Time to review time to, to be with my own energy

I have a blog? Oh yeah, I do. Well then, I guess it's about that time to reconnect with the world of blogging though, my life isn't like it was a year ago. Ya know, the whole reason for starting this blog was to document my time traveling around the country while participating in service work for 10 months with a team of 12. I figured I may as well keep going with the blog thing for now by updating the world about my post-Amerilife and present-Grad school life. My ultimate goal is to eventually lead the direction of this blog into something more than just the life of a young graduate student. I was thinking maybe relating it to the field of social work, or in community outreach, organizing, development sort of deal (since that is ultimately what I want to do in the future). Or perhaps a blog of just "rants and raves of a young aspiring social worker about everything and nothing". Suggestions? Thoughts? I'm also looking for a layout change. Anyone know of a good, easy to follow site to assist me in a blog make over?

Anyway, as I promised before, till I come up with whatever this blog will be about, here's an update on my life:

- Currently, I am sitting in the library which has become my Tuesday afternoon hangout. I'm usually here with a few textbooks, my laptop, and some kind of caffeinated beverage.

- After the infamous road trip came the infamous trip to Ocean City, Maryland. (With an old friend's wedding thrown in the middle).

- After that came graduate school orientation, purchasing $500 worth of school books related to social welfare, policy, health, the practice of social work, and research, and a parking pass.

- Then the start of classes and internship... Which basically sums up my life as of this current moment. (Three more semesters left!) (In between that consisted of a Mets game, a day spent with fellow Ameri-Long Islanders, and finding out one of my best friends from college got engaged).

Fortunately I will be jumping back on the travel bandwagon (which I have missed dearly) getting my ass out of this dreaded island that is long. This upcoming weekend is a trip to good old Towson University for a reunion and the following weekend I'll be heading to North Carolina with a friend to visit his brother. My friend says his bro lives near the mountains so there maybe hiking involved. Sweeet!

The weekend after that won't involve traveling out of the state but it'll involve heading into the city to see John Butler Trio open up for Dave Matthews Band. (You should check John Butler out, just sayin').

Now that I've ran out of updates I guess I should get back to compiling my research midterm outline...

I believe in the sand beneath my toes...

the beach gives a feeling
an earthy feeling
I believe in the faith that grows
and the four right chords could make me cry
[thanks, Third Eye Blind for fitting lyrics!]

Woah. AmeriCorps has been over for 4 weeks already. A month? Yup. Exactly 4 weeks ago Class 16 of AmeriCorps NCCC Denver, Colorado campus became alum. It's also been 2 weeks since the infamous road trip with a group of crazy [using crazy as a term of endearment] guys. Even though I was counting down the days till it was over, I kind of want to go back. I told ya I would miss it. Oh well. Another chapter complete and added to my list of unforgettable memories and people who have crossed my path. Onto the next one which begins in 1 week! I'm excited to be going back to school and to explore the field of social work. Here's to the next 2 years of my life...

Alright. Now onto an update on my [post-ameri]life thus far.

As I said in my previous post right after AmeriCorps I went on a road trip. A cross country road trip. Something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember. Another thing to check off of the bucket list! We went to places such as the following:

Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)

Arches National Park (Utah)

We also ended up in Zion National Park (Utah), Las Vegas and Reno, Yosemite National Park (California), San Fransisco, Mt. Rushmore (South Dakota), Apply Valley and the Mall of America (Minnesota), Tiffin and Cedar Point (Ohio). Then I found myself in Sterling, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland visiting old friends for a few days before finally making back to New York.

I was home for about a week, saw some family, went to a wedding, saw some friends, then I was off to Ocean City, Maryland to spend some quality time with a group of lovely ladies, some of my best friends from college. It was a beautiful weekend.

OC, MD Summer '10

That leads me to now. Back on Long Island, unwinding a bit before that thing called school begins again. Wednesday is the big orientation day. And a week from today is my first day of class. Here goes nothing!

Until next time, peace.

It's the final countdown... to the finale.

Just keep packing, just keep packing...

Yup. That's the story as of this moment. Packing. About and hour ago we just got out of our last community meeting. And now we have the rest of the afternoon to pack before the big room inspections. 1 day. ONE DAY! Wow, have 10 months of my life gone by already? Whelp, the answer is yes. Yes, 10 months have gone by. The quickest, yet slowest 10 months have gone.

Yup. Tomorrow is the day. Graduation from AmeriCorps NCCC. SO ready!

