Super Wow!

Sooooo I know that it has been a ridiculous amount of time since I last posted, but try to forgive as my life is insane! I spend so much time working (last Saturday was my first day off in 15 days) that it is hard to find free time (and when I do I want to be outside/having fun) but don't get me wrong I still love life and my job. I can't get enough of the group/environmental service that we are doing so any extra opportunities that come up I usually jump on. We get to do so many cool things, like in November I went through chainsaw training!! Now I can say that I am like a lumberjack! Last week the corps worked a children's Christmas party. The party is for kids that have been victims of sexual abuse, and this is a time where they can have fun and relax! Each of us had assignments/booths to work, they were all cool, but I got to work at the best one! And I got to work with awesome people (Abbey and Monica)! We worked the t-shirt booth, the kids each got a blank t-shirt and could choose designs to have pressed on the shirt. We then would use a t-shirt press and put the designs on the shirts. Abbey (one of the most awesome people here) and I laughed so much and had a blast making the shirts. And we got to make shirts for ourselves, we made matching team shirts that have a fish on it and say super wow! I must say they are amazing.

On the social end of things life is good, I work/live with the most amazing people. I have made relationships in this program that mean so much to me and I love these people so much. You would think that being with the same people all the time would get boring, but it is the opposite. As time goes on the more time I want to spend with them. We have been having a good time getting into the holiday spirit. Our house did a White Elephant gift exchange (expect the gifts were nice), I unwrapped a beautiful picture of the sunset at Old Silver Beach that Davis took and had enlarged. I was lucky that my gift didn't get stolen from me because I loved it so much. Others weren't as lucky, everybody wanted the blanket that Megan had crocheted. It was stolen probably five times. We were also able to get into the holiday spirit after a snow storm dumped 9 inches on the Cape overnight. It was so cool, I was staying up in Wellfleet for the weekend and Saturday we woke up to go shoveling. It took eight of us 2 hours to shovel the whole driveway and parking lot. Then the group when sledding down a hill by the house, using trash bags as sleds. After we warmed up a couple of us went to the beach, it was so strange seeing snow on the sand. The waves were also crazy from all the wind. It was a sight to see.

I am getting ready to venture home to Ithaca for a few days, I in fact leave in an hour. I miss everyone a lot and am in need of some majoring relaxing, so I can't wait! Miss and Love you all.

Gearing Up

Oh Man! Things are crazy as always, but even with the craziness that is my life there are so many fun things sprinkled in that it makes it all worth it. Halloween was last weekend and it was awesome! On the actual night of Halloween we went out to Provincetown and ened up at Governor Bradford's again (i love drag queens). All the costumes were hilarious, Alex was a bumble bee and he wore a tutu as part of it, he got hit on by so many men it was amazing to watch. Another guy Greg was dressed up as Dora the Explorer and it was phenomenal. He would go up to random people and follow them asking them questions and showing his map. I laugh so hard, my roommate Ashleigh and I were hanging on to each other for balance we were laughing so hard. There were so many people dressed as Sarah Palin, it was amazing. I got several pictures. On Saturday we went to a house party of an AmeriCorps alum, we had a great time. A lot of margaritas were drank. All in all a very successful Halloween.

This weekend coming up is going to great/insane as well. I am headed up to Boston!! On Friday we are going to the Mass Service Alliance opening day event, which is essentially a big AmeriCorps pep rally!! I am pumped, we get to tour the state hpouse and all sorts of things. Then it will be an Ithaca College REUNION!!!! I can't wait to see everybody, it has been far too long. I will be taking so many pictures this weekend I am ready.

I miss everybody a lot!! Love to All!

Alive Again

Hello all,

I have had a couple of really busy weeks recently but it is because of the hectic nature of things that made a realization I had this weekend so much sweeter. I realized that I finally feel alive, that my soul is open again. And here is the strange part I didn't know how closed it was until it opened so widely. I feel as though I am finally the person I have always known I was, but just couldn't fully express, and here I can. The best part is that I have people around me who are coming to the same realization and we find so much joy in that together and it brings us all closer together. I was talking to my friend Laura today on the phone and she said something to my that was amazing. She told me that I have matured and grown so much in just a few months and that she was so proud of me. I always thought that I was a mature person, but this is a different kind of maturity, one that is about being ok with accepting that things are going to work out and unfold the way that they are supposed to. And with this realization came freedom for me. I have never been happier or more full of love than I am at this time. I never want to lose this feeling. And for all those who don't know this feeling, keep looking because when you find you will be set free.

I love you and miss you all.

p.s I know that was kinda preachy but for me it has change my life.

