from my position as a case manager in social services. So my old department is significantly compromised with one of three case managers gone (and 402 tenants to keep an eye on), and my new position doesn’t really serve any purpose for my original assignment or the larger picture of social justice.
The other problem with this office is that the community center boasts a very nice television and a great sound system. But it’s on all the time, and it’s very loud. Irrespective of my disliking too much TV to begin with, having a television blaring in surround sound directly outside my office is not conducive to getting any work done. (Before you ask, yes, I turn the sound off every morning. But invariably, someone bangs on my window until I turn it back up. I'm lucky to go for an hour in silence.)
I worry that this may be an irreversible change, and though I’m trying to stay positive, I’m more than a little worried for what this means for the rest of my volunteer year. I feel that these new changes were not made with the wellbeing of our clients or social justice in mind. (I have to stop writing about this here because if I don’t I’m going to start spilling things that shouldn’t be posted on a public blog.)
4. JVC is awesome: One of the things that made me like JVC over a lot of other volunteer programs is that there is a strong support structure built into our lives as volunteers. We have: our immediate community of JVs; support people (usually FJVs who live in the area) who come hang out with us, pray with us, and buy us dinner and drinks; a Jesuit liaison, usually an SJ priest or scholastic who lives in the area; and the JVC office itself, whose staff keeps an eye on all of its volunteers, helps us with things like our medical insurance, and periodically comes to visit our volunteer communities.
Andrew, my community’s program coordinator, came to visit earlier this week. He checked in with each of us to see how we’re doing at work, in community, and personally. In light of the above work situation, we had a lot to talk about. I also was able to talk about some personal issues that I feel are not appropriate to talk about in my community, and my plans for next year. It was so nice just to have someone whose job is to make sure I’m being treated fairly at work and that I’m functioning well in other areas of my life. JVC is really great at making sure we have ready access to support like that.
I may be the only person in the history of “Quick” Takes to make four takes so long, so I’ll stop now. Happy Thursday, everyone!
I move to institute (Flexible Number of) Slow Take Thursdays here on Drops of Jupiter! And if no one follows suit, that’s perfectly OK, especially if they already write Quick Takes on Fridays!
1. Habitforge: Leo Tolstoy once wrote (I’m paraphrasing) that morality and the whole essence of a person lies in the smallest of their actions and habits. After reading that, it dawned on me that not all of my actions and habits reflect the type of person that I want to be. (Specifically, I am quite a messy person. But I don’t really think that fits with the rest of my personality, and it certainly does not reflect the type of responsible adult that I want to be!) I let the notion drift around my head for a while, but not with any idea of how to change my behavior.
Enter inspiration from my lovely friend, Lindsey. She wrote a post on her family blog about Habitforge.com, a website that allows you to set up a goal and desire, and then tracks your daily progress on completing the goal for twenty-one consecutive days (on the premise that it takes three weeks to establish a habit). If you miss a day, you have to start over! So I set up an account and entered three goals: making my bed each morning before work (getting to it on my lunch break does not count!), picking all the laundry up off the floor and either putting it away or in the laundry basket before bed (my mother will be the first to tell you that I’ve been terrible at that for the last twenty-three and a half years!), and hitting all of my prayer devotions every day (I was getting woefully lazy at keeping up with those!).
I think what makes this so effective for me is the fact that I can see my daily progress (or lack thereof), and if I mess up, there’s no one to blame except myself. I hope to have become a habitually neat and responsible person at the end of this voyage, and then set new goals once I’ve mastered these! Thank you, Lindsey!
“You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one." -Henry David Thoreau
2. Running: Along the lines of my wanting to be more responsible for myself, I’ve decided to be more proactive about the care and feeding of my body. As easy as it is to blame anything I don’t like about myself on genetics and lack of time or resources to exercise and/or eat well, the fact is that I am the only person responsible for my health and well-being! I don’t want to reach middle-age with manifold health problems because established crappy habits in my young adulthood. Moreover (and more importantly) my body is a gift from God (see Psalm 139:13-18), and the best way to thank Him for it and honor His gift is to take good care of it!
But, like my messy habits from early in life, it was hard for me to establish a routine to hold myself accountable for my habits. I’d typically go for a run whenever I felt like it, which sometimes meant only once or twice a week.
However, I’ve since been inspired by Christine, my roommate. She’s training for the Hood to Coast Relay in Oregon this coming August, and to keep herself on track she writes her running stats on a calendar so that she can commit to five runs per week. I don’t know if I can handle five quite yet, but since Easter I’ve been writing my mileage on a calendar. It hasn’t been spectacular so far, but it does motivate me to do better each week.
3. Work: Once again, work has been inordinately stressful lately. Without getting into the details of how it happened (who knows might read this blog!), the facts are these: Upper management (read: my supervisor’s boss) decided to change the chain of command in the social services office. We now report to the management/ leasing department instead of to Irma, the department head.
(Which, to my way of thinking, is a huge conflict of interest. The social services department was established specifically to advocate for our tenants when the rules and regulations of the leasing office shouldn’t necessarily apply to them for various medical and psychosocial reasons. Management suddenly controlling social services undermines the purpose and effectiveness of the office, and certainly undercuts our ability to serve our clients. It’s like forcing the defense attorney to answer to the prosecutor during a trial; the prosecutor would certainly win every case).
One of management’s first moves was to take away my office and give it to our new advancement director (a fancy term for the guy who raises funds for this building), and put me in his old office. On the surface, this shouldn’t seem like something to get upset about; it’s a nice office with a window to the park just outside. But it is situated far away from the social services office, within the building community center. The new geography has effectively removed me from my position as a case manager in social services. So my old department is significantly compromised with one of three case managers gone (and 402 tenants to keep an eye on), and my new position doesn’t really serve any purpose for my original assignment or the larger picture of social justice.
The other problem with this office is that the community center boasts a very nice television and a great sound system. But it’s on all the time, and it’s very loud. Irrespective of my disliking too much TV to begin with, having a television blaring in surround sound directly outside my office is not conducive to getting any work done. (Before you ask, yes, I turn the sound off every morning. But invariably, someone bangs on my window until I turn it back up. I'm lucky to go for an hour in silence.)
I worry that this may be an irreversible change, and though I’m trying to stay positive, I’m more than a little worried for what this means for the rest of my volunteer year. I feel that these new changes were not made with the wellbeing of our clients or social justice in mind. (I have to stop writing about this here because if I don’t I’m going to start spilling things that shouldn’t be posted on a public blog.)
4. JVC is awesome: One of the things that made me like JVC over a lot of other volunteer programs is that there is a strong support structure built into our lives as volunteers. We have: our immediate community of JVs; support people (usually FJVs who live in the area) who come hang out with us, pray with us, and buy us dinner and drinks; a Jesuit liaison, usually an SJ priest or scholastic who lives in the area; and the JVC office itself, whose staff keeps an eye on all of its volunteers, helps us with things like our medical insurance, and periodically comes to visit our volunteer communities.
Andrew, my community’s program coordinator, came to visit earlier this week. He checked in with each of us to see how we’re doing at work, in community, and personally. In light of the above work situation, we had a lot to talk about. I also was able to talk about some personal issues that I feel are not appropriate to talk about in my community, and my plans for next year. It was so nice just to have someone whose job is to make sure I’m being treated fairly at work and that I’m functioning well in other areas of my life. JVC is really great at making sure we have ready access to support like that.
I may be the only person in the history of “Quick” Takes to make four takes so long, so I’ll stop now. Happy Thursday, everyone!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Resurrexit sicut dixit, ALLELUIA!
Happy Easter, everyone!
I took the last week off from work and travelled south to Washington DC with my brother, the intrepid traveler that he is. We stayed at the JVC House in the Columbia Heights neighborhood (it was the second time in two weeks that they put me up, and the second time around they put up me and Joe! Thanks, guys!), and spent most of our evenings with them: eating dinner, drinking wine, watching Law & Order, and talking about Europe and social justice-y things. Jesuit Volunteers are cool.
I have fallen thoroughly in love with that city. I already have a favorite restaurant (Amsterdam Falafel, if you ever find yourself in the Columbia Heights area), bookstore (Idle Time Books—a wonderful, understated, and charming place that plays French lounge music and sells the best collection of used books I’ve ever seen), and place to go to church (the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Staggeringly gorgeous.) Joe and I did decidedly tourist-y things during the days—visiting the monuments, going to museums, walking around a LOT—but it was nice to have a few favorite places to go where we felt a little less like tourists. I don’t see myself living there for a long time, but if I could swing graduate school there, I’d be a happy camper!
