Aurora's Blog

Picking up from yesterday –

What is Super Cool Creamery?

Oh, it’s only the coolest freaking ice cream place I’ve seen, probably ever. It’s this insanely, unbelievably brilliant idea and I wonder why no one came up with it sooner, and how in the world Ben (the owner) is not already a millionaire.

Here’s what happens. The Super Cool Creamery people (so today (and I think usually), Ben or Josephine) put a cream base (sugar, cream, milk, and whatever else you put in ice cream) into a big bowl. Then, they add the flavoring of whatever flavor you choose. They work on whipping it up. And then *drumroll* they add liquid nitrogen!

It’s cool because this smoky-looking stuff starts billowing out of the bowl. Of course kids (and adults alike) are all “whoa! That looks so cool!” And the very cold liquid nitrogen starts turning the ingredients into ice cream right before your very eyes!

It it unbelievably cool. And in the morning, they gave me a spoonful from a batch. Before I tasted it, I wondered what this crazy makeshift ice cream would taste like. Would liquid nitrogen taste chemically or weird?

No. The ice cream tasted absolutely incredible! It was so rich and creamy and unbelievably delicious. My mind is still blown at how I think this is one of the coolest things ever.

It’s also incredibly environmentally friendly. Think about the ice cream place that never has to plug in a freezer, and practically never wastes food.

You basically only make what you need, ’cause you’re making the batches as people are asking for them. And if you do end up making more than necessary and the stuff in the bowl starts to melt a bit, when your next customer comes in, you can just add more liquid nitrogen!

I feel like I’m in an informercial right now because I suppose it’s a little odd to be so incredibly excited about a product that I just found out about and have no stake in. But I just thought it was exceptionally cool and wildly smart, not to mention environmentally responsible.

Of course my only issue(s) as someone trying hard to lose weight this year (and trying to eat less and less dairy) is that I kinda wish there were perhaps a vegan and sugar-conscious version… But!
a) there’s always time to try that kind of stuff once the company grows.
b) It’s ice cream. Maybe every once in a while, you just have to indulge.

I’ll talk a bit more about the art walk tomorrow.

What is A Window Between Worlds? It’s a non-profit organization designed to use art as a healing tool for victims of domestic violence.

I was more than happy to give an afternoon to help an organization with such a noble goal.

They put on this Art Walk called “Art in the Afternoon.” I was assigned to food. When I got there, there was a small volunteer meeting by the stage in which they just thanked us for coming out, and said a little about the day and about A Window Between Worlds. After our little pre-event huddle, we went off to our stations.

I happened to overhear the folks at Super Cool Creamery talking with  one of the coordinators for the event, saying they’d need someone to take tickets. The coordinator was saying the food leader wasn’t there at the moment, but she’d definitely assign someone when she came back over.

I piped up so none of them had to ask to again for something when they saw another coordinator person. I said, “I’m assigned to food and haven’t been given a station yet.”

Boom. I became the ticket person for Super Cool Creamery!

I want to talk to you all about what Super Cool Creamery’s business is. So, I’m gonna give it its own post tomorrow. For now, let’s talk more about the event.

This seemed like a super fun Art Walk, and it looked like people had a great time. You could engage in art projects there, and I always love places where doing things is an option.

Color Me Mine – which is this lovely-sounding in place in Los Angeles that I’ve never been to where you can paint bowls and things – had a tent where you could paint tiles. There were other various art projects around.

Not only was there art you could partake in, there was wonderful art you could enjoy from survivors who were going through A Window Between Worlds’ program.

And there was food. So. much. food.

Since I was a ticket-taker, I thought all the booths took tickets (which translated into money since you had to buy the tickets). But I came to find out no. In-N-Out = free. Panda Express=free. A smorgasbord of vegetables, fruits, and juices from Whole Foods=free. Sprinkles Cupcakes and Hansen’s cakes=free!

Not only were all those things free, the Hansen’s cakes people even walked around with trays trying to give you cake!

I did not indulge in the cake… but I did love one bite of Super Cool Creamery’s ice cream because I had to at least taste it. And I will get into the awesomeness of Super Cool Creamery tomorrow.

This day was short, straightforward, and simple.

I got there, got a volunteer shirt, and looked around for something to do. (The person running the volunteer table wasn’t there. She (or he) was probably out and about doing something.)

I found one of the captains in the backlot street who asked, “You doing something?” “Nope.” “Come with me.”

She assigned me to the task of moving some shirts and goodie bags over from the main registration area to the VIP area, saying once I was done with that to go find her to get another assignment.

So, I did that and I found her pointing incoming runners on the shuttles to the right directions to get their packets and such. I asked if she wanted me to take over for her so she could do other things, and she happily took my offer.

So, I spent the rest of the day pointing people from shuttles to packet pick-up. Then after the race, I pointed people to the correct shuttle.

I talked with Tony, the director of transportation. I learned about Teamsters and such, which was fun.

One thing I’m enjoying is that even though I’ve volunteered at a few different athletic events at this point, my jobs have thus far all been totally different. I didn’t even really think about the shuttling part of a race… until I worked in the shuttle area.

Think about how well-rounded and ready to take on the world I’ll be when it’s time to put on a race of my own! 😉

Picking up from yesterday –

As the day went on, we got kids who were younger and younger. In our last couple of matches, we had people who’d never played before. So, what they decided to do was to have an adult with every child who would help them along the way.

I got to guide one of the children. It was a fun and unique experience. First, I was pretty happy that I actually knew enough about Goalball by that time in the day that I could sort of teach someone how to play it.

Second, it was interesting to try and help someone in the course of the game because how do you help someone when the whole point of the game is to pay attention to the bells inside this ball? Sound is so important that you can’t really verbally coach them.

But you don’t want to just manhandle them moving them without speaking – especially when they can’t see, you ’cause I’m sure that does not feel good!

I just tried to kind of basically very quietly say things, or sort of just use my presence, tapping the ground or whatever. Granted, since the game was moving very slowly with explanations, it wasn’t a high pressure situation or anything.

While we’re talking about things that were quite awesome about the day, another thing I loved was at the beginning of the day when all the athletes were in the gym, people led everyone through little morning exercises. I love any volunteer event that gives me an excuse for a mini workout!

Overall, I would say it was a good day full of learning, and I’m glad I got the opportunity to go!

Picking up from yesterday –

Also, during the games, the volunteer leader of Goalball would stand by the bleachers and give the parents little tie bits and such as the game was going on (since many people had never seen Goalball before).

It sort of sounded like a little sales pitch because she kept mentioning that you could come play Goalball with them on the weekends… But it also sounded like it was free to participate. So, I dunno…

It was a little funny though because Goalball is supposed to be played in a quiet gym. (I know that’s a little counterintuitive for sports, but the athletes need to be able to hear the bells in the ball.) And this person running Goalball would talk about how important the silence was – but then she’d be giving facts during the game.

She wasn’t all that loud, so I’m sure that’s why she thought it was fine. But the athlete closest to her (and me) in one of the intense matches sshed her, which was sort of funny. (I didn’t have anything against the woman, it was just hilarious to hear her continue to talk about how important silence was, but then talk, and then get sshed by an athlete.)

We broke for lunch. And again, it was incredibly sweet of them that they provided lunches for us. However, yet another thing I like to think I learned if I ever plan some type of event like this –
In the volunteer handouts, they said salad would be available instead of the meat option.

I’m actually trying eat less and less meat. I don’t want to go so far as to start saying I’m trying to be a vegetarian. I don’t want to make a declaration that I will never have meat again for the rest of my life. But I am generally trying to keep a mainly vegetarian diet. And I’ve been doing a pretty good job.

I was excited about the salad, but I hung back to make sure any real vegetarians (and of course any athletes) could have what they needed before I got what I needed. But they completely ran out of salads in both places where food was being served! Tons of people were not pleased. Lots of vegetarians did not get fed.

I did bring bars with me, because I know if you’re going to have a special diet, you always have to be prepared to provide your own stuff. But I felt bad for all the vegetarians who’d been told they could have salad, but instead got turkey sandwiches.

Wah Wah.

And I’ll finish out here tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

– and things we can learn from the volunteer leader…  As I said, we already had jobs on our name tags. But then she was assigning us different jobs.

Now, look. I’m a team player and if things need to change, I’ll change and adapt. That’s fine. But why do you want to change and adapt to things that don’t need to be changed for any reason.

I was standing there across from someone assigned to safety gear. And she asked me, “Hey, do you want to do safety gear?” I didn’t want to be a diva or a jerk, but since she phrased it as a question, I said in a very nice way that I’d prefer to do ball retrieval if I could, but you know, whatever she needed.

She assigned me to safety gear. Then when she looked at the person assigned to safety gear and thought about what they should be doing, you could see her running through what she needed in her head. Then she assigned him ball retrieval! What was the point of assigning us new tasks when we were both there already assigned?

This is another example of when it would’ve been good to have been keeping a list so you can actually know if you’re short in any area, not just judge it based on what’s right in front of you.

I’m really for any challenge, but I was more excited by the prospect of trying to run around getting out-of-bounds balls as quickly as possible than I was by putting elbow pads and knee pads on people all day.

As more people started coming in from opening ceremony – and she realized she did have everyone she needed – she graciously allowed me to move back to ball retrieval. (Phew!)

And I spent the rest of the day chasing balls and calling goals. (There were no super close calls, so it wasn’t that pressure-filled. I just had to raise my arm when the ball went past the line.)

In one of the corners, a ball retriever looked just like Santa. It was pretty funny. He had a very round belly. So, he barely ever bent over to get the ball. He’d kick it somewhere or do some foot magic to get it up to his hands.

He tapped out before the end of the day. I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m making fun of him. I thought it was nice that he volunteered his time. Just pointing out it was a funny little act to watch during the day…

And I’ll pick up here tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

Now we know all about the Junior Olympics, and we know what Goalball is. So, I suppose it’s time to talk about the day.

I got there and everyone checking people in was bubbly and organized. We had name tags that not only said what we were assigned to (e.g. Goalball), but also what we were assigned to within that area. (I was a ball retriever.)

There was an area where we could all pick up free box breakfasts. I really appreciated the gesture. However, most of the stuff in there had sugar as either the first or one of the first ingredients. I am really, really trying to make a much bigger effort when it comes to eating healthily. So, I didn’t take one of the free breakfasts (even though I always find it hard to pass up anything free).

We all spent some time in the gym prepping for the day. I met a group of Shriners. (I know nothing about Shriners, just that a Shriner’s hat is worn in By The Skin of Our Teeth.) The only thing I do know is the guys were nice, proud to be Shriners, and we all got some pictures together.

Now, what I’m about to say is in no way supposed to disparage the Goalball volunteer leader. But through this project, I’m trying to pick up things that I want to keep in mind for the future if I were to coordinate volunteers, and I feel like she did a couple of things I could learn from.

