What do dirty bathrooms, John Grisham, the Gin Blossoms, Lutherans, Buzz Aldrin, and pot roast have in common?

Well...they all sum up the past five days of my life.

Lets start with the dirty bathroom and John Grisham, shall we? Last Thursday I spent the majority of the morning getting yelled at by NR, a resident I think I've vented about in the past. I'm not exactly sure what was going on with her on that particular morning, but she was especially unpleasant. After finally getting her up and settled downstairs, I decided that I needed to take a load off by spending time with a resident who might appreciate me a little more. DF, the old blind man, and I read a couple chapters of The Bleachers, by John Grisham. As always, we joked, laughed, I listened to him gossip, etc. Then I noticed NR going to the bathroom, which wouldn't have caught my attention on any other day...however, she had told me earlier taht she wasn't able to go to the bathroom at all anymore. After she came out, I took her upstairs to do her insulin. Something smelled a little funny, so I asked her if she had had an accident. She then proceded to yell at me some more, using some choice words. After doing her insulin she went to the bathroom again. A few minutes later I heard her calling me from downstairs. When I went up she told me she needed me to clean the bathroom because she had an accident. This was no small accident. I won't go into too much detail, but lets just say that the bathroom and her bedroom were covered in very shitty situation (pun intended). Three outfits, two loads of laundry, and a bucket of bleach later, NR left for a doctor's appointment. Thank God.

The Gin Blossoms, Lutherans, and Buzz Aldrin, you ask? Well, Friday night after a much better day at work, me, Kelly, Tom, and Scott headed over to a potluck at the Bonsecor (sp?) volunteers' house. They had invited several of the volunteer communities in the area over to get to know each other. While there, we met the Lutheran volunteers, one group who literally live a block away from us. Later that night we headed to the Inner Harbor for a free concert, featuring the Gin Blossoms (Hey Jealosy). On Saturday, after having saved some money at the free concert, I treated myself to a giant Chipotle burrito and then walked with Kelly to an annual book festival downtown. To our suprise the festival was quite happinin' with live music, Edgar Allan Poe readings, face painting, and the great Buzz Aldrin. Buzz was doing a book signing along with several other authors. It was a really neat event and it was really good for me to spend some time outside of my neighborhood and work. I got to see a whole different side of Baltimore. A side that allowed me take a break and step back and have some fun.

Finally, pot roast....or just dinner in general. The past two days (and this afternoon) I have been working in '03 in the evenings, which I haven't done on my own yet. This means, that I have been cooking dinner for C, L, L, DB, and J. As we sat down for dinner on Saturday, I was a little nervous that my cooking wouldn't go over so well. I made them all a plate and watched as they took their first bites. Much to my suprise and delight, they all seemed fairly pleased. Then, L said, "looks like you know what you're doing, Stacey, this is delicious." Boy was I relieved. Then, as my toughest critic, Leonard got up from the table, he said, "that was a fantastic meal, Stacey." And even though the kitchen looked like it had been hit by tornado, I had succeded in my first meal for '03! After dinner, DB followed me around telling be how cute I looked in my jeans. Yesterday one of my housemates, Scott, brough me a coffee while I was at work. After he left DB started asking me who I live with. So I told her. She then told me she wants to meet Kelly and Rachel, and then she said, "Who was that boy who came here earlier?...Make sure he comes back around, I wanna see him again." Then I asked her if she wanted to meet Amanda and Tom, to which replied, "Well Amanda, I mean she's ok, but Scott, make sure he comes back." (No offense Tom and Amanda, I put in a good word for you, I'm sure she would love you!) Then when I was helping her with her shower, I learned that apparently the shower head talks to DB, and it is also "cute". The next night, I told DB "giiiirl you be trippin'" because she was freaking out about noises upstairs and whatnot. She then told me I was "trippin'". I've found that if I use words like 'trippin' or 'giiiiiirl' I get much better responses from her...and I get to have a little fun too. Don't be suprised if I have a slightly different dialect the next time you talk to me.

Well, this week has a lot in store for me. I am working this afternoon and the Tuesday and Wednesday I work morning shifts in '01 (with DF :) ). Then Thursday me and my housemates are heading to Upper Marlboro, MD where we have our first retreat since orientation. We will be joined by the southern half of the east region of JVC, which includes: D.C., Philly, Camden, Raleigh, and Newark. I'm excited to get away for the weekend and reconnect with other communities. Then, on Sunday, I will get to see my mom, dad and sister. They are going to be here for the Air Force football game and Steph is running the Army 10 miler in D.C. My parents will be here until Tuesday, and luckily my days off next week are Monday and Tuesday. I'm really excited to see them and for them to see where I'm living and working, etc. Well, until next time...

Peace and Love,

SCH