As I try to balance the budget for the upcoming weeks (and no matter what I do it is going to be negative), Mom tries to be my cheerleader to keep me from getting depressed. She suggested I write a top ten list of the good things going on...so here it goes (in no particular order).
1. WONDERFUL EXTENDED FAMILY that I'll be seeing on Monday, hooray!! And I can't forget the family "Down Under" because they are always here in spirit
2. ADOPTING LILY because I got to help a sweet little kitty and ICHS at the same time
3. MY JOB AND SCHOOL STAFF I'm so excited about the upcoming school year and helping the kids and they are excited to have me there which makes it a fantastic place to walk in to
4. FREE HEALTH INSURANCE Sure the meds are still a bit expensive, but at least I get reimbursed for 80%....paying that $400 out of pocket every month would be a killer!
5. CHARTER GUYS because they helped me out with the cable/internet problem and hooked up my TV-VCR-Cable which I couldn't have done without them
6. MY SoH TEAM because I got at least three offers of helping me get George out of the garage whenever he's fixed and for general assistance if I ever ask for it
7. GEICO for paying the bulk of George's repairs
8. LILY makes the list twice, because now that she's home she's always a gift
9. MATT even though he's angry at me right now I know he'll always be there when I need him most
10. BUDDY AND DAISY for the unconditional love I have always gotten from them, making going to Doggieville an experience to look forward too even though I hate the drive
11. FRIENDS, Alissa, Taffy, Laura, Becky, Michelle, Dan, Erin, Simon, Zondra, Rollie, Izzy, UW Housing Catering and RHC staff past and present, and everyone that I haven't been able to keep in touch with but have truly made a difference in my life...I'm truly blessed to have befriended such wonderful people
And of course
12. MOM for making me make this list...I'm still broke but at least feel a lot better about what I DO have ...thank you!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
I'm Back!!!
I lost internet and cable on Sunday, shortly after the last tenant (who lives in the apartment above me) moved in. My internet worked in the morning and was gone that afternoon. I made the appointment for Wednesday, only to find out that the line connecting the building to the cable company was overcrowded and that's why I couldn't get service. They created another line to the apartment building today. When he opened the box I happened to see what had happened to my cable, as all wires are labeled. Someone physically disconnected my cable service and hooked theirs up in my place, I guess getting my cable service for free and doing this because there weren't any other hook-up spots left. I just happened to be the unlucky one chosen to "scrooge" over. I'm not very pleased with my neighbor right now.
Service was restored today, at least my internet. I'm now only getting basic basic cable (up to channel 21) until the next available appointment brings back a Charter man to fix the mix-up. I'm going to recommend they lock that box up so mess-ups like this don't happen again. I'm getting credits on my next cable bill so I don't get charged for 1) 5 days of missed service, 2) the however many more days of missing expanded cable service, and 3) the modem I returned today. I figured out that it was cheaper to buy my own internet modem than to continually rent it.
Those poor Charter guys...they've been really great. They even figured out how to hook-up my TV to the VCR and cable. I wonder just how much customer crap/frustration they have to deal with on a daily basis because people hate their service. I feel bad for them, because they are really nice guys.
Anywho, I have done just more than gripe about my cable situation...like adopt Lily Megan and get into my new job!! Lily Megan (LaLa Lily and Lily Lou are also ok) was adopted on Saturday morning and taken straight to the vet and then on to Madison. I only had to show her the litter box once before she understood where it was and what it was used for. No accidents yet! On the list of things she can't eat are my fingers, my watch band, any cables in the house, and my food. She gets her food and her treats during mealtimes. Mom sent up some Dodgeville water which she seems to prefer over my bottled water. She tends to spend a lot of time under the couch and bed and is still a little skiddish when it comes to unfamiliar voices and the door opening. Lots of pictures of the little girl...I just can't help it! Hard to believe I have only had her for 5 days...seems like so much longer! She's really become a major part of my life and my routine. The whole getting-up-to-be-petted-every-two-hours thing is slowly ending. She still head-butts me (literally) at about 4:30AM every morning so she can be petted. Then I usually fall back asleep until 6AM or so. She is completely spoiled rotten and loves every minute of it.
George the car went into the shop on Tuesday in the early AM so that it would hopefully be done by today. Unfortunately after they painted the new hood and tried to put it back on today did they find out it was the wrong one! We hope they can get the new one in by tomorrow morning and get it painted ASAP so I can get the car back tomorrow evening so Matt can do his travels.
I've gotten more and more into my job as Volunteer Coordinator for AmeriCorps...think domestic PeaceCorps. I have been in training the last few days getting paperwork stuff done, discussing policies and benefits (healthcare for free...yay!), and learning volunteer management, which is the bulk of what I'll be doing this year.
