I am a Grinch

        Today did not have the ideal beginning. It's Wednesday, so it's my day to cook and clean and take care of problems that may arise. In the past week, we've started registering families to participate in a Christmas gift give-away sort of thing, like Angel Tree, or whatever. You know, when you walk into your church and there's a list of families and what they want for Christmas? That's what we've been doing all week, and preparing for for weeks before. The lists are made by appointment, so if a person who registered didn't get a phone call for an appointment, they weren't selected to receive gifts. Some people don't understand that, so they come anyway.

          We also ran out of beans this week, so I substituted some chicken-and-rice. So I had to boil the chicken to cook it. While I was working on the chicken, the doorbell rang. At the door were 3 Mayan women who wanted to register their children. I figured, “Eh, what the heck, it can't hurt to put them on a wait list.” So I did. Turns out it was a bad idea. They went and told all their friends to show up.

          While I was registering them, the chicken boiled over. So then I was trying to take chicken off the bone, re-heat beans on the stove, and cut bread all at the same time. And the doorbell kept ringing, and Mayan families kept wanting to register. I ended up telling them that we couldn't accept any more people at this time, which was HORRIBLE because their children were right there, listening to me say that they couldn't get Christmas presents this year. I felt like such a grinch. While I was answering the door and trying to get across to these women what was going on, my rice burned and my beans burned and glued themselves to the bottom of the pot. Then I was trying to cut bread really quickly to make up for lost time and I sliced right across my finger, right at the tip, where it's the most pain-in-the-ass place to bandage. As soon as I dealt with my spurting finger, the doorbell rang again, with more Mayan families. I almost burst into tears right then, except that's not something I do. I was like “Seriously, if my whole day is like this, I'm going to dissolve into a little puddle and just give up.”

            So then I kicked an empty fork box across the floor really hard. It didn't go very far, but I felt better. Then I cut up some oranges, so the kitchen smelled like oranges instead of burned things. But then I burned my wrist on a 400 degree pan, so now neither hand is fully functional......

           So it goes.

Dia de los Muertos

         Today was the Dia de los Muertos celebration in Fruitvale today. Dia de los Muertos (DdlM) is a Mexican thing that is actually on November 2^nd, but I guess they decided that today was a better time. It was SO COOL!!!! It was my first time to go to one, or even actually know what it was all about, since while we do have Mexicans in Kansas, they're kind of like a weird uncle - we don't really like that we have them, so... we just don't talk about them and kind of hope that they just go away. But out here, in Oakland, the whole place is full of Mexicans and people of other Latin American countries, and in Oakland, we like to celebrate that fact by coming to celebrate with them!

         Like I said, DdlM is a Mexican tradition that goes back a long time. I don't really know how long, but it was something the Spanish brought over, I think. One of my Salvadoran residents was telling me about it, but I was trying to walk and understand Spanish at the same time, and that kind of multitasking is just a little bit over my head. You can Wikipedia it if you're interested. Anyway, it's a lot like our Memorial Day – people celebrating the dead people, basically. They make little monuments to them, with maybe a picture, or a name, and always some food for the dead person to eat, and some flowers or something. The flowers are marigolds, because they are the flower of the dead, and because they are readily available in the countryside and don't have to be bought somewhere. At least historically. Obviously you can't find marigolds in Oakland without buying them first.

    The DdlM celebration was held around the Fruitvale BART station, about 4 square blocks. It was fantastic. The first thing we saw when we got there was a bunch of Aztec dancers, all decked out in brightly colored pheasant feather headdresses, sequined clothes, and rattly things on their ankles that went “shoooka-shoooka-shoooka” every time they stomped their feet. There were also about six guys pounding away at drums while about forty of dancers spun around and stomped and moved around. They had a LOT of endurance, too – those songs were INCREDIBLY long, and there were a lot of them! They danced pretty much all day, with only a couple of breaks. I was very impressed. There was also a lot of incense going around. My hair still reeks.

