a little trip and a good week

This week I ventured over to the other side of the mountains to Spokane for a few days. I left on Sunday morning and came back on Wednesday. I had an amazing time, and didn't really want to leave! I stayed with Shanon and Kyle, and it was so much fun to see them and their cute little married life. Also, it was so great to finally catch up (in person) with her and not have something in the way (like a phone or facebook wall). I also got to see Mallorie, Kevin, people from my old job in student accounts (where the craziness never ends!)... I went to a sociology class and talked about grad school (per the request of one of my old professors!), and got to go to DANCE CLASS and actually dance with them. That was one of my favorite parts of the trip-- nothing has changed! I could just jump right in to warm-ups and choreography like the last 4 months never happened. I miss dance so much- it's like a part of my heart is gone, and dancing again sort of put it back together.

Yesterday Kelsey and I went to the zoo! Yep, that's right! We had a great time, saw all of the cute little animals (I covered my eyes when we went past the snakes), and enjoyed a beautiful day in the pacific northwest. It was actually a really great week, because after I got back from Spokane I only had to work 2 days and they were not at all stressful, and then had a great day at the zoo. I wish every week could be like that!

Another piece of *sort of* exciting news-- I finally get to go into the schools this week. I'm going to be working at Stadium High School on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with at-risk students identified through the Guidance and Counseling Office. I am so excited to get out of the office and get into the schools, where I thought I would be all along. It's only for 3 or 4 hours each of those days, but that's better than nothing.

School this week is going to be crazy. We turned in our major paper for the semester last Thursday, but this T/Th I have my huge presentations in both classes. Once those are done, though, then I only have one more paper to turn in for the whole quarter, which is good. I just have to make it through this week!

Well, i'm off to work on my debate presentation. Thanks for reading, hope you all are well!

yes we can!

This week has definitely been full of highs and lows.

Monday I had a meeting with my supervisor, and really was honest with her about how I was feeling about my position. It was good to talk to her and just be blatantly honest and tell her that I was thinking about leaving-- how can I go for 8 more months like this! It's so emotionally draining and not fulfilling and I'm not doing anything!... So we came up with a little plan, and I'm staying until the end of November and then we're going to re-evaluate. Instead of waiting for the school district to finalize the contract, we've partnered with a guidance counselor at Stadium High School and we're going to start working with some at-risk freshman their next week. So I have a glimmer of hope that things will get better, however I'm not overly optimistic.

Tuesday was obviously a great day-- the election! What an amazing day! Like most of you, i'm sure you felt the same undescribable moments that I did- we were a part of history. I felt so proud casting my ballot for Obama and being part of that moment in our country's history. Unfortunately, I had class Tuesday night, but our professor was gracious and let us watch the electoral map as votes came in, and we also watched Obama's speech. Watching Obama's party in Grant Park (where I visited while in Chicago), and watching people sobbing all over the country, made me really understand what this means to the black population. It's significant to whites also, I think, but it really is a huge symbol for 1/3 of our population. In no way does this mean that we are "beyond race," however it is a huge first step in shattering the glass ceiling for blacks.

Wednesday was also an awesome day, because we got to learn that Sarah Palin didn't even know that Africa was a continent (she thought it was a country, she didn't know that their are multiple countries in Africa). The only bad thing about the Obama win is that we don't get to see Tina Fey on SNL anymore, being amazing as Sarah Palin.

Tonight is the NLF Fundraising Gala, and we get to dress up and be pretty and hopefully raise lots of money. It is going to go LATE, though, and I am driving to Spokane tomorrow, so I am hoping I can get a decent amount of sleep.

Well, that's all for now. I am off to finish my laundry, vacuum my mom's house, and then get ready for the Gala!

Rainy Sunday

It's Sunday, and it's raining. Now, I know most of you will say, "of course it's raining, Jessica, you are living in Western WA in November!" Well, I have been spoiled the past 4 years, and now must re-adjust to this thing called never ending rain! I guess it's good, the fall colors are beautiful here, wow what I missed the last 4 years!

The past couple weeks have been a huge emotional roller coaster. It has been a challenging last few months, and it has just all caught up to me now. I spent three days this week in Wenatchee with NLF's AmeriCorps team for a SERVES conference, which was a good bonding experience with the team. It was good to get away from the stress and confusion of my job, and hang out with new friends. I had to miss my Tuesday night class, which wasn't so good, though. I have a big paper due Tuesday, which I am procrastinating on right now while writing this blog!

Right now I am on the couch at my mom's house, listening to her practice her Hebrew. It's quite entertaining, to say the least. I bet she's going to be mad that I wrote about that in here! Haha! But the next time you see her, you should ask her to say some words in Hebrew, it sounds pretty amazing.

I have nothing too exciting to say, and probably should get back to writing my paper. Have an enjoyable Sunday, and thanks for reading!

i'm doing laundry!

I realized today after looking at my blog that about 80% of the entries have a very negative and depressing overtone. I never intended this to be a place where I would whine about what is happening, mostly job related. However this is supposed to be an accurate reflection of my current state, so you my friends and family can keep updated on my life. I am going to try and stay more on the positive side, because I need a little bit more of the happy energy right now!

