Pain, Jail, Piranhas and Sun

I thought I was going to post this last night, but alas, I didn't get a chance to do it before my eyes shut down. So here it is!

Let's go one by one...

PAIN. On Sunday, I decided to take a walk - nothing out of the ordinary. I got to talking with Christy on the phone and lost track of where I was going. I ended up at Blockbuster (it's about five miles away from my house...which means it's five miles back to my house...). As I was walking back, my foot started to hurt. I couldn't figure out why in the world my foot was hurting. Then I remembered what happened in February. In Feb, I went to the doctor because my foot was hurting and he said that I had tendonitis in my foot. I was supposed to rest it for a while - no hikes, long walks, etc. I was doing real well until I moved to Juneau...Guess I won't be going on any long walks for a while...what else could I do?

JAIL. Work is getting exciting again. Many of you have heard that my schedule is insane at work - hopefully that's changing this week. I started working grave shifts, and I love it! That has nothing to do with jail, but I thought I'd throw that in. We now have eight kids in the house. They're all pills - ha! We have a couple that are fairly good kids and it's exciting to encourage them to continue making good decisions and such. On Monday, one of our kids snapped. One of his peers accidentally bumped him with the broom during chores, and it set him off. He grabbed one of the table chairs and threw it at a staff member and stormed outside yelling, "I'm going to #*$& kill him! I'm going to get a &#^! kitchen knife and *$(^ put it in his *&^$ chest!" He was a bit upset. My boss went outside with him and talked with him. My boss decided that he needed to have a cool-down time at JYC (it's the Juvenile Hall here). So off the kid went! To be honest, I'm quite excited he's gone - he was not a fun kid...Sure made for an interesting afternoon!

The night before, I was working grave. I came on shift and there were about five people in the office - not a good sign. Ryan (one of the staff members) says, "I'm going to be next door in case anything happens. Come get me if you need to." I wanted to walk out right then and there. We were getting a little one who was choked by her drunk mom and went to the hospital (we ended up not getting her) and I was the lucky person to tell the drunk mom that her daughter was not coming here and that OCS (it's the same as CPS) would be calling her in the morning. When I got shift change, I heard about the incident that happened to our kid. He handed a note to one of our staff that had a website on it. It was some sort of site about kids who should have died. This kid battles with depression, so we were really worried about him. He wouldn't go to sleep and was acting very strange. I was on suicide watch with him for about three hours until he went to sleep. Anyone want my job???

PIRANHAS. This is a fun story...I'm not going to go into a great deal of detail, but this is a developing story, so you'll get bits and pieces of it. First off, my landlady has taken it upon herself to set me up with a friend of hers named Kevin. I know nothing about this kid other than "you have so much in common: he's tall, he is getting his masters degree, and he was in the Navy!" If someone could show me where we have stuff in common there, it would be greatly appreciated :-) This should be happening next week sometime, so I'll give an update then.

I went to the Gathering on Friday. The Gathering is the young adult ministry at the church I go to. It was such a great night - I finally met some people MY AGE! They do exist, folks. Send up a flare and alert the media! The only thing was that the kids my age were all guys - which is fine, don't get me wrong, but a bit intimidating. I felt like a piece of meat on a hook above a bunch of hungry red-bellied piranha's. They were chatty-chatty and asking me thousands of questions. After the Gathering, we went to Andrew's apartment for pizza and games. I followed a guy named Ray to his house (after we stopped and got pizza). When we got to the apartments, Ray says, "I actually don't know what house is his..." and I reply, "Call him!" He says, "I actually don't have his number..." My jaw dropped. How do people not have phone numbers? It's a common occurrence up here. So Ray decides he's going to knock on doors until he finds Andrew. Mind you, it's about 10 pm by now. Andrew comes out to check for us. Ray says "I didn't know which was yours!" As we walked in, I say "Now would be a good time to exchange numbers..." We go inside and play games and eat pizza. It was a great night - lots of laughs.

The next day I get an email from Andrew saying thanks for coming over and how nice it was to meet me, etc. He then asks a whole bunch of questions. (Oh, he works for JYS too - he actually works at the house my roommate works at.) I email him back and ask some questions of my own. We figure out that we both work grave shift on Sunday, and decided to email back and forth to keep ourselves awake. Little did I know what I was getting myself into...

20 emails later, I had a date, a wannabe boyfriend, a whole lot of clarifying to do, and a few freak-out moments. Like I said before, the guys up here are like piranhas and I'm fresh, new meat. I couldn't believe that someone I had met two nights earlier wanted to date me - I put a stop to that real quick. I told him I'd have to get to know a bit more about him before we order wedding invitations. He's persistent, that's for sure...I said it before: it's a developing story, so more to come later...For now, we are not dating, I do not have a boyfriend, and the date is being postponed...

