So as I discover more and more everyday that I am not very good at consistently blogging, I am going to try to cover a week and a half in LA in a single post....
Last week was another busy, yet exciting week at Verb. My boss Christina put me in charge of collecting all of the liability insurance documents from all of our corporate partners. While this job doesn't sound too bad on the outside, it turns out to be very time consuming! Let me attempt to break down some of the numbers (I still don't get all of them): Currently Verbum Dei has partnerships formed with 66 separate corporations. Almost all of these are for profit companies with the exception of 5 or 6, which are ideally funded by separate companies that cannot current use students but still want to help the school. Some companies have one student working while others have up to 12, it really just depends on what they can use/afford. One job consists of a team of 4 students who are paid $27,500 (split 4 ways). This is the basis of the Cristo Rey model that allows for a reduced tuition.
Verbum Dei is required by law (and the contract we sign) to issue liability insurance to every one of these corporate partners for around $2,000,000 in case anything happens to a student while on the job. This essentially covers us. Also in the contract it states that the company is required to issue liability insurance to us for a similar amount of money as a secondary coverage just in case something severe happens so that the company is covered. In the past we have been keeping records pretty well of the certificates that we have issued to the companies, but have done a pretty awful job of making sure that we are issued insurance in return.
I spent most of last Monday sending out reminder emails to the companies that had not yet issued us insurance (around 55 of the 66 companies!). Responses ranged from "absolutely, here it is" to "What is this? We have never had to do this in the past and have been working with Verb for 7 years". So for the past two weeks I have constantly been sending out certificates, scanning copies of the signed contract, and processing the ones that I have received. Right now I have received around 2/3 of them, I will be having a party in my cubicle once the last one comes in.
I lead our spirituality night last week and used some paper plates I found at our house to do an activity involving the certain masks that we wear as individuals. It was stolen straight from the Encounter retreat, but I still loved it.
I have been wanting to get involved with activities all year at school, and last Wednesday I got the chance to actually participate in my first cross country practice. I ran like 5 miles with the guys and it was awesome. The current coach is good, but I think that they appreciated a coach actually doing the workouts with them as opposed to simply telling them to run. I now have 30 guys referring to me as coach whenever they see me at school, I can't honestly say that I was expecting to have that title given to me anytime soon!
One of Carolyn's friends from BC came to town last weekend, so we got the chance to show him around LA a little bit. Julie and I got free tickets to the Dodgers game from work, and it was fun to see such a beautiful stadium. The game was a blowout, and I must say the the Rockies looked good! One of the girls in another JV house got 10 free tickets to see Chivas USA and the Kansas City Wizards play that Sunday night (an MLS game for those who don't follow soccer). Chivas lost 2-0, but the stadium they play in was beautiful. I would definitely go back soon.
There was no school on Monday this week because of a teachers in-service, but the students still had to work. Since all the teachers were gone (including Christina and Mashanda) and there were no students on campus, it was essentially dead. I actually managed to be fairly productive with LSAT studying and doing a few other things, but overall it was a pretty laid back day. That night John led spirituality night, and he had us be silent for 2 hours using no electricity. It was crazy! It is hard to really appreciate how nice it is to read a book with a lamp until you have to read one with a candle. Overall, I really enjoyed the night.
On Wednesday we had our first league cross country meet! I was pretty impressed with the guys. We finished third out of five teams with definite room for improvement. I am confident that Varsity should be able to place second in league, which would be good enough to send the team to CIF finals. There were over 22 guys, and everyone of them finished the race.
Yesterday we had a hill workout for cross country. Because of work I am never really sure what days I can coach for sure, and luckily I forgot my clothes for yesterday so I didn't have to run (I may have died). The guys worked hard and I was really happy with how hard some of them pushed it. I told them I wouldn't forget my clothes next time......
After practice it took almost an hour to get back to Verb from the park because of traffic. This city is seriously crazy when it comes to rush hour traffic!
