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ducttapegirl
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Birthday: 8/27/1985
Gender: Female
Interests: I like to make things out of duck tape, play guitar, listen to music, and being in Shakespeare plays, an read.
Expertise: I make many things out of duck tape
Occupation: Student
Industry: Other
Message: message me
AIM:  aleshiaducktape
Member Since:
9/28/2003
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| I know this entry is late because I am trying to do them weekly but I just have had no motivation to write. The last week was good. There was of course a lot of training which would make sense because we are still in the training phase so no terribly exciting stories. Over the weekend I had a lot of fun. After work Friday some of us went to the mall and Wal Mart and a Movie. I finally got a wireless router so I have constant access to internet now which will make some people very happy because they can actually get in contact with me now. Saturday I hung out with more people and had a pretty awesome day and it was nice to be able to just hang out and relax and not have anything really to do. Sunday I visited a church that one of my friends down here goes to and it was cool. The worship style reminded me of camp which of course brought back good memories and made me miss Cas. people. After church we went to Lake Murray for a picnic and it was good but I started to not feel good. When we got back home I was feeling completely horrible and my Stomach was acting up again which for those of you who know me know that this is a recurring problem. It is only supposed to act up when I'm stressed but I didn't feel stressed so who knows why it happened. I went to bed early Sunday hoping it would be better in the morning and unfortunately that was not the case and I didn't want to take my prescription because they make me dizzy and nauseous which is not conducive to my job. We got to the park in the morning and did PT which took a lot out of me and I was extremley dizzy and nauseous for a while but oh well...I just drank a lot of water and it eventually got better and now I am fine. My concern is that this is only supposed to happen when I get really stressed and I didn't think I was so I have no idea what was wrong but hopefully it is not a common thing. Last night was a lot of fun though. We had a bunch of Corp members over and it turned into one big dance party and it was pretty hilarious. Today was good and I am getting excited for the rest of the week. Thursday we get certified in PT and we have our Red Jacket Ceremony and then Friday is Opening Day. Today we passed out flyers for opening day and I gave one to a local radio station and they said they would probably make an announcement about it on the radio which made me excited. I don't think this applies to anyone but if anyone actually lives close enough to Columbia our Opening Day ceremony starts at 12 and is at the State House so if you are close you should come out.
Update on mom. She is home and doing extremely well. They are going to be transitioning her from the Walker too a cane next week and Hospice says she is making a really quick and good recovery which is incredibly awesome and definitely lifts a huge weight off my shoulders. I think my parents are buying my plane ticket home for Christmas soon to which is exciting because at that point I know I will want to be home for a couple days and I'll be home for a week and a half.
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| I figure weekly updates should not be horribly hard to do I just have to motivate myself to actually write. The week was good but very tiring. Monday and Tuesday we were working at Memorial park handing out flags and water bottles because they were having an event for Sep. 11th. It was really cool they will be traveling all over the country with this presentation. They had a steel beam for everyone to sign that will be part of the new buildings and also they had a video with interviews of survivors and families of Sep. 11th. That was definitely powerful and I was happy to help out with it. It was crazy hot but that is to be expected. I have to say one of the most hilarious moments though was on Tuesday before the ceremony I was passing out flags with one of the Sr. Corps members and we were by the stage and they were playing patriotic music and of course I start singing along and dancing it was rather humorous and quite fun. We had training on Wed. and Thurs and of course PT every morning which is a fun way to start off the day. Yesterday we met at the park early because we were helping out with United Way Day of Caring and had to be at the stadium to greet people and we were doing PT in front of some of the volunteers. We had a lot of fun with that and after we went to our service sites for the day. I was at a site that was having a shoe drive. They were collecting old sneakers that would be recyled to make playgrounds and things like that. I spent the day up by the road yelling at the people in the cars telling them to bring their old shoes and some of them did end up coming back and bringing old shoes so that was pretty cool. The lady that was in charge of the project was pretty amazing to and was very excited to have us helping her. Last night I went out with some people to go see Evan Almighty again which I really like and the ironic part is when we got out of the theatre it was raining. This morning I got up early and walked to Memorial Park and helped pass out brochures and posters to different businesses for the Darfur Rally in Columbia on Oct. 6th. That was definitely interesting because one of the ladies we gave a poster to had a connection in Darfur and was more than willing to put up the poster in her shop window and spread the word. Mom is doing well. She got out of the hospital within about 4 or 5 days and is currently in Rehab. They have her walking which is awesome and she can sort of get around with a walker but it takes a lot out of her. Her blood pressure has gone down to which is super awesome. She is getting really bored in rehab though she has visitors all the time but she really just wants to go home. She is hoping to be able to go home next week. The pain has been a lot better to which is a huge relief because she has been in pain for so long. Keep her in your prayers through her recovery though because when she gets home she will have to start getting used to her everyday life again which will probably be strenuous compared to rehab. I also really miss everyone. It's hard not having too much internet access because it makes it harder to keep in contact with people so if you ever feel the urge feel free to call, text or write any of them would be appreciated. | | |
| We got back from our Basic Training Retreat today and it was pretty awesome. The whole group totally bonded and there is a lot more trust between us now which is pretty rock solid. We did a lot of diversity workshops which were interesting and provided for awesome discussions which helped everyone get to know each other better. Also we had some team building activities which I always love...it's the camp counselor in me. There was other seminars and different activities that we did. It really was an amazing experience and I enjoyed the time I got to spend with people I hadn't really talked to much. We also learned a lot about City Year..founding stories, different traditions and of course PT. Last night we also went to something they had at the camp called Pretty Place. It was definitely beautiful and the view was looking out over the mountains and it was breathtaking and an amazing place to go stargazing. We did our first service projects today to. They were done at the camp and I was with a group that was putting railroad ties onto this path to make it easier to walk down. My group had so much fun with it and we had some really good conversations to. I definitely feel a lot more Fired Up for City Year now than I did before we left for BTR and I can't wait to get to know everybody more and find out what team I am on and who I'll be working with.