SUN. Finally - the good part of the week! It's all been great, but this part is really good. Yesterday was one of the most beautiful days I've seen since I've been up here, and of course I didn't take any pictures of it. I went for a bike ride, ran into Bri's and my friend Matt, and he and I went to play frisbee golf. I warned him that I had no idea what frisbee golf was and that I hardly knew how to throw a frisbee. We had a blast. I got stuck in more Devil's Club (my thumb is SO SORE! This section should go back to the pain section of the blog...) and about killed my foot, but it was such a great afternoon in the sun! I think the high was 68 degrees - short and t-shirt weather!

Through it all, I think God is trying to teach me something or somethings. I'm not sure what the lessons are yet. I think it has something to do with patience in letting my body heal, trust in Him - that He knows me, what's best for me, the timing for everything. He is showing me daily that He is in charge, and that life without him in the center is not worth living. My prayer is that I continue to listen and learn. It sure is exciting!

I miss you all terribly! Hope you are doing well! I love you!

Blessings!

So Here's the Story...

My parents were here last week, hence the reason the blogs have been slacking.  We had such a great time!  It was sad to see them go, but here's a run-down of what we did:

I picked them up at the airport (their plane was late...) and came back to the apartment.  Mom loved the color of the apartment while Dad kept saying, "this is cute!  It's good for you!"  I think that means he liked it too...They dropped off their luggage, and I took them to Cornerstone, where I work.  One of the kids greeted me at the door (he knew we were coming) and said, "HI LARRY!"  (Quick side-story.  Two of the kids and I were playing "Hand and Foot" - a card game - a few nights ago and one of them accidentally called me Larry.  They thought it was hilarious, so they started calling me Larry.)  We walk in, and my boss is there to greet us.  So my parents got to meet my boss, some of the kids, and some of my co-workers.  I showed them around, the kids talked to us for a bit, and then we were on our way.  Mom said she thought the place was a bit depressing and dark, I agreed, so I'll have to think of someway to bring up a new paint job or something...

Oh yeah, I forgot one thing.  Before we left for Cornerstone, we went to meet my land lords, and we all got to talking.  Mark gave us some fresh King salmon for dinner, so we looked forward to cooking that.  

We left Cornerstone and drove.  We drove around town, and I showed them where a lot of different things were.  We went to a good view of the glacier, to the mall, showed them Fred Myers, and the like.  We came home for dinner (fresh salmon - yay!).   I made them a seafood pasta dish that I learned how to make at the cooking school Bri works at.  They loved it and have the recipe for any of you that may want it.  I have it too...

We then drovethe 42 miles to the end of the road looking for Eagle beach.  Laurie has only been to Eagle beach once, and didn't really know where she was going.  We missed the turn and drove another 28 miles or so until we figured out she missed the turn...oops!  Dad wanted to get my picture at the end of the road, so we did.  On the way back we saw a black bear cub (my first bear!) along the side of the road.  It didn't like the car, so it ran along the road then up into the trees.   It was cute, but all I could think was that Mama was around somewhere, and I didn't want to be around when she came out.  We drove back into the Valley (where I live) and went to bed. 

The next day we went to Taku Lodge.  Look it up online - it's really cool and has a huge history.  We got on a little tiny float plane, and flew over mountains and glaciers to get to this small little lodge.  It was very cool.  These glaciers were huge!!!  Some were receding, and some were advancing.  Some were 5 miles wide and over 80 miles long!  Pretty incredible.  We landed on the lake (how weird is that?!) and got out and walked up to the lodge.  It is a rustic looking lodge but very homey inside.  We saw a whole bunch of people standing outside by a tree, so we went to see what was up.  Um, there was another baby black bear up there!  Just sitting in the tree like it was a bird.  Again, very cute, but I didn't stay out there long.  There were tons of bugs - I got bit quite a few times.  We went on a hike around the lodge, which was beautiful, but mom and I were afraid the bears would come out, so we quickly did the hike and went back to the safety of the lodge.  We waited for dinner inside by a roaring fire (I'll miss fires in the winter...).  Dinner was fresh king salmon (see a pattern?  Salmon = Alaska), beans, coleslaw, two different kinds of roles, and this apple stuff that was amazing.  We ate SO well that night!  When dinner was done and we took pictures, we went back to the docks to load up on the plane.  We got back to town, stuffed and completely in awe. 

