A hundred men, and Me

In the deep recesses of the dank and consumed world of wendy, there was not but darkness and solitude. What little light travelled into this atmosphere was extinguished and could not stir the inky night. Suddenly, in the thick of the silence, a faint sound rumbled forth! and Again! A Thump! A Beat? Steadily it coursed, louder and louder until the distant echoes of life surged through the land! The long winter at last was lain to rest, and the sun burst forth in a fit of glory!!!!!! Flowers blossomed! Shoes were purchased! The Maniacal laughter of the much-relieved flooded the earth with song!!!


hahaha...or, I could just say YES! FIRST PAYCHECK!!!! It was like having a veil of misery lifted, to finally be able to splurge! or, ahem, pay bills...:p (SPLURGE.)

As soon as I got off work at 8am that day, (normally I'm exhausted) I picked up my nana and hit the stores. The IMMENSE irony is that we hit 3 stores and I didn't like a single dang thing!!! what the heck?? There was much sadness. Eventually, I bought a couple pairs of acceptable shoes, and a few articles of clothing. More importantly, I bought a mustache shaped mood ring, just for kicks and giggles. I'll turn it into a phone charm shortly. (in case you did not know, I LOVE all things mood. If they invented a pen that changes colors based on your temperature or whatever, I would TOTALLY buy it.) I also bought a really pretty leaf shaped dish that's brown on the outer edges and fades into a glorious green inside. This is just to commemorate the start of working with this organization. <3

It's been interesting dealing with so many ppl, every night, learning their names and ways and personalities. I knew I wouldn't be taken seriously at first, this young girl with no experience trying to handle a shelter, but I'm happy to report that I fit in really well here! I make breakfast for these guys, help with chores, play chess with them on my break, eat with them in their dining room during my lunch, and I've really made an effort to learn their names. (This in itself is a massive effort on my part, as I can't remember what I did an hour ago.) Plus, they keep changing, ppl leave all the time and we get new ppl and the cycle starts over. Make them feel welcome, make them feel accepted, get to know them, set boundaries, build rapport and avoid being seen as a potential Anything other than the office chick that feeds you and gives you chores. Overall, I've gotten over any qualms I initially had when starting, and I feel at home there too. I think it helps that I have a sense of humor and years of maintenance experience, haha...nothing grosses me out anymore and my humorous/abrasive personality keeps me level with them!

The job itself isn't all that easy, but that's mostly in regards to dealing with the men directly. There's almost a hundred of them, and they all have different backgrounds, views, attitudes...weaknesses, strengths, personal failures and successes. People on meds, people sleep deprived, the occasional guy that fell off the wagon....It gets dicey sometimes, but we all care about them and they know it. This fortunately helps us to settle issues. (No one cares what you know until they know that you care, right?)

When I got there, they were subsisting on chocolate muffins, instant oatmeal, cereal, and boiled eggs for breakfast. (the night crew consists of males as well, and they're not chef-like.) So I stepped up and started cooking. something different each day if possible. Scrambled eggs and cheese, beef chorizo, pork chorizo, french toast... Not every day, but often enough. Today I honestly have no idea what to make, I'm kind of tired of cracking eggs and I think I've run through enough of their egg supply for now. Unfortunately, all my breakfast ideas are egg based and I'm working with donated food soooo....options aren't plentiful. I need to learn how to make the sauce for biscuits and gravy. hm...but I'd better have someone teach me. The last time I tried to make something I didn't know how to make, (banana pudding) it was a complete flop. -__-

Anyway, such is my life right now. I'm quite happy with this change of pace :) it's funny, I started to study PSY when I was younger and changed my mind because I didn't think I had the skill to handle this type of work. Now I find that it's exactly my type of work. Life's funny that way sometimes. Things fall into place if you let them.