Dumpster Diving

My roommate's dad is a professional dumpster diver. He makes about $1,000 a week scavenging useful items that have been thrown away and taking them to the scrapyard or reselling them.



As a result of her family background, my roommates and I have begun dumpster diving. First it was for a bookshelf, which had been thrown out because the back was coming off. A couple of nails could easily fix that problem.



Next we scavenged an artificial tree for Christmas. The stand was missing one leg, so it had been thrown out. We propped it in a corner and decorated it. Given our budget, there was no way we could have afforded a tree that we would only use once before moving. This allowed us to add a little festive touch to our apartment.



Today we found a gorgeous lamp with five individual lights, which can be twisted to point any direction. The only discernible flaw is a little chipped paint on two of the lights. Not only was this totally functional lamp thrown out, but so were the three energy efficient light bulbs in it.

I love dumpster diving!

Sunday's Successes

Today I:

1. Made enough homemade pizza for my roommates and I to have supper tonight, lunch tomorrow, and some leftovers. I used Betty Crocker's Stir and Roll Pizza Crust recipe, and random ingredients from the fridge. It was super tasty, but I should have had the oven a little lower (maybe 375), and checked it at 15 minutes. It was a little crispy, but still tasted wonderful!
2. Made a batch of homemade Chex Mix to take to work for a snack, and to my EDU 119 class tomorrow night. It will be another day of not getting home until 8 or later, but I have my three roommates in the same class, so it's fun.
3. Took a long overdue nap. I've been working over fifty hours a week for the past three weeks, with very few breaks. It felt so good to relax and get caught up on sleep!
4. Researched an article for my EDU 119 class.

What did you do today?

Stay Alert!

This seems to be the mantra in my apartment. You can't turn your back without your blankets being spirited off and hidden in some dark closet, or having your dirty socks "hung up by the chimney with care." I was on the phone once, talking to my family in Minnesota, and suddenly found the entire contents of my purse adorning our Christmas tree. It's a good thing I didn't drive to the store that night---my wallet was strung up!

You also have to beware of flying objects. Rubber bands, footballs, soccer balls---they are all fair game. My best advice is to duck and cover. If you do get involved, expect a few bruises.

At least life is never dull at my house.

The Laundry Room

My roommate lives in my laundry room.


There. I've said it. She came to us out of a really bad situation (her landlady gave her less than 24 hours notice that she'd need to leave due to a messy divorce), so she originally was just going to crash on our floor for a few days. A few days turned into a couple of weeks, and no housing leads were panning out. Money was tight (AmeriCorps offers a living stipend just at the poverty line), and we all really enjoyed each others' company. My other two roommates and I were open to having her stay, but knew that she couldn't live in our living room forever. Even though she repeatedly reassured us that she was fine with the situation, and could easily make up a partition out of curtains, we knew that it wouldn't be a comfortable long term arrangement.


Our one empty space was the laundry room. It's six feet by four feet, and uncarpeted. However, for someone who's just looking for a place to sleep, it's perfect. We knew it was likely that eventually she's crave her own space and find an apartment, but were fine if it turned out to be a permanent arrangement.

It's been two months. Even though it was really awkward when her mom visited and saw our huge apartment, and then her little room, she repeatedly reassures us that she loves the space.

What secrets do you have lurking in your closets?

Margarita Monday

You have to love Margarita Mondays. 99 cent margaritas, with special flavors (such as Desert Pear or Blackberry) just 50 cents more. There were also plenty of sides for just $2. I enjoyed the seasoned fries. What's not to love?

We had a nine person group of fellow AmeriCorps childcare workers, which let us discuss all the craziness at our centers, our success stories, and our struggles. We commiserated with the member who had a screamer at her center (a three year old who literally loved to get right up in your face and scream endlessly). We traded behavior modification tips for two year olds who loved to hit (buy a punching bag if at all possible, or find a loud drum or squishy ball they can take their agression out on).

