Exciting and yikes!

I now know what I get to be doing this year and I'm really excited but also yikes!  They want to start a middle school program at the Y and well I get to be in charge of programing it and being creative!  In fact one whole room is my "baby"!  Oh boy, in a good way and in a scared way!  I'm more excited than scared, but at the same time is this is a lot of power.....

Falling in love with the fall....

I'm falling in love with the fall!  The trees are beginning to change color and well it is beautiful.  It's rained the past three days too, which has been nice for me a lover of the rain!  Now for everyone else, I don't think they appreciate the rain as much as I do.  Granted I've practically lived my whole life in the rain, between western Washington and Oregon, it can get pretty wet.  Therefore a little rain is like a little piece of home, which I need every now and then.  I'm still in that honeymoon state where everything is new and exciting, but reality is beginning to set place.  Possibly, the one thing I miss the most is my family and friends.  I really miss a community or a place of believers.  I've gone to two churches now and both have been very traditional.  Nothing is wrong with traditional in fact, I like it sometimes, but something is missing for me.  It might be that both places seemed full of older people or families with kids and not many my age.  Once again nothing wrong with that, other than sometimes it would be nice to find a place for single people like myself or some close to my age.  My hope is that I will find a place like that.  

As far as travels, Sundays are my favorite, because I've spent them adventuring about.  Today I didn't do anything all that exciting except for take a little drive.  Then I sat in the park by the lake, wrote, and watched some kids play.  It was a simple day, but I love days like this!  Now I just need to fill my time with reading, writing, and other such activities rather than the tv.  All in all I'm enjoying myself, looking forward to more and loving life!

week in the Y

It's Thursday of my first week at the YMCA.  Yay I think, I only say that because well it has been an interesting week.  My first day I showed up and found out the the woman that I am going to be working with, was away all week in training.  Therefore, that means that I was going to shadow a few people and see what they do.  My first day was at the front desk, where they do all the answering of phones, signing members up, and other office work that some others don't want to do.  That day was spent stuffing envelopes, handing out towels, and figuring out the postage machine.  The next day I did the same thing, again and have done that all week.  The best part is that yesterday, I actually learned how to answer the phones, and transfer so I felt a little more useful.  Oh a side note this is not complaining, just what happened.  

Other than that I've gotten home in the early evening, after going for a walk/jog around the lake, and picking up some groceries for dinner.  By then I've been really tired, so I've watched TV and basically been in my room.  I know that is the exciting life, but I'm finding it nice to be alone at times.  Somedays I'm really lonely, and I'm finding that I like to find the balance.  I really believe that God will show me something and use me.  I'm not sure what, but I know that there is a reason that I'm out in Massachusetts.

Side note, at the YMCA I really like the people there, although there is some fun drama.  The fun drama is about some inter-staff dating that took place, and is now over, this makes for some fun, well or I find it amusing.  Also I have my moments when I feel older than the other girls that have been there and times when I don't.  It's fairly split between women with children and some still in college.  In a way I connect better with the women who have the children, maybe that's just me growing up a little...

First week

It's been a week since my mom left me and I have been here on my own.  It's been a long, and fast and interesting week.  Training was long and at times boring, mostly because training is not always the most interesting time of serving... =D  But I have survived driving to Dorchester and back now won't have to do this except for once a month, yay!  I'm pretty sure I will never complain about that five minute back up in Bremerton again, let's just say taking 45 minutes to an hour to drive something that could take 20-30 minuets not that exciting.  Also going 25 on the freeway when it's really 55 or 65 slightly frustrating.  All in all, I'm done driving so much, starting tomorrow a 10 minute drive should be what happens!  Other than the driving and the training I'm looking forward to getting to know the people that I'm going to spend the next 9 months serving with because they all seem really nice.  It's funny though most of them are from the east coast and had about a 6 hour drive out here rather than a 4 day!  Let's see there are 6 girls or women and 5 guys/men.  I think a few more are starting later, so that will make  11-15  of us.  Most all of us are right around the ages of 22-24 and have all graduated from college in the past couple years.  They all seem really nice and like people who will be fun to serve with for the next year or so.  

