I realize this is a very strange title for a blog post. For those of you who don't know, I have a fake tooth. In fact, it is a very common genetic disorder to be missing your teeth to the immediate right and left of your front teeth. Five years ago I had an implant, and recently, it has come loose. A week ago, it fell out. Yes, I have been without a front tooth for a week and half. Context for upcoming adventure established.
Time for you to use your senses and imagination to put yourself in my shoes. Sound: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen playing on the radio, and the dentist singing along. A laser buzzing your gums. Smell: Burning flesh. Surprisingly, it smells very similar to burning marshmellows. Sights: Smoke billowing from your mouth, because of said laser. Feel: Nothing. You are numb. Taste: Typical nasty dentist fluids.
So. Weird. Before this bombardment of senses, the dentist had to drill my fake tooth to get at the screw. As he was drilling, he was singing along, "Mama! Just killed a man! Sing along if you know the words!" It was 9:00 in the morning. Too early for Queen. But, I wasn't doing anything else, so I joined in. "Mama! Oooo!" He complimented me on my singing, and said sometimes he has patients who, "can't sing a lick." I'm not really sure how he judges his patients' ability to sing, as I have found it's quite difficult to sing while your gums are actively being burned. That may just be me.
Regardless of how strange an experience it was, I have a tooth now! No longer am I "gap-tooth," or "tooth-less wonder!" The tooth I have in currently is just a temporary crown. I am going back later this week to make an impression for my permanent crown. Either way though, I count walking out of the dentist office with a tooth a success!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
D'Jenga Unchained
In recent reflection, I've realized a lot of my postings are about serious things. Sandy. Lay-offs. I promise you I have fun in the city too! This post is about fun :)
Ever since New Year's Eve, Katie, Will and I have an ongoing Jenga war. For those of you who don't know, Jenga is the game you play with small rectangular shaped blocks. The object of the game is to not make the tower of blocks fall over. I must say, we are pretty good. When Will first discovered the game, he was cocky and terrible which made for hilarious game time. Then, suddenly, he was beating us! Unacceptable. My goal for all future games is to ensure Will looses. Always. This goal has been tricky, but always hilarious.
See below pictures as evidence.
We are now in the process of planning a Jenga Tournament. We have six housemates signed up. Our plan is to dress up outrageously, talk a lot of smack, heckle opponents, and award a chocolate coin to the victor. All around have a good time :)
Don't worry, I'll be sure to update you on how the tournament goes :)
Ever since New Year's Eve, Katie, Will and I have an ongoing Jenga war. For those of you who don't know, Jenga is the game you play with small rectangular shaped blocks. The object of the game is to not make the tower of blocks fall over. I must say, we are pretty good. When Will first discovered the game, he was cocky and terrible which made for hilarious game time. Then, suddenly, he was beating us! Unacceptable. My goal for all future games is to ensure Will looses. Always. This goal has been tricky, but always hilarious.
See below pictures as evidence.
 |
| I eat Jenga towers for dinner. Nom nom nom! |
 |
| OH MY GOODNESS!! Will it fall??? |
 |
| AAAAHHHHHH!!!!! |
 |
| Let the tournament planning begin! |
We are now in the process of planning a Jenga Tournament. We have six housemates signed up. Our plan is to dress up outrageously, talk a lot of smack, heckle opponents, and award a chocolate coin to the victor. All around have a good time :)
Don't worry, I'll be sure to update you on how the tournament goes :)
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Free Saturday!!
It is a rare gift when I have a Saturday free. This past Saturday was one of those wonderful gifts.
Friday night, I was overwhelmed with possibilities. What would I do? It was Friday night, and I didn't have to go to the Bronx or Brooklyn at stupid early in the morning time!!!!!!! The possibilities were endless. On Friday night, I ended up staying in and watching "Arrest Development." It was too much to go out and do something. I had to ease into my new found freedom.
Saturday morning I slept in, and had breakfast prepared for me by Katie and Josh. They made French toast and coffee. It was wonderful! In the afternoon, Vanessa, a new volunteer living in Menno House, and I went to Chinatown. We didn't really have any set plans. Just to hang out.
It was a gorgeous day. We ended up discovering a park where people were practicing some self-defense/fitness activity thing. Obviously I'm very knowledgeable in Asian fitness...There was also a local band playing Chinese folk songs. It looked like they did that every so often, and weren't looking for donations. Instead, they were just hanging out, having a great time, and playing requests. There was also a pick-up soccer game that we watched for a bit. It was so fun!
