Hard Day Advise

Like every job in life you have your good days and bad days, fast days and long day, days with less crazy people and days with more crazy people.  Working at HTC you end up being a sounding board for a lot of life troubles, celebrations, tears, laughs, fears, and every other human emotion that a person can express.  Expression comes in all forms as well.  Today started off rough with miss communication and frustration.  Then there was a lot of tention in the air in general.  And during lunch many people got angry with the organization and lunch system.  It was an off day. 

Horace is my angel, my life lesson giver, and my wise advise know-it-all.  He comes up with the most clever ways to teach you about life.  And has a saying or joke for just about everything.  He is slowly teaching me the NOLA lingo that normally goes right over my head, one because i cannot understand what people are saying half the time and two they have the oddest sayings (or slang language).  One of my favorite Horace quotes though, is something that i was telling myself all day and when i have a hard time getting out of bed in the early mornings, i say to myself: "Julie (which sounds more like Judy with the NOLA accent), get your shine on!"  Its another way to say get going, get living, smile, and shine your light. 

"Get your shine on!"

Morning bike ride to work.

Day to Day

This weekend was as busy as always.  We have lots of different events and such that people from around the city like to invite us to for various reasons.  Mostly because we make good volunteers and participators at walk-athons and fundraisers.  We are becoming professional!  Sunday was the usual grocery day as well.  Which we were able to do in under an hour.  The bus is at 1:45, we shop for about 35 to 40 min and catch the same bus on its return trip: home by 2:40.  Also something we are becoming professional at :)

I realized today that i have not given you all a very cohesive idea of what my day to day life is like in NOLA.  So here it goes.

My alarm goes off at 6:01 (sounds better than 6:00am).  I have the house to myself for the most part in the morning because my work starts the earliest.  I am able to take my time and enjoy the morning, which is really important to me.  I am waiting for Anne outside by 6:40 with my bike.  We ride to the Harry Tompson Center and get there at about 7:15.  If we take the bus we catch it at 6:50 and get to HTC around 7:20. 

If i am working the showers i have to set up the shower area.  We have a table with deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, powder, fabreez and q-tips, for communal us.  These items are hot commodities and tend to walk away if I am not keeping an eye on them.  When they do grow legs i make a very loud announcement that they are missing and most of the time someone comes from around the corner with it in their hands and a 'i got caught' face or they magically appear a few minutes later.  All 10 of the showers will have been cleaned the night before so all i have to do is open the doors and set a towel in each room.  I have a small table that i sit at and manage the sign in sheet.  Then there are paper towels to be put out, shaving cream to refill, soap dispensers to check, chairs to set up, fans to turn on, and other various tasks.  From 8:00am to 12:30pm the showers are open and busy.  Today 104 showers were used: that is 104 towels, 104 washcloths, and 104 times the showers need to be sprayed  down.  After someone is done in the shower they leave their dirty towels in bins outside the rooms and i go in with new towels and a bottle of bleach/water to quickly spray down the handle, walls, and floors.  Its not necessarily the cleanest way to wash a shower but its the fastest and its better than nothing.  I am also in charge of any toiletry needs: from feminine products, to razors, toothbrushes, mending kits and just about anything else you can think of.  Everyone gets about 15 min in the shower until i come around and knock on their door.  I have a continuing list that never really seems to stop growing until about 11:30.  I call names to fill the showers, wait for everyone to finish, clean out the used showers, and call more names.  Its a busy job that keeps you on your toes but i enjoy it!

If i am working laundry my day starts with finishing the folding from the dryers that stayed on overnight.  Then i go out side to the front where a line has already formed of people who want their laundry done.  It is not a first come first serve basis because we would not know who got there at 4am and who got there at 5am.  Instead everyone who wants a chance to get their laundry done comes before 7:45 and is put into a lottery.  At 7:45 i pick the first 7 names from the lottery and we start the loads.  I take an intake of every ones loads then figure out who's can be put with who's to make the washers full.  The best case is when you can double up on two of the washers and get three people into the other one.  But sometimes you get loads that are too big which means you probably will not be able to do as many peoples laundry (but just as many loads will go threw as the day before).  Each washer and dryer is run 3 times with guests cloths, then about about 3 or 4 times with towels from the days showers.  The dryers take the longest so sometimes the guests cloths are not done until after lunch but most of the time they are there till after lunch anyways.  I am also responsible for any clothing needs.  We do not really have many cloths to give out but we are asked all the time if we have anything so we give it out when we can.  Socks and under where are very hot items.  We only give out socks on Wednesdays because there are so many people asking all of the time.  We run out very quickly and since the cooler months are coming we have to be careful how many we give out.  For the most part we keep them to replace ones that we see in the wash that are so terrible and old that they can not be worn any more.  Its a nice surprise when the guest who's old socks are thrown out sees the new pair in their basket :)  The laundry room is a small room that gets very hot when all three dryers are running at the same time, and there is a constant knocking on the door from people who have more questions than you knew were possible to ask.  Are my cloths done yet? Can i get some socks? I need new under where. Where are some pants? Do you have any detergent i can have? Why did you not do my laundry today? When will you pick my number from the lottery? How much longer? ... Sometimes im pretty sure im working with 2 year olds asking my "why? why? why?" rather than adults, haha.  Its a bit of a dungeon sometimes because it is hot and you have to be a mean old troll, constantly saying no, but its an important service we proved and the majority of the time people are very greatful.