Last night Julie, Carolyn, and I crashed the USC Newman center start of the year dinner. We got lots of free food and cake, it was great. Also we had some really good conversations with the people there. The priest was awesome and so was almost every student that we talked to. We ended up staying for almost two hours and they seemed really happy to have us there even though we essentially have no affiliation to USC! I am starting to like that school more and more, even though the priest did pray for the USC sports teams in the grace before the meal.....
Today marks the third day in a row that I have woken up before 6, so I am a little tired. BUT it is college Friday here so I am getting to rep the Creighton polo my mom bought for me, how can a day be bad when that is happening!?
I love and miss all of you! Update me on your lives, I know you are all doing amazing things.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Fight on!
So after taking a solid week off of writing, I decided that it was probably time that I kept posting!
Last week was a short 4 day week at work. It made me realize that faculty members love days off of school just as much (if not more) than students. I managed to take a full LSAT practice test on my day off, which was a very thrilling thing to do and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to kill 3 hours.....
Monday was not only a day off of school, it was also Mashanda's 40th birthday! Right from the beginning of the day Tuesday our office was flooded with birthday wishes. Her phone was buzzing with texts, she was responding to every ones wall posts on facebook, her husband sent her red roses (very smooth), everyone that walked by popped their heads in to wish her well, etc, etc, etc. She was in such a good mood, and it was an absolute blast to watch. I don't know if I have ever met a woman like her in my life. She gets to work by 7 everyday, never really leaves before 5 or 6, is hilarious yet serious. She is just a great person to work with everyday. I don't think I have gone a day yet without hearing the words: "Stupid-ass kids" come out of her mouth. All I can do is laugh when she says it because I know the only reason she says it is because she cares so much about the well being of the students.
Tuesday Julie led spirituality night and we focused on the works of Mother Theresa. I must say that she had some pretty amazing quotes/poems in her day. I would highly recommend them for anyone who has not read any of them yet.
Wednesday is my early day. This particular Wednesday one of the drivers couldn't make it. That of course meant that I hopped into a 12 passenger van with 8 Sophomores and proceeded to attempt my first entire route by myself. It was actually pretty cool. The guys were fun to talk to, and it was quite the battle over the radio station. I managed to make it to Pasadena and back while only getting lost ONE time (wasn't my fault, one of the stops got left off of my directions. So it doesn't count).
Last week was also overcast for the first few days. It was great! It reminded me of home and a good rainy day. It was also at that time that I realized how much LA people complain about the weather. I don't think they fully appreciate how perfect the weather is out here compared to the Midwest (or pretty much anywhere else in the country). I just have to laugh about it.
Thursday started out as a pretty slow day. I got my normal fix with my gas station crew and decided to fill up all of the vans. Hubert and Liz were great as always. That afternoon I got the chance to go to practice with the cross country team for the first time with Mashanda. I was awesome. It made me realize how much easier it is to get to know students when I interact with them away from the structure of school. Unfortunately I was not able to run with them (I was wearing dress clothes), but it was fun to just watch them practice and talk to Mashanda about different parts of the Verb athletic scene.
That night we went downtown for an art walk that LA puts on once a month. While the idea of an art walk usually would not appeal to me, it was actually really cool. Unfortunately the price (saw one for $50,000) was a little out of my range, but it was a blast checking everything out. John and I found an amateur artist to draw a picture of us in under two minutes for a dollar a piece, it was awesome.
On our way back to the car we were brought back to reality and why we were in LA. Walking past one homeless person is bad enough, but walking by 20 or 30 trying to sleep on the sidewalks is pretty hard to swallow. John works downtown and sees it everyday, but for the rest of us it was hard seeing something like that. It just doesn't make sense how so much money (art walk) could be a block away from so much poverty (man curled up on a curb in a sleeping bag).