This week was alright, on a scale of one to ten I would say a solid 5. Monday we had a meeting at Remann Hall (the Juvenile detention facility) with our liaison between ProTeen and the probation officers (POs). After the meeting we went on a tour of the detention part of Remann Hall, so past the locked gates and got to see where the kids actually stay when they are there. It’s kind of disconcerting to hear the door lock behind you! We saw the “pods” where the kids stay, I think up to 18 in each pod. They have their own room, it’s about 5’x8” with a “cot”, toilet, sink, and mirror. Most of them have no windows, and if they do you can’t see through the glass. There is a common room, where there is a small tv and a shelf of books, and that’s about it. Some plastic furniture and tables for meals completes the common room. Each pod has a laundry room, and the kids take turns doing laundry. There is a small classroom also, for meetings and school, etc..

We were allowed to go in to an empty pod and explore it, and then we walked past a few pods that were full of males in detention. Each pod is separated by gender, and there are 1 or 2 staff in each pod at a time. More guards stand in the hallways. Kids are allowed to walk from their pods to visitation or the room where they wait to be escorted into court without escorts, but they do have leg shackles on. They have to walk with their hands behind their backs and on the right side of the hallway, and that is showing compliance. Kids who can’t handle the rules, or are very unruly are sent to “B-pod”, where they are escorted, shackled and handcuffed, everywhere as well as allowed no time outside their rooms.

It was so interesting, and kind of terrifying, to actually see where some of my clients have spent time, and get to understand the context in which they are coming from. Many of them come back time and time again, because they are served 3 meals a day, have a warm bed to sleep in, have access to school and medical care anytime they need it, which is more than a lot of them get at home. There has only been one successful escape from Remann Hall, and the kid came back for dinner the same night. It is a very empty and sterile environment, but the people who work there seem to really care about the kids.

The rest of the week was blegghh… My program still hasn’t started, and there is no news on when it might. I am getting really frustrated, and feel like I am not doing much that is making a difference. I’m doing lots of administrative tasks for NLF and ProTeen, and am involved in our fundraising Gala and a few other things. Each day I get more frustrated, which makes it hard sometimes to want to go there. I just keep praying for patience. I know I am learning things every day, it is just not at all what I expected when I signed on. I am trying to be positive, but after almost 2 months it is getting hard to stay happy, patient, and positive. (Most of you know that patience is not one of my gifts…)

Here are some pictures from a little trip to my favorite beach on Friday!

Recent Pictures

Here are some pictures from our ProTeen Staff Retreat last week. I am just going to post a few on here, for a more complete album (with awesome descriptive captions), go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024757&l=e0751&id=59400207.

Random Thoughts and Highlights of the Week

I apologize in advance for the scattered-ness of this posting. (Yes, I just made up a word. Yes, I did work at the Writing Center for 3 years… Shut up!)… Here are a few little highlights, thoughts, and observations from the past 5 days or so…

#1- Last week, as I said in a previous post, I turned in my first grad school paper. This week I got my grade, and was pleased to find out that my undergraduate education did indeed pay off. I owe my professors a lot for making me feel so prepared and ready for grad school.

#2- Today I took one of my clients to her (court-ordered) community service, and served with her for 3 hours. I hope that today was a good start to earning her trust so I can help her help herself. Her case is so complicated, and her relationship with her parents is so rough. It’s just hard to know what I should be saying and how I should be going about helping them.

#3- I went out to Soundview on Wednesday with my coworkers (the ProTeen team) and we did the Challenge Course. We did initiatives (teambuilding) in the morning and then high ropes in the afternoon. I haven’t been out at camp for more than 2 years now, and it felt so amazing to go back to a place that I used to call home. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous, but it was so refreshing to be back there. Soundview is such a special place that played a huge role in my life for more than 13 years. It was fun to see my coworkers experience something that I love, and get to see a place that really shaped who I am now.

#4- I got cable and internet set up in my apartment, and this is the first time in my adult life I haven’t needed bunny ears and duct tape to get five channels! Now I can see and hear all of the channels. It’s quite nice!

#5- I got gas for $3.11 a gallon today! It’s sad that I am excited about that amount, but it seems so cheap relative to the prices in the last 6 months.

Well, that’s all for now. Hopefully I’ll put some new apartment pictures up soon…

a busy week and a half...

Well, since its been about a week and a half since I last posted, I figured it was about time! BIG NEWS: I have moved into my new apartment! A big shout out to Mom and Tracy who helped big time, and carried lots of heavy things up the stairs! I absolutely LOVE my new place, and I really would love to show it to you all, so if you are ever in Tacoma please call. I will post new pictures soon, but I am not as slick at posting pictures as Kara, so we'll see...

I also am now full swing into my classes. I turned in my first paper last thursday (yikes!) and I have another one due next week. I am a little nervous to get my first once back, because I just don't know how my writing measures up to what they are expecting.

Work is going alright... my program STILL hasn't started, and i'm starting to get pretty frustrated. I am doing a bunch of stuff for NLF and ProTeen, but I have yet to actually go out to Mt. Tahoma. I guess the school district is taking forever to finalize the contract, so I am very eagerly awating the day when that happens. I just don't really feel like I am doing anything that substantive, which kind of sucks because that's what I signed up for. After more than a month, I am pretty ready to get going... That's why I can sit here at work and write my blog, because I don't really have anything better to do! :-)

I really like all of the people i'm working with, and tomorrow we are going on a little ProTeen retreat. We're going out to SoundView and we're going to do the ropes course. I'm excited, because I haven't been out there in over 2 years, which is so sad because I spent the majority of my life from ages 8 and 20 out there! I can't wait to take my coworkers out to a place that is really special in my life.

That's it for now... off to drink some (more) coffee... :-)