2008 June « Life in Stumptown

June 30, 2008, 4:34 am
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Today, on about four hours of sleep, Elena and I began our cross country road trip.

We didn’t get very far in our first stretch — we stopped in Dayton for breakfast with Elena’s family. Probably the last time we go to Bob Evans for a while. We’ve had beautiful weather. The clouds were brilliant. We are obsessed with the Indiana/Illinois countryside. It doesn’t take much for us, I guess. We weren’t bored at all. We’ve spotted 26 different state license plates so far and caught up since we haven’t spent much time together in the past few weeks. There was a bit of spotty rain, but other than that, the weather has been gorgeous. There hasn’t been any traffic at all. My car is packed solid, so it took a bit of getting used to to drive. The funniest part was when we switched drivers the first time. We packed the car for the seating arrangement when I drive; Elena’s a bit taller. Elena had a bit of a fit at a rest stop in Indiana when her knees were touching her chest in the driver’s seat.

Rob sent us with a box of snacks. We tried out the pez, but determined that we forgot how to load it since we were 7 years old. Here’s me giving my best attempt.

We hit St. Louis in time for dinner. We’ve never been there. We saw a bit of downtown. We ate on 2nd Street at a place called Joey B’s. It was featured on Rachel Ray (I figured a few particular readers would like that fun fact ). Then we walked down to the riverfront. There hasn’t been that much flooding in 15 years. It was crazy. The cobblestone streets are so bumpy. It’s just brick shaped rocks stuffed in dirt from a hundred years ago. We couldn’t imagine wearing heels there. We got to see the arch too. Here are some pictures.

We had a bit of an incident attempting to get back on the highway after St. Louis. We caught it on video mostly. I’ll figure out how to post that somewhere eventually. The funniest part was when a pigeon almost flew into my windshield. Currently, we are at a Best Western on the outskirts of Kansas City, which is 12 miles east of the Kansas/Missouri border. We are exhausted, snacking on some combos (which we have renamed Snausages) and about to go to bed. Tomorrow, we get to see Mike and Emily in Denver and Cris and Mike in the Springs

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On Top of the World

June 27, 2008, 9:46 pm
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It’s been a rough week. I’ve been struggling with this numb feeling. This is so uncomfortable for me, as I’m such an emotional person. I know I am anxious, excited, sad, scared, etc., but I haven’t actually felt these things. I haven’t cried when I’ve said good bye to people who are so near and dear to me. This coming from the girl who has a good bulk of stories that end with, “…and then I cried.” I think God’s protecting me from emotions I can’t handle. On top of this uncomfortable emotional (or emotionless, rather) place, I’ve been really stressed about work and my pre-Portland to-do list all week. Well, the to-do list is moving right along. I think God is truly making details fall into place…and it helps that Rob has given me all his free time and a multitude of resources like his sanity and his dad’s truck to help me get stuff done. Like a true social worker, he knows how to make things happen. And as far as work goes, it’s been tough. I feel like my supervisor has worked me a bit harder than necessary. Most workers leave this place sans transfer summaries. Mine were no less than four detailed pages per case and she’s wanting me to get court reports done for the month of July. High expectations to say the least. The tone of her voice hasn’t helped the situation. I should be having crying fits over leaving the life I’ve created in Ohio for the past 23 years, not getting an interstate compact done in two days that’s not due for over a month. But, it’s amazing how quickly all of that has changed.

I cannot tell you how therapeutic it felt to hand the workers over my folders of case information and not even sort through what’s inside, because it just didn’t matter anymore. I’m pretty sure shredding six binders worth of training information was one of the most liberating feelings I’ve ever had. I gave my unit pictures I’ve taken with Photoshop quotes on them. Here’s an example:

I wrote them a card that told me how much I appreciated and admired them. It reminds me of that John Mayer song — “Say What You Need to Say.” I think I very much live by that. I like closure. At the end of the day, it was a good experience, with good people, but their lives will go on, my clients’ lives will go on, I can keep in touch and learn about them if I want, but the thing is…my life will go on too. So at quarter after 4:00 on a Friday afternoon, carrying a box of cubicle stuff, I got in that elevator for the last time, walked through the lobby, and was out the door. No more AWOL teens, angry grandparents, emergency removals, sitting at court, filling out drug screens, or getting cussed out. They say child welfare is the toughest job in social work. If you can manage for a year, you can do anything. Well, I did, and I’m done. I walked out of that agency and it never felt more right to finish a chapter. All I felt was ready. Ready for Portland.

