when you give, you begin to live

It's been awhile since I've talked to the outside world via Ameriblog. I suppose I should post an update while I have the time on this marvelous holiday weekend!

On work: Lately, many of our mobile DRC sites have been shutting down.This is great news because it means the number of Texans in need of assistance is decreasing! To the left is a picture of the FEMA crew at one of our sites in Pasadena, TX. This site closed down last Tuesday, and now we have a new one in an old library. Some DRCs are still seeing 50 or so people a day! My job is still fairly lacking in excitement, but I'm getting better at picking out the moments that make me remember why I'm here. MS Paint, friendship bracelets, and good books have also been helpful in passing the time. I love this program and I believe that FEMA is doing some good things for the state of Texas, but sometimes I question the federal government in their ability to make good use of their resources, in particular their outstanding AmeriCorps NCCC volunteers. Two more weeks...

On Thanksgiving: First holiday away from home, and I couldn't have asked for a more memorable few days. We got off of work at 1:00 on Wednesday, and I spent the afternoon grocery shopping, practicing yoga, and creating a delicious Thanksgiving feast with the use of a two-burner stove and a microwave. My team leader, Becky, and I were able to create green bean casserole, candied yams, sweet corn, stuffing, cranberries, apple crisp, and cajun 

chicken. Top it off with pumpkin pie and we had a true Thanksgiving feast! Thanksgiving morning we woke up before the sun to head to our first Independent Service Project- handing out water at the 16th annual TXU Energy Turkey Trot, benefiting Sheltering Arms Senior Services. One of my teammates, Hank, decided to run the 10k (I passed due to insufficient funds) while the rest of us rocked our tan and grey on Thanksgiving day. We received many exclamations of undying love from exhausted runners, and thousands of

thanks as we hydrated the community with a smile! I had a lot of fun with this ISP- it was great to finally get back into the community and see what good we could do! Being able to spend Thanksgiving morning outside in 80 degree heat wasn't so bad

either. We went back to the HoJo after the race to cool down, eat the remnants of our Thanksgiving feast, and get ready for round two. Our second ISP was serving at a Thanksgiving meal for the less-fortunate population of Houston, at which we greeted about 100 of the 40,000 some community members that were fed. A few of us got to entertain the children at the event, while others were on clean-up duty. Though not quite what we expected from this ISP, we all managed to have a great time and make ourselves useful! We left the convention center around 4:00 and headed back over to Uptown Park, where the race was held earlier that morning. This time, instead of thousands of sweaty runners, we saw thousands of folks waiting to see Santa! There was music and lights- even fireworks to the sound of Hallelujah, followed by Everybody Dance Now! Bet you haven't heard that medley before! I must say, it was truly surreal to be listening to Christmas music, watching fireworks, and wearing shorts all on Thanksgiving Day! From there, all but our Team Leader went down to the Magnolia hotel, where we'd made a reservation for the night to better celebrate the birth of our teammate, Aaron. The ten of us fit comfortably in the luxurious hotel room, and had a great time hitting a few 18+ hot spots around town. We found one gem, called CLARKS, which featured an amazing latin/afro/jam/jazz band that we all had a blast dancing to! The next day we spent at a park

just outside of the convention center, playing in the water fountains with young children, while across the street folks were ice skating- all on the 28th of November! How surreal it is to be in Texas at this time of year!

On time off: The rest of my time off was spent mostly at the HoJo, and running random errands with the team. Saturday morning we did another ISP at The Beacon, the most well-run homeless shelter I've ever seen. The facility provides warm meals, laundry service, clothing, and hot showers to thousands of people a day. I was a part of the kitchen crew, but some of my teammates were signing people in to get showers and laundry bags. This was one of my favorite ISPs thus far. The rest of the day was spent lounging around, grocery shopping, and watching White Christmas for the first time with my TL. This morning we saw Australia at the $5.00 matinee (totally on my budget). I finished off the day with a good book, alfredo, chocolate cake, and Elf! 

 

Time to get some shut eye before heading back to work tomorrow! :)