 

      

           There were a LOT of sugar skulls around, too. You know when you get on the Pinterest main page lately, and pretty much the ONLY thing is sugar skulls or how to do sugar skull makeup or sugar skull tattoos? It was like that, except in real life. They were EVERYWHERE. I bought a pair of (tasteful) earrings and a palm-sized black-and-white painted terra-cotta skull. I think they're really neat-looking, especially when they're massed all together. I'm not sure why they're a thing, but I think it was something the Spanish brought over. A guy at one of the shops told me that sometimes they put your name on it. I told him that was macabre, but he said “well, you know, it's good to be reminded of that once in awhile...”

           So that was “Dia de los Muertos according to Oakland.” In the next week, I'm sure there will be a “Dia de los Muertos according to San Francisco” and a “Dia de los Muertos according to the Oakland Catholic Worker.” Hopefully all that repetition will get old.

           Halloween was also this weekend for me. Ben and I dressed up as the xkcd stick figures. But pretty much everyone does Halloween, so there's really no point in writing about it. If you're curious, just go look at my Facebook pictures.

A quick walkabout

I've just been BESET with requests to see the house I live in (meaning my parents have asked a couple of times).  So, M&D, here you go - 

1. This is the bike collective that is on the first floor, under our back deck.  People can learn how to take care of a bike, volunteer, and then take home a bike of their own. 

 2. This is our garden, just past the stairs up from the bike collective.  It looks sort of scraggly right now because we are preparing the ground to put in some raised beds.  And also because it rained a bunch in the last couple of days - first time I've seen real rain for several months!

 3.  This is a gueiskill (pronounced "whis-keel").  It's a type of vining plant, like a squash, I guess?  Don Petronilo planted it, and he is very proud of it's progress.  Personally, I think the fruits look like testicles.

 4.  This is the back porch - the blue tarp awning is new.  Those are the steps I run up and down when I'm refilling the mop bucket.

 5. This is the side porch.  It's actually a very pleasant place - a good place to watch the traffic during the day, and at night, watch prostitutes solicit customers.  We keep some boxes of potatoes and onions for the house on this porch, and a few random extra things.

6. This is the daytime view from the side porch. 

 7.  This is the mop and mop bucket.  I hate them.

 8.  This is the car wash.  It rained this morning, so they weren't open as early as usual.  They play loud music (although not so much lately) and smoke a lot of pot.  It makes our downstairs smell bad.  The red van in the picture belongs to us.  I have to drive it on the Interstate, and merge into traffic, and parallel park, all of which are a lot scarier when they're in a van rather than a regular car.

 9.  Two Jesuses and the Virgin Mary watch over us while we eat at the table.

 10.  I've seen several pictures of Dorothy Day, and I don't think she's smiling in any of them...

 11. This is the first of 3 fridges.  We get a lot of donated cakes, pastries, and breads from Whole Foods, so that's why there are so many donuts (VEGAN) on the shelf.  We also snagged about 45 dozen eggs from the Food Back a couple weeks ago, so we still have some left.  How long are eggs good for, anyway...?

12. This is fridge number 2.  It is almost always full of cakes and pies and weird little pastry things from Whole Foods.  

 13.  This is the second-floor bathroom. It looks wider than it actually is, but in reality, the tub/shower is just out of the picture on the left.

 14.  This is the view from the toilet.

 15.  THE POPE IS WATCHING YOU AS YOU EXIT.  This was literally the first thing I noticed about the house - the Pope.  And the pink stairs.  Evidently the archbishop guy in the picture under the pope was arrested for a DUI right about the same time as I came to Oakland.  It was scandalous, I guess.

 16.  I swear, all these cabinet doors were closed when I picked up my camera.  When I turned around to take a picture, they were open again!  If you are in my family, you will understand this.  If not, this is just a picture of my kitchen.

 17.  This is a bag of random desserts/breakfast items that Whole Foods employees throw willy-nilly into a bag.  When they crumble into bits, all the calories leak out, which is how I justify eating so many of them.

