My Adventures!!!

Countdown

2007-11-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

I figure it is time to tell the world (at least the parts of it that read this blog) that I have asked to be removed from my placement at David and Margaret. Because it is so close to the end of my term, I am not being placed at another site. I am starting to pack so I will be done by December 21. Peter is flying out and we are making the drive one more time, but this time I won't be drivng back to California.

This decision was probably the hardest I have ever had to make, but it was the best for me to make. I am ready to be back at home and church. I have already applied for some jobs in the area, so hopefully I will find something in the next month and a half.

All for now
grace and peace

I'm Safe

2007-10-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a really long time since I last posted. But honestly, not much has happened. I drove from California to Corpus with my brother then did the return trip with my mom. I started my second year as a US-2.

I am really doing this blog to let people know about the fires in Southern California. I am safe. The closest fire is about 20 miles away, which in SoCal is fairly far away. The days are sort of eerie because of the ash and smoke. One day it looked like dusk the whole day. Even though the people I work with are safe, several of them have family and friends that were affected by the fires. Please pray for them.

That is all for now
grace and peace

The Big 5-0...Thank you

2007-08-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

So this is my 50th blog since I started blogging and it coincides to almost a year since I wrote my first blog. A lot has happened this past year.

Today I am cleaning my apartment for the arrival of Peter in a few days so we can drive half way across the country, so I can spend two weeks at home before the start of the new school year. Summer school is almost over as is my first year as a US-2. In this year there have been near breakdowns, a lot of tears, but most of all a lot of time spent laughing. I have some great mentors here in California and some even better friends back home that have helped me through the year. Now comes the time to start looking to the future to what I am going to do when next June comes.

But first I want to thank every person who has sent me a card in the mail, they truly have lifted my spirits. As I was cleaning I was looking through the cards that I have gotten and I reread several from my two best friends from college (and practically my life). These two girls have been with me starting that first day on the 2nd floor of Kurth (at Southwestern). Now 5 years later I am living in California, one is living in Austin pursuing her Master's at St. Edwards, and one is moving to Boston to go to grad school. We have all experienced so many things that even living so far away from them they still influence me. THANK YOU!

My family back home also needs a big thanks -- with out the many phone calls, emails, cards, face to face conversations, I think this year would have been much harder that it actually was.

Another thanks to my US-2 classmates. Other than some friends from college and one before college, I have never felt closer to people than my classmates. I love the conversations we have on the phone, over email and even on facebook! We are now down to 6 people in our class and to the two who are no longer actually in the program, I know you are doing the right thing and still working toward your goal!

Also to the people who read my blog. I know it is really sporadic now, but day to day things are the same, so I don't want you to waste your time reading my blog.

A new development is that I am attending the Presbyterian church in La Verne. For so long I was against going to another church because I am a Methodist Missionary, so I should go to a Methodist church. But for someone who has never been forced to go to church and still goes, not going or not being spiritually fed is a big deal. That wasn't happening at the churches that I had tried, so I was invited to the Presbyterian church by the formal principal of Joan Macy and I am enjoying the service and am being fed again on Sunday mornings. I am a bit wary of Communion tomorrow morning, but hey it's Communion.

I am looking forward to the next few weeks because 1. I will be home for two weeks after a 1/2 cross country drive with my brother then on the way back my mom. 2. After that I am housesitting for this couple from church and I am looking forward to getting away from my apartment and the David and Margaret Campus. 3.A US-2 classmate will be in the area so I get to see her. 4. my best friend will be in the area for work, so I get to spend time with her!

I am also looking forward to see everyone at home and at church! See you on the 12th!

grace and peace

Wow! It's been a long time

2007-06-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Let's see since I last posted I have been to New York and back, to Texas and back, saw my first girls graduate.
New York was fabulous. I flew in with Adam, had lunch with Claire and got to spend a week with some of the most amazing people in the world. We participated in a session about race in the media and got to make up our own rap. We toured the UN. Debriefed our first year of the US2 program. We will be on the GBGM website under the missionary podcast. Four of us went to see Les Miserable and got possibly the best seats ever.

I came back to the last week of school and graduation. I am so proud of the seniors, they have worked so hard to graduate. The next morning I got up at 345 am and flew home for the week. I was an adult at Sea City Work Camp on a house. I think that this was the best team that ever existed. There was hardly any complaining and the kids worked hard the whole time. It was nice to go home, since I hadn't been there since Easter.

I came back to start summer school. I am teaching relationships and helping with water aerobics. I have to say that it is great getting to spend everyday at the pool.

I am planning on being in Phoenix for part of the 4th of July holiday because we are off the 4th, 5th, and 6th. Then a month later Peter is flying out so we can drive home for a couple weeks, then I am starting my second year as a US2.

Sorry for the long time between posts and for the shortness of this one.

grace and peace

Countdown!

2007-05-27T17:59:00.001-07:00

So this is about the 10th countdown that I have had while living in California. I find that having these countdowns make the days go by much better. This certain countdown is the countdown until Midterm in New York. Midterm starts on June 3rd, which is just a week away. But here is what makes it even better.
Monday -- Memorial Day, ergo no school
Tuesday -- Disneyland, it is somewhat of a tradition to take the seniors to Disneyland before graduation and I was asked to help the senior advisor. I like this group of girls, as I had most of them in my relationships class or on leadership, so it should be fun, to say the least (probably more interesting).
Wednesday -- May Compact Day, on compact days the girls get out at 12:55 rather than 2, we still have to stay until the regular time, but the day is still short.
Thursday and Friday are not really anything special, but they are close to the end of the week, which leads us to...
Saturday -- My Supershuttle is picking me up at 7 am and my flight leave LAX at 11. I arrive sometime in Chicago and I am meeting up with Adam, since we are the two westerners and we get into La Guardia around 9.

This countdown actually entails two different events, the one listed above and the one listed below.
I get back from the East Coast on June 9th. The last week of school starts that Monday.
Monday -- normal 715-330 day
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday -- finals/minimum days, which means school goes from 8-12.
Friday -- Graduation/promotion. Graduation is at 11 and school gets out at 12.
Saturday -- another Supershuttle ride to LAX. This time the plane takes me to CORPUS CHRISTI!!! I am working Sea City Work Camp and get to spend time with family (much needed time).

Another countdown that I have is for July 13 and July 21. These are the days that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows come out, respectively. I am VERY excited about these two events.

Last week I saw Shrek the Third and Pirates of the Caribbean. Neither of these are as good as their predecessors, but they are well worth at least paying matinee prices at the movie theater. I even saw Pirates the night before it came out and honestly I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hopefully these countdown weeks don't go by too slowly...

See most everyone very soon!

grace and peace

My Birthday Weekend

2007-05-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

Yes last week I celebrated my 23rd birthday. I am still getting used to saying I am 23 not 22. Man the years are just starting to fly by. Some of you may know that my past 2 birthdays have not been the best. This is probably because I am over dramatic and to most people they would have been fine. But seeing as that I am not most people...I spent this past weekend in Phoenix with my grandparents. It was a nice relaxing weekend. And I had a few firsts.

1. When we go see my mom's parents we usually go to this pretty good Italian food restaurant. With your entree, you get a salad with this really good dressing. The only problem with the salad is that it has beets on it. Usually I just pile them on my dad's plate, but seeing as he was not there, I decided to act my new age and be a big girl and eat the beets. Surprisingly, well maybe not since I pretty much like any food that is set in front of me, I liked the beets.

2. Number 2 also goes to food. We decided to cook at home for Saturday night. I went with Baba to the store that morning and he asked if I had ever had Brussell sprouts. I said no, but seeing that I had beets the night before, I was throwing caution to the wind. That night my uncle came over and had dinner with us. It was nice to catch up. Lo and behold, I ate a whole brussell sprout. I really liked it, it sort of tastes like an asparagus.

3. I drove in Phoenix by myself without getting lost once!! That is actually is a semi-big feat. My wonderful mother had some doubt, but I pulled through.

4. This is not really a first, but my grandmother let me choose a piece of her jewelry for part of my birthday present. I chose a turquoise bracelet that she wore when the family drove across the country and my dad had a pet raccoon. So it has great sentimental value.

All in all it was a wonderful birthday weekend. I have started the countdown until mid-term (18 days). The countdown until SCWC (32 days). I actually saw my last day of my US-2 placement. The last day of school for 2007-2008 is June 18. That I think is my last day at Joan Macy.

Lots of stuff to think about now!!

grace and peace

Results

2007-05-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

I PASSED!!! I PASSED!!! Not that I am bragging. You know those cartoons where you can see the cartoons heart beating out of the chest? That is how I felt before I looked at my results. I think I even passed with semi-flying colors. I got a better grade on this test, I think since it is a scaled score test you can't really tell, but anyway my score was higher than my two tests that I went to school for. I just thought that I should let everyone know!

grace and peace

Another Random Post

2007-05-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

Just in case some of you don't know, I love the Phoenix Suns, so does my family. I just watched them finish off the Lakers!! Just one more little thing to bring joy to my life.

On another note, I find out my Special Ed. Certification test score on Friday. I am very nervous about looking at the email with my score in it. My parents might say that I am being a little over dramatic about it.

I am going to Phoenix in a week and I am very excited to be with my grandparents for the weekend, especially since it is Mother's Day!

I got my confirmation for my New York tickets in the mail the other day. That means that we are just one step closer to having mid term. I even get to be on the same plane with a classmate for part of the way. Then I am back for a week and my first graduation of my teaching career. Then I am back to Texas to work at my first Sea City since I was a youth dean my senior year of high school. I am very excited.

That is all for now!

grace and peace

Back to the Smog

2007-04-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

I thought that was a pretty catchy title that I came up with as I was landing in Ontario last week on my way back from Spring Break. As many of you know, I went home a couple of weeks ago for Easter and Spring Break. Now I don't really like to fly, but seeing as I live in California and my family is in Texas, flying is the easiest, fastest and now probably the cheapest way to get back home. The morning I left got off to a great start, I got to the airport in plenty of time. The first adventure started when I got on the plane. Boy was it bumpy. I got off in Las Vegas and none of the screens had the gate that I was to depart from. "Great" I thought. I had to call Peter so he could look online for the correct gate. This flight was once again bumpy because of the front in Texas. I get off that flight in Houston and had a very small connection time. I make it in time to get in the "A" line and get my seat that I always try to sit in...Row 13 on the window. The flight to Corpus is a short one, but once again very bumpy. It was also very cold. I was so ready to get home that I didn't really care. I was greeted by mom and dad and we waited for my luggage. One bag comes around the carousel and we wait and wait and wait. The carousel stops moving. For those of you who have never been to the Corpus Christi International Airport, we have two, maybe three carousels and eight gates. So I shouldn't have had to wait that long for one of my bags. I realized the bag that was missing was the bag that had all of my clothes and as tomorrow was Easter, I needed that bag. Thank goodness the bag came in on the next flight.

That night we had our traditional dinner at the Boggs, it was so nice to be back with family and actually have a Real home cooked meal. Easter was soo cold, but it was good to be back at my church. I played with the bell choir and it was great to play bells again. Sometimes it is so relaxing.

