I know it's been a little while since my last post but I've been pretty busy over the past few weeks. I'll start where I left off last time. For the New Year’s weekend, we were given a four-day weekend which was a nice little break for me. On New Year’s Eve, a friend of mine had a party at his house. It was a lot of fun because a lot of people that I work with were there and a lot of them are people I don't really see too much outside of work. Around 11:00, we walked from my friend's house to this park in the part of New Orleans called Mid-City. As part of the tradition for New Years, there is a Christmas tree-burning, where everyone brings their Christmas trees to the park and there's a huge fire where people gather and hang out and bring in the New Years. On our walk there, people everywhere were lighting off fireworks which lit up the sky. The bonfire was probably around 12 feet high and I was able to take some great pictures. I'd say that there were definitely over one thousand people there and it was a great way to bring in the New Year. After the fire was over, we went down to the French Quarter and Bourbon Street was packed with people. If New Years Eve is any indication of how crazy things get in the French Quarter, Mardi Gras is going to be pretty insane. I took it easy the next couple of days and tried to recover from NYE and get ready to get back to work.
I've been working on the same house pretty much for the past couple of months and it's getting pretty close to being finished. The first week after New Years, I had some volunteers at the house and we put in the kitchen countertop, upper kitchen cabinets, and did some touch up work around the rest of the house. My Mom and Dad came to visit on that Thursday and they came to volunteer at the house on Friday. I gave them the task of putting finishing on the kitchen cabinets which required them to use a Circular Saw. Given how handy my father is, I thought he'd be able to handle it. But unfortunately he was unable to make straight cuts and not chipping the finishing. So I had my parents’ just do some touch up painting. It was nice having them at the worksite so that they can see what I do on an everyday basis. It was fun telling them what to do for a change. I'm sure my Dad loved it.
When my parents got here on Thursday, I took them around to see some of the houses that I've been working on and gave them a little tour of the city. We went out for Japanese food Thursday night which was delicious since it's been so long since I've had any. On Friday, they volunteered during the day and at night the three of us went out to dinner with three of my friends: Pat, Jon, and Jordan. I had a good time at dinner and I think everyone else did too. My friends really appreciated the good meal and enjoyed meeting my parents (or so they said). It was nice to be able to have my parents meet some of the people I'm closest with down here and get a better sense of my life in New Orleans. After dinner, I met up with friends at a bar. On the walk home, I noticed that my right foot started bothering me but didn't think too much of it. On Saturday morning, I met my parents at their hotel around 10 (which is pretty early for me to be out on a Saturday) and we walked near the pier along the Mississippi River for the bus tour we were going to take. Before we even left for the tour, the guide spent a half hour on the bus talking. Throughout the tour, the woman never took a breath to stop talking. She literally was going on and on for three hours. It was nice to see the city and get its history, but I had such a headache by the time it was over and I still hear that woman's voice in my head (just awful). After the tour, for some reason, my Dad wanted to go to the Civil War Museum (I didn't even know he was interested in that stuff). We trekked over there and by the time we got there, my foot was really starting to bother me but I just kept going. The Museum was pretty small and I guess my Dad saw what he wanted to see (I don't really know). That night we went out for dinner again (I swear, all I did was eat that weekend) and then my Dad and I went to the casino for awhile. By the time we left the casino, I was hobbling down the street back to the parking garage where I left my car. But it had gotten pretty cold, so my Dad starts power walking down the street and there I am, on one foot, trying to keep up. I was glad to see that my Dad was so concerned. My parents left on Sunday and I just spent most of the day staying off and soaking my foot.
It wasn't feeling any better Monday or Tuesday, and of course at work I was lugging around cabinets and moving things all over the place. By Tuesday, I realized that I needed to get it checked out. I went to the walk-in clinic and they took a couple of x-rays and told me that I actually had a small stress fracture in my foot. I really have no idea how it happened. The doctor gave me some medicine and the swelling in my foot has gone down considerably and is feeling much better. I took the day off on Wednesday to rest it and by Thursday, I was feeling a lot better.
My friends Pat and Darren have a friend from high school that is in a Tulane Graduate program and lives down here. She had a party Thursday night that the three of us went to. It was fun to play a little beer pong and re-live some of my college days. Everyone there was real nice, and it was good for me to meet some new people for a change. I usually don't stay out too late on Thursday nights because of work the next day but we were having fun and ended up staying out till around 1. I was pretty exhausted at work the next day but I pushed through.