For one thing, she specifically told multiple volunteers after they checked in that they should go watch the opening ceremony because she thought it was something really cool that’s “not to be missed.” But then, she got overwhelmed and said that she was short people.

Then, when volunteers came back after watching the opening ceremonies, she seemed surprised that she had people. So, my only point here is maybe keep a list you check to actually know who’s there and who’s not. Or don’t tell people to watch the ceremony. But whatever you choose, don’t get worried when people aren’t there – when you actually know they are there.

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

What’s Goalball?

All players wear googles which completely block everything out (for anyone playing who does have some sight). It’s 3 on 3. Each team guards a goal that is basically the length of the end of a basketball court.

The players do a mix of kneeling and standing. They mainly kneel. When you kneel, you can feel the tape out in front of you, so you know which direction is the correct way to be facing. Also, when you’re on the floor already, you can “superman” out – stretching your body out – so that you can try to cover as much area as possible to block any balls coming in.

How do you know when the ball is coming to you? You can hear it! There are bells inside the ball, and you rely on your hearing to get a sense of where it is. When you want a teammate to pass you the ball, you pound on the grounding front of you, making noise so they know where you are.

Once you have the ball, you have to roll it to the other side. My understanding is there’s a line in the middle of the court and it can’t be in the air (or to a certain height in the air) as it goes across that line, or else it’s called as a high ball.

I find it a little interesting that a game for blind people can only really be reffed by sighted people, because it’s sighted people who say whether it’s a high ball and whether a ball is out of bounds, whether a goal is counted – all that jazz.

I suppose maybe if you were incredibly skilled with your hearing, you might be able to hear that stuff. But we had sighted people working the game.

So, after you roll the ball across the court, you either score a goal or the team blocks it. Then they roll it back, and on and on. We played games for 5 minutes each. I don’t know how long Goalball matches usually are.

Whenever the ball is thrown out of bounds (which was kind of often), one of the ball retrievers (that was me) just drops it back in to one of the side players, and the game resumes.

It might not sound super face-paced with all this talk of rolling and such. But when a game really gets going, I thought it could be a bit exhilarating.

So, now that we know what Goalball is, let’s talk about the day tomorrow.

While this event was super in fact super cool, let’s get to it right off the back that the “Olympics” moniker is a bit of a stretch.

Some people had never even played these games before. So, if you think this was a wildly intense competition, get that out of your head.

So, what is the Junior Blind Olympics?

Well, it’s not anything sanctioned by any official Olympic body. That’s just the name they use. It’s an event for blind and visually impaired people 6-19 years old from, from various states, experiencing different fun athletic (or semi-athletic) events. I say semi-athletic because in addition to sports, there were picnic games and such.

There were plenty of events to participate in – archery, golf, long jump, shot put, tandem cycling, etc.

Basically, the vibe I got was that the point of it was to encourage blind and visually impaired people to be more active because the obesity rates are high in that demographic. (Granted, it’s America. So, they’re high in basically every demographic… And I’m certainly not one to talk since y’all have seen that I’m working on losing weight.)

How did I end up at Goalball?

When I got the paper asking me to rank my preferences for volunteer activities, I put Goalball at the top of the list for two reasons:

1) It is a game specifically for blind and visually impaired people, and one I’d never seen (or even heard of) before. So, I wanted to experience something new.

2) It was indoors, baby! And if you ask me if I want to be indoors or outdoors, my preference is always – always – indoors. Sure, I like outdoor athletic events, but if I could run and jump and dance and everything exclusive inside for the rest of my life, I’d be all for it!

But, I will say that after having seen the day, it’s possible that the volunteers who sort of had the most interesting day and possibly got the most out of it were the assistant coaches. They got to take athletes around to the various competitions throughout the day. That seemed like it would’ve been rewarding (and interesting and ever-changing). So, if I volunteered at this event in the future, I’d maybe want to try that out. (Though it was kind of super awesome being indoors.)

Goalball itself is an awesome sport – which I will tell you all about tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

I was assigned as one of the people who passed out food to go in the boxes.

So, basically, I learned this is how it all works:
There are two lines that run through the warehouse, both accomplishing the same thing – just happening concurrently on different sides.

Some people tape up the bottom of boxes, getting them prepared to be filled. Then, there are people who walk the boxes all around the long semi-oval of stations of food and other goodies. Once the box is full, it goes through the automatic tape machine to close it. As that’s happening, filler of the box goes to get a new box and start all over.

Runners take the boxes from the end of the tape machine and run them outside where they are labeled. I didn’t totally get to see what all happened outside, but I think those tents also had letter writing stations available. And I’m not sure how all the boxes were sorted and everything, but the point is the magical sorting and such happened outside.

Indoors (always my favorite place), we had a grand ol’ time. The people around me were very friendly. We also had super fun mini-conversations with the people who were coming around filling the boxes. At one point, we even started a timer to see how long it took people to get back around to us. (I think it was about 5 minutes.) One guy made it a little game, trying to shave seconds off his times. It was fun and silly! I loved it.

In keeping with the whole well-run machine thing, we even had a couple volunteers who just continually re-filled the bins as we were getting low. There were never any hold-ups or slow-downs that I saw because everybody had a job. Everybody was needed. It was run quite well.

As I saw the people in the boxes going around, I saw their different strategies on how to fill it without overflowing. That looked like an incredibly fun puzzle-type job that I was dying to try.

Sure enough, toward the end (once my area was all out of everything), I got the change to run around with one box. It was an awesome challenge trying to pack it full.

At the end of the day, an announcement was made that we’d put together close to 4,000 boxes. Amazing, right?

I absolutely adored my time at Operation Gratitude. I’d love to go back anytime!

At a previous volunteer event, I was introduced to Operation Gratitude, and I really wanted to go check out their operation!

So, on this day, I did.

I’m on their mailing list, and they said in their email that there would be food trucks available at lunch time. (Yum!) I know I’m trying to be extra healthy and all, but sometimes I just want to eat at the Grilled Cheese Truck.

Since I feel like I’ve heard about this truck numerous times out here in Los Angeles, I not only felt I had to try it – I tried two different sandwiches! I ate half a sandwich while I was there. I saved the other half and the other sandwich and over the course of the next two days, I finished all my food truck goodness.

The first sandwich was good, for sure. (I had macaroni and cheese inside my grilled cheese.) While it was delicious, I didn’t totally understand why this would be the talk of the town… until I had my dessert sandwich!

I had the s’mores melt (marshmallows, nutella, and graham crackers) with added peanut butter. And that’s when I totally got why this was something to write home about. Nom nom nom.

After chowing down on some grilled cheese, I went and signed in. Then, it was time to get to work.

At first, I felt this place was a little overwhelming. I’d never been there before, and there’s stuff everywhere. There are tables and tents outside. Inside, there’s this huge warehouse with stuff everywhere! From an outsider’s perspective, I had no idea what was going on.

I was told to just find someone in a blue shirt and they’d tell me what to do. They were just starting up the after lunch shift, so there were a bunch of us doe-eyed volunteers looking for blue shirt people to help us make sense of everything.

But ah, the blue shirted people. They knew exactly what they were doing, and they were oh-so-helpful.

Boom, they just made eye contact and pointed you right where you were supposed to go. ll the volunteers were being funneled into various positions pretty seamlessly as far as I could tell.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the well-oiled machine of this place became visible to me.

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

One of the more senior/in-charge volunteers gave me some pond cardboard containers that I could put the sandwiches in so they had somewhere to live (since a table was already full of them). Little did we know, this box was going to spur a great idea.

See, we weren’t actually set up at the finish line. We were set up in a courtyard area where people sort of hung out before the start and after the finish. It was where people got their shirts and such before the race. And it apparently was where people also go their food and drinks after.

I wondered why the food at our table wasn’t moving as quickly as food usually does after a race when it dawned on me… we’re not at the finish! People aren’t even realizing they can walk over here. So, I walked over the box of peanut butter sandwiches. And of course, they start going like hotcakes!

But then the runners helped me realize something I couldn’t fathom that I didn’t think of before – they were so thirsty! When I was handing out sandwiches, they were saying, “these are great, but do you have water?!”

For the time being, I just pointed them in the direction of our tent. But then I walked back and grabbed water. That went faster than ever. I didn’t even make it all the way to the finish line before an entire case was gone.

One of the lead volunteers of our tent saw how fast items were going. Plus we were so overstocked with volunteers that we had more than enough to send out. So, she started sending out multiple people with multiple things, and everything started moving a lot quicker and easier.

That made me feel really good. Keep open eyes, build off each other’s inspirations and ideas, and boom! Things move smoother.

Pretty soon we started winding down. Then a dog costume contest (yep. I said a dog costume contest!) started up. My shift was winding down, and I was so outta there!

But even with the dogs, it was a good time with good people, good fun, & good problem-solving. I’m calling it a success!

Welp, I didn’t really pay any attention when I signed up for this. All I saw was that a 5k was happening right near my house. So, sign me right up! What I neglected to realize was this was a dog-friendly event.

They made it really clear. There were paw prints on my shirt! They were oh so dog friendly. So, of course that was a joyous discovery for me. (That’s sarcasm, because I’m terrified of dogs… But I made it through!

My job was to work at the post-race food tent. When I got there, they put me to work making peanut butter sandwiches. I worked with these people in high school who were telling me about this program they were in, in which they had to log a certain number of hours in various categories.

They had to do community service and athletics. I think there was another one I can’t remember. But I do remember thinking how nice that they have a structured program helping them become well-rounded people.

Even the community service had to be approved as both something that would help the community and something that would help the student in some way. So, it sounded cool.

The event was extremely well stocked with volunteers, so once I made some sandwiches, there wasn’t much to do but stand around and wait for people to come in.

There’s a new apartment complex downtown doing a big marketing push to get people in. Someone came over with beautiful chocolates in nicely presented boxes and offered us some. I was proud of myself for passing them up.

I have noticed that there’s often so much free food at these volunteer events! Sometimes I’m (somewhat responsibly) indulging, but other times I’m staying steadfast in my new, healthier lifestyle. So, I feel pretty good about the balance I’m striking.

As I was waiting for runners to come in, I knew there had to be something that needed to be done. There’s always something, right? As I looked around, I saw that more peanuts butter sandwiches could be made. We still had tons of supplies. And the only reason we’d stopped was because the area where they were being made needed to be used to prepare the fruit for a while.

So, I went back to making more sandwiches. I know how hungry runners get. I know it’s only a 5k, but people love their food after races. I also know how fast the crowd will go. Plus, one of the higher-up volunteers told me they wanted to use as much of the food supply as possible. So, we threw ourselves into making sandwiches.