If i am working the phones i have a totally different type of job.  The phones are open almost all day.  There are 4 phones that get rotated like the showers, every 20 min.  Not too many people ask throughout the day and for the most part everyone is willing to wait.  There is not much to it and most days an outside volunteer comes in to work and we give them phone duty because it is the easiest and fastest to learn.  When that happens i become a floater.  A mini Emily of sorts.  Emily, Don, and Sister Mags are alllll knowing! Anne, Ellie and I are slowly becoming more knowledgeable about services that we provide and the service around the city.  Most of the time when people are looking for Emily its to ask her to charge their phone (her room is a web of phone chargers and cords), find an address, look up a phone number, or find something they need in the center.  I can do that, so i help them out.  I have done a lot of googleing and can find the answer to just about any question they come up with.  The HTC provides showers, phones, laundry, legal aid, notary services, medical services, hygiene kits, restrooms, and veterans info.  Doctors come in on some days, lawyers on others, and the rest of the stuff is handled by the full time staff (us).  The Lantern Light Sisters are the group of Nuns who are in charge of birth certificates, ID assistance, lunch, prescriptions help, mail, emerging financial assistance, groceries for area residents, food stamps, and resume help.  The Harry Tompson Center and the Lantern Light, together, make up the Rebuild Center.  The whole Rebuild Center was built in 2007 (im pretty sure) and is in the back parking lot of a church and, surrounded by the local hospitals.  If you cannot find something that you need here more than likely someone in the Rebuild Center will know were to send you!  Its amazing how even bad news can make a person happy here.  There are so many people who send you one way and then another, then back the other way, until you have been sent all over the city and you are more frustrated and confused than you were originally.  At the Rebuild Center we have answers, even if they are not very happy, we will know what to do with what ever you may need.

I am becoming professional in many different things but mostly in how to be a good listener.  There are services that you can provide for people but most of the time they just need a patient, listening ear.  People love to talk if you give them the chance and there is a lot that people have to say.

Oh and you always have to find humor in your job!

(After seeing the picture of us with baskets on our heads as well, Don said that this was why he hired us)

The Ways I Bring CA to LA

There has not been very much about New Orleans or Louisiana in general that is similar to California.  But every now and then i can find something that reminds me of home.  For example this weekend we drove about 3 hours towards Florida, to a beach called Gulf Shores (about 45 minutes away from Mobile, Alabama).  It was beautiful! White sand.  Warm water.  Big enough surf to keep me happy and a good riptide to make me think of summer time in Manhattan beach :)  A former JV drove us to Mobile because she was visiting a friend (and splitting gas 5 ways is much cheaper).  Then we met up with the Mobile JV's and all went to the beach together.  There were some 'madusa' (if you remember from Italy the Italians call Jellyfish 'medusa') haha.  But only one of us got stung.  The minute she got stung though the rest of us were out of the water, real fast! 

On Saturday we had a bunch of people over to hang out and enjoy the cool weekend weather we were having.  We ended up playing a few games of 'flip cup' which of course reminded me of Santa Clara and the many many games that were played on the weekends in the boys house :)  (Miss you all so much!)  The current JV's did not beat the former JV's but the girls did beat the boys, of course. 

To make sure pieces of CA came with me to New Orleans i asked Mom to send me a project i was working on this summer.  It was decoration for my beach cruiser at home but ended up being very useful here in NOLA.  After some hard work i was able to hallow out a coconut, paint some nice Hawaiian flowers on the sides, and strap it to the front of my bike so that i had a convenient cup holder. 

The cup holder came in very handy for Anne and my Friday daiquiri stop :)

And we looked really good with our bike spokes all decorated!

Basically we are just so cool.