By the by, the basilica is a wonderful place to be during Triduum! Every priest in the archdiocese comes to concelebrate with the cardinal and the apostolic nuncio to the US. All the seminarians (literally, ALL of them) help serve the Mass. It’s a really beautiful thing to watch. I needed more than an hour to check out all of the side altars in that church!
We schlepped back to Camden after the Good Friday service because our community had planned on having an Easter dinner together (some months ago, the school that Mark and Jenna work for donated a turkey to our community, and we kept it in the freezer for a special occasion. We called the feast “Easter-giving.”) The Vigil Mass at Sacred Heart began at 4:30am (when my alarm clock went off, I actually said out loud, “Are you CRAZY?”), but it was gorgeous. One lady was initiated into the Church, and she just glowed with joy and sacramental grace when she received her Sacraments! She and her godparents led candlelight procession outside the Church (we sang a LOT of “alleluias”) and back in, and even at 5:30 in the morning, the people on the streets took a reverent notice. We went back into the church to finish Mass, and the whole event finished around 7am.
I decided to take advantage of the energy that I still had and went for a run after mass, but I had to hurry home and shower because most of us went to Christine’s church for the 9am Easter service. I really like her church—they have a great ministry team that serves as the pastoral team. Protestant services still feel a little foreign to me, but they’re always so joyful and profound that I certainly enjoy them. Kingsway (the name of the church) starts its services with a praise and worship session, and something pretty profound happened during it on Sunday.
Granted, I had gone to bed at midnight, awakened at 3:30am, been awake for a two-and-a-half hour Mass, and run three miles already that day. I had received a few messages from friends back home who told me they were thinking of me at Easter Vigil. It was my first Easter away from home. An experience (which I’ve always kept to myself) from Good Friday 2009 was still fresh in my mind, as its promise was fulfilled this Easter. So I was teetering on the edge of emotional to begin with.
But when the pianist played the first few measures of “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”, I just lost it. It wasn’t desperate bawling, but the tears just flowed up and out of me, and I didn’t have the strength to stop them. The song reminds me of home, my old Newman Center, and special moment with a special friend. I couldn’t really help myself.
The slightly mortifying part was that while none of my roommates noticed this (I was sandwiched in the row between Jenna’s boyfriend and my brother, so they couldn’t see me), the lead pastor did. He look over his shoulder, and even though my vision was blurred, I could see him turned toward me for part of the song. Keep in mind—I’ve only been there once before, and I doubt he even saw me that time. So, from his perspective, some unfamiliar woman was standing in his church, weeping like her heart would break on Easter morning. Being the good pastor that he is, when he came and shook hand with our row at the sign of peace (I’d composed myself by then), he gave me a pretty emphatic look and leaned in to ask if I was all right. I answered yes—I just get emotional about Easter.
The truth is, I don’t know what caused the sudden flood of emotion, but I felt a lot better afterwards. Then I napped for four hours, and we ended the day with a great dinner with our community (and a few extended community members! Siblings, significant others, etc).
I took the last week off from work and travelled south to Washington DC with my brother, the intrepid traveler that he is. We stayed at the JVC House in the Columbia Heights neighborhood (it was the second time in two weeks that they put me up, and the second time around they put up me and Joe! Thanks, guys!), and spent most of our evenings with them: eating dinner, drinking wine, watching Law & Order, and talking about Europe and social justice-y things. Jesuit Volunteers are cool.
I have fallen thoroughly in love with that city. I already have a favorite restaurant (Amsterdam Falafel, if you ever find yourself in the Columbia Heights area), bookstore (Idle Time Books—a wonderful, understated, and charming place that plays French lounge music and sells the best collection of used books I’ve ever seen), and place to go to church (the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Staggeringly gorgeous.) Joe and I did decidedly tourist-y things during the days—visiting the monuments, going to museums, walking around a LOT—but it was nice to have a few favorite places to go where we felt a little less like tourists. I don’t see myself living there for a long time, but if I could swing graduate school there, I’d be a happy camper!
By the by, the basilica is a wonderful place to be during Triduum! Every priest in the archdiocese comes to concelebrate with the cardinal and the apostolic nuncio to the US. All the seminarians (literally, ALL of them) help serve the Mass. It’s a really beautiful thing to watch. I needed more than an hour to check out all of the side altars in that church!
We schlepped back to Camden after the Good Friday service because our community had planned on having an Easter dinner together (some months ago, the school that Mark and Jenna work for donated a turkey to our community, and we kept it in the freezer for a special occasion. We called the feast “Easter-giving.”) The Vigil Mass at Sacred Heart began at 4:30am (when my alarm clock went off, I actually said out loud, “Are you CRAZY?”), but it was gorgeous. One lady was initiated into the Church, and she just glowed with joy and sacramental grace when she received her Sacraments! She and her godparents led candlelight procession outside the Church (we sang a LOT of “alleluias”) and back in, and even at 5:30 in the morning, the people on the streets took a reverent notice. We went back into the church to finish Mass, and the whole event finished around 7am.
I decided to take advantage of the energy that I still had and went for a run after mass, but I had to hurry home and shower because most of us went to Christine’s church for the 9am Easter service. I really like her church—they have a great ministry team that serves as the pastoral team. Protestant services still feel a little foreign to me, but they’re always so joyful and profound that I certainly enjoy them. Kingsway (the name of the church) starts its services with a praise and worship session, and something pretty profound happened during it on Sunday.
Granted, I had gone to bed at midnight, awakened at 3:30am, been awake for a two-and-a-half hour Mass, and run three miles already that day. I had received a few messages from friends back home who told me they were thinking of me at Easter Vigil. It was my first Easter away from home. An experience (which I’ve always kept to myself) from Good Friday 2009 was still fresh in my mind, as its promise was fulfilled this Easter. So I was teetering on the edge of emotional to begin with.
But when the pianist played the first few measures of “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”, I just lost it. It wasn’t desperate bawling, but the tears just flowed up and out of me, and I didn’t have the strength to stop them. The song reminds me of home, my old Newman Center, and special moment with a special friend. I couldn’t really help myself.
The slightly mortifying part was that while none of my roommates noticed this (I was sandwiched in the row between Jenna’s boyfriend and my brother, so they couldn’t see me), the lead pastor did. He look over his shoulder, and even though my vision was blurred, I could see him turned toward me for part of the song. Keep in mind—I’ve only been there once before, and I doubt he even saw me that time. So, from his perspective, some unfamiliar woman was standing in his church, weeping like her heart would break on Easter morning. Being the good pastor that he is, when he came and shook hand with our row at the sign of peace (I’d composed myself by then), he gave me a pretty emphatic look and leaned in to ask if I was all right. I answered yes—I just get emotional about Easter.
The truth is, I don’t know what caused the sudden flood of emotion, but I felt a lot better afterwards. Then I napped for four hours, and we ended the day with a great dinner with our community (and a few extended community members! Siblings, significant others, etc).
Monday, March 15, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
6 Not-So-Quick Takes Thursday
Please pardon my long absence from the blogosphere! I can't really claim to have been more busy than normal, so I guess I have no excuse. But work has got inordinately more stressful in the past few weeks, so maybe there is some excuse.
I can’t think of anything hugely post-worthy, so in the spirit of those 7 Quick Takes that I see here and there (though they are traditionally done on Friday. I am such a rebel.), I will just point out a few things that have happened on late that will fill people in on the last few weeks.
1. Adoration: I love Adoration, but since I left Bellingham it was a lot harder to find place to make a holy hour. However, our new friends, the Franciscan Volunteers (FMV’s) over at St. Anthony of Padua parish, are in charge of running Adoration on Monday nights in their church. Last week it was my turn to coordinate my community’s spirituality night, and I just wasn’t feeling up to leading (or participating in, for that matter) a discussion. So rather than labor through a conversation that I felt might be difficult, I took everyone to Adoration, instead. I think we often forget that listening in silence to God is as integral to a prayer life as talking to Him. I know it did me a world of good to catch some quiet face time with Jesus, and I know it made Him happy to be visited by the Camden JV house. I’m also hitting Adoration on the first Friday of each month at a parish in Central Philadelphia, and if the FMV’s move Adoration to Tuesday nights, I’ll likely go every week for a few hours. I’m so happy to have found places that offer this devotion—it always helps me, no matter what I’m doing.
