Visit to Alaska

I'm waiting to hear back about the job at the coffee shop in Homer. But I decided today that even if I don't get the job I will still go visit. I'm very excited! I'm also taking a trip to NYC for a week at the beginning of June. It doesn't appear that I'll have any down time here, before that point, either. So much to do, with work, and by the end of each day I'm exhausted and run down. Time for vacation!

ALASKA!!!!!

A couple days ago I received a phone call from a guy in Homer, AK, asking if I could move up there and work for him this summer. I had to turn it down because I am in the middle of the Census job, and he wanted me there by the first of June! I did talk to my supervisor, though, and she told me she thought they could find someone to cover as Crew Leader for me, so I am planning on calling him back today and seeing if he would still want me if I came by the middle of June. He owns a coffee shop up there, and I would absolutely love it! Imagine, being in Alaska during the warmer months, having a job that pays pretty well, and having plenty of time to enjoy fishing, boating, and all the other outdoor stuff available there! I do hope it works out, but it is definitely short notice.
No more incidents this week with work, which is a relief. I'm slowly finding my way around the area, getting to know more roads, as I drive them so much. :)
This week I've actually had a chance to get to know a few people in the area, at the Johnsonville FD, and have spent a couple evenings chatting and reminiscing with them. Stories of my grandfather, and life in general. It's amazing how NOT thinking about work can ease the stress so much. Time slips away so quickly.
So now I'm off to enjoy the sunshine. I have a book, plenty of water, and a camping chair, so all I need to find is a place to settle in. Yesterday another heat wave began, with temps in the upper 70's to mid 80's all this week. Ahhh...much better than rain!

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" And Other Random Occurances

I was in the park on Friday doing Census paperwork when my phone rang. It was one of my enumerators. She sounded slightly panicked, telling me that she was "in the middle of nowhere" at a house where an alarm was going off and an automated voice saying "Fire! Fire! Fire" but she couldn't see any fire or smoke, and what should she do? I called a fire fighter I knew and he said to call 911. Because we reported it, I had to go out there, since I was her crew leader. 911 sent Johnsonville FD, so two engines, the chief, and a bunch of their guys showed up. Funny thing was, by the time they got there, the alarm had shut itself off. They were as confused as we were, but checked the house anyway. No fire, no people, so no one knows why the alarm went off. Since we had to wait until the NY Trooper arrived, I chatted with the firemen to pass the time. The chief offered to help out however he could, and said we could use their fire department parking lot to meet at if we wanted. After an hour and a half out there, I headed back to town, only to get a call from another enumerator asking what to do, because she had just been bitten by a dog. So I headed back out to the country to meet her, take stock of the situation, and get her to the hospital for treatment. The dog punctured several points behind her knee, and bruised the area pretty good. She can now bend her leg again slightly, and is back to work. Poor gal!
I don't think the office knows what to make of my crew, with these two incidents and the one the previous week with automatic weapon fire. Apparently no one else has had any difficulties. Gotta love it! Can't wait to see what comes next!

Hassles of Being a Crew Leader (otherwise known as a CL)

I can't believe it is already the middle of May! Unfortunately, the heat didn't last, and we've been back to cold, cold, cold weather, with rain, clouds, and overall dreariness.

My life has not slowed down in the slightest, and if anything, seems crazier. I began with 17 people on my crew for the Census, laid off three, had one quit, am 'not-quite-firing' three more today, and just had three more new ones added yesterday. My entire crew has problems I have to resolve for them each day, and I have to meet individually with each one in their job area each day. So I am constantly on the go. Back and forth between W Hoosick, Petersburg, Hoosick Falls, Johnsonville, White Creek, and everywhere in between. I'm seeing all sorts of roads that aren't even on the map! If I wasn't always in such a hurry I'd thoroughly enjoy every moment. Right now, it's off to work again.