Sunday we drove up to Georgetown because Peter was having surgery on his mouth the next day. I have much sympathy for him because his mouth has had to go through so much with all the teeth pulling and braces and now these multiple surgeries! On Monday I had lunch with my best friend! It is surreal that we are so far away but when we are together it is like we still live across the hall.

Tuesday and Wednesday I did nothing, almost literally. I got up late and laid on the couch all day until the evening when we would go to dinner or church. Tuesday we went to Frank's (yummy). The meal was amazing, I knew I missed good Italian food, but I didn't know I missed it that much. That night I saw some of my work friends and caught up on stuff. Wednesday we went to bell choir practice and had dinner out. My parents and I laugh so much when we are out, or even at home. It is wonderful.

Thursday and Friday, mom took the day off and we got our nails done, got the car fixed, shopped for groceries and saw Meet the Robinsons. I give the movie 3 stars, I laughed and got a little teary, the perfect combination for a movie. Dad was supposed to take Friday off but had this huge ARD but when he got home we went to our tradtional Friday night dinner at On the Border. Great times.

Saturday I took my Special Ed Certification test. 'Nuff said. I get my test score on May 4th. Please pray!

Sunday was church and shopping at the mall. I got another pair of shoes...yea!
Monday I was back to California and the smog. It was good to be back "home" but I still miss Texas so much.

While I was at home I received an email from Southwest Airlines saying that I had received my free roundtrip for having 8 roundtrips in a year. Today, I booked those tickets to go back home the week between our spring semester and summer school, so I can go to Sea City and actually work (probably as a Water Babe!!). I will be back for a week in California then I will go to NYC for my US-2 midterm. Shout out to my class-mates...I can't wait to see y'all. So much traveling!

I also found out this past week that I will be teaching my Relationships class all three rotations of summer school and helping with Water Aerobics!! Then I will be driving back to Texas for two whole weeks!! That will mark one year gone, and only one more year in the program. That means I have to start figuring out what to do afterwards. I have some thoughts, but I guess I will see how it plays out.

I know this was a long one, but I will really try to post more often. It was really great seeing everyone on my trip home and I am looking forward to June!

grace and peace

First Hawaii Post

2007-04-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

This is just a short post to say how awesome Hawaii is. It is so beautiful and peaceful, but a little too laid back for me to be there for an extended period of time. I met some amazing college age people from Univ. of Hawaii, UCLA, and San Diego State, there were other people there too and they were also amazing. This is a picture of the group that was there minus the University of Hawaii people

because they were preparing our luau. We drove out to Waikiki to have a semi Bible study where I talked about my job as a young adult missionary and two others talked about their service work. We tried to get the sunset, but the sun set really fast, so this is what is left of it. It is still beautiful though!

I will post more about what we did later, but I thought everyone should read that I had an amazing time.

I am a Driving Fiend

2007-03-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

As many of you should know, Easter is coming up. Out of my 22 Easters, I have had a new outfit probably 20 of those. So I needed a new Easter outfit. I am lucky enough to also be in need of an outfit for the luau that I am attending this coming weekend in Hawaii. As some of you may know, I am very picky about my clothing and my shoes. You might also know that this trait was passed down to me from my mother and my second mother. I grew up going to Dillard's all of the time. Dillard's is another one of those things that go in the "I Miss" category. Unfortunately, there are only FOUR Dillard's in the whole state of California, none of those being in the Los Angeles area.

The reason I like Dillard's so much is because it has brands that I know and trust. The shoe department also has two brands of shoes that are exclusively at Dillard's and probably for two years they are the only brands that I buy if I am in need of "grown-up" shoes. I decided this week that I was going to go shopping (since I only have 4 days until I leave the mainland). I decided that I want to go to Dillard's to look. This also happened because my mother taunted me last weekend saying that she and Lisa were at Dillard's and kept finding things that I would like. I looked on my handy-dandy computer for the nearest Dillard's and to my surprise I found one near me. Well sort of near me. It is in Palmdale, California. From my door to Dillard's door it is 86.6 miles. Thinking to myself that I have nothing better to do on a Saturday, I decided that I would drive to Palmdale.

I left at 9:15 this morning for the nearest Dillard's and got there at 10:30. Now some might think that driving this far to a department store is a little silly. But I challenge them to go without some of their favorite things. My dad also said now I will know what he felt like when he was growing up and lived so far away from the nearest stores.

As soon as I walked in I was greeted with the same smell that all Dillard's have. The next time you are at a mall, walk into Dillard's and you will know what I am talking about. People associate smells with things. Think about those smells that remind you of good things in your life. There is a certain smell that reminds me of my Nana. And one of the staircases of one of the dorms at Southwestern reminds me of the old "walk-church" which is now the new "walk-church". This smell of Dillard's just put me at peace with things. Well that might be a little much, but it did make me happy.

I now have the perfect shoes and the perfect dress (well probably almost perfect shoes and dress) for the luau and Easter. And while I put 170 miles on my truck, it was totally worth it to have a day of good times. And I got to see a different part of California.

grace and peace

Things I Miss

2007-03-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

While there are many things I miss about being in Texas, there are several things that hit me everyday.

1. Fresh air. I went to Mt. Baldy yesterday with Peter and it was almost fresh air. We were standing at 78oo ft. and we were still in the smog. Not that I ever stood outside in Texas and took huge breaths of air, but I miss being able to do it and not get black lung.

2. Sonic and Bill Miller's. Yes the restaurants. I usually only go to those two places for the great sweet tea (in both cases) and the endless choices of drinks (in Sonic's case). I have always lived in a place where I can just drive right down the road and can get a good drink. Not the case here. To get sweet tea I have to drive to Chick-fil-a in Upland, which granted is only 7 miles away. But getting there takes about 20 minutes! and the tea isn't even that good.

3. Whataburger. You might ask, why do you miss Whataburger, you don't even eat hamburgers. Well, no I don't eat hamburgers, but I do eat other things on the menu that I can't really get here. Well, you actually can, for example. Yesterday, Peter and I went to Jack in the Box for lunch, yes the chicken sandwich was ok, but it wasn't Whataburger good. Another example, Peter brought me a chicken salad sanwich from Mc Allister's (another favorite deli for their chicken salad sandwich and sweet tea!!), so for dinner I had that and I thought he should try In'n'Out, since that is the burger place in California, other than Carl's Jr. which is just yuck! And yes, I was having my wonderful chicken salad sandwich, I was sort of sad that I could not get anything from In'n'Out.

Here I am going to go on a little tangent, but it is still related. On our trip to Mt. Baldy yesterday we decided that we needed a picture of both of us, one that one of us was not holding the camera. There are many things in my car that I don't know how they got there and one of them is a green sponge, one of those really thin ones that you use to scrub really tough things to get them off the dishes. So we got outside, put the camera on the sponge, but it still wasn't at the right angle to take the picture. I looked back in the car and lo and behold sitting right under my radio is a Whataburger lemon packet. Perfect size for the camera to sit on and be at an angle. So here is the picture that we took with just the bed of the truck, a sponge and a Whataburger lemon packet! And look at that beautiful scenery!!

That is all for now.

grace and peace

Aloha State Here I Come! update from 2/28

2007-03-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

I AM GOING TO HAWAII!!! I will be there for practically 4 whole days, which might not sound like a lot, but who cares it is Hawaii. I will be at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, which is located in the Manoa Valley on Oahu. I don't really know what I will be doing other than speaking at least once about my US2 experience. I will keep everyone updated when I find out more.

grace and peace

Please pray for Kevin's family, friends and Bonita High. He was a student and Bonita High School, the public high school where we enroll some of our kids. He was killed by a drunk driver Thursday night.

Another Really Quick One

2007-02-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

I found out today that I will most likely be going to...wait for it...HAWAII. A former US2 called me yesterday to ask me to attend a Wesley Foundation retreat for the Cal-Pac Conference at the University of Hawaii. There are some logistics to work out, but hopefully, this time next month I will be in the Aloha State!!! Mom said that blessings come in disguises. If I was busy at work then it might have been an issue getting away from work the last week of the quarter.

Then that next week I will be going HOME for our spring break. I can not wait to be at home and see my family! Then in May I most likely am going to Phoenix to see my grandparents for my birthday! THEN a few weeks later I am going to New York for US2 midterm. There is a lot of traveling in my near future. So yes, blessings to come in disguises!

grace and peace

Once again, sorry for the lateness

2007-02-15T15:53:00.000-08:00

Since my last post, I have actually acted like a tourist. This past weekend my US2 supervisor, Lauren, was in town. Monday I did not have school, so we acted like tourists and went to Hollywood. I took a few pictures, but I am waiting for Peter to come out here to really act like a tourist and go picture crazy.

That paragraph was written about a week ago. I can't say that I have been too busy to write a new post because I haven't. But here we go.

Last Saturday I had a very nice conversation with Emily, a US2 classmate. And on Sunday I talked to Adam, another classmate. It was really nice to get back in touch with my classmates. Together, I talked to them for about 3.5 hours, which is actually a long time to be on the phone! But it was good to hear what is going on outside of California.

The past two weeks have actually been nice because we had both Mondays off for holidays. This past Monday I was invited to have breakfast with a couple of the ladies I work with and some old colleagues of thiers. I must admit I had a lot of fun. It was nice to meet new people. That night I went to the Annual Gala for Progressive Christians Uniting. The guest speaker was Marcus Borg, a very well know theologian. Although my companions did not enjoy his talk, I did. He gave us points to think about without telling us to do things and then not giving us examples of how to help the world or people. The first few sentences were talking about books to read if we wanted more help and the first book he mentioned was Diana Butler Bass' Christianity for the Rest of Us, How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith. I thought that was interesting because my mom is reading that book at the present and that was the second time I was told to read the book in about a week.

Tuesday the youth at church had a pancake dinner for Shrove Tuesday, but also as a fundraiser for the annual service project. So the young adult group went to that rather than have group.

Wednesday night I was asked to read the scripture for the Ash Wednesday service. I don't think I have ever read so many verses, but it was nice to do something at church other than just sit in the pew.

This past week at school, I have taken on helping with School Liaison. I must admit it has kept me busier, but I am still really only working about 4 hours a day. Which is not good. I was informed today that we will be combining my two relationship classes. This is good and bad. Good because that means I will be able to have class everyday. The problem with having only three students in one class is that when two of them are missing, it is really hard to have class with only one student. And that situation has happened about 6 out of the last 9 class periods. Some people might think that having a small class is good, but I am here to tell you it really stinks! The bad part about only having one class period, is that I now am down to only teaching 1 period of the day. And that takes me down to about 3 hours of actual work a day.
So I ask you to please continue to keep me in your prayers/thoughts. The meeting with Lauren and my supervisors at David and Margaret went ok. I was given suggestions on what to do and was given the school liaison job for the full time public school girls, but that really hasn't panned out. So just please pray that what is right for me and the girls will be figured out.

I think that is all for now. One thing totally not related...I am getting very excited about the NCAA tournament coming up, even though Arizona is not doing as well as I had hoped. It gives me something to look forward to.

grace and peace

Basketball

2007-02-10T14:59:00.001-08:00

this one will be quick.

TAKE THAT OREGON!

