Vacation!

I am on vacation. It seems like a long time to me, but because I have hardly posted in the last six months, it looks like I was just on vacation.

I was supposed to go backpacking in Utah this week, but that fell through - very sad. So Izzy and I packed up and came down to the central coast. We spent the weekend inn Ventura with some friends of his from the Navy. He slept and I went walking around with his friends.

On Sunday we drove to Pismo Beach to stay with my sister. We went wine tasting yesterday for my birthday. It is becoming a tradition for me to go wine tasting on my birthday. We bought some great wine from the Rusack winery. Then we had a nice lunch in one of the little towns and went back to Crissy's house. Her roommate Diana made me mole, my new favorite Mexican food, and Izzy and I made rice and beans. It turns out that it was also Diana's friend Jose's birthday. After we were stuffed, Crissy took us to a nice restaurant for drinks and dessert. It was a really fun birthday.


Today we took Izzy to get breakfast burritos for breakfast (as a surprise) and then we went to San Simeon to visit Hearst Castle. It was foggy everywhere except on top of the mountain. The tour was nice and we enjoyed it.

We are having a really good time not working and spending time with Crissy in her house on the beach. It makes me want a house with a huge view of the ocean too. But in lieu of that, it is a nice vacation spot.

Freezing

What kind of person runs the air conditioning when it is raining outside?

Seriously, if anyone has any tips for how not to freeze to death in the office, please let me know. I am currently wearing a sweater, a jacket, and an overcoat. I am also drinking tea. I am cold. There are crazy middle-aged women running around the office in tank tops. I think they have control over the thermostat.

Happy Cesar Chavez day!

It is a state holiday today. We are commemorating the birthday of Cesar Chavez. For all who don't know, he organized the labor movement among farm workers in California. Now it is a paid state holiday. Apparently school children were protesting at the Capitol yesterday because they didn't get the day off school.

Izzy took me to my first hockey game yesterday. My weekend activities have taken to alternating between the arts and sporting events. Last week ballet, this week hockey, next week we are watching Othello, the week after we are going to a Kings game. All very fun.

I enjoyed the hockey game, but it was very cold in the arena. I found it amusing that the crowd was much more excited about the fights than they were about scoring. Who knew there were so many fans of monor league hockey by the way? These people were reallly in to their team (the Stockton Thunder). Everyone was decked out in team colors and really mean to the opposing team. I am probably not very fun to take to sporting events because I can't bring myself to any demonstrative behavior in favor of whichever team I want to win. It feels strange. I can get into the game, but even still, I will usually sit there quietly.

A Rather Sad Commentary

Izzy and I watched Fast Food Nation sometime last week. If you haven't seen it, it is like The Jungle in movie form. Both are fictional stories about what happens in the meat processing industry and both paint a sad picture of how the people who work in this industry are exploited.

What is interesting is that when The Jungle was published, people were outraged. They were so outraged that the FDA was created to regulate the food processing industry. The same is not true of Fast Food Nation. I don't think anyone is surprised that their food might not be of the best quality. I am not. However, I am sure that the people who process our food (and who harvest our food) are suffering in terrible conditions. No one ever says anything about it and no one does anything about it.

Actually, this is the third movie I have seen in the last few months that highlights how the corporations who provide certain products abuse the vulnerable in order to get the products to consumers at a cheaper price. I have no doubt that the practices portrayed in these films actually happen. As of yet, I have heard very few people who were disturbed enough by these practices to look in to what is actually happening in these industries and see what could be done. The sad fact is that I haven't and I have no idea how I could do anything about this kind of exploitation. Shame on me.

Coffee

I gave up coffee (among other things) for Lent. I have since learned a few things.

1. There is coffee EVERYWHERE.
   
2. Coffee is my version of comfort food.
   
3. It is also how I relax and I associate it with indulgence.
   

I really want to drink coffee. I can't wait until Easter.

I never had trouble fasting for Lent before. I don't even remember it being this hard to give up TV and music in the car. This time fasting is really a struggle, which was my purpose, but it is hard. I am not particularly fond of self denial (I guess no one is) and I keep finding myself craving the things I gave up (mostly coffee).

Introducing...

