Graduation...?!

So, here it is. The end of Fall term 2008, and I will be done with college by Friday. I am currently (procrastinating) writing my last paper as an undergraduate. I just have to write a reflection on the volunteer work I have done so far for Rainbow Health Resources. It's hard to write six pages on condom distribution... but I'm trying to make it work. In the meantime, my last day at Benton County Health Department is tomorrow. We will be distributing Problem Gambling Prevention calenders to local schools, churches, banks, and other organizations. The calenders were designed by local youth, with a message that gambling can become a problem, and to seek help if it is.

Then....? It has been very difficult to find employment here in Corvallis. Since Oregon is the third hungriest state in the Union, we must not be the wealthiest either. I have been picking up shifts at Jamba Juice, but they have recently closed NINETEEN... that's right NINETEEN stores in the last few weeks because the company cannot afford to keep them open. It is expected that unemployment will reach 10% nationally. This is the worst time to be graduating. I'm hoping that the Applebees here in town will hire me. I am calling the manager tomorrow, and hopefully they will like me!

I should get back to my paper... hope all is well with everyone. Next thing you know Christmas will be here! Yikes!

Almost Thanksgiving!

Well, this Thursday is Thanksgiving... already! I can't believe that November is almost over! I am actively searching for a full-time job to start ASAP, but because of the economy, I am having a hard time finding a position that I might be happy with (or that I might be qualified for). So, if you know of anything that might be opening up, let me know!

Other than that, two weeks until I am a college graduate. Pretty scary!!! I've been busy wrapping things up with the health department, finding jobs, and finishing my last few classes.

Dad and Jackie are coming up to my house for Thanksgiving! We plan to drive up to Hotel Oregon, a destination McMenamins, for a full on Thanksgiving buffet! I'm pretty excited for them to be here! Dad has never been the Cottage before (the house I currently live in), and Jackie hasn't been here since summer. It should be fun!

Back to homework!

Halloween Pictures!

All the girls! Alissa and I were witches, Sarah was a pirate lady, Emma was a cowgirl, Brittney was a devil, and Dave... he was my baby mama.



The boys that participated in the costume exchange. Oh man they were out of control!





Liss and I even scared ourselves... we made good witches!

Project Sticker Shock Success!

Hey all! So here's a little about what I've been up to!

Our first round of Project Sticker Shock was done last Friday, on Halloween. It was awesome,

and hopefully the next round will be even more successful with more volunteers and more participating vendors!

Election Time!

So, being a new member of a public service agency, I am new to the world of "the measures on the ballot directly affect me" club. I'm learning, but this year, I still cannot vote in Oregon, because I am still a resident of California (this will be changing soon I hope!) So, for those of you close to me, who are reading this, and have yet to cast your vote, check this out. It is an article on how I will be directly affected by voting (not only temporarily with my internship, but also in the future). And make sure to VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!

Difficulties

Not to complain, but life is STRESSFUL sometimes! First of all, Monday's tend to be the rough days. And it just so happens that today is Monday. I am working hard on Project Sticker Shock, and it has come down to me calling every store in Corvallis to speak with their managers to see if they would like to participate. It proves difficult when managers of stores have better things to do besides hear my "shpeel" on the project, but it is even more alarming when managers are COMPLETELY opposed to putting up warnings to their customers about purchasing alcohol for minors. Many have expressed that they want absolutely nothing to so with prevention of underage drinking, and are "greatly opposed" to participating. Ugh. Lately it seems that people are mad, and are taking it out on people who are just trying to help others, like myself. I'm just trying to make a small change in the world. No big deal. But seriously, next time you feel like being rude to someone random and pointless in your life, just take a moment to think about it before you proceed.

Red Ribbon Week!

Starting on Thursday, it is National Red Ribbon Week, for awareness of underage drinking and excessive drinking. Since this is my current field of work, I am encouraging all to wear a bit of red from Thusday to next Wednesday. I'll have more infor later... I gotta get my homework done before 2! eep!

Too Busy To Handle!

WOW! If I thought that life was busy before, I don't know what I was thinking! I have so many areas of my life to keep track of right now that I have to break it down to keep track:

Home!

Erica caught some nasty sort of bug this weekend. I took her to Student Health Services yesterday afternoon when I got home from work, bu of course, they didn't do anything but give her a pain killer. She woke up this morning with a temperature of 102 so I got her in the car and took her to urgent care. She is feeling better now, but I am getting all OCD with the handwashing and I have been spraying every possible surface with 409. Neither Dave nor I can get sick right now. I'm still recovering from my wisdom teeth being removed... I have a check up Thursday to make sure everything is healing properly.

Health Department!
Busy with Project Sticker Shock. My first stickering is scheduled for next week, before Halloween and Homecoming... but we shall see if that happens. This weekend is our retailer training that we do for those who have liquor licences. Its a refresher course for those who serve or sell alcohol to the public. We talk about checking IDs and what the current laws enforce. fun fun!

Rainbow Health Resources
I'm getting the business cards printed today. I'm kind of glad that I waited becuase we found a typo-error on the back side. One of the local businesses recently changed management, and their name along with it. So we had that fixed. And the cards will hopefully be done by the time I leave for our monthly meeting tomorrow night at Roger's house. Really excited. We have lots of updates and things to talk about. I also just finished fixing the basket "decor" to have RHR's logo on it instead of the now gone MARS logo. Wheeehooo!

As for my personal life. Great, as usual. Alissa and I plan to go to Junction City Friday night for the Haunted Corn Maze and pumpkin patch that they have. Saturday is Reatiler Training, but then we will have a small get together for my BIRTHDAY! yay! Sunday is my b-day... and Dave told me not to make any plans for Sunday all day. But won't tell me any more.... sneaky boy! I'll let you know how it goes!

First day at Benton County Health Department!

Sooo... today was my first day as the intern for the subsance abuse prevention program at Benton County HD. It was really crazy how much it takes to even know how to get to the bathroom, but I'm sure that I will catch on fast. All of my co-workers, especially my supervisor Kelly and her assistant Ashley, are really cool people and make it all that much more fun. Today I started working on my main project, getting a few ideas down and filling up a good handfull of post-it notes with tasks to accomplish and things to think about. I'm really excited to get working on the good stuff and turn my ideas in to plans and then into actions. Public health is fun! I swear! haha. I'll keep you posted on that stuff. When I get a chance I'll post some photos of some of our visual pieces we will be using for our projects.

In Memory of a Cyclist

Last week, someone not close to me, but close to those I know in the cycling community here in Corvallis, was hit and killed by a logging truck in Philomath. The news shocked Dave and I, and the first thing that came to mind, before the emotions of sadness and anger, came a sense of duty. I felt like getting up from where I was sitting and going out and telling everyone that they need to be more aware of each other. And not just drivers being more aware of cyclists (although that is the MOST important lesson here), but just in general.

There were a few articles relating to the incident that are touching and inspiring:
http://gazettetimes.com/articles/2008/10/08/news/community/from_last_week/2aaa03_bikedeath.txt

http://gazettetimes.com/articles/2008/10/08/news/community/7aaa01_bomber.txt

The Family Blog
http://edbomber.weebly.com/index.html

Introduction

Since the end of last week, my life has suddenly gotten pretty crazy busy and I feel like it is hard to keep up with family and friends. I became a member of a blog for a class and decided that maybe it was time to do one of these things instead of keeping up with people on Facebook or MySpace. So here it is... a chronicle of my adventures in case you want to see pictures or you just want to check in.