2. Kevin and Becky: Our wonderful support people (the aforementioned Kevin and Becky) came to visit us this past Monday for this week’s spirituality night. We are so lucky to have them to support and guide us—both during serious times like spirituality nights, and during fun times, like before and after spirituality nights! We sat around and talked and laughed for a long time the other night, and it was just so much fun, and so relaxing, to have them with us.
3. Work: All right, I’ll come clean: work has been ulcer-inducing for about a month. Last month, my boss had resolved to quit her job in this office. I support her in that decision with 90% of my heart—she is far too over-extended working here, and many of the players in the complex game that is running this building have unwittingly placed far too much responsibility on shoulders. Between that, the fact that she has a large family who depends on her, not to mention three daughters and manifold health problems, she really needs a less stressful job!
But that other 10% of my heart is split the following ways: 5% doesn’t want her to leave because I really love working with her and can’t imagine what this job would be like without her. As far as I’m concerned, she makes this job what it is. That 5% wants to scream, “Please don’t leave me! I don’t know what I’m doing without you!” The other 5% knows that this office would practically disintegrate as soon as she leaves—she’s the only licensed social worker here, she knows the tenants and their life stories by sheer dint of the fact that she is related by blood or marriage to practically EVERYONE who lives here, and because she’s been here for six years, she has established such deep trust with our clients that they won’t deal with anybody else in our office. She’s the only competent case manager here, as well—I genuinely worry that the quality of our office’s work with decline if she leaves.
And if that weren’t stressful enough, she was admitted to the hospital on Monday. Those manifold health problems came to a peak that morning and we rushed her to the ER. She’s been in the hospital ever since. That day, I was the only person in the office after she left, which was quite harrowing and very stressful. Since then, we’ve been hobbling along without her.
On top of all that, a tenant that I worked with pretty closely died over the weekend. There have been moments this week when I wanted to crawl under the desk and suck my thumb instead of dealing with the chaos swirling around me.
4. Springtime: In a miraculous reversal of weather patterns, it has been BEAUTIFUL around here for the past week and a half. Today we expect a lot of rain, but from last Friday until Wednesday, it has been positively gorgeous outside! That kind of weather requires running by the river and reading on the back stoop. I know we’re in for some scorchers this summer, so a fair-skinned carrot top like me has to pick and choose when she goes outside. (Even on Sunday, I covered my neck, shoulder, and upper chest with a blanket. Skin cancer just doesn’t sound appealing).
5. Weekend reprieve: Given the high level of stress at work the past month, I made a point to REALLY enjoy myself last weekend. On Saturday I went to an Irish pub in Philly with Bridget, a volunteer with the Sisters of Mercy (known as the Mercy Volunteer Corps). She and I share an affinity for Celtic music, and we want to find some live music to listen to. The live band wasn’t actually a band; it was a group of people who happen to play Irish instruments. Whoever can and wants to just shows up and sits with the musicians, and they improvise and play along. It was a really nice time, just hearing them play (especially because it was FREE!).
The next day, Sunday, I slept in, went for a run by the river, and then went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art with Steph, my roommate. On the first Sunday of every month, the PMA has free admission! I plan to go every month until I move away (except next month—the first Sunday is Easter Sunday. Although if we go to the Vigil Mass the night before, we can certainly hit the museum before Easter dinner). The European art section has AMAZING pieces from old altars and such, and ancient illustrated prayer books, a mock chapel with real French Gothic stained-glass windows, etc. I felt like a kid in a candy store, but it was better because all the proverbial candy was free!
After the PMA closed, Steph and I took pictures on the steps out front (the Rocky steps! We sang the theme song and everything!) and in front of the Rocky statue. They’re on my phone, so I can’t post them here. :( THEN we grabbed a quick bite at Cosà and hung out in Central Philadelphia until evening Mass at Old St. Joes’s. It was a perfectly lovely day.
6. The eagle has landed: Rejoice, my brethren: Joseph Michael Downes has returned to American soil! Joe came back from his Tour d’Europe yesterday. He landed safely in Boston and is staying with my godparents, our aunt and uncle. He’s going to visit with all of our family members in Massachusetts for a while, especially our Uncle Terry (Joe’s godfather), who is pretty sick right now. (Don’t worry—he should make a full recovery. It’s just a long row to hoe at this point. He’s such a trooper). Before Joe journeys west, he’s going to come visit me in Camden! I can’t wait to see him—I haven’t seen him in seven months. We’ve never gone that long without seeing each other!
Hmm, that was only six takes. But it’s already a pretty long blog, so I’ll stop now.
I can’t think of anything hugely post-worthy, so in the spirit of those 7 Quick Takes that I see here and there (though they are traditionally done on Friday. I am such a rebel.), I will just point out a few things that have happened on late that will fill people in on the last few weeks.
1. Adoration: I love Adoration, but since I left Bellingham it was a lot harder to find place to make a holy hour. However, our new friends, the Franciscan Volunteers (FMV’s) over at St. Anthony of Padua parish, are in charge of running Adoration on Monday nights in their church. Last week it was my turn to coordinate my community’s spirituality night, and I just wasn’t feeling up to leading (or participating in, for that matter) a discussion. So rather than labor through a conversation that I felt might be difficult, I took everyone to Adoration, instead. I think we often forget that listening in silence to God is as integral to a prayer life as talking to Him. I know it did me a world of good to catch some quiet face time with Jesus, and I know it made Him happy to be visited by the Camden JV house. I’m also hitting Adoration on the first Friday of each month at a parish in Central Philadelphia, and if the FMV’s move Adoration to Tuesday nights, I’ll likely go every week for a few hours. I’m so happy to have found places that offer this devotion—it always helps me, no matter what I’m doing.
2. Kevin and Becky: Our wonderful support people (the aforementioned Kevin and Becky) came to visit us this past Monday for this week’s spirituality night. We are so lucky to have them to support and guide us—both during serious times like spirituality nights, and during fun times, like before and after spirituality nights! We sat around and talked and laughed for a long time the other night, and it was just so much fun, and so relaxing, to have them with us.
3. Work: All right, I’ll come clean: work has been ulcer-inducing for about a month. Last month, my boss had resolved to quit her job in this office. I support her in that decision with 90% of my heart—she is far too over-extended working here, and many of the players in the complex game that is running this building have unwittingly placed far too much responsibility on shoulders. Between that, the fact that she has a large family who depends on her, not to mention three daughters and manifold health problems, she really needs a less stressful job!
But that other 10% of my heart is split the following ways: 5% doesn’t want her to leave because I really love working with her and can’t imagine what this job would be like without her. As far as I’m concerned, she makes this job what it is. That 5% wants to scream, “Please don’t leave me! I don’t know what I’m doing without you!” The other 5% knows that this office would practically disintegrate as soon as she leaves—she’s the only licensed social worker here, she knows the tenants and their life stories by sheer dint of the fact that she is related by blood or marriage to practically EVERYONE who lives here, and because she’s been here for six years, she has established such deep trust with our clients that they won’t deal with anybody else in our office. She’s the only competent case manager here, as well—I genuinely worry that the quality of our office’s work with decline if she leaves.
And if that weren’t stressful enough, she was admitted to the hospital on Monday. Those manifold health problems came to a peak that morning and we rushed her to the ER. She’s been in the hospital ever since. That day, I was the only person in the office after she left, which was quite harrowing and very stressful. Since then, we’ve been hobbling along without her.
On top of all that, a tenant that I worked with pretty closely died over the weekend. There have been moments this week when I wanted to crawl under the desk and suck my thumb instead of dealing with the chaos swirling around me.
4. Springtime: In a miraculous reversal of weather patterns, it has been BEAUTIFUL around here for the past week and a half. Today we expect a lot of rain, but from last Friday until Wednesday, it has been positively gorgeous outside! That kind of weather requires running by the river and reading on the back stoop. I know we’re in for some scorchers this summer, so a fair-skinned carrot top like me has to pick and choose when she goes outside. (Even on Sunday, I covered my neck, shoulder, and upper chest with a blanket. Skin cancer just doesn’t sound appealing).
