I almost accidentally erased this! Yikes.

I guess my complainey (not a word, I know) entries don’t get widely read, so I’ll try to avoid that this time around.

It’s been a physically demanding week at work (not complaining! Just truth!). There were a few tree deliveries, which means lots of lifting and dragging 40 pound trees. A back injury waiting to happen! On Friday I helped out at a school planting, showing up around 830 to load up 60 shovels, 25 stakes and parts, etc. and then going to the school to put all 21 trees in their appropriate spots. 11-1130 was spent hanging out with one girl while she presented to 3rd graders about how AWESOME TREES ARE OMGWTF. Then from 12-2pm I was in charge of a group of 6 kids and 2 adults, and we were assigned 3 trees. I just had to make sure they were planted correctly, and that the kids didn’t decapitate each other with shovels or stakes. Whew, that would have looked bad to the Press! After 2pm I finally got lunch, then we took the tools back to the Tree Bank (where we keep our trees, stakes, tools, nursery, etc.) and got back to the office around 330.

Today we had to be in at 730am and spent the day going to individual residences, pruning and adjusting/removing stakes on their trees. It was only from 730am-12pm, but the day seemed longer because of all of the driving. This afternoon Vanessa (my neighborhood planting partner) and I walked around door-to-door talking to people about our organization and trying to get them to take free trees from us. Yes, I said TAKE. It’s free!! For our neighborhood plantings we are assigned zipcodes and have to generate requests from residents in the area. The requirement for a "neighborhood planting" is at least 15 trees (in the parkstrip, of course) in a 4-5 block radius. We are doing pretty well so far, but I hate feeling like I’m bothering people when I go to their houses on Saturday afternoons. With our uniforms and clipboards we look like we’re selling shit, and often get treated in a shitty way because of it. ::sigh:: Oh well.

Easter is coming up! Every holiday, no matter how insignificant, makes me miss home. I know that Easter is seen as significant, but whatever. You know what I mean! I won’t be getting any candies, stuffed bunnies (toy ones!), or Easter dinner this year. I used to drive home from Manchester to hang out at mom’s house on Easter, but I have no idea what I’ll be doing this year. Growing up is silly.

So my Peace Corps interview is on March 24th. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. The more I think about it, the less likely it seems that I’ll be able to pick up and move out of the country for 2+ years. I’ll try though, but also keep looking for other things. There’s gotta be something I can do with a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy/Peace and Conflict Studies and a year of Americorps (working in Urban Forestry) under my belt, right? Hah! All of those things are crazy. My degree and my Americorps work don’t really go together, and I’m not sure if I love that or am crazy for doing it.

Oh yeah, I’ve been jogging lately. DON’T JUDGE ME. I used to think recreational runners were absolutely NUTS, only running from the crazy voices inside of their heads or their checkered pasts. I’m tired of being wheezy when I try to run though and have been practicing. I can almost run a mile! This is an insane amount of progress for me, trust me.

Hmm.. my romantic life is nonexistent, and my social life mainly revolves around work (except for IMs when I usually talk to Renee or mom). Not much else is going on (besides all the crap I talked about), and I’m actually starting to get a bit sleepy. If you made it through this entire entry you get a virtual high-five. Congratulations!