Friday overall was a pretty uneventful day at work. Theresa (Carolyn's boss) decided to throw alittle part in the afternoon to show off their newly remodled office. It looks wonderful. I got the chance to talk with Lupe (the janitor) about the history of Verb sports and how they won 7 straight California state basketball championships and a national championship in the 70s. Right now they have 2 guys in the nba, I knew they were good back in the day but that shocked me! I also got the chance to talk with Paul who is the VP of fundraising for Verb. He is such a cool guy and clearly knows his stuff, hopefully he is a person I can get to know better. That night we decided to stay in and watch a movie. It was nice to take a chill night.
Saturdays in the fall are always the best, primarily because they feature large amounts of college football! Unfortunately when our tv is equipped with bunny ear antennas there aren't a ton of games on. Luckily the Notre Dame game was on (even though the result wasn't great), so John and I spent pretty much all afternoon watching that. We also found out the USC's first home game was that night against Virginia, so we figured that we would check out the tailgating for a bit. All I can say is WOW. The entire campus was filled with people. There were kegs everywhere, dj's, the marching band, kids, grandparents, everything. Everyone was chanting "fight on!", which is the incredibly creative USC saying. It was ridiculous. John and I ended up getting tickets for $20, so we got the chance to experience our first Trojan game. Overall it was fantastic, and I have no doubt that we will be going back there again soon.
Sunday brought some NFL football at a sports bar by our house, and as always a little test studying.
Yesterday (Monday) was back to work. I got to hang out at my gas station for a bit, went downtown to pick up a kid who wasn't feeling well at work, and got the opportunity to supervise my first J.U.G.. This stands for "Justice Under God" and is essentially a detention. It once again gave me the weird feeling of being an authority figure.
Last night one of our support people came over for dinner, and we all just hung out for an hour or two. Unfortunately our other support person couldn't make it because her aunt suddenly passed away, so I will make sure to keep her in my prayers. Also that night I got a very nice care package from Michelle (I was informed Ellie helped, so she gets a shout out too!), which of course my roommates and I loved!
Every morning when we get off the interstate to enter Watts there are always men standing by the lights walking between traffic asking for money. It is hard to ignore but it is almost necessary to do so in order to maintain my sanity. Today however a man came over and began to wash our windshield without asking. Almost immediately I recognized him as someone that i had talked to at the gas station only a week or two earlier. He told me his story about how he got kicked off of the football team in high school for too many absences and we managed to have a very nice 10-15 minute conversation. I began fumbling around for change in our car but the light quickly turned green and people behind us began to honk. I had no choice but to drive off. I know that none of us asked for our windshield to get washed, but I felt terrible all morning. Why am I so privileged and he is not? He is not a dumb man nor a bad person. All he has done in life is make a few mistakes just like all of us. The only difference is that he most likely did not have a support system. He did not know how to rebound. This is not reality for me, I can leave whenever I want. I am not trapped here. My stipend is more than he makes in a month. It just doesn't seem fair, and that is because it isn't. All he and so many others can do is fight on, and hopefully someone will be there to fight for them too.
Last week was a short 4 day week at work. It made me realize that faculty members love days off of school just as much (if not more) than students. I managed to take a full LSAT practice test on my day off, which was a very thrilling thing to do and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to kill 3 hours.....
Monday was not only a day off of school, it was also Mashanda's 40th birthday! Right from the beginning of the day Tuesday our office was flooded with birthday wishes. Her phone was buzzing with texts, she was responding to every ones wall posts on facebook, her husband sent her red roses (very smooth), everyone that walked by popped their heads in to wish her well, etc, etc, etc. She was in such a good mood, and it was an absolute blast to watch. I don't know if I have ever met a woman like her in my life. She gets to work by 7 everyday, never really leaves before 5 or 6, is hilarious yet serious. She is just a great person to work with everyday. I don't think I have gone a day yet without hearing the words: "Stupid-ass kids" come out of her mouth. All I can do is laugh when she says it because I know the only reason she says it is because she cares so much about the well being of the students.
