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.

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