5. Weekend reprieve: Given the high level of stress at work the past month, I made a point to REALLY enjoy myself last weekend. On Saturday I went to an Irish pub in Philly with Bridget, a volunteer with the Sisters of Mercy (known as the Mercy Volunteer Corps). She and I share an affinity for Celtic music, and we want to find some live music to listen to. The live band wasn’t actually a band; it was a group of people who happen to play Irish instruments. Whoever can and wants to just shows up and sits with the musicians, and they improvise and play along. It was a really nice time, just hearing them play (especially because it was FREE!).
The next day, Sunday, I slept in, went for a run by the river, and then went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art with Steph, my roommate. On the first Sunday of every month, the PMA has free admission! I plan to go every month until I move away (except next month—the first Sunday is Easter Sunday. Although if we go to the Vigil Mass the night before, we can certainly hit the museum before Easter dinner). The European art section has AMAZING pieces from old altars and such, and ancient illustrated prayer books, a mock chapel with real French Gothic stained-glass windows, etc. I felt like a kid in a candy store, but it was better because all the proverbial candy was free!
After the PMA closed, Steph and I took pictures on the steps out front (the Rocky steps! We sang the theme song and everything!) and in front of the Rocky statue. They’re on my phone, so I can’t post them here. :( THEN we grabbed a quick bite at Cosà and hung out in Central Philadelphia until evening Mass at Old St. Joes’s. It was a perfectly lovely day.
6. The eagle has landed: Rejoice, my brethren: Joseph Michael Downes has returned to American soil! Joe came back from his Tour d’Europe yesterday. He landed safely in Boston and is staying with my godparents, our aunt and uncle. He’s going to visit with all of our family members in Massachusetts for a while, especially our Uncle Terry (Joe’s godfather), who is pretty sick right now. (Don’t worry—he should make a full recovery. It’s just a long row to hoe at this point. He’s such a trooper). Before Joe journeys west, he’s going to come visit me in Camden! I can’t wait to see him—I haven’t seen him in seven months. We’ve never gone that long without seeing each other!
Hmm, that was only six takes. But it’s already a pretty long blog, so I’ll stop now.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the space heater is so delightful!
And since they don't plow the roads,
LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!
The JVC East Class of 2009-2010 has the privilege of living on the East Coast during the snowiest winter on record. About 28 inches fell last Friday, and before a substantial amount of it could melt, we got smacked with another storm this past Wednesday, and it raged on through Thursday afternoon. It was so bad that ALL of our (the Jesuit volunteers’) offices were closed for two days. The teachers in our house still have today off, and we’re going into a three day weekend.
We’re supposed to host a Valentine’s Day party this weekend, so we’re doing our best to get ready for company. (The biggest development in trying to prepare the house—CHRISTINE FIXED THE VACUUM CLEANER!!!! We have not had a functioning vacuum EVER since we moved in. That’s right; our house had never been vacuumed before this week. Simple living is one thing, but that was ridiculous.) I made some red velvet cupcakes for the party. The recipe called for two ounces of red food coloring, but if I ever make them again I don’t think I’ll use so much. The dye is expensive, and those are some RED cupcakes!
I’m a little bummed out about the party happening this weekend, though, because I think I’m getting sick. I started feeling a little poorly around this time last week, and so I decided to take is easy and rest up. But we had company on Friday night and went to a Super Bowl part last Sunday. I didn’t sleep well Sunday night, so I woke up at five and just stayed awake. The following morning I awoke feeling worse than ever (I could hardly peel myself off of my bed in time for work), but I went in to the office anyway, popping Tylenol and drinking as much detox tea as I could find.
We decided at work that day that the coming storm would make the drive to work too dangerous for my coworkers to go to work. I would have been able to make it because I walk here, but if I had been running this place all by myself, all hell would have broken loose. Then, since the storm was just picking up speed on Wednesday night, Irma sent me a text message that the offices were closed again yesterday.
On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning I slept for fourteen hours (told you I wasn’t feeling well!), and spent most of the day sitting still and reading. But yesterday (Thursday), cabin fever kicked in.
I woke up in a hurry, stripped my bed to wash the sheets, and started baking those cupcakes. As soon as they were finished, I finished the laundry, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed my room and put the bed back together. But I was still itchy for activity, so I walked downtown to run errands.
But I STILL had insane cabin fever, so despite how crummy I was feeling I went to the building I work in, put on my running shoes, and started running up and down the 23 flights of stairs for exercise. Then I did those 8-minute exercise videos in my office, which I watch in YouTube. Normally I sleep like a baby after exercise, but my muscles ached so badly and my throat was so sore that I didn’t fall asleep until around 3am.
It might go without saying that I don’t feel so hot today. The idea of company and a loud party over the weekend isn’t that appealing, but maybe I’ll perk up after some rest.
Work is a little nutty today—all of the medical transportation companies cancelled their services these past two days, so we had to scramble to reschedule a bunch of appointments for our clients. Now that that’s over, it’s slowed down. February has been oddly slow for us (knock on wood).
But the space heater is so delightful!
And since they don't plow the roads,
LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!
The JVC East Class of 2009-2010 has the privilege of living on the East Coast during the snowiest winter on record. About 28 inches fell last Friday, and before a substantial amount of it could melt, we got smacked with another storm this past Wednesday, and it raged on through Thursday afternoon. It was so bad that ALL of our (the Jesuit volunteers’) offices were closed for two days. The teachers in our house still have today off, and we’re going into a three day weekend.
We’re supposed to host a Valentine’s Day party this weekend, so we’re doing our best to get ready for company. (The biggest development in trying to prepare the house—CHRISTINE FIXED THE VACUUM CLEANER!!!! We have not had a functioning vacuum EVER since we moved in. That’s right; our house had never been vacuumed before this week. Simple living is one thing, but that was ridiculous.) I made some red velvet cupcakes for the party. The recipe called for two ounces of red food coloring, but if I ever make them again I don’t think I’ll use so much. The dye is expensive, and those are some RED cupcakes!
I’m a little bummed out about the party happening this weekend, though, because I think I’m getting sick. I started feeling a little poorly around this time last week, and so I decided to take is easy and rest up. But we had company on Friday night and went to a Super Bowl part last Sunday. I didn’t sleep well Sunday night, so I woke up at five and just stayed awake. The following morning I awoke feeling worse than ever (I could hardly peel myself off of my bed in time for work), but I went in to the office anyway, popping Tylenol and drinking as much detox tea as I could find.
We decided at work that day that the coming storm would make the drive to work too dangerous for my coworkers to go to work. I would have been able to make it because I walk here, but if I had been running this place all by myself, all hell would have broken loose. Then, since the storm was just picking up speed on Wednesday night, Irma sent me a text message that the offices were closed again yesterday.
On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning I slept for fourteen hours (told you I wasn’t feeling well!), and spent most of the day sitting still and reading. But yesterday (Thursday), cabin fever kicked in.
I woke up in a hurry, stripped my bed to wash the sheets, and started baking those cupcakes. As soon as they were finished, I finished the laundry, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed my room and put the bed back together. But I was still itchy for activity, so I walked downtown to run errands.
But I STILL had insane cabin fever, so despite how crummy I was feeling I went to the building I work in, put on my running shoes, and started running up and down the 23 flights of stairs for exercise. Then I did those 8-minute exercise videos in my office, which I watch in YouTube. Normally I sleep like a baby after exercise, but my muscles ached so badly and my throat was so sore that I didn’t fall asleep until around 3am.
It might go without saying that I don’t feel so hot today. The idea of company and a loud party over the weekend isn’t that appealing, but maybe I’ll perk up after some rest.
Work is a little nutty today—all of the medical transportation companies cancelled their services these past two days, so we had to scramble to reschedule a bunch of appointments for our clients. Now that that’s over, it’s slowed down. February has been oddly slow for us (knock on wood).
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Right, so... this is what happened in January...
I really should update y’all on my life this month—I just can’t think of anything significant enough that it would be interesting to read that can also be posted on a public blog… some private stuff, etc. You know how it is.
Ok. Umm… I returned to work on January 4th after a nice (albeit short!) week at home with family and friends. Among my favorite days were a shopping trip in Seattle with my mom and sister, a gorgeous performance of The Nutcracker with said mom and sister (AND I ran into my old music teacher, who was there with his daughter!), a surprise visit to Bremerton to visit Andrew, Lindsey, and the babe (whose laugh is so intoxicating that I physically can’t keep from giggling when I hear it), a New Year’s Eve party (where I found many old friends and caught up with them… Neil, Jacob, Casey, Matt, Nicole, Lilly… I miss all of you!) and several quiet, one-on-one days with a few dear friends.