Its been awhile

So I know that it has been a long time since I have written but things have been absolutely crazy (in a good way).I started work at the Red Cross and it is going so well I really am enjoying it. Right now I have just done a few quick projects but they will get more indepth as time goes on. Like today I had to pick up special needs supplies and get them to a regional shelter for storage, to accomplish this I had to drive an ERV (basically a converted ambulance) to fit everything in one trip. It was awesome! I love driving big vehicles even though it goes against my environmentalist ways. In other work, our group service has been such an amazing experience, the projects we get to do make me realize how lucky I am that this is my life. Take last Friday for example, in the afternoon we worked with the town of Brewster Department of Natural Resources, harvesting oysters from their grants, to supplement the recreational fishing. It was beautiful out, we were barefoot and in shorts out on the sand flats measuring oysters, separating oysters, protecting the from crabs. It was all in a days work (my life is WONDERFUL). Tomorrow we are helping a community garden to close out their beds and then setting up for a Cranberry Festival. I never want to be in an office doing desk work.

Life outside of work is just as spectacular, there is always something to do and someone to do it with. I mentioned contra dancing last time and it was phenomenal! I loved it, there were old people, young people, every type of people dancing with each other. I can’t wait to do it again, it is a really great way to meet people and have fun. We also have gotten really into Trivia night at the Beach House. Every Thursday we go and play, there can only be six people on a team so we have to split up the house. My team (NO BOUNDARIES) has Jacs, Jenny, Maria, and Amanda on it and we RULE ALL. The first week we played we got first and every week we have placed in the top three. Finally my useless knowledge is coming into play. We have all gotten so obsessed that we quiz each other at all times we can. We all have so much fun with each other no matter what we do, both houses are full of amazing wonderful people that I love.

Last weekend was a wonderful one, we had a three day weekend so it was a much needed break. On Friday a bunch of us went out for Brian’s 22nd birthday. We went up to Provincetown and participated in Drag Queen karaoke. AMAZING! The drag queen’s name is Dana and she is awesome, she gave Brian a lap dance and led the best sing a long ever. We sang so much that she probably hated us by the end, but it was worth it. Our selections included: Beat It, Billie Jean, MMMBop, The Friend’s Theme Song, and so many others. Can’t wait for Halloween in P-Town!Well until next time. Love and miss you all!

Happy October!

HEY-O!!! I hope life is good for everyone, because life is amazing for me! I have never had a time when I have been this happy and fulfilled. I can truthfully say that I LOVE my life! We are finishing up our training and on Tuesday I will be starting at my individual placement. I am pumped, we met our service partners on Tuesday and it went really well, so I am very ready to get started at my placement.
Another really cool thing that we got to do was learned how to manage volunteers for future projects. It was almost like having a drill, we had a very small scale volunteer event that we had to run. It went well in the management sense, but the day as a whole was one of my favorites so far. The corps and volunteers worked on a farm that has been around since the 1600s, we were split into three different groups each with our own project. My group (Amanda, Ashleigh, Crystal, Samantha, Brian, Greg, and myself) worked on clearing up a blueberry patch. The patch had been overgrown with invasive and harmful plants. Our volunteers were amazing and the work was so satisfying, except for the fact that I was rolling in poison ivy, but whatever. I ended up showering that night with dish soap. One of the men who helps to run the farm and i talked a lot about the farm and the restoration that they are trying to do, it made me realize that I am in love with the idea of living and working on a farm someday. Maybe WWOOFing will be the next adventure!
I have really come to think of this place as home, I don't know if I want to leave the Cape. I have built this great life here in just a few weeks. I love the people here and all the things that the cape has to offer!! Like tonight a bunch of us are going Contra Dancing!! We live such active lives and I love it so very much!! Until next time!!
LOTS OF LOVE!

No Touching.

Hello to all my beautiful loves!!!! I miss you all very much but life is good on the Cape. We are leading simple yet wonderful lives, we work our butts off during the day doing training. This week we had a shellfish training and worked on oyster farming all day. I was actually in chest waders, in the muck and water, moving oysters around so they can continue to grow safely and then be used to add to the shellfishing activities. I learned more about shellfish then I ever knew existed. And we got to see baby scallops swimming around.
We also got our individual placements this week, even though we don't start at them until October. Mine is at the Red Cross, my official title is Disaster Services Building Capacity Project Manager. LONG I KNOW!!! But its so cool that I have a title, apparently I will be doing a lot of logistical work surrounding sheltering and locations. I think it will be a lot of fun and I can't wait to get started on it. I will be working there four days a week and the other I will be doing group projects with the corps. We actually did our first big service project on Friday, we put on this environmental education program at schools called Wet Fest. At Wet Fest all these kids flood into the gym and we are all at stations that deal with water resources and how to preserve them. Working with kids is awesome and it felt so good to realize that we are making an impact on these kids at such as young age. I really hope that we are able to make a lasting impression on them. Starting to educate at such a young age is vital to changing the way things are done in society and I am lucky to be able to be a part of that.
After Wet Fest we stayed up in Wellfleet and went out to a former Corps member house and had a party. It was our first real night out in a while and we had a blast. There are so many ridiculous qoutes and moments from that night, I can't even begin to tell you all about them. I feel like I have known all the corps people forever, it has been amazing and continues to be amazing. Other than that life continues to be filled with friendship bracelets and Friends episodes at night. Life is good.

