New Year. New beginnings...?

Christmas has come and gone quickly. It was a fun winter break. I got to go home, after braving the elements of the "Arctic blast" that came though and canceled my flight. I spent a lot of time with Dave's family too, which I really enjoyed. I think they like me...


Christmas at home was fun! I got to spend some much needed Daddy and Jackie time. I miss them already!

I am still looking for work. (If you hear anything, let me know!) I am waiting to hear back about a few jobs, but it's gonna take some time. I'm having a hard time in general, as a result of being jobless. ugh. I can't wait to find some purpose in life...

On the upside, I have a meeting tomorrow morning for the Alcohol Work Group at OSU. I met the Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator at OSU through my internship at Benton County. She invited me to join the monthly meetings to bring some input from a previous student's perspective. I have a lot of reading to prepare for this, but I'm really excited! Maybe a job will come of this... hopefully!

Well, I'm gonna get back to my reading with breaks of The Office episodes in between.

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!

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.