Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
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.
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...
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Happy Advent!
It’s been a while since I posted. Work has been fine—no major incidents or issues. There was one dude who got hit by a car, but he wasn’t severely hurt. I guess I’m getting more and more used to life back here, because things shock me less and less. My first six weeks here were so filled with huge, strange emergencies, but I didn’t know that they were anomalies. So it’s a little less crazy in terms of horrible things happening, but no less so terms of how fast we move around here. I would never have believed how often so many people have to go to the doctor for so many problems if I didn’t work here, or who have a whole other host of issues that need tending to.
A quick aside—I think a lot of the tenants think I’m a receptionist, not a case manager. Maybe that’s because I’m the youngest person here, or maybe that it’s because I’m young and a woman, but it’s still frustrating. On the other hand, the ones that know that I’m a case manager often come to me with a problem that I have no idea how to fix. It’s one of the drawbacks of never having the same day twice, I suppose. That’s a weird conundrum—the people I can help don’t think I know what I’m doing, and I have no idea how to help the ones that do believe in me. (This is a fairly broad generalization—I do a lot of work most of the time! I’m just referring to a few specific issues that tenants have.)
Community life is going well. Last night we made an Advent calendar from today until Christmas Eve. It was a lot of fun! Amber got a little wooden frame that used to be part of a set of barnyard toys. She put in little dividers so that there were twenty-four slots, one for each day. It’ll be exciting to see what everyone else put in, and what we are given to meditate upon for the day. I added a few… actually, I’ll wait until the days that we open the Advent calendar to tell you what’s in it! Oh, I love this time of year!
Speaking of Christmas-y stuff, the JVC Camden Christmas Extravaganza shall commence this Saturday. (Yes, it has an official name. Shut up.) We’re going to take our community Christmas card photo, then get a tree, then have dinner at Buca di Beppo’s, compliments of Amber Rose’s parents! (Thanks, Col. and Mrs. Yakkel!!!)
I’m starting the countdown for my visit home—23 days! Just over three weeks! I am so excited!
Love to all,
Molly
A quick aside—I think a lot of the tenants think I’m a receptionist, not a case manager. Maybe that’s because I’m the youngest person here, or maybe that it’s because I’m young and a woman, but it’s still frustrating. On the other hand, the ones that know that I’m a case manager often come to me with a problem that I have no idea how to fix. It’s one of the drawbacks of never having the same day twice, I suppose. That’s a weird conundrum—the people I can help don’t think I know what I’m doing, and I have no idea how to help the ones that do believe in me. (This is a fairly broad generalization—I do a lot of work most of the time! I’m just referring to a few specific issues that tenants have.)
Community life is going well. Last night we made an Advent calendar from today until Christmas Eve. It was a lot of fun! Amber got a little wooden frame that used to be part of a set of barnyard toys. She put in little dividers so that there were twenty-four slots, one for each day. It’ll be exciting to see what everyone else put in, and what we are given to meditate upon for the day. I added a few… actually, I’ll wait until the days that we open the Advent calendar to tell you what’s in it! Oh, I love this time of year!
Speaking of Christmas-y stuff, the JVC Camden Christmas Extravaganza shall commence this Saturday. (Yes, it has an official name. Shut up.) We’re going to take our community Christmas card photo, then get a tree, then have dinner at Buca di Beppo’s, compliments of Amber Rose’s parents! (Thanks, Col. and Mrs. Yakkel!!!)
I’m starting the countdown for my visit home—23 days! Just over three weeks! I am so excited!
Love to all,
Molly
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Ain't we cute?
This is us, the Camden JV's, at the Halloween party.
Dorothy, Glinda, and I left about twenty minutes later to get some SLEEP!
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.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
On a lighter note
It hit me after posting yesterday that I’ve put some pretty heavy stuff on the blog since I arrived. I should try and lighten the mood around here.