Work has been pretty stressful since I’ve been back. One of my cases was supposed to be resolved the Wednesday before last, and I was excited because it was the culmination of three months of hard work on my part. The client desperately needed a doctor’s appointment that she was finally going to have that afternoon. I stood with her and waited for her medical transportation to arrive. And we waited. And waited. And then… we waited some more. Long story short, it turned out that her medical transportation request was never sent. I was unbelievably frustrated—the rest of this woman’s life hinged upon this doctor’s appointment, and something as trivial as a clerical error kept it from happening. We were back at square one, and she’s been declining since I got her case in October.
The rest of the week didn’t seem to get better, and I found myself looking forward to Friday, which was the day I was going to take the GRE. (How stressed out do you have to be to look forward to a standardized test?) I took a personal day, drove to Philadelphia, and took the exam. I scored right around the middle of the bell curve, and I’m still waiting on the Analytical Writing score. I felt really good about the writing section, but only time will tell.
I had realized a few days before I took the test that I really had no idea as to what master’s program I wanted to enter, so I decided to hold off on applying anywhere for a while. I have some ideas now, but I don’t want to rush into anything and I do want to take a little bit of time to clear my head and plan carefully.
The following week was a short one for us JVs because we took off for Dalton, PA for Re-Orientation. It was only the second retreat where all of JVC East was present—the ninety of us won’t see each other again until Dis-Orientation in (gulp) August! We stayed in a seminary (although right now it functions as a retreat center because there aren’t enough vocations to fill the giant building) for the week, and I must say that I really appreciate the appeal of being a seminarian! I had my own little room with a desk and a rocking chair, which is really all I need. I never quite realize what the privacy of one’s own room feels like. The Fatima Center staff fed us very well, and (my favorite part) there was a Eucharistic chapel just down the hall from my room. If I had had the privilege of attending theology classes all day (I did, actually, but they weren’t necessarily comprehensive about our faith), it would have been a week in the life of a seminarian. Since I can’t do that, maybe I’ll go get a theology degree…
I think that our community as a whole found a lot of growth, both personal and communal, this past week. It wasn’t always pleasant, but it was a growing experience. After we had a talk at dinner on Monday, it felt like we’d knocked down a wall that had kept us from communicating fully. So I guess it was a big help. As it was, I called a few friends back home for support, all of which helped me somewhat.
On a semi-related note, our community was also in charge of planning Mass on retreat. Among other things, we planned the music—which is always my department. I must say, we have talented musicians in JVC East! Being the de facto director, I got a lot of compliments (which I tried hard to spread to the rest of the choir/band) on the music. People were pretty moved, and I was happy with it.
Now that I’m back at work, life didn’t wait for me to get back into the swing of things gradually. By 2pm on Tuesday (my first day back) I had to help break up a brawl in the lobby! Two women in their fifties were fighting over a boyfriend (I think—there was a lot of R-rated Spanish getting thrown around, but I caught most of what they were yelling at each other). The guards pulled off the aggressor, and I pulled away the one that was clearly losing the fight (she didn’t really fight me back, thankfully). Is it bad that I’m not shocked at any of this anymore?
So, now you’re caught up! Hopefully I won’t leave everyone hanging for a month again for a while.
Ok. Umm… I returned to work on January 4th after a nice (albeit short!) week at home with family and friends. Among my favorite days were a shopping trip in Seattle with my mom and sister, a gorgeous performance of The Nutcracker with said mom and sister (AND I ran into my old music teacher, who was there with his daughter!), a surprise visit to Bremerton to visit Andrew, Lindsey, and the babe (whose laugh is so intoxicating that I physically can’t keep from giggling when I hear it), a New Year’s Eve party (where I found many old friends and caught up with them… Neil, Jacob, Casey, Matt, Nicole, Lilly… I miss all of you!) and several quiet, one-on-one days with a few dear friends.
Work has been pretty stressful since I’ve been back. One of my cases was supposed to be resolved the Wednesday before last, and I was excited because it was the culmination of three months of hard work on my part. The client desperately needed a doctor’s appointment that she was finally going to have that afternoon. I stood with her and waited for her medical transportation to arrive. And we waited. And waited. And then… we waited some more. Long story short, it turned out that her medical transportation request was never sent. I was unbelievably frustrated—the rest of this woman’s life hinged upon this doctor’s appointment, and something as trivial as a clerical error kept it from happening. We were back at square one, and she’s been declining since I got her case in October.
The rest of the week didn’t seem to get better, and I found myself looking forward to Friday, which was the day I was going to take the GRE. (How stressed out do you have to be to look forward to a standardized test?) I took a personal day, drove to Philadelphia, and took the exam. I scored right around the middle of the bell curve, and I’m still waiting on the Analytical Writing score. I felt really good about the writing section, but only time will tell.
I had realized a few days before I took the test that I really had no idea as to what master’s program I wanted to enter, so I decided to hold off on applying anywhere for a while. I have some ideas now, but I don’t want to rush into anything and I do want to take a little bit of time to clear my head and plan carefully.
The following week was a short one for us JVs because we took off for Dalton, PA for Re-Orientation. It was only the second retreat where all of JVC East was present—the ninety of us won’t see each other again until Dis-Orientation in (gulp) August! We stayed in a seminary (although right now it functions as a retreat center because there aren’t enough vocations to fill the giant building) for the week, and I must say that I really appreciate the appeal of being a seminarian! I had my own little room with a desk and a rocking chair, which is really all I need. I never quite realize what the privacy of one’s own room feels like. The Fatima Center staff fed us very well, and (my favorite part) there was a Eucharistic chapel just down the hall from my room. If I had had the privilege of attending theology classes all day (I did, actually, but they weren’t necessarily comprehensive about our faith), it would have been a week in the life of a seminarian. Since I can’t do that, maybe I’ll go get a theology degree…
I think that our community as a whole found a lot of growth, both personal and communal, this past week. It wasn’t always pleasant, but it was a growing experience. After we had a talk at dinner on Monday, it felt like we’d knocked down a wall that had kept us from communicating fully. So I guess it was a big help. As it was, I called a few friends back home for support, all of which helped me somewhat.
On a semi-related note, our community was also in charge of planning Mass on retreat. Among other things, we planned the music—which is always my department. I must say, we have talented musicians in JVC East! Being the de facto director, I got a lot of compliments (which I tried hard to spread to the rest of the choir/band) on the music. People were pretty moved, and I was happy with it.
Now that I’m back at work, life didn’t wait for me to get back into the swing of things gradually. By 2pm on Tuesday (my first day back) I had to help break up a brawl in the lobby! Two women in their fifties were fighting over a boyfriend (I think—there was a lot of R-rated Spanish getting thrown around, but I caught most of what they were yelling at each other). The guards pulled off the aggressor, and I pulled away the one that was clearly losing the fight (she didn’t really fight me back, thankfully). Is it bad that I’m not shocked at any of this anymore?
So, now you’re caught up! Hopefully I won’t leave everyone hanging for a month again for a while.
Monday, January 4, 2010
And the world keeps turning...
It was so lovely to see everyone while I was home! I love and miss you all!
Life here continues to trudge on. We did lose a tenant a few days after Christmas. It wasn't unexpected, as she was terminally ill. But I'd just had her in my office less than a week before she died, so it's a little shocking that she was so close to the end at that time. Still, this is the first time that I haven't been sad that a tenant passed away. She was ready.
It's good to be back with the roommates. We need to get back into the swing of things in terms of scheduling food (we completely exhausted our "emergency reserve" food during that snowstorm, and now we have no food! Last night we went to an evening Mass specifically because they serve dinner afterward!), community and spirituality nights, although that will be hard because this month's schedule is crazy.
We're going to Scranton next Thursday for Re-Orientation, which sounded so far off when we first got here! We'll be there for almost a week. The following week, all of the former Camden JVs are coming to our place for a reunion (which they sort of planned without telling us; the first we heard about it was that six people will be crashing on our floor for a weekend. On the upside, they remember what it was like to be a JV and will treat us to groceries in return for our hospitality).