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Always the Bridesmaid…

June 23, 2008, 11:39 am
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Or actually, just my first time being the bridesmaid. And I had a blast! Emily’s wedding was this weekend and it was so much fun. I was the odd one out in the group because the other bridesmaids were close friends from her campus ministry group, but they were so sweet, genuine, and inclusive. I hung out with Jenny a lot and she reminds me so much of Bethany. Okay, there’s so much to say, so I’m going to try to give a brief overview of the weekend.

The BBQ rehearsal dinner was rained out (or more accurately stormed out), but we lucked out and had it at the catering company’s cafe. We had a bridesmaid sleepover at our house. We all painted our toenails orange. (Wedding colors were blue and orange). Emily slept in my bed as her last official single girl sleepover, and I was honored of course! Elena came over to do mine and Jenny’s hair for the wedding. The ceremony was beautiful. Just about 30 people, bridal party included, and very intimate at Browning Amphitheater by Mirror Lake on campus. It was a lovely day for a wedding! When Emily came in I definitely teared up. The whole thing was just perfect. I was bursting with happiness for both of them and I just can’t imagine what I will feel when I am the one getting married.

We did pictures and even made a Starbucks run in between the ceremony and the reception. It was so cool to be on campus, on High Street, as part of a wedding party. It felt just like we were walking around on our way to play Frisbee on the Oval or something. Love OSU

We got announced when we went into the reception and it felt so strange. There was a camera filming us (me and Jenny walked in as a pair) that followed us or more accurately preceded us and they said our name and people clapped and I felt like there should have been red carpet involved. It was so fun being a bridesmaid and scurrying from place to place with Jenny that it made me so anxious to be in a wedding with Bethany, but we realized that will probably never happen with the exception of our own. I got to see Elena from Social Work and catch up a lot with her. We danced and played cornhole. I got to catch up with Alice Chang who I know from high school and haven’t seen in years. It was such a great time. I told Em she should have one every year. She had such a vision for both the ceremony and reception and it was so beautifully pulled off.

At the end, Em came up to me and gave me her bouquet. She said it’s something she could give me that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting to Portland. She thanked me for all of my help with the wedding. And we said goodbye because I’ll be gone when she gets back.

Emily is clearly a friend that God placed strategically in my life. She has been nothing but amazing for the past two years and I am so blessed and thankful. I will miss her dearly. I have loved being her classmate, her friend, and her roommate. She has spoken so much truth into my life through our social worky, Christian, analytical conversations. I knew as soon as she told me about Mike that he would be the one. Everytime I see them together that becomes more clear. I am so happy for them and at the same time so sad that I won’t see her everyday anymore. I will miss her, but…

Congratulations, Em and Mike!

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Car Top Carrier Barrier

June 19, 2008, 4:49 pm
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As some of you know, I recently purchased a junky car top carrier for 15 bucks on Craigslist. It was from an old man who is moving to North Carolina in his retirement. This carrier may have been made before his working life began. Okay, not really, but it is circa 1975, probably. Fine, maybe not. But it is at least as old as I am for sure.

So, I take this baby home with some rope I bought because he no longer had the straps. Wait to raise the cost to 22 dollars now. He tied it on with “sailor knots” and a “trucker’s hitch.” Right….like I could repeat that. Well, Elena came over to test it that night and we determined the rope was too thick and it was peeling back my weather stripping. Which meant, if it rained at all, us and all of our stuff would be soaked.