 18.  This is the first of 2 pantries.  It is constantly re-organized.  If we have a bunch of volunteers and not enough stuff for them to do, we have the re-organize the pantry.  It has been redone at least 3 times in the two months I've been here.  No.  Wait.  Four.  At least four.  As a result, I can never find anything.

 19.  This is part of the second pantry.  We really do not need all those boxes of StoveTop stuffing.

 20.  This is the back porch towards the garden, from the dining room. 

So there you have it.  Not pictured is an office full of filing cabinets, another room full of random junk that doesn't have a home anywhere else in the house, my room (because it is messy and I don't want to clean it just for a photo op), the living room downstairs (crammed with 2 stacked TVs, a coffee table and 3 sofas) and the downstairs bathroom, which contains a toilet and 3 showers.  

A fairly average weekend

I had a pretty standard weekend in the city. Nothing incredibly out-of-the-ordinary. Nevertheless, I took a lot of pictures of it. So instead of an incredibly text-heavy post, here are lots of pictures!!!

Friday – 430pm – after conducting an interview for a wanna-be new resident from El Salvador (we accepted her), I hopped on the BART to the city.

 445pm – passed by my future residence.  It used to be an old cotton mill.   I love old brick and glass buildings.

630pm – had a serious craving for greasy pizza, so Ben and I went to Mystic Pizza on Haight. It was delicious and so,so greasy.  On the walk back, we passed a restaurant that was playing the K-State vs. West Virginia game.  Shrieked my allegiance to any Kansas-related sport to the empty street.  

730pm – Darin was visiting Alyssa for the week. It was good to see another Bethelite. We talked about the football team and because I am such a sports expert, I had a lot to say.  We also talked about how stupid it was that the bars were showing the KU football game instead of the K-State one.  Silly Californians.  You can do that when it's basketball season!

Saturday, 11am – Ben and I went to the Haight Urban Air Market on Haight and Fillmore. It was full of people who were like “I made this myself, so I'm going to charge an arm and a leg!” Which, I mean, yeah, is great, but when your clothes are poorly made, that logic doesn't make a lot of sense. I am a clothing construction SNOB, and when I see a serged edge, or a fraying seam, I just can't handle it. I was literally shuddering at some of the booths.

1115am – one of the booths that did NOT make me shudder was this booth, which was selling crochet pants. Yes. They exist. No. I did not make them.

1130am – There were other things for sale too.  I'm pretty sure "make stuff" refers to crocheted toilet-paper roll covers, or maybe macrame potholders, or even little ceramic dishes to hold earrings and car keys.  It certainly doesn't refer to procreation.  There were also wooden ties for sale.  I'm guessing it would be a lot harder to throw your tie over your shoulder to eat soup, but that's ok, because as Marla Krell made it abundantly clear, that's not an acceptable way to behave at a business luncheon. 

12pm – went back to the house, had leftover greasy pizza from the night before, read our respective books, and just chilled out for a few hours while we waited for Nora to come back from running errands so we could go to the Mission with her.

2pm – JUST missed Nora walking out the door. Walked to the Mission to go thrifting for our Halloween costumes. Took pictures along the way.  The Castro district is where the SF gay-pride movement has its roots, so there are a lot of rainbow flags.  The Mission is where a lot of the Hispanics live, so there are a lot of produce stands.  That association doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's how it is.  

230pm – found a pair of used jeans exactly like my current pair of worn-out jeans! For $4 instead of $40! Thrift-town WIN!

300pm – went with Ben to the SF Cosmetology school in the Mission for a $5 haircut. It took an hour, but they did a nice job, and now he doesn't look quite so shaggy.

400pm – sat in Dolores Park and watched people. Got cold. Surreptitiously put on tights in front of 100 people at the park. No one noticed, or if they did, they didn't care.  A lot stranger things have happened at Delores, I'm sure. 

500pm – headed home, made guacamole for supper, watched “Heroes” with Alyssa and Darin while Ben read.