Just a Little Update

2007-02-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

I thought I had posted in February, but I guess not. So here is a little update.

I have now been teaching Relationships for a week and so far so good. This week we talked about self-concept. Each girl has thought about postive traits that they have and then also self-defeating behaviors that we are working to get rid of during this quarter.

I attended the first young adult meeting at Claremont UMC. It was fun and a change of pace. We are going to watch a movie every week and then discuss "churchy" issues in the movie.

Tomorrow, Saturday, my US-2 supervisor is coming for a visit. I am excited because we are off on Monday and I think we are going to do some tourist-y things. Then on Tuesday we are having a meeting with my supervisors here at David and Margaret. I have a request that you keep me in your thoughts and prayers for this weekend and especially Tuesday because the past few weeks have been very rough and this meeting could change my life once again.

I guess that is all for now!
grace and peace

A True Story

2007-01-31T18:28:00.000-08:00

This is a true story that my mom sent me the other day and I said that I would post it.

THIS IS A TRUE STORY:
A kindergarten teacher explains to her class that she is an Arizona State Sun Devil. She asks her students to raise their hands if they are Sun Devils too. No one really knows what being a Sun Devil is, but wanting to be like their teacher their hands explode into the air like fleshy fireworks.
There is, however, one exception. A girl named Kristen has not gone along with the crowd. The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different.
"Because I'm not a Sun Devil."
"Then," asks the teacher, "what are you?"
"Why, I'm a proud Arizona Wildcat ," boasts the little girl.
The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red. She asks Kristen why she is a Wildcat.
"Well, my mom and dad are Wildcats, so I'm a Wildcat too."
The teacher is now angry. "That's no reason," she says loudly. "What if your mom was a moron, and your dad was a moron. What would you be then?"
"Then," says Kristen, "I'd be a Sun Devil."

People should now know that my parents aren't morons and honestly any two teams that are huge rivals could be put in here. And sorry to some of my relatives, you chose the school!!

In other news.

I took my first church directory picture by myself. I also realized that I am not a "posed-for" picture taker. I am more of the semi-spontaneous/ spontaneous picture taker. Several times the lady said to me, "I can tell that you are about to blink." And in my head I said yeah, so take the picture.

It is the end of the semester. For schools who start after Labor Day, the first semester doesn't end until the end of January. So for me, I should be getting ready for Winter Break, but no. I am looking at a month with two days off for semi-random reasons and then six weeks with nothing. People keep saying how early Spring Break is this year and I keep telling them, it is way late for me and they just don't understand! Our Easter Break is smashed in their with Spring Break!

I just finished reading my 19th book while here in California. High School Confidential, by Jeremy Iversen is the modern day Fast Times at Ridgemont High by Cameron Crowe. If you want to know what exactly happens at a "regular" high school read this book. I found it very interesting and actually sort of apalling at what is acceptable for students and teachers these days!

That is all for now.
grace and peace

My First Gift

2007-01-24T16:11:00.000-08:00

Really short post:
I received my first gift as a teacher yesterday. Some people might think, wow that took a long time, but really it is not. Anyway, I was about to start the last lesson about Least Common Multiples when one of my students walked in to class. She handed me her pass and then a wadded up paper towel. I asked her what it was and she said just open it. Working here you learn to be careful when a girl gives you something. I asked her if she was turning in her lip/ chin piercing and she told me to just open it. I opened it and there was a wriggling earth worm. It turns out that the science class was digging in one of the flower beds to find worms and grubs. She told me that she was going to get me one of those white ones (grubs) or a spider. Another girl in the class was sort of offended because the worm was going to die since it was not in the dirt. So we decided to take the worm back to the dirt. The gift giver was sad, but I said I would always remember the worm.

Just another day in the life of a teacher at Joan Macy.

grace and peace

Cool Book and other random things

2007-01-18T22:17:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I received the Intellectual Devotional. "[D]aily readings that will refresh the spirit, stimulate the mind, and help complete your education." It is a very interesting read each night before I go to bed. Each day of the week is assigned a topic...history, literature, visual arts, science, music, philosophy and religion. I suggest it for anyone who wants to get in the habit of reading something daily.

Onto the weather. So this week has been freak weather for Southern California. Yesterday there was snow in Malibu. And many of the people had to hose off their cars before driving to work because of the ice. I do have to admit that it has been nice since I am used to at least semi winter weather. But I was jealous of all the people at Southwestern because they had snow and probably more than we had when I was there. I really wasn't jealous of not having school because we don't have to make up weather days. That was always the worst.

This week I found out that I will no longer be teaching math starting at the semester. As I said in my I'm back post, I will be teaching parenting/ relationships. I sort of have a problem with this because I will only be teaching 2 periods a day and then probably doing secretarial work the rest of the day. I sort of feel that this is a waste. No offense to all the secretaries out there, it is hard work. But secretarial work really isn't the reason I am out here.

Another piece of big news is that I got a couch! There had been a couch in the hallway for awhile that the store was trying to sell. It looks like it is from the 70s or 80s. But I got news that my MIRYAP will be coming to California in February so I decided to get the couch. It is great for several reasons. *I have a place to sit now other than my bed which I realized was becoming a bad habit. *I can now maybe have visitors. *I got rid of my table, as it was really just a junk and dust collector. And while I did sit there to eat, I faced the TV because the table faced the wall. *The couch has a pull out bed. *I went and bought some of those jersey sheets so I can have sheets for the bed and put one of them over it so the couch will look presentable and it reminds me of my own couch that now resides in Corpus. *The best thing is that the couch was FREE!!!

I must say in reference to my last post about basketball, I am very glad that I don't have FSN because Arizona has been playing dismally and on Saturday UA plays #2 UCLA. The good thing is that ASU almost beat them, so maybe we have a chance, but to me it seems that we peaked to early in the season. Hopefully we can have another peak before March.

grace and peace

Basketball Season

2007-01-13T23:22:00.000-08:00

I know two posts in that many days...wow. This is a totally random post, but I just felt that I must say something about it. I know that I am not a basketball afficionado, but I do like to think that when College Basketball season comes around, I at least know as much as the next guy.

This morning I was watching the Tennessee/ Ohio State game -- 1. because it is ncaa basketball and 2. because on saturday mornings there is absolutely nothing to watch since I only have the most basic channels (and I woke up too late to watch Dragon, a cute claymation show that I watch in Spanish). Anyway back to the game. I was half watching and half reading through the whole game, which if you didn't see it, it was a nail biter if you root for any of those teams. There were about 50 lead changes (probably a slight exageration) and the teams were pretty much 2 or 3 goals away from each other. So it really just boils down to this. With 30 seconds left Tennessee was in possession of the ball and in the lead by one point. Well they decide to try and score so, as far as I can see it, get farther ahead. Well it didn't work. They missed the shot Ohio State rebounded the ball made a 3 pointer, which put them 2 points ahead. Tennessee got the ball back, missed another shot, and Ohio State rebounded again, but stepped out of bounds. Unfortunately, the referees did not see it so Ohio State won by two points. The burning question in my mind is why did Tennessee either keep control of the ball since the shot clock had more time on it than the game clock did, or at least stall so if they didn't make the shot, Ohio State would have less time to get ahead. That is my rant for the day.

In other basketball news 5 ranked teams lost, including UNC who is #1 and Clemson, who was the only remaining undefeated team. Several other ranked teams only won by a goal or two. In Pac 10 news both Washington teams lost to unranked teams from California. I was especially happy about Washington State's loss, since UA lost to them last week, a bit silly, but at least we lost to a ranked team. Tomorrow UA plays the Oregon Ducks #17.

I am a bit sad because Thursday and Saturday UA will be here in LA but because tickets are so expensive I will not be able to see my team in person. Maybe I can get into the school gym and see if they have FSN because these games should be good. Especially because UCLA is number 3 and they barely won against USC.

Pac-10 basketball is getting exciting because there are several teams tied for first place and it is only about a quarter of the way through conference play!

For those of you who don't know, I LOVE college basketball. And just so everyone knows, there will probably be more posts like this up until the end of March!

grace and peace

I'm Back

2007-01-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

So I realize, just like several other people, that many of my past posts begin with "sorry it has been so long since I have posted," but I really am. Since my last post I have been to Texas and back.

It was great to go home for two weeks and be able to see my family and all of the wonderful people that are my friends. At work people have been asking what I did over the break, like I had some really cool things planned. My most standard answer is "nothing, I laid on the couch and read and watched tv." And that is the truth. The break started off on a good note because usually I fly out of Ontario and have to catch another plane in Phoenix, but for some reason we chose a flight that flew to Las Vegas. That ended up being a huge blessing because there were no flights arriving or leaving Phoenix due to fog (who has ever heard of that bad of fog in Phoenix??). The flights though were rough because it seemed to be we were in a storm the whole way. The first thing we did once we were out of San Antonio was stop at Bill Miller's so I could get some Sweet Tea (I really miss that stuff) and take a good deep breath of smog-free air. Church the next day was fun because I got to see so many people that I have known for so long. I also got to meet our Associate Pastor's foster son!! He is the most adorable baby EVER!! I saw some of my friends that day too, it was good to catch up after 4 1/2 months.

After Christmas Eve, there were not many exciting things that happened. I got sick and had some sleep deprived nights. I ran a lot of errands and watched A LOT of Charmed on TNT (since I don't have that channel in La Verne). New Year's Eve was a blast, we played a new game called Last Word (cool game!). That next week was pretty much the same as the week before lots of laying around. I felt like an adult one time because I bought my own new cell phone and a new pair of shoes (granted the money was a gift -- thanks Baba!!, but nonetheless, it felt good).

Now I am back in California and it is practically how I left it. This past week has flown by, which I am glad for because we have Monday off!! It is always hard coming back from a break. I found out that my teaching assistant quit over the break, and it is really amazing how spoiled you get to having two people in the classroom. But at least now I don't have someone critiquing my every teaching move. The principal and I also decided that I will just go back to teaching one math class at the beginning of the next semester, stop teaching music, but I will pick up probably 2 periods of a parenting/relationships class. I never to Home Ec. in high school, so I never got to use one of those real/fake babies, but I found out that Joan Macy has some, so I will get to have the girls use them. We thought that this class will be really good for the girls because some of them already have children and most of them have not been in many healthy relationships. So at least that is something I can give them good advice about!

I have a few prayer concerns -- Christina, one of my classmates, asked us to pray for the pastor of the church she attends in Dallas. She was diagnosed with a very severe form of cancer. Also, I found out today that one of my classmates has decided not to continue with the US 2 program. Please keep both of these individuals in your prayers/thoughts.

My next post will be much sooner...I promise!

Grace and Peace.

DONE!!

2006-12-22T13:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been soo long since my last post. It has been a busy two weeks. Since my last post I have made three presentations about the US 2 program and David and Margaret. Since it is close to Christmas several churches had asked me to speak about what I do and essentially be the one who brought the gifts back so they wouldn't have to drive to La Verne. It was fun and I am glad I got to share about what I do. At one of the events, there were some teenage girls that they wanted me to focus my attention on and the next week at church one of the church leaders thanked me for saying things to the girls because they always see people their parents age working for the church but they don't see enough young people.

