I did not sign up for this...

Gee wiz... as stated earlier its is hotter than the hinges of hell. all our days are in the nineties some in the triple digits and all our lows are in the 80s.

Speaking of lows in the 80s. I hit the "low 80" hour mark on Sunday which has put me in a bit of a funk. Bythat I mean from last Mondayto this past Sunday I worked 82 hours.  That included my 15 hour day with a trip to Texas A and M, along with a bunch of double digit days and working both Saturday and Sunday. 


I am exhausted to say the least.

As I write this I am at the 13 almost 14th hour of being here. Just waiting for a file to upload so that I can continue on through with my work.

I haven't had much time to sleep and no time to relax. I think what frustrates me most is that I feel as though I am being taken advantage of a bit. I know everyone has well intentions but I signed a contract to only work 40 hours.

I am at quite a tricky spot in terms of remedying the situation as I work in an office that has 3 people but should normally have 5. We run around like chickens with our heads cut off.

Also another big factor to my situation is the fact that transportation is tricky. My commute, if I were to take the public transportation would be an hour and fifteen minutes (one way). It includes 2 bus rides and 2 walks that total about a mile.  This all done in the Houston heat and in business professional clothes mind you!

My work sees the annoyance in the situation and in addition to that they worry about the walking part (which comes closer to the school as we are in a rougher neighborhood). A teacher last year said I should carry pepper spray. She said that if I would ever have to use it should would hope that it would only be for "the dogs that run around our neighborhood."  As a result I get picked up and dropped off by my supervisors which is also one of the reasons why I work insane hours.

My file is uploaded. Of to the presses I go... wishing for sleep and normalcy.

baptism by fire..

Isn't that what they call it... well at least that is what it feels like!
I am on my fourth day at my placement and starting my first full week and life is hectic to say the least. My position for JVC is new this year and the office I now work in, the Corporate Work Study Office, just had two people leave and I am replacing them. Thus things are all the more hectic as I am doing the work of two people AND I'm brand new to all this stuff. 

Some updates and ruminations on life thus far....

• having a ton of extra beds in your house is fantastic when the only people you know in a city are a whole house full of new JVCs as well.. after a great friday night we had a massive double house sleepover followed by a brunch! The pancakes really brought me back to "Pancakes and Pregames" prior to BC football games
• people are really welcoming in houston... thank you random people at Bar 5015... for letting us know that we are going to be "ok" with our new transition to living in TX
• bunt cakes... rarely go over well (should have known this from my big fat greek wedding) our JVC sponsor parent who helps us if we need anything brought over a bunt cake on our first day which was 8 days ago... and we still have it. however over the weekend one of the other houston house members simply put her whole hand in it and grabbed out a bunch during our festivities.  what remains of the bunt cake sits on top of our refrigerator. 
• after having a lazy weekend of hanging out and relaxing i decided to go for a run on sunday. at 1pm. during the heat advisory. lets just say lesson learned. I thought I was going to die.
• I am still certainly not used to be called "Ms. Niemer" 
• and Ill leave you with this scary fact.... tomorrow I am chaperoning... (read: responsible for students!?!?!) a trip to Texas A&M for the students to check out the college
• this day will also be a hell day as the buses leave at 6 a.m. and return at 6 p.m. and then starting at 7 p.m. we have meet the parents meeting till who knows when... AHHH

that's all she wrote.

it's hotter than the hinges of hell

it really is hot here. there are no doubts about that. currently it is 95... and its a pretty cloudy day.

here are some updates on my interestingly transitional life these days.

following my last post... i started orientation... which surprisingly wasnt as bad as i thought. not as many ice breakers and plenty of time to meet some really incredible and awesome people... including some rather interesting characters (including but not limited to my housemates)!

each day of orientation covered a different component of the JVC program. here is an overview
tuesday: we settled in
wednesday: social justice
thursday: simplicity
friday: community
saturday: spirituality
sunday: settling into my new home.

then we had local orientation which included
monday: seeing all the placements of my five other roommates
tuesday: going to the bank and doing adult things like opening a bank account

which brings me to wednesday and today which have been my first few days at my new placement... to say i love it here at Cristo Rey Jesuit is an understatement... The first day was a bit of "baptism by fire" and today has been great.... i am learning a lot.

