Luck

I report this with a heavy heart: tomorrow will be my last day working at that non-profit organization. Not only am I California bound for a couple of days but the staff member that I was covering for is coming back on Monday.

Luckily I was offered to come back as a floater... Luckily I do have another job that will be waiting for me at a bank... Luckily I leave a whole complete bridge intact...

Luckily I will be in California and will finally unglue myself from my friends' facebook pages to see their actual faces! Luckily I get to hang out with my family! Luckily I get to attend Mtm's graduation! Luckily I get to party with my grandparents on their 55th anniversary! Luckily!!!!!

And luckily the Clippers have another two quarters to beat the Grizzlies!

Friday the 13th Getaway

Liz-e is one of those college buds that you kinda like, then you kinda love, then you really love, and then all of a sudden she is a life bud. She lives in Providence, RI with her beau Greg. We met up in NYC the weekend of April 13th.

Cute!

We went out to a place called "L'asso" and we drank beer and wine and caught up. We hadn't seen each other since 2010! We got a hotel in Queens and after the restaurant closed we did the classy thing and bought beer and went back to the hotel room. The following morning Liz-e wasn't feeling so good so Greg and I explored Central Park together.

Greg really wanted to check out Delacorte Theater which puts on "Shakespeare in the Park". 

If you want to check out a show go to the theater the day of the show at 1:00 and get free tickets or check out their website.

It was a ridiculously beautiful day!

By the time we were done exploring we met with Liz-e and explored some more... Then we ate dessert at "Bubby's" in the Tribeca area.

Bubby's had ducks in the window, a plastic cow outside, a Pacman arcade machine, photo booth, and a mean apple pie!

Cute #2!

Reunited roomies! Did I tell you? We met because we were placed in a triple dorm room in college.

We decided to call it an early night and hung out at the hotel room... I fell asleep at 10pm! Shame! The next morning we had breakfast together at which point Liz-e asked me if I had found a new breakfast joint in the Burg....I have not!!! (It is now my goal to find a substitute for Santa Barbara's Cajun Kitchen. How I miss theee!). Greg, Liz-e, and I said our goodbyes over bfast and went our ways (for now). 

And before I left NYC(super side note here: if you see an Amtrak ticket at a price you like, get it! The prices on the East Coast change so I was originally going to take the amtrak back home for $50 but by the time I decided to get the ticket which was literally the following day the ticket had gone up to...drummers...$100! It doubled! So I took the Megabus. Heart heart swoon.) geez, where was I? Oh, before I left I checked out the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market.

Cute things but not super cheap or big... I really want to check out the Brooklyn Flea Market!

Then I got home and got to hang around my teeny buddies:

Angel and Marla play outside.

I'm one lucky duck.

Easter

This Easter was quite sweet. First off, this G, finally has pocket change and I was able to treat my Harrisburgians to some eats. We went to a Chinese buffet were they had Chinese donuts and I ate like 5 of them! Side note: when explaining to Mtm how these donuts were the bestest, she told me that she had never encountered them and a. she is Chinese and b. she has been to China soooooo yeaaaa.

Then Athena made the kids lovely Easter baskets and we went to the park to hide some eggs for Angel. He didn't really like the idea of hunting the eggs so when Athena and Jeffrey weren't looking I decided to hunt HIM down. I grabbed the eggs and starting pelting him with them. We noticed that he would laugh, pick up the eggs that were thrown at him, and then carefully place them in his basket. Go figure, I freaking love this kid. We had fun, went home, and that was Easter. Bliss.

Angel awaits the next bruise, ahem, egg against this firing wall.

Neighborhood Scouting

I have been trying to go running everyday. And sometimes I come across weird things in the neighborhood. I really want to take pictures of these things I find BUT I fear that the dwellers and owners are going to think that I am scouting their houses and are going to beat me up.

Some of the visual highlights of my running:

-house with the gnomes 

-house with the fake deer in the backyard

-cemetery 

-tulips (all these tulips have all of a sudden bloomed)

-an older couple that I always see (probably in 70's) walk around the neighborhood 

From one day to the next, these flowers were all over the place

Maybe tomorrow I'll take the risk and get pictures....