We also participated in "Days of Caring" by the United Way on Wednesday and Tuesday. Tuesday's picnic lunch was sponsered by Kraft Foods/Oscar Mayer and therefore of course very tasty. Our project for the our "day of caring" on Wednesday was at the Grassroots Leadership College, which teaches developing leaders working in (mostly) the non-profit field the skills needed to fundraise, grant-write, hold board meetings, etc. We ended up not doing the poster-creation we had expected to do because the lady apparently had too many volunteers over the two days. We did get to decorate hoola-hoops for the neighborhood carnival's hoola-hoop contest in October. The hoops will then go on sale....I'm thinking about buying mine as it is for a good cause, made by me, and very pretty (red with silver and blue sparkle tape) even though I really can't hoola very well. After that we cleaned up/straighten up the offices and did a mass-mailing.
I met both of my principals yesterday too. In the morning Kathy P (the school district person that works with community entities like Schools of Hope to bring more community involvement into the schools) and I went to Marquette Elementary(grades 3-5) to meet the principal. She's a very nice, very energetic person who is excited to have the program. Then training and the Days of Caring service project. On the way home from the project (a wonderful 5block walk from my house!) I went into Lapham Elementary (grades K-2) to meet the secretary and see the place. Luckily I went in when the principal wasn't in a meeting so I got to meet him and some of the custodians as well. I fear I didn't make the best first impression as I was wearing paint pants for my service project (no need to ruin perfectly good clothing) but when I explained this they seemed to be ok with it. In Marquette (strange how my future grad school is also named Marquette, in Milwaukee!) my office will be shared with the school psychologist who is there only 3/10ths of the week. It is nice and air-conditioned and right off of the main office area. In Lapham my office is the old Early Childhood Education wing, now vacant because of cut funding. It is also air-conditioned and near the pool. Both schools are super-excited to have me around, and Nancy at Lapham is extremely helpful because she knows all about the AmeriCorps program and past VCs so she helps me a lot (and now I can help her by taking some of the background checking of current volunteer duties off her hands) .
I look forward to getting to work, gathering, training, and managing the volunteers in both schools. Basically my job is to do that, hopefully fulfilling the tutoring needs of my teachers and keeping everyone happy. Unfortunately Marquette hasn't had an AmeriCorps person in years and years and Lapham lost their VC position last year due to a small team of VCs which had to go to the schools with more pressing needs. This means that I don't have volunteers from last year to come in, trained and ready to go this year. A lot of the other VCs do have this advantage. I think I am lucky in that I should be able to get a lot of community involvement (it is a major part of why Marquette and Lapham didn't have to merge into one school last year as the school board wanted), as well as UW students (close to campus and on major bus routes make the commute easier) and some of the older persons that RSVP will hopefully be able to send my way.
Still, lots and lots to do. First, maybe I should explain what Schools of Hope is. Perhaps you have heard of the VISTA project started by President Kennedy back in the 196os that placed young adults (like myself) into communities to help those in poverty. My AmeriCorps position grew out of that. It used to be an AmeriCorps VISTA position, but through a grant, Schools of Hope (SoH) was able to get bigger funds through AmeriCorps. This year we have a larger team (hence more schools we are able to help, like Lapham) and more flexibility in what kinds of volunteering we can do that will count towards our 1700 hours (including Humane Society!) and what we can do on our off-time (like a second job). I'm going to be looking for another job so that I can make a bit more money to help out on payments, such as my hospital bill which I just got. Of the over $15,000 bill, I'm stuck with $2400. Not bad...thank goodness for health insurance! Still, my budget can't handle much more than rent and utilities because AmeriCorps wants us to live at the poverty level so we know what it is like for the kids we serve. It is a rough life, but with the ability to get the second job (which VISTAs can't do) we can ease the money troubles but still feel like those people who have to work two jobs to make ends meet.
The goal of SoH is to decrease the racial gap in test scores K-5 and this year also in some preschools and Head Start programs. By coordinating one-on-one tutors who work with specific kids on their skills, we (along with many other people and factors) are actually doing this. SoH is in it's 10th year and significant strides have been made. Of course, with the changing demographics of Madison (an influx of especially Hispanic, Asian, and African American peoples) we must continue our work. I really look forward to this school year and to hopefully making a difference. If all my work helps even just one kid better learn his/her ABCs, I will be extremely happy.
Since I'll be basically one of the staff, I get to go to both staff meetings (which happen to be at the same time) tomorrow morning and then hopefully get some stuff done tomorrow afternoon. At Lapham they are kinda doing a show-and-tell thing so the new people (a whole two of us) can get to know the others. I will be taking Lily's kitty book which I've been updating rather often. Like I said...spoiled rotten. Since George is still in the shop, I'll have to bike over to Marquette tomorrow again....boy, that bike seat is rather uncomfortable. At least the ride is pleasant!
Well, there's so much to do now that the internet is back on! I just wanted to keep you updated as best I could. There's new pics of Lily as well as my AmeriCorps team on Facebook (see right-hand links to get there) so check them out!!!! Lots of love, Christi and Lily (who jingles a lot now because of her three tags, the info one, the license one, and the rabies one)