We then meandered around looking for some lunch. We stumbled upon this little hole-in-the-wall place called "Fried Dumpling." They sold fried dumplings. Surprising. They were in some contest for best food in Chinatown. They definitely had our vote! Our dumplings were DELICIOUS!! The menu was literally just dumplings, and they made them well. We were also amazed at the price: 5 dumplings for $1. Amazing.
We meandered around some more sampling various foods, window shopping, and taking in the sights and smells. I can tell you from first hand experience, the fish markets are VERY fresh. Like fish flopping around on the ground fresh. Yikes! We ended the day with half off bubble tea. A great way to spend the free Saturday!
On Sunday, I woke up, and did some Yoga. It was wonderful. Vanessa, Will and I left for the Brooklyn Museum around 1 in the afternoon. We wanted to catch part of a Martin Luther King Celebration hosted by WNYC, an NPR member station. It was great! They had three performers acting out excerpts from A. Peter Bailey's play, "Martin, Malcolm, and Medgar: A Reunion." The playwright explores what these slain civil rights activists would say about today's societal problems. They also had two moderators, and a four-person panel to discuss civil rights in today's society. I felt like I was in Convo again!
We spent the evening watching Argo, an Oscar-nominated best picture. It was good. I would highly recommend it. Thanks to my supervisors at CFY, and my aunt Connie, and I had enough money in gift cards to pay for me, and three friends. Yay! Tickets are $13.50. Not cheap.
Friday night, I was overwhelmed with possibilities. What would I do? It was Friday night, and I didn't have to go to the Bronx or Brooklyn at stupid early in the morning time!!!!!!! The possibilities were endless. On Friday night, I ended up staying in and watching "Arrest Development." It was too much to go out and do something. I had to ease into my new found freedom.
Saturday morning I slept in, and had breakfast prepared for me by Katie and Josh. They made French toast and coffee. It was wonderful! In the afternoon, Vanessa, a new volunteer living in Menno House, and I went to Chinatown. We didn't really have any set plans. Just to hang out.
It was a gorgeous day. We ended up discovering a park where people were practicing some self-defense/fitness activity thing. Obviously I'm very knowledgeable in Asian fitness...There was also a local band playing Chinese folk songs. It looked like they did that every so often, and weren't looking for donations. Instead, they were just hanging out, having a great time, and playing requests. There was also a pick-up soccer game that we watched for a bit. It was so fun!
We then meandered around looking for some lunch. We stumbled upon this little hole-in-the-wall place called "Fried Dumpling." They sold fried dumplings. Surprising. They were in some contest for best food in Chinatown. They definitely had our vote! Our dumplings were DELICIOUS!! The menu was literally just dumplings, and they made them well. We were also amazed at the price: 5 dumplings for $1. Amazing.
We meandered around some more sampling various foods, window shopping, and taking in the sights and smells. I can tell you from first hand experience, the fish markets are VERY fresh. Like fish flopping around on the ground fresh. Yikes! We ended the day with half off bubble tea. A great way to spend the free Saturday!
On Sunday, I woke up, and did some Yoga. It was wonderful. Vanessa, Will and I left for the Brooklyn Museum around 1 in the afternoon. We wanted to catch part of a Martin Luther King Celebration hosted by WNYC, an NPR member station. It was great! They had three performers acting out excerpts from A. Peter Bailey's play, "Martin, Malcolm, and Medgar: A Reunion." The playwright explores what these slain civil rights activists would say about today's societal problems. They also had two moderators, and a four-person panel to discuss civil rights in today's society. I felt like I was in Convo again!
We spent the evening watching Argo, an Oscar-nominated best picture. It was good. I would highly recommend it. Thanks to my supervisors at CFY, and my aunt Connie, and I had enough money in gift cards to pay for me, and three friends. Yay! Tickets are $13.50. Not cheap.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The Nature of NGOs
Greetings readers.
I have come across a difficult spot in my term. Due to loss of funding, CFY has had to scale back on operations. Several people are being laid off effective February 1. This includes the department I support. As I understand it, my role as Volunteer Coordinator will be changing, as there will no longer be a need to support and coordinate volunteers.
While it is a very difficult time for me, I am excited about the changes. I will miss my team, and the connections I've made with the volunteers. However, the new role I anticipate for me will include much more direct contact with the families we serve, less administration duties, and more time on site at the schools.
I anticipate supporting, coordinating, and teaching courses for our families. While my job description isn't official yet, I did visit with the Executive Director regarding my new position. I will know more in the next few days. In the meantime, I am transitioning out the Volunteer support tasks.
