First day of the HELP grant work was not so glamourous. The department is having a reception/ribbon cutting ceremony for the Salus center food processing plant tomorrow. This translated into a bunch of manual labor that needed to be done so the place is presentable for collaborators and politicians. Spent an hour moving chairs and tables, and then 2 hours sweeping, mopping and cleaning the kitchen. It was nasty. The building is fairly old and there were dead cockroaches lying around the building because they put poison down last week. Urg. Not something I had planned on getting up close and personal with. :/
You ever have those moments when you have to be the adult cause there's nobody else around to do it? I had one earlier this summer when Camille got a tick, and of course I had to remove it. She's my animal! Today was emptying a rancid garbage can full of standing water and god knows what else. It smelled exactly like sewage. What doesn't kill us, right?
All in all, it's good to be working. I was happy to be back and see familiar faces, especially of Margie, my mentor from last year. She was truly my rock in hard times. It's still going to be a challenge wrapping my head around not being an intern, and readjusting my attitude as such.
Work continues on the Farm to School legislation. It's frustrating not to have any help, or people to bounce ideas off of, but again this is part of becoming a professional. Being able to do any number of tasks and be fairly confident you are doing it correctly. This is a working point for me – never sure if anything is good enough and continually seeking reassurance.
Camille is adjusting fairly well. We've been spending a lot of time at the park and playing. She misses Toro almost as much as I miss Creampuff. Not letting myself think about Portland too much yet. I need to settle in and become a bit more emotionally stable before tackling that. The trip was long and hard and lonely. I was surprised to find myself happy to be back in my neighborhood. The trees and houses are so beautiful and so unlike Oregon. It was a relief after the way I was feeling driving back. My apartment is kind of okay.....the bedroom wall that was molding out when I left continues to fall apart. Camille and I are sleeping in the living room until that problem is fixed. It's nice to be back in my cute yellow and white apartment. Still living somewhat out of suitcases. The incessant cleaning helps keep my mind busy though.
It is my goal to chronicle this time period. Not only for myself, but for the many loved ones far away. It's difficult to keep in good contact with everyone, though I certainly try. Please leave comments if you have any – it would be nice to hear your voices!
xoxo