We shopped downtown for a few days, but nothing too thrilling happened there.  Other than the fact that we saw yet another baby black bear...bear number 3 and counting...

We went up the Mt. Roberts tram while they were here too.  That is incredible as well.  You go from sea level to 1,800 feet in about five minutes, and the view was incredible.  We went on a few hikes up there too, and saw bear #4.  He was far away in the snow on the top of the mountain, right where we ended up on our hike, but we did get to see him for a bit.  Here's a funny story (it's even more funny when mom tells it).  We went on a long hike to try to find this cross that some pastor took up the mountain in the 1800's.  We hike this steep trail, and it ends up on a landing with an incredible view.  There's another trail that connected to the trail we were on, and I was sure that it was the cross trail.  So I leave mom and dad at the landing (with all my stuff) and go in search for this cross.  (Side note: I was hiking in Crocs...not a good idea - keep reading and you'll find out why.)  I follow the trail, and soon it stops because a huge piece of snow/ice is blocking the road.  I don't want to quit now, so I decide to forge on and overcome the snow...in my Crocs.  I get over the first piece of ice and come to two more.  I'm getting tired, and the cross is still no where in sight.  I finally come across some people who are coming down from a flat part of the mountain.  Great, I think to myself, I'm almost there.  I keep going.  I am still not there.  I see more people coming down.  I ask them where the trail leads, and they said to the peak of Mt. Roberts.  Dang.  I'm on the wrong trail.  All that hard work for nothing.  I realize I've been gone for quite some time, and the parents are probably worried...especially since they have all my stuff.  So I turn around and go back down all the ice and snow (in my Crocs) and finally meet up with them.  They're glad I'm alright and say, "don't do that again!"  I told them I hadn't found the cross, and they say they have.  Let's just say I went WAY too far...

We stayed home some and played games, watched movies, and just loved being together.  It was sad to say goodbye, but so good to see them.

Hope you are all doing well!  Love ya!

Blessings!

Pictures for the blog above..

View from the top of Mt. Roberts

Mom and Dad and the float plane

Mom and I on the float plane

The 5-mile wide glacier

Cruise ship leaving

Glacier from the Lodge

Waterfall at Mendenhall Glacier we hiked to 

Mom, Dad, and I climbed over these boulders!

Another huge glacier

The baby bear cub in the tree at the Lodge

4th of July and Beyond...

We finally have internet!  Well, sort of.  We have the capability of internet.  Now we have to get the wireless box.  It's those little details that kill...haha!  Hopefully very soon we can have internet that we can call our own :-)

The fourth of July was crazy.  Living in a small town, you really get the "small town feel" on holidays like this.  There was a parade downtown Juneau that the WHOLE town goes to.  It's really fun, but really crowded.  And, there is one road in and out of downtown.  So, If you can imagine close to 20,000 people downtown at once and then those 20

,000 people wanting to leave at the same time down that one road, it is quite the adventure!  It reminded me of the 10 fwy back home...Here are some pictures from the parade:

They had floats, people walking, riding in mini corvettes, etc.  They had a snow plow that was painted with orcas - it was insane the things they came up with!  Since it is such a small town, the locals on the sidelines watching all knew people in the parade, so the parade would stop so people could talk to each other.  While at the parade, my boss called me into work ea

rly, so I had to leave in the middle of the parade.  I was fine with that - I had been wa

tching it for close to three hours and it still wasn't over.  Time to go...

I went into work at about 1:45 and found there were only two kids there.  It was fantastic!  One of them went with one staff to see the Hulk in the movie theater and the other one and I played Hand and Foot for seven hours!  It was a great way to spend the afternoon, as far as I was concerned.  I left work and went over to the Harris house for the 4th of July party.

This party was crazy!  There were tons of people there, and tons of food and games.  They smoked/roasted a pig (yes, the WH

OLE thing - we named him Pork Chop) all day, and it was so tasty!  We played Beer Factor: you know the show Fear Factor?  Beer Factor is like Fear Factor, only you have to complete all these tasks with a cup of beer in your hand.  The object of the game is to comple

te the tasks the fastest and have the most beer in your cup by the end.  It was quite hilarious...Then we watched the fireworks that were put on by Willie (the dad in the Harris family).  He set the fireworks off on the beach, and it was pretty cool.  They were a bit close for my liking, but it was pretty cool none-the-less.  I left shortly after, as I had to work at 8 the next morning. 

I did my first grave shift (12 midnight to 8AM) on Sunday.  Let me tell you, if ever you want to mess with your mind, try going to sleep around 4 in the afternoon and then stay awake from midnight to 8AM - it's trippy!  Nothing happened at work, for which I was truly thankful.  