Ismael Alarcon (Izzy)

So most of you have heard the rumors. Or you have met him because he has been around for a few months now. Here he is. I met Izzy at church in August, we spent a lot of time together in the fall playing guitar and stuff, and we started dating in December.

Sorry

I have been hearing some comments that I have been neglecting my blog and a lot of people. This is true. I am really sorry, but it is literally 40 degrees in the room with my computer during the day. I don't do well writing to people when I can see my breath in here. I am very sorry.

For those I haven't talked to in a while, work is going well, Christmas and New Year were great, and there is a new addition to my life who truly isn't the reason I am neglecting you all. I am travelling to Pomona tomorrow on business, but when I come back, I will turn on a space heater in here and catch everyone up on the detials of my life.

One Week Down

I just finished my first week at my new job. I am tired. Mostly I am tired because I am still working at the restaurant from hell. But I am also sick and unused to working on a traditional schedule. I haven't had to be anywhere before noon more than a few times a week in years. Even when I did so, it was always a choice.

So far, I feel very confined by my work schedule. I feel trapped, but I suppose I will get over that in time. Perhaps when I feel more comfortable in my position at work or something. Right now, I don't have a lot to do. I have no real defined job description, and my supervisor just started as well, so she can't give me much direction because she is still trying to figure out what her job is. I think I will feel better about the job when I know what I am supposed to do.

One thing I have learned this week is that even though I feel very strongly about the work of my agency, I do not want to be a State employee for very long. I might stay around long enough to work at the DoJ for a while eventually, but I want to move into a non-profit or an organization in which the wheels don't turn quite so slowly, and where people with my skills are actually closer to the work actually being done. I spent some time reading about the great work the agency is doing, but odds are, I will never get closer than meeting the people who are impacting working with the people impacting the community. So I am prepared to do my job, get what I can out of it, and move on to somewhere else...

Last Day

Today was my last full day in England. I sent Matt and Abby off to a football game and went shopping on Oxford and Regent Streets. I think the introvert in me was dying for some time by myself, and the selfish independent part of me was definetly glad to not have to worry about anyone but me. Shopping was okay. I only bought gifts for Abby and me to take back to friends and family because I know where to get all of the same things I found here for less back home. I really did enjoy looking at all of the fancy window displays, though.

While I was shopping, I realized how much I missed my mom. I don't think I ever go shopping without her unless I am with someone else. If I don't take her with me, I spend the entire time I am shopping on the phone with her. She would have loved the clothes and the window displays and it would have been nice to share that time with her and get excited about things with her.

This evening, I met Abby at St. Paul's and we went to the Evensong service there. I really enjoyed it. It was a choral service and the choir was fantastic. The sermon was also very good, and I was so happy to hear the gospel preached to all of the tourists who were only there so they could see the cathedral for free. I can't remember the exact texts, but they were from Isaiah and Matthew. What struck me was the priest's comment that while we are concerned about the horrible things going on in the world, we must first look to our own hearts to see the healing begin. Each of our hearts is a battleground, a Darful, an Iraq, or a Babylon. We each have something in us that has taken us captive and Jesus came to earth and became a man in order to free us from that battle and bring us peace.

I think this was my favorite part of the trip. I loved participating in the beautiful service in that beautiful cathedral. I was not able to take any pictures, but there were the most beautiful mosaics all over the ceiling and on the sides of the dome. I will look online later for pictures to post here. I was very happy to go to church since we didn't go last Sunday and because we won't get to go tomorrow. I was and still am sad that I am missing the first Sunday of Advent.

I am off to get ready for the trip home tomorrow. See everyone soon.

P.S.

I found out for sure this evening that I definetly have a job when I get home! Praise the Lord! I am officially an employee of the State of California.

I Love Holland!

Yes, I said Holland.

Abby and I went to Amsterdam for Thanksgiving! We flew over in the morning (it took longer to get to the airport than to fly to Amsterdam), and spend the afternoon and evening with the Wearons, the family that has hosted us now in both countries. It was very nice to meet them, they are wonderful people.

In Amsterdam, we took a boat trip around the city, walked through the city center, went to a mueseum in the Church in the Attic, a secret Catholic church from the 17th century, and visited the Christian bookstore, which operates a coffee shop (one that sells coffee) at the edge of the Red Light District.