Good or funny things that have happened in the past few weeks:
The Camden JV house pooled its resources over the weekend to enter a raffle, and we ended up winning FREE ORGANIC MILK for a WHOLE YEAR! Woot! Simply living is awesome when you get 52 coupons for free anything, let alone organic dairy products!
Last night Mark, out of the kindness of his heart (and his stipend), bought flowers for his roommates. :)We are a lucky group of girls to have him around.
None of us has gone running for a while because there’s been some pretty shady activity on and around the bridge. Our favorite bicycle cop told us a few times once we got there not to cross the bridge because it didn’t look safe for us. I knew it was too good to be true, having a safe place to run. I think the shady stuff picked back up as soon as the mornings started getting darker. But the happy phoenix from the ashes is that we’ve been doing yoga together to get some exercise in. Yoga and weight routines… I’d better have some decent muscles come springtime!
We’re a particularly musical household. Mark practices guitar a lot, and I’m sure I’ll start borrowing his chord books to learn as soon as my guitar arrives. Last night, after the guitar’s curtain call, I was drying my hair and belting out selections from Les Miserables, which gave us all a lot to talk about. Good times.
I’m developing a fascination with Lady Gaga. Between a beautiful voice and the masquerade thing she has going on, I’m overlooking how weird she is. Wouldn’t it be fun to be her for a day?
My birthday is coming up and all I really want to do is go to Independance Hall and check out all the historical stuff in Philly. I've been there before, but I'd like to go refresh. I have a sentimental weakness for American history.
We used our leftover apples to make apple crisp for dessert last night. Hello, autumn. You smell like baked apples and cinnamon.
It feels good to write about less heavy things than work. I'll remember to do this more often.
Good or funny things that have happened in the past few weeks:
The Camden JV house pooled its resources over the weekend to enter a raffle, and we ended up winning FREE ORGANIC MILK for a WHOLE YEAR! Woot! Simply living is awesome when you get 52 coupons for free anything, let alone organic dairy products!
Last night Mark, out of the kindness of his heart (and his stipend), bought flowers for his roommates. :)We are a lucky group of girls to have him around.
None of us has gone running for a while because there’s been some pretty shady activity on and around the bridge. Our favorite bicycle cop told us a few times once we got there not to cross the bridge because it didn’t look safe for us. I knew it was too good to be true, having a safe place to run. I think the shady stuff picked back up as soon as the mornings started getting darker. But the happy phoenix from the ashes is that we’ve been doing yoga together to get some exercise in. Yoga and weight routines… I’d better have some decent muscles come springtime!
We’re a particularly musical household. Mark practices guitar a lot, and I’m sure I’ll start borrowing his chord books to learn as soon as my guitar arrives. Last night, after the guitar’s curtain call, I was drying my hair and belting out selections from Les Miserables, which gave us all a lot to talk about. Good times.
I’m developing a fascination with Lady Gaga. Between a beautiful voice and the masquerade thing she has going on, I’m overlooking how weird she is. Wouldn’t it be fun to be her for a day?
My birthday is coming up and all I really want to do is go to Independance Hall and check out all the historical stuff in Philly. I've been there before, but I'd like to go refresh. I have a sentimental weakness for American history.
We used our leftover apples to make apple crisp for dessert last night. Hello, autumn. You smell like baked apples and cinnamon.
It feels good to write about less heavy things than work. I'll remember to do this more often.
Friday, September 4, 2009
A day in the life...
To give you, my loyal readers (all 2.7 of you), an idea of what a day in the life of a JV is like, here is a typical synopsis of my day.
Every other day, I get up around 6:30 to go for a run with Amber and Jenna, my roommates. On the days that I don’t run, I wake up around 7:30 (don’t worry—I lift weights after work on those days). We get moving around 6:45, and typically get back between 7:15 and 7:30. The three of us share a bathroom, so we have to get back in time to get cleaned up before work.
We normally eat breakfast on a rotating basis in the kitchen. I put on coffee and get to work on eating because I only have to walk two blocks to get to work. We see very little of each other in the mornings because there are six of us going in five different directions (Jenna and Mark work at the same school, so they have to leave together). I make it out the door by 8:50 every morning and walk to work.
