The birds are back- they wake me in the morning with their whistle songs and serenade me when I'm driving or walking. The sun is still up high when I leave work at 6:30. Trees are budding, flowering, and green is everywhere! A few weeks ago, the first baby bear sighting. He was caught in a tree near downtown (funny place for a bear...). But nature isn't alone in awakening from hibernation. And this awakening is just in time.
Consider my absence from this blog as just one dimension of my own hibernation. I have become so ingrained in a rhythm that seems to carry me through each day and week. Any attempts to alter the rhythm (ie, wake up early to go for a run, or go to after school early to prepare for the day) backfires. I wake up at the same time every day. Leave the house at the same time. Leave work at the same time. Go to bed at the same time.
But since spring has arrived, the rhythm has eased it's rigidity. I've found myself on a bike ride through town with friends the past two weekends and expanded my container window garden. I've been able to fit climbing into my lunch breaks. The biggest change, though, has been my own growth in strength and flexibility of both body and mind. And I attribute this to two things: an ashtanga yoga class, and rock climbing.
You see, the past three or so weeks have been insanely stressful, nearly comparable to Social Work Practice 3. The after school program I am starting up and directing has had a lot of major changes and a few kids with some major behavior and discipline issues. There has also been some drama with one of our tutors, and I have found myself pulling on my "social worker pants" and advocating for the three children that make my life hell most days because I refuse to be one more person who gives up on them. At the end of the day, I am reminded why I'm here and why I'm doing what I'm doing. And that I have a long way to go.
It seems that the Texas climate followed me to North Carolina. Winter left much to be desired as far as cold and snow goes, and spring has come and gone so fast it feels like summer is just around the corner. What is around the corner makes everything ok: Spring Break!!! Carol, Jenny, Peter, and a huge crew of folks from the Asheville climbing community are heading out to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky for a week of climbing and camping. I seriously cannot wait to live out of a tent and backpack for a week. This is way overdue. WAY overdue. And.... Ginny is joining us for a few days!!!!!!! By the way... have I mentioned that she moved to Atlanta... 4 hours away?? Yeah. That happened. And I am super excited.
So.. consider your friend Jordan awakened with Spring and back in action :)
Showing posts with label Americorps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Americorps. Show all posts
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Friday, August 12, 2011
One man's trash, another's treasure
(This was written a week ago and I'm just now posting)
I wish I had pictures from today. Brian does, he takes about 200 pictures a day, and he said he'd send me his favorites. The reason is, we did our first service project at the Randolph Learning Center (RLC), the alternative school for kids with behavioral issues. Administration has decided to rename the school in favor of a new acronym after the students started calling themselves "Retarded Little Children".
Anyways, after a morning of presentations on all the job positions, we split into groups to do different projects around the school to spruce it up. A few others and myself removed a neglected terrarium from the cafeteria and cleaned weeds out the greenhouse. We found some treasure there: a massive tomato plant dripping with green bulbs and a copperhead. We relocated after meeting the snake, and I proudly rescued the tomato plant to the growing garden on Mt Buchanan. Another group that included my housemates Chrissy and Steven carried a bunch of furniture to a dumpster out front. Upon realizing that there were useable desks and chairs in the dumpster, about 5 of us climbed right in and used a power tool to remove the carpeted privacy walls from the desks (ya know... the kind you sit in in ISS...) and hauled them right back out of the dumpster. Now, all I need is a (real) bed!
It's been one hell of a great week. The team is like a family already, we're all on the same page and work harmoniously with one another. We went to karaoke night Wednesday, and Matt and his fiance Liz took the cake and made it to the finals; Matt came in 2nd. They are awesome, both hold theater degrees and are from Austin, TX! Last night, a group of about 6 of us went to a yoga class and left with super flexible hips from holding pigeon pose for wayyyyy too long. But here's what really brought us together: the Get Motivated! business conference, aka Get Scammed! We caravanned to Greenville, SC at 6 AM with high hopes of hearing Bill Cosby, Laura Bush, Steve Forbes, Rudy Giuliani, and a bunch of other big shot speakers. We arrived at an arena at capacity- 21,000 people- and promptly watched a circus spectacle complete with confetti, fire cannons, and spotlights. Some of the speakers had some good stuff to say, but mostly it was an infomercial for an investment management software aka scam. We left early.
I wish I had pictures from today. Brian does, he takes about 200 pictures a day, and he said he'd send me his favorites. The reason is, we did our first service project at the Randolph Learning Center (RLC), the alternative school for kids with behavioral issues. Administration has decided to rename the school in favor of a new acronym after the students started calling themselves "Retarded Little Children".
Anyways, after a morning of presentations on all the job positions, we split into groups to do different projects around the school to spruce it up. A few others and myself removed a neglected terrarium from the cafeteria and cleaned weeds out the greenhouse. We found some treasure there: a massive tomato plant dripping with green bulbs and a copperhead. We relocated after meeting the snake, and I proudly rescued the tomato plant to the growing garden on Mt Buchanan. Another group that included my housemates Chrissy and Steven carried a bunch of furniture to a dumpster out front. Upon realizing that there were useable desks and chairs in the dumpster, about 5 of us climbed right in and used a power tool to remove the carpeted privacy walls from the desks (ya know... the kind you sit in in ISS...) and hauled them right back out of the dumpster. Now, all I need is a (real) bed!
It's been one hell of a great week. The team is like a family already, we're all on the same page and work harmoniously with one another. We went to karaoke night Wednesday, and Matt and his fiance Liz took the cake and made it to the finals; Matt came in 2nd. They are awesome, both hold theater degrees and are from Austin, TX! Last night, a group of about 6 of us went to a yoga class and left with super flexible hips from holding pigeon pose for wayyyyy too long. But here's what really brought us together: the Get Motivated! business conference, aka Get Scammed! We caravanned to Greenville, SC at 6 AM with high hopes of hearing Bill Cosby, Laura Bush, Steve Forbes, Rudy Giuliani, and a bunch of other big shot speakers. We arrived at an arena at capacity- 21,000 people- and promptly watched a circus spectacle complete with confetti, fire cannons, and spotlights. Some of the speakers had some good stuff to say, but mostly it was an infomercial for an investment management software aka scam. We left early.
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