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

After the auction, we all went into the auction items room, where we then were given different clipboards with different forms and instructions on them. They told us how to accept payments. We were to run auction items to various tables and collect payments.

It was pretty fun and pretty simple. It was a little funny how little they trusted us, wanting to send us out in teams of two. I sort of get it, because we’re dealing with money and we’re strangers to the organization.

But it didn’t seem like they were worried we were going to steal (honestly, who’s going to be paying in cash anyway?), so much as they were worried we were not going to understand the simple concept of “collect the amount of money they wrote down for us, hand off the auction item, bring the check back to the room.

As if it weren’t straightforward enough, we had those directions taped to our clipboards in case we needed a refresher. It’s totally fine, and places can choose to utilize volunteers however they wish. And if I were a volunteer coordinator, especially one dealing with auctions and money and such, I am sure that I would not necessarily trust the competency of strangers.

But, that doesn’t mean I still don’t find it a little funny.

One extremely nice man who bought multiple things had gotten a huge pack of Carl’s Jr gift certificates in the silent auction, and he went around the whole place passing them out to every volunteer. I thought that was really sweet.

Turns out the gift certificates had expired over a year ago, but you know, you win some, you lose some, I guess.

After all the auction items had been run out, the night was over. It flowed exactly the way our grid said it would. It was also wonderfully themed. The centerpieces were very cute and circus-y. The step-and-repeat photo area had props. I was extremely impressed with how this event was run.

Comparing this volunteer experience to other events, I’ve realized I find more thrilling joy and excitement at the ones where problems creep up and you have to solve issues and/or do a lot at once.

But, I also don’t mind being a cog in the wheel. There is something to be said for not having to think at all. Plus, I like taking the little trek down to Anaheim and getting off at the Disneyland stop (which was very close to the hotel where this was held).

So, basically it was an incredibly calm, easy, simple night. Just tie it in a bow and gently exhale like you’re in a meditation. *blows out air quietly*

This event itself was a lot like the California Jazz Foundation’s dinner/silent auction/concert, but the night was much different. I have not seen as many things or people quite as organized as this event and its volunteer coordinator.

Hope University is a fine arts programs for adults with intellectual disabilities. We all know how much I love the arts and truly believe they can help people, so I’m always down to help places like this.

Before I even got there, we got a detailed grid of the exact plan for the night and when and where we’d be helping. I got there, and the volunteer’s room was all set up. I got checked in and prepped on how to do registration. That’s where I spent the first hour or so of the night.

After that was the volunteer dinner break. I believe there was also unlimited food here, but I restrained myself much better than I did with the all the pizza the week before. I didn’t even have a peanut butter cookie (though they looked quite delicious).

After dinner, our jobs for the auction got assigned to us. We each got little clipboards with the action forms – which had all pertinent information we even might need to know taped to the clipboard itself!

They could not have been more organized. Also, they had each of us only assigned to watching one table. So, it was not a big job.

I’m happy to help however places need me to help, but I will say I felt a little on autopilot only having to watch one table.

And I actually have a small regret… When the auction was going on, I almost wrote down everyone who won, just to have it, even if they weren’t at my table. It wouldn’t have hurt anyone for me to do that. It would’ve been quiet and to myself, so there’s no reason I’d need to refrain from doing that.

However, I still had this nagging feeling of “don’t step on anyone’s toes. You’ve been assigned to this one table. Everyone is doing her or his own job. Just allow people do to their jobs, Aurora.

And yet, no one ended up writing down who won the 6th item. Had I just quietly written it all down, I would’ve known! Sigh.

This is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

AbilityFirst is an organization out to serve adults and children and with special needs, “looking beyond disabilities, focusing on capabilities, and expanding possibilities.”

The Stroll and Roll was basically a 5k, but very wheelchair and stroller friendly.

I got to work the Mega Bloks booth. After the race, kids (and adults too, if they wanted) got to come build things from Mega Bloks – and then take their creations home!

When I first got to the booth, the other volunteers suggested we make things so kids can see a finished product. I started building something, but then I realized when all the pieces were thrown about the table, there was no way to see what I was doing. So, I went to town organizing my table.

At first it was hard to organize, because there wasn’t a ton of space… Of course it dawned on me – “Wait a second. These are stacking blocks. I can organize by stacking like ones together!”

The person from the booth next to us came over and joked that he wanted so badly to knock down my table since I was working so hard on getting it organized.

The woman in charge of the volunteers came over to check on us, and definitely gave me a look with a tiny bit of “are you a little crazy?” in her eyes. But, she didn’t seem against it. She said, “ah, I see. They can get pieces they need here.”

Sure. They can do whatever. I just know that I have a hard time envisioning the possibilities if I don’t know what I have to work with… It’s possible that kids are more creative than I am. I’m sure some people would argue that seeing neat stacks of blocks stifles the creativity that would come from blocks strewn about all haphazardly on a table – where anything is possible, not just towers.

But, my table was the neat one. And it was the first one to have all the blocks taken. So, take that for what it’s worth. (Of course, *stands up straighter, gives the side-face glance* I take it as as though my table won, because we were so conducive to creativity that people just had to work in that clean space.)

The rest of the Mega Bloks volunteers all came from the same school, but when they took a picture together, they specifically walked over to get me and invite me to be a part of it. I thought that was incredibly sweet. They don’t know me. They all knew each other. Yet, they included me, and I really appreciated that and thought it was quite kind.

Picking up from yesterday –

So, we were told to put out cards during the speech. I threw one on one of the back tables, but felt wildly weird about it.

My attitude was, “I’m not here to run the event and figure out when I think things should happen. Sure, I’m trying to help when I see needs, but if the producers/people in charge are saying pass out these cards during a speech… well, it’s not my job to argue, but to just do it.”

Thank goodness for the other volunteers who stood up and said, “we’re not doing this during the speech. We’ll pass them out at the very beginning of the auction.” Really, they were right. And perhaps I was being a little too meek not standing up for this person’s moment.

While we’re on the subject of the speech – one of the incredibly cool things about this concert is that Quincy Jones himself was supposed to be the presenter of the speech. Quincy Jones! Whenever I tell people why I went to Berklee (if I’m giving the shortest version), I simply say, “because Quincy Jones went there.”

He’s Quincy Jones! And let me tell ya, I was gonna do everything in my power to be the volunteer who took care of Quincy Jones and led him to the stage.

Quincy.
Jones.

But alas, he was not there and had to send in a video message instead.

The auction went off fine. The auctioneer was great. We rallied the volunteers and got him everything he needed.

Another volunteer and I wrote down all the numbers of people who won things. This was obviously quite an easy job – until we just started taking donations because Mark (the auctioneer) would talk about a level of donation and ask how many people wanted to donate at that level. Then we’d have to write down all the numbers in the room at once.

(They had two people doing it so they could compare lists and make sure nothing was left off.)

However, Mark was awesome and read each of the numbers for us. We wrote fast, and everything was good and accounted for.

After the event, I went down to the hotel bar with the auction guys and another volunteer, and we had a grand ol’ time!

I had planned on just going for my first shift, getting home, and doing boring housework and such. I realize sometimes you do need days to clean and organize, but in the end, I’m glad I decided to stay twice as long. I met fun people and enjoyed the event.

It was certainly interesting, to say the least. But we made it all happen. So, yay!

Picking up from yesterday –

So, we find out that people are going to start trickling in. I find a person who has info on how we register people. And then I start working with her at registration until the people actually assigned to registration show up.

As volunteers trickle in, they seem a bit lost and confused. The person they’ve been emailing with is nowhere to be found because as the producer of the event, he’s running around taking care of a bunch of other things.

Since the volunteer coordinator ignored me, I just started people where they could go. I barely even know, but I just took any information I did have and thought about where people could be used. I ended up leaving registration to go basically work the floor and see if I could see any places where we needed more volunteers, or any volunteers who needed answers (that I could only hope I could give them).

After guests had time to mingle, drink, pose at step-and-repeat, and take a look through the silent auction, it was time for the sit-down dinner. So, we ushered everyone into the dinner, and then hung out as confused volunteers in the hallway.

We had been shown there’d be a room for us where we got unlimited(!) pizza.

(Blugh. I’ll admit I had a bit too much… I’ve been more responsible about food lately… but is it not maybe a bit challenging to be completely responsible with unlimited pizza at your disposal?)

So, we went in and had some pizza. That’s where I met the auctioneer, who also had not been given all that much information.

He said he was going to need volunteers to help write down bidder numbers and such. I know this is silly because there’s really no reason I needed to take responsibility for this event. But I was just nervous.

I don’t want to sound as though I think I’m a superhero. I’m pretty sure things could’ve been figured out without me. But, I felt better about staying. So, I stayed.

When the auction was approaching, there were supposed to be donation sheets passed out at the tables. The auctioneer had been told that had happened. But alas, it had not. Then, we were told to just pass it out right then – during the acceptance of an award! That was our last chance before the auction.

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

Let’s just start from the beginning. When I first got the volunteer information sheet, I listed all of my preferences as second shift. Yet, I was assigned to first shift.

I get it that if you don’t have enough people who can work the second shift, you have to put some on the first shift. But it was weird to me that there wasn’t even a question of “I know every preference you put is second shift. Can you work the 1st one?” Nope. Just on there.

I know I could’ve protested. But I wasn’t booked for anything else that day. And the hotel was within walking distance of me. So, it was fine. I’m just saying…

13 people were listed for the first shift, and as far as I know, only 4 of us showed up.

The girls I was talking to were a little perplexed about everything. They were saying they volunteer a lot, and that usually there’s some sort of check-in or at least someone welcoming you, and there’s a little direction as far as what you should do.

Whereas here, we had to figure out a lot for ourselves. A lot of the time, people didn’t even necessarily seem to care that we were around. Those girls were so willing and at the ready to help, but they said they felt a little weird because the vibe was so relaxed.

People were just eating lunch, saying they’d tell us more in a bit. Whereas our mindset was sort of like, “can you just tell us what to do? We’re here to help, and an event is going down in just a couple of hours. There are only 4 volunteers here. Is honestly no one worried about this?”

We somehow pieced together all the various tasks and things did indeed get set up.

As it got closer to 4:30, which is when people were supposed to arrive, the afternoon volunteers hadn’t shown up yet. Even though technically my shift was about to end, I didn’t feel good about leaving wondering if anyone would be there to work the event.

So, the girls and I decided to stay a bit longer until we were sure it was safe to go home.

It also was weird that guests were supposed to come at 4:30, yet the volunteers who were supposed to work registration and such were also scheduled not to come until 4:30… Generally, I’d think you’d schedule them at 4 (or possibly even earlier) so they have a chance to come check in, settle in, learn about their position, and be in place before the early birds get there.

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

I’m about to sound a little judge-y, I guess. So, if you don’t feel like hearing that attitude, wait ’til we get to the next one.