I'm so ready to get out of here. Don't get me wrong, I really like it here in Colorado. It's a beautiful state but I'm ready to be done with this Ameri-life. Don't get me wrong again, all 'n all I'm glad I did a program like this before settling into the 'real world'. Give me a bit of time after the program is over and I'll probably want to be a part of it again but right now I have many other exciting things to look forward to such as...

1. a ROAD TRIP!
2. a friend's wedding!
3. the beach!
4. grad school.
5. just being back in NY for some time.

Again, all 'n all it was a good experience. Some things about it I would've liked to be different but hey, you can't always get what you want, and such is life!

Coming to you next time from New York!

five. seven. twenty.

Five (5) work days left.

Seven (7) days left in the godforsaken town.

Twenty (20) days left in AmeriCorps NCCC.

The end is near! and I've never been more ready.

In other news, I went to Austin again this past weekend, which was a reminder of how much I really do like that city. We left Saturday morning, stopped for a few hours in San Antonio, then spend the next two night in Austin. This time spending more time up and down Congress St. as opposed to spending most of the time on 6th St. Again, it was wonderful getting away. And also, I came to a realization visiting Austin the second time around. That being when I'm there, it doesn't feel like I'm in Texas anymore!

The end.

Hello Houston

Hello again blog world. I feel like it's been a while since I've updated you last. Mainly because there hasn't been an abundance of blog-worthy material going on.

Since we left off way back post-Memorial day weekend nothing has happened that's worth ranting about (well, with sporadic events that happened the past 2 weeks being the only exceptions). This project isn't much to talk about except that it's horrible. I don't enjoy it at all. We live where we work (as previously mentioned) which holds a big toll on [my] mental health. An old building with cockroaches, and those rollie pollies (which we finally got to roach bomb the place just this weekend), cracks in the ceiling which lead to leaking on you while you're sleeping when it rains (and causing flooding in the front of the building). The feeling of not being productive and/or needed (I've experienced this feeling throughout the project... a lot.) Basically we're babysitters throughout the day with kids ages 5-high school, most of which don't give you a shit of respect. It's sad. I generally love working with kids. Oh well. There are a slim few I'll miss and enjoy seeing everyday but by no means am I going to miss this place and/or project. Oh, and Summer of Service. Thanks to that component for making this project a bit tolerable.

End rant.

In happier news: 12 more days then it's on the road again back to Denver! and 25 more days left of AmeriCorps!

Additional happier news: The club was closed yesterday due to weather (thank you Hurricane Alex for bringing a shit ton of rain and storms to the Freeport area), today I'm taking my last personal day (coming to you from a local bookstore/coffee shop!), making this a 5 day weekend (happy 4th everyone!). A few days this weekend will be spent in Austin again (with a pit stop in San Antonio) to escape for a bit.

Last week I took the other personal day I still had. Spent the day in Houston with a fellow teammate. We visited 3 museums, it was day well spent, that's for sure!

Museum #1 of the day

outside museum #1

This past weekend was spent in Houston yet again but this time on AmeriCorps' bucks. My team leader knows how much we are miserable with this project so he set up an ISP in Houston allowing us (who wanted to) to get away, and enjoy Houston, all while getting a few extra hours in. Got to visit 2 more museums!

Houston's Pride parade was conveniently happening while we were there so a few of us went in addition to the other things that were done. It was a weekend well spent. (The story of this round: yearning for productive days/days well spent!).

Ausome Austin

Seeing as I'm spending another 2 months in Texas (happy happy, joy joy). I figured I'd visit at least one of it's major cities. I've only heard good things about this state's capital so I figured that would be the best city to visit. So, that's exactly what I did. Seeing as last weekend was Memorial Day weekend (aka a 3 day weekend) a few of my teammates and I went to Austin.

Top 5 Reasons Why Austin is Ausome(Awesome):

1. The bridge where the bats live. (www.austin.com/content/view/754/354/)

2. Kayaking while getting a perfect view of the city's skyline.

3. 6th street... Live music in every other restaurant/bar.

4. Wild About Music. (http://www.wildaboutmusic.com/)

5. Hmm. For the last reason let's just say... Just Because. You should visit and see for yourself.

Yes. It was a pretty good weekend if I may say and by pretty good I mean it was great. It was great to get away from this place. Did I mention we work and live in the same place? Yes. We live IN the Boys and Girls Club...