In other news...Mom had her hip replacement surgery yesterday morning. The surgery went well and I called her today when I got home. It was a really hard phone call because she was really out of it because of the medication and she was not herself. It does make it hard for me to be here when I know that she is home and in pain and there is not much I can do except call her everyday to see how she is. I have to stick it out though...I know she will get better and that it will just take time. The earliest she will be out of the hospital is Mon. and then she is going to go to Rehab to learn how to do simple things and to help the recovery process. Prayers would definitely be appreciated for my family though and especially my mother because she has a long and hard road in front of her for her recovery.
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| Well I have been here in Columbia for about a week and it definitely
feels a lot longer than that. We have our first day of work tomorrow
which is exciting because I am getting bored of not doing too much. We
had orientation on Thursday and then had a 4 day weekend. I have been
able to do some exploring around the city though and it is really nice
and not horribly confusing. My apartment is nice and the girls I share
it with are pretty cool. We have had some interesting times but fun. It
is definitely weird being here though. I think it is the first time I
have gone anywhere and not really known anyone which is scary and has
made things very lonely at times.
I really miss all my friends whether you're a friend from home,
Houghton or camp...know that I miss you. I have been sort of homesick
to which normally doesn't happen but I think it is because mom goes in
for surgery to have her first hip replacement on Thursday and of course
I know it is probably a routine surgery but I still allowed to be
worried...especially being this far away. I know it will be good for
her because she can barely walk and the hip they are replacing is
pretty much bone on bone which is obviously extremely painful for her.
This whole situation has probably had an effect on me feeling lonely to
because when these types of things happen I just want to be home with
my family but I know that can't happen.
On a happier note today I went on the River Walk which was pretty cool.
I walked the whole thing which took a while but it was nice and
relaxing and something that I really needed. I love to be out in nature
and just seeing its beauty for some reason it always helps me to clear
my head and just forget all my problems and worries for a while which
is nice. One good thing that has happened since I moved though is I've
been reading my Bible a lot more. That has definitely been helping me
though the loneliness and I have found myself trusting God and leaning
on him more which I know is something I had been struggling with a lot.
I think it has become easier to do it here because it's not a situation
where I feel completely comfortable like I do at home, Houghton or
camp. It's all new and different to me and that scares me a bit so I
have been putting my faith in God that this is where I am supposed to
be right now and that he will help me through the situations that I am
going to encounter.
Well I am going to get some sleep because I have tog et up for work in
the morning. Also if anyone wants my address ask and I'll give it to
you because getting mail from friends is fun. Also I still have my same
cell # so feel free to give that a call because I would love to hear
some familiar voices. | | |
| Camp was absolutely amazing. There were some rough spots but that is to be expected. I got to do a lot of things I never would have done including Sacred Dance and Driving a 15 Passenger Van...anyone who knows me is probably laughing at this point. Anyways I met a lot of really amazing people that were very hard to leave when the time came. There were many funny stories the came out the summer most of which are inside jokes and nobody else really gets but one story that most people find funny is how I fell out of a non-moving Sailboat that was close to shore. Here it is...it was the first day of actual sailing during week 3 and I was going out on the sailboat with Heather. She had to get out and fix the sail and I don't know if the boat went off balance or what but next thing I know I am falling out of the sailboat backwards onto a bunch of rocks. Heather looked back and was amazed that I had fallen out and wondered how I accomplished this. The story of that week and the kept coming up during the summer was about me falling out of a non-moving Sailboat that was close to shore. Everyone seemed to find it hilarious...which it was and I admit this. The only bad part is that because I landed on a bunch of rocks I messed up my back and it hurt for about a week or so. This is pretty typical for me though...I tend to get injured in rather strange ways. Some examples from college would be getting a concussion from a coat rack or dislocating my knee by falling out of bed. If you don't know these stories and want to hear them ask me sometime. Anyways, this summer was one of the best and I would definitely not trade it for anything and hopefully I will be able to return to camp next summer but I am not sure if it will work out or not.
Transitioning from camp to home was definitely been interesting. It has been rather lonely because I do not have people around me constantly and it makes me miss people from camp even more. Home has been stressful because I am trying to get everything ready to leave for SC on the 27th. I have an apartment and a plane ticket and everything which is a huge load off my shoulders. I still have to pack though which will be special...I did finally start packing earlier but there is still a lot of things I have to figure out if they are staying or going. Also there are still friends to see and catch up with. I'll get to see most of my family on Sunday because my parents are doing an early birthday thing because well I am flying to SC on my birthday.
This past weekend I was down in CT for Jenn and Hart's wedding. It was a really nice wedding and it totally reflected their personalities and it was awesome to see everyone again. It was fun to be back with everyone and be able to catch up with what everyone has been doing. It was weird when I was leaving and realized I wont really see any of them for close to a year unless some of them come visit me in SC...*hint...hint*
Well I guess that is all for now. Unless something amazing happens there probably not be another post until I am down in Columbia.
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