Even though I am excited about these changes, and am looking forward to supporting the organization in a new way, I have mixed feelings. It is hard to see your supervisor, and her supervisor laid off. It is awkward knowing the only reason why you are still here is because they don't have to pay you. It's hard not really knowing who you are supposed to report to during the transition.
CFY staff have been wonderful. Many have reached out to me to make sure I am doing alright, and are eager to offer support for me as I go through this transition. The MVS support committee is also very helpful. I met with a member last night to help with support. I also met with the pastor. I doing alright. I've seen better days, but it's ok.
Unfortunately, this is the nature of NGOs. You could be doing great work, but if you can't convince the grant providers, you don't get the funding, and you don't get to keep the staff. I anticipate as I continue on my career path, there will be many more lay-offs. The opportunity for me in this one is to learn how to lay people off gracefully, how to accept the lay-off gracefully, and how to pick up the pieces as an organization.
I think CFY is doing well with these three pieces. We knew back in October that they may need to lay people off. We found yesterday officially who was going to be laid off. We will miss the members of our community very much. There are several people I have close bonds with, and I am sad to see them go. Your thoughts and prayers for us as we transition are appreciated.
I have come across a difficult spot in my term. Due to loss of funding, CFY has had to scale back on operations. Several people are being laid off effective February 1. This includes the department I support. As I understand it, my role as Volunteer Coordinator will be changing, as there will no longer be a need to support and coordinate volunteers.
While it is a very difficult time for me, I am excited about the changes. I will miss my team, and the connections I've made with the volunteers. However, the new role I anticipate for me will include much more direct contact with the families we serve, less administration duties, and more time on site at the schools.
I anticipate supporting, coordinating, and teaching courses for our families. While my job description isn't official yet, I did visit with the Executive Director regarding my new position. I will know more in the next few days. In the meantime, I am transitioning out the Volunteer support tasks.
Even though I am excited about these changes, and am looking forward to supporting the organization in a new way, I have mixed feelings. It is hard to see your supervisor, and her supervisor laid off. It is awkward knowing the only reason why you are still here is because they don't have to pay you. It's hard not really knowing who you are supposed to report to during the transition.
CFY staff have been wonderful. Many have reached out to me to make sure I am doing alright, and are eager to offer support for me as I go through this transition. The MVS support committee is also very helpful. I met with a member last night to help with support. I also met with the pastor. I doing alright. I've seen better days, but it's ok.
Unfortunately, this is the nature of NGOs. You could be doing great work, but if you can't convince the grant providers, you don't get the funding, and you don't get to keep the staff. I anticipate as I continue on my career path, there will be many more lay-offs. The opportunity for me in this one is to learn how to lay people off gracefully, how to accept the lay-off gracefully, and how to pick up the pieces as an organization.
I think CFY is doing well with these three pieces. We knew back in October that they may need to lay people off. We found yesterday officially who was going to be laid off. We will miss the members of our community very much. There are several people I have close bonds with, and I am sad to see them go. Your thoughts and prayers for us as we transition are appreciated.
Monday, January 7, 2013
The New Year in New York
Hello! I apologize for not updating in awhile.
It was wonderful to see many of you over the holidays! I'm glad you are all doing well. I hope your second week of 2013 is off to a great start. I want to tell you about my first week of the new year.
I got back to the city on December 30; just in time for the New Year's Celebration. Katie, the other MVSer, and I had been talking about what we wanted to do for New Year's. We're in New York for goodness sake! We knew we didn't want to see the ball drop...we had heard you had to get to Time's Square at crazy early, like 3 pm, and just stand there. Most people wear adult diapers, because there are so many people, you can't get through to a bathroom! We were not interested.
We stayed home at the house, and played games with Leah, Marcel and Godswill. Who knew that inside Will was a Jenga Tiger waiting to be born??
At about 11:30, Katie and I decided we wanted to see some fireworks. We hightailed it to Union Square, the nearest subway, and got on the first southbound train. We were hoping to make it onto the Staten Island ferry at midnight to see the fireworks from the water.
We just barely made it onto the ferry; it was leaving right when we got there. We ran unto the deck, and saw the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan skyline, and the fireworks. It was beautiful. The best part? There were maybe only 100 people instead of thousands!! The ferry is big too, Katie and I each had a piece of railing on the deck, so we had the perfect view. What a wonderful way to bring in the New Year!
My first week back to work was pretty low-key. Before I left on vacation, I had ensured we had enough volunteers for our Saturday workshop, so I just had to pack for the workshops. It was smooth sailing!
