Daycation!

Americorps has been exhausting. While, I am not a person who normally needs a lot of sleep (i lived on 4-5 hours a night during college and last year) this year has left me completely bed-ridden on most friday night to saturday nights. Without a day of complete rest I seem to be incapable of even pulling my tiny hiney out of the bed. This means that most saturdays are in bed and sundays are done doing work. This leaves no time for play! And if you know me, or any other NCCC member you know how important play is.

Thanksgiving break however gave me a sweet break. The schools in Sacramento take the entire week off so this provides most in school teams the chance to do "Interim Projects." These are just filler projects, usually with one day sponsors who don't really have the sustainable work for an entire team. There are three teams on campus right now - the other two teams joined some of the other on campus teams to work with the Sacramento Food Bank in preparation for Thanksgiving and their Run to Feed the Hungry. But there was also the opportunity to work with Weed Warriors and Sacramento Parks and Rec. Gold Six however was offered an interim project by the Woodland Unified District office...to work in their WAREHOUSE of TEXTBOOKS!!!. Okay I'm a nerd that this excited me but it did. For three days we reshelved, sorted and inventoried over 5000 textbooks. It looked awesome by the time we left.

Wednesday Night I helped one of the Support Team Leaders (STL) prep for the feast on campus and then drove out to Rio Vista to spend Thanksgiving with one of my CMs families. It was really nice to be in a house with a family, but it was a little weird to not be with mine. Weirder than last year. I missed home last year but felt like I was where I needed to be. I felt oddly out of place and missing home this year. I can't decide if it's the role of a TL or that this is now my second thanksgiving in a row. 

Friday I spent my day in bed. Laura, my roomie, does the same thing. I did a little shopping even though I shouldn't have...but what's new. Laura and I went out for lunch and during lunch, I voiced my desire to take a daycation and she voiced how she had never been to San Francisco. In a heartbeat we decided to spend saturday in San Fran. :)

I still love san francisco the way I loved it the first time, and the second time I was there. I don't know that I could live that far from home, or without the snow but if I had to live somewhere else it would pry be there. We had absolutely no agenda, except to see China Town...which we ended up not seeing. We spent 6 hours walking from about Pier 15 to Pier 39 to Fisherman's wharf, to Ghiradelli Square to Chrissy Field and the Presidio. Laura was such a nerd about seeing Alcatraz and the Golden Gate and I loved it. We headed up to the Haight (which I LOVE) to meet two other TL's for dinner at this great noodle place.

I got very nostalgic for christmas and pensive for the future on the drive back down to our car. There were so many Christmas Trees overlooking the city from their Bay windows. It was just so dang picteresque. Then we had to come back. Lol.

Today was a day of Paperwork and tomorrow back to the program at 530 AM...not so excited.



Only two more weeks of this project and 20 days til I get to go home for Christmas. Thank Goodness!

There's no place like home

Home is where the heart is and it's definitely here. I took this picture last winter when I finally got to come home for Christmas. Once November 1 hits I become obsessed and nostalgic about Christmas and it KILLS me to not be home. I get lost in the grocery store smelling nutmeg and Cinnamon and looking at holiday baking items and foods and decorations. Every new piece of clothing I buy is a deep christmas shade of red. I think I could give Mrs. Clause a run for her money in the Christmas spirit department. I also miss home a ton. At home, the day after thanksgiving my family picks out a christmas tree. We run through the trees and throw snowballs, play hide and seek and pick out the best tree at all. They are never big enough for me, small enough for dad, or full enough fo rmom, but eventually we pick one out that everyone loves. Then we wait a few weeks and have it delivered. Everyone year for my whole life my grandma gives the kids christmas ornaments and dad gives mom one. So are tree is pretty burdened by the weight of all of these years but we still proudly display them (even if we have to wire the tree to the wall..again).

Things are a different however in Americorps. So for any current future or past NCCC members here is my "how to have an Ameri-holiday."

1. You need a tree. You need a very small, cheap tree. How does a lowly, poor, desperate NCCC team get a tree? Individual Service Projects (Isp)! A lot of churches/community centers have Christmas Tree Sales. They often times can use young bodies to help lug around trees, reorganize and tie them ontop of cars. Usually, if a team comes in, works a lot of hours and is charming as can be...the church doesn't mind parting with a small 2 or 3 foot tree. Also if you're feeling REALLY crafting, you can snag some of the tree-trimmings that are left laying around and make your own wreath. After you've charmed your team into a tree you need a stand. The dollar stores often have cheapy tree stands...or you can do like I've done in the past and use the kitchen kit stock pot!

If this does not work. Draw a tree! Get some paper and draw a tree on it and tape it to your wall. It doesn't have the same 3D affect, but in the name of christmas spirit and the ache of being away from the holidays this can still help!

2. Decorations! These can be done in several different ways. Dollar stores usually have cheap sets of ornaments - which your team can draw on, write on or decorate. You can make paper chains or string up popcorn. I know these things sound cheesy but they work! Another way is to get creative! I've taken those 'mardigras' strands of beads and used them as garland. Have everyone on your team string up one miscellaneous item - spoon, sock (clean I hope) earring, etc.