Once I get to my office, I read the reports that our security guards write up from the day before. They typically deal with 911 calls (as this is a building for elderly and disabled people, many of them are frail or in poor health. Since we have over three hundred tenants, the odds are pretty high that someone’s going the hospital), harassment issues, fires, noise complaints, and illegal guests. Then, when it’s warranted, my office (usually me) writes cease notices (As in, “We demand that you cease this behavior, or your lease will be terminated.”). I only recently learned to write them, but I’ll be doing that on a daily basis this year.
The social services office concerns itself mostly with getting tenants to and from the doctor, getting their prescriptions filled and delivered to them, helping pay the bills (it’s their money—we just fill out the forms. Many of the tenants never learned to read, so we do a lot of that stuff for them), and making sure that everyone is generally healthy, well-fed taking their medicine, etc. It’s sort of like being a professional mom. :)
We also handle a lot of emergencies in conjunction with the security officers and medical personnel. Since I’ve been in this office, there have been three emergencies situations that I’ve been part of. One turned out to be a false alarm, but we couldn’t find a tenant and had to go into his apartment—in case he had died. Evidently, that happens a lot around here. But he wasn’t there, dead or alive, so it turned out to be a mere blip on the radar. I won’t lie, though—my heart was pounding pretty hard when we first walked in that door. The other two involved getting a lady to go to the hospital because she was quite ill but refusing treatment; the other involved protecting one of my coworkers from someone who was threatening her. I can’t really tell any more about those situations, for obvious reasons.
But, though exciting (if not fun) little crises like that pop up on a regular basis, it’s pretty standard office work.
I walk home at 5pm and meet up with the other Camden JVs, my housemates. We make a point to eat dinner together every night, which is really wonderful for all of us. We take turns cooking, though for a while we just let Mark, the only man in the house, do it because he’s a REALLY talented cook. After dinner there’s usually tea, and often a game or discussion. We like each other a lot, so this is quite a balm for our weary minds after a day of work..
Then we get up and do it all over again in the morning. :)
This has been A Day in the Life of a Camden JV… tune in next time!
Every other day, I get up around 6:30 to go for a run with Amber and Jenna, my roommates. On the days that I don’t run, I wake up around 7:30 (don’t worry—I lift weights after work on those days). We get moving around 6:45, and typically get back between 7:15 and 7:30. The three of us share a bathroom, so we have to get back in time to get cleaned up before work.
We normally eat breakfast on a rotating basis in the kitchen. I put on coffee and get to work on eating because I only have to walk two blocks to get to work. We see very little of each other in the mornings because there are six of us going in five different directions (Jenna and Mark work at the same school, so they have to leave together). I make it out the door by 8:50 every morning and walk to work.
Once I get to my office, I read the reports that our security guards write up from the day before. They typically deal with 911 calls (as this is a building for elderly and disabled people, many of them are frail or in poor health. Since we have over three hundred tenants, the odds are pretty high that someone’s going the hospital), harassment issues, fires, noise complaints, and illegal guests. Then, when it’s warranted, my office (usually me) writes cease notices (As in, “We demand that you cease this behavior, or your lease will be terminated.”). I only recently learned to write them, but I’ll be doing that on a daily basis this year.
The social services office concerns itself mostly with getting tenants to and from the doctor, getting their prescriptions filled and delivered to them, helping pay the bills (it’s their money—we just fill out the forms. Many of the tenants never learned to read, so we do a lot of that stuff for them), and making sure that everyone is generally healthy, well-fed taking their medicine, etc. It’s sort of like being a professional mom. :)
We also handle a lot of emergencies in conjunction with the security officers and medical personnel. Since I’ve been in this office, there have been three emergencies situations that I’ve been part of. One turned out to be a false alarm, but we couldn’t find a tenant and had to go into his apartment—in case he had died. Evidently, that happens a lot around here. But he wasn’t there, dead or alive, so it turned out to be a mere blip on the radar. I won’t lie, though—my heart was pounding pretty hard when we first walked in that door. The other two involved getting a lady to go to the hospital because she was quite ill but refusing treatment; the other involved protecting one of my coworkers from someone who was threatening her. I can’t really tell any more about those situations, for obvious reasons.