My Eyes are Hearts for Your Apples

I completely forgot to write about the wonderful New York City! I kept on putting it off to give it a proper entry... On March 10, 2012 the Hughes clan and I went to NYC for the weekend.

We actually stayed in New Jersey and metro'd it up. Here we are right outside our hotel.

One of the new WTC buildings (there will be 5). We didn't reserve a pass to see the 9/11 Memorial though (sad face).

We walked around Times Square.

And we ate.....

The first time I came here, I remember thinking, "I could live here". But it was an all encompassing feeling... And the more I saw, the more I liked, even though some parts could definitely not be described as pretty or interesting. I connected. 

I have basically moved across the country to eventually move to this city. I can't pinpoint why this is a dream of mine. Maybe it's the energy. Maybe because there is always something going on. Maybe because the subway system makes me happy. Maybe it's because it is a city of fighters. And fighters dream. And sometimes fighters lose. They are broken and bruised and tired. But sometimes fighters win. They are broken and bruised and tired but they mend and heal and soar. I guess one can argue that you can get this feeling in any place, but I have felt it here. I don't even know what I want to do with myself necessarily. I can't say that I want to be a psychologist or teacher or a hat maker. I want to help people. In a selfish and unselfish way. I want to contribute and I want to do it here... Ah, we shall see what becomes of all this... It may be the biggest mistake I have made. It may be the best thing I do. But I know, that I lead with my heart and I don't believe in going down without a fight.

Turning Around the Days

I am going bananas! How do I turn my day around? I slept when I got home today (at 8:30am) up until 4pm and I have been feeling so tired! I need to make a schedule. When to eat, when to jog, when to sleep. My body feels so weird and out of it. Luckily Athena was here to care for the kiddies otherwise I'd be a complete mess.

Hmmmm, I guess the cool thing about this schedule is that I am off on Friday and Saturday nights which is when staying awake would be appropriate, especially with my track record. I go home when I'm tired. So in SB, if I was out, aka at Wildcat, and I got tired, I'd just go home. There were so many nights when we'd get to our destination...Wildcat...around 11pm and by midnight I was ready to go home. And I did. The alternative was that I'd nod off in clubs, bars...ok Wildcat... and they'd ask (kick me out) to leave. Hm, we shall see what becomes of all this...

Gotta go, work in an hour!

My New Temp Job

That job, I can't say it is in the bag, but I am IN! So, I began training on Friday, did some more on Saturday, and I had my first shift by myself last night (well this morning). I am ecstatic! 

The organization that I work (this is a temporary position because the person I am covering for is on leave...after she comes back I am going to be a floater) provides services for women that are in need of housing, counseling, child care, legal services, visitation services, job placement, and so much more (I literally spent two hours online yesterday trying to memorize all the different programs they have). They also provide some services for men, youth, and veterans, but the majority of our population are women.

The shift was 12 (midnight) to 8am this morning and it was very slllooowww up until 7am. So I sit in this office that faces the front door and the lobby. I am supposed to pick up phones, buzz people in (I have to buzz people in through two different doors. Also housing is located on site), transfer calls to the appropriate staff members, and I am supposed to keep an eyeball out on what is going on (we have video cameras in 16 different locations around the premises). There is a lot of security for the women that this organization serves however we do not have an actual security guard. BUT, I kid not, if the cameras, locked doors, and a couple of other security measures fail...we have a baseball bat within arm's reach. BOOM! (and whack!).

We have a tv, radio, and computer in the room that I can use to keep myself awake...but honestly...I want to do anything that will allow me to contribute anything to the org (I don't just want to sit there!). So tonight I am going to compile a list of the things I may hopefully be able to help with... In fact I must go soon, my shift begins in 51 minutes!

In the meantime, it was Athena's birthday (yay 26!) on the 22nd so here are some pictures of our diy event:

Jeffrey baked AND decorated this delicious cake for his lovely wife (I helped transfer it, that's about it)

Athena was quite pleased with her birthday iphone! We also ordered Olive Garden and it was a merry time

We put balloons up to decorate this festivity.

Well, I will write more tomorrow. Gotta run, g'night to you!