This was an interesting event, to say the least.

The person who’d been talking to all the volunteers and assigning them shifts and such was not a volunteer coordinator, but the producer of the event.

Now, it’s not that weird that for a small event there wouldn’t be an extra coordinator for the volunteers. However, he didn’t really check on the volunteers at all. He didn’t make sure any positions were staffed or that anybody knew what they were doing.

And I don’t really fault him, because he was busy doing a lot of other things and running the slideshow and all that jazz. Technically, he’d even gotten a volunteer coordinator apparently, but I helped her when she showed up at the registration desk.

So, he probably thought since he got a volunteer coordinator, everything would be fine. However, that person didn’t show up until the event was starting and many people were in place. She also didn’t seem interested in volunteer coordinating at all.

All she did was complain that we didn’t have a bid number assigned to her – even though she wasn’t a registered guest. She hob-knobbed with the fancy people and went in and sat down at a table, enjoying the same dinner and show as all of the guests.

I don’t like to step on toes, so even though the volunteer situation seemed a bit like a mess, and even though she didn’t seem interested in coordinating at all, and I think it was just her way of getting in for free – I still deferred to her because she was the coordinator.

When she got there, I tried to get her up to speed on who people were, and what was happening before she came in. I even told her where some free volunteers were standing, and pointed out stations stations that could probably use more people so that she could assign people how she saw fit.

Not too surprisingly, she seemed completely uncaring. And once she started drinking with her friends and disappearing, I knew it was time to just step up and get stuff done.

(By the way, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having some fun at your event when you’re sure are you’re moving parts are working correctly. Life should be fun. But if you’re there to be the volunteer coordinator, maybe, just maybe, make sure every station is staffed and that people know what they’re doing? You know, maybe. If you feel like it.)

So, we were a rogue set of volunteers practically on our own, and this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Create Now is a place that uses the arts to help people, and that is something I can always get behind!

Plus, they were having a book fair. I can also get behind getting more people reading more often. This is actually something I want to work on even in my own life. The Pew Research Center put out a report earlier this year that said 23% of Americans didn’t read a single book last year!

I don’t quite fall into that category, though I will admit I did not read many! So, yeah. Let’s read. And let’s go to a book fair where kids are being given free books!

Since I was coming from the Mensa board meeting, I wasn’t going to be able to get there until pretty late in the fair, but the volunteer coordinator said to come anyway. Once I got there, there didn’t seem to be a ton to do.

I asked what to do, but it was basically just “go see if anyone needs help.” So, I went to different booths. I did help get an extra table to a craft area. But everybody was pretty set. And that’s when one of the leaders said, “they need more help at face painting.”

Now, I’m always ready to jump in and help in any way I can, and I certainly love challenges… But to go and paint kids faces? I have absolutely no experience doing that.

I looked at the volunteer leader, probably with a look of terror in my eye, and said, “Does just anybody paint the faces? Or are these people who’ve have training to be face painters?”

She said it could be anybody. So, off I went! I jumped in, no nervously, but I am good with children, ’cause I’m outgoing and make big facial expressions. So, at least there’s that!

Thankfully, the first kids who came to my spot on the table asked for flowers, rainbows, and other simple things. One person asked for hello kitty, which I googled, then drew. (Later, I saw there was one super trained person at the table who did a hello kitty for someone, which completely put mine to shame!)

One person wanted Mario, so I sent him to that girl who was trained and was doing intricate unicorns and things. But other than Mario, I didn’t turn away any requests.

Even though I was pretty petrified about face painting (and really not exceptional at it), all the kids (and parents) acted very appreciative! They all seemed happy about the fact that face painting existed at this event, no matter how amateur the paintings were.

So, yay happiness and faking my way through the face painting booth! *high-five*

Picking up from yesterday –

I’m sure you’re not surprised, I selfishly asked Rebecca if I could in fact have a blue shirt and she said, “of course! You’re definitely a volunteer captain at this point.”

She also explained they actually ran out of the shirts that said “volunteer captain” on the back, and that the ones in the box were just blue Lung Association t-shirts – but it’s what they were using to pass out to captains since they ran out of the other ones. But nonetheless, she wanted to recognize my contribution with a blue shirt.

I really shouldn’t have cared about a shirt color… but I did, and ultimately I got my blue shirt. *hair flip, wipes off shoulders*

After that, it was basically the end of my shift. (I know that getting the blue shirt at the end of my shift makes it all that much more ridiculous. What can I say? Sometimes I’m ridiculous.)

Rebecca told me that they needed a stage manager for the awards ceremony later in the day and that they were all talking about how I’d be the perfect person to do it. I thought that was really sweet. It was nice to feel so very valued and special (and to know that even though I was just trying to get stuff done efficiently without make a big stink about it, that people still totally noticed).

Alas, I had to get to a Mensa board meeting (which I’d told them about, so we all knew I couldn’t stay – though I thought about playing hooky!)

Before I left, Rebecca and Vanessa both said goodbye to me – and they couldn’t have been sweeter. As I said in the blog title, they made me feel like a total princess! Vanessa said, “you just get it. I could tell within minutes of meeting you.”

They both said they’d love to have me help again and I even got an email later thanking me again and giving me information on more volunteer activities.

I know the point of this stuff isn’t to puff myself and feel special, but I’ll still admit that it felt amazing to not only feel like I helped accomplish a lot (and got to be physically active while doing it), but that my work was oh-so-appreciated by the people running the event.

So, amazing day. Wonderful feelings. And perhaps two new best friends!

Picking up from yesterday –

So, I hear we need to get cases of water to the roof for the finishers.

Then one of the sponsors comes up to me because he has boxes of towels that need to go to the roof, and apparently I look like I know what I’m doing. Cool.

So, we recruit some people and some dollies and start taking it all up to the roof. Now, the elevator doesn’t go all the way up to the roof. So, we got to get everything to a high floor, then walk the last 2 – 3 flights, which was pretty awesome. Teamwork made it go extremely fast, and I really felt like I was working (and getting a great workout!) by carrying semi-heavy things up the stairs.

Once we got to the top, I saw that that seemed to be where the party was. All the people up there helping were getting so pumped for the event. People were taking pictures of this view high above Los Angeles. It was pretty awesome.

I learned from the medical staff that they needed a bucket of ice to help cool people down. So, I got in touch with the correct parties, and we got one up there.

After that, I went back downstairs to the main hub. That’s when I saw one of the volunteers from my team that morning in a blue shirt. And then I got a little jealous. There was a box of blue shirts just sitting there and Rebecca, the manager of the event, was also there.

I almost didn’t say anything. I thought to myself, “you know, if Cory Booker were here, he wouldn’t be preoccupied with a blue shirt. He would just want to make sure he helped to the best of his ability.”

But let’s get real. I’m not as cool as Cory Booker. To me, for whatever reason, the blue shirt said, “you did a great job – a great enough job to deserve a blue shirt.”

Did I ignore personal growth in favor of getting a special shirt? We’ll talk about it tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

So, I was doing my best to run around and stay one step ahead.

Anytime I was confident I had answers for a few steps ahead, I took a pause from finding answers and got to helping with loading/unloading the carts.

When it’s possible to jump in and actually do work, I love to be a part of it instead of just telling people “do this” [said in an exaggerated bossy tone with hands on my hips].

So, once everything was in the respective places, people looked at me sort of expectantly with “what now?”

I kept my ears open and heard we needed to cut the fruit. So, I scrounged up some knives and a cutting board, and got some people going on that. I also saw empty tables in recovery. So, we started laying out food. Then I went to find Vanessa to get more instructions.

As more people got there, I started to see more and more how things fit together. I learned that volunteer captains had blue shirts.

Since I had been asked to lead a team, there was definitely part of me that wished I was wearing a blue shirt… But then I thought, “it doesn’t matter what color shirt you wear. It just matter what you do.” So, I didn’t grab a shirt or bring it up. I just went to work.

It wasn’t really an issue to be able to get people to help me even without a blue shirt because Vanessa had already told people to help me in the morning, so everyone just kind of assumed I knew what I was doing.
Plus, people had a generally helpful attitude there. So, we all worked together as a team and it was all good.

…And I had a zip-up jacket which somehow when zipped made people just assume I was legitimate.

So, the next thing I did was help brand the outside of the place. We had a big rolling plastic banner that said American Lung Association on it. So, me and two guys kept rolling off pieces to put on the backs of tents and things.

We weren’t completely sure how to adhere it, but ultimately we went with a mixture of safety pins and strong tape that we somehow materialized from who knows where.

Once things were branded, Vanessa told me we needed to get cases of water up to the roof.

This sounds fun!

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

This was spectacular. I dare may say it was my favorite one yet.

I roll in early in the morning, well before the sun had risen. This event was practically down the street from my house, and I was oh so thankful for the convenience.

When I got there, there seemed to be  little volunteer area, but since things were still being set up, the two volunteers manning the sign in had also basically just gotten there and didn’t really know what to do or where to go.

So, I started walking around until I found the volunteer coordinator. She was with people from the building, and we were walking into a storage room to get supplies. We hadn’t even exchanged names yet and she promptly told me we needed to get half of the mini-pies up to the recovery area. (I absolutely loved her get-right-in-there attitude.)

As I was loading up a dolly, she brought me a small group of volunteers and said something like, “Here’s a team. Make it happen.” So I did!You don’t have to tell me twice. I love getting stuff done and teamwork and all that great stuff. So, this was an absolute dream.

I was getting information as it all was happening. I didn’t even really know where the recovery area was. My only goal was to stay one step ahead of the volunteer team she gave me. I wanted to have people standing around, bored, as little as possible.

If you give me a team, I want to utilize them. (And I want them to be glad they came and feel like I’m helping them to do the best they can do.)

So, any time a dolly was loading up or people were on the move with heavy objects, I was on the move, finding people with the answers, getting a map of the layout, and making sure things were going where they needed to go.

We got the pies up there. We found out where the other mini-pies needed to go (VIP). We found out where the crackers and other pastries went. And we got everything loaded up and out to the correct places quickly! Before you knew it, the storage room was empty. [*high-five*]

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

Thankfully, one woman brought a rice and meat dish. Thank goodness for her, or all we would’ve had to give would’ve been oranges and cookies. (It’s thanks to other volunteers that we even had that much.)

It was just an interesting day where no one really seemed to understand what organization we were volunteering with…

Also, someone needs to base a sketch character off “Coach Glen – the one and only immediately.

Coach Glen (T.O.A.O)  was always pounding the table saying “peoples! peoples, peoples!” anytime he wanted to drive a point home. He also sort of liked to repeat himself when it came to talking about things his organization(? – if it exists, I’m still a little skeptical) had done. (And he started and ended most things saying “amen.”

