Proverbs 10:19

So we did another gut job today.  It was an interesting one.  It's the first gutting job I've done that involved cockroaches....and lots of them.  My friends, just about everytime I would take a crowbar to the drywall, another roach would emerge.  I did not realize until today that I am very much afraid of these little guys....well...these particular guys - there was nothing little about them.  They were, on average, probably about two inches long.  The first one I came across - I screamed like a girl.  It surprised me.  I couldn't control it.  Amy and I were the only girls in the house that were completely freaked out by these things.  Since the rest of the girls were playing it cool, I was trying so hard to do the same, but I really couldn't do it.

So yeah, we are almost done with the roach house we started today, and once that one is finished that will mark house number four that our crew has gotten done while we've been down here.  Pretty exciting.

I actually start my job tomorrow.  This morning we went in a filled out a bunch of paper work, and tomorrow we have a six hour "ABC" training of how to clean a hotel room.

I might have more to say, I'm not sure.  But I just found out that dinner is ready.  Burrito time.

Later friends.

Well, friends.  I live in New Orleans.  I discovered last summer that I am a city-girl, to the core.  And living in New Orleans, so far, has definitely made that obvious.  I can see skyscrapers from my window, and when I walk out the front door of my building, I can see the Superdome.  It’s right there.  And I love it.  The nice thing about this is, I live in a big city, but it’s not quite as bad as living in most big cities.  It’s built like a big city, but because of the storm, there aren’t nearly as many people wandering around here as most big cities.  Which means less traffic, less walking people, and less noise. 

I got a job yesterday.  I am working at a hotel downtown.  It’s called “W”.  That’s it.  Just that, the letter “W”.  This summer is brought to me by the letter “W”.  It’s a pretty sweet hotel, way trendy.  Lauren Hill stayed there two weeks ago.  You can check it out if you want.  www.welcometowhotels.com.  I am a “room stylist”.  Which, in non-W terms means I am a housekeeper.  But since we have an entire new language at this hotel, I am a room stylist.  I swim in a “wet”, I park in the “wheels”, and work out at the “sweat”.   When I go to the bathroom, I am in the “WC” and an elevator is actually a “lift”.  It’s fun.  I start Monday, that is my orientation day.  I got hired by a guy named Michael who liked to make fun of me for being from Iowa and drinking by the co-op.  Should be a good summer.  The hotel is right downtown, and it’s about a 15 minute walk for me.  I will also be working with a ton of people that are down here with me for the summer. The hotel was at about 50% of its staff, and they decided to hire just about anyone who walked in the door.

We are also about a 15 minute walk from the French Quarter.  Which is pretty cool, too.  Not that there is much for me to do there, except maybe we can check out some sweet jazz at some point.  Most of us went out walking around tonight, hoping to get into some cool conversation with people about God and faith.  But we didn’t last too long, it was all girls in our group, and the French Quarter feels a little unsafe for groups of girls, big or small, if they are out to talk about God, and not out to party.

I’ll keep you guys posted as things progress, I’m sure ya’ll are just dying to know my life story right now. 

I just want to add, I am amazed by God’s goodness right now.  Yesterday, I was sort of feeling a little homesick, and not really wanting to be here at all.  I think it was starting to finally hit me that I am here for the summer, and not for the week.  I prayed about it, and God showed me some things I was believing that weren’t true, and I am feeling much better today.  And today I am really just excited to be here.   I know this summer is going to be hard, and I know this summer is about God and his Kingdom.  But right now, I feel so blessed that God has let me have this experience in my life.  I live in New Orleans, I live in a bed & breakfast within viewing distance of the Superdome, I can drive to the Gulf of Mexico, I get to work at a high-rise hotel and clean rooms more beautiful than the most expensive hotel I’ve ever stayed in, and I am with an amazing group of Christians whose hearts are fully sold out for the work of the kingdom.

Praise the Lord.