This is the worst idea anyone has ever had. Who would think that being in the same place (living in the same place in which you work) 24/7 for 8 weeks is good for one's mental health? Well, I can't give you that answer. Anyway, that is why it was great to get away for a weekend. It helped me regain some of the sanity I have lost since this project began. Some. Thank god for the beach 5 minutes away.

It feels something like summertime.

Hey y'all, coming to you from Texas (yet again).

So. I'm feeling a tad better about this final project than I did in my last post. I have a feeling I'm going to like it a bit more than I originally thought. We met with some of the Boys and Girls Club staff the other day, so it seems promising. Don't get me wrong, I'm still counting down the days till this chapter of my life is over but I'm going to be taking in all the final memories I have during this final project. I know once AmeriCorps is over I'm going to miss it but for now, I'm ready to move on - I've got plans! Only 65 more days till judgement, um I mean graduation day.

In other news... the following is a list of stuff to look forward to, to end my Ameri-experience off right.

First off, this is where we'll be working (and living) for the next 8 weeks...

3 miles from this place pictured below... (!)

Our first full day consisted of a 2 hour orientation followed by lunch at a restaurant on the beach provided to us by two of the staff members who ran the orientation, driving around Freeport and Lake Jackson (the town right outside of Freeport) allowing us to see what's around, and meeting with our supervisor getting more of an idea about what is expected of us during our time here. Which brings me to 'the list':

• This coming week will consist of training, and prep before the summer camp begins a week from tomorrow. There are different classes during camp that we get to choose to work in - art, gym, tech, learning, etc. Plus if you have a special talent/something you'd like to teach you can do that as well. This is real nice. It gives us a chance to do our own thing making this project more of an individual project in a way as opposed to all 12 of us working together ALL day EVERY day. (I LOVE being able to do my own thing. I could teach sign language?).
  
• Can't forget about the Summer of Service component which will give a nice break during the week to get out of the Club and getting the opportunity to be a team leader in a sense and do some random community service project for a day with teens.
  
• A LOT of time is going to be spent at the beach. (HUGE plus of the project location).
  
• With that, I've already heard to sweet sound of ocean waves 3 times since we've been here and we've only been here for 3 full days. Oh, and the water is SO warm and the sand's soft. My summer has already begun and it's only the end of May! (It's been 80+degrees here).
  
• There's talk about camping out at the beach one weekend. (!)
  
• A day trip to Houston could happen. (Since it's only about an hour away, we'll probably be able to take the vans out there and make it a team fun day).
  
• A weekend to Austin is in the planning.
  
• We have July birthdays to celebrate so there was talk of making a weekend celebration during 4th of July (since one of the birthdays actually falls on the weekend).
  
• And a possibility of participating/volunteering at a Relay for Life in June.

So again, it seems like a pretty promising final round. Fingers crossed.

But next stop, Vegas please.

I'm gonna fix my mind, with a final destination.

It's been a while since I've written any sort of journal entry using song lyrics as the title and/or to start off an entry but Sara Bareilles' "Vegas" sums up how I've been feeling these past few days.

It's been a weird transition week. On so many levels, for myself and a lot of people [in my unit]. I don't know. It seems like it's a combination of a bunch of different things: people switching teams, people leaving, and just the sole fact that we've spent a round with a different team. And from what I've been hearing, a lot of people really liked their shuffle team a bit more than their permanent teams for one reason or another. Oh well, it's over now. Tomorrow everyone's off to their 4th and final project of their AmeriCorps NCCC careers for this term. I say everyone's off (not including my team) because my team is staying an extra day for training for a special component of our project.

That special component being the Summer of Service (SOS) component. SOS is a mini AmeriCorps NCCC for boys and girls ages 14-17. It's about a month. Two days during the week through the month they do various service projects for the day, and we get the chance to be their team leaders so to speak. SOS is a component for the teams working with the Boys and Girls Club as their primary project because most of the SOS participants are members of the Club.

Contrary to what was stated in my last post, I'm not looking forward to this last project, at all. I'm not looking forward to being back with my permanent team. Don't get me wrong, they're all great people... individually. They truly are. But as a team... we suck hardcore. Oh well, it's only 9 weeks.

In other news, thinking optimistically (basically saying to myself over and over again what I pretttty much said in the previous post)... We'll be near a beach, it'll be summer, at least the SOS component gives a little break in the week to do something different with the teens in the program, and I guess working with the kids in the Boys and Girls Club will be rewarding, meaningful, and whatnot.