So, last night we tried plan B. I don’t know what they are called, but flat straps that Jacob had. Well, first we couldn’t tighten them all the way, but we could tell that the car was still leaking. We would test this by one of us sitting in the car and jumping out of our seats when the water came in from the other one pouring it over the door.

Hmm…what could absorb water. I thought Kotex but Elena vetoed that idea. Ha. We went to Giant Eagle…no make up sponges there. On to CVS where we bought two packs (one circle one rectangle) of make up sponges. The thick kind that wouldn’t absorb water, but rather, well I don’t know, get rid of it. And we bought the People Magazine country special and a bottle of “soda.” Alright we won’t count the extras, but for those of us who are tallying up the cost of what was supposed to be a cheap carrier — we’re at $28.

Well, we tried and rearranged and stuffed, but the sponges just didn’t do the trick. By this time, Jacob had made it over to show us how to tighten his straps. We moved the carrier toward the back of the car so it wouldn’t crush the sunroof and so the straps just went through the back doors. Before it was tight only the front passenger door was leaking. Well, it was still leaking, but we figured we’d take a test drive to see if it would stay.

Let me tell you that as soon as we got on the highway we couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the semi-truck next to us. Well, nothing. We, on the other hand, sounded like a steamboat. Have you seen Little Miss Sunshine? The incessant honking of the Volkswagon van? Yep, that’s us. We created some kind of wind tunnel effect. Think blowing into a blade of grass or the top of a bottle. Only amplified. Rain or not, we couldn’t deal with that for 2,500 miles.

So, after $28 and roughly four wasted hours of our time, we trashed the idea and the car top carrier and cut our losses.

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…And somewhere in between college and grad school, I pulled my first all-nighter.

June 18, 2008, 2:12 am
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Coney Island, The Cone…Check.

June 16, 2008, 2:55 am
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I had another wonderful night’s sleep last night! I have been really concerned that I wouldn’t get any time to relax before moving. I know my body needs time to catch up before starting something big and new. But, I feel much more ready after this weekend. I seriously didn’t have much anxiety the whole weekend and I felt that I had time to relax. I woke up to Andrew pouncing around upstairs and Matthew loudly whispering, “Shhh, go downstairs, Andrew.” I’m sure he was given instructions to watch his brother and not to wake Aunt Ali. Angel child. I opened my door and found the two of them wrestling in John and Renee’s bed. Matthew jumped two feet in the air when he saw me and screamed, “Aunt Ali.” Immediately, I thought, I am crazy to leave. What’s in Portland again?

Can I tell you just how wonderful it is to wake up to giggling little boys, the smell of bacon, and having a family breakfast in PJs?! John made crepes and Renee made delicious apple filling. Heaven on Earth, I’m telling you!

John played with his stereo system after breakfast. We went from DMB to big band to techno to Jack Johnson. There’s something about blaring music in the house that will always make me think of my brother. Ever since the days of Johnny B. Goode and Great Balls of Fire.

After we all got showers, we headed to Coney Island, a small amusement park on the Ohio River. If you’ve been to a concert at Riverbend, you were right by it. It has a huge pool that my sister and I used to frequent. Today we just did the kiddie rides. I also did the ferris wheel, the paddle boat, and the bumper boats. Here’s some pics:

I had to say goodbye to the boys after Coney. I put them down for naps. It was terrible. I lost it. I don’t think Matthew’s ever seen me cry before. I’m going to miss them so much. They stole all my tears and I didn’t have any left for Renee. I’ll get to see John and my dad in two weeks when they come up to help me get packed up. I’m thankful for a really quality weekend, but I’m so sad there won’t be another for a long while.

I drove up to West Chester to have dinner with Joey. It was nice to catch up with him. He just graduated from UC engineering! I’m so proud of him! I love it when he applies himself We had ice cream at the Cone after and I got my fix of chocolate soft serve with gummy bears! Mmm! I haven’t had that in forever. It was another hard goodbye.

I sold the futon tonight! I’m making such progress with getting rid of my stuff. Progress and profits And of course, I need to go to bed for work tomorrow and guess who’s not tired…never fails!

