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.