If your team has a paper tree, draw ornaments and tape them to the tree! Service Learning Initiators (SLI) and Peer Helpers, can lead Ornament crafties!

3. Snow! Now some teams are fortunate enough to actually have snow, I have not been that fortunate however. In order to get your snow spirit on, just bring it on back to the elementary years. Make paper snowflakes! You can hang them from the windows of the housing, the van or the ceiling. If you get crazy and your housing is okay with it, you can even get that crappy fake snow stuff and spray the tere or even the outline of the snowflakes. The stuff usually wipes off pretty easily but get permission first!

4. FOOD! If you, your team or your family is anything like mine food becomes a very important part to any holiday season. Nothing comes close to saying team building like baking! Sugar cookies are a great way (peer helpers) to have a team activity. You can either pre-make the dough and everyone can roll it out and cut it and bake them or you can cut some out and bake them and the team can frost. Gingerbread men are usually a hit of everyone make the most outrageous clothes!

It's interesting how much NCCC can change people. Tonight my roommate and I had a heart to heart regarding our hearts, and our heartaches and the #of times life has kicked our asses. Both of us have been through some pretty rough stuff, things that I still haven't "written home" about and only in the last 15 months really begun to talk honestly about some of these things. The interesting point is that we are both here. We have both been saved. We are both making a difference. There are so many different people here - TLs, CMs, Staff, Sponsors, Community Volunteers and more but everyone has one thing in common. They live to serve. I love that. I love being surrounded by people who would rather start fixing the problem then just talk about it. yay!


Almost two weeks ago now, Class XVII was inducted, and then very different from last year people left IMMEDIATELY after induction people started leaving. Wow was it emotional. My pod left. My green shirted friends left. Other CMs whom I enjoy left. And then there were just 6 teams standing around campus - most of them had to actually start work that day but not Gold Six....we were the only ones left at one point. Alone, Isolated and running freely all over McClellan. Right before everyone left two TLs were going to take a picture...then a third joined...then a fourth, a fifth soon green shirts were flocking to get in the picture, the group began screaming at everyone in a green shirt who could be seen. A few people missed out but one last time all together before round one began.

On our first day out of CTI and Inducted we headed into Davis to get fingerprinted for work. I had to deal with my first less then smooth situation as a TL. The sponsor said she had called the fingerprinting place, the place said she hadn't and asked me to pay $54 PER CM for their paperwork. Called the sponsor who then talked to the fingerprinter and I didn't have to pay! Yay! It took way longer than expecting but the team got to wander around Davis and do some shopping. I of course did Paperwork.

Friday we worked with Sacramento Department of Parks and Recreation at the Westlake Parkway Park. It was a day of weeding. Then there was a weekend off where I"m sure I did something which I don't remember off the to
p of my head and then we started at work on Monday!

Let me just tell you how great it feels to be in a school again. The schools are running a very well operated and successful learning center and after school program. The team is doing a really great job too! The hours are super long, we're raking it between 10.5 and 11 hours of just drive+work time not to mention Physical Training (Pt), Service Learning (SLI), peer helping, eating, Individual Service Projects (ISPs), laundry, shopping and breathing. Last week we had veterans day off. I spent the day lazing about in bed online shopping and then went out for brunch with a CM. I had an awful Migraine and stayed home on Friday which was a bummer but very needed and then had the weekend off.

My team is shaping up nicely. There are times I get frustrated, or confused by the way they interact or treat each other but isn't that how it is in any family?

Here are some fun things we have done!
-Mandatory Family Fun night! Once a week the team does something together, this week it was Scategories
-Challenged Gold 5 to laser tag. It was best of two, loser cooks and cleans. We won..BOTH. The team was hilarious, they wait until the very last moment to get excited about anything but then showed up dressed from head to toe in black, with black war paint on their face or G6 written across their cheeks.
-Broke into my room! Okay so my roommate let them in, but then they proceeded to hide, questionably 30 mountain dew cans, all wrapped in blue tape with notes written all over them in my room. I have cans in my pillow, in my galoshes, behind my trash can, in my underwear drawer etc. I think I've found about 25-28 at this point. THey say things like "loggers and postal workers love k-town," a silver star with "pretend this is gold" "your hot" "you're the best tl" etc. Every CM signed every can.

-Duty! Duty is normally a night dreaded by all CMs especially if its on a weekend but a few of my CMs end up sitting with me EVERY single time. Last night we turned the downstairs entrance into a move theater and watched summer school.
-Music! My team has I think right now 4 guitars, a harmonica, a jaw harp, a washboard and a drum pad. Plus a lot of Ipods.
- High School Activities! Partially as SLI and partially as just another something to do, we've gone to a few things for Woodland and Pioneer. Today we went to their showing of little shop of horrors. It was great!

While being on campus has its ups and down I'm definitely glad I'm stuck on campus with the 10 G6 members. We're going to have a great year.