That Saturday, Lauri and I had a girls night out. We went to Victoria Gardens, this really cool outside mall. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen and then went and saw The Holiday. It was one of the best movies I have seen in awhile. Good chick flick, but also good overall.

That next Monday, my leadership girls and I and a few other key people at the agency at breakfast with California State Senator Bob Margett. He supports D and M and the two boys homes in the area. He wanted to connect with some of the girls and give them support. The president of Citrus College, a community college in the area, was also at the breakfast and the Senator made a gift to all of the girls from the Cosmetology school at Citrus. Each of the girls at D and M get a manicure, pedicure, and a haircut. The girls were really excited and it helped them to see someone who had a hard life in the beginning so successful.

Last Friday night was our JMS Christmas Party. It was a blast! It was really good to see all of my coworkers in a non-work situation. We played a really corny game, but most of the people really got into it. Everyone had a Christmas light bulb necklace and anytime they said Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Kwanzaa or Hanukkah, the person that heard them first got to take their light bulb. Their were some really sneaky people! We also played Po-Keno. Sort of like Bingo. I found out that some of my coworkers are REALLY competitive.

Saturday Baba and Arlene drove through La Verne going to Pasadena and I had lunch with them. That morning I got up and deep cleaned my apartment. It hasn't looked this clean since I moved in. Lunch was great. We went to Casa de Salsa a nice Mexican food restaurant. It was nice to spend time with my grandparents outside of family events.
That morning I also locked my apartment keys in my apartment!!

This week has been a blur, even though it feels like Monday was a year ago. Wednesday we had a White Elephant party. I don't remember when I have laughed that hard, except at the Christmas party. One of my coworkers received "Bubba" teeth. To my readers in Texas, at least in CC, you know what the teeth look like.

It was HILARIOUS! I was lucky enough to receive bride and groom bobble heads.

I am leaving tomorrow for Texas and I am very excited! I can't wait to be back in the South and be with my family and church and friends!

I don't think I will write before Christmas, so to everyone -- Have a Blessed Christmas.

Grace and Peace!

News Flash -- A few additions since yesterday!

2006-12-05T16:46:00.000-08:00

As most people know I have been working at the school and also at the emergency shelter. My principal and I talked last week about cutting my Gillette time down. While I enjoy going to Gillette and I think it helps some of the girls that transfer over sometimes it makes my day feel very rushed. And I feel bad when I don't go because we are short staffed in the office or it is just a crazy day. So as of today I only make and take work over to Gillette and just check up on them once a week. Because I am going to be in the office more time now, again as of today I have been given the advisory position of the leadership girls. These are girls who apply to be on Leadership. Please don't ask what Leadership means because none of the teachers can come up with a good definition or another good title because all of the girls are so different. This group is big point of contention during our weekly meetings, especially since we can't come up with a different name and don't have a good definition. Essentially, these girls do well in their classes, get good citizenship grades, do well in the cottage life and the special part is they get to plan activities for the other girls. So we will see how the girls take it when they find out I am the advisor and not one of the office staff that they all (well most all) love. I will keep everyone posted about this assigned endeavor.

I heard someone today use the word irk, and I thought my mom was the only one that used that word. But I realized that something has been irking me for a very long time, even though I just put on a smile and laugh with everyone else. I am assuming that most people know I am from Texas, which essentially is part of the South. I am also assuming that everyone knows that I say y'all, probably because I am from the South because rarely do my parents say it. I say y'all in most of my conversations because that is the word I use because it makes sense to use it when talking to many people. Several times in the last week I have been made fun of because I say y'all. I know this is just a playful joke, but oh my it is just a word. Two people asked how to spell it and then if we learned the word in school. I think they all want to say it, but now are scared because they have made fun of me. Even the kids catch it sometimes and they bring it to my attention. So I finally said it was in the dictionary...Variant(s): or y'all /'yol/Function: pronoun. chiefly Southern : YOU -- usually used in addressing two or more persons (taken from Merriam-Webster).

Well that is all for now
Grace and Peace

Oh my it's December already!

2006-12-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

I was told that I needed to do another post, so I will try to catch everyone up from my last post (since it was awhile ago).

Thanksgiving happened. I went to Phoenix to see my family. I think it was the first time that we were in Phoenix for Thanksgiving. It was great to see family since we only see them once a year. Had some great times with my grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins. Also some bad times...University of Arizona lost the Duel in the Desert against their arch rival Arizona State University. It was a sad and very embarassing few hours.
We have had a bit of a cold spell here, but today it was almost 80 degrees. Honestly this past week has not been that exciting. It is really weird here because the sun starts going down around 4:30. The day goes by so fast because there seems to be less hours of light. So by the time I get home from work the sun is already going down. I have spent a lot of time just reading because it was dark and cold.

Today in math we put up a Days til Break countdown. We have 14 school days. It seems like this semester has gone by so fast. Well not technically a whole semester, but at least I don't have to make a semester final before Christmas. I can't believe that there are only 20 days until Christmas. And that means that I will be going home for 2 whole weeks!

This coming week I have three US2 appearances at different churches. I go say a little something and they give me gifts for the girls' Christmas. I have also made a wish list on http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html/105-9775445-2749263?ie=UTF8&type=wishlist&id=270VO20EQFLXH for books that I think the girls might like to read.

Well hopefully the next 20 days are more eventful than the past 20 days.
grace and peace

An Update

2006-11-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in awhile and a lot has happened since November 2, so I will recap. Homecoming was great. I got to see my best friends and it sort of felt like college again. My family and I spent Saturday morning at a dentist's office so Peter could get his mouth fixed. (this prompted me to feel like the worst sister ever). Anyway. That next week was the end of the first quarter (to those in Texas -- the first 9 weeks) and my first official school holiday and turning in grades for kids that I was responsible for and my first real argument with my teaching assistant. I also figured out that I am very hard headed and want my way when it comes to my kids.

Another first and new experience was getting sick while living by myself. Sunday and Monday I was stuck to my bed and the kleenex box. Getting sick by yourself is sort of sad, but now I know that I can do it!

The new quarter brought with it some challenges. I am now teaching one math class and MUSIC. My only qualifications are taking piano for a few years and singing in choir for my whole life. Now that I have taught it for a week, I am glad that I am teaching it. I must say though that I was pessimistic when I saw my class roster. The 5 kids that chose to take the class were several of the girls that are always mentioned in staff meetings and have a permanent place on the shift reports that tell us how the girls do at the cottage before and after school. The class used to be set up only as the girls would self teach keyboard and then the teacher would show a musical the last 20 minutes of the period. I have changed it where the girls do keyboard some days and then other days we will actually learn about music. Today was the first day that they got to spend more than just a couple of minutes at the keyboard. I sat with two girls most of the time. One of them was really into learning how to play Ode to Joy. This is the same song that I learned to play first. She sat there for the 30 minutes playing this same song. She played it with me. It really amazes me how these girls so want to be perfect. She made two mistakes and got upset with herself. I told her that I have played this song a bajillion times and can play it without thinking or looking that the keys. After she played the whole song for me, I told her that she could go onto the next page, but she said she would practice this song more. I was very impressed.

Next week is Thanksgiving and though I have always known that I have much to be thankful for, it now hits me even more. Some of my kids are the happiest that I have seen them because they get to see their family for the day of Thanksgiving. I get to see mine too. We are all flying to Phoenix. I think this is the first time that we have spent this holiday in Phoenix. It should be interesting.

I hope this post finds everyone well.

grace and peace

Homecoming (sort of)

2006-11-02T23:04:00.000-08:00

As I type this, I am lying (i had to check whether to use lay or lie) in a bed in the Holiday Inn Express in Georgetown, Tx. I am here for SOS, a program that the education department puts on for first year teachers. I have come to realize that this program was just an excuse for me to come home and see my family and best friends. SOS stands for Semester of Support. I have not received any support from the school or any of my cohort, which is sort of disappointing since there are about 13 of us going through the same issues. But I have received an immense amount of support from my family and friends from home.

This week has been very hectic. One of the office staff was and is on vacation, so we have been short handed again. But all's well that end's well (it won't really end until Tuesday). But this week has been very calm compared to last week, and it was still semi-crazy. As sad as it is, I have realized that some girls just can not make it through the school day without getting into some kind of trouble, but I do realize that sometimes this is more because of the teacher than because of the student.

And although I already knew this, it has just now really come to my attention. These girls are not my friends, they are my students. Today, one of my girls was sent to room 22 by another teacher during my class. When she came back, she was not at all ready to come back to class and participate and do her work. She was very disruptive, so I sent her back in there. Well I found out after that class was over that she was saying some very not nice things about me. The staff who told me asked if it bothered me. I said no not really because she is my student not my friend and she is just saying that because she didn't like me right then because I did something she didn't want me to do. The interesting part is that when she did come back, she sat down, got a book, asked what we were doing, and did her work, calling me over when she had a problem or when she knew she got an answer correct. That is what I love about these girls. Most of the time they can be so upset with me, but (at least in my class) they do know when to get to work and do what they need to do.

Today I also told the classes that I would be gone on Friday. One girl asked how long I would be gone and another student answered forever. She got very upset. I think she thought that I actually wasn't coming back. I said that I promised that I would be back Sunday night and be back in class on Monday. She made me pinky swear that I would be back. It made me realize that as much as some of the girls don't like the teachers, we are the ones that are the stable part of their lives. It makes us that much more important to do what is best for them and help them not only with school work, but also help them learn what they missed learning because of their different situations. As hectic as the past two weeks at school have been, I know I am in the right place with these girls right now teaching them math and even the girls that I don't have but that I see in the office.

It is time for me to go to bed because I will be getting up two hours earlier than my body is used to (ahhh). But it is good to be somewhere where I can take a huge breath outside and not be too poisoned. A place that I am so used to it feels like home!! If only everyone could have a place like that.

grace and peace

Being an Adult

2006-10-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

This is a very random post, but I just finished balancing all of my bank accounts. While that might not sound like a huge task, believe me it is. I have several bank accounts with which I have to keep up with to make sure I don't run myself into a hole. While I think of myself as most of the time money conscious, I know of some people who wouldn't agree.

Before I moved away from home (not counting college), I didn't really worry about my bank accounts. If I went to the grocery store, I could always call home and let them know and money would some times magically appear in my bank accounts. Since moving to California, I have not done that once, and I guess I didn't realize how much that saved me from actually having to make sure that there was nothing in the RED. (One more thing that I am realizing to be grateful for.)

When I moved out to California, I opened two other bank accounts, so I could keep the money that I have already separate from the money I make as a US-2. Now that I have those two accounts and my two accounts from my PC life (pre california), it can get a little hectic keeping everything straight. For example, I was very worried that my California checking account was going to go over how much I actually had, I took money from my PC accounts and transfer to my IC (in california) account. Maybe some of you are familiar with the phrase "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" that is exactly what I did. Now I have to pay my PC account back, so I will be square with myself.

I am lucky enough to have a mother who is very mindful of where the family money goes. She came up with this cool Excel spreadsheet to do the family finances. She told me when I moved out here that I should use it too. Well, I did faithfully for about a month. I decided after last weeks "robbing" I should start keeping track again. I had not entered any new purchases for a month and she tells me that I have to enter everything in, not just change the numbers to reflect what they are now. This process took me about 4 hours, just trying to get everything right.

