A Day in the Life of Maria

Today (well now yesterday) I woke up at 7:45 a.m., which is sleeping in for me. Americana doesn't open until 10 on Fridays which is wonderful. I took a shower, got dressed, put on a little make-up, then ate a banana and a 100 calorie Yoplait strawberry yogurt for breakfast. I walked out the door with my hair still wet and wavy because I have gave up making time to blow dry my hair. I had an appointment with my chiropractor at 9:00 (located about 5 minutes away downtown in the 12th floor of some big building). I got to be on the roll a bed for 15 minutes or so which is very relaxing, then got my neck cracked which was much needed because it was very tight after a somewhat stressful week for me. I left the chiropractor around 9:45 then ran a couple of quick errands for work downtown before heading to the southend. This including stoping at Metro United Way to drop off two big boxes of tax records from this past tax season (we served over 500 clients at our free tax service). And I must mention that no one offered to help me carry them in or open the door, which I thought was somewhat rude. Then I stopped at some electrical store to buy a new emergi-lite battery becasue we just had our annual fire inspection and needed to correct some things. I arrived at work around 10:2o and took my position at the front desk. Luckily, Fridays are less stressful because there are no activities going on (which means no kids!), just a catch up work day. Two people called within the first ten minutes of me being there asking to rent the building. A little after 12, me, the Jasons, and Esther and Prady left work to stop by Mr. Mesa's party. He works with the kid's ESL program, which just ended Thursday (it was in the mornings, however the afternoon program still has two more weeks). He invited the teachers and Americana staff to his home for some very delicious Cuban food (he also runs a catering business) We got a little lost on the way because we were distracted talking to eachother instead of looking for street signs and lost about 20 minutes. For a half an hour we enjoyed awesome food (including BBQ chicken, beans & rice, fried plantains, and other good stuff I don't know the name of). We ate outside which was pleasant because by some miracle it was only in the 70s today. This was quite a treat for me because I usually take a "working lunch" (a.k.a. I don't get a break) and never have food as good as I did today. We returned to Americana a little after 1 (after driving on some awesome hills where we all pretended we were on a rollercoaster). I stayed at work until about 4, which included prioritizing a "facility management issues" report and doing some work to prepare for a $40,000 playground that will be built in less than a month thanks to a grant from an organization called Kaboom! I left a little after 4 to head to Wal-Mart (which I loathe, but today it was necessary). On the way to Wal-mart I got a call from Keith all the way from Germany (because I told him to call me via gmail chat before I left). I hadn't heard his voice for a year and it was a nice, but short chat. I pulled up to the "tire and lube" section of Wal-Mart 15 minutes later because I got a flat tire Wednesday evening and needed to not be driving on a spare anymore (this is what the pictures are of - it was after the international community reception at the Muhammad Ali Center where Americana got an award from the mayor, woohoo - luckily I had my coworker Will in my car who is very handy and changed my tire in his suit, he tried to teach me some pointers, but I was more interested in taking pictures, plus I had heels and a skirt on, it was also convenient that it happened in an empty parking garage and not the road). Back to today, so they told me it would take less than an hour to finish my car. So I go in and do some shopping for Americana (unfortunately the most affordable place where you can get everything you need in one stop, it was a very random shopping list) I bought the stuff with Edgardo's credit card, then went to see if my car was done. It was still in the garage, so I ate some Subway (which was inside Wal-Mart). Then I sit outside and wait for my car by my shopping cart full of stuff while catching up with Chad on the phone (there was a lot to discuss). Two hours later (should have expected that) my tire is fixed and it only cost $9.50. By this time it is 6:00 and I am supposed to meet my housemate Alisa and a friend from church/former LUC participant at the movies at 6. So I am a little late. Get to the movie theatre about 6:30. The movie started at 6:15, so I missed the beginning of Ocean's 13. Enjoyed the movie, it was entertaining, but they need to be done with those movies. Get out of the movies about 8:15. Take my friend Laura home. Chat in the parking lot for awhile. Talked to my friend Adam on the drive home who helped me realize that having to move is not the end of the world. Finally come home about 9:30, only to leave with Alisa to a going away party for our friend Heather who is leaving tomorrow morning for seminary in San Francisco. Mostly sit on the couch and talk to people at the party. Help someone retrieve a bottle of rum they dropped off the 5th floor balcony. Get scratched by a dog. Alisa leaves around 11, then my other housemate Dan shows up after work. We go down to the neighbor's porch swing (that is not on a porch) and chatted with our Bud Lights. Although I live with him, I hadn't seen him for a week due to St. Louis and opposite work schedules. He has also decided to move out of the apartment (but still in Louisville, closer to his work for cheaper rent with people that have a dog) so I am in need of finding a new living situation, which is a little stressful, but I'm sure will work out somehow. My coworker joined us on the swing, where we tried to avoid talking about Americana (but it kept coming up). Dan and I left about 12:45 a.m. Now I am at home updating my blog so everyone can know what a day in my life is like. I am waking up at 9 a.m. tomorrow in to help out my friend Emily who is running focus groups at Americana in order to complete a community health assessment regarding the new Health Clinic that will soon be opening up on Americana's property. I am providing childcare for $17 an hour. Rock on. I could have 2 kids, I could have 20, only time will tell. I also need to bring in to work all the crap that is still in my trunk, since I didn't make it back there. Ok, I need my sleep!

I think more people should do this.