Sunday

900am – headed to SF Mennonite. Passed the peace and felt really awkward about it. I hate it when everyone is passing the peace to each other and I'm just standing there, with no peace being passed to me! And how do you decide whether or not to hug someone or just fist-bump them! And what if you want to shake their hand and they want to hug? What if you don't know them? Do you still hug them, in the spirit of brotherly love?  Can you chitchat while passing the peace, or is it just "peace-be-with-you-kthanxbye"?  I was just glad when it was over.

11am – headed to Dolores Park with the VSers and past VSers. Met a past VSer (Emily Claassen) from Beatrice, NE, and made Bethel connections, and that was exciting

130pm – took a gander around the Haight/Castro/Mission districts.  

200pm – took a nap in the sun on the comfy couch in the VS house living room while Ben skyped with Gary and Carla

400pm – went to Duboce Park.........

..........and fell in love with a beautiful blue merle Australian Shephard.  Became convinced that the only dog I could ever have would be an Aussie.  

There was also this guy.  He's wearing a full-body zebra suit with blue moonwalking boots.

500pm – fix supper with Ben (white chili and cornbread) and manage not to get into any arguments over proper food preparation (sometimes that is a challenge for us)

700pm – watch “Milk” with the VSers, Darin, and our new friend Dave from church. It's a movie about Harvey Milk, the first openly-gay guy elected to public office in San Francisco It was very good, and an interesting insight into the history of the gay-rights movement in San Francisco. At one point, Wichita came up, and Alyssa and I were like “Woo, Kansas!” Except it was about how Wichita was cramping the style of the gay people and then we were like “ohh......”

940pm – head home via BART and Oakland city bus.

So there you have it. A fairly average weekend, complete with loads of photos! And I guess it was pretty text-heavy, but whatever, you know?

Taking too much Tylenol can damage your corners

         I've started working at a medical clinic here in Oakland. And by “working,” I mean “volunteering once a week.” I started last week, so this Monday was my second day. It's called Street Level Health Project, you can look it up. The clinic is staffed by volunteers who do everything from admitting patients to taking vitals and blood glucose to dispensing meds and administering vaccines. It's way more than anyone would be allowed to do in the real world, that's for sure! I'd really been missing the medical field (I've worked in medicine in some capacity for six straight years) so it was really great to get back in the saddle.

        The clinic starts at 10 and goes until about 330 or 4 or whenever the last patient goes home. We see 20 patients a day, which doesn't actually sound like a lot, but when it takes at least 20 minutes to haltingly stumble through unfamiliar Spanish words and try to awkwardly explain what a Pap smear is, 20 patients is a LOT. I haven't actually had to explain that. But someday it will happen and it will be awkward. Our main patient demographic is Hispanic, but we also have a lot of Mongolians and some black people. The Hispanics are often Mam-speaking Mayans from Guatemala, which is cool. We have a Mongolian translator available, thank goodness, and we're supposed to have a Mam one too, but so far we haven't needed him.

Today I met an Ethiopian man who spoke Amharic as his first language, which is not a language I had ever heard of. He also spoke English, but not very well, so that was interesting. I also checked in a lady from Peru. She used to be a doctor in Peru, but now she is trying to find work as a substitute teacher, which is sad. I know that most medical school standards in other countries are lower than in the US, but still, jeez, what a career-change! But it was kind of nice, because I didn't have to explain how to do a breast self-exam or explain about STIs or anything. When I was talking to another lady, from Mexico, I tried to tell her that taking 8 Tylenol a day for cramps was a bad idea because it was bad for your kidneys. But I confused “rinyon,” which is “kidney,” for “rincon,” which is “corner.” So I told her that taking 8 Tylenol a day was a bad idea because it could damage her corners. And that makes no sense at all.

          I also checked in a guy who wanted a medical marijuana card. I was like “Are you taking any medication?” and he was like “Depends on what you mean by 'medication'” and I was like “Well why don't you tell me what you think is medication and I'll tell you if it is or not?” and then he was like “Well, I want a medical marijuana card,” and I was like “um... I'll make a note of that and get back to you.” And the whole time I was like “We are not in Kansas right now.” Because while we do smoke marijuana in Kansas, we definitely don't go around being like “I smoke marijuana!” I mean, at Bethel, people do it all the time, but it's still illegal and not talked about in public. But here was this guy, just like “I want a medical marijuana card!” So I told the clinic supervisor and she was like “Oh yeah, we do that, just let the doctor know!” And I was like “..............................................................ok..... definitely not in Kansas right now.........................” So that was a new experience.