Wow what it takes to be a responsible adult with the money that I am making. Grant it, it shouldn't be that hard to keep track to the check I recieve, but I guess old/bad habits die hard i.e. not watching the bank balances.

Some might know already, this week has shaped up to be a very hectic, eventful and tiring week at work, so I will post on those events later. I still am trying to get my apartment in picture perfect order...hopefully by the beginning of next week.

Grace and Peace

Room 22 (clink clink)

2006-10-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

The clink clink is supposed to be the sound on Law and Order (c'mon, you know what I am talking about!) As I have said before, Room 22 is the time out room, which I sort of think is pointless. Why send a girl out of class, when that is what they want and you redirect them, they start doing work. Well this blog begins, with 5th period today. I now have 5 kids in that period (and my boss said that one of our kids is equal to 4 kids with behavior problems in a "regular" school). Anyway, the students know my rules and that I don't send people to Rm. 22. Each day the girls also have a point sheet that they carry from class to class. Each point sheet has boxes on it for positive or negative checks.
I think until today, the most checks I have given one student is three. Today, this one student would not follow the directions, after many redirects and many choices given by me. I have to say that choices usually end up being what I want them to do, but in a way that they think it is what they want to do (so it is a win-win situation). So after 3 checks in the not following directions category and many redirects, this student would not do her work and she was affecting the performance of other students in the class. I did the thing that I said I wouldn't do, I called for a Rm. 22. (I know you are in shock right now).
Now I know why other teachers send the girls to Rm. 22 so much, it makes everything easier. But if I wanted an easy job, I wouldn't have 1. become a teacher and 2. become a missionary.

This weekend I watched The Inconvenient Truth, about Global Warming, it was a very compelling movie. I recommend it for everyone. It wasn't very partisan either, it was just straight facts. An interesting fact is that if the glaciers, the western part of Antarctica or the same amount of Greenland melts like the scientist say then my house in Corpus would be ocean front property. I think that sustainability may become one of my top "things" now. Now I just have to find somewhere that needs my help. This coming Saturday, the Claremont Theological Seminary is showing The Ground Truth, which is about Iraq war veterans that oppose the war. This is a very partisan movie, but it should be interesting.

And now for something lighter. Today I made orange juice, but I don't have a pitcher. So I improvised, much like cutting my kitchen door open. I had a fruit juice container that was empty and finally got the juice out of the carton and into the juice bottle. Not that amusing, but I felt good that I could make something healthy and improvise!

Grace and Peace!

Friends

2006-10-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

I realize that it has been awhile since the last post, but I have good news...I have friends now. And these aren't just the ones at work. I met Lauri and Nathan at church this past Sunday. Lauri is going to Fuller Seminary and Nathan attends Claremont Seminary. Lauri approached me at church and asked if I go to school in Claremont (for some reason this is always the first question I am asked). I told her no, I am a US 2 missionary and she got so excited because she wanted to be a US 2, but the year that she would have applied was the year that there wasn't a class. She invited me to coffee on Tuesday and I have to say it was just nice to have someone to talk to. The next night, a friend of hers from Wesley Seminary in Washington DC was in town, so we had dinner at her and Nathan's apartment. Since they are all seminary students, it was a lot of theological conversation and they said sorry many times, but I told them it was nice to actually hear people talk and not have to talk to myself all the time.

Friday night I met some of their other friends and we went to this Salvadoran restaurant called La Chelona. (See above picture.) It was an interesting experience because other than one girl who was fluent in Spanish, I was the only other one who could talk to the waitress. It was a good experience, even with all of the mis-communication. We then went back to a girl's apartment and just talked. It was mostly catch-up time for the friends and a lot more theological banter.

Lauri works at the Salvation Army and wants me to start teaching GED classes in the Spring. I will earn coupons that they hand out to those that come in for assistance. I am looking forward to that, another thing that I can do to help people. This group of friends is very socially justice oriented. A few weeks ago there was this huge rally for hotel workers and two of the girls were arrested for civil disobedience. While that may never happen to me (but never say never, right?) I think I might have finally found a group of friends that will help me get more aware of the area and more involved in issues that I believe are important.

I am still trying to get my apartment all clean at once so I can post pictures of the apartment. Maybe this coming week. I am also getting excited for several things. One, I get to see my family and a best friend in three weeks -- the countdown has begun. Two, NCAA basketball is beginning soon and that means that March is getting closer!

Grace and Peace!

Hawaii

2006-10-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

I would love for this first line to say -- Yea!!! I am going to Hawaii, but it does not. Yesterday, I checked my mail and I had a card from a lady all the way in HI. She even sent me soup labels because she remembers sending DMH labels a long time ago. She said that there was an article in the Circuit West, the conference news paper. I also got a card from a lady at the church where I made the presentation. It sometimes amazes me how many people are praying for us as US-2s.

Prayers are much needed, especially for the girls at DMH. These are the girls who know from experience that life is not fair. It really is interesting to learn why some of the girls are here. It is about even between girls placed by the county child services and girls that are on probation for everything from truancy and suspension to possession of crystal meth and multiple assault arrests. One of my students told me the other day, that she doesn't like when people say it is easy to be sober and stay on the "good path" because they don't know what her family is like. She said that most of her family is on drugs and she has been around it for most of her life (17 yrs). While the US-2s need prayers, the people that are being served, I think need prayers also.

My apologies for such the somber post. But I do have some happy news (for all of you from Southwestern that read this). I will be attending SOS, which is at homecoming. I know in a previous post I said I wasn't attending, but I changed my mind. So I am excited to see my friends from SU and my brother!!

Grace and peace!

Cleaning

2006-09-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Today I spent several hours cleaning my apartment. I have gotten in the groove of cleaning the bathroom every Saturday and I still don't know how bathrooms get so dirty in one week. I have much much more respect for the house keepers at Southwestern now with how many bathrooms they clean everyday. But I am still sticking to my story, that I really do not like cleaning. I also cleaned off my dining room table. It is not really in the dining room, but more in the middle of my bedroom. I can actually walk now without wondering if I am going to break any of my movies because I picked them up. However that caused a dilemma because I didn't know how to categorize them. Although the apartment is not as clean as it could be, I am happy with the space at least right now. After church tomorrow I will probably clean more and post some pictures of the apartment and the surrounding area (La Verne and Claremont).

This week marks the finish of my third full week teaching. The last two hours of the school day are the best because I get to be with my girls. I did have a problem this week with the substitute assistant. We don't see eye to eye on the point system that DMH and Joan Macy uses for the girls. I will have to do what I was trained to do and self advocate because I am the teacher and I want what is best for my girls. I see them as teenage girls and having the privilege of being a teenage girl once, I think that (at least for many people that I know) math was not the fun part of the day. Plus, teenagers in general don't like doing what the teacher wants them to do. And these are the girls that HATE math, so of course they don't want to put effort because it has been so hard for them in the first place. Anyway, I don't want the girls to associate me with negative check marks because they will associate less points with math and then will not choose to participate and try to understand math. I guess it is a long process. But so far I am very much enjoying my first year of teaching.

I am sad that I will not get to attend Semester of Support at the SU Homecoming. SOS is a program for the teachers that just graduated and we get to rant about whatever and talk about how to make the SU program better and so we know that we have people who understand what we are going through. However I must say that as sad as it is, I don't need that group to rant to. One I have this blog and two I have my parents who over the years have, I believe, gotten very fond of my ranting!!!, plus one or two fantastic friends!

all for now! grace and peace

Just another post

2006-09-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought maybe now was a good time. Plus, I was told it was time for a new post.

Anyway, this past weekend, I drove out to Hemet (about 60 miles east of La Verne). To get there you have to drive throught a lot of dust and dairy farms. It sort of seems like it is out in the middle of nowhere. I went out there because while I was still at training I got an email from the lady in charge of getting speakers for the United Methodist Women Riverside District Meeting. So like usual I waited until the last minute to prepare, but I think it went well. Most of the churches in the Riverside District (the district that David and Margaret is in) support DMH in someway or another. Many of the women come out here at some point during the year. Plus, DMH is a National Mission Institute, so that means that we are somehow supported by the UMWs. I told them my story and how I ended up at DMH and what I am doing. I also made sure to tell them that I would LOVE to come and talk to any units or circles or committees at their churches to get the word out about the US-2 program. I had several takers (so we will see where that leads.

Sunday I attended the inaugural meeting of the Inland Valley Chapter of Progressive Christians United. I guess I will see where that takes me. They only have big meetings once a quarter, but there is a program that works with high school students and also a group that works on college campuses, so maybe I can get my foot in the door through one of those groups.
When I got home from the meeting I decided to look on the SWTX website (my home church conference) because I had done an interview for the paper at the beginning of the month. Amazingly I found the article (http://umcswtx.org/news/witness/witHtm0922/swt/ccum.htm). It is a very well written article. I doubt that will happen many more times, but I am happy that the program is getting out in SWTX because most people there don't know about the program (in my experience).

Monday I had to go to the DMH Board Meeting so my big boss here could introduce me and I could tell them about myself. While I was there I got another invitation to speak and a few more were interested. I think they just seemed happy to find out who the US-2 is that is working here.

That is really all I have to post. I do have some prayer concerns. My MIRYAP (missionary in residence for young adult programs), otherwise known as Lauren, my boss in New York, found out at the end of last week that her uncle was killed in a motorcylce accident. Also, my teaching assistant, Omar, will probably be becoming a father sometime this week. It is his and his wife's first baby, so he is a bit nervous.

All for now,
grace and peace

Yippee!

2006-09-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

So today I had my first student tell me that my class was her favorite class because she feels like she is actually learning something.
Just thought I would share that with everyone!
grace and peace

First Full Week! (a bit of bragging)

2006-09-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

So this past week was my first full week in the classroom. Let's just say that school and student teaching really doesn't prepare you for the "real" classroom. But needless to say, I think I did very well. I told the girls on the first day that one of my biggest rules is respect. I will respect them and they will respect me and their classmates. Yeah I know that is pretty vague, but amazingly it works (at least in my classroom). I have a class of 10 8th-10th graders that are at an average 4th math level. You might think having ten kids in a class would be a piece of cake, but it isn't. For 55 minutes, I don't sit down or stop moving. Now teachers and other people might think that a good teacher wouldn't do that anyway. But in "normal" classes the teacher is not barraged with questions for the whole class period. I do have to say that the feeling is amazing when a student knows you are the teacher and wants your help, even though they know that you aren't good at math. (Yes I told them on the first day that I am not a math teacher, but they don't seem to care.)

Everyday we start with a warm up (as most math classes that I was ever in started with a warm up). This week we did word fractions -- the first 2/5 of flour and the last 4/6 of shower (flower) --this was incredibly difficult for these girls and sometimes even confused me. But by the end of the week, most of the girls could do them on their own with minimal questions. Earlier in the week, I gave them fraction bars, so they could write the words in the bars and figure them out that way, I thought it would be a hit, but it only was with some students. I told them that we wouldn't get to fractions for awhile, but doing it this way will help when we just use numbers, that made it a little better.

