Backpack Giveaway

On Saturday, my coworker Jane and I helped out at a community event giving free backpacks to kids. We also recruited members of the community to get involved and volunteer in public schools.

I made a graffiti wall for people to share what they have to offer:

Earlier this week, this woman got chastized at a meeting for interrupting me. She was basically just really excited about her new support group, Love Not Guns. When they asked her to stop talking, she just hugged me for about 30 seconds and apologized for interrupting. I guess she practices what she preaches.

We were right next to the zoo table. I'd never seen a hedgehog. My guess is that these cute kids hadn't either, although I was definitely more excited about it.

City Car Share

Although I'm still fleshing out* how I feel about my work at an SF CBO*, I do have access to some interesting things. For example, City Car Share lets you make a reservation online for a car, and then you are registered electronically in a power box stored in the windshield. You pick it up at a location of your convenience, use your fob* to get in and out of the car, and fill it up with gas (they give you a code) if it goes below half empty.

I love Toyota Tacomas, and so when I had my first service project and had to haul wheelbarrows across town, I was all over City Car Share. Well worth the walk to drive the truck instead of a van.

*If these sounded like strange and unnecessary ways of saying things, welcome to my new world.

Staircases

Public schools might not have a lot of money right now, but at this middle school, they've got some pretty sweet staircases:

When life slows down, maybe I'll start taking straight pictures.

Counting my Blessings

I haven't settled into a place where I can have meaningful exchanges with people at church, so, because it's Sunday, I would just like to share a few things on a religious note:

My last month in Mexico was a difficult stretch financially. I made a total of $40. (And that was because I was going in to work with the agreement that they didn't have to pay me. I prolonged the stretch portion of a class into yoga, et voila!) I received my deposit back from my apartment, and it was $200 less than what I expected. That $40 dollars was a day's worth of gas for my drive north. I needed it. But I was also about $80 behind on tithing. I made the decision to pay and "let the universe take care of the details."

I have wonderful friends and family. And they have all, very non-assumingly, been so generous with their homes. My friend Silvia let me be a part of her Long Beach life for a week! I stayed in Kelly and Hyrum's guest room for a month! My aunt and uncle are letting me stay here in Hillsborough (which, if you don't know Northern California, is beautiful) for as long as I need. I began to panic as I search for a place, because affordable has not been comfortable, and vice versa. I was in a dilemma of whether to share an apartment with some girls and be able to save over $500/month ($6000 a year!) versus what I would pay in my own place. Until last night, a posting magically appeared on Craigslist for an apartment leasing in the coastal town where I want to leave for even LESS than the rent of the shared apartment! I haven't seen it yet, and I don't even know if "this is the place," but I really felt like God has been listening to me and answering my prayers in His own quiet way. Perhaps it has been a coincidence, but I believe it to be directly connected to the law of tithing and to answered prayers.

So, if you made it to the end of that--you can ditch out of church after the sacrament! I had the English ward (singular) in my stake's time wrong, so my choices are Fijian, Tongan, Samoan, Chinese, or Spanish. Hasta luego, amigos!

Perks

When I was a teacher, I got three months of vacation and the free shirts were terrible. Now, I'm not a teacher. I get three weeks of vacation, that I have to earn 6.75 hours at a time, but at least the shirts are nice.

(shameless self-portrait, i know. give me a break, people. i am alone! no, i'm not alone. i have dressy.)

Dressy

A few weeks back, I posted about not being so much of a dog person. As life would have it, I am now dog-sitting a very sweet dog, and I am being very kind and very attentive, but it is still an adjustment.

Dressy has interrupted a number of my most recent phone calls, and I wanted people to be able to put a face with the dog. I also wanted to show off my new shirt that has my two most favorite colors from the 4th grade.