Tuesday Julie led spirituality night and we focused on the works of Mother Theresa. I must say that she had some pretty amazing quotes/poems in her day. I would highly recommend them for anyone who has not read any of them yet.
Wednesday is my early day. This particular Wednesday one of the drivers couldn't make it. That of course meant that I hopped into a 12 passenger van with 8 Sophomores and proceeded to attempt my first entire route by myself. It was actually pretty cool. The guys were fun to talk to, and it was quite the battle over the radio station. I managed to make it to Pasadena and back while only getting lost ONE time (wasn't my fault, one of the stops got left off of my directions. So it doesn't count).
Last week was also overcast for the first few days. It was great! It reminded me of home and a good rainy day. It was also at that time that I realized how much LA people complain about the weather. I don't think they fully appreciate how perfect the weather is out here compared to the Midwest (or pretty much anywhere else in the country). I just have to laugh about it.
Thursday started out as a pretty slow day. I got my normal fix with my gas station crew and decided to fill up all of the vans. Hubert and Liz were great as always. That afternoon I got the chance to go to practice with the cross country team for the first time with Mashanda. I was awesome. It made me realize how much easier it is to get to know students when I interact with them away from the structure of school. Unfortunately I was not able to run with them (I was wearing dress clothes), but it was fun to just watch them practice and talk to Mashanda about different parts of the Verb athletic scene.
That night we went downtown for an art walk that LA puts on once a month. While the idea of an art walk usually would not appeal to me, it was actually really cool. Unfortunately the price (saw one for $50,000) was a little out of my range, but it was a blast checking everything out. John and I found an amateur artist to draw a picture of us in under two minutes for a dollar a piece, it was awesome.
On our way back to the car we were brought back to reality and why we were in LA. Walking past one homeless person is bad enough, but walking by 20 or 30 trying to sleep on the sidewalks is pretty hard to swallow. John works downtown and sees it everyday, but for the rest of us it was hard seeing something like that. It just doesn't make sense how so much money (art walk) could be a block away from so much poverty (man curled up on a curb in a sleeping bag).
Friday overall was a pretty uneventful day at work. Theresa (Carolyn's boss) decided to throw alittle part in the afternoon to show off their newly remodled office. It looks wonderful. I got the chance to talk with Lupe (the janitor) about the history of Verb sports and how they won 7 straight California state basketball championships and a national championship in the 70s. Right now they have 2 guys in the nba, I knew they were good back in the day but that shocked me! I also got the chance to talk with Paul who is the VP of fundraising for Verb. He is such a cool guy and clearly knows his stuff, hopefully he is a person I can get to know better. That night we decided to stay in and watch a movie. It was nice to take a chill night.
Saturdays in the fall are always the best, primarily because they feature large amounts of college football! Unfortunately when our tv is equipped with bunny ear antennas there aren't a ton of games on. Luckily the Notre Dame game was on (even though the result wasn't great), so John and I spent pretty much all afternoon watching that. We also found out the USC's first home game was that night against Virginia, so we figured that we would check out the tailgating for a bit. All I can say is WOW. The entire campus was filled with people. There were kegs everywhere, dj's, the marching band, kids, grandparents, everything. Everyone was chanting "fight on!", which is the incredibly creative USC saying. It was ridiculous. John and I ended up getting tickets for $20, so we got the chance to experience our first Trojan game. Overall it was fantastic, and I have no doubt that we will be going back there again soon.
Sunday brought some NFL football at a sports bar by our house, and as always a little test studying.
Yesterday (Monday) was back to work. I got to hang out at my gas station for a bit, went downtown to pick up a kid who wasn't feeling well at work, and got the opportunity to supervise my first J.U.G.. This stands for "Justice Under God" and is essentially a detention. It once again gave me the weird feeling of being an authority figure.