Summer Weather

The heat has begun, and with it, the mugginess that is AWFUL! The last two days were in the upper 80's and it was so sticky and humid that as soon as you walk out the door you are drenched with sweat. I had a busy day, but it was difficult to keep going with it like that.
After church I went over to visit a friend at the armory, and then back to the local high school to see a drama performance that some of my 'little sisters' from church were in. They did a wonderful job. As soon as that was over I went to work meeting with my crew members, which took the rest of the evening. By that point I wanted to relax, so I went for a walk around town.
The officers on duty were driving around bored, trying to stay cool since the AC at the PD wasn't working. So they kept driving by, stopping to chat. There were a couple skateboarders out who were annoying me, so the officers drove by them real slow repeatedly until they moved in another direction. As I was finishing my walk, one of the officers pulled into the parking lot beside me, followed by the other one. Still bored, so we spent the next half hour or so talking (I was between both cars with their AC turned up, so I managed to stay pretty cool myself. :)
It was a long day, but I'd rather have heat than cold, I think.

Craaaziness!!!

I thought 74 hours was a lot, but last week they had me work over 80! Needless to say, I'm worn out. In addition to crew leader training last week, I was in the office as much as possible. This week has also been insane because on Monday I started training my own crew of 17 people. The first day everything went haywire, and fingerprinting became a nightmare! Each day after that had its own problems, culminating with a bunch of new ones today.
I had to 'release' a guy yesterday, and tomorrow I may have to let 2 more go. I sent all of them out to do their field work practice, and I had to go along to observe them. THAT did NOT go well. Hardly anyone was home, every one of them was so nervous they weren't doing the interviews right when they DID find someone, we had one illegal entry situation, and one case of getting lost because the West Hoosick firefighters were blocking the main road to get toan address we needed. Ai-i-i!!! On top of that, hit 54 hrs yesterday and the office decided today that no one was allowed to have more than 50 hrs this week or they get written up and counseled! Thankfully the director of the office likes me and filled out an override sheet for me.
Emotional and mental meltdown very close to the surface!

Um...Where To Start?!

This week has been a whirlwind of stuff happening. 'Stuff' that consisted of work, work, and...oh yeah, work! After my fingerprinting session a week ago they had me in the office pretty much all day, every day, with the exception of Friday. In 6 days I ended up working 74 hrs! It was college week, so I was brought in to help Rob (the crew leader in charge of all the colleges) with the massive project of filling out, organizing, and processing all the ICR's (individual census reports). Up to 15 or 20 of us each day worked our way through thousands upon thousands of them. On Friday we went to one of the schools and did them all there. That afternoon I was given two more major projects that one of the crew leaders hadn't done - due that day, or Mon (tomorrow) at the latest. Neither had been started. I managed to get one done that afternoon (getting lost in Schenectady in the process), but the other will hopefully be tomorrow. I'm still waiting for the guy to return my phone call. Saturday morning I walked in to the office to work on more forms, along with about 15 other people. As I went in, Bill (one of the trainers) called me aside, told me he was supposed to do fingerprint training for a group of people, but he had to run home real quick. He then informed me that I was going to be starting the class for him. He pointed to the room, and took off. Ok, I had no choice, so I headed in. Which is when I found 14 people staring expectantly at me. I found the manual, and managed to make it through more than half of it, since he didn't get back for over an hour! I found the materials needed, and thankfully most of the class is reading to them verbatim from the manual. Still, I was pretty flustered, and as soon as he arrived I was more than happy to let him take over. So I guess it's another thing for my resume - can teach fingerprint training. I'm sure THAT will be in high demand - NOT! Still, it broke up the monotony of the week.
Today we finished up the colleges, and this afternoon I was offered a promotion. Athena is in charge of the 6 or 8 counties in this area, and she has apparently been watching my work pretty closely. She has decided I'd be a good crew leader or crew leader trainer. Both are better jobs than enumerator, which I was hired for. I agreed, but am a little skeptical. I'm going to be the youngest crew leader by far, since most are in their 40's or above. But she says she likes what she's seen and needs someone she can count on being responsible, efficient, and getting things done right. I guess time will tell. It could be fun, and definitely not as boring as going door to door. I think.

Work

I've decided that fingerprinting people is NOT my favorite job in the world. In all honesty, it is probably pretty close to the BOTTOM of the list. It's messy, people thought they could 'help' but didn't realize that each time they didn't relax and let me do it, they ended up either dragging MY hand into the ink too or we had to redo the print, or both. Then there was this one older guy who was flirting with me the whole time, and intentionally messed up some of the prints so he could have more time with me. Weirdo! Unfortunately, fingerprinting is not a time when you can keep your distance. It's up close and a little too personal. I'm wondering if they'll find anything in his background check that would keep him from working.
After that session I went back to the office and sorted over 1700 census forms during the last 6 hours. Since everyone but me and one other guy went home at 5, I enjoyed the peace and quiet, and the time flew by. I haven't quite finished my project, but the guy closes the office at 10pm, so I'll do the rest in the morning. Long days, And I'm glad they are finally finding work for me to do!