I had a very eye-opening experience in my life today.  I went to see Staind in Cedar Rapids with the Sautters.  They bought me a ticket so we could all go together, Ambre called it my "Good Riddance" party.  So anyway, Erik got tickets at work, and the only kind they were selling there were the general admission, floor tickets.  I am a fan of rock music, and I love going to concerts, the louder the better.  But I don't believe I have ever actually been on the floor for this type of concert before.  I've decided I'm a balcony girl.  I have now broadened my horizons on life experiences.  I found myself in the middle of a mosh pit...well, more I found myself stuck in between two of them.  I watched a cat fight - two girls screaming and pulling hair directly behind me, I've had entire cups of beer dumped down my back....ooo, my favorite - there was some crowd surfing going on.  At one point a young boy made it all the way to the stage, and then the crowd sent his wheelchair up behind him.

Overall, it was an interesting night.  Unfortunately, the concert itself left something to be desired.  The very first band...hehe...well....they were called "Legbone".  I'm not kidding.  They're on myspace, check them out.  I must say, they may be the worst band I've ever seen in concert.  Then came a band called "Hurt".  I really like those guys.  Next was Three Days Grace.  I've never really gotten in to them, I know about one song from them, and I don't like it much.  Then the band we were all waiting for, Staind.  I like Staind.  But I'm pretty sure their lead singer had no desire to be there. He pretty much stood there all night, singing, didn't move much, didn't say much, and when he did speak, it sounded like he was about to pass out.  It was hard to get into the performance at that point.  You know it's a bad sign when I get in my car after a concert, and the band I just saw is in my CD player...and I change the CD.

But I liked my night.  I like the Sautters.  They're good crap.

This may be my last blog from Iowa.  :)

I'm done at Handicare...indefinitely.

 

I didn't cry.  But I was a tad bit sad.

 

Just thought you'd like to know. 

I'm amazed at what I am about to say right now...

I am going to miss my job.

Tomorrow is my very last day at Handicare, quite possibly, forever.  And until today, I was fairly certain I would have no desire to do anything but dance and sing as I leave that place tomorrow.  Now I realize, there may very well be tears involved.

I love my kids.  They are so cute.  Plus, I am a big fan of all of my children's parents right now.  I started getting my goodbye presents last week.  There's nothing that makes you want to stay somewhere more than realizing you are loved there.  Last week I got a coffee mug with a picture of me and one of my girls printed on it, along with a message that said, "for my teacher and my friend...love rebecca"  It was adorable.  It makes me want drink coffee.  Today I got some way cute pictures of me and one of my other girls, along with the most adorable refridgerator magnet I have ever owned in my life.  Picture the tiniest cutest little girl ever, with a huge smile, her arms in the air, and printing above it that says, "free hugs".  Oh, man.  Kids are cute.  I might cry tomorrow. 

One of the girls that used to work at Handicare had her last day not too long before I announced that I was leaving.  When she left that day, she was crying and hugging people, and she had a really hard time finally walking out the door.  After she left, I was like, "Ya know, I like you guys and all, but I don't think I see myself crying on my last day."  I may eat my words.

I may not.  I don't know.  But seriously, if any of you ever come to my house in the future, ask to see this magnet.  It's amazing.  Kids are amazing.  This job has been amazing.  Amazingly hard, amazingly frustrating, and amazingly good for me, all in all.  The best thing is, when I leave something behind, I usually manage to forget the bad stuff, and focus on the good.  Twenty years down the road, I will probably look back fondly at my years at Handicare, and talk about what a rewarding job that was.

Baffling, I know.

And BTW, those of you who may wonder, I asked people today, and denim jackets have NOT gone out of style.

So I started packing my stuff today.  I have a lot of stuff.  Way more than any person really should, I think.  Particularly more than any person should who moves annually.  I'm really not excited about packing up.  The more I pack, the more I find that needs to get packed.  It's quite discouraging.  I think Pat is going to freak out when I show up at his house and he sees exactly how much I need to store there for the summer.  I tried to communicate that I have a lot of stuff, and he seemed confident that he had room to store it.  Which, he does have a lot of storage room...but...he may not have planned on my using his entire basement (small exaggeration...esepecially if you've ever seen his basement).