I stole an idea from one of the girls in my cohort at SU -- Good News. Good News is a time at the beginning of class where we go around and say something good that has happened today or in the past week. I told the girls that we will do this once a week on any given day, it could just be random, or if I read the shift report from the day before and it seems that many of the girls were not in a good place the night before. Doing Good News is great because it gets the girls to think about something positive. We did it for the first time yesterday and there was one girl who actually wanted to go first! Many of the girls said that they were glad that they got good grades for the week. Good News would be a good starter or ender for many group meetings!

So at Joan Macy (the school) we have Room 22. This is essentially a time out room. If the teacher just can't tolerate a student anymore they can send them to room 22 for 5-10 minutes. While sometimes a Rm. 22 is needed, I have found that many times the girls are just being teenage girls and the teachers send them to Rm. 22. I am proud to say that I am the only teacher that did not send any girls to Rm. 22 last week. I also only gave one zero because my TA made me (one girl didn't turn in her homework). I don't think that warrants a zero for the day, but I guess those are the school rules and the TA has been working here for much longer. Anyway, going back to respect. My dad says that the girls know what is expected of them and do it because of how they are treated in my class. I try not to treat them like they are at some residential center. Yesterday, three of my students were in Rm. 22 earlier in the day and once they got to my room they did what they were supposed to do. They also know they have a choice in my classroom. Sure they don't have to participate in the game, but they can't just sit and do nothing they have to do problems out of the book. And so far they have all chosen to participate. It is also interesting the power of the words please and thank you. I have a feeling that other teachers just bark out orders, but many people don't respond well to that especially teenage girls and especially teenage girls that are in residential treatment. So just something for all of you reading this...say please and thank you.

In the research project I was a part of, we found that Procedures are key. That is what I worked on this week in the classroom. I have different procedures than the other teachers. Many of them stand at the door and collect homework and daily pointsheets. Yes I stand at the door, but that is not a time to do secratarial things. By the end of the week, the girls would come in put their point sheets in the correct basket and get started on their warm-up with out having to be reminded. (It is amazing!!)

Well anyway, I started working out with a trainer this week. Oh my goodness, I have never been more sore in my life. Friday, I could barely walk, but I guess no pain no gain!! Sorry there isn't much funny stuff in my blogs, but right now my life is just working. And working with girls that are on probation or have been taken away from their families and placed in residential treatment just doesn't provide for much comic relief.

grace and peace!

The Kitchen, Visit, & Beginning of School

2006-09-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

So, now that I have left the picture with all of the kitchen tools up for awhile, I guess it is time to write about it. So last Saturday (the day I was anxiously awaiting) I got up and puttered around. I had these bugs in my kitchen that were getting on my nerves and multiplying exponentially overnight. Everytime I had my kitchen door open they would fly into my bedroom. I liked this even less than having them in my kitchen. So I decided to shut the door and go on a rampage. For those of you who don't know. My kitchen is in between my room and the "Quilt" room and both sets of locks are on the room side. I keep my side locked all the time so if someone went into the quilt room and decided to come into My kitchen, they at least come into my room. And for the safety. Well...as you can guess from the picture...I shut the door and moments later tried frantically to open the door. NO luck. There is a small window and I opened it, I live essentially on the 1st and a half floor, and there is no ledge below me. I thought well I could jump out, but no matter which way I tried, the outcome wouldn't have been good. Yes I tried to get the hinges off, but they were stuck -- good. So I looked in the drawers. I found the spoons, knives, and luckily I had brought the wonderful kitchenaid knife. I had to go about it very carefully, because even though I am now first aid certified, knowing what to do if I sliced my hand open wouldn't help because I was in the middle of two locked doors. I also really didn't want to break my toes or fingers by being violent and hitting the door. Eventually I worked that hole into the door. I was very proud of myself. I didn't panic. Altogether, I was in there for about two hours. I knew that one year of girl scouts and 2 years of campfire stayed with me all of these years!

That weekend my parents came!! We had a great time. My apartment now looks like I actually live in it. And it actually is sort of set up like my room at home, so it gives it a feel that I know. They also saved me from having to get locked in again. My dad changed the quilt room door around so the lock is now on my side. We spent some good family time together minus peter. On Monday (Labor Day) we drove down to the San Juan Capistrano Mission (the one where the swallows go). It was interesting to see what a mission in California looked like because we have the Alamo, which doesn't look like a mission anymore. That day we took a long drive and drove to Long Beach and saw the Queen Mary ship...it was huge. The day was mostly driving, but fun nonetheless. It was very nice to have a stress free weekend. While they were here we signed me up for a membership at LA Fitness! I now have a reason to leave my apartment. We went to Claremont UMC, second time for me, and it was once again interesting. I am willing myself to get into the sermons. I will next see my family in November for Thanksgiving in Phoenix, so that count down has begun.

That week school finally started. It is very weird for school to start so late. The first two days were boring, because I was in other people's classes doing nothing. Friday I finally had my first class. I realized that when they said that these are the girls that will have the hardest in math, they weren't kidding. I think you have to get math. These girls don't get it. and when they don't want to do something they just shut down. Neeless to say, this class will be very interesting. I am not going to get any help from the other math teacher, but at least I am finally getting a little support from the principal.

This weekend I had my first training session at LA Fitness and man am I sore, but that means that my muscle is building!!
Today in class I had the girls take a pretest, because they are scattered all over the place in what they are able to do. I had a girl this morning come into the office and say that she was not coming to my class. The behavior assistant brought her in a few minutes after class and she was crying. She cried all class period. None of the girls wanted to do the test, but they all did as much as they could, which I was proud of. I thought that maybe I wouldn't have to start at the beginning, but as Rodgers and Hammerstein cleverly put it...Let's start at the very beginning, the beginning is a very good place to start. I now realize more than ever that I was not trained as a math teacher. Now I have to do my part and research the best techniques to help these girls learn. I hope that tomorrow is better, once we start learning and they can see they are making progress. I guess we will see.

I am glad that I finally have things to do at work and I am just not sitting around at work or at home!
grace and peace!

Just call me Ms Macgyver

2006-09-02T22:04:00.000-07:00

Let me call to your attention all of the instruments that helped me make the 3 inch x 3 inch hole in my kitchen door. A bent carving fork, a Kitchenaid Santoku knife, a pair a titanium scissors, a broken dinner knife and a large serving spoon. I will let everyone ponder this picture and I will blog about the incident in the near future.

A Semi Desperate Plea

2006-08-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

So today, I went and found out what my final 3rd job is going to be like. Essentially, I am the teacher for two hours in a one room school house from the old days. The cottage that I am working at is the Emergency Shelter cottage for girls in LA county that can not be placed in a treatment facility right away. One of the only stipulations is that they can not be suicidal or homicidal. So first off I think that these are kids that I have never worked with before, but I am up for the challenge. I thought that I was just going to be going in there and changing the curriculum, but still under someone who knows more about the program. I was told by the Clinical Director that as far as he is concerned for the next two years this is MY program. This is where I start to feel overwhelmed.

I now know what each of my three jobs consist of, but the interesting part is that each of the jobs individually could be a full time 40 hour/week job. And I have the honor of having all three. Yes, I know that I am working with someone for my liaison job, and I am only teaching two periods, and I am only at the college for 2 hours a day, but for those people who have not worked with me at a school before, I must say I am relentless in making my kids lives better, educational and otherwise.

The first thing I noticed at Gillette (the cottage) is that the girls sit facing the wall, absolutely quiet and work on packets. YUCK. As I told my dad earlier, that is all about to change. I didn't go to Southwestern and pay all that money to learn nothing. One of the downfalls is that I don't have very many resources to work with. In the Fall packets there is only english and math and obviously that made me a little upset being a history person, but we only have an outdated history workbook -- to basal texts or text books. I need resources!

So here comes my desperate plea...I need books! Just old books, that are laying around your house. Books that the girls can read, or I can glean educational information from, so they can do something other than sit facing the wall and work on boring, old worksheets. So if you feel that you can donate 1 book/magazine/music etc or 1oo or anything in between, let me know or let my parents know!

That is it for now.
Grace and Peace, and anxiously awaiting books!

Bookworm

2006-08-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

That is now my new self proclaimed nickname. I have been here for almost 2 weeks and I have finished 5 books. I think that is a new record for me. While I don't think that this pace will keep up, I do have to say, that I sort of like it. I guess reading every night before bed growing up sank into my bones. It is so gratifying just getting lost in a book and forgetting about everything around you. My latest "conquests" are The Kite Runner and Towing Jehovah. Both of them were recommendations to me and I have to say, they did not disappoint.

The Kite Runner is about a man and his childhood and years in America after emigrating from Afghanistan in the 1980s. While most people know that I am emotional, there were parts of this book that I had tears freely flowing down my cheek. The way that Hosseini (author) takes you drags you into the plot and doesn't let go is an amazing feeling. I would recommend that everyone read this book.

My mom told me about Towing Jehovah because the wife of one of our pastor's is reading it. I went to Barnes and Noble to get the book and it was in the Science Fiction section. I think the category should be between Religious inspiration, Religious Fiction and Science Fiction. The book follows a captain of a merchant ship that has been given the task, by Raphael and Gabriel -- yes the arch angels, to tow the dead body of God to the Arctic for burial. Some might be appalled at some of the different episodes of the book, there were some where I cringed when i read them, but others make you think about what you have learned your whole life. There is one line in the book where an athiest says that God needs to be dead for social justice to work and to that I say, I don't think so, because then I wouldn't be where I am right now and neither would any of our classmates. And yes I know that it is just a book, but that is what I thought at the time. So I would recommend this book also, but beware.

Other than reading, this weekend I traveled to Los Angeles and eventually the Pacific Ocean, but it took so long that I didn't feel like getting out, so maybe I will do that when my parents are here this weekend! I have found that if I am in the car too long here, I start to get this horrible headache (I think it is from the smog). The drive was semi pleasant...a lot of traffic and a lot different than Corpus traffic. I got a little lost and ended up in Beverly Hills, so I drove down Rodeo Dr. I have never seen more fancy cars and stores in my whole life. I would like to go and walk around just so I can say I have done that. What I saw of the beach was beautiful, way different than North Beach or anything on our coast in Corpus. One thing I have noticed in my limited driving is that on the highways there are NO billboards. Just an interesting little tidbit.

I drove past the Staples Center, where the Lakers play and on one of the advertisements said TOOL. For those of you who don't know, TOOL is a rock band that has been around for a long time as far as bands go now a days. I don't know many of there songs, but I really like their lead singer from his other band. I got their new album when it came out in the spring and I was pleasantly surprised. I called Peter and he said that there were still tickets available. Yes I know that I will be going by myself, but this is a chance that I can't pass up. And the ticket wasn't even that expensive (I guess in US-2 standards it was, but oh well), I even got a parking permit, so I won't have to park on the street. So I took some precautions. I am very excited!