More Pictures

The hamlet of West Hoosick, where my grandparents' farm is located.

The village of Hoosick Falls. My apartment is a block up the road from the bridge across the river.

Flying in my friend's Cessna 150.

Census Fun and Games

I was called and asked if I wanted to work. So all day yesterday and all day today I've been down doing paperwork at the Albany US Census office. It's not difficult, but it was frustrating at times, due to the stupidity and lack of common sense being used down there. It's ridiculous how much I'm redoing of other peoples' work. My project this morning has been re-alphabetizing over 1300 names that had supposedly already been done. For the most part it was, but there were a lot of mistakes. Now I'm sitting waiting for them to find work for me to do. Either that or lunchbreak at noon. There have already been a couple meetings behind closed doors because of the bosses all having different opinions about how to do things.

Easter!

This year seems to be flying by! It's hard to believe April is here already, but it is. With April comes Easter. This year Seth is overseas, but Mark was back from Iraq, and visiting, which was special. I only had five kids in my Sunday School class, which made it all the more fun as we made graham cracker crosses stuck together with marshmallow fluff and jelly beans (talk about MESSY!). We discussed the empty tomb and new life we can have in Jesus as we colored hard boiled eggs. The kids loved it.
After church, I went out to my parents' house where we put together a picnic Easter dinner, piled into the back of my dad's truck, and headed up the hill to the cabin he built in the woods. Mom outdid herself on lunch. She makes the best potato salad EVER! When dinner was over, cake had been enjoyed, and my dad had read to us from one of his favorite books, my parents and JJoy decided to go on a walk to "the 2x4". I was going to stay back and rest, but when Mark and Zachary started talking about sneaking around in front of them and trying to scare them, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go along. Zachary went one direction, and Mark and I went the other. At the beginning, we saw them a couple times, but in trying to go far enough around them so as not to be seen, we soon lost them. Mark, macho military man that he is, kept stopping, listening, and telling me he heard them up ahead. To make a long story short, the two of us ended up traveling a mile or so into the neighbor's property without seeing any sign of them. When he finally admitted he had no idea where they were, or where we were, it was only because he realized that the deer, chipmunks and squirrels we were standing there watching wouldn't still be there if those three had come that direction (JJoy wasn't even attempting to be quiet). So we started retracing our steps, but ended up on a path that wasn't at all familiar to us. Turns out it was a different one than is on our property. We just kept walking in the general direction of the cabin and eventually ran into the posted signs marking my grandparents' land. Sure enough, all the others had been there awhile by the time we got back. So much for scaring them. It was fun, and an adventure. Our ride back down to the house was spent by us "kids" singing random bits and pieces of Christmas songs off key as we bounced around in the back of the truck. Good times.
Mark left Monday morning, and is now back in WA state.

Hanging Out With My Bro, and Going Flying!!!

Mark (my brother in town from WA) stayed in town with me on Friday night, and Saturday we went out for breakfast at my favorite diner. Every morning a group of guys (in their 60's and 70's) meet for coffee, and I often go sit and visit with them. It's like having a bunch of grandfathers, since they try to keep up on the details in my life, worry about me if I don't come in for awhile, and tease me unmercifully about anything and everything they can. They had asked me to bring Mark in to meet them, and were glad we came. Another couple (Mike was a customer at the coffee shop when I worked there) was there as well. I hadn't seen them in a while, so we had a chance to catch up also.
A few hours later I had the opportunity to go up in a Cessna 150 for about an hour and a half of pure fun! It was a gorgeous day, and a friend of mine has his own plane, and though we've been planning on going up for awhile, this is the first it worked out. We flew from Bennington up to Manchester, around Mt Equinox, down the valley to Cambridge, over to Hoosick Falls (saw my apartment), West Hoosick (my grandparents' farm), down into Hoosick, Petersburg, Pownal, and back to Bennington. It was amazing! Such a totally different perspective from the air. The weather was ideal, and Dave and I thoroughly enjoyed the sights from the air. I LOVED every second of it!