On Friday night, a bunch of us went to happy hour at Phillips Bar. It's usually pretty packed for happy hour. So we had a few drinks and shot some pool for a little. Jon started talking to this guy who is friends with the person who lives in the Belfort Mansion (which was the house for the MTV Real World New Orleans cast). The guy took us over there because he said his friend was having some people over. The house was absolutely amazing. It was enormous and was probably one of the most beautiful houses I've ever been to. This house had a pool, guest house, balconies surrounding the entire house, and a prime location on St. Charles Avenue. We got to the house and it turned out that the owner of the house lived their with his partner and they had a bunch of gay guys over. I've become better around being around gay people down here but this was just a little too much for me (ha). We stayed there for a little while and then moved on to another bar. It was cool to see the house and they invited us over for their Mardi Gras party but I don't think I'll be attending.
It has been a busy few weeks and it doesn't look like things will be settling down much anytime soon (which is a good thing I guess). Mardi Gras is right around the corner and from everything I hear, is absolutely amazing. I'll definitely write another post before Mardi Gras but if it takes a little time after that, I'm sorry. Besides my parents, I officially have my first two visitors coming down here for Mardi Gras. So now that they've gotten things started, I expect to hear more from people who want to come down here. There are so many things I want to show everyone so I hope as many people can make it here as possible. Talk to y'all soon.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Year That Was
Looking back on the year that was in 2008, it has been one crazy year from where I started to where I am right now. At this time last year, I was returning from a trip to Europe and was not too motivated for my second busy season at Ernst & Young. Little did I know that a year later I would be on my own in New Orleans.
Going into busy season at E&Y last year, I knew that I wasn’t really happy at Ernst & Young. A couple of months earlier, I had met with an accounting and finance recruiter to see what other jobs were out there and nothing seemed appealing. Along with my unhappiness at work, I was in a rut personally as well. I can be a very anxious person and just felt that my life was kind of at a standstill and every week and month wasn’t much different than the one before it. Throughout my life, I have been on this path that has kept me relatively happy but very conservative and secure. I have never been the type of person to take chances or challenge myself and it occurred to me that I am still very young and that living a conventional life was probably the cause of the funk I was in. By April, I had become even more anxious after working long hours for the prior three months. I had a trip to Arizona in April and a bachelor party in Vegas in May to kind of keep me occupied. I remember thinking on the way home from Vegas that it was time to finally do something. I was unhappy at work and unmotivated to do a lot of things for myself personally. I started writing down some goals for myself and gave myself a July 15th (my 25th birthday) deadline to make some sort of decision on what I was going to do about a job and the next phase of my life. I found that writing goals down really helps me get things done because once I write it down, it’s there and I can always see it. Through talking to my family and friends, I came across AmeriCorps and started looking at possible opportunities in New Orleans, San Francisco, San Diego, Washington D.C., and Boston. I decided that it would be a great time for me to go live somewhere else for a year or two and made this a focal point in trying to find a place to volunteer. I found the best opportunities to be in New Orleans and applied for three or four positions at different programs. I did not get accepted for the first few programs in which I applied.
However, at the end of the day on July 25th (a Friday), as I was sitting at my desk in the office finishing up for the week, I got the call that I had been accepted as a House Captain for Rebuilding Together New Orleans. The organization wanted me down in New Orleans by August 25, so I had exactly a month to get myself ready. When I got home from work that day, I remember thinking to myself (and definitely freaking out) that this was actually happening for me. I was going to live in New Orleans for a year. As soon as I found out I was going, I became very anxious and nervous. I knew the opportunity was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, but that didn’t do much to calm my nerves. It was a good nervousness though. I was taking a chance on something in a way that I never had before. And while that scared me, I knew it would be a great thing for me.
The month before I left for New Orleans was a difficult one for me. I had so many things to do just to get myself ready to leave Chicago and physically move to New Orleans. A lot more went into it than I ever had thought. It was also difficult saying goodbye to family and friends that I knew I wouldn’t see again for awhile. I had never lived outside of Illinois and away from family and friends, so it was very hard for me to leave and go to a place where I knew nobody. I drove down to New Orleans on August 21-22 with my Dad and just remember saying over and over again, “What did I get myself into?” Because I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into and who I would meet and what I would be doing on a daily basis.
