Overall, I think I had a pretty successful Thanksgiving with Jamie & Shannon and the rest of the Vernons.  I was popular enough to have a Thanksgiving song, complete with hand clapping, sung exclusively for me and two other guests by Will, Jamie & Shannon's oldest son, and then shot with a nerf gun by their youngest, Wesley.  (After I was hit, I found the culprit standing behind me, cackling and saying, "That's what happens!"  Cryptic.)  I also managed to take home some chocolate cake, made with, er, Guinness.  Though it's really incredibly delicious and moist, rather than merely a beer-tinged cake.  Driving there & back was half the fun, though, since I got to listen to both Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Nigella Lawson talk about food and Thanksgiving.  Lynne said things like, "Just mix the egg in and stick it back in the oven - no one will ever notice," and Nigella said things like, "It's okay to sometimes be irritated by trivial things."  It was really cold on Thanksgiving day, but no ice or snow.  I wouldn't mind some snow, though, to be honest (at least that's the verdict for now).  I have two hats.

At work on Wednesday, I co-taught a class on resume writing and cover letters at the day reporting center with one of the youth case managers who sits near me.  I wanted to go with her in case we decide to try to implement something like that for the any of the youth corps.  It was pretty fun, somehow. We were able to work with people individually since their staff stuck around.  I met a girl who is a case manager/counselor at the mental health hospital here and working on a program for foster youth, I think.  She was about my age and did a year with AmeriCorps here last year.  She was working one-on-one with one fellow, and I was kind of jealous of her job.  I hadn't really thought much about counseling or any kind of therapy very seriously as an occupation up until this year, or that particular moment, but then it seemed quite reasonable, or obvious, though I don't imagine that it's something I would do for quite a while.

I might try to put together an activity for the T.I.G.H.T. youth corps (these are 14-17 year olds) on semblances between poetry and hip hop to convince them it's cool, but I'm still uncertain.  I don't want it to be too heavy-handed. But we'll see.  They've been doing journaling activities lately, so the idea is that I would slide some creative writing prompts in there too.  I don't want to overthink it, but I do want to think it through to make the most of it.  I mentioned to the T.I.G.H.T. crew leader that I wanted to involve college students in working with some of the crew members to get their GEDs and that I'd had some good meetings with students and faculty heading in that direction, which she thought was pretty exciting.  So on Monday we met with the environmental ed. coordinator and talked about ideas for the program, and that's where the poetry came from.  In general, it was exciting, because it gave me some more ideas, but it was also just nice to know that she's on board with some of the things I've been working on. 

Also, I decided yesterday, I think, that I am going to train for a half marathon in Denver sometime in March.  Um.  So, it's not that big of a deal, but I think it'll end up being an important way to change up my running routine.  I think I'm going to follow a schedule that calls for one day of cardio that's not running and a long run on Saturday or Sunday.  I'm looking forward to it right now, but I'm also not in the middle of a ten-mile run right now, so that might change. 

I need an excuse to sing, since I sometimes walk rather than run just to be able to do it.  I've been singing loudly in the car, and I imagine it would be good to do that with a choir at some point.

Snow

After talking with some VISTAs (other AmeriCorps members) at the AmeriCorps conference in Estes Park, I started to give the idea of curriculum development for our youth programs some more thought, especially since, as of late, I've become more interested in peace education programs and curriculum reform.  The environmental education coordinator from over the summer came back on as a staff member, and we started to brainstorm ideas for curriculum and experiential education opportunities for youth corps members.  No big deal, until we planned an activity for Friday, and I got to implement it by myself since my partner was out sick.  So I was lucky enough to be in a position of explaining, impromptu, to a group of not totally engaged youth why they should take an online test to assess their learning styles.  To which I was met with blank stares and "I don't want to do this" and other encouraging words.  Ultimately, it wasn't too bad, as I found out after some hand wringing.  According to some of the computer lab staff, the corps members were a lot more cooperative than usual and even interested, and I think I was able to convince 80% that the activity wasn't really, really stupid. 

Then today, when one of the county cars died, we showed the youth corps how to jump a car or asked them to show us, which sort of worked.  (I also learned that my car is in a really poor position to jump another car.)  They were surprised both at a) how small my car was and b) the fact that I'm from Mississippi, but somehow this, er, experiential learning opportunity made them like all of us more than computer tests, maybe since dancing around is easier outside.

I've been thinking more about how to relate what I'm doing now to my future work, and I think that the best plan for now is to concentrate on aspects of program development and fundraising, both of which I could apply to work with a non-profit that provides direct services to youth.  Both tasks, however, require me to ask really specific questions and hope to get equally specific answers, but hopefully I can hammer out what I imagine that I want. 

On another note, I made pumpkin bread with leftover pumpkin from a pumpkin dip that I made, and it was delicious.  Both recipes were from Simply in Season.

And it snowed!  Am I really excited about this?  Stay tuned to find out...

Work/casual

So, I've uploaded some of my photos from the AmeriCorps conference I attended in Estes Park.  I snagged a few from the Good Works for Youth album - GWFY is the umbrella organization for VISTAs (AmeriCorps members) in CO organizations focused on youth and the environment...roughly.  It's complicated, but I was in Estes Park for 1) a conference for all AmeriCorps members in Colorado and 2) a conference for GWFY VISTAs.  Anyway, you should be able to view the pictures here: 

http://picasaweb.google.com/gates.sarahk/EstesPark?feat=directlink

We stayed at a YMCA, which was pretty amazing!  And I went roller skating - no big deal.

