This will be one of my shorter blogs due to the holidays.
I was supposed to do an interview with Sarah on Wednesday, but it got canceled. However, I have mostly been working on last minute details for the Healthy Holiday event that is just one week away!!! Missy and I have been in contact all week talking about the fliers and exactly what should be mentioned on them. She is even making business cards for us!
I have been checking in with my friends who are participating in the food aspect of the event because I don't want to let any concerns they may have slip through the cracks. I am having coffee with one girl this week who wants to go over some of the food details, she is a perfectionist and is worried about making just the right thing. I ran into another participant on Saturday who wants to go over her section on 'healthy fun.' She is getting her masters in Social Work and one of her teachers wants to use her idea for another project. I am definitely blown away by how many people want to participate in this event and are willing to help out.
My Mom, who is addicted to knitting scarves, donated about 25-30 scarves to the event. They are tied with a ribbon, so thoughtful.
We are planning on holding a clothes drive, possibly at the Polish Home Hall. If we do not use all of the scarves for the Holiday event, we will hand them out during the drive. We are prepared to host the drive after the semester is over due to time restraints.
I have e-mailed both Carol and Sarah about locations for the drive and am waiting a response. I also mentioned it to Gail in an e-mail I sent asking for a moment at the CCBB meeting to talk about the Holiday event.
Tomorrow, Monday after class, the ladies and I will be passing out fliers for the event and then attending the CCBB meeting. Hopefully, we will be able to stand up and talk about it for a decent amount of time.
The rest of the week will be full of scrambling to get last minute things done, meetings, and possibly a re-scheduled interview with Sarah.
words - 381
hours- 5
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
planning the healthy holifday event
Last week was mostly about recapping what I have been doing and making sure that all the Healthy Holiday participants are getting ready for the event on December 7th. I got another co-worker to say she will participate in the food part so now I think I have everything covered other than ‘healthy finances,’ which I will do. The areas for food that will be presented are appetizers, soup, main course, sides, and dessert. Stasi is doing appetizers and Missy is doing desserts. We will spend the first half of the event discussing food and the other healthy areas; the second part will be devoted to book reading and distribution along with other activities. We want Nick to play Santa and we want to have door prizes as well.
Now for the hard part, promoting the event. As with the vegetarian class, Sarah says it is hard to get people to attend events. Missy is working on a flier that will mention the free food and recipe cards as well as the book distribution. The Polish Home Hall is closer to many of the neighborhoods than the MCEEC (environmental center). I am hoping this means people will be willing to take a stroll down the block and enjoy a Holiday event.
The CCBB meeting is this coming Monday and I am going to e-mail Gail to see if we can have a moment to stand up and talk about the event. Seeing that no one from these meetings came to my veggie class (do I sound bitter?), I don’t know how to get these people to attend things that they do not put on.
I need to think of a good way to talk about healthy finances without offending anyone or discussing ideas that seem impossible. I know that I am going to discuss divvying up money and not going over it, as well as coupons for things. If children are there, I will suggest they male their parents a coupon book. I would like to research something more creative though and that is what I will be doing this week.
I am going to meet individually with some of the event participants to talk about what they are contributing. My friend Ivy is doing the ‘healthy fun’ area and I know she wants to go over her ideas.
As for the interviews that I am to be participating in, I hope that there are some next week because I am running out of time and have only been to a few. At least I know that I am going to be taking a lot of photos that will be used and that is of great importance to me. I want to know that I have helped document information that will be used historically.
Sarah did end up interviewing Betty Welley last week; I look forward to hearing how that went over. It seems that a lot of these interviews happen at the last minute and then Sarah texts me the morning of and sometimes I just can’t do it. I guess this is just how things happen sometimes; doing the best I can for the part of my final project.
I am going to stay positive and keep trying until the very end, I want to see success stories wherever possible!
words: 552
hours: 6
Now for the hard part, promoting the event. As with the vegetarian class, Sarah says it is hard to get people to attend events. Missy is working on a flier that will mention the free food and recipe cards as well as the book distribution. The Polish Home Hall is closer to many of the neighborhoods than the MCEEC (environmental center). I am hoping this means people will be willing to take a stroll down the block and enjoy a Holiday event.
