Back to the Garden

After a much needed winter break and a 10 hour drive,

Blue 2 is back at the Oregon Garden.

Even though we were away from each other for almost 2 weeks, it seems we all stayed relatively on the same page. The girls have all resolved to stop being passive about our fitness/weight loss goals. The guys have decided to give Tony Horton and run for his money by sticking to the strict P90X videos, and we've all resolved to make improvements for good of the team.

What I couldn't help but notice on the drive up here, is how we've all really come together as a family. I might have said it before, and I certainly said it in our interview with the Appeal Tribune, but this time I actually meant it. I was surprised to find that seeing my teammates felt almost like seeing my friends from school. There is just something right about the 10 of us being together at this point in time.

Case in point, after a long day of traveling the girls all instinctively decided a nice unwinding trip to the hot tub at the Resort was necessary. The guys decided to get back into the swing of movie watching, and we all decided Brinner was a better solution than tackling the WinCo bulk foods store.

I'm more than glad to be back, and I cannot wait to get back to getting things done!

Return of the Corps

I'm currently sitting in the Phoenix airport waiting for my 9:10 flight back to Sacramento.

The only thought running through my head is: "Finally!"

It's not that I didn't enjoy the break, or seeing my family and friends, it's just, NCCC is so hard to explain. Yes, as media rep, I can give you a 30 second elevator speech about the program, but none of that is appealing to friends, family, and cute strangers.

Friends want to know I'm leading an exciting life of pseudo-debauchery. Family wants to know why I'm not in Div school/Grad school. And cute strangers just want to know how much they're going to have to work for my number. I've probably explained NCCC 100 times since break and I've got to say, it really is exhausting.

I've been in many "bubbles" before in my life. Bubbles meaning, living in a world that really only makes sense or is really truly understood by those also in said bubble, but the AmeriBubble is by far the hardest. Or really, I should say the AmeriNCCC bubble, as I realized recently that even my friends doing AmeriCorps Direct don't understand my AmeriLife.

I live, work, and play with the same 9 people. At times I find it frustrating it, and at times I love it, and then there are times like now, when I realize even though it's hard, and even though it's a love/frustration relationship, I really can't see myself doing anything else right now.

And as a shout out to Blue 2, I really couldn't see myself doing NCCC with anyone else!