Picture Time (and good news)

This is my view from the window of the number 16 bus in the morning (about 7:00am).  Its a good view to wake up to in the morning :)

This is the view when Annie and i take our bikes in the morning.  This is around 7:15am.  It is also the ONLY hill is all of New Orleans and we have to ride up it (both ways!).  Its one way to wake up haha.  But the built in exersice has been nice.

On our way home from work Annie and i take different streets sometimes to change it up.  I have come across many places in the city with buildings that look like this and i love it!

These are typical NOLA houses.  I like the style alot and cannot wait to paint them!

These next pictures are from Saturday.  We had a going away party for Justine (an emplyee of Catholic Charities which is one of the organizations working with the Harry Tompson Center).  On the left is Sister Mags and the right is Sister Vera.

This is Izic and his awsome bike! Yes he has 3 cell phones around his neck and yes his bike has straws on the spokes.  He came in today with more straws to put on the JV's bikes.  With my coconut cup holder and straws on the spokes, my bike is lookin gooood ;)  Isic also informed us that with our bikes not having straws the cars will respect us more lol

This is Q or Quinton.  He keeps Annie and i on our toes.  Q is always joking and messing around with us in a big brother way.  He is also one of the favorites at THC and gets special treatment because it is so great and really makes this place what is it.

Jeffery is on the left and is one of Q's best friends.  They are good buddies and will always make me smile!

This is William the guest who i get to practice my sign language with all of the time :)

Billy is another favorite of THC and always comes in with jokes.

On the left is Justine, who is leaving at the end of september.  It will be hard without her because she is the spanish interpreter and does more to help our guests than could ever be listed. She will be missed.

p.s. The good news is that Mark came back in yesterday!  He was not back to his usual self but i saw him, said hello, and gave him a hug.  I hope he is getting better but for now i am just happy to have seen that he is ok :)

Who Dat Say Day Gona Beat Dem Saints?!

"Who Dat? Who Dat? Who dat say day gona beat dem saints?!" Is the chant we hear all day when the saints are going to play at home or away game, it does not matter, the pride in this city wells up and seeps out of everyone! From the bus drivers uniformes to the Sisters who work at THC, almost everyone has back and gold on. The Saints played an away game on thursday. I have been told that for away games everyone tail gates all over the city, in every parkinglot and garage. We wantto the local sports bar and bandwagoned with the best of them! It was a pot of fun to be around such team spirit, even if they didn't win.

This city looks big on the map but it is one of the smallest cities i have ever explored. Although the city pride is the strongest i have ever felt and it get stronger with every day i am here. From the festivals and parades to the bikes and houses everyone has a sense of pride for this city. I have never been in a place with such love and community. Now it is not all rainbows and butterflys here but there is a sense of interconectedness and support that runs through many people i meet. No school or club i have ever been involved in even gets close to the feeling this city has!

Having grown up in an upper-middle class family, when i have visited city's in the past the majority of the time i spend is in what would be conciered that cities upper-middle class areas. Which is normal for families and social class groups, it just makes sense. Once you have spent a signifigant amount of time in a city you get to know other areas and meet more people who make up the city (although not everyone vertures out of there comfort zone). Here in New Orleans all of the JV's have entered into the city with a different perpective. I am workig with people who i would not nessesarly see if i was a tourist here. I am spending time in parts of the city that visitors avoid and using public transportation that only locals know about. I only just recently went into the upper class neighborhoods. I had almost forgotten they exist in NOLA. The homes are beautiful, well kept, and look like an amazing place to raise a family. It has been huge eye opener and life changer. But more importantly it has shown me how important all parts of a city are. The poor, the rich, the big, the small, it is the combination of everyone together that makes a city what it is. I have enjoyed learning from my new perspective and come to appriciate more and different quilities this city has. Another part that has added to my new perspective is my minimal living expences, simple life style, and community home.

It was a week of learning. I got a much better sense of the city itself and the people in it. I also had a new experience at work. Not to say every day teaches mensomething new, good and bad, just this week was a bit more powerful. This is a sort of sad story but it's apart of my experiences here and I want to share as much as I can with you all. This week I was on showers, which I'm pretty sure is my favorite position because of the interactions I can have with the guests. All week I was learnig more names and rejoicing when I remembered someones name. Everyday I was waiting to see mark, inpeticular. He is one of the guests I have gotten to know. He always has a smile on his face and likes to joke with me. Last Friday he was having a hard day... I sat and talked with him for some time. He kept saying things like how he would get two step up lifes ladder and it would break on him. There was nothing going right and no reason to be here. No reason to live any more. I didn't know what to do really except listen to him and let him know someone cared. Annie and I are not trained for situations like this but then again is anyone really. We are at THC to be friends with the guests and give them people to care about them. So I treated mark how I would treat any of my friends having a hard day. Long story short, he talked with the doctor who was in that day and talked with me some more then left. I was hoping to see him on Tuesday (after the long weekend) with a smile on his face again and full of jokes. But he didn't come Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday, or Friday. It was a hard week with mark in the back of my mind. But i learned that we are at THC to be there for the guests as their friends and help them with anything we can but we are not therapists, doctors, or specialists of any kind and cannot live their lives for them. We are apart of their lives but only for moments and so we have to be able to give without expectations and help without too much attachment. Most of you know how hard that is going to be for me but it does not mean I'm going to stop giving the guests everything I can; from kind words to toothbrushes and shampoo, I'll be there for them as much as I am able to.