On Saturday morning, our first workshop of 2013, I overslept BIGTIME! I was supposed to be in Brooklyn, about a 45 minute train ride away, at 8:15, and I didn't wake up until 8:45. Oops! Luckily, there were plenty of support staff around that day, and they were able to cover my job until I got there. The plus side of sleeping in is that I was well rested for the day!
The day before the workshop, we were at the school setting up for Saturday. I happened to meet a Marine who was in charge of the Marine Cadet program at the school. He said they were wanting to volunteer, so they came over on Saturday to help out. That was weird.
The students aged from 10-18. We usually only allow 16 year olds to volunteer with us. 10 is way too young!! They were definitely Marines. They did a 5.5 mile hike before coming to volunteer. They called me Ma'am, and asked permission before getting a drink of water. I had never commanded troops before!! They were very helpful though. They even stayed to help clean up, which was wonderful!
After the workshop, Katie and I saw Peter and the Starcatcher. Her mother had given her tickets for her and me to see the show. IT WAS WONDERFUL!!! I thought it would be a kid's show, but there was definitely adult humor thrown in. Check out this video for a taste of the show.
It is a prequel to Peter Pan, and it tells the story of how Peter came to be Peter Pan. It was really well done. Their stage was very small, and the props were sparse. They used each other as props, and was really interesting!
Sunday was pretty uneventful. Now I'm listening to music, making soup for lunches for the week, and drinking a warm cup of tea. Yay! If only the roof workers wouldn't leave the kitchen door open as they go in and out of the house. It is FREEZING outside!!!!
It was wonderful to see many of you over the holidays! I'm glad you are all doing well. I hope your second week of 2013 is off to a great start. I want to tell you about my first week of the new year.
I got back to the city on December 30; just in time for the New Year's Celebration. Katie, the other MVSer, and I had been talking about what we wanted to do for New Year's. We're in New York for goodness sake! We knew we didn't want to see the ball drop...we had heard you had to get to Time's Square at crazy early, like 3 pm, and just stand there. Most people wear adult diapers, because there are so many people, you can't get through to a bathroom! We were not interested.
We stayed home at the house, and played games with Leah, Marcel and Godswill. Who knew that inside Will was a Jenga Tiger waiting to be born??
At about 11:30, Katie and I decided we wanted to see some fireworks. We hightailed it to Union Square, the nearest subway, and got on the first southbound train. We were hoping to make it onto the Staten Island ferry at midnight to see the fireworks from the water.
We just barely made it onto the ferry; it was leaving right when we got there. We ran unto the deck, and saw the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan skyline, and the fireworks. It was beautiful. The best part? There were maybe only 100 people instead of thousands!! The ferry is big too, Katie and I each had a piece of railing on the deck, so we had the perfect view. What a wonderful way to bring in the New Year!
My first week back to work was pretty low-key. Before I left on vacation, I had ensured we had enough volunteers for our Saturday workshop, so I just had to pack for the workshops. It was smooth sailing!
On Saturday morning, our first workshop of 2013, I overslept BIGTIME! I was supposed to be in Brooklyn, about a 45 minute train ride away, at 8:15, and I didn't wake up until 8:45. Oops! Luckily, there were plenty of support staff around that day, and they were able to cover my job until I got there. The plus side of sleeping in is that I was well rested for the day!
The day before the workshop, we were at the school setting up for Saturday. I happened to meet a Marine who was in charge of the Marine Cadet program at the school. He said they were wanting to volunteer, so they came over on Saturday to help out. That was weird.
The students aged from 10-18. We usually only allow 16 year olds to volunteer with us. 10 is way too young!! They were definitely Marines. They did a 5.5 mile hike before coming to volunteer. They called me Ma'am, and asked permission before getting a drink of water. I had never commanded troops before!! They were very helpful though. They even stayed to help clean up, which was wonderful!
After the workshop, Katie and I saw Peter and the Starcatcher. Her mother had given her tickets for her and me to see the show. IT WAS WONDERFUL!!! I thought it would be a kid's show, but there was definitely adult humor thrown in. Check out this video for a taste of the show.
It is a prequel to Peter Pan, and it tells the story of how Peter came to be Peter Pan. It was really well done. Their stage was very small, and the props were sparse. They used each other as props, and was really interesting!
Sunday was pretty uneventful. Now I'm listening to music, making soup for lunches for the week, and drinking a warm cup of tea. Yay! If only the roof workers wouldn't leave the kitchen door open as they go in and out of the house. It is FREEZING outside!!!!
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