The CCBB meeting is this coming Monday and I am going to e-mail Gail to see if we can have a moment to stand up and talk about the event. Seeing that no one from these meetings came to my veggie class (do I sound bitter?), I don’t know how to get these people to attend things that they do not put on.
I need to think of a good way to talk about healthy finances without offending anyone or discussing ideas that seem impossible. I know that I am going to discuss divvying up money and not going over it, as well as coupons for things. If children are there, I will suggest they male their parents a coupon book. I would like to research something more creative though and that is what I will be doing this week.
I am going to meet individually with some of the event participants to talk about what they are contributing. My friend Ivy is doing the ‘healthy fun’ area and I know she wants to go over her ideas.
As for the interviews that I am to be participating in, I hope that there are some next week because I am running out of time and have only been to a few. At least I know that I am going to be taking a lot of photos that will be used and that is of great importance to me. I want to know that I have helped document information that will be used historically.
Sarah did end up interviewing Betty Welley last week; I look forward to hearing how that went over. It seems that a lot of these interviews happen at the last minute and then Sarah texts me the morning of and sometimes I just can’t do it. I guess this is just how things happen sometimes; doing the best I can for the part of my final project.
I am going to stay positive and keep trying until the very end, I want to see success stories wherever possible!
words: 552
hours: 6
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Post veg class
Last week was a pretty great week even though I was nervous about teaching my class at the cove center. On Thursday, Missy and I went to Brooklyn with the intention of passing out newsletters but there was no one at the Bay-Brook offices. Instead, we went to FedEx and made copies of the veg class fliers to pass around. We also made copies of vegetarian recipes from my cookbooks. It was a rainy day, but we went to the same locations we had previously dropped fliers and hoped people would pick them up and attend!
On Friday I met Sarah at the high school in Masonville that was formerly called Benjamin Franklin high school. We met three students in the library and Sarah had a list of questions and a tape recorder. My job was to transcribe the questions and answers for documentation purposes. There were two boys and a girl, all 16. Sarah asked them about their opinions on the local parks and housing circumstances. I thought the kids gave great answers. They talked about people littering and how if one kid behaves poorly, others often follow. They said that the neighborhoods seemed to be getting worse and that drugs were a big part of it. They all seemed familiar with fellow students selling drugs as a way to make money.
All three of the students parents worked out of the area and had transportation to get there. They didn't feel there were any jobs available in Brooklyn and said that most kids go to Wal-Mart for groceries and shopoing necessities. It was a great experience talking with the children. I think it meant a lot that they had been asked to participate in the interviews. Sarah and I both let them know what a stand up job they did answering questions.
Friday I took off work and finished up my vegetarian class info sheet. I still had to make the worksheet for participants to fill out. I also bought some snacks at Whole Foods for the event and picked up the vegan cupcakes and brownies while at work on Friday.
I was hoping more people would come to the class, but I am still happy with how it went. Missy had helped me so much during the week and put together a cooking basket that someone could win. She met me early to set up as well! There was a table for treats and another with veggie cookbooks and recipes for pick up. I was really hoping Chip could make the event, Missy was even going to pick her up. She was too sick and felt bad about not making it.
I handed out the worksheets and was pretty nervous about my speech. I feel that I did alright, but I hope that I provided enough information that made sense. I wanted to speak in a clear voice and not say "like" too much. Making eye contact with my audience was another area I tried to succeed in. Other than my classmates and teacher, there were only a few unknown attendees. I will sat that the woman who won the basket really deserved it and was very appreciative. She was a fairly new pesca-tarian and was thinking about giving up fish. It was great to talk to her and explain the veg lifestyle. I also told her about One World and encouraged her to visit. Hope she does!
Everyone was great about my speech and enjoyed the desserts. Ying-Lee, the woman working at the Cove center was very excited about the class and had her husband come. They are also planning on trying out One World. At least I made some connections and got to practice my public speaking skills.