It has been over four months (in which you can see what I’ve been doing through previous postings) since I’ve been gone and I can honestly say that joining AmeriCorps and moving to New Orleans was the best decision I’ve ever made. Every day here is a new day and I’m having experiences that I never imagined. I have also met so many different kinds of people, which keeps life fresh. There is still so much more of New Orleans that I need to see and experience that I get antsy at times and worry that I’m not going to have enough time to do everything. However, it isn’t always easy. I definitely have days where I want to hang out with people or do something and there’s nobody around or people don’t want to do what I want to do. There are also times when I have nothing to do and just spend the day kind of vegging out. But that’s the challenge. I have learned so much about myself and feel like I have gained a lot of confidence. When you are in a rut and things are the same day after day, it’s easy to have insecurities and lack confidence, which is where I was in my life. But having pride in what I’m doing and having taken this chance has given me a lot of confidence in myself. Also, through the things I’m doing at work, I realize I’m capable of a lot. I am gaining new skills and learning how to manage others. I just needed to push myself and continue to push myself.
And with the New Year coming, we all have the opportunity to push ourselves. We never really know what we are capable of unless we our challenged. Up until I decided to come to New Orleans, I wasn’t doing or trying many things outside of my comfort zone, which made life easy and secure. But it also put me into the rut that I was in. It took stepping outside of the box and trying something new for me to snap out of it. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same person as I was before coming down here. I know it’s definitely not easy, and I’m not saying that everyone needs to make a huge life-changing decision every year or all the time, but I encourage you to try and do one or two things in the next year that you never thought you would do. Take a chance on something. You may like it, you may not. You may succeed, you may fail. But at least you took a chance and went out on a limb to experience something different. I promise that it will be rewarding in some way. There is a whole world of possibilities out there and it’s so easy to fall into a routine that lets us forget that.
I hope everyone can find something new and exciting in the New Year that challenges you and helps you find happiness in a place that you never expected. Happy 2009!
Going into busy season at E&Y last year, I knew that I wasn’t really happy at Ernst & Young. A couple of months earlier, I had met with an accounting and finance recruiter to see what other jobs were out there and nothing seemed appealing. Along with my unhappiness at work, I was in a rut personally as well. I can be a very anxious person and just felt that my life was kind of at a standstill and every week and month wasn’t much different than the one before it. Throughout my life, I have been on this path that has kept me relatively happy but very conservative and secure. I have never been the type of person to take chances or challenge myself and it occurred to me that I am still very young and that living a conventional life was probably the cause of the funk I was in. By April, I had become even more anxious after working long hours for the prior three months. I had a trip to Arizona in April and a bachelor party in Vegas in May to kind of keep me occupied. I remember thinking on the way home from Vegas that it was time to finally do something. I was unhappy at work and unmotivated to do a lot of things for myself personally. I started writing down some goals for myself and gave myself a July 15th (my 25th birthday) deadline to make some sort of decision on what I was going to do about a job and the next phase of my life. I found that writing goals down really helps me get things done because once I write it down, it’s there and I can always see it. Through talking to my family and friends, I came across AmeriCorps and started looking at possible opportunities in New Orleans, San Francisco, San Diego, Washington D.C., and Boston. I decided that it would be a great time for me to go live somewhere else for a year or two and made this a focal point in trying to find a place to volunteer. I found the best opportunities to be in New Orleans and applied for three or four positions at different programs. I did not get accepted for the first few programs in which I applied.
However, at the end of the day on July 25th (a Friday), as I was sitting at my desk in the office finishing up for the week, I got the call that I had been accepted as a House Captain for Rebuilding Together New Orleans. The organization wanted me down in New Orleans by August 25, so I had exactly a month to get myself ready. When I got home from work that day, I remember thinking to myself (and definitely freaking out) that this was actually happening for me. I was going to live in New Orleans for a year. As soon as I found out I was going, I became very anxious and nervous. I knew the opportunity was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, but that didn’t do much to calm my nerves. It was a good nervousness though. I was taking a chance on something in a way that I never had before. And while that scared me, I knew it would be a great thing for me.