He enjoyed mentioning how world famous skid row was. I get that it’s a place mentioned in a lot of things. But it was weird to me, sort of selling the idea of feeding homeless people (which we were already there to do anyway) by talking about how famous the area was…

He was obsessed with the idea that they needed a power-washer. I can’t tell you how much he impressed upon us that his group needed a power-washer for the park. He kept talking to always of us, it felt in sort of a pressuring way to somehow find more money to give, or find a power washer.

I understand that once you have volunteers, you want to rev them up and get them to do more things for your organization, but the constant, impassioned pleas for money and supplies was a bit overwhelming (not just to me, but to people I talked to that day as well).

So, we’re hearing about this power washer multiple times, but none of us could make it appear out of thin air – though it seemed in his eyes like he wished we could.

Also, we were all supposed to donate $5 – which I did… But I did find it odd that we all ponied up $5 to a man in the middle of a park who really just had a folding table. Nothing else distinguished him from anybody else. Volunteers brought the food. We met in the park.

He could’ve been a random guy who just had a table and put a listing on Volunteer Match. (Legitimately, I’d say there’s at least a 40% chance that’s true…) If this is some enterprising sneaky scheme to make money, it’s probably not the easiest or fastest way to do it. But humongous kudos for thinking outside the box.

(I guess it’s not incredibly odd to have to give money as part of a volunteer activity… I did have to pay to ride the Do Good Bus. However, it cost the organization money to do the ride. So, I understood why they needed it. And that’s the only other volunteer event I can think of where it was a requirement to give money… So, it did feel weird that we’re already there to volunteer our time (and many people already brought food). And we’re still required to give $5?)

He does seem to legitimately run a reading club. So, he’s probably legitimate to some degree. And maybe it’s silly and awful to be so cynical and such. But I wondered as we all just handed over cash to this strange man, “What is this money going to be used for?”

So, an odd day with an odd man who left all the volunteers looking a little perplexed.

However, we did end up somehow rationing the food out perfectly so that everyone who wanted some got some with nothing leftover. So, some good got done – no matter how puzzled we all were. Yay to that.

I know we’re only 12 activities in. So, this might not mean anything yet, but this was by far the oddest event yet.

Before I get to the weirdness, I do want to mention one takeaway of the day which is really just a question of how are we helping poor or homeless kids?

Of course I also genuinely care about homeless adults. But there was a middle-school-aged-child that came up to our group and started asking us questions about where we’re from. And he really didn’t have a grasp of the different states in America.

He seemed so outgoing and passionate about learning. He also seemed interested in sports; he dribbled a basketball the whole time he talked to us (and at points even tried to do some tricks).

So, where does someone with so much potential and so much passion go to fulfill those things? I’m sure there are (hopefully) organizations working on that. I think the school system is probably failing some people.

But seeing this kid right in front of my face who could be doing more with this potential, but doesn’t know basic things (such as the states in our country)… It was just slightly jarring and sad. But let’s get off the sad note and just talk about the total weirdness of the day.

I can’t even really tell you the name of the group, because it all seemed a bit convoluted to me. Apparently this guy (whom we’ll call Glen) – “Coach Glen – the one and only” (and yes, “the one and only” was actually part of his name each time he introduced himself to someone) kind of maybe runs a non-profit?

Is it a 501(c)(3)? Your guess is as good as mine. What is the name of the non-profit? Who knows, really? Anytime we asked for specifics, they didn’t seem to exist. He seems to basically just be a guy who runs various programs around skid row.

People asked if there was a website we could visit. Even when trying to give us a web address, he seemed non-committal, and a little unsure of the details – of his own organization’s web domain.

Eventually I did end up getting on in a message after the event. It does talk about some things (but not feeding people on Skid Row). It doesn’t seem to be a full-fledged organization. It doesn’t say anything about 501(c)(3) status or anything like that (as far as I can tell).

(It wasn’t a standalone domain either – one of those that’s .this, .that (using other website-building sites, but not paying the fee to have your own domain). There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that, but it just doesn’t yell legitimate organization to me.) (Though, I’ll admit, anyone can get a standalone domain. So, that in itself does not at all make you legit. So, it’s really a small point.))

Basically, I went on Volunteer Match, saw there was an event feeding the homeless within walking distance of my home, and decided to go over there.

In the listing, it did say we should bring something if we should – though it did not specify that if we didn’t bring anything, there’d be nothing to give!

I thought the listing was asking that we supplement what would already be there… Nope. We were supposed to supply the entire lunch.

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Picking up from yesterday –

I guess I knew someone knew kids weren’t running of course, because someone instructed me to hold them up on the walkie. But it was a crazy day, and I was just afraid that information wasn’t going to get back to me. And I didn’t want to be holding kids up for no reason.

So, I waited with anticipation with my co-captain. Eventually we heard we should let the kids start running again. So, off they went!

Another thing that was crazy about the day was that as much as I thought the only problem would be people pushing forward and desperately trying to start as soon as they could… the opposite problem actually also existed. I’d excitedly tell people it was their turn to run. But then, the adults would decide the group needed to hang back because they had to wait for one person or another.

At the beginning of the day, we were told by the volunteer leaders, “The schools mix up. People are sat in order of how they arrive. It’s first come, first serve. If people ask where their school is, just tell them we’ll be running in mixed heats.”

Well, this sounded like a fine idea in theory. I was completely ready to follow the instructions. Little did I realize how important it was to people to run with their schools… Of course, thinking about it now after seeing how important it was to everyone, how would I not have realized that ahead of time? Of course as a kid (or a teacher so proud of all your kids), it’s important to you to run with your buds and the people who’ve done this with you.

I was thinking about it with my adult mindset of wanting to meet new people all the time – and of not being a part of any tight-knit groups right now. I almost always go places alone and am fine with enjoying the company of new people. I had totally forgotten the days of being in your super tight-knit loving group where you spend SO much time together and you just want to be in the presence of each other as you accomplish your goals.

So, as much as it was somewhat annoying to tell people to go, just to realize that basically that whole group was not in fact going to go yet, it actually didn’t slow down the day that much. And it was their day. So, they basically could do whatever they needed to do (assuming it didn’t completely stop or interfere with the day’s events), as far as I was concerned.

Overall, the event happened. Everybody made it to the finish line.

I met some extremely nice volunteers. And I got to help out with a group I can completely get behind. What a lovely day!

Picking up from yesterday –

Let’s get back to the events of the day. I will say that this is one of the most caring groups of people I’ve worked with. Three – that’s right, three – different people brought me water during the day because they knew I couldn’t leave my post, and they saw me doing oh so much talking with the children.

I didn’t tell anyone I was thirsty – I didn’t even realize I was forgetting to hydrate! But three separate people walked by at different points, saw that I might have a need for water, and just grabbed it for me. I thought that was so sweet, and it was an act (x3) that totally touched me.

Also, one of the main volunteers brought me a megaphone so I didn’t have to keep basically screaming to try to be heard at this huge outdoor event. (I mean, I can project and all… But you gotta imagine a lot of stuff happening, and a lot of noise happening as well.)

There were some obstacles during the day – other than just the kids who often ignored human chains and instructions. (I mean, good for them for their fearlessness, and their refusal to conform or follow rules or whatever… but also, eesh. I’m glad they have free-spirts that haven’t been squashed… However there has to be some order to things, right?)

Anyway, another smaller obstacle was hearing each other on the walkies. I tried to keep mine close enough and loud enough that I could hear important information… But as I mentioned, it was really loud there – kids, parents, the emcee, music…

We didn’t have earpieces (and honestly, I’m not quite sure how much they would’ve helped anyway, since we probably would’ve had to blow out our eardrums to hear. (And that volume would distort voices anyway.)) So, communication was hard to have.

Granted, once the day got going, we didn’t generally need to communicate all that much – except when they ran out of medals(!). I know. Running out of medals sounds super sad and disappointing (and probably was for the kids…). Thank goodness I wasn’t working the finish line after that happened. That was probably not fun to be the bearer of that news…

(I heard the kids would still definitely get medals mailed to their schools.)

Thankfully, I heard the call to stop heats from going. (The kids in the heat we stopped we sooooo not happy. I think they would’ve overthrown us and just stormed the track if we’d needed to wait another minute or two….

So, I heard the call to stop them. But I was so overly-petrified that I wasn’t going to hear the call to let them start up again! After a few minutes, I’m nervous asking into the walkie if people know that kids are no longer running, and if we know when to start. I don’t usually like to waste walkie air space on info people already know. But that’s the thing. I didn’t know if anyone knew it!

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

So, I’m talking to all these different kids in different groups.

Once girl really stood out to me who seemed not as impatient, really together, and she was wearing a science shirt! I talked to her a little about her science ambitions. And I just thought, “look at this awesome girl with this confidence, and this drive to pursue athletics and science. I really hope our media and culture doesn’t ruin her and that she keeps this confidence forever…”

BUT! Guess who else is the problem (besides “media” and “our culture”)? That would be me! That’s right. I said me. *shakes head at self*

When it was time to have the kids go past me to the start line, I’d give high-fives and say encouraging things about how I hope they’re so proud of themselves, and I’d congratulate them on their amazing accomplishment…

But sometimes I also said things like, “I love your skirt!” “Your hair looks so cute!” etc.

And guess who got most of those comments that make it seems like image matters? Yep. That’d be the ladies, not the fellas.

Of course, my reasoning for this wasn’t because I thought it was important that girls look cute for running events… it was because the girls wore interesting, frilly, colorful, different running outfits! And the boys seemed to be in plain stuff.

BUT… did the girls worry about it because they felt they needed to? Quite possibly. And I’m SO sad that I maybe helped fuel that a little… I’ll admit even as a grown woman, I often don’t pick my running outfits based on comfort, but instead on how I’ll look in them. This whole, “I gotta be cute” thing – even when running a freaking marathon, it’s part of me that’s not going away anytime soon.

…However, when I see it in other younger girls, it makes me sad. I know that dichotomy doesn’t make sense. But what does make sense is empowering women. (I read Lean In! ;))

I know it’s important to complement children on their work ethic instead of their image (or their intrinsic abilities, since it’s been shown in studies that if you tell a child they’re smart, they’re less likely to push themselves on hard problems for fear of no longer being smart (if they were to mess anything up). If you tell them they’re a great worker, they work even harder to keep that compliment coming… Or at least that’s my understanding.)

I’m going off on a  tangent, but the point is, I didn’t realize ’til I got home that I gave too many image-based compliments. It doesn’t matter if someone’s hair looked cool. There is no need at all for me to mention it (even if I had good intentions of making people feel good) when there’s plenty of other stuff to mention – such as her awesome accomplishment that we’re there celebrating!