           I also learned how to give flu vaccines! It is oddly satisfying, being able to just stab someone with a needle and have them be ok with it. And I learned how NOT to put the stethoscope prongs in. It's very important – if you do it the right way, sys/dia is clear as day. If not, well, you look like a fool when you say you can't hear their BP and then you have to do it again.   

I miss this stuff.

Disclaimer: On this blog, I try to be pretty upbeat and not a Debbie Downer, because no one wants to read about whining all the time. That said, this post is not going to be full of rainbows, koala bears, and stuff, so if you want to read that, go read “The Oatmeal.”

For the most part, I don't mind living here in Oakland. It provides valuable experience to me, something that would be more difficult to find had I remained in Kansas. However, there are certain things I miss about Kansas, and after a month-and-a-half of living here, away from those things, their absence is really starting to become noticeable.

1. Bethel College. This weekend is their 125^th anniversary celebration, and while I'm sure it was absolute hell to put together, this is the first year that I wouldn't have to be involved in that aspect of Fall Fest. And I can't go. Having been to Fall Fest pretty consistently for the last 8-10 years, not being able to attend leaves a pretty big gap in my October. I also know that all sorts of super fun things are going on that I can't partake of (Clint Harris/Kelly Reed improv, Secret Garden, verenike, New Year's cookies, FRIENDS) and that makes me really sad. Because although I think Clint Harris is a giant poopface, and I hope all of his jokes fall flat, I still wish I could tell him that to his face, instead of over a blog post. I also miss the rest of Bethel, the day-to-day stuff, the professors/staff, the Ad Building, making agar in KSC, taking pictures of football games, and just everything about it (except tiffs with Student Life. And the Caf).
2. Family and Friends. This is the first time in my life that I have not been consistently surrounded by either family or friends. In high school, I saw my friends for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and on Sundays. The other hours, I was at home with my parents. In college, I was surrounded by my friends 24/7. To suddenly go from having friends literally within 10 feet of me at all times, to having to walk half an hour to a BART train, take a half-hour train ride, then walk another half an hour to see friends, well, that is not very fun. And I know that's part of being an adult, and I do enjoy living with the people in my house, but you know? It's different from anything I've experienced before and it's not my favorite thing. I miss sitting in the Caf and cracking dirty jokes, making fancy sauce and cheese fries, taking pictures of everything and everyone, making those inside jokes that only your family gets, walking to meals with my mod (even though Camille's long legs made me huff and puff to keep up every morning!), taking camping trips, being able to just walk up a flight of stairs or across the mods courtyard to see friends, and to be a part of a distinct community of young adults.
3. Kansas. I miss Kansas. Haters gonna hate, but I think Kansas is a fantastic place to be. Sure, it's not “on the pulse of the nation,” as Ben likes to say, and it doesn't have a lot of fun big cities, nor does it have public transit (which is actually super nice), but it is my home, and I miss it. I miss open roads past fields of sunflowers, milo, and prairie; I miss the sunsets (the fog obscures them here); I miss the quiet; I miss the open skies unobscured by electrical wires or tall buildings or light pollution; I miss waving to everyone on the road, regardless of whether or not I know them; I miss walking by myself at night; I miss the changing seasons (even though the leaves don't turn pretty colors); and I even miss the absolute lack of topography (because riding a bike in the city SUCKS).

Well, that's about it. All I can say is, “Thank god for Facebook, because without it, I'd never be able to stay in touch!” And thanks to all you people who have sent me mail! I love mail, and I love people who send me mail.

I miss you all, and I love you very much.

 I miss hanging out at Eric's house with these people.

 OMG I MISS SWING DANCING!!!!

 Creekers.  What a magical place.

 Poopface.

Head towards the music!