We have to start planning for our big event next month: the Valentine's Day party. Remember how each JV house is assigned a holiday party (each community is responsible for throwing a party, which relieves financial burden for the rest of the houses for the rest of the year)? We have Valentine's. (An aside: I'm really not the partying type. It seems like most JV parties eventually devolve into beer pong and romances that become awkward in the sober light of day. I like to either play hostess in the kitchen, or hang out in a quiet corner and talk to someone. I think I'm too old a soul to enjoy big, loud parties). Which is not to say that I'm not excited-- I love throwing parties a lot more than I love attending them.
Going home was a very timely balm for my soul. I spent a lot of time on the move to visit my loved ones, and even then my time was so limited that I didn't get to see everyone. BUT, I'll be back in June to go to a couple weddings, so try to catch me between nuptual gatherings! My big concern after the break was getting enough rest, because I kept waking up early and staying out late while at home! That schedule, plus the plane ride and the jet lag are making me a little sleepy today.
Work has gone a bit nutty-- for various reasons, upper management has decided that it's the best use of resources to take a case manager (yours truly) and stick her with the after-school child care program. (I've trained for four months to be a case manager, and now with four hours' warning, they're putting me in child care? I'm pretty miffed.)
I wanted a better way to end this, but I can hear a lady with Altzheimer's yelling down the hall, and I just know she's headed for my office door...
Life here continues to trudge on. We did lose a tenant a few days after Christmas. It wasn't unexpected, as she was terminally ill. But I'd just had her in my office less than a week before she died, so it's a little shocking that she was so close to the end at that time. Still, this is the first time that I haven't been sad that a tenant passed away. She was ready.
It's good to be back with the roommates. We need to get back into the swing of things in terms of scheduling food (we completely exhausted our "emergency reserve" food during that snowstorm, and now we have no food! Last night we went to an evening Mass specifically because they serve dinner afterward!), community and spirituality nights, although that will be hard because this month's schedule is crazy.
We're going to Scranton next Thursday for Re-Orientation, which sounded so far off when we first got here! We'll be there for almost a week. The following week, all of the former Camden JVs are coming to our place for a reunion (which they sort of planned without telling us; the first we heard about it was that six people will be crashing on our floor for a weekend. On the upside, they remember what it was like to be a JV and will treat us to groceries in return for our hospitality).
We have to start planning for our big event next month: the Valentine's Day party. Remember how each JV house is assigned a holiday party (each community is responsible for throwing a party, which relieves financial burden for the rest of the houses for the rest of the year)? We have Valentine's. (An aside: I'm really not the partying type. It seems like most JV parties eventually devolve into beer pong and romances that become awkward in the sober light of day. I like to either play hostess in the kitchen, or hang out in a quiet corner and talk to someone. I think I'm too old a soul to enjoy big, loud parties). Which is not to say that I'm not excited-- I love throwing parties a lot more than I love attending them.
Going home was a very timely balm for my soul. I spent a lot of time on the move to visit my loved ones, and even then my time was so limited that I didn't get to see everyone. BUT, I'll be back in June to go to a couple weddings, so try to catch me between nuptual gatherings! My big concern after the break was getting enough rest, because I kept waking up early and staying out late while at home! That schedule, plus the plane ride and the jet lag are making me a little sleepy today.
Work has gone a bit nutty-- for various reasons, upper management has decided that it's the best use of resources to take a case manager (yours truly) and stick her with the after-school child care program. (I've trained for four months to be a case manager, and now with four hours' warning, they're putting me in child care? I'm pretty miffed.)
I wanted a better way to end this, but I can hear a lady with Altzheimer's yelling down the hall, and I just know she's headed for my office door...
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Live from the Cherry Hill Barnes and Noble
Good morning, blogosphere! This is Molly Downes reporting from the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot she could find.
I don't normally take the car to go out for the day-- I feel like it's a cop out to leave Camden on the weekends. But today, I needed to take a significant amount of time to study for the GRE, and there are just too many distractions at home. Right now, we have six guests on top of the six of us who live there! Ah, the life of a JV. Every other JV in the east region (from Portland, Maine to Raleigh, North Carolina) is assured a place to stay when they travel. Hence, a whole community from Bridgeport is currently crashing in our living rom. And I know I'd love to stay and hang out with them all, but I need to get ready for this test!
Tonight is the annual JVC East Christmas party, hosted by the Philadelphia community. The party's called "Philly's Navidad." See the video for info... (I promise, it's cute.)
So, I'm holed up here until around 4 or 5pm, studying. I need to shower and get dressed for the party so that we can go to Mass first (The party begins with Mass. This life is cool). Then we'll see all of our JV friends before we all part for Christmas.
Speaking of which, I'll be home in about twelve days! Can't wait! Love to you all!
M
I don't normally take the car to go out for the day-- I feel like it's a cop out to leave Camden on the weekends. But today, I needed to take a significant amount of time to study for the GRE, and there are just too many distractions at home. Right now, we have six guests on top of the six of us who live there! Ah, the life of a JV. Every other JV in the east region (from Portland, Maine to Raleigh, North Carolina) is assured a place to stay when they travel. Hence, a whole community from Bridgeport is currently crashing in our living rom. And I know I'd love to stay and hang out with them all, but I need to get ready for this test!
Tonight is the annual JVC East Christmas party, hosted by the Philadelphia community. The party's called "Philly's Navidad." See the video for info... (I promise, it's cute.)
So, I'm holed up here until around 4 or 5pm, studying. I need to shower and get dressed for the party so that we can go to Mass first (The party begins with Mass. This life is cool). Then we'll see all of our JV friends before we all part for Christmas.
Speaking of which, I'll be home in about twelve days! Can't wait! Love to you all!
M
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Cheerier things, as promised
OK, I can’t leave you all hanging with that last post. My life isn’t that dramatic all the time.
My birthday came the Sunday before last, so Saturday night my roommates threw a shindig at our humble abode. A few of the Philly volunteers came over with a cake and a card, and we hung out, played games, drank and talked.
This is how awesome the Philly JVs are: They got me a plastic ring with the Virgin Mary on it. The card read: “We know you really like Jesus, so we got you a ring with a picture of his mom on it.” :)
The next day there was an FJV party at the Philly JV house, so we went over there to help host. (The free food was a good incentive, too.) There was more cake, too! After some milling around, meeting and greeting, we took off for Mass at Old St. Joe’s, the oldest Jesuit parish in Philadelphia.
In case there was any doubt that I would have a blessed 23rd year, the priest at Mass quoted Lamb, one of my favorite books, in the homily. And there was Adoration with Taize for an hour after Mass. I didn’t know about it until the priest placed the host in the monstrance, but I had a rosary in my purse and decided to stay for a while. My friend Katie, a Philly JV, stayed with me. Further, they announced that this week, a relic of St. John Vianney will be at the parish for veneration from October 1st-7th. I’m headed there after work today to check it out.
When I got home, my roomies gave me their gift—a little chest of drawers with coupons in it. The coupons were for things like outings with each roommate (movie night with Mark, cooking with Christine, a trip to Walt Whitman’s grave (!) with Stephanie, a trip to the store for sweet things with Amber, and a walk to the waterfront with Jenna). JV community life is pretty sweet.
We went on retreat the following Thursday—the southern region of JVC east headed to Our Lady of Matapani (mad-uh-puh-NYE) in Maryland for a community-based retreat. In our completely unbiased opinion, we think we’re the best community. Hands down. :P
Matapani is a beautiful facility. The buildings were arranged in an oval, with a chapel at one end and a meeting hall on the other. There were cabins on either side. The buildings surrounded a big grassy area with a gazebo. Each cabin had a porch, where we spent a significant amount of time jamming with a guitar, a fiddle, a harmonica and a voice (they just can’t shut me up) improvising music. We got a football game going behind the cabins. There was personal, one-on-one time with each community member (we call these meetings “dyads”), big community meetings, Mass and a community mate game (much like the newlywed game). We won at the community part (we shall not speak of the bonus round, which 1) is the reason we lost and 2) had nothing to do with community. We’re not bitter or anything…)
Thrown into this whole weekend were the following factors: I woke up on my birthday with a cold, and consequently lost my voice for the entire duration of the retreat (excluding the porch jam session). Four out of six Camden JVs have succumbed to this illness in the last two weeks. Amber and I seem to be suffering from its lingering effects (sweet Amber has an ear infection. I just can’t stop coughing and have very low energy). We also pulled the mother of all pranks on the Philadelphia JVs (they had it coming—they started the war). It was quite the whirlwind of secrecy, guile, deception, and logistics to pull it off.
