Some thoughts

3) (All 9 seasons of Seinfeld) Last year, I became obsessed with Seinfeld.  Jerry’s whiny voices has not yet started grating on my nerves.  I love to hate George, while still maintaining a glimmer of love somewhere inside me.  Kramer is . . . Kramer.  As for Elaine, at some times she’s a role model for me, at other times I have no choice but to shake my head.  Thanks to my grandparents, I was able to purchase not one, not two, but ALL NINE SEASONS of Seinfeld in one glorious box set. 

I started Season One (NOT that entertaining) before school, but then I watched the remaining eight seasons at school.  Looking back, I have no idea when I did this or how I found the time or why I thought it was a good idea, but now I can relate moments back to Seinfeld on a nauseatingly frequent basis.

I think #4 and my love of arts and crafts warrants their own post, so that will follow shortly, but I do want to start filling you in on my summer job.

I feel blessed and lucky to have this job – I applied not late, or later, but really late, and it turns out someone had pulled out at the last minute and that the non-profit, Urban Connections – San Antonio wanted to offer me that position.  I accepted the offer last Monday, and now, 1.5 weeks later, I’m going through official AmeriCorps training in Dallas.  “AmeriCorps training” is code for corny-yet-still-strangely-effective team building games and listening to people talk.

I also learned much more about AmeriCorps (not challenging since my previous knowledge was nil), and I realized how exciting it is to be part of something big, to feel like am important member of an even more important organization doing good throughout the country.  It made me really excited about non-profits and working with others to benefit a community.  I’ve now met all my team-members, and I’m sure issues will surface throughout the year, but we know we can always return to the basic fact: we’re here because we care and want to make a difference.  That’s the bottom line, and it’s so different from my past.

I’m very goal-oriented, and once I set that goal, I will do everything within my power, and then some, to reach that goal.  We definitely have a goal here, but not only is it broad, but it’s community-based, teamwork-centered, and not self-centered.  I’m excited to dedicate a summer to something other than tennis, piano, or school.  I’ll be exhausted and sun burned (unintentionally!) and frustrated at times, but it won’t be about me.  It will be about approximately 75 kids from a low-income housing development and making their summers memorable.  And I can’t wait to start.