Unfortunitely, when I got home that night I deleted all the pictures on my camera by accident. I was fiddling around trying to fix the focusing on the camera and I hit a "format" button that deleted everyting! I even called my Dad in case there was a magical way for retrieval. Not so much.....oh well, Missy has some pics and they will go on the website.
Good stuff all around!
words: 694
hours: 20
On Friday I met Sarah at the high school in Masonville that was formerly called Benjamin Franklin high school. We met three students in the library and Sarah had a list of questions and a tape recorder. My job was to transcribe the questions and answers for documentation purposes. There were two boys and a girl, all 16. Sarah asked them about their opinions on the local parks and housing circumstances. I thought the kids gave great answers. They talked about people littering and how if one kid behaves poorly, others often follow. They said that the neighborhoods seemed to be getting worse and that drugs were a big part of it. They all seemed familiar with fellow students selling drugs as a way to make money.
All three of the students parents worked out of the area and had transportation to get there. They didn't feel there were any jobs available in Brooklyn and said that most kids go to Wal-Mart for groceries and shopoing necessities. It was a great experience talking with the children. I think it meant a lot that they had been asked to participate in the interviews. Sarah and I both let them know what a stand up job they did answering questions.
Friday I took off work and finished up my vegetarian class info sheet. I still had to make the worksheet for participants to fill out. I also bought some snacks at Whole Foods for the event and picked up the vegan cupcakes and brownies while at work on Friday.
I was hoping more people would come to the class, but I am still happy with how it went. Missy had helped me so much during the week and put together a cooking basket that someone could win. She met me early to set up as well! There was a table for treats and another with veggie cookbooks and recipes for pick up. I was really hoping Chip could make the event, Missy was even going to pick her up. She was too sick and felt bad about not making it.
I handed out the worksheets and was pretty nervous about my speech. I feel that I did alright, but I hope that I provided enough information that made sense. I wanted to speak in a clear voice and not say "like" too much. Making eye contact with my audience was another area I tried to succeed in. Other than my classmates and teacher, there were only a few unknown attendees. I will sat that the woman who won the basket really deserved it and was very appreciative. She was a fairly new pesca-tarian and was thinking about giving up fish. It was great to talk to her and explain the veg lifestyle. I also told her about One World and encouraged her to visit. Hope she does!
Everyone was great about my speech and enjoyed the desserts. Ying-Lee, the woman working at the Cove center was very excited about the class and had her husband come. They are also planning on trying out One World. At least I made some connections and got to practice my public speaking skills.
Unfortunitely, when I got home that night I deleted all the pictures on my camera by accident. I was fiddling around trying to fix the focusing on the camera and I hit a "format" button that deleted everyting! I even called my Dad in case there was a magical way for retrieval. Not so much.....oh well, Missy has some pics and they will go on the website.
Good stuff all around!
words: 694
hours: 20
Sunday, November 8, 2009
One week till the veg class!
I have one week left till the vegetarian class! I need to do a lot of promoting this week, which makes me nervous. Sarah said that it has always been hard to get people to come to the classes and there is no way to guarantee a good turn out so who knows what exactly will happen. I am also spending my own money on the desserts that will be provided and I hope to not have to little or too many.
We did our block clean up this week and it went really well! The kids always recognize us right away and there are about four who always want to help. When we got there, school was letting out, and I heard Brandon (one of the kids) ask his Mom if he could help. She said he could once he dropped his stuff off. Chip’s granddaughter always wants to help also. She is a little redhead, about 5 years old. She carries around a tiny bag, just her size. Brandon was asking us if we get paid to clean up the block and I explained to him that we volunteer and want to help keep the block clean. Chip was telling him that if he sees his friends throwing trash on the ground he should tell them not to mess up their own neighborhood.
I feel like Missy and I are getting to know Chip a lot better as well. She was telling us about a $900 BGE bill that she couldn’t pay for and that seemed unfounded. She also wants to attend the next CCBB meeting and Missy is going to pick her up. We told her that if she could attend my class or the healthy holiday event, we would make sure a ride was available.
The neighborhood was a mess from Halloween, but as a whole I think it looked better. One alley that had been covered in a blanket of litter at one point, looked so much cleaner than it had the first time we attacked it.
