Get rid of Wrinkles without the botox

This title may seem a little strange but there is quite the story behind it. 6 weeks ago, Meghan and I moved into a new place so there'd be room for all three of us this year. Our landlords seemed a little intense but that turned out to not even be the half of it. The second day we moved in, the satellite guy came over to install the satellite and our neighbor and then our landlady yelled at me (because I happen to be the one who opened the door) about not making any changes. This was a huge deal for a little while but after seeing that the new holes in the roof weren't big enough for rats, she calmed down. Then last weekend, we had them over for a meet and greet along with some of our neighbors and some of the sisters. This was the first problem for them because they thought it was going to be all business. They were both rather rude the whole night, even pulling the three of us aside to go over part of the lease. Conveniently, the husband had brought air filter to change (6 weeks early) so he went into each room. After doing this, he found pictures hanging on the walls...God forbid! and they both had a big problem. We weren't supposed to make any changes without talking to them first. Saturday, I was lucky enough to see the woman again because the lawns were looking a little brown so she came to see the sprinklers. Apparently, without knowing at all, we had unplugged the timer so again, I got yelled at. Then they wanted to set up another time to go over the lease so we agreed on Sunday night. They came over, as did Sister Bridget and Dorothy (some support people) and we had a long discussion. In the end, it was decided that it would be best for us to move. We didn't foresee the situation with the landlords getting any better so we found a new place and will be moving out on Saturday. Although it's not much time to prepare and I'll miss this house, it's definitely for the better. How does the title relate? The name of our landlords is Wrinkle and one of the sister's found an add with the same wording as the title. Very appropriate timing!

State Fair!

Saturday, Traci, Gwen and I went to the California state fair. It was a lot of fun. We spent more time there this year than last year so we got more of a chance to walk around and check things out. We saw a bunch of animals-cows, goats, pigs and piglets and got to eat some good fair food. I had funnel cake which was delicious. At night, we watched the Gary Allen concert and got to see some fireworks on our drive back home. It was a fun day and a good community building experience.

Big Transitions

These past 2 weeks have been full of big changes. I went to orientation and during that time, most of the JVs left as did Meghan. When I got back on Sunday, I had two new roommates and most of the other people I knew were gone. I was thinking that staying on for a second year would be easier than getting another job in a different location. I think that in many ways, it is easier but the change in community and surroundings is making the transition much harder. It's been interesting getting settled with my new roommates but I think that it will be a great year, I just need to be more open to changes. Yesterday, I dropped Sean (one of the JVs and my boyfriend) off at the train station to go back to Ohio. It was a very emotional day, especially because I haven't gotten much sleep in the past week or so, and it made me think about all the recent changes and acknowledge that they were upsetting me. After doing that and getting a good night's sleep last night, I am doing much better this morning and more prepared to deal with this transition.

Orientation Take 2

I've spent this past week in Pennsylvania at orientation for Mercy Volunteer Corps. It's been a long but interesting week. I've met my future community mates and the rest of the volunteers and have had fun. I'm a little sad because most of the volunteers in Sacramento are leaving this week so I had to say an early good bye but we had a bbq on Friday before I left so I had the chance to wish everyone well. I'm looking forward to getting back to Sacramento and starting this new year, I'm sure it will be wonderful! If you'd like to support me in this second year of service, click here to make a donation! I don't have a picture of my new community yet so I haven't posted a new one yet but in time there will be a new picture.