Last night one of our support people came over for dinner, and we all just hung out for an hour or two. Unfortunately our other support person couldn't make it because her aunt suddenly passed away, so I will make sure to keep her in my prayers. Also that night I got a very nice care package from Michelle (I was informed Ellie helped, so she gets a shout out too!), which of course my roommates and I loved!
Every morning when we get off the interstate to enter Watts there are always men standing by the lights walking between traffic asking for money. It is hard to ignore but it is almost necessary to do so in order to maintain my sanity. Today however a man came over and began to wash our windshield without asking. Almost immediately I recognized him as someone that i had talked to at the gas station only a week or two earlier. He told me his story about how he got kicked off of the football team in high school for too many absences and we managed to have a very nice 10-15 minute conversation. I began fumbling around for change in our car but the light quickly turned green and people behind us began to honk. I had no choice but to drive off. I know that none of us asked for our windshield to get washed, but I felt terrible all morning. Why am I so privileged and he is not? He is not a dumb man nor a bad person. All he has done in life is make a few mistakes just like all of us. The only difference is that he most likely did not have a support system. He did not know how to rebound. This is not reality for me, I can leave whenever I want. I am not trapped here. My stipend is more than he makes in a month. It just doesn't seem fair, and that is because it isn't. All he and so many others can do is fight on, and hopefully someone will be there to fight for them too.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Father G, Gospel Mass, and a long weekend.
Last Wednesday we got to go as a house to hear a talk given by Fr. Greg Boyle, who as I mentioned earlier is the founder of Homeboy Industries here in LA. The talk was in the absolutely beautiful new student center on USC's campus. This is the first year it is open, and I am starting to see just how much money USC really has as an institution! That being said, there were probably only 20 or so people besides the 10 JVs in the audience there to watch. Even though the audience was small, it really was a very inspirational talk about his journey and the stories he has are simply amazing.
Afterwards he took all of the JVs out for a beer at a bar right across the street. It was so cool how a man who has touched so many lives is still able to make time for a few JVs that just happen to live in LA. Recently Homeboy has gone through a lot of financial struggles, and I decided to ask him about the sustainability of the company once he retires/isn't able to work any longer. he wasn't really able to give me a straight answer and pretty much said that is will work out and that he isn't worried about it. At the time it disappointed me alittle bit because i would hate to see such a great company go away because of poor business planning, but I then realized that many people in this line of work simply do not think about those things. Business people tend to work in the for profit sector and social justice people work in the social justice sector. There is a struggle now as social businesses are becoming more and more frequent. For now we can just be grateful that people like Fr. G exist in this world.
Thursday we watched a documentary called "Bloods and Crips: Made in America". It was a movie dealing with the formation of these two major gangs in the South Central LA area. Verb is located in Bloods territory. Since the late 1980s over 20,000 gang-related murders have happened in this area. For years police and ambulances would not enter the projects at nights because it was too dangerous. People talk about wars in Africa and the Middle East, but it is shocking to me how a war in one of the wealthiest cities in the world could be ignored. There is no other word for it, it is a war. Take a drive around Watts, and it is clear to see that it is not over. When you drive through the projects by my school, dumpsters are pushed into the middle of the streets in order to prevent drive by shootings. The situation has gotten better, but it is far from over.
Friday before a long weekend = tons of businesses letting out early = pain organizing rides for 70 Freshmen working jobs! Christina has a broken foot, so she can't drive. That means Mashanda, Jeff, and myself drove all around town trying to pick up 14 year old boys wearing shirts and ties. I drove to two businesses in Pasadena and only got lost twice on the way there. I sure I looked great driving a 15 year old minivan around holding google map directions and talking on a cell phone (illegally.....) all at the same time! After work and a long week there is only really one cure, Happy Hour!
On Saturday the JV house in San Diego came up for the weekend. There are 6 girls and no guys in the house, which actually makes me very thankful that we have a multi gender house hold. I think it makes for a better dynamic. That night brought Verb's first football game! They beat the other team by 40, but it was fun to see some of the students in action. After the game John and I went to the Santa Monica JV house We didn't stay for a long time because we were pretty tired, but it was fun to see everyone.
