"Bye, kids, have a good day at school."

This is a phrase that I say on a regular basis, nowadays. I'm the team soccer mom here in Biloxi, so that means that I drop off the construction kids at 7 am, come back to our housing, take a nap, drop off the education kids at 9 am, clean toilets or mop floors or check e-mails or go grocery shopping for the afternoon, start some dinner, and then pick everybody back up around 5. I can't be a housewife when I grow up. This simply won't work for an extended period of time-- several years of this are certainly out of the question.

There's some bright spots approaching on the horizon, though... I'm going to help paint a mural (cross your fingers) and give some guitar lessons at two of the Boys and Girls Clubs in the area and I'm helping my teammates plan out some arts and crafts activities and possibly a fun cooking activity for the near future.

So, this week is a short one with Friday off for the 4th of July, next week has the possibility of a fun trip out of town over the weekend, and the third week is... the last week!! The end is most certainly in sight.

A trip down memory lane

Once, I dug a very big hole with Kelsey and Emily and then pried a power pole out of it.
Afterwards, we took silly pictures to celebrate.

I've got TV, fluffy pillows, and breakfast brought to me on real china.

What in the world is going on? I feel a mild case of culture shock coming on... I don't know what to do, now that I'm located in the lap of luxury-- I just stare into the TV screen that is tempting even when there's NOTHING on. Americorps' got us camped out in the Mariott in Jackson, Mississippi for the next day and a half and I have to say that it's kind of like being in a parallel universe. I've got this silly uniform on to remind me that I mainly do construction grunt work, but I'm surrounded by tiny bottles of nice-smelling shampoo and plush carpet and big, big TVs.

We've got meetings to go to, sometimes, but mainly, I've got some nice time on my hands to relax, read, watch TV even when I don't mean to, and see the sights around the bustling metropolis of Jackson, MS.

TWO more days.

There are only TWO, count 'em, T W O more days left in my 3rd and penultimate project with Americorps! Things have been fun, I've learned alot, but it's time to start the move to greener pastures. Perhaps I will detail some of my complaints about the bureaucracy that seems to come along with large, government-funded organizations on my blog at some date in the future, but for now, I'll just focus on one really bright spot in the future... SMOE!

SMOE stands for the San Mateo Outdoor Education School and I will be working there as a naturalist in September. It's my job to hang out with groups of 5th and 6th graders, teach them about the environment and various ecosystems, sing songs, lead hikes, supervise, and generally have a great time while not sitting behind a desk. Many banana slugs will be kissed, many adventures will be had.

I went to go visit my college roommate and friend Liane right as I was beginning this blog, as loyal readers like my mom might remember. SMOE seemed like an awesome place to live and work then and I am just as excited about it now.

Meet our 6th (and 7th and 8th and 9th and 10th and 27th) roommate

Photos that encompass all of the grossness and resiliency that belong to the amazing cockroach by Kara Hoffman, roommate number 4.

Apologies for the delay

I've been neglecting this blog for some time now! Sorry about that, folks. We've been working quite a bit and it's rare that I can make it to the library before it closes as of late. So, a quick bulleted list of what's been going on, perhaps?

-We know where we're going for our next project... it's not terribly far away , just down the road in Biloxi. This is a bit of a disappointment to the whole team, especially when we had our hearts set on going to somewhere in the Western region. One team that we're friendly with is going to New Mexico to teach children about caving. We're so very, very jealous.

-I took a little trip up to Baltimore to see the fam, take care of a few job interviews, and sleep in a location without cockroaches. It was great to be home for a little while!

-I now know how to finish drywall. I am a mudding expert.

-I almost adopted a million puppies and kittens when we worked at the local animal shelter. Sugar Bear was my favorite, by far. She was very tolerant throughout her bath and gave good kisses even though we were scrubbing her fur and trying to detangle all of the knots and mats.

-In just a few days, I'm going to see Old Crow Medicine Show play in New Orleans!

-Up until yesterday, my campmates included 200 older men from various regions in the South and Midwest that were here to help build houses. They were called Men on a Mission and they were a noisy bunch. I wake up early, but in comparison, I looked like a sleeping beauty. Every morning, they were up at 5... banging around, yelling stuff in Southern accents, and not letting me sleep. But overall, they were a very nice bunch and did funny things, like had their local newspaper FedEx-ed to them so they could read it.

-In the near future, my team is taking a road trip back to California! If you live on the road to Cali and would like a visit from me and my 11 friends, please do let me know. We might stop by anyway :)

Love (bugs) are in the air...

Love bugs are stuck together and to many surfaces around Pass Christian. They're too busy with their important work to bite or sting-- they're lovers, not fighters. A few were in my cereal box the other morning. Guess they were looking for a little love shack and found one in the Cheerios box.