But, though exciting (if not fun) little crises like that pop up on a regular basis, it’s pretty standard office work.
I walk home at 5pm and meet up with the other Camden JVs, my housemates. We make a point to eat dinner together every night, which is really wonderful for all of us. We take turns cooking, though for a while we just let Mark, the only man in the house, do it because he’s a REALLY talented cook. After dinner there’s usually tea, and often a game or discussion. We like each other a lot, so this is quite a balm for our weary minds after a day of work..
Then we get up and do it all over again in the morning. :)
This has been A Day in the Life of a Camden JV… tune in next time!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Itemized lessons
After a whole week of work and community living, I feel I much present some of the things I’ve learned so far as a JV. In the spirit of JVC, I shall categorize them by the four values of JVC.
Community
Sriracha tastes good on everything. Everything.
Boys don’t like to hear about the gynecologist or the mechanics of natural family planning, but the ones who pretend it doesn’t bother them are really sweet.
Dance parties: very good.
The day revolves around family dinners.
Social Justice
The system is flawed! Burn down city hall! Storm the capital! March for systematic, structural change! (Please note the incredibly facetious tone of my writing…)
On a more serious note: Social justice is difficult. Read the Oscar Romero prayer about it—it consoles me. I have said from the beginning of this process that social justice begins and ends with the dignity of the human person. Where that dignity is not being affirmed, there is injustice. The issue is that a person’s pride is deeply entwined in their dignity, and it is easily wounded when they are in a vulnerable position. So they don’t always want help, or at least, not the help that we can provide them. My job is to find a subtle way to affirm dignity without wounding pride.
Simple Living
Despite the fact that it would save money, mouse traps are not reusable.
Investing in plastic containers to keep ants out of the food is a good idea.
Gym membership be damned—all you need are motivated roommates, running shoes, one absurdly long bridge, and a weight bench in the basement to stay in shape.
Ants will survive a fall into the honey jar. They try and swim their sticky way home. It’s funny to watch.
Spirituality
It’s OK to disagree, as long as everyone is respectful. (Which everyone here is.)
It will get you through everything from uncomfortable meetings with tenants to, to homesickness, to the latter part of a three-mile run.
More to come later. I promise my updates will be more regular in the future!
Community
Sriracha tastes good on everything. Everything.
Boys don’t like to hear about the gynecologist or the mechanics of natural family planning, but the ones who pretend it doesn’t bother them are really sweet.
Dance parties: very good.
The day revolves around family dinners.
Social Justice
The system is flawed! Burn down city hall! Storm the capital! March for systematic, structural change! (Please note the incredibly facetious tone of my writing…)
On a more serious note: Social justice is difficult. Read the Oscar Romero prayer about it—it consoles me. I have said from the beginning of this process that social justice begins and ends with the dignity of the human person. Where that dignity is not being affirmed, there is injustice. The issue is that a person’s pride is deeply entwined in their dignity, and it is easily wounded when they are in a vulnerable position. So they don’t always want help, or at least, not the help that we can provide them. My job is to find a subtle way to affirm dignity without wounding pride.
Simple Living
Despite the fact that it would save money, mouse traps are not reusable.
Investing in plastic containers to keep ants out of the food is a good idea.
Gym membership be damned—all you need are motivated roommates, running shoes, one absurdly long bridge, and a weight bench in the basement to stay in shape.
Ants will survive a fall into the honey jar. They try and swim their sticky way home. It’s funny to watch.
Spirituality
It’s OK to disagree, as long as everyone is respectful. (Which everyone here is.)
It will get you through everything from uncomfortable meetings with tenants to, to homesickness, to the latter part of a three-mile run.
More to come later. I promise my updates will be more regular in the future!
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
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