On Friday I was supposed to do an interview with Sarah down at the Cove and got up very early to get there on time. I had my computer with me for transcribing and my camera in tow. When Sarah got there I asked her about the interviewee. She was telling about a woman that started to sound very familiar. She was also telling me that the woman was super co-dependent and probably wanted a ride to the Cove.
Turns out, the interviewee was Betty Welley! Sarah had called Betty the night before to remind her about the interview and she said she had forgotten. She also asked if she could have a wake up call!! Sarah told her no because she didn’t want to enable her into not doing things for herself. Well, Betty stood us up. I was so mad, I had been waiting all week to be a part of the interview process and she wouldn’t answer her phone or get back to us at all. Sarah was really upset as well because she had rescheduled another interview to fit Betty in and we could have been talking to the other people.
Sarah and I talked about the Holiday event and the possibility of Missy and I passing out newsletters this coming Thursday. My name is in the newsletter for the veggie class, which is pretty exciting!
As a whole, I feel really good about my three projects. The vegetarian class is all planned out and Missy will be there to help me with any issues that arise. I am leaving work at three and want to make sure I get there with enough time to set up.
I will be happy if I can attend about three more interviews for the watershed project and I know I will get the specified pictures taken.
I am the most nervous about the Healthy Holiday event because it involves so many other people, providing food for people, and needs to really promote healthy and affordable living. I would hate for it to be a flop or for those who are participating to slack off. I have asked very reliable people, who seem up for the challenge and that helps curb some of my fears.
words: 717
hours: 13
We did our block clean up this week and it went really well! The kids always recognize us right away and there are about four who always want to help. When we got there, school was letting out, and I heard Brandon (one of the kids) ask his Mom if he could help. She said he could once he dropped his stuff off. Chip’s granddaughter always wants to help also. She is a little redhead, about 5 years old. She carries around a tiny bag, just her size. Brandon was asking us if we get paid to clean up the block and I explained to him that we volunteer and want to help keep the block clean. Chip was telling him that if he sees his friends throwing trash on the ground he should tell them not to mess up their own neighborhood.
I feel like Missy and I are getting to know Chip a lot better as well. She was telling us about a $900 BGE bill that she couldn’t pay for and that seemed unfounded. She also wants to attend the next CCBB meeting and Missy is going to pick her up. We told her that if she could attend my class or the healthy holiday event, we would make sure a ride was available.
The neighborhood was a mess from Halloween, but as a whole I think it looked better. One alley that had been covered in a blanket of litter at one point, looked so much cleaner than it had the first time we attacked it.
On Friday I was supposed to do an interview with Sarah down at the Cove and got up very early to get there on time. I had my computer with me for transcribing and my camera in tow. When Sarah got there I asked her about the interviewee. She was telling about a woman that started to sound very familiar. She was also telling me that the woman was super co-dependent and probably wanted a ride to the Cove.
Turns out, the interviewee was Betty Welley! Sarah had called Betty the night before to remind her about the interview and she said she had forgotten. She also asked if she could have a wake up call!! Sarah told her no because she didn’t want to enable her into not doing things for herself. Well, Betty stood us up. I was so mad, I had been waiting all week to be a part of the interview process and she wouldn’t answer her phone or get back to us at all. Sarah was really upset as well because she had rescheduled another interview to fit Betty in and we could have been talking to the other people.
Sarah and I talked about the Holiday event and the possibility of Missy and I passing out newsletters this coming Thursday. My name is in the newsletter for the veggie class, which is pretty exciting!
As a whole, I feel really good about my three projects. The vegetarian class is all planned out and Missy will be there to help me with any issues that arise. I am leaving work at three and want to make sure I get there with enough time to set up.
I will be happy if I can attend about three more interviews for the watershed project and I know I will get the specified pictures taken.