Aye, aye, aye. *continues to shake head at self*

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

So, I’m all “sure, I can hold these kids back” Bahaha. Sorry, I just had to laugh one more time, because this idea truly is preposterous.

Thankfully, the person in charge totally knew the human chain was actually necessary, and she rounded up more volunteers for us. As the day went on and the kids came our way, I learned that generally, they push and shove their way forward. They are not patient.

If they saw other kids at the start line, they wanted to be there too! Forget this whole different heats business.

As I explained to the children in a fun, overly-dramatic way while we were waiting, “I know. I know, it’s soooo hard! Every time I do a marathon, I’m always antsy and ready to just get this thing started already! I waited and waited the months to get here, training along the one. Today’s my day. It’s my moment. I’m ready to go right now. So, I get it.” (I do.)

I followed that up with, “but in order for you to really have your moment and be able to go across the finish line with space to take it all in and revel in it, you gotta let people go in heats. Otherwise, it’s gonna be a mess. You’re gonna trip over each other [of course pantomiming this stuff as I’m saying it]. And it’s gonna be rough. You waited all this time. I know – I know you can wait 5 more minutes.”

That talk and energy and logic sort of, kind of worked. But kids were still wildly impatient. They kept wanting to go. In the end, I might even be a little glad that I was the on-deck area instead of the start line, because I heard the impatience level was even worse at the start itself!

So, basically my day was spent doing my very best to basically placate impatient children over and over and over and over again – which was totally fine with me. I was an elf at Macy’s Santaland. I have spent many a day saying the same information over and over while trying to entertain bored and/or antsy, impatient kids.

I also tried reinforcing the messages of the program. I kept asking what they learned about exercise or nutrition or themselves during this marathon. They generally seemed to get pretty into that.

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

It was explained to me that since phys ed teachers are being cut at many schools, teachers of other subjects are stepping up, helping out with this 501(c)(3) charity, and making kids aware (and hopefully care) about healthier lifestyles. I think that’s noble and very cool that teachers of other subjects are giving up their own extra time because they’re passionate about this stuff.

So, what is Marathon Kids? It’s an organization that works with schools. They set up a program so that children track all the mileage they log over the course of some months. The kids also track their eating. Along the way they learn about the benefits of healthy eating and exercising.

Then, there’s this big celebration that we had. The kids make it almost to the end of 26.2 miles (so, a marathon distance) in their logs, saving just the last 1/2 lap on a track to do with us at this event!

The energy at this event was so strong, bouncing throughout over the stadium! It’s funny that I really didn’t realize quite how energetic (and fearless) kids are.

At the beginning of the day, they introduced me to the co-captain at the start line with me, See-Wan. When they explained our job, they said one of us would be at the actual start line making a human chain with other volunteers until we were ready to send that heat of runners.

The other one of us would be off to the side of the track as part of another human chain, keeping the next heat of runners ready and off the track until the start line is ready for them.

I thought start line would be the most fun (and probably most important) of those two jobs, so I offered it to her because she’d volunteered there before. See-Wan was super cool, and a total team player who seemed chill and like she would’ve done either.

At first, we were only assigned enough volunteers to our area to form the human chain at the start line itself. And I was alone in the area to the side of the track. When one of the main volunteer coordinators came to check in on us, she asked me where my human chain was.

I said we didn’t have enough people, but then I stood out, showing how wide my stance could be and I said something like, “I think I can hold back the heats while they’re just waiting.

Bahahahaha. Little did I know how incredibly silly that statement would seem later.

This is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

I love everything.

I am finding out about so many cool organizations that I had no idea existed through this adventure of my 52 volunteer activities.

I’m also finding out about so many problems I didn’t realize were such problems. So, that’s a bummer. First, I learned about libraries being shut down in school. Now I heard more about physical education being cut in many Los Angeles schools.

I’ll admit, as a kid, I would’ve loved that. I was always complaining, “uuuuggghhhh but why do we have to run a mile? How is this possibly going to help me in life? Why in the world would we be doing insane things like having gym class when we could be off doing creative endeavors like singing and playing our instruments? This is the biggest waste of time I can think of.”

Now, in child-me’s defense, from what I remember, gym class did sort of seem like a waste. There was a bunch of game playing (such as dodgeball) that didn’t really require that you be all that active. Could you be active in a game of dodgeball? Sure. Could you also apathetically stand there until someone hits you? Of course. Is that basic idea true of any sport? Yeah, probably pretty much.

Is it time to stop asking questions just to answer them? I’d say so.

The point is, I think I perhaps would’ve cared more about physical fitness had there been an end goal. I was always very competitive. So, if we were logging miles, I probably would’ve wanted to log the most, or log them before anyone else did, or do whatever sort of “winning” I decided was important.

I mean, we can’t say for sure… But I did always make sure to read more books when we logged those and all that jazz. And I always did more math problems so I could move ahead on that little board… I was always trying to win… except in gym.

It was the only class I wasn’t competitive in… For one thing, I knew I’d never beat anybody (Does it totally surprise you that the girl who didn’t believe in gym class was completely out of shape?) And I didn’t understand the importance of it all. And if I didn’t deem something important as a kid, then it was over! I had two modes – this matters a LOT, or this doesn’t matter.

And perhaps you can’t really impart on kids the importance of food and exercise… Maybe they’re all stubborn like I was. Maybe healthy living is just uncool and doesn’t make any sense to kids.

But if healthy living can be made to make sense, and be cool (and can’t it be, since anything in this world is possible?), then Marathon Kids is doing it!

That thing I just said I wish I’d had in school that maybe, just maybe, could’ve excited the girl who hated gym – that was Marathon Kids!

So, I was absolutely stoked to work with them – which is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

and going away from my tangents on dogs and cupcakes, so the day went splendidly. I had so much fun getting families psyched about the day and hearing about what they learned while collecting their stamps.

When the day was coming to an end, Allison, the volunteer coordinator, made me feel like the belle of the ball! She was all, “Where did you come from?! You’re awesome! You are made for the information booth. I loved the way you interacted with people.”

It was raining compliments, which of course makes me feel amazing. She even offered to drop me off at a Metro station on her way home (since Santa Monica Airport is sort of hard to get to by public transport).

Since I was staying to hitch a ride with her, I went ahead and helped with the cleanup as well – which caused another happy storm of compliments. “Wow, you just get right in there. You know how to fold up tables! You seem to really know what you’re doing.”

Of course, I felt so happy and special all over again. I’ve never really thought too much about how events have been a pretty big part of my life… until now that I’m doing these 52 volunteer activities.

I’ve been around so many plays, recitals, dinners, receptions, etc. – and also so many set-building and tear-down days that I do just kind of go into the mode and start helping. My theater teacher instilled a bunch of great lessons and characteristics into us, and the desire to just start helping when you see people who need help is one of those things.

I mean, that sounds like a pretty normal thing, right? But now that I’m meeting more people involved in event planning (and now that I’m going to events myself), I’m starting to learn about all sorts of volunteers. Some are more helpful than others. Also, some have different strengths.

Just because I’m sitting here talking about how awesome I am (conceited, right?), I’ll readily admit that I’m better at interactive jobs. I’m better at jobs that keep you pretty busy. There are certainly things I do better than other things.

So, it’s really not about whose better or best… (I mean, for those of you who know me, it sort of is, since I’m always saying “If you’re not first, you’re last” ;)) But It’s about everyone using their best strengths – which I’m sure is a hard things for coordinators to try to navigate when they’re meeting people on probably the one and only day they’re going to use them.

Anyway, I felt great, valued, smart, and happy! And I got to go to a place I’d never been (and didn’t even know existed), so I’d call it an excellent day!

Picking up from yesterday –

So, I worked the information booth and barring all the dogs, it was absolutely wonderful!

…But, it was also extremely tempting, because there was a lot of amazing-looking (though fattening) food for you. At the time, I was being oh-so-good about that stuff. I will admit as of the writing of this post, I’ve gotten a little more lax with that stuff (while I do believe there’s a balance to strike, I’m not particularly proud of the way I’ve been eating this past week…)

Anyway, there were Sprinkles cupcakes given to the volunteers. I was offered a free cupcake probably at least 5 times. At the end, while we were cleaning up, I could’ve taken 4 because of the excess! But I didn’t eat a single one (though I will admit I came close).

I am learning that many volunteer events feed their volunteers all sorts of little treats. That’s wonderful and precious and sweet, but boy oh boy if I’m gonna do 52 of these, I gotta watch out!

Speaking of cupcakes, did you know that red velvet is really just chocolate? ‘Cause I had no idea. And it sort of devastated me a bit. (That perhaps is a bit of a dramatic way to put it….) But I’m not a humongous chocolate fan. I’ll eat it, sure. But I’d much rather have something cinnamon or vanilla anytime.

And anytime there’s a choice between chocolate or red velvet, I always pick red velvet thinking it’s some kind of cool alternative to my least favorite kinds of sweets… until I learned that it is just another variation of chocolate!

Of course someone already told me that what it actually is doesn’t affect how it tastes, so my opinions on it shouldn’t change. Logically, I understand that. But realistically, I already look at differently. It already doesn’t taste better in my mind. (I haven’t eaten it since, since obviously this has been so upsetting…)

I don’t have a great sense of taste anyway since I have anosmia (like Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry’s). So, you know, mind matters here! (And texture… that’s what matters for good ol’ diminished taste buds me)…

Whether or not it makes sense, I’m no longer a red velvet fan. I don’t know what in the world I ever thought it was, but I didn’t know it was chocolate. Blegh

I’ll finish out the day (and tell non-cupcake related stories) tomorrow!

Picking up from yesterday –

All right, let’s get into the rant part – something that seems to come up a fair amount with me…

When I’m in the human world, and I’m at an event that travels through many buildings with tight spaces (even if it does wander into the outdoors), and there are lots of tiny little children around, I don’t like dogs to be everywhere! I especially don’t like when all these horse-dogs are out.

I don’t know what it is with people in Los Angeles (I think it’s because people are lonely out here, and because we have so much more space in our homes than people have in New York), but people seem to love to have these gigantic dogs – dogs that seems like they could eat the children at this place in about two bites.

So, dogs were plentiful. And people who bring dogs don’t even seem to worried about it. They let those retractable leashes just go longer and longer, not really caring if the dog is going to touch other humans. That pretty much boggles my mind.

It also boggles my mind how people react! The last time I went to New York (dreamy look), I only saw one dog anywhere close to Times Square and every single face I saw looking at the dog looked at it and its owner with disdain. “Why in the world do you have that dog in this crowded, awesome city environment, lady? Get it out of here.”

But in California, people welcome dogs everywhere. I was at the Apple Store not that long ago, and someone just brought a dog in! Let me remind you, this is a place with very expensive equipment everywhere. But yeah, let’s just have animals running around with all the cords and everything. I’m sure that’s not a bad idea at all.