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Where the River Bends

June 15, 2008, 4:32 am
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I drove home Friday right after work. It was quite a rainy drive and slow getting out of Columbus with rush hour traffic, but I made it safely and in just under two hours. I forgot how much construction there is in Cincinnati. Hamilton Mason (in two spots) and Bethany were closed and then 275 was filled with orange barrels by Mosteller. I definitely don’t miss that. But, a part of me does miss everything else.

I had dinner with Mrs. Lawson. I miss opening Bethany’s kitchen door without knocking and being trampled on by dogs. Then I drove over to my Dad’s house. I love driving around West Chester. I love that no matter how much construction and closed roads there are, I still know my way. Or 50 different ways to get there. I never go to my Dad’s house because I’m always in Kentucky when I go home. Every time I step foot in my old bedroom (which is about twice a year and about to get less) I feel like I’m stepping into a time capsule. There’s pictures of “the four of us” jumping into a pool while holding hands. It just so happens that one of those girls is getting married today. There’s SPARK awards on shelves and photo albums that have Thunderhawks on them. There’s a collage frame of junior homecoming; the single best night of high school. There’s a box in the closet filled with orange things from my high school sweetheart. There’s a pile of stuffed animals. Shoot, I forgot to grab Sandy. Just remembered that. Elena and I realized we had the same childhood security stuffed animal. Now I can’t think of her dog’s name. I was going to bring it to Portland so we could have the same stuffed dog underneath our beds. Oh well…that’s probably a stupid idea anyhow. But, you get it. It’s a room full of little girls (literally, pictures surround the walls…and probably only Bethany gets the double meaning in this statement) and memories I had as one. And the thing is…that room is just too small to contain me anymore. I asked my dad if he ever went in there. He smiled and said sometimes. And quickly added that it was just to get some hangers. If he had his way, I’d still be in that room… It was so hard to just waive goodbye to him in the driveway even though I’d see him the next morning.

I got to Kentucky to my brother’s new house. After I turned into the wrong driveway. I knocked on the door because I don’t have keys to this house. I’m going to come back to a house I don’t know. This is weird to me. I’ve always so quickly adjusted to my brother’s houses because I’ve spent so much time in them. They’re going to start a new season and I’m going to be a guest star on the show on the show. This is all very weird to me.

We spent the next hour watching their new snails eat the algae in their new fish tank. My brother was just waiting for the predatory fish (they called it that about 8 times) to eat the new snails. This was also very weird to me. They’ll never need to rent a movie again; they have free entertainment in their living room. We caught up a bit and went to bed early.

I got ten hours of sleep! I haven’t had ten hours of sleep in months. It was wonderful! I cannot even explain how long overdue both my mind and body were for that. It was glorious! Matthew burst into my room this morning saying, “Aunt Ali, I have three snails and they eat algae. Can I get into bed with you? Look at my doggy!” It was great! I can’t imagine a better alarm clock! I talked to him for a minute, looked at my phone, realized it was 10 after 10 and then asked if he had his t-ball game this morning. He said he did. Well…if the game was not going to be rained out, I was supposed to get up at 9:30. So, I jumped out of bed and hopped in the shower. When I was putting my make-up on in the bathroom, I heard Papa (my dad) and the boys downstairs. There were growling noises and screaming noises and laughing noises and lots of stomping. It was beautiful. Music to my ears I also heard this obnoxious screeching sound. Then Matthew came running up the stairs — “Aunt Ali, where are you?” He came into the bathroom and asked me why I looked so funny (I was curling my eyelashes and had holding hair on top of my head). Then he showed me his new toy (a monkey who squeals when you pull it’s arm or something…I learned what the obnoxious noise was). That is exactly what every house should sound like on Saturday mornings. I ran into Renee in the hallway. She asked for my keys to move my car and told me we were leaving — like now. I grabbed a clip to put my wet hair up with, the first thing I found in the pantry that resembled breakfast on the go, and was out the door. And very thankful when my brother told me there was coffee and a travel mug.