while i realize im missing the nitty gritty details of my days.. ill leave for you a few ruminations i have found doing my transitional period

• if there is a switch in a room in a house you have just recently moved into... be cautious about flipping it. while it may look like a normal light switch, in actuality it may turn on the entire house alarm system
• an un-airconditioned / slightly moldy/ and unused for a year room might not be the worst thing... (read: with a little love and creativity i now have my own room).
• i dont know if i will ever get used to being called "ms. niemer"
• everyone sweats in texas

that's all she wrote!

Houston, I arrived with no problem.

Oh the places you go.... And now I am really here in Houston. I thought I'd do a quick update before reality sets in and I meet up with all the other JVs.

So where am I right now... In Houston IAH near the baggage claim and where people get picked up.

Where am I supposed to be... The level below me where all the Jesuit volunteers (JVs) are slowly gathering or at least i think but since I am hiding up here I cannot be sure.

Our bus doesn't leave for another three hours so I thought I'd take advantage of these simple moments and be on my own before I jump right into community, service, social justice and simple living.

My day started at 4am when my body decided it was going to awake from all the none sleeping it had done. By 5 my mom and dad were up and we headed to the Milwaukee airport for my 7:25 flight. I annoyingly waited for 45 mintues to just check in and made two friends... One who was nervous as she had never flown before and had a lot of questions and the other who helped console and yelled at the Midwest agents for only helping certain lines check in.. Naturally these were the lines we weren't in. Eventually the nervous Nancy saved the day as she snuck into a VIP line and then let me skip her. Ah what a beautiful blessing.

I ran to my gate and was the last person in the plane and was in Dallas by ten. Three hours of layoverness was awfully boring but we boarded at 1 and after a 56 minutes of flight I landed in Houston.

Here I met a drunk fellow by the name of Neil. He asked me where I was flying to and from and when I answered I chuckled as I said this is my new "home"... Weird.

Once I come out of hiding I'll be off to orientation in pine hurst tx till the 15 and will then be back in Houston to get familiar with the city and I start my placement on the 18th.

More to come when things settle down...

That's all she wrote.

oh, the places you'll go

(posted originally from jvc blog... http://insidejvc.blogspot.com/2010/06/reflections-from-incoming-jv.html#more)
I recently turned twenty-two and am a proud college graduate with my Bachelor of Science in biology from Boston College. Yet, one of my graduations presents was a children’s book?

The wise words of Dr. Seuss still suite me well beyond my times of rhyming with green eggs and ham. Our dear friend starts out...

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!



I certainly feel this way. The world appears at my fingertips and I don’t think I could have made a better choice than the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. I will be off and away headed to Houston, TX - a great place that I have never been but have high hopes for in the coming year. I will be volunteering at Cristo Rey Jesuit of Houston helping out with the Corporate Work Study Program, which helps fund the education of high school students!

The year will most certainly be filled with hopes and challenges. I hope that this is a year of discernment into what direction my life will head. I also hope to be stimulated in my placement and to absorb as much as I can from the world around me. I have high hopes for building lasting relationships with my housemates and while I know this will not always be easy, I expect it to be a very rewarding part of the program. Other challenges I anticipate include… transitioning to the weather (being from Milwaukee, WI and going to school in Boston, MA doesn’t really warrant humid preparedness), living in the south (what can I say, I am a Midwestern girl) and working in a totally new environment (I am a biology major working and learning about high-school work study placements).

In thinking about this position, Seuss inspires and challenges me…

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

Boston College has prepared me as much as it can and now I must start the next journey in my life. I am confident that with a positive attitude, zest for life, an appreciation for this experience, and an open mind that this will be a wonderful next place.

It’s a funny thing being young and college educated. I really feel as though this next direction was one of the first major choices that I made totally on my own. This was a choice made through discernment and, most importantly, through reflection on my faith.

In anticipation of what will most certainly be a beautifully challenging year, I think Dr. Seuss is speaking directly to the JVs of 2010-2011…

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.