Vertigo, the Census, and other Important and Newsworthy Items

I've finally been given work to do for the census, and though it is boring and most of what we are doing makes no sense, it is work, and for that I'm grateful. Only a couple hours a day so far, but it should pick up more by next week. Yesterday I arrived back in Hoosick Falls after work and checked in with a friend who I knew was having problems with vertigo related symptoms. She was just getting back from the doctor and told me that she was being sent to the ER to have a CT scan done. Since she obviously couldn't drive, I ended up taking her over. 4 hrs and quite a few doses of various medications later, I took her home. The doctor had come to the conclusion that maybe it was sleep deprivation and she just needed to go home to bed. This morning, she was much better. However, I had a headache when I woke up. Over the course of the day, it has progressively gotten worse, along with now having dizziness and nausea accompanying it. So now I'm curious, can vertigo be contagious? I never thought so, but it's strange timing. I now know what she was talking about when she told me she felt like her head was made of jello. It really does feel like jello jigglers every time I look at anything. Is the world really spinning? I also lost my appetite, which she says happened to her as well. Weird! I guess I may be taking a trip to the doctor tomorrow if this doesn't go away overnight. Bad timing, since we finally have awesome weather - record highs in the upper 70's for the next couple days! Joanna and I took Isabeau for a walk and I spent the entire time gripping the stroller and trying not to turn my head or look down, to avoid as much of the seasick feeling as possible. It didn't work all that well.

The Fire Escape Escapade

It dawned on me that I had a bit of excitement the other day that I neglected to share with you. Now you'll have a tidbit to smile about. I'm sure many of you can picture me in this situation.
I was walking around the block one evening (gotta get my exercise somehow) when a woman in a car that I walked by called to me. She asked if a certain girl was my neighbor, and I told her yes (she and her boyfriend live in the apt beside mine). I was then told that the girl had locked herself out of the apt and had gone to the bar just down the street to see if she could get help. So I went down and got her, and unlocked the outside door. Todd was inside, asleep, and hadn't heard the buzzer or us pounding on the door, so we headed into my apt and started banging on the wall and yelling. It was no use - he didn't hear a thing! So we then proceeded to open my window, climb up and out onto the fire escape, maneuver the screen out and slide their window open as far as we could get it. Not even that woke him up, and it took both of us poking our heads into their bedroom and calling for him to wake up. Needless to say, he was somewhat startled to sit up and see us poking our heads through the blinds. He did come open the door and let her in at that point and I continued on my walk.
At least now we have tested the fire escape and, for the record, it appears it will work just fine in the event of an emergency.

Census Training - My Soapbox of the Day

You never know when you'll learn something new! For instance, the last 3 days of Census training have been a lesson in how inefficient the government can be and how it really IS possible to learn nothing in almost 25 hrs of trying your level best to learn SOMETHING from a crew leader chosen by our amazing federal government! And did I mention that these past days supposedly 'equipped us' to count how many people are in our county? Seriously, if everyone doing our job had the training we did, I feel sorry for each of you. I guarantee mistakes WILL be made. So much for the budget being accurately distributed! There's NO way it'll be right. On top of that, I have only so much confidence in several of my fellow census takers. Some of the questions people were puzzling over were so simple I wanted to tell them if they couldn't figure it out, they were in the wrong job! Come on Americans, a little common sense would go a long ways!
I did have several classmates I enjoyed talking with. One was a retired US Marshal who also spent several years doing witness protection. Talk about some good stories. One gal had a great sense of humor and kept joking and inserting comments under her breath making me and the US Marshal laugh. The other guy I was sitting next to is a retired Shriner. I was unaware until now that there is really an organization whose only purpose is to go out and party every weekend of the year. This weekend they are going to NYC, but other weekends it could be anywhere in the country. (Hmmm...I'd guess being rich is a requirement.) He also had a good sense of humor, and between the four of us we made enough comments to get us through the day in a pretty good frame of mind. Of course, the coffee and chocolate espresso beans did their fair share as well. Ah...caffeine!
So next week the work begins. I am a Group Quarters Enumerator, which means I'll be going to hospitals, dorms, jails, and wherever else groups of people are living. It'll be interesting, and I'm actually looking forward to it.