The month before I left for New Orleans was a difficult one for me. I had so many things to do just to get myself ready to leave Chicago and physically move to New Orleans. A lot more went into it than I ever had thought. It was also difficult saying goodbye to family and friends that I knew I wouldn’t see again for awhile. I had never lived outside of Illinois and away from family and friends, so it was very hard for me to leave and go to a place where I knew nobody. I drove down to New Orleans on August 21-22 with my Dad and just remember saying over and over again, “What did I get myself into?” Because I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into and who I would meet and what I would be doing on a daily basis.
It has been over four months (in which you can see what I’ve been doing through previous postings) since I’ve been gone and I can honestly say that joining AmeriCorps and moving to New Orleans was the best decision I’ve ever made. Every day here is a new day and I’m having experiences that I never imagined. I have also met so many different kinds of people, which keeps life fresh. There is still so much more of New Orleans that I need to see and experience that I get antsy at times and worry that I’m not going to have enough time to do everything. However, it isn’t always easy. I definitely have days where I want to hang out with people or do something and there’s nobody around or people don’t want to do what I want to do. There are also times when I have nothing to do and just spend the day kind of vegging out. But that’s the challenge. I have learned so much about myself and feel like I have gained a lot of confidence. When you are in a rut and things are the same day after day, it’s easy to have insecurities and lack confidence, which is where I was in my life. But having pride in what I’m doing and having taken this chance has given me a lot of confidence in myself. Also, through the things I’m doing at work, I realize I’m capable of a lot. I am gaining new skills and learning how to manage others. I just needed to push myself and continue to push myself.
And with the New Year coming, we all have the opportunity to push ourselves. We never really know what we are capable of unless we our challenged. Up until I decided to come to New Orleans, I wasn’t doing or trying many things outside of my comfort zone, which made life easy and secure. But it also put me into the rut that I was in. It took stepping outside of the box and trying something new for me to snap out of it. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same person as I was before coming down here. I know it’s definitely not easy, and I’m not saying that everyone needs to make a huge life-changing decision every year or all the time, but I encourage you to try and do one or two things in the next year that you never thought you would do. Take a chance on something. You may like it, you may not. You may succeed, you may fail. But at least you took a chance and went out on a limb to experience something different. I promise that it will be rewarding in some way. There is a whole world of possibilities out there and it’s so easy to fall into a routine that lets us forget that.
I hope everyone can find something new and exciting in the New Year that challenges you and helps you find happiness in a place that you never expected. Happy 2009!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Keep On Keepin' On
Since coming back from Chicago, it has taken me a little while to get back into the swing of things but I'm back in good "Adam" form (not "Weiny" or "The Ween" form since that doesn't exist in New Orleans) right now. The past few weekends have been pretty eventful and fun. Thursday nights have turned into burrito and dollar drafts at Felipes nights. I can't get enough of their burritos, I could eat them three times a week at least. The past couple of Fridays, a big group of us from work have gone out to happy hour and stayed out from there. It's nice getting a chance to spend time with people from work and see how they are when they have a few drinks in them. Needless to say, things get much more relaxed and I get a chance to see how people are in a normal situation, as opposed to everyday at work. Also, one of my buddies down here is pretty good at the guitar (not nearly as good as Vamsi for those needing a reference point; but forget Vamsi because I doubt he even reads this). So we've had a couple of good jam and singing sessions. My voice is definitely as good as I think it is. The nightlife has started to pick up as we discover new places to see music and new bars to go to. A couple of weeks ago, I went to a bar called One-Eyed Jakes which I'd never been to before and saw a pretty decent band, Deerhunter. The sound at the venue was better than I thought and it was packed with people. Since it is still pretty warm down here (don't be too mad at me, it did snow down here for about 3 hours and I've had some pretty cold days working outside), friends of mine have been having bonfires, so a bunch of people get together and hang out. This last Friday after happy hour, I went to a bar called Pat Fannies (I don't know why but I love that name; I think it's because I can reverse the P and the F and call it Fat Pannies) where there was some type of holiday party going on. That turned out to be great for me because I was able to get my hands on a couple of brownies and cookies, as well as free beer and Wild Turkey shots. When we left, I was craving pizza so badly but there is just nowhere good to get it down here late night (very disappointing). So if anybody wants to send me a couple of frozen deep dish sausage pizzas from Lou Malanatis, send them to 5836 Willow St. New Orleans, LA 70115. I would greatly appreciate them. Anyways, my time outside of work the past few weeks has been a lot of fun as I discover new places and hang out with people that I wasn't before.