Sunday I went to a different church. The one last week, just didn't capture me. Maybe I am just picky, but with churches you have to be picky. The preacher didn't captivate me the whole time, but in the end it was a pretty good sermon. She talked about Tabernacling Faith, not just being a person with faith on Sunday, but taking our faith with us everywhere. I then found out about their outreach programs. They have been a reconciling church since 1993 and a sanctuary church for refugees since about that same time. They also are very involved in some Amnesty International letter writings and post card sendings. They have had Muslims, Methodists a meal and discussion with/between the two religious community since 2001. I think that not only does worship have to captivate your attention, but the church must do outreach that you feel have the same beliefs as yourself or you won't be equally fed. On my action plan that I made during training in New York, I said that I would visit three churches by the end of September so I can weigh my options.

Last week went a little better and I am looking for this week to go a little better. I am looking forward to my parents coming on Saturday and their short visit. There have been several things that I have learned that are different than what I was told, but I am working to self advocate and get them fixed or at least get them to a better place. I went with one of my bosses to help some of the girls register at the public schools in the area. These schools are very upper middle class (at least the majority of what I saw) and these girls that I work with are not. They are already saying that they don't want to go and are not going to fit in. All I can say is that, yes it will be intimidating for awhile, but you will make friends and you will fit in. This is a situation that I never had to face while going to school, I always had those friends who I knew I would see that first day of school. This part of my job is what I am looking forward to the most, at least right now.

Now that I have given you an episode of Reading Rainbow
Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as highTake a look, it's in a book - Reading Rainbow.I can go anywhere!Friends to know and ways to grow - Reading Rainbow.I can be anything!Take a look, it's in a book - Reading Rainbow.Reading Rainbow, Reading Rainbow, Reading Rainbow, Reading Rainbow!
and an update on my life, grace and peace for now!

Overwhelmed

2006-08-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

While I am still looking for those little joys, many times this week I have found myself a bit overwhelmed. I imagine many of my friends are experiencing this right now with new jobs and starting grad school. I went to my first day of work at the Joan Macy School where I will be most of the day. I met the principal and the office staff, yet I found out that none of the teachers will be here until next Thursday (I was a little upset at that) and that I would not have clearance until at the earliest this Friday, so I could not go with the head liaison to help register the girls who are attending public school. I learned that I would be the assistant to the Public School Liaison and probably only do that duty when she didn't have time.
I also learned that I would be teaching Applied Math. To those of you who don't know, I received my degree in Social Studies Composite which means I can teach 8th-12th grade social sciences classes. The closest class in that category to math is economics, which I took at a community college and really learned nothing from the class. To my dismay, it was really teach this class or don't teach anything. I also might have to teach a PE class. Luckily, one of my dearest friends is teaching math for the first year and is also a coach, so I have a great resource.

This leads me to advocate for something else...teaching! This is why you must want to be a teacher to teach. As much as I really don't want to teach math, I know the girls that will be in the class need these skills. Also, I was told that these are probably the hardest girls to "reach". Well the thing is all kids want to learn, but as the teacher I must figure out the best way to get them to see that learning is fun...even if it is math. But even more important than the previous point, is certification! You can't just teach something that seems fun, or you liked when you were in school. There really is an art to the different way that the different teachers are taught. I am so much better at teaching history that teaching spanish or math. This is because I was certified and taught to teach history. I know the history strategies, not other strategies. So for you who are reading this and feel that teaching is calling your name, or you just don't know what to do with your life, and you always thought that teaching might be cool. Think about it before you do it. Teaching is not just something that you do for yourself. You are not just sitting behind a desk making decisions. I do realize that people who sit behind desks make decisions that affect many people. Teaching affects the children. To be an effective teacher, I believe you must have gone through an effective program. Not one that just throws you into a classroom, but guides you through school and gives you the confidence and tools to have your own classroom. And here is the shameless plug -- I know I got that training at Southwestern!!
As the week went on, I learned more and more about the school. There is some part of me that thinks that many of the people I work with are just sitting and watching to see what mistakes I make. Some of them have voiced their opinion on such a young person teaching these girls. All I have to say is this is one of my passions, and I know I will not fail!
Today I made the pretest for the girls to see how far they know and understand. Talk about overwhelming... This class is essentially 4h to 6th grade math. I couldn't even remember how to do somethings on the premade test. That was a scary feeling, how am I supposed to teach these girls, if I don't even remember how to do it. That is the thing with history, you just read and make sure you know the facts and some fun tidbits and say "let's look that up" if you don't know an answer to a question. But once again I find myself saying everything will be good. It is getting better. Thank goodness it is almost the weekend so I can gather all my thoughts about this past week and get ready for the week to come!

Finding the Little Joys in Life

2006-08-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

I have been planning on writing this post for awhile, so now I am finally writing it. I have figured that you must find the little joys to get you through everything. To name a few...my accountability partner called a few days ago and we talked for awhile. For those who don't know what an accountability partner is, it is one of my us-2 classmates, that I can talk to whenever I just need someone to talk to, who knows what I am going through at this moment in my life. It was great just listening how he is doing and his adventures. It was also very comforting talking to someone that was having the same feelings about the whole program and being on our own for the first time, so far away from home. Later in the week, another classmate called! Again it was good just to hear a voice that has that same uneasy tone about our upcoming two years. As I listened to her, I realized that some of my troubles here, did not match up to what has happened to her, so for that I am grateful, but in the end we chalk it up to having the experience.
This weekend I went to Barnes and Noble, just to find a book to read that wasn't too heavy and need lots of thought, plus I needed a new crossword puzzlebook. I was wandering through the mystery section as always, and to my amazement and excitement, I found the next book in a series that I haven't been able to find for about a year. And of course, to those who know me really well, merited a call to my dad, so I could share my glee. Then I found another series that had a new book. Just finding those two books, made everything better. I then went and bought The Sound of Music -- I think it is my all-time favorite movie. It is now Thursday night, and I have read both books, and watched the DVD and most of the special features. I realized the little joy as I was reading the second book. You must find things that just make you grin from ear to ear. And I know that reading books might not do it for everyone, but just find the thing that does, and you will feel better.
I got another little joy this morning when I looked at the news on the internet. The FDA approved the Plan B Pill. I know that some people might not approve of this, but I think it is great. And I sort of feel like I had a part in it. While I was in New York, some of us went to a concert at Central Park. We sat outside the gates and still got to enjoy the concert, but for FREE! While we were waiting for the main act to start, two girls came up to us and asked if we would sign a petition for letting Plan B be sold at the Pharmacy. So of course we signed it. Now I can say I advocated for something that I believed in and it actually came true!!
So here's to finding the little joys in life!

Leaving Texas

2006-08-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

So this one is a long time coming, I know, but as you have probably read, it has been an interesting few days. Leaving Texas was a process that took about 4 days. When I left on Wednesday, I felt good (and mom and I didn't even cry that much!! surprising, i know).
Saturday -- I went shopping with Lisa and mom! I got some grownup clothes and this shirt that I thought I wouldn't like, but it ended up matching with everything that I tried on!!!! (this is like that white skirt that laura - at interview weekend said that she wears all of the time). This is probably the last time I will do shopping like that for a long time.
Sunday -- Went to my last service at GUMC for awhile and it was good to say good bye and hear that so many people will be praying for me. The Sunday School class that I attend (my parent's) wants to help me with things. These are people that I know will be there for me whenever I need anything.
I then had part 1 of saying good bye to the Barrera's. I went FISHING!!! with Richie and Chilo, it was fun and very relaxing. and I actually caught 3 catfish, but they had to be thrown back. We ended up taking home 3 Black drum and they did whatever they had to do so they could be put in the freezer for a later date. I had gone over in my church clothes so I had to wear some of richie's old shorts and shoes. I looked like a totally different person.
Monday -- I found out that richie's great aunt died, so I went over there for dinner and saw momo santos and popo joe. It was a fun time and I had to say good bye to richard and becky -- these are people that are at the top of my list of the people that I will miss the most.
Tuesday -- I started packing -- what a process! trying to see what I need until mom and dad come at labor day. That night we went to the middle school and saw Mari's classroom -- it made me miss teaching and having a classroom, but I guess two years is a short time and my own classroom will come soon enough. We then went to Frank's Spaghetti House for my going away dinner. It was good to see the people that I used to work with and eat my favorite food before I left. I got all of my packing done so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning and then got a good night sleep.
WEDNESDAY!
Richie came over at 745 so we could go to breakfast. Now it is so surreal that I am not just a drive away from him. But the breakfast was good and he even offered to pay!! He stayed for awhile until I knew it was time for him to go. And get this...I actually didn't cry -- I guess it was the third time I told him goodbye, and I cried enough the first two times. Then time to the airport. I think wednesday was my day because they checked my luggage all the way through to ontario, even though they said they wouldn't do this when I made the reservations. The family sat outside the security for a little while longer just to say some final goodbyes. Like I said above, actually not many tears. I got through security just in time to get in line to get on the plane. From corpus to Houston and houston to Phoenix I sat all by myself, so I got to spread out (it was nice). When I got off in ontario, I met Andy, who I guess is somewhat a boss of mine. Really nice guy. We went and ate at a mexican food restaurant (different than in texas, but still good).
I am still getting used to living so far away and by myself, but I have a huge support system behind me. I am not a sit back and do nothing type of person, so these few days have been very hard.
But I know it will get better. Like mari said, just say it is going to be good -- my new mantra!

Oh my goodness (this is a bit pessimistic)

2006-08-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

So I think almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. My placement wasn't ready for me. I can't actually start working until at least the end of next week, but probably closer to the 28th. I don't have internet connection anywhere close to where I live, unless I ask someone to use their work computer (this will hopefully be fixed on monday). I live in what was probably once the employee lounge, so it is in one of the main office buildings and after 530 pm I am alone in this huge building. And really to top it off, my computer started acting up, so like the good girl I am I called the HP service people, not once but twice because of these calls the computer was messed up even more than it was. I finally was able to make recovery discs, but these wiped out everything (and by everything I mean ALL of my documents and my MUSIC!!) I spent 3.5 hours at a clinic for a physical just to give a urine sample, touch my toes, have my ears and throat looked into and have my blood pressure taken (right now it is good, but we will see if these little things keep on happening).
Some good things are that I got a libary card, so I can check out books etc. Most of the people that I have met are very nice and want to help in any way. I have driven around part of the valley and gotten to explore a little bit. The church I went to this morning, even though I probably won't go back there, I found out that the pastor is from Corpus Christi (what a small world). La Verne is very much like Georgetown, so at least it feels like home. I have already found some places that I can get cheap food and friendly service!
I am just ready for my work to start and have been getting very frustrated that no one seems to know what I am supposed to be doing, not just for the next two years, but the next week. I am supposed to be getting my desk on Monday at the school, so I think things will start to look up. I hope that my classmates are having an easier transition time.

I am here!

2006-08-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry this has taken so long. I still don't have internet connection and I am having to use the head secretaries computer, so I will make this short. It is different than I thought it would be, but I will wait to make my final opinions for a little while longer. I do have to say that living "on my own" so far is not hard, other than loneliness at nighttime. This weekend I am going to do some exploring of the community. I will post another time of all my first reactions and the last week at home!