The Wearons took us shopping and to dinner in Leiden, a university town outside Amsterdam. It was really cute there, and there was good shopping, but I couldn't buy anything because I didn't have room in the small bag I brought with me to take anything back to England. We spent the night at Carol and Phil's home in Voorschoten and saw that town in the morning, and then we came back to London. I really wish we could have spent more time in Holland. I like it much better than England. Abby likes England better.

When we got back today we saw St. Paul's Cathedral, which was beautiful. There weren't any pigeons, but we kept singing the "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins anyway. And we took pictures of ourselves sitting on the steps. Then we walked through Harrod's a bit, but we didn't stay long. I really have a hard time shopping in places where I would't buy the clothes, even if I could afford them. Everything was beautiful, but I don't think I could sleep at night if I spent that much money on clothing.

One more day left in England... Abby and Matt are going to a football game, and I am going shopping on Oxford street.

Parliament

Well, we missed Question Time because apparently the question Tony Blair at a different time than everyone else. No Tony Blair for us. We probably wouldn't have gotten in anyway because there was a lobby today (kind of like a formal protest) and the lines to get in were very long. We did get to watch the debate in the House of Commons, which was almost my favorite part of the trip so far. I am glad Abby and I both like that sort of thing. They were debating foreign policy, so it was quite interesting and I actually know and care about what they were discussing. It is amazing how many problems there are in the world and how wrapped up the US and the UK are in all of them. I might have some more thoughts on foreign policy later.

Otherwise, we walked around the buliding, went to Westminster Abbey, where were weren't allowed in, and walked to Buckingham Palace. We got a late start and are calling it quits early today because we are tired and we want to have energy for tomorrow.

Running Around London

We have been enjoying ourselves so far in London. Matt has been very good to us and showed us around on Sunday. We didn't end up doing much, we just got lunch at a local pub, went to the store and got railway tickets for the week.

On Monday, we ventured out on the very complicated railway system and saw the British Museum. It is amazing how much they have plundered the rest of the world of ancient artifacts and brought them all here. We decided that in many cases it might have been for the best because most of what they left behind has been lost. In the afternoon we went to Covent Garden market, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, and shopped around Picadilly Circus. This really isn't the kind of shopping I like to do because it is geared toward tourists and people who want to spend ungodly amounts of money on stuff they can get back home. And really so far, I haven't seen much I couldn't get in California. So mostly I have been looking and window shopping. I like just walking around and looking at things in town anyway. The pictures will come when I get home. Mostly we ran around in the rain, got our bearings and saw a lot of the city. I ended the day with a horrible migraine and all of my medication back at home.

Today we walked around the Tower of London, which was very important to Abby. We decided against going inside because it was so expensive, so we walked around the tower and across Tower Bridge. We had lunch next to the river, then we took a train back to the West End, where we bought tickets for tonight's show of Les Miserables (!), walked around the theater district for a while and had a pint at a pub.

This afternoon, we came back to the house in the suburbs early so we could get ready for the show. Getting to the show proved to be quite the adventure. We didn't have much time and had planned on taking the 6:00 train back into the city so we could grab something to eat before the 7:30 show, but the 6:00 train was cancelled and the next train was delayed until 6:30. We really weren't worried about making the show in time because the train was supposed to be an express, but the train kept randomly stopping where there were no stations. When we finally got into the city at 7:05, we had to run to catch the underground, finding along the way that the entry from the train station was closed and being forced to go out to the street and then go back down to the underground. We got down there, realized that the line we needed didn't connect at that train station, and quickly had to come up with an alternate route, which was fortunately not a problem since we had walked all over that area earlier that day. When we reached the street, we had to run several blocks to the theater, and we barely made it for the opening of the show. This ordeal was complicated by the fact that I was wearing heels and Abby has terrible blisters from walking around so much, so her feet hurt.

Les Mis was wonderful. The actors who played Jean Valjean and Javert were phenomenal, we had decent seats, and it was a generally nice time. Neither of us had ever seen the show before, and we enjoyed it. However, the show ended at 10:15 and the last train back out to the suburbs left the station at about 10:50. Needless to say, our trip back to the train station was a repeat of our trip to the theater including all of the running and pain in Abby's feet. I kept telling here she would laugh about the whole ordeal later, but she didn't appreciate that at the time. Honestly, I am thankful for her patience with me when I was concerned about making it to the theater on time, and for trying so hard to keep up with me the whole time we were walking quickly or running. Fortunately we got to the station a little early and were able to get something to eat before heading out of the city. There was a rude French couple sitting across from us on the train who were talking about us and according to Abby, objected to the way we looked and the fact that we were eating. (Honestly, as far as dress is concerned, that woman had no room to talk.)