       This weekend, I headed into the city on a Thursday evening so that I could catch a fundraising event at one of the VSers placements. Chelsea Weaver works at Global Exchange, which is this place full of people that care a lot of about a lot of different issues, ranging from fracking to Palestinians to Wall Street. It was pretty varied, and it was interesting to see what at least one of my new friends does every day.

        Back at the house, it was Jonathan's birthday. He's one of the VSers as well. We had green velvet cake (Alyssa and Nora ran out of red food coloring so they used blue and yellow; and they didn't have enough cocoa powder so they used hot cocoa mix. It tasted pretty good, a little dense, but definitely edible.

the cake matched their shirts!

creepy, creepy Alyssa

oh look!  Turns out it's GREEN!

        Friday was spent sleeping in a LOT. It was also the opening day of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park. So I wandered down Haight Street for awhile and found a pair of corduroys, and two Banana Republic shirts from Goodwill for like $15! I don't like the Banana Republic business on principal – who even names their store that?! It is so inconsiderate! But I'm pretty sure that if I bought their shirt at a thrift store that benefits other people, then maybe it is ok. The shirts were super cute. I also saw a man with a cat on his shoulder and a cardboard sign reading “Pay homage to your kitten dictator.” Then I hopped on the 71 bus to the Park, trudged through sand paths under eucalyptus trees, and followed the sounds of steel guitars and super mellow vocals until I reached the festival. There were like a million people there, with 3 stages, and a whole lineup of artists. People watching was a blast. There were some really strange characters in attendance.

this is part of Golden Gate Park

selling headbands with big flowers on them

IT'S CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!!!!!  Complete with rum and a coconut!

Jesus stopped by with a few choice words for corporate Amurrika

       On the way home, I hopped off the bus at Haight St. again because it's a pretty cool place. I bought some patterned socks for $3 from a trans guy with a five o'clock shadow and violently purple eye makeup. That was a new experience.

        Back at the house, we were expecting the Fresno unit + LISA PENNER!!!! to arrive that evening for the bluegrass festival. So we had some birthday wine and played Catchphrase and waited for them to arrive. Once everyone got together and we were moving in the same direction, we headed towards a gay bar in the Mission district to celebrate Jonathan's birthday. It was a pretty loud place. I have never been to a club or a bar before, especially not a gay one, and so it was very different from things that I have experienced before. I think I accidentally told a gay guy that Alyssa and I were talking to that I was a homosexual. Oops. To be fair, it's hard to distinguish between “homo” and “hetero” in such a noisy environment, where it's too dark to lip-read.

        The next day, we all went out to Hardly Strictly. We decided to walk, which was a bit of a hike, a little over 2 miles, I think, but it was a nice day with nice company, so it was fine. Once we reached the park, we found a place to spread our blankets and enjoy the sun, picnic food, and card games. Within a few hours, the place had FILLED UP.  I have never seen so many people all in one place at one time, and that includes FFA National Convention.

        At 445, the Head and the Heart were scheduled to play at a different stage, so around 400, some of us (Greta, Jonathan, Greta's friend Megan, Aaron, Sarah) went over to secure some seats. After a lot of climbing around on the hill near the stage, Sarah spotted a big piece of green down on the lawn in front of the stage, and went for it! And that's how we got pretty good seats to a free Head and the Heart concert in San Francisco. They played “Rivers and Roads” at the very end, which made me cry because they had played that song at my friend Seth's memorial service last year. But I'm glad they did, and it was really cool to hear it live.

OMG THE HEAD AND THE HEART 

  

       Then we had a 2 mile walk back, during which I educated Chelsea about all the different kinds of Mennonites and where they came from, starting with the Reformation and ending with Leninist Russia.

On Sunday, I headed back to Oakland to help with a fundraising presentation at a Catholic church (yay Catholic calisthenics!). And Don Petronilo made soup with chicken hearts, livers, and necks in it. I ate it and so far, have not regretted doing so. He also told me that the Spanish for cabbage, which is “repollo,” translates to “re-chicken.” He is a funny guy.