We came back to work on Monday, but Monday night I didn’t fall asleep until 6am because I kept coughing. (Before you ask, no, we did not have any cough syrup. No, I didn’t buy any when I got sick. But that’s only because I didn’t have a cough then.) So when I walked into work the following day, they sent me right back home because I looked terrible.
So I spent yesterday at home on the couch. I watched the best sick day movie in the world—Robin Hood: Men in Tights. I was there when TWO birthday packages came in the mail, so they cheered me right up. I slept like a baby, both during the day and last night. I still don’t feel 100%, but at least I can function.
Those were some happy days. I love the days following a birthday, when the surprises sort of trickle in. It shall be a good year.
My birthday came the Sunday before last, so Saturday night my roommates threw a shindig at our humble abode. A few of the Philly volunteers came over with a cake and a card, and we hung out, played games, drank and talked.
This is how awesome the Philly JVs are: They got me a plastic ring with the Virgin Mary on it. The card read: “We know you really like Jesus, so we got you a ring with a picture of his mom on it.” :)
The next day there was an FJV party at the Philly JV house, so we went over there to help host. (The free food was a good incentive, too.) There was more cake, too! After some milling around, meeting and greeting, we took off for Mass at Old St. Joe’s, the oldest Jesuit parish in Philadelphia.
In case there was any doubt that I would have a blessed 23rd year, the priest at Mass quoted Lamb, one of my favorite books, in the homily. And there was Adoration with Taize for an hour after Mass. I didn’t know about it until the priest placed the host in the monstrance, but I had a rosary in my purse and decided to stay for a while. My friend Katie, a Philly JV, stayed with me. Further, they announced that this week, a relic of St. John Vianney will be at the parish for veneration from October 1st-7th. I’m headed there after work today to check it out.
When I got home, my roomies gave me their gift—a little chest of drawers with coupons in it. The coupons were for things like outings with each roommate (movie night with Mark, cooking with Christine, a trip to Walt Whitman’s grave (!) with Stephanie, a trip to the store for sweet things with Amber, and a walk to the waterfront with Jenna). JV community life is pretty sweet.
We went on retreat the following Thursday—the southern region of JVC east headed to Our Lady of Matapani (mad-uh-puh-NYE) in Maryland for a community-based retreat. In our completely unbiased opinion, we think we’re the best community. Hands down. :P
Matapani is a beautiful facility. The buildings were arranged in an oval, with a chapel at one end and a meeting hall on the other. There were cabins on either side. The buildings surrounded a big grassy area with a gazebo. Each cabin had a porch, where we spent a significant amount of time jamming with a guitar, a fiddle, a harmonica and a voice (they just can’t shut me up) improvising music. We got a football game going behind the cabins. There was personal, one-on-one time with each community member (we call these meetings “dyads”), big community meetings, Mass and a community mate game (much like the newlywed game). We won at the community part (we shall not speak of the bonus round, which 1) is the reason we lost and 2) had nothing to do with community. We’re not bitter or anything…)
Thrown into this whole weekend were the following factors: I woke up on my birthday with a cold, and consequently lost my voice for the entire duration of the retreat (excluding the porch jam session). Four out of six Camden JVs have succumbed to this illness in the last two weeks. Amber and I seem to be suffering from its lingering effects (sweet Amber has an ear infection. I just can’t stop coughing and have very low energy). We also pulled the mother of all pranks on the Philadelphia JVs (they had it coming—they started the war). It was quite the whirlwind of secrecy, guile, deception, and logistics to pull it off.
We came back to work on Monday, but Monday night I didn’t fall asleep until 6am because I kept coughing. (Before you ask, no, we did not have any cough syrup. No, I didn’t buy any when I got sick. But that’s only because I didn’t have a cough then.) So when I walked into work the following day, they sent me right back home because I looked terrible.
So I spent yesterday at home on the couch. I watched the best sick day movie in the world—Robin Hood: Men in Tights. I was there when TWO birthday packages came in the mail, so they cheered me right up. I slept like a baby, both during the day and last night. I still don’t feel 100%, but at least I can function.
Those were some happy days. I love the days following a birthday, when the surprises sort of trickle in. It shall be a good year.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
I'm here: A Camden update
Hey, everyone!
As you may or may not have surmised from my long (or so it feels) absence from the Internet, I a) have been very busy since I left the Wednesday, and b) have been without Internet that entire time. Look for updates here and there, but don’t be surprised if it takes me a day of two to respond if you email or Facebook me; I’ll only have access to the web at work.
So, we (the Camden JVs) have arrived! The reception in the community so far has been very positive, and very overwhelming. Former Jesuit Volunteers (hereafter referred to as FJVs) came to visit us within hours of our arrival, most (thankfully) bearing food or beverages for us. I don’t think we’ve touched any of the food we picked up at the grocery store yet, and this is our fifth day here!
But before I get too far into our time in Camden, I should start with the journey out of Seattle to Baltimore.
My last few days out west were full of that “warm sadness without loss.” I hugged goodbye most of the people that I meant to see before taking off, especially at the lovely shindig my family threw for me before going. Thanks to all the Bellingham people who make the drive to Everett to see me off! Love you!
I visited some good friends before going, too. When I walked away from a few homes that held the people I love, it felt like my heart was ripping through the muscles of my back. But even in those moments, I feel absolutely certain that this (Camden, and more broadly, JVC) is exactly where I am supposed to be.
I flew out of Seattle around midnight on Wednesday night/ Thursday morning. Since it was a red-eye flight and I was flying toward the sunrise, I basically skipped Wednesday night. So it felt like Wednesday and Thursday were all one, long day. At the airport in Baltimore, I managed to grab a latte and some breakfast before taking a cat nap by the baggage claim. Eventually I found my community hanging out near where the bus was supposed to pick us up, and after the standard confusion of moving sixty people to one location on a bus, we got on a charter bus and drove to Blue Ridge Summit in Pennsylvania.
Blue Ridge is simply gorgeous. It’s owned by the Jesuits in the area, and frequently is used for retreats like the one we were on. We had a lot of talks, small groups and presentations on the core JVC values: community, spirituality, simple living, and social justice. We had Mass three times: once to kick off the retreat, one for the feast of the Assumption, and one we call the missioning liturgy, when we are all blessed and sent forth to our cities. At that Mass we each received our Jerusalem cross, which is a traditional symbol of missionaries. It’s one large cross, representing Jerusalem, and four little ones around it, representing the four corners of the earth. In JVC, the four crosses stand for the four values.
We got to Camden without incident and found our little house, which is downright luxurious by JVC standards. Carpeting, two stories plus a basement, laundry machines, a dishwasher, 2.5 baths, 4 bedrooms. The dining room table is a big, beautiful, sturdy thing that just screams for people to sit around it and be a community every night. We are VERY well taken care of around here.
The only drag, and certainly what will become the cross that I bear in terms of staying connected with my family and friends, is that we have very limited access to the Internet. I do have a computer at work, but I can't use Facebook or anything like that there. This is all part of learning to live simply, which is one of the main reasons I became a JV; I wanted to purify my faith and life by rooting it in the Gospel, and part of that is giving up worldly goods. Having such a great house makes that a little more difficult, but we're at least going to try going without internet. I don't know if it will last; we plan to revisit the issue in about a month and make a decision as a community. Until then, my apologies if I'm slow to get back to you!
We visited each other's placements the last two days (after a lovely tour d'Camden led by Nick, an FJV, and my amazing cousin), and I have to say that I think we were all placed really well. I like my supervisor, Irma. She's a cool lady, and I look forward to working with her.
Also (I don't have photos of it yet, but believe me), I got a pleasent surprise: I get my own office!!! I am officially a grown up, with a job and an office! Granted, my computer there leaves something to be desired, but I'll take what I can get.
Last night marked our first trip to Philadelphia, so we hopped a PATCO subway to the big(ger) city. We had a great time with some Philly FJVs at a bar called Noche, and then headed back to the Philly JV house. It was a good time. Those of us who headed back last night got caught in a truly diluvian rainstorm last night. I actually took out my contact lenses and carried them in my hand because the rain kept washing them out! Some of my clothes (the ones that can't be dried in the drier) are STILL not dry yet! It was quite the adventure.
I'll write more later about our neighborhood and work-- I start at my job on Monday.