LOVE YOU ALL

A Weekend of Festivals

So, the week flew by really fast and before I knew it the weekend was here, and as it was our first off we decided to fill it with many a fun activities. I was also very lucky to get a visit from two people I love (Tiff and Ben!) It was great to get to see them and show them my life here on the Cape. On Saturday we finished up our first batch of Friendship Bracelets (FB's), a craft we have recently become obsessed with, it's a good way to pass the time. Then a group of us volunteered a the Scallop Festival! It was really fun, even though this next part may not seem so fun, I spent the first part of the evening picking up trash with Greg and Amanda. It really way fun because of the conversations and joking that took place. Then I was placed on the chicken line (sanitary?) I worked with Jenny on that one with was very entertaining. After we finished up the service hours we were able to hang out and listen to the band that played. They were awesome (Entrain is the band) you all should check them out. On Sunday a group of us went to the Truro Vineyard Grape Stomping and Jazz Fest. It was such a beautiful day and place to just hang out for the day. And the wine was FANTASTIC (although I still have a bias for Finger Lakes wines). We also hung out in Provincetown and had dinner there so, over all it was a wonderful and busy weekend. Up this week is more training, TCHD peeps you will be happy to know that one of them is a shelter simulation! Until Next Time!!

LOVE YOU ALL!

How Awesome Is This?

So I just got back from an amazing weekend in Eastham. The weekend trip was for the Americorps team's first retreat, we were so amazingly lucky to stay where we did. The house that we stayed at was located right on the national seashore, literally you looked out the back porch and saw the ocean. Isn't it beautiful!!!!



The house belonged to the Coast Guard and is used for environmental education projects that are going on. All 30 of us stayed here for 3 days and bonded a lot. Everyone from both houses are amazing and wonderful, it was really great to get to know everyone a little more. There are already people who I really think I will know for a long time. There are so many things that I want to say about everyone so I will try to say a little something about most people. In my house there are some awesome people!!!! There is the A-Team that is a group of five of us that are getting really close and have a great time with each other. There is Jacs who is from Corning and is really funny and great to have heart to hearts with. Amanda, is from Michigan, whe is really sweet and kind and has had really interesting experiences. Jenny is from Rochester and is just as loud and crazy as all the Ithaca kids so its like being home. Finally in the A-Team is Maria, she is from South Dakota and is my bunk mate. She is also one of the coolest people that I have met here and we have a great time together. She also introduced me to saying BAM after things so be prepared. There is also Ashleigh who is one of my roommates, she is out of her shell now and is so fun to talk to. Christin is our program supervisor aka "house mom" she is so supportive and fun, she made us brownies for when we got back from the bar! Korinda is another really amazing person in the house, she has so many environmental eperiences that are really important to hear about, and is into talking about issues in the world. Then there is Davis who is realy awesome, he is like our Mr. Fix-it. He is also a good guy friend to joke around with and make fun of but he gives it right back to all of us so its cool. Also in the house is Megan who lives in my room, Harry who is from MA, and Phil who is a really nice, interesting guy to be around. And thats just my house! The Wellfleet kids are just as amazing! I haven't gotten to really know them all, but the I have are so cool. Brian, Tim, Alex, and Greg are all the boys in the Wellfleet house, they are all so amazing and I believe that they all have a lot to say about the world, I look foreward to getting to know them through the year. There are also a couple of girls that I have talked that I want to get to know more about, Abbey, Meg, and Sam seem so cool. There is so much to talk about with all the Americorps people and its going to be an amazing year!!! Until next time!

LOVE YOU ALL

Greetings from Cape Cod!!

Hello to all!

I have decided to create a blog for all those who want to stay up to date with what I am doing at the Cape.  I already miss everyone a lot but i am really excited and looking forward to all the things that i am going to be doing this year.  I got to the Cape yesterday and today was our first day, it was mostly paper work, but we got to meet the kids from the Wellfleet house.  All of this month is training for the most part, but most of them seem really interesting at least.  

The house I live in is really nice, I am sharing a room with three other girls and there are 14 people in the house total.  So its a little cramped, but fun.  Its not the same though as being in Ithaca and at school, yes I do not miss the classes and work but I miss everything else.  Its strange to not have all the things that I am familiar with and know like the back of my hand.  And no Wegmans.  But I am ready for new experiences and adventures.  

Until next time.  LOVE to ALL

Meredith