Work has been very intense over the past few weeks. I have been the House Captain (in charge) of a house, 2601 Arts St, for about the past month. I had a group of AmeriCorps members from another non-profit group called City Year, for one day. As part of their program, they are required to do training or service every Friday. Since this is a normal part of the work schedule, they were not really into doing much. The fact that most of them just wanted to get done with the day and move on made it difficult to really accomplish anything. I had them working on fixing and priming windows and they ended up making a huge mess which pretty much negated any good work they did for the day. It was an extremely frustrating day. The next week, a group of us worked on installing baseboards around the entire house. For those of you that don't know what baseboard is, it's the inch (or so) piece of wood that goes along the bottom of the entire interior house. Baseboards are mainly just meant for aesthetic purposes to cover up any rough edges in the floor. Most people don't even notice them, but we spent a week installing them. Putting them in and making them fit given the pieces of wood we had felt a little bit like piecing together a puzzle.
To give you a little background on how our organization is structured, we work in five neighborhoods, with each having a professional construction manager (CM) that guides us on the work to be performed. Along with many other of their own things to complete, they also help us if we run into issues with the actual work itself. Over the past couple of weeks, two of our construction managers have left the organization which has left things pretty chaotic for the other three CMs and stretched the organization as a whole pretty thin. I had a group of 8 Georgia Tech students for the entire week last week and a lot of the work they were going to do was contingent on other things getting done in the house. However, those things required the assistance of the CM and since he really didn't have much time to come by the house and finish, I was left scrambling to find things for my volunteers to do. It wasn't his fault because he just had so many other things to do to cover for the other CMs leaving but it made for a very frustrating week. I could kind of tell that the volunteers weren't enjoying the work they were doing and became less motivated as the week went on, and I couldn't really blame them. It was definitely hard because Rebuilding Together has been working on this house for almost seven months now and we want to get the homeowner back in his house. But at the same time, we want our volunteers to have a good experience so that they keep coming back down and donating money. So, it was a very stressful week that I couldn't wait to end. We didn't get as much accomplished as I would have liked, but my CM for this house was pretty understanding about the whole situation. The situation was a good learning experience and what a being a House Captain is all about. I think I will be better prepared to handle a similar situation the next time it occurs.
Life has been moving along pretty nicely since coming back from Chicago and I'm looking forward to a four day weekend this week and next week. A few of us are looking into going to Baton Rouge this Friday or Saturday just to check out the city. It's not ,too far away which is nice, so I'm hoping to make a day trip out of it this weekend. Almost all of my co-workers went home for the holidays so it's nice that things are relatively quiet right now. I figured that I just visited a month ago and am not really ready to come back home just yet. I had a good time with y'all but I thought it would be better for me to stay down here for the holidays and New Years Eve. I'm not really sure what I'm doing for New Years Eve yet but there are a couple of ideas that arer being thrown around. Anyways, I'll be posting a "Year in Review" type entry before the end of the year. Since it has been such a crazy year for me, I thought it would be a good chance to look back at the year as a whole. Well that's it for now, and seriously will someone send me down some decent pizza? I'm not kidding, I'm dying without it.
Work has been very intense over the past few weeks. I have been the House Captain (in charge) of a house, 2601 Arts St, for about the past month. I had a group of AmeriCorps members from another non-profit group called City Year, for one day. As part of their program, they are required to do training or service every Friday. Since this is a normal part of the work schedule, they were not really into doing much. The fact that most of them just wanted to get done with the day and move on made it difficult to really accomplish anything. I had them working on fixing and priming windows and they ended up making a huge mess which pretty much negated any good work they did for the day. It was an extremely frustrating day. The next week, a group of us worked on installing baseboards around the entire house. For those of you that don't know what baseboard is, it's the inch (or so) piece of wood that goes along the bottom of the entire interior house. Baseboards are mainly just meant for aesthetic purposes to cover up any rough edges in the floor. Most people don't even notice them, but we spent a week installing them. Putting them in and making them fit given the pieces of wood we had felt a little bit like piecing together a puzzle.