I know I'll make the most of it, I usually do make the most and best of things. I'm just ready to close this chapter of my life and move on to the next. I just want to skip to the end of the program to the road trip I'm going on before heading home. That's right, ROAD TRIP! (and it's a cross country road trip too). Also, you know another thing that makes it even more fantabulous? (Yes. It CAN get more fantabulous than it already is). We're ending up in Northern Virginia where I get to see a couple of my most favorite people in the world whom I haven't seen in AGES!

Only 72 more days till it's over. 72 days.

OK. Coming to you next time from Freeport, TX at the club for boys and girls.

Texas here I come... again.

Mmmhmm. 4th and final round of my Ameri-year, my original team and I will be heading back to good 'ole Texas. Freeport, TX to be exact. At least it's in a totally different part, by the coast 'n all so we'll be 3 miles from the beach. Oh and we'll be working with the Boys and Girls Club down there,

At first I wasn't all too excited about the project. I mean, don't get me wrong I love working with kids, but with the other project choices I preferred to go to Arizona or New Mexico to do an environmental project since AZ and NM are the two states I'm dying to see. Oh well, I'll just haveta visit them another time. Though I really enjoy working with Habitat for Humanity, I'm glad we don't have another construction project and I'm glad we're getting the variety of projects I was expecting from this experience so as we're approaching the end of this current project I'm getting more excited for the upcoming project. We'll be near the beach, it'll be summertime, we'll be working with kids, we won't be working outside in 100+ degree weather, and there's a mini-road trip plan in the works to San Antonio and/or Austin. So ya, it should be a good way to end the program.

Only a few more weeks in the OK City, then back to Denver for a week then Texas!

Oooklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain.

The wind really DOES come sweepin' down the plain; the song don't lie!

First off, I'm thoroughly enjoying this round, I have to say it's the best thus far. Although Oklahoma City it's the top, hottest, hoppin' city in the states it's not all that bad, I've got nothing to complain about. My team's GREAT, so chill and fun to be around, and the project's pretty sweet (well, ya know, compared to being inside filing taxes).

Just in case you didn't know, this round is what [Denver campus] AmeriCorps calls shuffle round, where we were able to individually rank which project we wanted and the original teams got, well, shuffled around. So I've been with new people these past few weeks which is a nice change. I like getting the chance to live and work with different people and so far, as I stated above, it's been wonderful. :) Plus, I'm working with Habitat for Humanity (with amazing site supervisors yet again!)

This time around we're not working on one house from the ground up. Instead, we're working on a few different sites doing new construction a few days a week and refurbishing the other days. I like getting the opportunity to do a variety of work with the Central Oklahoma Habitat. For instance, we've been doing a bunch of painting (interior and exterior), cleaning out yards, more painting, roof work, some more painting, framing... yup! we framed this house on one day (with the help of some volunteers).

and sometimes we even get to clean out attics...

We just had our spring break, which was nice. I'm currently sitting in my room on good 'ole Long Island. I decided to take a few of my personal days in order to spend a decent amount of time home which gave me the opportunity to spend time with the fam and friends. Tomorrow it's back to Ameri-land/OK City. There's about a month left of this project then it's off to where ever for our 4th and final round! (INSANITY).

Home, home on the range.

Last day in Texas: Friday! It's crazy that we're about to end project #2 which makes the program half way over.

Since you've heard from me last nothing has been new at all, work-wise at least. Adventure-wise is a different story.

Last weekend (as well as this past weekend) we spend time on a ranch. A United Way board member and her husband own a ranch and they offered their hunting cabin to us for a few weekends...



The first weekend we had a day of events planned for us including: horseback riding, clay shooting, a BBQ, and riding on the back of a pick-up truck into a herd of cattle, steer, and longhorns...




It was an awesome and probably yet another once in a lifetime experience that I've had since joining AmeriCrops NCCC, that's for sure, ha.

That Sunday we took a day trip to Forth Worth to visit the Stock Yards (picture from the Stock Yards shown above), and Billy Bob's Texas (apparently the largest honky tonk in the world!). Earlier that weekend we got the opportunity to take a tour of the Sheppard Air Force Base.

The North Texas Area United Way staff and board members have been BEYOND great to us, they don't mess around! From helping us get media events done to helping us find places for ISPs to providing us with bikes to taking us to dinner in Fort Worth - you name it! - it's been a wonderful experience working with them. They definitely made us feel welcomed and made it feel like home. Not only was it a pleasure to get to work with amazing staff members, United Way itself is a great organization to work with, I'm glad I got to learn so much about their mission and the opportunity to work with them.

