H is for Hunger and Homelessness

Did you know that November is Hunger and Homelessness Month? Well it is! Ironic how it is almost the month that starts the endless feast of too much food that doesn't seem to stop until New Year Resolutions are implemented, but I digress.

Canned food drives are either just getting cranked up or are well under way. I have to comment though on how my life seems to be carried out in themes. Right now with the constant reminder of what this month represents through reminders to give and participate in the events about hunger and homelessness, I feel I have recently been tested.

Two nights in a row I was approached in public areas and asked for spare money. Once in the parking lot of church with the guy, and then in my car alone in the drive-through at Taco Bell. I encourage students daily to give and to serve, but is that story when it's asked of me?

I believe it is better to give than to receive. But when is it right to give? Do you just give to anyone who walks up to you and asks? No, is my answer. I believe there are proper venues to give and serve. I'm not saying give when it's convenient to you. Robert Greenleaf (Servant Leader guru) says that serving should be a feeling that comes from within. Did I want to help these guys? Yes, but I don't think giving the band-aid of money would have done it. Sometimes you have to admit when some situations are bigger than you are, right now. Right now I do not feel I can help them adequately, maybe in the future, hopefully in the future.

In both situations I was asked the same thing-- to give money for food/place to stay. Even though they were similar situations, I came away from the two with two different feelings. The first night I felt bad, could I have felt guilty coming out of church, maybe. The second night I was mad, I don't want to be stared at while ordering in the drive-through. Am I a bad person for these reactions? Maybe...

I think its safe to say that fear is always accompanied by situations of the unknown. I have no knowledge of what it is like to be hungry or wondering where my next meal will come from. I have never had to rely on the kindness of a stranger to provide my basic needs in life. I have been blessed to not have been in these situations. Does that make me better than these two men asking for money? By all means, NO.

I leave this evening with a hunger myself. A hunger to know what more can I do. A hunger to want to make a difference. A hunger, I hope is never fulfilled.

F is for Frightful Fun

There's a spooky chill in the air this morning. No, its not because the temps decided to drop drastically this week... It's Halloween!

What an exciting day! I can only imagine all the scary costumes that will be present in the halls of elementary schools across the nation today. I have not yet seen any ghouls or cowboys strutting around, but then again its still early on a college campus.

Passing out candy is one of my favorite things to do at Halloween. I hope I am settled in enough to the new house to contribute to a few trick or treaters this evening. I do look forward to seeing the frightful sights!

Happy Halloween everyone!

E is for Emptiness

Saturday afternoon I inserted the key into the door and turned, opening the door. An opening "Helllloooo" seemed to sing out of my mouth as I stepped through the door. Quickly a reply was heard and introductions were in order. "Mom, this is my new roommate. New roommate, this is my mom." I have found a new place to call home!!

We ventured to the front of the house and stared with excitement at the pure emptiness that made up my new bedroom and spare room. It has now become my task to fill this empty space with me and my stuff. It's official I'm moving! It's so official that I have to be out on my "Blast from the Past" apartment by Nov 1. That's Saturday folks! Eeeekkkk! I better get moving... literally!

I feel confident in my planning of what to move and when to move it. I have made a ridiculous goal to get things moved without using boxes. How is this done?? Umm... lots of small loads using luggage. I pack my books in luggage. Take it to the house. Unpack my books. Take my luggage back to the apartment to load up pots and pans. We'll see if there is any method to this madness or if it is just pure madness.

Thankfully the mom and the guy were able to help this past weekend and all big furniture has been moved except the kitchen table, which will move later. A huge MUCHOS GRACIAS goes out to these two. Amazingly enough I do believe all my stuff is going to fit. The guy even offered to measure everything to draw to scale on paper my furniture to work out all the possibilities of arrangements. Too sweet, but we didn't have to. I'm pretty much the type that gets something in my head and makes it work. I wouldn't call this inflexibility, just determined.