To give you a little background on how our organization is structured, we work in five neighborhoods, with each having a professional construction manager (CM) that guides us on the work to be performed. Along with many other of their own things to complete, they also help us if we run into issues with the actual work itself. Over the past couple of weeks, two of our construction managers have left the organization which has left things pretty chaotic for the other three CMs and stretched the organization as a whole pretty thin. I had a group of 8 Georgia Tech students for the entire week last week and a lot of the work they were going to do was contingent on other things getting done in the house. However, those things required the assistance of the CM and since he really didn't have much time to come by the house and finish, I was left scrambling to find things for my volunteers to do. It wasn't his fault because he just had so many other things to do to cover for the other CMs leaving but it made for a very frustrating week. I could kind of tell that the volunteers weren't enjoying the work they were doing and became less motivated as the week went on, and I couldn't really blame them. It was definitely hard because Rebuilding Together has been working on this house for almost seven months now and we want to get the homeowner back in his house. But at the same time, we want our volunteers to have a good experience so that they keep coming back down and donating money. So, it was a very stressful week that I couldn't wait to end. We didn't get as much accomplished as I would have liked, but my CM for this house was pretty understanding about the whole situation. The situation was a good learning experience and what a being a House Captain is all about. I think I will be better prepared to handle a similar situation the next time it occurs.
Life has been moving along pretty nicely since coming back from Chicago and I'm looking forward to a four day weekend this week and next week. A few of us are looking into going to Baton Rouge this Friday or Saturday just to check out the city. It's not ,too far away which is nice, so I'm hoping to make a day trip out of it this weekend. Almost all of my co-workers went home for the holidays so it's nice that things are relatively quiet right now. I figured that I just visited a month ago and am not really ready to come back home just yet. I had a good time with y'all but I thought it would be better for me to stay down here for the holidays and New Years Eve. I'm not really sure what I'm doing for New Years Eve yet but there are a couple of ideas that arer being thrown around. Anyways, I'll be posting a "Year in Review" type entry before the end of the year. Since it has been such a crazy year for me, I thought it would be a good chance to look back at the year as a whole. Well that's it for now, and seriously will someone send me down some decent pizza? I'm not kidding, I'm dying without it.
Monday, December 8, 2008
The Quarter Pole
I have now been down in New Orleans for about three and a half months which means that my service is just over a quarter (maybe closer to a third) of the way complete. On the plane back to Chicago, I had a chance to sit back and reflect on my time here so far and I realized that how this whole experience has affected me hadn't really sunk in yet. It was hard to believe that just three months ago I picked up and moved to New Orleans. I kind of just played back some of the events of the last three months in my head and can't believe some of the things that I've experienced. Heading home, it really made me feel like I have been down here for a long time. Almost every day I'm learning something different or having some experience that is new for me. On my way to Chicago was the first time that New Orleans kinda felt like home (at least for now). However, I desperately needed the break and was very excited to go home. The previous month of work had been really intense with all of the volunteers and big projects that were going on. I realized that in November alone I painted, deconstructed stairs, learned how to tile, installed hardwood floor, glazed windows, built a fence, and learned how to install kitchen cabinets. So I was definitely ready for the break and to get home to see my family and friends. Originally, I was only supposed to come home from the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving till Sunday. But since we had been working so hard, our supervisors gave us the entire week off. So I changed my flight and came home Sunday afternoon instead.
The week at home was much needed and everything I could have asked for in a visit. I had a great time getting to see everyone and felt like I was very busy the whole week and running from place to place which is exactly what I was hoping for. I ate way too much, which I wasn't used to. I think I gained three pounds in a week (it's okay though, I'll burn that right off now that I'm back at work). I wanted to thank everyone that I was with over the week for making my visit such a great one. You all made me feel happy to be home and reminded me just what great friends and family I have back in Chicago. It made me feel good that so many people were willing to come and hang out and make my visit special. I thought that going home would help me recharge my batteries a little bit, but by the time my visit was over, I was even more tired than when I arrived (which I think had to do with staying out till 4 in the morning a few nights), but it was well worth it. My visit to Chicago definitely made it harder for me to leave and go back to New Orleans but I know there is still a lot for me here.
