the one with lots of discoveries.

let's see. it's been awhile. i'll start with a bit of a recap of the past week-ish. then on to funsie things.

i had training for AmeriCorps this week which was fun. i finally got to meet my site supervisor and learned a lot more about exactly what i'll be doing. i got to do some exploring of the community where i'll be working...it's definitely a 'project' neighborhood; although i don't like that term. it is public housing and there are definite problems...but at the same time..there's a lot of good things going on too. i'm excited to brush up on my español and finally get to work.

i got to go to the nashville farmer's market (here) for lunch with my co-workers. you must must must try jamaicaway (here). i had the veggie fry chicken..it's on the bottom right..and it's AMAZING. also the farmer's market accepts food stamps so i'm excited about that. well..i will be when i get mine. it's been quite an ordeal trying to get signed up for benefits but i'm hoping to have it straightened out tomorrow morning.

we went to a fun front porch show on thursday. some friends of a boy i work with put it on and it was amazing. they had pretty white lights around the porch and funsie folk-ish music. we got to see natalie prass who opened for jay brannan the other week. she's playing again this week and i'm excited about it.

um...one downer of the week was finding out adult men aren't allowed to live in public housing here. so even if a man is married and/or wants to be a part of his child's life...he isn't allowed to live with the family. for the life of me i can't figure out whose moron brain decided that was smart. after coming home and venting to nick about it for an hour i felt a little better..but it makes it really hard to try and focus on what i'll be doing here when i feel like there's so many bigger injustices that need to be fixed before we're able to really make a difference. i don't know..maybe i'm being a crazy..but it's still bothering me.  i know the work i'll be doing here will definitely change lives and make an impact but i don't even know how to say it...i guess it feels almost futile to work so hard knowing there will be so many more barriers to social justice even after i'm done with this year.

i started going to the gym here again. so that's exciting. and we had our apartment complex pool party yesterday. kelsey and i didn't win anything. boo. but we got some free/weird gifts ie: an all-in-one level/flashlight/screwdriver. yesterday i didn't do much. we ordered pizza and i caught up on some dexter episodes. today hopefully i can convince nick to either go to the dollar theater (well it's $1.50) or go to one of these beautiful drive ins:
Hiway 50
Stardust
Moonlite

and i'm excited for next week because i'll be helping out with the vulnerability index. i'll be going out from 2:30 to 5:30am for two nights doing surveys with homeless people..and if any of you really know me you'll know that this is the kind of stuff i live for.

as far as today...i posted on craigslist asking for free titans tickets just in case someone has some they don't want. but i'm gonna go ahead and say that probs won't happen. i also spent a solid few hours going through tons of websites/magazines to put together some funsie things for us to do in the next few weeks. they include but are not limited to:
Rock N Roll Trivia
Live on the Green
Southern Fried Festival
CupcakePalooza
and a Full Moon Hike

there's lots more but i'm tired of linking things. anyway. we also discovered a place called Cupcake Collection. they're the best cupcakes on the planet. i kid you not.

um. this week i work every day. friday we have our team meeting and it's gonna be weird to not see the rest of my team til then. i really don't have anything else going on. but hopefully i'll update soon. well if something fun happens anyway.

the one after i started work.

i had my first day of americorps yesterday and it was super fun. i got my official assignment and i'm going to be doing diabetes outreach at the cayce clinic in east nashville and some spanish translation.

we've been doing some paperwork/training/funsie getting-to-know-eachother things the past few days and most of next week we do too. after that i officially start and get my office. and to my surprise i get my own business cards! holy official. to those back home..i'll send you one so you can see for yourself!

we finally got cable and internet. and our washer and dryer. it's starting to look like a real apartment in here...minus our lack of furniture. nick's still working on getting a job so if you're the praying type please pray he finds something he'll love.

i also cooked for the first time since we got here. tator tot hotdish. yummy. hopefully i get my food stamp stuff next week so i can buy more food since our fridge is pretty empty right now. i'd also like to upload some photos but my camera cord is m.i.a. so until i find that..sorry.

i found a new way to work today courtesy of my gps. so that's exciting. nick and i sold merch at the jay brannan show last night. you can see him here. he gave us a shout out and tried to help us make friends and most people were super friendly. i also realized i'm going to gain 578393275 pounds here because everything is fried and delicious.

i'm feeling really at home here so far. our landlord..brandy..is super awesome. she's a bit like a substitute parent and has been really helpful. and having kelsey here is great since she knows a little about the city. and her boyfriend coach is the best. he plays in a band called dirty dee and the sweaty meat and wears a helmet with meat on it during the last song of their sets. we've seen them a few times and it's always fun.

we also ate at undertones. see them here. we had the pizza with mashed potatoes and steak on it. and for anyone that knows me..steak is not for me..but it was amazing. so when you all come to visit i'll be sure to take you there.

our apartment complex is having a pool party on the 18th and i'm super excited. especially because almost no one uses the pool except us. apparently it's cold out or something. ha.

anyway. i think that's all i really have for now. i need to return my redbox movie and maybe buy a shelf for our movies.

miss/love you all!

the one after i moved.

so it's been a few days. my bad.
we don't have internet yet so I'm doing this on my blackberry while nick plays video games.
anyway. since we got here we've done all kinds of fun stuff including swimming in september at our pool and seeing kelsey's boyfriend's band play a show. we also went out in east nashville (where all my future boyfriends live) and went to every mall in a half hour radius to find a forever 21. and somehow made a 15 minute trip to walmart take an hour.
it's insanely pretty here and our apartment is kinda empty but still cute. photos will follow as soon as we get internet.
I start work on wednesday and met up with a few girls from my jobbie when we tried to see anberlin for free today. it was too hot and I don't know any of their new jams so we bailed out early. instead we ate lunch in east nash and stumbled upon a commercial being filmed.
I'm crazy excited to start work and get to know the rest of my team. I can't wait! Later today we're finally gonna get groceries and maybe a shelf.
um its been super hot but not humid so I'm in heaven. and we can navigate parts of the city without a gps already! I hope all you kiddies come visit soon. I'm fairly certain you'll all fall in love with the hills and the people.
toodles for now!

the one where i reminisce.

so...i'm moving to nashville with my bestie in like four days to work with americorps state/national at united neighborhood health services for a whole year. you can visit them here. i'll be doing patient advocacy work with a little español translation thrown in. i'm beyond excited for not only the move and getting out of fargay..but also to really start a job that's everything i ever wanted.

i can't wait for this:

to be my new home. but of course i'm gonna miss everything about this:

yes. even the snow. but i just wanted to set this bad boy up so my famdamily could keep tabs on all the hip-happenings of yours truly on her first real life big adventure. i officially pack up my life here and move on wednesday. but won't get to nashvegas til thursday. and i start work the following wednesday. i'm sure you'll all get a chicagooooo update...and possibly even one before then once my beautiful apartment is emptied!

toodles for now trolls :D