I am off to bed. Tomorrow, we are going to try and make it to Question Time at Parliament, and we have something special planned for Thursday...

On the Other Side of the World

I am on the other side of the world...how strange is that? Abby and I arrived in London last night. It was a really good thing that Matt, the guy we are staying with, came to get us at the airport because half the trains in town were out of operation last night and we had to walk and change trains a lot and eventually take a cab to get to his house. I was glad, though, because we got to see quite a bit of the city. We are going to have so much fun!

Today we are going to brunch eventually, somewhere where they have TV screens because Matt is a football freak, and then I think we are going to church this evening.

I (probably) have a job!

I have tentatively been offered a job! I was so happy I cried, which should't suprise most people who know me. There are still some issues regarding eligibility to work out, so I am trying not to get too excited yet, but I think I will be crushed if things go badly.

In the meantime, Abby and I are leaving for London tomorrow afternoon! I am very excited and running around like crazy to get things together. I should know about the job for sure when I get back, and then the celebration will begin...

I am Happy

That is all I have to say. I am happy even though I am tired and I am still working in the restaurant and I don't know where my life is going. I have mostly learned my lesson for now and I am happy. The funny thing is that I think I always equated being happy with having the things I want, and there are so many things I really want that I don't have. These are good things to have, but I am learning that I don't need them.

Lessons in Bureaucracy: do not mess with the Department of Social Services

Well, my last interview went relatively well. It could have gone better if they had supplied better information about the nature of the position I was applying for, but now God has room to work. If it happens, it will be because of Him.

So this morning at the crack of 8:30 I get a call from the CCC telling me that they are trying to verify my eligibility for the position because I applied for it without being invited to do so, and that I have been placed on the State's inactive list because of my responses or lack thereof to other government departments. This woman was asking me to call the State Personel Board and fix that and to call the Department of Social Services who took this action against me and ask them to remove the waivers they have placed in my file. What a pain.

First, I call the SPB and get a lecture from that woman about not responding to job notices. She is horrified that I had not responded to one and that I had responded negatively to another. Now, I know I did mark the box in at least one notice that says:
"No - I am not interested in being considered for this position but wish to remain on active status for future employment vacancies," but I did not respond negatively in any other way. It is true that I have not responded to every inquiry I have received because I literally have gotten up to six inquiries a day since I took the test many weeks ago. Apparently I have to respond to ALL of them in order to remain in good standing with the State. That is a full-time job in itself.

After the kind SPB lady places my name back on the active list even though I have not yet sent in the appropriate letter, I call the Department of Social Services. That kind lady informed me that they actively place waivers on anyone's record if they do not respond and anysort of negative response will cause them to place a waiver on my record. Basically, I have to respond positively to every inquiry I receive or I could knock myself out of eligibility for any job in any state department. The form I received does not tell me this. I also suspect that I would have received a waiver from them if I had responded, been called for an interview and expressed my disinterest at that time. Lesson: no one gets away with rejecting the Department of Social Services. (I wonder if someone might come after me for this rant against them.) For a department that is supposedly so inefficient, they are certainly good at efficiently making my life difficult.

>Fortunately I think all of the other government departments are not as proactive about doing this because I have gotten at least two notices a day from the Department of Corrections and have yet to have any action taken against me (knock on wood).

>As far as I know, all is well with my eligibility status now, so I have made it through one hoop. The next hoop is that they have to make sure I am "reachable" for this postion because I did not score in the top rank on the SSA test. That means that they run a search offer the job to a number of people and see if anyone "better" wants the job first. The hoops keep on coming...

Finally

In all the excitement of the weekend, I forgot to mention that I had a job interview on Tuesday. The interview was for a position in the Department of Justice. Now, I have applied for several jobs with the DoJ, and for some reason, I assumed it was for one certain job that I applied for recently rather than one of the other positions that I applied for quite a while ago that I had written off because I am sure I didn't put enough postage on the envelopes.