Love you all so much and keep in mind those who are gone from our lives but are still so very loved (especially because it is 9-11 today).

P.s. It's bee between 75 and 80 all week here with no humidity! Enjoying it so much.

Picture Time

All 11 of the 2011 New Orleans JV's!

This is my community.  The Hennriatte Dellie JV's!

Ed, Lily, Becca, Me, Stephanie (my roomie)

Annie! aka Best coworker Everrrrr (and happens to be sitting right behind me)

Best 12$ ever spent on entertainment from Walgreens :)

Yes, 4 people fit in the pool (the 5ft wide by 15 in deep pool)

It Was Not a Hurricane

Just so you all know, because the news has blown everything way out of proportion, it was not a hurricane that we had this past weekend! It was a tropic storm that kicked up a lot of wind and rain but nothing that we had to really worry about.  And we all survived :) There was some major flooding in other parts of Louisiana but not in the Orleans perish.  Sunday night was the only scary night because of the harsh winds.  A large tree branch went down in our front yard but did not damage anything.  It was a site to wake up to! Then about 2:00pm a few of the neighborhood guys came around and started chopping the branch up for us.  Our landlord was out of town for the weekend so they came over to help out. What nice gentleman, to help a house full (mostly) with young girls haha.

Despite the heavy rain that came in waves throughout the weekend we still got out every now and then to keep ourselves busy.  Friday night we volunteered at a fundraising party for Project Lazurus (one of the girls in my house wors for them).  It was hosted by the magazine called Passport with is mostly geared towards the gay population, which made the party cround, majority, gay guys.  We had so much fun!  Everyone was so willing to donate and there to have fun, which was made easy but the open wine and vodka bars haha.

Saturday we were able to escape the rain by going to the Tulane game in the Superdome! Don gave Annie and i 4 free tickets.  We had a blast!  The superdome is huge and a fun place to explore. 

Sunday we met our two support people for the HD JV house.  Eric and Matt are both former JV's (or FJV's) and great guys! They took us on a tour all over the city.  We went up to lake Pontchartrain to see the levees that are in some of the nicer parts of the city.  Lake Pontchartrain will end up being the best i can do as far as an ocean near by but i am ok with that.  It is a huge lake and looks like an ocean because you cannot see the land on the other side.  The only odd part is that there is a bridge running straight out into the lake.  Its one of the longest bridges reaching up to about 27 miles and looks like it is going to no where.  The best part about the lake is that it is swimmable and only about a 25 minutes bike ride away (yet another reason this city feels so small). 

We also went down in the 9th Ward.  I am glad that we went because it is something that i have wanted to do for a long time.  The 9th Ward no longer has the houses in trees and smashed cars like the news showed.  Instead the 9th Ward has become a desolate place. There are hardly any houses and the ones that are there are funny shapes, sizes, and colors.  The new homes are part of the program that Brad Pitt set up providing new homes for families who wanted to come back.  But the houses are very out of place and not anything like typical New Orleans homes so many people refuse to embrace the generosity.  Which i think is a perfect example of this cities pride.  They are family people who stick together and do not make change easily.  Since there are not many new homes the rest of the land is grass filled and spooky feeling.  The new levees are ugly steel enforced cement walls that look omenice. There are hardly any people around and no noise, no birds, no nothing.  Public transportation is far away and the grocery store is also no where near by.  I have never seen an area like the 9th Ward or the city of New Orleans as a whole, but the one thing that i have observed about the city so far is its intense pride, self worth, and resistance.  I feel like the rest of this year will just prove those qualities even more but in many different ways. 

Monday we went to a BBQ with the Jesuit community in New Orleans!  We were literally the only 8 females in the room although we were not the youngest.  There were Jesuits of all ages, drinking (alot), eating, talking, and having a good time.  It was a fun experience and we learned a lot about the Jesuits.  We also went home with the most leftover food i have ever been given.  We will be set for at least 3 more days of dinner!

Laundry went well last week but im back on showers this week and am glad!