If you want to reach me, PLEASE email me instead of using Facebook (call me for the address; I don't want to put in on a public blog.). It will be easier for me to respond to you. Or you can send me snail mail (like my lovely friend Sara did-- I got a letter this morning!)-- call, text, or email for the address. :)
Take care, everyone!
Molly
As you may or may not have surmised from my long (or so it feels) absence from the Internet, I a) have been very busy since I left the Wednesday, and b) have been without Internet that entire time. Look for updates here and there, but don’t be surprised if it takes me a day of two to respond if you email or Facebook me; I’ll only have access to the web at work.
So, we (the Camden JVs) have arrived! The reception in the community so far has been very positive, and very overwhelming. Former Jesuit Volunteers (hereafter referred to as FJVs) came to visit us within hours of our arrival, most (thankfully) bearing food or beverages for us. I don’t think we’ve touched any of the food we picked up at the grocery store yet, and this is our fifth day here!
But before I get too far into our time in Camden, I should start with the journey out of Seattle to Baltimore.
"The moment or hour of leave-taking is one of the pleasantest times in human
experience, for it has in it a warm sadness without loss. People who don't
ordinarily like you very well are overcome with affection at leave-taking... It
would be good to live in a perpetual state of leave-taking, never to go nor to
stay, but to remain suspended in that golden emotion of love and longing; to be
missed without being gone; to be loved without satiety. How beautiful one is and
how desirable; for in a few moments one will have ceased to exist."
- from the book "Sea of Cortez" by John Steinbeck and E. F. Ricketts
My last few days out west were full of that “warm sadness without loss.” I hugged goodbye most of the people that I meant to see before taking off, especially at the lovely shindig my family threw for me before going. Thanks to all the Bellingham people who make the drive to Everett to see me off! Love you!
I visited some good friends before going, too. When I walked away from a few homes that held the people I love, it felt like my heart was ripping through the muscles of my back. But even in those moments, I feel absolutely certain that this (Camden, and more broadly, JVC) is exactly where I am supposed to be.
I flew out of Seattle around midnight on Wednesday night/ Thursday morning. Since it was a red-eye flight and I was flying toward the sunrise, I basically skipped Wednesday night. So it felt like Wednesday and Thursday were all one, long day. At the airport in Baltimore, I managed to grab a latte and some breakfast before taking a cat nap by the baggage claim. Eventually I found my community hanging out near where the bus was supposed to pick us up, and after the standard confusion of moving sixty people to one location on a bus, we got on a charter bus and drove to Blue Ridge Summit in Pennsylvania.
Blue Ridge is simply gorgeous. It’s owned by the Jesuits in the area, and frequently is used for retreats like the one we were on. We had a lot of talks, small groups and presentations on the core JVC values: community, spirituality, simple living, and social justice. We had Mass three times: once to kick off the retreat, one for the feast of the Assumption, and one we call the missioning liturgy, when we are all blessed and sent forth to our cities. At that Mass we each received our Jerusalem cross, which is a traditional symbol of missionaries. It’s one large cross, representing Jerusalem, and four little ones around it, representing the four corners of the earth. In JVC, the four crosses stand for the four values.
We got to Camden without incident and found our little house, which is downright luxurious by JVC standards. Carpeting, two stories plus a basement, laundry machines, a dishwasher, 2.5 baths, 4 bedrooms. The dining room table is a big, beautiful, sturdy thing that just screams for people to sit around it and be a community every night. We are VERY well taken care of around here.
The only drag, and certainly what will become the cross that I bear in terms of staying connected with my family and friends, is that we have very limited access to the Internet. I do have a computer at work, but I can't use Facebook or anything like that there. This is all part of learning to live simply, which is one of the main reasons I became a JV; I wanted to purify my faith and life by rooting it in the Gospel, and part of that is giving up worldly goods. Having such a great house makes that a little more difficult, but we're at least going to try going without internet. I don't know if it will last; we plan to revisit the issue in about a month and make a decision as a community. Until then, my apologies if I'm slow to get back to you!
We visited each other's placements the last two days (after a lovely tour d'Camden led by Nick, an FJV, and my amazing cousin), and I have to say that I think we were all placed really well. I like my supervisor, Irma. She's a cool lady, and I look forward to working with her.
Also (I don't have photos of it yet, but believe me), I got a pleasent surprise: I get my own office!!! I am officially a grown up, with a job and an office! Granted, my computer there leaves something to be desired, but I'll take what I can get.
Last night marked our first trip to Philadelphia, so we hopped a PATCO subway to the big(ger) city. We had a great time with some Philly FJVs at a bar called Noche, and then headed back to the Philly JV house. It was a good time. Those of us who headed back last night got caught in a truly diluvian rainstorm last night. I actually took out my contact lenses and carried them in my hand because the rain kept washing them out! Some of my clothes (the ones that can't be dried in the drier) are STILL not dry yet! It was quite the adventure.
I'll write more later about our neighborhood and work-- I start at my job on Monday.
If you want to reach me, PLEASE email me instead of using Facebook (call me for the address; I don't want to put in on a public blog.). It will be easier for me to respond to you. Or you can send me snail mail (like my lovely friend Sara did-- I got a letter this morning!)-- call, text, or email for the address. :)
Take care, everyone!
Molly
Thursday, June 25, 2009
I'm moving to New Jersey!
All right, all right. Time for full disclosure. Everyone, I have good news!
I hesitated to make this public knowledge until I knew everything would work out, but now everything seems to be in order.
The last time that anyone asked about my post graduation plans, I had to tell them the whole diatribe: the week before graduation both my plans for next year (the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, for those who didn’t know) and the back-up plan in case JVC didn’t work out (my old road crew job) appeared to have fallen through. As of graduation day, I had no plans regarding the rest of my life. I told everyone I’d keep them posted if any new developments came up, though I admit I was depressed enough about the whole situation not to hold out a lot of hope for myself.
Then, a few days after graduation—which I spent mostly in my PJs, looking for jobs and feeling sorry for myself—JVC contacted me with a match.
They sent my application to a housing development in Camden, New Jersey that is in need of a social services program coordinator assistant. I interviewed for the assignment this past Monday, was offered the job on Wednesday, and accepted later in the day. It all happened very quickly.
All of this by way of telling you that I am moving to New Jersey in six(ish) weeks!
I am very excited (with an appropriate amount of “nervous” mixed in) to begin on this new chapter of my life! I prayed a lot over where I would go and what I would do with this coming year, and was very careful about what I asked God for (after all, He might actually give it to me). I finally settled on asking, “Lord, I’ll leave the details to you. Just send me on an adventure to do your will, and I’ll do my best.”
So this is it—my new adventure. I'll keep everyone up to date as the process continues, and I'll certainly keep up with email, snail mail, and my blog throughout the coming year.
I hesitated to make this public knowledge until I knew everything would work out, but now everything seems to be in order.
The last time that anyone asked about my post graduation plans, I had to tell them the whole diatribe: the week before graduation both my plans for next year (the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, for those who didn’t know) and the back-up plan in case JVC didn’t work out (my old road crew job) appeared to have fallen through. As of graduation day, I had no plans regarding the rest of my life. I told everyone I’d keep them posted if any new developments came up, though I admit I was depressed enough about the whole situation not to hold out a lot of hope for myself.
Then, a few days after graduation—which I spent mostly in my PJs, looking for jobs and feeling sorry for myself—JVC contacted me with a match.
They sent my application to a housing development in Camden, New Jersey that is in need of a social services program coordinator assistant. I interviewed for the assignment this past Monday, was offered the job on Wednesday, and accepted later in the day. It all happened very quickly.
All of this by way of telling you that I am moving to New Jersey in six(ish) weeks!
I am very excited (with an appropriate amount of “nervous” mixed in) to begin on this new chapter of my life! I prayed a lot over where I would go and what I would do with this coming year, and was very careful about what I asked God for (after all, He might actually give it to me). I finally settled on asking, “Lord, I’ll leave the details to you. Just send me on an adventure to do your will, and I’ll do my best.”
So this is it—my new adventure. I'll keep everyone up to date as the process continues, and I'll certainly keep up with email, snail mail, and my blog throughout the coming year.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Keep praying, but...
I got into JVC!
Now, they still have to find me a placement, and there's actually not a guarantee that I'll get one. BUT, I've been accepted into the program.
Hallelujah.
Now, they still have to find me a placement, and there's actually not a guarantee that I'll get one. BUT, I've been accepted into the program.
Hallelujah.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
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