I've been back to the lake now twice since I've found it.  It still is beautiful and such a peaceful and nice walk.  I've gone to dinner by myself a couple of times at the Chiles bar and watched the Red Sox play, I miss the mariners, somedays... The first time I did it I saw between these two middle aged men and one of them started talking to me.  He showed me a txt message from his friend who was at the Sox game in  Tampa it was funny.  On Friday, when I got to my training sight the police were on the street questioning a couple of guys.  I decided I would park in the parking lot then and wait until the police left so I could park on the street.  Well in the parking lot some guys were watching what was going on, and one of them came over to this pole and I couldn't see what he had in his hand or what he was doing.  My first thought was oh no something bad is going to happen and then I noticed the guy was just taking a pee.  That was pretty hilarious and cracked me up. 

Yesterday was my mom's birthday (happy birthday mom) and I went to neighborhood day in Woburn to get some service hours done.  This was really fun, a few of us went and pulled up some plants, met some people and hung out at a block party.  Neighborhood day is a day when neighborhoods get together and hang out to get to know each other.  It was great way to get to know the community.  Also it was fun getting to know my team members.

As for today I went to church which was different.  It was very traditional but the people were nice, so we'll see.  Then I took the train into Boston and the subway to Quincy market.  On the way I passed the monument to the Holocaust.  The market was fun with all the street performs and the nice weather!  There were lots of booths and things to buy.  The water is close by too and that was beautiful with all the ships.  Basically it was a beautiful trip and day, I'm suer I will go back sometime.  There were also some interesting pubs, restaurants and bars, that seemed to have live music.  Maybe I will hit those up sometime!  So that's my week in a nutshell or rather a long post.  I miss you all and would love for you to come and visit or be able to tell you all the stories!  

another day in the neighborhood...

First day of training, yay, well not really because training is not always the most exciting thing ever!  But I do think I will really like what I do once I start and I will like who I work with once I get to know them a bit more.  I did survive the traffic today it wasn't really that bad, soon though I'm going to test my luck on the public transportation realm....=D  

Best part of today was my walk or rather, a good work out.  I went to find the transit station, and found it, then only to walk to another town called Wakefield, literally right next door.  I heard there is a lake there, and it's beautiful! I was walking alongside this lake at sunset and it just brightened my day!  I love nature, mostly because it is the number one way that I see God.  Oh he just created this beautiful world that I/we get to enjoy!  Around the lake is 3 1/2 miles and yes I did walk to the whole way around, plus the 1/2 mile maybe to the lake and back.  Not so smart decision was doing it late, and it got dark....=(  But from now on I think I may make that part of my daily habit just go for a walk/jog, and possibly bring a book.  There are benches along the lake and I want to just sit there soaking in the beauty!  I'm really happy that I have found a place that I can go to that is gorgeous and relaxing!  That's my only adventure for today, but it just made me really happy and content!  I'll put some pictures up sometime of it.... Tomorrow is a new day!

First day on my own....

Today is my first day on my own, for reals.  My mom left me this morning on a plane home..... So today feels more like I think the rest of this adventure is going to be like, like I'm on my own, and not just on vacation.  Until today I felt like I was on vacation, but not as much today.  I moved into my room, that I'm renting weekly in the rain, which was like home other than the humidity!  Then I went to go find where I'm supposed to go tomorrow and got terribly lost in Boston.  Yep google directions are good but not when trees block street signs!  Somehow though I ended up on the street that I wanted to end of on, and found the place, reversed the directions.  Now I believe I know how to get there, but facing the Boston traffic is going to be awesome (sarcasm)! I think I'm going to figure out how to take the public transportation to this place tomorrow....=D  

So far I'm really enjoying myself.  I don't know how I feel about big cities but I do like all the history.  Yesterday my mom and I got lost and then ended up in Lexington which is where a battle in the Revolutionary War happened (thanks Beau and Lucas history geeks)!  From now on I'm going to takes my weekends and visit new places. I'm really looking forward to traveling and adventuring around in this area.  Look for more on these adventures and hopefully I can show some pictures too!  =D