Overall, the conference helped a lot in terms of connecting with other people who are doing work similar to mine. Some of the other VISTAs (AmeriCorps members; it stands for Volunteers in Service to America) have done a lot of curriculum development in their programs, which is something I'm interested in pursuing.  This would be anything from environmental education to civic engagement to job readiness training.  A lot of people were generally knowledgeable about affordable recreation activities (if you discount the gas money it takes to get to them) throughout Colorado, like these classes that REI (an outdoor store) offers on everything from mapping to snow survival skills for women.  Pretty cool, hmm?

My mom was here this weekend, and we had a good time visiting the Denver Art Museum, eating upscale tamales, and seeing the debut run of House of Spirits at the Denver Performing Arts Center.  I stuck around in Denver on Sunday morning and bought 2 books...so what? 

Today I met with a lot? of high school counselors at the main district building to talk about WCYCC's (Weld County Youth Conservation Corps) AmeriCorps program for 17-24 year-olds, and it was interesting, but strange.  I felt weirdly comfortable, which is rare, but I think brought on partly by the fact that I was so tired and feeling slightly sick.  I thought about buying a cup of tea afterwards but then I didn't. 

From this sickness, or something, I'm feeling a bit bummed and stressed - so I'd appreciate any words of encouragement you might have to send along.  I think I might try to lessen the load, or the feeling of it, with a new pair of work/casual pants..um.
--
(Here are some links that might clarify what I'm doing: http://www.cyca.org - Colorado Youth Corps Association;
http://www.co.weld.co.us/Departments/HumanServices/EmploymentServices/YouthServices/WeldCountyYouthConservationCorps.html - WCYCC)

Proof

A quick note before I go to bed to say that I've been in Estes Park this week for an AmeriCorps conference, so I have lots to tell!  Today I went hiking before I left... This is proof. 

Butternut squash

The car that is always parked right there, which we would fear being moved, since it would mean that our 90-some odd year old neighbor had gone for a drive. 

So these aren't quite pictures of butternut squash, but two of them have been cooked in our house since last Sunday.  Somehow both my roommate and I managed to cut ourselves in the process, so it's hard to tell if it's worth it.  After I finished my soup, I thought so - with ginger, apples, and curry.

I feel like I'm finally starting to adapt to my job - last week I had a meeting with some case managers at this organization called Youth and Family Connections to tell them about some of our programs for youth.  After saying "y'all" about fifteen times, the director asked me where I was from.  I think I turn the accent on higher when I'm nervous so people will pay more attention to that instead of what I'm actually saying.  But apparently I convinced them I was a real employee from a real organization... On Thursday, I went to an open house for another youth organization, where I didn't know anybody, so I took some networking professional's advice and introduced myself to a woman, and it worked.  Though I said, "Can I introduce myself to you?" so there wasn't really any hiding what was going on. 

I wish this were more fascinating than "butternut squash," but I think I'm trying to rest for whatever is coming next.  This week I feel I have all of these actual work things to do, involving me acting like a young professional, which seems kind of like lifting weights. I'm giving a presentation at a high school in the county and meeting with some different people about different things.  Habitat for Humanity and a garden in town.  Oh, and I started taking Spanish lessons with the county, which gives me an opportunity to ask really specific questions about the sounds vowels make.  Then next week, I'm going to Estes Park, a sort of mountain town that is actually vacated in the winter, for a conference, and my mom will be here for the weekend. But today, I think I'm just tired, or allergic... 

Inconspicuously

I may have mentioned that I went to a conference on volunteerism in Ft. Collins a few weeks ago.  Then I looked at the conference materials online and realized I'd walked into someone's photo...

I, unfortunately, do not have one blob of a thing to say, but a few minor things.  First, my roommate and I found a dairy about twelve miles away where we can buy fresh milk, cheese, ice cream, etc.  I also went to see Jamie and Shannon, who used to baby-sit for Will and me, in Parker, south of Denver, and read to their Will before he went to bed.  I was in high demand, since Will's brother wanted me to read to him too, but I was let off on the promise of "next time." 

A few weeks ago I went with my supervisor and two women from the Department of Weed Management to walk along the Poudre River where one of the conservation crews has been working to clear Russian olive and Tamarisks, which are invasive plants.  Now I've been noticing the Russian olives more than usual and they really are everywhere!  It's intimidating to think about trying to eliminate them for a living.  I read up on them so now I'm Russian olive/Tamarisk literate - really, ask me anything...

It's certainly strange to not be in school, and still tiring.  I said to myself last week that I would try to run in the mornings now, which means waking up even earlier.  Now that I have my bike (sort of) back together I am planning to ride to work too.  What am I thinking?  I don't know.  Try to send energy my way and the will to go to sleep early.  Or chamomile tea. 

Fort Collins is really a nice town, and I feel a pull to go there often.  One street contains all the stores, just south, I think, of Colorado State University.  There you find crammed restaurants and the enticing chocolate cafe.  My roommate and I have been there twice now. 

I've been thinking about a need to photograph, especially since I haven't really taken a picture of anything since last October.  I'm still waffling on this layout business, but I think it will be easier once I've taken pictures of things more reflective of my surroundings, instead of Greek statues and fruit wallpaper.

More importantly, though, I really need to get on a trail and walk for long enough to see pleasant things.  We are in the foothills, but close enough are mountains and trees.

I'm really in the mood to read something by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but maybe just because of the lure of seeing the debut of this play based on Isabel Allende's House of Spirits when my mother comes to town.  And from writing that long paper on 100 Years of Solitude around this time last year.  Ah, and I want to see an opera!