I got to photograph my first sports event today. Matthew, lucky number 7, was a star. He feels that way too, as he told me that he was on that baseball like a vacuum cleaner, afterward. John describes it a bit better as he says, everything happens in slow motion for Matthew because he’s taking everything in and is sometimes still in the outfield when the other team gets there and his team is up at bat. At least he wasn’t the kid laying down in the outfield. He would just rather make “smoke” with the dirt than follow the game. There’s nothing wrong with that. In high school gym class I wrote boys’ names in the dirt in right field. Matthew’s going to be a genius. But probably not a baseball star. His favorite part of baseball are the snacks. I think this is rough on John the athlete. His next one will probably be a football powerhouse though, so he’ll recover.

We grabbed lunch at a local pizza place afterward where Matthew and I played eye spy and were invisible to pass the time. Then we hit up the Sweet Shop for some ice cream. My favorite part of baseball is the snacks too I think And then we went to the Bellvue Beach which is somewhat of a misnomer, but still a nice park.

During the boys’ nap time, I was able to get so much done! I posted stuff on Craigslist (which I’ve already gotten emails about by the way), took care of some internship and financial aid stuff, and updated my photography paperwork. My dad and I picked up Chinese food and a movie, but we didn’t end up watching the movie. Dinner was perfect though. Don’t judge, but there’s something about Chinese takeout at my brother’s dining room table that just makes it feel so much like home. John, my dad, and I sat around talking afterward. Andrew would run in and out with his “big sword,” and Matthew or Renee would keep getting up to shut the doors because they were watching a movie and we were being loud. Matthew shot us some dirty looks too We went from discussing the possibility of Google conspiracy theories (don’t even ask…) to the various pets my brother and sister had growing up. Apparently there was a snake escape mystery (that was later resolved when a snake sized hole was discovered in a mattress…disgusting I know) to a gerbil that got to go outside only to get cornered by my brother’s remote control car on the porch to the hamster whose tail my brother accidentally tore off. We never did have successful pets. Even years later with me, we had cats falling down chimneys and bringing in live birds…

After dinner, my dad and I drove around in search of my Cincinnati Skyline picture. He was very patient with me. Cincinnati is good to me. The city gave my fireworks for my last night (Whatever…they weren’t just for Italian Fest). It was a beautiful night with kids down by the river yelling happy birthday to their mom each time there was a firework, couples on benches, stadium lights on for the Reds game, old men fishing, and that horrible stink that occurs close to the river. Mmmm…I love that waterfront. I need to find a spot by the cut in the hill to take my picture. That view always makes my heart skip a beat.

I love being home. I love the comfortable, relaxed feeling that comes from spending an afternoon with my family. I love how I love those boys so much that it practically breaks my heart to be around them. But, I know I’m supposed to be in Portland. So, there just must be something really great there too. That’s what I have to say right now. Because otherwise, I don’t think I’d have it in me to leave this wonderful place.

“Hello Ohio
The back roads
I know Ohio
Like the back of my hand
Alone Ohio
Where the river bends
And it’s strange to see your story end”

~Ohio, by Over the Rhine

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Progress

June 15, 2008, 3:18 am
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Wednesday was hard day. I was pretty panicky and overwhelmed about my pre-move to do list. Thursday was better though. By the end of Thursday I updated my website and it is ready for new clients in Portland (check it out!), interviewed and landed my internship at Clackamas Women’s Services in Portland, and made a great deal of progress packing.

I’m excited about my internship. It’s a women’s DV and sexual assault shelter in a county just next to Portland proper. It serves rural, urban, and suburban populations. It’s the only shelter in it’s county. I have options to work directly with women, children, families, and groups through counseling and support groups, or on a more macro level through prevention education in high schools and community locations or on the policy level. I hope to pursue the counseling part. The shelter operates on a newer model called “Rights and Responsibilities.” Many shelters have strict requirements that clients need to fill such as certain activities or just rules. This new model tries to individualize everything to each client so they aren’t setting people up to fail. I asked a lot of questions about case load and supervision as a student and got good answers. My case load can ebb and flow with my class load and I would have direct supervision with one person in addition to having other go to people. I’m very excited to start!