Sunday I went to probably one of the coolest Masses I have ever been to. it was a two hour long Gospel choir Mass and was so fun. If you read Carolyn's blog (top right) she goes into much more detail about it! That day we faced the challenge of getting 11 people around LA with only one car. We decided to go to Santa Monica pier again and thankfully John stepped up and rode the bus with all of the San Diego girls (which took like and hour and a half). It was fun and was followed by a labor day party for all the JVs at the Santa Monica house. Pretty much everyone showed up, and it is so great when all of the houses get to interact together!
Monday was a chill day. Took the San Diego girls to the bus station, studied for the LSAT, and enjoyed the Boise State game with John on my computer.
I miss you all, sending much love back home and wherever everyone is!
Afterwards he took all of the JVs out for a beer at a bar right across the street. It was so cool how a man who has touched so many lives is still able to make time for a few JVs that just happen to live in LA. Recently Homeboy has gone through a lot of financial struggles, and I decided to ask him about the sustainability of the company once he retires/isn't able to work any longer. he wasn't really able to give me a straight answer and pretty much said that is will work out and that he isn't worried about it. At the time it disappointed me alittle bit because i would hate to see such a great company go away because of poor business planning, but I then realized that many people in this line of work simply do not think about those things. Business people tend to work in the for profit sector and social justice people work in the social justice sector. There is a struggle now as social businesses are becoming more and more frequent. For now we can just be grateful that people like Fr. G exist in this world.
Thursday we watched a documentary called "Bloods and Crips: Made in America". It was a movie dealing with the formation of these two major gangs in the South Central LA area. Verb is located in Bloods territory. Since the late 1980s over 20,000 gang-related murders have happened in this area. For years police and ambulances would not enter the projects at nights because it was too dangerous. People talk about wars in Africa and the Middle East, but it is shocking to me how a war in one of the wealthiest cities in the world could be ignored. There is no other word for it, it is a war. Take a drive around Watts, and it is clear to see that it is not over. When you drive through the projects by my school, dumpsters are pushed into the middle of the streets in order to prevent drive by shootings. The situation has gotten better, but it is far from over.
Friday before a long weekend = tons of businesses letting out early = pain organizing rides for 70 Freshmen working jobs! Christina has a broken foot, so she can't drive. That means Mashanda, Jeff, and myself drove all around town trying to pick up 14 year old boys wearing shirts and ties. I drove to two businesses in Pasadena and only got lost twice on the way there. I sure I looked great driving a 15 year old minivan around holding google map directions and talking on a cell phone (illegally.....) all at the same time! After work and a long week there is only really one cure, Happy Hour!
On Saturday the JV house in San Diego came up for the weekend. There are 6 girls and no guys in the house, which actually makes me very thankful that we have a multi gender house hold. I think it makes for a better dynamic. That night brought Verb's first football game! They beat the other team by 40, but it was fun to see some of the students in action. After the game John and I went to the Santa Monica JV house We didn't stay for a long time because we were pretty tired, but it was fun to see everyone.
Sunday I went to probably one of the coolest Masses I have ever been to. it was a two hour long Gospel choir Mass and was so fun. If you read Carolyn's blog (top right) she goes into much more detail about it! That day we faced the challenge of getting 11 people around LA with only one car. We decided to go to Santa Monica pier again and thankfully John stepped up and rode the bus with all of the San Diego girls (which took like and hour and a half). It was fun and was followed by a labor day party for all the JVs at the Santa Monica house. Pretty much everyone showed up, and it is so great when all of the houses get to interact together!
Monday was a chill day. Took the San Diego girls to the bus station, studied for the LSAT, and enjoyed the Boise State game with John on my computer.
I miss you all, sending much love back home and wherever everyone is!
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