One More Week

2006-08-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

So I know I haven't posted in awhile, but since my last post I have been commissioned as a Missionary of the United Methodist Church, had a vacation with the family, returned to Texas and bid farewell to some of the best friends I will ever have.
Saying goodbye to the US-2s was not sad, but actually made me realize that these people I spent a month with, are going to be a part of my life for a long time (longer than the two years of being a US-2). The month of July was amazing. I laughed and cried and learned so much. I now believe that this is the path that my life is supposed to take.
Vacation...I have always thought that when you take vacation, that time is supposed to be relaxing. Vacationing in NYC is not for the new vacationers. However, since this is the last vacation I will have with my family for awhile, I LOVED it. Being able to share NYC with the family for a week was great. Although we didn't do everything that tourists should want to do, we did do things that we wanted to do. And I got great pictures!! But finally it was time to come home for 12 days and amazingly the day spent traveling was not stressful at all.

BACK IN TEXAS
I am glad to be back in Texas and have realized that there are so many people here that I am going to miss, especially people at church. These are the people who have been there for me and my family through everything.
I went to Austin to say goodbye to the girls that were my life in college. Something that I have found interesting since graduating is that you stay in touch with those who you need and want in your life. Those other people, might be in your life for some reason, but those you keep with you will be there for anything. And to those people...thank you and i love you!
Now it is Wednesday the 9th and a week until I get on the plane to La Verne! People keep asking me if I am ready or nervous or excited or any other words to describe how I feel about going to California. And my answer really differs depending on how I am feeling that moment. But like I said before, this is the path that my life is supposed to go. Even though sometimes I might feel like this is not what I want to do, or this is not on my to do list of life. This is on God's to do list for my life and finally I think I have let go of wanting to be in control. Things happen for a reason, even if we don't know that reason. So yes, I am ready and nervous and excited and worried and sad and happy.
Now it is time for me to start separating things that I need in California and things that I don't need. Right now it doesn't seem that different than the past four years of getting ready for college, but I assume that it will start feeling different as I have to start saying goodbye to those who have been in my life for most of it and those who have special places in my heart.

Something interesting, as I type this post, there is a song on the radio, saying that "we keep waiting on the world to change". But I have learned that WE have to make the world change!

This weekend in Austin, I found this magnet that says
peace.
it does not mean to be in a place
where there is not noise, trouble
or hard work. it means to be in
the midst of those things that still
be calm in your heart. (unknown)

This is where I am getting to and where I hope to be in a week, a year, two years.

New Adventures

2006-07-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Friday for lunch we had ETHIOPIAN food. I have had so many different types of cuisine since I arrived in NYC. It has been a good experience, but I would rather just stick to my Mexican, Italian and Chinese food.
This weekend we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. IT IS BEAUTIFUL!! I was in awe before we even went inside. The building is huge. Once we got inside, I am pretty sure that my mouth dropped to the floor. There are so many different exhibits with so much art. I have to say that I really enjoy looking at the religious art. We also decided to go to the Cloisters. It is part of the Met, but at the northernmost tip of Manhattan. The Cloisters is like a European church. Different chapels with religious art from many different centuries. I felt so at peace while walking through the wings. It was a day that several of us got to know each other better. That night, one of my friends' friends came into town, so some of us spent time with him and his friends. It was nice just to relax with my new friends. The Village is just so different that what I am used to. We left around 1.30 and the streets were packed. Night spots are open until 4 am here...that is so late!
Sunday we went to Riverside Church. It is a non denominational church that relates to the American Baptist Association. The service is one that I would not normally want to go to. The minister, Dr. James Forbes, is an amazing preacher, but it was just not the style that I am used to. The church is beautiful, very cathedral looking.
Monday our sessions were conducted by two people from the University of the Poor, which is an extension of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. I can see myself working for this campaign in the future because poverty transcends race and education.
Tuesday we completed our press releases for different parts of the Church. So look for it on different media outlets of the Church. In the afternoon we met our liaisons for the National Mission Institutions. One of the liaisons told me to contact her after my two years about a teaching job at one of the mission schools and one is in Puerto Rico! I have to keep this job in mind when my placement is finished.
Today we did a scavenger hunt in Chinatown so we could experience a different culture. In the afternoon we traveled to Harlem to learn about community building from the Action for Community Empowerment group. Now I know how to get the community involved in different issues.
We were informed that Kathleen, the Interim Executive Secretary for Young Adult Programs, is taking leave until the new year. Her husband passed away in Nepal a few months ago. He was doing missionary work in the region. She decided to take a leave because she has been working non-stop and hasn't had time to herself. Please pray for her.
It feels so surreal that we are only here for a few more days and then only two weeks at home before we have to leave. This experience has been an experience of a life time and now I can't imagine not being in the US-2 program.
Commisioning is on Sunday, so at 11 EST pray for the US-2 Class of 2006 because we will be official missionaries of the United Methodist Church.

Out and About in New York

2006-07-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last night some of us went and saw RENT! Even though I have seen the play before, it was amazing to see it in New York City. There were so many parts that I understood better because I have been living in the city. I still like the play better than the movie, but the movie makes the story available to more people. If you haven't seen the movie or the play, then I recommend that you see one of them. Today we went to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA -- pronounced mohmuh), there are some amazing pieces in that museum. I have come to find out that I really enjoy Mark Rothko. One thing that does get on my nerves about modern art is that the artist can paint a piece of canvas blue and it goes in one of the most famous museums and people stand there staring at it. I just don't get it.
This week was a hard week. We had 3 sessions (1 1/2 days) on racism. Those days were the tensest I have been in awhile. But the rest of the week went well. We had a session on immigration and found ways that we can be proponents of immigration through passages in the Bible. Our other biggest session were the self care and transitioning sessions. These sessions helped get us ready for the transition to our new home. We learned suggestions to help get us acclamated to the new community. One of the most important points that we needed to learn (and something that every recent college graduate and really everyone in the work world) is that we need to take time for ourselves. They also had us choose accountability partners, so we can have that person who knows what we are going through and we can call each other when we need something or just need to talk.
Today we went to The Inner Church Center (GBGM) and started to work on our press releases. It is just amazing that we only have one more week here and then we are getting commissioned and then off to our placements.
Tomorrow some of us are going to the Metropolitan Museum and some street fairs. Hopefully, it won't rain torrentially like it did today. I guess we got hit by Tropical Storm Beryl. How weird is that...being in New York and getting hit by a tropical storm.
I guess that is it for now!

"Fellobration"

2006-07-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

There I am on the left side of the screen. We are on 46th Street and Broadway in NYC!! This is how we spent our Friday night wandering Times Square (TS). TS is so much different in person than on the movie or TV screen. We did get to go to the Toys r Us in TS. It was incredible; I have never seen a bigger toy store. I think sometime we are going to go to FAO Schwartz.
Today we bonded even more by writing action plans for when we are at our placements (personal and group). Fellobration is a word that Tyler made up to describe our worship styles, they are a time of fellowship and celebration. I don't think that I laugh more with anyone other than my family than when I am with my class.
I can't believe that it is already the 15th of July. That means that I am going to be in California in one month and one day. It just seems so amazing that I will be moving and not being at "home." I think what made it hit me was making a doctor's appointment with a new doctor near La Verne. Speaking of La Verne, there are forest fires in Southern California, just keep those people in your prayers.
This is random, but here is my rant of the day...WHY do people wear conversation shirts?? I don't really see a purpose, especially lewd or inappropriate ones. I just don't get it. I guess it gets people attention and that is what they want. I just don't understand why they where them in public.
Tomorrow we are going to some street fairs and then most likely Coney Island in the afternoon. And probably one of the most exciting activities scheduled for next week is some of us are going to go to the Today show on one morning. Hopefully we can get on tv and meet Matt, Al and Anne (too bad Katie isn't there anymore). I will post when we are planning on going to the show so everyone can watch!

One Week

2006-07-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

So I have been here one week. It doesn't even feel like it. Yesterday we went to a local church and helped prepare and serve the meal that is served to feed people that are homeless and those who are poverty stricken. Although I have worked with that demographic before, this just seemed different. I was amazed at all of my other classmates at how comfortable we all felt (or at least it seemed that way). Afterwards we got to talk to the Bishop that is pastor at the church. It was nice that he made time to talk to us about our service for the church. Once we got back to the house we had a session of debriefing. Then we had to go around and say one nice thing, or something we admired about each person. This activity just brought us closer together.
For dinner we decided to go uptown for a change of pace and scenery (someone actually asked me for directions when they got off the train -- and I could give them, the correct directions!!) and then decided to go see Pirates of the Caribbean. Although it was a VERY long movie, it was wonderful. I can not wait until the next one comes out!! Riding on the subway after midnight was interesting, there were a lot more people than I thought there would be. I went to bed really late because I had to plan the devotion for this morning, but I think it went well. Margaret and I went to Starbucks to get coffee so we could stay awake during Wesley 101. I was pleasantly pleased that the session was interesting.
For this afternoon's session we went over the Social Principles of the UMC. We were assigned for or against and had to argue about a current event that had to do with topics discussed in the social principles. It was hard trying to come up with ideas for the opposite side of thinking than I have, but it was a good learning experience.
Tomorrow should be a somewhat easy day and then we have a free day all day Saturday. I think we might go to Coney Island. I am trying to save touristy things to do with my family, since that is what family vacations are all about!!!

2006-07-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

Today is July 7th, and I have now been in New York for 36 hours. I am so glad that I am here. Today we got to know each other better by sharing our life stories. I feel so much closer to these wonderful people! I know that this is just the second day, but most of us do everything together and I feel that I can talk to everyone. This is just a different group of people than I am used to hanging out with and it is wonderful (not that those that I usually hang out with aren't wonderful, but this is just different). We are diverse, but the same in that God called all of us to become missionaries and do his will for social justice. Today I was talking to Kathleen, a missionary for the Church, but works at the general board, about her years in Africa. She asked me if I ever thought of going abroad to do mission work and it hit me that I would love to go. Maybe when Mama and daddy retire and peter gets out of seminary we can all go there together and be a family of missionaries!! Tomorrow we are mapping the community, what that entails, I don't exactly knows. I know that this is like Chrysalis in that we are supposed to participate not anticipate. We are receiving gifts of agape love and today we each received a leather bound edition of The Message Remix (I have been needing a new Bible, but I don't know if this one fits me yet...I don't really like its version of Hebrews 11:1, but we will see)!!
I guess that is all for now! Remember how blessed you are!

2006-07-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday July 4th. I am one day away from leaving for New York City for my US-2 Training. I do have to say that this summer has gone by very fast. I worked a little at the restaurant and have already completed Spanish I at TAMU Kingsville. I do have to say that taking that class was an experience. I must also say that I am glad that I have graduated from college, four years was enough for the time being.
Now I am beginning to pack, but that is a slow process as I will be gone for 4 weeks. But it has been a fun process because now I can pack my new laptop, new ipod, new digital camera in my new luggage!!
I am excited to be going finally to see the guys and girls that I met in April at the interviewing process. I have heard that these three weeks are going to be hard because of all that we will be learning, but if it helps with understanding what I have been called for then I am very excited.
Another thing I am excited about is that I will be able to share NYC with my family. They will be coming up at the end of July for my commissioning and then we will spend a week being tourists in the Big Apple!!
I will be updating the blog more often than I have been because now my life will be more exciting!!