ANYWAY, back to the update:

This past week we stayed at the ranch a few nights, Saturday was our last day working taxes at the mall (I know, tear), Sunday was our Day of Service, and today I completed my ISP hours. :)

Well. There's an update for ya'll. EXCEPT! Since I've updated you last we found out our next projects... I'll be heading to Oklahoma City to work with Habitat for Humanity in about a week or so, yay!

In THAT case: coming to you next time from Oklahoma!

WHO DAT?! Super Bowl Sunday.

Not that I care much for football by any means (I only semi-enjoy the Bowl for the commercials and halftime show). I can say I somewhat care this year for the sole reason that Nawlins is in it.

Mmk, enough of that talk considering I'm not in NOLA anymore. I am in fact, still in Texas.

Here's what's been going on since I left you last: we've been attending an abundance of meetings, learning about United Way in general and the history of the North Texas Area United Way (NTAUW), meeting the NTAUW staff, training for taxes and becoming IRS certified to file said taxes. Currently we're doing taxes. And outreaching to people about taxes. We are filing taxes for people and families who make an income of $49,000 or less in Wichita Falls (at the Sikes Senter Mall and at the MLK Community Center) and the rural areas of Burkburnett (at the local Citi Bank), Henrietta (at the local library), and Iowa Park. Outreach consists of walking around said areas and putting up door hangers on peoples' doors with information about the free tax filing service provided by United Way and handing out fliers to local businesses and schools. The project itself is pretty dry, though I guess it's nice to see how appreciative people can be seeing as you're helping them file their taxes. And the people from United Way are more hospitable than we even expected them to be.

Besides work we've been getting a few ISPs in at the following places: Wichita Falls Streams and Valleys, Iowa Park Recreation Center, The Wichita Falls Area Food Bank, and Habitat for Humanity. We had a day of service at the Wichita Falls Adult Literacy Council. We also got tickets to a Midwestern State University basketball game (courtesy of United Way). On Friday there was a local hockey game but I attended Friday night services instead. A fellow teammate and I found the synagogue (yes, we found THE synagogue as in the only one in this neck of Texas!) so we've been going to services the past few weeks which is real nice. It feels like home considering most of the Jewish community members of WF are transplants from the NJ/NY area!

There's my update for y'all except... GEUX SAINTS! I can only imagine what it's like being in New Orleans right now.

Taxes in Texas.

... Here goes nothing!

I want to start off with our housing. Yeah, our housing. Can you say spoiled much? You heard about the living quarters last round, well this is just a tad better. First off, we're living in a minor league baseball training facility for the next two months which is actually not in Wichita Falls, but in Burkburnett, TX (9 miles from the Oklahoma border, by the way). Anyway, so yes, we're living in the Burkburnett Black Sox Minor League Baseball training facility. Oh yeah. So, it's made up of three decent sized one floor buildings. One is the dorm consisting of a kitchen, two bathrooms, two showers, three separate sleeping areas (one smaller one designated for the TL, one for the gals, one for the guys), and a lounging room with couches, a computer, and two TVs (one small one for the game systems, and a flat screen for watching TV). We also have two washers and dryers as well. Oh! and we have wireless. The second building has batting cages (and another kitchen and sleeping areas, etc). The third building has a weight room for our use as well. Oh and those other rooms also include pool and ping pong tables. Plus we have the field in the back for PT use, as well as use of the high school's track that's only a mile away. With all of that, I think it's safe to say we're just a tad spoiled.

Now that that's out in the open let's backtrack to Saturday. Saturday morning we departed bright 'n early for spike number 2 driving through Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Then driving through Texas for a few hours this morning reaching our destination earlier this afternoon.

When we arrived we got a grand tour by the general manager of the Black Sox and then we got to meet our sponsors. Here's the deal: we're working with the North Texas Area United Way (http://www.ntauw.org/) working on tax returns for low income people and families in the Greater Wichita Falls Metropolitan Area which consists of the towns: Burkburnett, Iowa Park, and Henrietta.

Tomorrow we start training to become tax certified, woo! We'll be taking our classes at Midwestern State University (back to schooool, yup!). So the next two weeks will consist of that training and meeting with the United Way staff.

Here's to the beginning of round 2!