Anyway, I was rather perplexed that the interview was in the main office of the Attorney General rather than in the office I would be working at, but I figured I was meeting with HR people or something. Needless to say, I had prepared to interview for the wrong position in the wrong department and needed to immediately be ready to sell a different set of skills than I had prepared for. I think the interview went rather well, all things considered, but under the circumstances, I don't think they will offer me the job.

Today I got a call from a woman with the California Conservation Corps asking me to come in for an interview for a postion I applied for at least six weeks ago. So I have gotten more job interviews in the last week than I have in the last eighteen months. I am not sure about this job. I would like the work much better than the job at the attorney general's office, but I really want to work at the Department of Justice. In the meantime, I am going to have to pray and trust that God will lead me to the best job for me regardless of what I think.

That is the update. It looks like I am on my way to becoming a government bureaucrat.

Sunday

Sunday was so great that it needs its own post.

I forgot about the time change, which was okay because I had a lot to do before I went to church.

At church, the youth were in charge of the entire service. I was blown away by the maturity of the kids as they conducted the service. The dramatic pieces (some might call them dances rather than human video) were well-done and well-rehearsed and really inspiring. Two of the students gave their testimonies for the speking portion of the morning, and I was quite impressed with their ability to articulate what God is doing in their lives and their courage to get up in front of everyone and be so vulnerable. The kids who prayed and who conducted the communion service demonstrated equal maturity and openness.

I think the most striking feature of the morning was what a great example the youth set for the adults. They did everything with such a realness and vulnerability. They weren't just putting on a show, they were sharing their selves with the congregation. I was also very glad to see that the pastors truly gave over control of the morning to the youth. They were allowed to participate in all aspects of the morning from making the announcements, to staffing the prayer team. This was such an incredible picture of how the body of Christ works and a great testimony to the fact that everyone belongs and has something to offer. The (older) children are equally as capable to serve as the adults.

After church, I hosted a pumpkin carving party at my house. We had a lunch of soup and pie and then we carved pumpkins. I really had a great time even though I was dead tired. I didn't realize how tired I was at the time, but looking back, I was walking around like a zombie all afternoon. Again, I forgot to take any pictures. I think Dan might have gotten some, but I am not sure. Some day I am going to remember...

In the evening, I went to the prayer group with Abby and we went on a prayer walk. The goal of the prayer walk was to pray for every home in the Elmhurst neighborhood where the church meets. We broke off into small groups and covered the entire neighborhood. I went with Abby. It was really interesting to walk around and pray with her and it was also interseting as we were looking for something specific to pray for at each home, what you could tell about people by the outside of their houses. It was a great time and I am excited to see what comes of it.

Yesterday I spent a little time in the morning with my grandma, then I slept for the rest of the day until I went to work. It was a good thing too, because work turned out to be very hectic.

Saturday

I had a busy (but very fun) weekend.

On Saturday Rahime came up and we went wine tasting with some of my friends. We drove up to Apple Hill to visit the El Dorado county wineries, which was probably not the best planning because it seems that everyone in the state decided that Saturday was the time to go to Apple Hill. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful day, and I truly enjoyed being outside up there enjoying all that beauty and the company of my friends. We also tasted some pretty interesting wine.

Saturday evening Rahime and I just made it back to town in time to go to the ballet. The main event for the evening was "Where the Wild Things Are", but I really enjoyed the other two ballets on the program more. Where the Wild Things Are was good, the fact that the dancers could move so well in ten-foot monster costumes is amazing. The other ballets were "Western Symphony" and a ballet choreographed by the artistic director of the Sacramento Ballet called "Etosha". I enjoyed Western Symphony, it was a lot of fun, particularly the second movement. Etosha was my favorite. It was a more contemporary piece that was evocative of African wildlife. The movement was all very creative and beautiful, and it was so unique, intense and interesting. I really enjoyed the movement of the dancers in this piece, it looked very animal-like.

The one sad thing is that I was so tired by the time we got to the ballet that I fell asleep for part of Where the Wild Things Are.

True to form, I had my camera all day and forgot to take any pictures. Some day I am going to get better at that.

See Rahime's comments on the day here.