It's a fun tradition, and fairly reasonably priced (as long as you ate beforehand and didn't catch a meal at the restaurant).

Where do you go for a cheap night out?

Cat Fight!

Tanea and Janessa are best enemies. They can go from being absolute angels, playing drums together peacefully and laughing merrily one minute, to scratching each other's eyes out the next. It makes the last two hours of my nine and a half hour shift interesting, to say the least.


It's the time when kids have been in preschool all day. They're tired, and cranky, and ready to just go home. Instead, they have to play nice with the other kids for two more long hours.


Janessa and Tanea had just discovered the joy of the small hiding place beneath the stairs of the indoor loft. Three sides are boxed in, with a fourth side semi-open. Yesterday, Tanea climbed into the farthest reaches, with Janessa sitting right next to her. I was cleaning up the last of the toys, listening to them giggle and chat away merrily, when all of a sudden I heard a horrible screeching sound. Howls followed, and pained screams.


I rushed over, crouching down and risking life and limb by sticking my head in. The scene that met my eyes could only be described as a cat fight. Sharp talons were digging into tender flesh, and I could only reach one hand of the culprit. I ordered her out, but she would have none of it. Knowing that if I pulled her out by her arm I would lose my job, I was forced to flail around for the other hand to at least stop the horrible clawing.


When I finally maneuvered Janessa out and persuaded Tanea that it was safe to emerge, little Tanea had scratches all up and down her face. The top of her head was scratched, and her arm was covered in welts from Janessa's pinches.

I cleaned her up and bandaged her as best as I could, and tried to sooth her. Needless to say, getting so cut up with no way out doesn't feel good at all. I just sat with her in my lap, talking with her quietly.


When the two had a few minutes to cool off, I talked with them both together. Each was eager to blame the other, citing what each did wrong (She pinched me first! She said she hated me! She wouldn't scoot over!) Both pinched and scratched, but given the difference in size and strength, Tanea came out on the rougher side. Strangely enough, the other girl didn't have one scratch on her.


I wrote out an incident report and informed the site director of what happened. We are blocking off the cubby hole, and talked to both set of parents. Let me tell you, that was one fun conversation to have.


As it was, I was already blaming myself. Even though I was only assisting in the classroom (and not actually a lead teacher), I wondered if I could have handled things differently. Could I have somehow gotten them out of there faster? Should I have just pulled Janessa out, at the risk of losing my job?

Who knows what Monday will bring.

eHarmony

Recently, my roommates came across a free trial offer for eHarmony. Given that it was nearly eleven on a Saturday night, what could be more entertaining than filling out the application form?

eHarmony asks some very strange questions. Take, for instance, their inquiry as to whether you feel: Safe? Plotted against? or Out of control? Who would honestly answer that they felt plotted against?

They also asked you to rate how you viewed yourself on a scale of not at all to very much so. Some possible characteristics? Quarrelsome, honest, and impulsive. I suppose the honest bit proved just how honest you were: if you listed very much so, obviously you were lying; if you listed not at all, who would want to date you?

They also asked how important your partner's various traits were to you: your sexual compatibility, the romantic attractiveness you felt for your partner, and you partner's attractiveness.

Wow. All I can say is that I'm so happy I don't qualify for eHarmony. Have any of you tried online dating sites?

Finca Paraiso, or Heaven on Earth

This may not look like much, but it is a hot spring waterfall. Imagine the gentle caress of hot water pouring down off the rocks, as you bask in a cool pool of water. After a sweaty week of camping, with only one opportunity for a proper shower, this was truly Paradise.

We indulged in tamales that small children were selling on the lengthy trail to the waterfall. Hot food, and a hot shower all in one day? It was a magical place.

A Much Delayed Ikea Post

After two weeks of sleeping on an air mattress (a roomy twin), I am now the proud owner of a real (vacuum-packed) Ikea mattress!