My last adventure is kinda two days in one.  In reality, they happened before everything in this blog, but I chose to put it at the end.  I don't know why...I just did.  Last week at work, Kwame (my supervisor) and I took three of the kids to play handball with one of those blue rubber balls at the middle school in town.  While playing (and these kids are hardcore - they play real hard) I dropped the ball.  When you drop the ball, you have to run and tag the wall before someone else throws the ball at the wall and hits it.  So I'm running, and all of a sudden feel this sting on my back.  One of the boys completely missed the wall and smacked me in the back with the blue rubber ball.  I could hardly 

move my arms and back!   I had a nice welt on my back for a couple days.  He apologized and we laughed about it for days.  The next day was my day off, so Bri, Tinea (Bri's cousin) and I went geo-caching.  

We couldn't find the first one, but we couldn't give up.  We went looking for the second one in the forest.  One thing about geo-cache's in Juneau is that they're all hidden in the forest!  So we're hacking our way through the forest, stepping in mud piles, climbing over fallen trees, trying to avoid Devil's Club (this prickly plant that if you touch, the thorns get stuck in your skin and your body has to expel them - you can't pick the thorns out) and such.  Oh, did I mention that I was doing this in flip flops?  Dumb idea #1!  And did I mention that I tripped in a hole in the ground and broke (or really badly bruised) a toe?  Dumb idea #2!  After doing this for about 30 minutes,  we find a red box - the geo-cache!  IT was pretty exciting!  I did get Devil's Club in my foot, and I am still waiting for it to come out.  But overall, it was such a cool adventure - we can't wait to do another one!

That's about all in the Great White North!  I hope you're all doing well!  Know I miss you all and love you!

Blessings!

Where, oh Where, has my INTERNET GONE?!?!

So this week I lost almost all connection with the outside world. Rule number 1 - get your own internet! Don't depend on someone else's connection - it will fail you! That was the most frustrating thing to wake up to one morning last week. So I am sorry if I have not responded to emails - I haven't gotten them!

There is good news though! The internet people are coming to our apt on July 7 to install internet! One more week of no internet, and then I'll be saved! Yay!

Other than that, it has been a pretty good week. I still miss home, but overall it has been good. Here are a couple funny stories from work:

One: A few nights ago, I found our boys sitting on the window sills of their rooms talking. This is not allowed - it is considered AWOL (it was about 10:45 - way past bedtime). I told them that they needed to go in their rooms and go to sleep. I check on them about five minutes later, and they're out again! I said, "This is your last chance. I've been lenient, and now you're abusing that." I left and came back five minutes later and they were out again! (I know, dumb, right?!) So I said, "You (can't say his name) are out in the rec room tonight. Come on - bring your bedding." He fought me the whole way out, and the guy he was talking to poked his head out the door and said, "You've got to be @*#& kidding me! Give us one more chance - we'll go to bed!" Me, being the stubborn person I am, said no. So the second kid said, "You are officially off the cool-staff list and on the uncool-staff list! I hope you're happy!" and slams the door. I had to bite my tongue. In a way, I graduated! I'm holding my ground, following through, even though I still have no idea what I'm doing. It was great!

Second story is not really funny, but a good story. One of the kdis here is one that I can hardly stand - he's the one who does not respect me, who is so rude, and defiant, that I go in the office and say, "I'm not working with him anymore - I can't handle him." Tonight, I was left alone with him. We actually had a great conversation! We talked about how he is having his treatment team meeting tomorrow. He doesn't think he needs long-term treatment (that's what he's heading for) and he wanted to build a case of why he should go to a 45-day program instead of a 6-12 month program. So I got to process through the pro's and con's of each, helped him understand the process of a treatment team meeting, and talked about his hope for the outcome. We also talked about what he would do if it didn't go his way and how he would respond. We also talked about his family and how his relationship with his mom has caused him to be the way he is and some of the anger built up there. It was a fantastic talk. When the rest of the kids came back, there was a change in the kid - our relationship had changed. Even my other staff member said something was different. It was so cool! Yay - finally something good in this job!

We are slowly getting our apartment put together - pictures on the wall, real furniture, dishes, etc. I've truly realized how much I hate moving and decorating. My roommate, bless her heart, is so into the apartment, and I feel so bad that I'm not. I've pretty much given her free reign and just tell her when I don't like something. I can only handle so much at a time...

I don't have any crazy adventure stories for now. Maybe on my days off...

I have missed the internet! It's so good to write to all you who read this (I don't think many do, but those of you who do, thanks!). I hope all is well at home! I miss you all and love you very much!

Blessings!