I got my hair cut today.  I decided that since I don't want to have to get it cut all summer, I should really chop it off.  So that's what happened.  It's way short now.  Way shorter than it's ever been, and probably the shortest it will ever be.  I think if I went any shorter I would cease to be feminine.  At this point, I look like my mother.  I mean exactly like my mother.  In fact, I took a picture of myself, and made a face that, for some reason reminds me of my mother.  Maybe I will upload it to my pics and you guys can take a look.  Anyone who has ever met my mother, let me know, I myself got confused for a moment and thought it was my mother...even though I took the picture.

And that's all the time I'm going to waste of your life tonight.

So, tonight, I accomplished one of the goals of my life.

My friend, Nichole came over to hang out, like she does every Monday night.  Only tonight, she made me come answer the door.  And when I did, she proclaimed, "Don't hate me.  I love you." And followed that statement up with a pie, in my face.

I have always wanted someone to throw a pie in my face.  Unexpectedly.  I love watching people get pies in their face, and I have always wished I could experience it as well.

Well, now, thanks to Nichole, I have experienced it.  And it was everything I had hoped for and more.  Hopefully, someday, I'll have pictures to prove it.  But right now, I have half of a very mangled vanilla and butterscotch pie in my refridgerator to prove it.

Today was dentist appointment day.

I am delighted to report to you, that it was not nearly as bad as I was fearing it would be.  For anyone who has not had the pleasure of hearing me talk about my dental fears.  Here they are.

Until today, I had not been to a dentist in over two years.  Though I was not experiencing any pain or problems, I was convinced that my mouth was going to be laden with cavities and whatever else one might find in a mouth.  I also feared that (though my past dentist told me I could keep my wisdom teeth) I would also discover that those little guys were going to have to be ripped out my mouth with great force.

I was pleasantly surprised today.

I told the hygienist my fears of my teeth falling apart.  So as soon as she had a chance to look at my mouth, she seemed to be convinced I needed constant encouragement.  So the entire time she was cleaning and polishing my teeth, she told me over and over how very clean my teeth were, and how wonderful  every thing looked in there.  Seriously, she found two small cavities in my wisdom teeth.  She proceeded to tell me these were practically nothing and could probably even be fixed with a very simple and painless procedure that somehow involved some powder and air.  She also comforted me (without even knowing of my fears) by telling me that I have a nice long jaw, so I can even keep my wisdom teeth, probably forever. 

I feel as if a load is off my back now.  I have good teeth, a long jaw, and wonderful dental hygiene.  She didn’t even say anything about needing to floss more.  Which is nice, because I never floss.  Not once in my life have I had the habit of flossing my teeth.

I asked her if I was going to get a lecture about drinking less soda.  Wanna know what her response was?

“No, you have nice spit.”

Yes, of course those two things are connected.  Something about pH levels in saliva…and mine being very balanced, so I don’t need to worry as much about whether or not I have sugar swimming between my teeth.

I guess if my dentist isn’t going to comment on the beauty of my eyes…the hygienist commenting on the quality of my spit is the next best thing.

Well, friends.  I have reached a new, and rather surprising dilemma in my life.

I really like watching baseball. 

I went to a Cubs game yesterday, and watched the entire game, beginning to end.  Except for part of the seventh inning when I was buying nachos and beer.  I find myself wanting to watch baseball now - actually desiring it. 

This presents my dilemma.  When I find I want to watch a sport in greater quantity, I also find I want a team to follow.  It kind of makes things more enjoyable that way.  So here I am, needing to choose my team.  Being from Iowa, there is a certain freedom in this choice.  I’m really not limited by anything.  To an extent, it’s a good idea to find a team near myself, but since, in the past, I have chosen Colorado for my hockey team, and the Steelers for my football team, I don’t seem to be one to follow that wisdom.  So it’s wide open.  But in all honesty, I probably won’t be catching very many games this summer anyway, being down south.  But there’s still baseball to see after I get back…and every year after that.

I don’t know.  Are you all seeing my situation clearly?

I promise, this is not an attempt to get people to buy me articles of clothing adorned with team logos.

But it would help.

Just something I was thinking about while I was brushing my teeth.

I’m going to the dentist on Wednesday.  I hope to be told I have perfect teeth, and amazing gums.  And pretty eyes. 

Just because that would be a funny thing to hear from your dentist.