Everyday after work I made a trip or two to the new house with more stuff. Slowly it is starting to look like someone lives my room or at least someone is trying to. As I carry more and more of my belonging to the new place, I notice my little time capsule of an apartment is becoming bare. As one place fills the other empties. I think that's a shaky definition of moving. It will be a sad moment, but I'm looking forward to it, when I can look at the pure emptiness of what used to be my place of residency. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, I'll be able to look on that emptiness sooner than later.

Wish me luck!

D is for Delicious

Delicious Red Apple

The Big Apple that is.
Had a great weekend in the Big Apple with my two good friends. We were able to get a lot done and have a lot of fun in the process. The agenda was jammed packed and we were constantly on the go. A few of the stops on our whirlwind trek through Manhattan:
The Met
Museum of Modern Art
Little Italy
Chinatown
Shopping in Soho
Magnolia's Bakery
The Lion King
Avenue Q
Central Park
SATC Carrie's Stoop
A little more shopping
Luckily the most pain occurred in my feet, and not the banking account.
A few pics from the weekend:

C is for Check lists and Countdown to the City

It's official, I'm excited. Well, I've been excited for a while now, but the reality is setting in. In a few short days I will be making my way to the Big Apple for a girls weekend. Fall Break is here for students, so I figured that would be a slow time to take some time off, and I did.

Two of my good friends and I will spend a long weekend doing whatever we want. And according to our recent emails to one another, whatever we want includes A LOT. Not wanting to miss out, the dork in me came out, and I created a googledoc for our itinerary. Pretty sure eyes were rolled on the other side of their screens, but I'm just covering all the bases. Flights are booked, rooms are reserved, all's that's left is bags to be packed (which will be tomorrow night).

All three of us have birthdays coming up soon. So every night we are in the city we will celebrate one birthday. It works out perfect- three nights, three birthdays. I'm hoping this will become an annual event. Different years, different cities... I think I'm on to something...

No worries... I'm taking the camera. The batteries are charging now!

B is for Birthdays and Best Friends!

This weekend marks a special occasion. Oh- you checked your calendar and all you see if Columbus Day? Well, it might not be written in on your calendar, but 28 years ago on Sunday my parents' world changed drastically when my dear sweet sister blessed us with her presence!

I love my sister! Well, that's a given. And here's why:
She always looked out for me growing up (even if I didn't see that way at the time)
She's a lot more thoughtful and concerned than she may let on.
She is HILARIOUS! Laughter is always the third party when we're together.
She married a great guy who oddly gets our family.
She will have complete conversations with me without using a single personal pronoun while speaking in a baby voice... quite the experience... it drives my friends crazy!
She lets me know when I have a bad boyfriend... so far she likes the current
The older we get, the more we are alike.
She's my best friend!

Happy Birthday Sweet Sister!

All Around Busy

Hi there! Don't know if you remember me, but I used to be a blogger... then I got a new job. Meaning I got busy really busy! But I am making an effort to make blogging a routine thing, and in order to do this I am starting the alphabet blog... I'm sure I will soon refer to it as the dreaded alphabet, but for the time being I'll be an optimist with the glass half full :)

My "A" could stand for many things:

Absolutely Ashamed: I know I saw that last blog post date... August! Really?
Accustomed: Slowly but surely I am becoming accustomed to my job. I am constantly learning something new. It's almost like being in school again, only I'm on the other side of the desk. Scary... for both me and the students :)
Anonymous Ticket: I would love to have the job of giving out speeding tickets anonymously on campus. I'm a great judge of when someone is going too fast. Its really not that hard in a 15 mph zone. In my head, I hand out tickets left and right, especially parking. But that's another story another day.
Advisement: This week is coming up and its on my mind.
Academic: Should I go back to school?
Awesome Timing: somehow something worked out right. I was in the right place at the right time on the right day and it all worked out. I stopped looking for a place to move to and a good friend calls me up needing a roommate. Amazing! (and another A) So this month is "Move Month" yay!
Apple: Not just any apple though, The BIG Apple! I get a little vacay with the girls in two weeks to New York City! Very excited!

My point is across... I had plenty of "A's" to choose from, but my top pick is All Around Busy because that is what I am right now!

Much Love!