I am the most nervous about the Healthy Holiday event because it involves so many other people, providing food for people, and needs to really promote healthy and affordable living. I would hate for it to be a flop or for those who are participating to slack off. I have asked very reliable people, who seem up for the challenge and that helps curb some of my fears.
words: 717
hours: 13
Monday, November 2, 2009
A reality show at the CCBB
Last week started off well and sort of went into a lull by Friday. Missy and I stayed after class on Monday to talk about our mutual projects and how to keep the clean up days going well as well her future interview with Chip. Even though I won’t be doing the interview with her we discussed the kind of questions she should ask that aren’t negative towards the rough neighborhood, yet still get a well rounded assortment of responses. I think that is one of the toughest things about working in Brooklyn, trying to reach the people without making them feel that you are looking down on their hardships or that you are going to jump right in and “fix” everything. As with the clean up days, we have to encourage the kids to want to help keep things clean all the time, not just when we are there. Chip seems good about cleaning up her front yard on a regular basis and picking up trash whenever she can. So far, she is the only one on the block that has really spoken to me about maintaining the block.
Missy and I went to the CCBB meeting, which was amazing! Amazing in the way that I felt like I was on a reality show, there was suspense, and yelling, and no opinion was left unturned. The first part of the night was devoted to Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld. I must say that this past Monday had the best turn out for a CCBB meeting to date! The Commissioner was really nice and he was very down to earth and personable with the locals. I found out that his mother was one of the first residents of the Brooklyn Homes and that he had lived in Brooklyn at one time with his family. He definitely had a connection to the area and you could tell this mean a lot to residents. The main area he talked about was the murders, he told a story of going to Israel and having those who lived there ask him if Baltimore was really like The Wire. He said that Baltimore is often judged the most on its homicides and he is trying to change that stereotype. 2008 marked a 30-year low in homicides; he said that we finished 2008 with 4,000 robberies! Sounds like a lot to me.
He also talked about the gun trials we have here in comparison with New York. If a person in NY is found with a gun on them, they go to jail. This is the case in LA as well, while here you can be set free. Changing this law is one the Commissioner’s number one goals in the coming years. People in the room discussed a recent shooting near Patapsco road and 9th street. The person show was in the hospital, but the shooting represents a problem that won’t seem to go away. Bealefeld let people in the audience ask questions, discussions over kids riding dirt backs was a big to do! They ride the bikes right in front of cars or people walking, don’t wear helmets, and don’t get penalized even though dirt backs residing on home property is illegal. People were very worked up. One of the best things about Bealefeld was that he was going to COP walk the next day, Tuesday, which I think is a great way to let a community know you really do want to be involved, make your presence known.
The second part of the night was super reality show! Carol had told Missy and I about port contractors trying to build a holding area in the Brooklyn area to transport scrap metal and similar products. The port would be located on the tip of the Fairfield Industrial Peninsula, close to a 50 ft channel with deep waters. There would be a storage unit built for the temporary housing of dry-bulk, break-bulk, and liquid bulk. While the guys were giving their presentation it was stopped every few minutes with locals yelling out questions and calling the guys out on what they were saying. I would have to say that the community is not in favor of this proposed plan. One of their main concerns being that the site would just end up being a junk yard of sorts and that trucks would be driving hazardous materials through the neighborhoods. It was stop/start for the next thirty minutes and I must say; the locals knew their info. When the guys presenting would list specifics, someone would call out and counter them with info on the negative impact such a plan could cause. It was pretty amazing to see the community come together in this way.
One of the pros of the plan would be job opportunities, but only if people living in the Brooklyn area had access to such jobs. There was even a lawyer for the contractors present and she was not shy. When locals would yell out their opinion, she lashed right back with her super professional lawyer talk, as I would call it! Missy and I just looked at each other and Carol shot me a few interesting glances too. Can’t wait to see what happens!
Other than that, the week was a bit of a bust. We did tell Gail that we would have a donation box for the firehouse at our Healthy Holiday event. I felt this was a good compromise since we couldn’t take the firehouse as one of our main projects.
Chip didn’t want to do the block clean up and no one came to my running group, again! I was feeling a bit down and just focused on my vegetarian outline most of the week. I want to present the most realistic information possible that is interesting without being overwhelming. Speaking of the class, I stood up and talked about it at the meeting and left fliers for people to pick up. A couple people told Missy they would go and apparently one of the CCBB members is vegetarian.