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47 Things I Accomplished Over the Weekend

June 9, 2008, 3:54 am
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It’s been a good weekend. Which is good, because Friday was such a horrible day it was comical. I just don’t have it in me to go into it right now, but if I haven’t already told you the very long story, feel free to ask. I sold my desk Friday night That’s was a huge relief that I won’t have to get that down from my upstairs. Laura and I took it easy Friday night. I finished editing the maternity/baby shower photo shoot from last weekend. Emily and I determined that our AC was officially broken around midnight. We had a sleepover party in the basement where it was cool. Amanda came over early Saturday morning to give us a “Mommy lesson” on how to fix it. We learned all about how we need to not have clutter in front of the air flow place and how we slowly turn it down at the beginning of the season. It’s been nice living next to the Stamms this year. They teach us all kinds of useful things

Laura and I headed up to Westerville around noon for Rob’s graduation party. We love this time of year because there’s always free food around I dropped Laura off and went over to April’s house for her photo shoot. She’s my coworker who has always wanted to be a model. I think this was one of my favorite photo shoots so far. I’ll add her pics when I redo my website, but here’s a preview. I can’t take credit for the vision of the one with the hood. Mike, if you’re reading this, remember that copying is the biggest form of flattery

I’m really excited about how they are coming out so far. I still have one outfit to edit. After my photo shoot, I ate a quick dinner and then Rob came over. We went to Cord Camera because I’ve been wanting to buy a point and shoot for Portland. I miss having one. I realize I still have one, but it’s five years old and pretty crappy. I think I’d like to have a camera that I can always carry in my purse in Portland since I will be having so many new experiences and I like to document them. We just price checked, but no purchases.

Then Juraj called. I told him I’d be over in ten minutes to pick him up. He said, “Oh, where are we going?” Then I hung up on him. It’s amazing that he doesn’t question me or even call me back. Rob and I picked him up and then we went to get ice cream. It was my bonus trip to Denise’s since I thought my last time was Thursday. There will probably need to be more because I got the pear reisling and it was so good I will need to go back. It was nice; we ate it outside at a table and watched traffic go by on High Street. Then we decided to watch this movie Rob saw that was filmed in Portland — Untraceable. It was a suspense thriller kind of movie. I was terrified and am now slightly afraid of the city.

My bed had everything that was on my desk on top of it, so I had to sleep in the basement again. Which was very brave of me because everyone in the movie died in a basement. But, I am a courageous girl and got over the fear.

This morning I did child care at church for the last time. Then I bought a camera. It was the cheapest digital camera that was still high quality. Fujifilm J10. It sounds impulsive, but I researched it and had been thinking about it for a while. The one I really want has way more bells and whistles and comes in pink…and is $249…so really I made a wise decision today. I think I will be quite happy with my purchase. It’s already found a home in my purse. I’m quite excited about that. I made a speedy trip to the grocery and then I headed home for lunch.

Then off to Inniswood to take Luann’s godkids’ pictures. I haven’t looked at those photos yet, but hopefully they turn out well. I’m hoping to get all these photos edited by the end of the week so I have the weekend at home to focus on revamping my website. Rob says I’m goal oriented. I think might use this blog to orient my goals. Sorry…guess I just had that realization.

Anyhow…came home…edited some pictures…then I went over to Rob’s to make dinner and realize how goal oriented I am I guess. I edited pictures while he pretended to work on his resume. He was really watching Cheaper by the Dozen unless it was during a time when I told him to stay on task. Thus we learn I am not only concerned about my own goals but those of others as well. This is when I learned that I usually get about 47 things done on my days off whereas Rob makes a big pot of coffee in the morning and settles in front of the TV. Both of those are harsh exaggerations, however, and are only a little bit true.

Then I came home and edited more pictures. I can’t even believe I’ve written that phrase like 7 times in this blog. My Sunday anxiety has more than kicked in, but I’m going to attempt to fall asleep. Wish me luck!

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