Sea Mart milk man, welcome to Sitka

So I got home yesterday and as I was walking in the back door I noticed that the refrigerator door was open. As it didn't close as I walked in, I kind of turned the corner. Very confused. Well, Nick and Natalie were putting yogurt and milk in the fridge. Actually, trying to put yogurt and milk into the fridge would be a better statement. See, the Sea Mart milk man dropped off 8 gallons of milk (in the form of 16 half gallons) and at least 75 yogurts. Probably above 100. We just didn't feel like counting. What's the catch? 8 of the half gallons expired 9/12. The other eight expired 9/17. So most of those are frozen. Our entire vegetable crisper is filled with yogurt. There are random yogurts (all of which are also expired) just strewn across the landscape of our fridge. So, I will be consuming a lot of dairy over the next few weeks. Just another random moment in Sitka...

Well, the honeymoon is over. Work has begun to become challenging. I have started to gain the kids' trust as the weeks progress, so that has magnified their reactions to me. Both to the positive and to the negative. The highs have been higher, and the lows have definitely lower. Last weekend was especially tough for a few different reasons. Teenagers, as all of us know from experience, can be extremely volatile. No different with these kids. My job has kind of evolved in a way to just making sure the kids know that the members of the staff, and especially myself, are not against them. But the flip side of that is to try and draw that line of friendship clearly in the sand, that we aren't friends. While I am a support and I am there to talk to the kids about what is going on with them, I do have other responsibilities, primarily keeping within their treatment plans and the regs of HH. That has been the toughest aspect because I do really like these kids.

I finally got the, "Well you're only doing this for the money!" Ha. I started laughing (not really the best move at the time) and kind of explained what exactly I was doing in Sitka and why I am at HH. Diffused the situation really well. But that has spurred a lot of conversations about my life and the decisions that led me to join the JVC and what the program entails. The toughest one came yesterday at school. During lunch now a lot of my clients come and sit in my office and talk and give me crap. One of them asked, "So wait, you are only going to be here for a year? And then what? Are you going home?" My response was, "Well, maybe, probably. Its tough to be away from my family and friends." The next comment caught me off guard. "Well, you should stay." Not entirely sure how to respond. Still not entirely sure what to make of it. I muttered something about nothing is set in stone, I still have 11 months, etc. But yeah. Not sure where to go with this train of thought, so I'll just move on.

We have continued to meet people in the community. As the cruise traffic has slowed down (the last boat comes in Thursday or Friday), the town has started to settle. We've begun to see the same people in the same places, so we have started having conversations with these people. We also are starting to form our niches here. Katie helps out with the Youth Group at our local parish. Nick is trying to figure out a role within the parish as well (he was going to help out with the sacrament classes, but the time commitment was insane). Natalie is looking to help out with Chelan, the produce truck. Evie got an application for the White E, the local thrift store. I am going to be helping out with, if not running, an extracurricular for the school system (might be a drama production with middle schoolers...). I might try to start an ultimate club as well, possibly getting some high schoolers involved. I had a meeting with Annette, the executive director of YAS yesterday and she told me to think about my skills and different ways I would like to be utilized by the agency so I am also looking into that (I get kicked out of my office in the high school at 1:30, so we are trying to look into different things I can do).

We have made pretty solid contact with the Americorps here (well, some of the 19 that are here right now). I have met a few people through playing ultimate on Sundays. We had a bunch of them over last night, and it was a lot of fun. Not a huge blow out party, but we played corn hole, cards, Bananagrams, and just sat around and talked. We had about 20 people here and it was just a solid time. We've met some really fun people, and a lot of people have extended invitations to us. I guess what I am trying to say here is despite all the troubles, the anxiety, and the frustrating situations this place is really starting to feel like home. It doesn't feel like I am on vacation with four people I just met; when I leave work it is starting to feel like I am going home.

And I was going to talk about the Bills game. But there would be a lot of expletives and typing in caps lock a lot. So I will spare you that. However, Notre Dame might choke more than the Bills. But their o-line looks really, really good. Cards need to get their act together. Ohio State needs to learn how to use Pryor. Penn State hasn't really played anyone. Ditto Florida (the Citadel and Troy? "But they looked really good during those games!" Yeah, schedule someone tough). Those are my minimal, random thoughts on sports going on. And I am writing this while watching football....yeah...