Is this even a thing in other places? Whenever I’ve gone to visit my parents or my sister, I’ve never seen a dog just entering a normal store in the midwest… or really anywhere I’ve gone except for this crazy town. People who live in other places, do you experience this?

So, there are these huge horse dogs there. I’m expecting that people will look annoyed, but no! They go up to the dog and start petting it.

Okay, everybody.

a) Do you not realize that’s totally dangerous? That is a strange animal you’re putting your hands all over. But you know, whatever.

b) You are encouraging this behavior! When people bring their horse dogs to crowded public events that involve small humans and indoor elements, and instead of ignoring them, you praise them and give them tons of attention – you are encouraging them to do it again and again. I’m sorry to say it, but you’re part of the problem, my friends.

I could rant on and on all day about dogs, dog owners, and what I believe is proper etiquette for where you should and shouldn’t be taking dogs. But, you understand what I’m saying, so I won’t belabor the point anymore (in this post, at least – I’m sure I will in the future).

And I’ll pick up here tomorrow.

This was awesome!

After volunteering at the food bank, I made my way to the ArtWalk. Yet again – as seems to be the theme with this project, of me apparently not knowing anything about anything – I didn’t even know there was a Santa Monica Airport.

In fact, not only is there an airport, it’s a sort of controversial thing, as I found out by talking to people throughout the day.

My job here was to work the information booth. Not to flip my hair cockily or anything, but I was pretty sure I could rock this because I love being pleasant and talking to people.

When I first got there, they had me walk around to all the different areas so I could have a better idea of what to tell people. I was so glad I got to do this! I found out things I wouldn’t have known otherwise.

I saw that Mike Machat – the artist who did the mural in the Santa Monica Airport – was drawing pictures for people in the Museum of Flying (which had free admission during the ArtWalk)!

I also met Chris, a volunteer at the Museum of Flying, who totally rocked and knew everything about every plane.

It also was wonderful that I took a look around the place because we all know how bad I am with maps. But since I got to go to the places, I could say “oh, go behind this or that.”

It was a really cool day filled with activities. There was a station where children could build little terrariums.  There were places for painting and ceramics. Basically, there was all kinds of stuff to do. And here’s the best part! There was even a little sticker/passport thing on the back of the map. If you collected 5 stamps, from going to the different areas of the ArtWalk (including an improv class! – how great and full of different mediums was this place?), you got a set of wings!

I loved telling people about that awesomeness. (I love goals and checklists and things, so to me an already fun day of exploring is made all that much better by a fun list with stamps to help take you through it.) I also loved presenting the wings to people who’d finished.

Overall, this was an exceptional day. However, I do have one small rant (and more things that were great) tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

It was time to get to work. Basically, the entire day was just filled with taking food out of really, really big containers and putting them in much smaller containers so they could be sent to various food banks all around the city.

I know yesterday I admitted I didn’t realize that was a thing – one central food bank. But don’t you think it’s a nice idea? They get food from everybody! Various grocery stores, even the USDA – everybody gives food to this place. So, big chains and governmental agencies and such don’t need to worry about finding all these little places to give food. They just boom it all out to the one central location.

Then the LA Regional Food Bank then figures out the rest of the process – getting it to food pantries and various places with need around Los Angeles.

As we’re taking food from huge boxes on palettes and putting them into small boxes, I see people doing it a bit haphazardly, dropping carrots. (We had oh so many carrots on the floor.) I thought to myself, “I shall not be a carrot-waster! This is precious food that people desperately need. We can’t just waste carrots!”

I made it so long without dropping a single carrot. But alas, *sighs, slides down in chair*… I hate to admit this, but I did in fact drop one carrot on the floor… It was a small one! (I know I’m just justifying it to myself…) So, I was bummed. Then I thought, “well, if I just give them a dollar, that’s 4 meals. So, maybe this can make up for this poor carrot on the floor business.”

Anyway, we have to move on. I know it’s very upsetting that I didn’t hit my “save every single carrot, by golly” goal. But we must let it go, okay?

It was a bit of a free-for-all, with people taking boxes off and putting them on our conveyor belt. (So, nothing made it to the end of the belt, which negated the point of the belt since people were doing lots of lifting).

The place was set up in a great way meant for efficiency. But different people went at different rates, and it seemed like peak efficiency went out the window pretty quickly. Oh well. No one seemed to mind. One guy who was an architect (so, I’d assume smart, thoughtful, and good at plans) made a go at trying to get an actual system going… but it just didn’t work out.

Even still, we got all the food sorted before the original ending time of the day. So, overall, I’d call it a success. Thumbs up, and on to number 10!

I don’t know if this is daft* to admit, but I didn’t realize before this activity that there’s one main food bank that distributes to all other food banks in Los Angeles.

*No, I’m not British, but I just felt “daft” fit in that sentence. Why not?

Did you all know this concept of one main food bank?

So, I got onto the subway and made my way down there. While walking to the food bank, I felt I wasn’t perhaps in the very best neighborhood… Obviously, I wasn’t all that afraid. I choose to think the best of people. Plus, I’m all tough and strong. *determined musical theater face*

My biggest concern of the sort of dilapidated neighborhood, with practically no public places (meaning restaurants, coffee shops, libraries, etc), I really just worried dogs might be around and able to get out. It just felt like a place that would have dogs around. And is there anything scarier than a dog on the loose?

I did end up making it to the food bank without any dog attacks. (Celebratory dance music plays).

Once I got there, we all milled about outside for a bit. There was a sign that says “take pictures while you wait.” That’s cool that they were encouraging us to document the day. (I’m assuming they wanted us to tweet/instagram those pictures, though that wasn’t explicitly stated…

Once everyone had checked in, we all moved inside the big warehouse and were shown a small video. Here are some of the takeaways I found most interesting:

For every dollar donated, they distribute 4(!) meals. Is it just me, or does that seem like they’re really stretching money, y’all? I wondered if I possibly heard it wrong. But I went to the website to verify, and that’s what they say.

They also said they’ve distributed a billion pounds of food since their founding in 1973 – which is the equivalent of 800 million meals… That sounds like a lot of food to me.

They also said their ultimate mission is to go out of business. Of course that makes sense, but I thought it was still nice they put it in their video.

Then, we got to work – which is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Picking up from yesterday –

As Steve’s talking to me, he says, “Oh, I guess you didn’t get the email.” I ask, “What email?”

He says that the night before he called it off because of the weather. In my head, I yell with eyes wide open – but out loud I just politely remind him, “But I called you this morning. You said it was still happening.”

He said, “Well, you were already on your way. Oh goodness.

So, he set me up in the house with paint so I could paint doors and door jams while he did more work outside, because he had to do things having to do with all the water coming into the area.

He did seem like a very kind mind (even if I had yelled at him in my head). And he gave me a free, dry Habitat for Humanity t-shirt.

So, there you have it. I listened to podcasts about game shows and painted some doors, while still pretty cold because my feet were still wet.

When my shift was over, I fell into a (literally) knee-deep hole of mud outside of the house. (How was there a hole that big?!)

I really didn’t want to spend the money for a cab all the way home, but I was so cold, muddy, and wet. The next train didn’t come for over an hour! So, I just swallowed my pride and common sense and paid to go all the way back to Los Angeles from the San Fernando valley.

Before I even walked into my apartment, I started stripping down in the laundry room on our floor. I wasn’t tracking the mud from my shoes, socks, and pants into my room. Thank goodness nobody walked in on me. I feel like that would’ve been a bit embarrassing. Like, “uh, hey there. Don’t mind me. Just taking off my clothes…”

The next hour involved a lot of cleaning – laundry, shower, trying to salvage shoes – all while trying to keep my apartment free of mud.

The day was exhausting. I was out $100 in cab fare. And the only thing I did in the house was paint some doors… Granted, someone needed to paint them. And at least something got done.  But this was a really stark contrast to the Do Good Bus where tons of people helped and a room was transformed.

Working alone really illustrated for me how teamwork makes the dream work.

Oh, I’m gonna say it. This was miserable.

This is no fault of Habitat for Humanity’s, but it was a rough day – which is especially lame because when I started this project, I thought, “One place I must work with in the 52 weeks is Habitat for Humanity. That seems so fabulous, fun, and fantastic!”

But on this day, it was raining all across L.A. As I’m sure you know, anything other than 80 degrees & sunny and the city practically shuts down because of how much people freak out about any weather here.

I dutifully went to the train station. It was just sprinkling in the morning, and I didn’t think too much of it. But as I was on the train headed toward some far away suburb of Los Angeles, I saw that the rain seemed to be getting worse not better.

Of course, that was very perplexing. I’m only used to it “raining” for about 5 minutes at a time out here. As the rain poured more, I started to think this might not be happening. So, I called the man in charge of the site asking if it was still going on.

He said, “Oh, I’ll be there! You can paint indoors.” Wow, well, okay then. I have not yet become too L.A. to go places in the rain. So, if it’s happening I’m going.

I get to the train station (which is outdoors, by the way), because what isn’t in L.A.? I’m trying to stay somewhat dry under this awning thing. Originally, I was going to walk a bit then catch a bus. However, I was within 4-ish miles of the site, and figured I’d save myself the 1/2 mile walk in the pouring rain and just splurge on a cab from that point…

The cab ended up taking 43 minutes(!) to get there. Dealing with the cab company was infuriating. They were SO unhelpful, and not at all apologetic, though they knew I had nowhere to wait indoors.

Obviously, if I’d known the cab was going to take so long, I would’ve just gone for the bus, or at least walked to a coffee shop or something. Nothing was super close by, but I’m pretty sure I could’ve found something indoors within 20 minutes.

I finally get to the site and I’m freezing. I’m dripping wet. Once I get there, it’s just a construction area (of course) so there’s nothing paved between the houses. We have to walk through the dirt. Usually, this wouldn’t be a big deal – except that the dirt is now mud. Everything is so muddy.

So, we walk to one of the back houses. And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

I’ll admit when I first heard the name Big Sunday, I was slightly hesitant.

My last roommates (before the one I have now) were really into youth groups and church and stuff, and I know Sunday was a big day for that. So, I just thought maybe a “big Sunday” was the churchiest of all church days.

But that is completely incorrect.

Big Sunday is purely and simply “a nonprofit organization that works to build community through community service… The idea is that everyone has some way that they can help somebody else.”

It’s really cool. They partner with different non-profits and find different ways to help each week.

They give free food when you get there, and they’re even pretty centrally located & easily accessible.

Though, I will say, I take the same route to get to Big Sunday as I do to get to the Groundlings. So, as I walked down Highland, even though it’s been over a year, my body tensed up. I was going into fight or flight, baby, ready to go to an improv class.

However, it was not time for improv. It was time for volunteer work.