I did get a hopeful e-mail today though; Sarah told me that we would be doing an interview this Friday at 9:00 a.m. I will take some photos and do some transcribing. I am thrilled. She also gave me a list of five locations to photograph, finally! I have wanted this information so that I can at least get some work done on my own without continually hounding everyone. I am feeling better having some legitimate plans for the week.
words: 1089
hours: 12
Missy and I went to the CCBB meeting, which was amazing! Amazing in the way that I felt like I was on a reality show, there was suspense, and yelling, and no opinion was left unturned. The first part of the night was devoted to Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld. I must say that this past Monday had the best turn out for a CCBB meeting to date! The Commissioner was really nice and he was very down to earth and personable with the locals. I found out that his mother was one of the first residents of the Brooklyn Homes and that he had lived in Brooklyn at one time with his family. He definitely had a connection to the area and you could tell this mean a lot to residents. The main area he talked about was the murders, he told a story of going to Israel and having those who lived there ask him if Baltimore was really like The Wire. He said that Baltimore is often judged the most on its homicides and he is trying to change that stereotype. 2008 marked a 30-year low in homicides; he said that we finished 2008 with 4,000 robberies! Sounds like a lot to me.
He also talked about the gun trials we have here in comparison with New York. If a person in NY is found with a gun on them, they go to jail. This is the case in LA as well, while here you can be set free. Changing this law is one the Commissioner’s number one goals in the coming years. People in the room discussed a recent shooting near Patapsco road and 9th street. The person show was in the hospital, but the shooting represents a problem that won’t seem to go away. Bealefeld let people in the audience ask questions, discussions over kids riding dirt backs was a big to do! They ride the bikes right in front of cars or people walking, don’t wear helmets, and don’t get penalized even though dirt backs residing on home property is illegal. People were very worked up. One of the best things about Bealefeld was that he was going to COP walk the next day, Tuesday, which I think is a great way to let a community know you really do want to be involved, make your presence known.
The second part of the night was super reality show! Carol had told Missy and I about port contractors trying to build a holding area in the Brooklyn area to transport scrap metal and similar products. The port would be located on the tip of the Fairfield Industrial Peninsula, close to a 50 ft channel with deep waters. There would be a storage unit built for the temporary housing of dry-bulk, break-bulk, and liquid bulk. While the guys were giving their presentation it was stopped every few minutes with locals yelling out questions and calling the guys out on what they were saying. I would have to say that the community is not in favor of this proposed plan. One of their main concerns being that the site would just end up being a junk yard of sorts and that trucks would be driving hazardous materials through the neighborhoods. It was stop/start for the next thirty minutes and I must say; the locals knew their info. When the guys presenting would list specifics, someone would call out and counter them with info on the negative impact such a plan could cause. It was pretty amazing to see the community come together in this way.
One of the pros of the plan would be job opportunities, but only if people living in the Brooklyn area had access to such jobs. There was even a lawyer for the contractors present and she was not shy. When locals would yell out their opinion, she lashed right back with her super professional lawyer talk, as I would call it! Missy and I just looked at each other and Carol shot me a few interesting glances too. Can’t wait to see what happens!
Other than that, the week was a bit of a bust. We did tell Gail that we would have a donation box for the firehouse at our Healthy Holiday event. I felt this was a good compromise since we couldn’t take the firehouse as one of our main projects.
Chip didn’t want to do the block clean up and no one came to my running group, again! I was feeling a bit down and just focused on my vegetarian outline most of the week. I want to present the most realistic information possible that is interesting without being overwhelming. Speaking of the class, I stood up and talked about it at the meeting and left fliers for people to pick up. A couple people told Missy they would go and apparently one of the CCBB members is vegetarian.
I did get a hopeful e-mail today though; Sarah told me that we would be doing an interview this Friday at 9:00 a.m. I will take some photos and do some transcribing. I am thrilled. She also gave me a list of five locations to photograph, finally! I have wanted this information so that I can at least get some work done on my own without continually hounding everyone. I am feeling better having some legitimate plans for the week.
words: 1089
hours: 12
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