We discovered the joys of Ikea one rainy Sunday afternoon. My two roommates and I browsed the store for a good four hours, debating the merits of various mattresses and tables. Having very little money, and even less space in the car, we could only get the essentials. So now we have a table, but no chairs, two mattresses, a bed frame, and a coffee table. Amazingly, this all fit into my trunk! I love Toyotas.

Today's To Do List

1. Make a spare key for our new houseguest.


2. Find a surge protector for my laptop.


3. Add cash to my laundry card---two loads of laundry in three weeks is a little low.


4. Wash all of my freshly picked blueberries!


5. Find (or make) a bookshelf.


6. Make curried tempeh shish kebobs and avoid setting the wooden skewers on fire (update: failed at the attempt. Must remember to soak the skewers in water first).
7. Clean my room!

When You're Too Poor for a Map...

Take a picture! This was our guide to Tikal, to be consulted when hopelessly lost.

You'll also be happy to know that the flash on a camera acts as a rudimentary flashlight for when you're stranded in the dark on an overgrown trail, or exploring deep into the tunnels of pyramids. The video function can be used to record the howl of jaguars as you venture in the dark to the pyramids to see the sunrise, and to videotape your terror at drawing closer to the jaguars, rather than further away.

Don't you love technology?

The Joys of Camping

This, my friends, is a tarantula being devoured by an even bigger bug. Not what you want to see on your way back to your campsite, especially when it is almost dark. Yes, I know that most tarantulas are totally harmless for humans, but that does not reduce the horror of encountering one after a glorious bath in a hot spring waterfall. It's totally incongruous and jarring, and definitely not conducive to good sleep. I think this was the one night that all three of us crammed into the two person tent. No one was sleeping outside with tarantulas.

Camping in Tikal

This would have been the smart way to go. Hammocks and mosquito nets. Our way? A two-person tent (carried on our backs for a week), a sleeping bag, one sheet, and a liter of water. Since we were three people with a two-person tent, one of us always slept outside---on the beach, in the rainforest, in a hammock on a nature preserve, or in the dirt. You just curled up real tight and tried to forget about the tarantulas. One night we had an armed guard watching the beach house behind us, and he apparently watched me sleep all night. I was out like a light, so I'm not sure if that was a reassuring thought or not. By the end of the week, one of us had mono, the other had a raging sinus infection, and the last one suffered debilitating blisters. However, the views at Tikal, the hot spring waterfall at Finca Paraiso, and the countless chicken buses made it all worth it. I wouldn't trade that trip for anything.

I Love Facebook

My friend got married. And I didn't even know.

I need to work on staying in touch with people. Things got so crazy when I was in Guatemala that I didn't stay in close contact with others. I really wish I had. Now I'm going through all of my friends' Facebook pages and getting caught back up on their lives. I'm finding out where they work now that we've all graduated from college, and where they live. I'm e-mailing one friend a week to find out how their lives are. I found out one great thing: a friend who studies abroad in Guatemala with me is now with AmeriCorps VISTA and living in Oregon. Is there a roadtrip in the future? Possibly.

I love Facebook.

It's Cold Outside!

This is a post from December 4th. You'll now be happy to know that we have heat (set at 55 degrees, but heat is heat), and I now have a quilt that I scrunched up very small and fit into my carry-on.

It snowed today. It's the beginning of December, and we still have no heat. The debates have been intense: just how cold does it have to be before we turn the heat on? Will one of us actually end up sleeping in her car to avoid paying the gas bill if we do turn the furnace on?

In the end, after a solid three weeks of daily debates as to how cold it had to be to worry about pipes freezing, we turned on the heat. Initially it was only to 50 degrees, but eventually a few good cold spells wore my roommates down. Now we're at a cozy 55 degrees. Totally bearable if you have a secret stock of quilts or long underwear. Is it any wonder I checked a bag with two quilts, long underwear, and many layers?