That week at Big Sunday, they worked with an organization called Operation Gratitude. Operation Gratitude sends care packages to our nation’s military. We were there to make paracord bracelets to put in the care packages.

I didn’t know anything about paracord bracelets, but they’re really cool! There’s a whole page on what they are and how they can be used here.

In case you don’t want to go to that link, the gist is, 8 feet of parachute cord – which can hold up to 550 pounds – can go in one bracelet and can be used for all sorts of things, such as creating harness, splints, etc. Even within the cord, nylon cords can be used to repair gear, or they can be used even as sutures, and more.

So, these two wonderful women taught us how to make the bracelets.

I’m usually a loud person who loves interacting with every person on the planet. But for whatever reason, on that day, I was just feeling a little quiet. (I know. Weird, right?)

So, this was the absolutely perfect activity for me for that day because it was a very individual activity. You could just sit there, make your bracelet, be quiet and contemplate whatever you want.

Of course by the end of the day, I was talking with everything. I mean, really, how long can you possible be quiet?

I also made the most bracelets! Up top! I “made” 13, but I kept having trouble with the last one. One piece kept coming out longer than the other. I don’t really think it’ll pass inspection. So, I say I made 12 – which was still the most of the class.

(‘Cause come on, can we really just be helpful. Or do we have to win at being helpful? ;))

This was awesome. Everyone was so nice. I would definitely go back to Big Sunday, and I’d love to help with Operation Gratitude again!

Picking up from yesterday –

We waited a bit for the other volunteers, but none ended up showing up. It was just me and James for the day.

But the only thing we needed to accomplish was digging up eight dead trees so alive ones could be planted in their places.

A new plant by the Department of Water and Power opened up, and the deal the plant made to move in was that they would replant all the trees they harmed by coming in. They ended up digging out the system that brought water to those 8 trees, so that’s why the trees died and will be replanted (on Arbor Day (which at the time was only a week away, but by the time this is posting, is behind us)).

It was a beautiful day to work outside because it wasn’t wildly sunny. So, yay. Our precious skin was spared!

James was so knowledgeable about nature. He knew every thing there was to know about every tree and plant – or at least so it seemed to me.

He said that nature has this innate positivity and that if you’re ever feeling down, you should go sit by a tree because within 15 minutes, your spirit will automatically be lifted.

Of course, being someone who dislikes the outdoors, I’m not sure how much I completely agree. But I will say, I felt really positive after the day with him. So, what do I know? Maybe it was his sunny personality, or perhaps it was the trees…

He also told me the story of how Tree Musketeers got started. Apparently, back in the ’80s, some Brownies (little Girl Scouts) planted a tree to get a merit badge. And they loved the work so much, they made a non-profit out of it! And I guess it continues to be run by kids to this day (even though the original kids have grown up, and at least one is on the board now).

So, I thought that was really cool. People seeing something they loved, seeing a need, and just boom. “Let’s start this organization.” I liked that.

After we pulled up the trees, we drove them over to a place that recycles them into mulch. And there you have it! Such a simple, efficient, fun-filled day.

Okay, this part is an intro not having to do with the day. Skip to the little dashed lines to go straight to Tree Musketeers talk.

I know between talking about the marathon and my new job, some volunteer activities have come and gone.

There is just too much to blog about sometimes… I still have a whole list of stories/subjects I’ve started but haven’t finished yet – e.g. Groundlings, the story of how I started/moved up in my television career (my day (and sometimes night) job), tying to give a kidney, the last few posts wrapping up 52 half marathons)… Eesh! Sorry.

So, let’s start catching up on these volunteer activities, and then we’ll work our way back around to the other stuff.

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So, Tree Musketeers!

I’ll confess, part of the reason I worked with Tree Musketeers is because they have such a freaking awesome name. I mean, really. Bravo, people who named it that.

Another reason I decided to volunteer with Tree Musketeers is because I wanted to push myself a little. I believe in taking care of our environment. I think I should learn more about and maybe be a little more respectful of nature.

But, I am not a super outdoorsy person. I have my moments and all, but if it were up to me, I’d basically always be inside… (unless I’m walking around in Boston or New York City, because I’m surrounded by buildings and it’s gorgeous, and the air feels wonderful).

So, I thought, “Okay, Aurora. If you think the environment is an important cause, you better do at least one environmental thing” – which led me to this.

The confirmation email I got said if you have any questions, feel free to ask. so I totally wrote ahead of time to ask about the dog situation – if anyone would be around. (My strong dislike/fear of animals is the main reason I pretty much stay away from nature.)

The person in the office wrote back that no one brings their dogs. Little did she know that when I got there, someone in the neighborhood across the street would be walking her (really terrifying) dog without a leash!

Honestly, dog people in California, what’s with you? I know you don’t all do it… But it truly is a ridiculous number of people who do and who have absolutely no regard for safety. And this is why I don’t like to go outside! (Well, that and the harsh, harsh sun.)

Thankfully, though we were safe from the dog waiting in the official Tree Musketeers pick-up truck. So, thank goodness for that.

And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Boom! New project. Here we go, y’all!

As you can tell by the title, I plan to do 52 volunteer activities in 52 weeks.

So, what does that mean? What are my rules and guidelines here?

Well, I won’t stick exclusively to 501(c)(3)s. Sure, I plan on doing a good amount of work for straight up charities. However, I’ll be happy to volunteer for some races (which, while they do usually do give money to charities, they are also often profitable). I’d also be happy to give time to political candidates I believe in.

And I’ll be doing other various things that I find fun, interesting, or worthwhile – even if they aren’t related specifically to an official charity.

I’m a member of two unions, and I hate to admit, I’m not very active in either. So, I’d be happy to volunteer at some I.A.T.S.E. or Equity event. I also should really try to be more involved in MENSA (especially since I am on the board of the Los Angeles chapter).

The point is, there are plenty of things I can get involved with, without having to focus solely on charities. But hopefully, the plan is that everything I volunteer for gives at least some good to the community.

I will also try to change up my activities as much as I can. Because I’m aiming to do 52 of these bad boys throughout the year, I may end up repeating some things. But even if I technically repeat, I’ll try to change it up within the repeating… If I volunteer for multiple races, I may try to work a water stop at one, and the finish line at another – or something like that.

I’m going to try to have as many cool/different/new experiences as possible. So, there shouldn’t be tons of repeating. But I’m not going to be a stickler about every experience needing to be with a different organization, or done using a completely different skill-set than the previous activity because I think that’s getting to rule-y for what I want to accomplish here.

In 2012, I did a project that was very much about me. Sure, I raised money for an awesome charity that I very much believe in, in the process, which was great. But my overall project was very much about me returning to running, and there was tons of selfishness in it. I got tons of help from strangers. People gave me rides, vouchers for plane tickets, and other lovely helpful gestures.

It’s time for me to give back. I don’t mean just give back because I feel like I owe it to people, the universe, or whomever because of kindness received during my 52 half marathons. I mean I want to give back because we are all interdependent upon one another.

I don’t live in a bubble where I should just get to expect everything I want and need without being part of the whole system of helping others. I want to give back, give forward – just generally put good things out there. After all, if I don’t stand up to do it, who will?

I feel like it’s so easy to get wrapped up in everything else going on in life. How could we possibly make time to volunteer for things when we have all this other life stuff going on (day jobs, marathons, creative projects, friendships, social media accounts, the freelance hustling game, and on and on and on)?

But, I’m pretty sure the time is in fact there, as long as we are willing to give it.

I know that sometimes it seems in order to volunteer for things, you need to give a huge time commitment, or if not a huge one, at least a small one for a long time (therefore making it somewhat huge after all). But in researching this project, I’ve learned that there are a number of easy one-offs you can do just whenever you have the time.

It’s often so hard for me to commit to anything since my schedule changes a lot, depending on my job. My hope is that through this project, I can be shown that volunteering can be possible under practically any circumstances. Let’s see if it is! My first volunteer activity is tomorrow night!

I know I have just a few more things I want to say re: wrapping 52 half marathons in 52 weeks up in a tidy little bow.

However, my next project gets underway this week. So, I need to tell you about it and we’ll just finish up the half marathon talk sometime along the way whenever we can.

As you’ll notice, it’s been over a year since my last project. You may be wondering why I waited to so long to do another one… Or you may be wondering why I’m tackling another one at all.

So, I’ll address both of those wonderings here in this post.

Some of the reasons I’d like to do another project:
– I gained a good amount from my last project, and look forward to learning new things and growing in new ways.

– I feel like the year went slower with the 52 half marathons. With a numbered project, it made it sort of easier to savor time. By the end of 2013, I wondered, “where has the year gone?” But at the end of 2012, I had a blog chock full of tons of new experiences. I’d known exactly where the year went.

– I’ve complained on this blog before that perhaps I don’t give enough time to my creative pursuits – that perhaps I don’t spend enough time writing, following my dreams, and all of that great stuff. I used to think that maybe that meant I need to buckle down and spend more time in my apartment writing (which of course would be a component to creating great stuff).

However, after thinking on it more, I believe that I work better when I have at least some things going on. When I have nothing going on, it can get sort of easy sometimes to let my whole day melt away because I can always get around to something later. However, when I have other commitments, that makes my time seem more precious to me and I need to be better at using it.

I don’t know if that’s a silly hypothesis. I don’t know if that makes sense. But it’s what I think is true. Of course, there still is something to be said for not overextending yourself. But, I think with this project I’m hopefully hitting the sweet spot of keeping me busy enough to know I need to work when I have the chance, but not so busy that I never give myself time to work.

Now, onto the other question I addressed –

Why did I wait so long to do another project?

Well, for one thing, I was pretty sure I was going to give a kidney to a stranger, which was going to be a pretty big project in itself. However, that sort of blew up in my face (and I realize I have a many-part series telling you all about it that I totally owe you, and I promise we will get to it).

Anyway, it took a while to go through the process, even if it didn’t end with me having only one kidney (yet). So, that’s one reason I didn’t take on a bigger project.

Plus, I was sort of doing the “year of responsibility.” It was small. It was less structured than 52 half marathons in 52 weeks. But I have to say that taking time to focus on some that stuff was really helpful for me. In being more present about my eating and fitness and such, I’ve lost about 25 pounds. I also feel less cluttered in my mind and space. (And I learned a pretty good amount about social media.)

Is there still plenty of room to grow in all departments of my life? You bet there is! My eating is much improved, but can still be better. (I also can still stand to lose more weight.) My room and computer could both be better organized still. (I’ll admit, I’m still not at inbox zero for the time being.)

But, I made a lot of progress. And I’ll continue to work on that stuff as I do this next project (and probably for the rest of my life, ’cause no one has everything completely perfect, right?).

Anyway, let’s stop with this huge preamble and get to the juicy stuff – the cool new project!… Which we will talk about tomorrow.