It really has taken me about three months to get settled here but I feel good about being here and how things have been going and am ready for the next part of this experience. I've now gotten used to all of the different personalities at work and am really enjoying working with everyone. Everybody has their little quirks and things about them (as I'm sure I do) and we all kind of appreciate that about each other. Up till now, I have mainly interacted socially with people from my program so I think that is something I need to work on now that I'm back. That's the great thing about being down here on my own; it is up to me, and only me, to go out and meet people and make this experience what I want it to be. That can be tough sometimes too. I can be lazy and don't always feel like trying to find something to do. So that is kind of a work in progress. Life also moves a lot slower down here than in Chicago which is something I'm getting used to. There isn't something going on or something to do at every minute of every day like there is at home. That has been an adjustment and will continue to be.
At this point in time, there is a certain group out of the people from my program that I generally hang out with. And that's fine for me. I don't click with everyone, so I spend time with the people that I want to. A couple of weeks ago, one of my friends down here said that "it's up to each one of us to help make each other's time here fun." That just struck me as such a cool thing for someone to say. It is kind of up to me and each one of us to get what we want out of this experience but it's nice to know that I have met people that generally care about other people and their experiences here.
I know this post is a little bit different than what I usually write but I thought that since I have been down here for over three months now, and just visited home, it would be a good time to reflect on the time that I've spent here already and what lies ahead. I really did have a great time in Chicago and coming home was exactly what I needed. But now that I came home and don't know if and when I'll visit before the end of this program, it is time for all of you to start visiting me in New Orleans. Anyone who has any interest in coming down here, please get in contact with me so we can work out a time. There is so much I want to show all of you down here including the sites, some of the houses that I've worked on, as well as some of the better drinking and music establishments New Orleans has to offer. So come on down!
The week at home was much needed and everything I could have asked for in a visit. I had a great time getting to see everyone and felt like I was very busy the whole week and running from place to place which is exactly what I was hoping for. I ate way too much, which I wasn't used to. I think I gained three pounds in a week (it's okay though, I'll burn that right off now that I'm back at work). I wanted to thank everyone that I was with over the week for making my visit such a great one. You all made me feel happy to be home and reminded me just what great friends and family I have back in Chicago. It made me feel good that so many people were willing to come and hang out and make my visit special. I thought that going home would help me recharge my batteries a little bit, but by the time my visit was over, I was even more tired than when I arrived (which I think had to do with staying out till 4 in the morning a few nights), but it was well worth it. My visit to Chicago definitely made it harder for me to leave and go back to New Orleans but I know there is still a lot for me here.
It really has taken me about three months to get settled here but I feel good about being here and how things have been going and am ready for the next part of this experience. I've now gotten used to all of the different personalities at work and am really enjoying working with everyone. Everybody has their little quirks and things about them (as I'm sure I do) and we all kind of appreciate that about each other. Up till now, I have mainly interacted socially with people from my program so I think that is something I need to work on now that I'm back. That's the great thing about being down here on my own; it is up to me, and only me, to go out and meet people and make this experience what I want it to be. That can be tough sometimes too. I can be lazy and don't always feel like trying to find something to do. So that is kind of a work in progress. Life also moves a lot slower down here than in Chicago which is something I'm getting used to. There isn't something going on or something to do at every minute of every day like there is at home. That has been an adjustment and will continue to be.
At this point in time, there is a certain group out of the people from my program that I generally hang out with. And that's fine for me. I don't click with everyone, so I spend time with the people that I want to. A couple of weeks ago, one of my friends down here said that "it's up to each one of us to help make each other's time here fun." That just struck me as such a cool thing for someone to say. It is kind of up to me and each one of us to get what we want out of this experience but it's nice to know that I have met people that generally care about other people and their experiences here.
I know this post is a little bit different than what I usually write but I thought that since I have been down here for over three months now, and just visited home, it would be a good time to reflect on the time that I've spent here already and what lies ahead. I really did have a great time in Chicago and coming home was exactly what I needed. But now that I came home and don't know if and when I'll visit before the end of this program, it is time for all of you to start visiting me in New Orleans. Anyone who has any interest in coming down here, please get in contact with me so we can work out a time. There is so much I want to show all of you down here including the sites, some of the houses that I've worked on, as well as some of the better drinking and music establishments New Orleans has to offer. So come on down!
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