Serving the Nations in Kentucky

I like my job, but it’s not as simple as it originally appeared to be.  At the end of the day yesterday, I had a nice, productive schedule of donation pickups for the week all put together.  Today, Rodolfo found out that we’re getting new Cuban clients at the end of this week, so I may need to postpone a few pickups to make way for the setup of a new apartment.  Yay.  When I think about it, though, I realize exactly how awesome it is that there are so many people who want to donate furniture to us that we can’t possibly pick it all up on demand.  In other news, the client for whom I was supposed to be playing the role of friendly local guide didn’t show up at the office today, so that may have to be put off until another day, too.

This evening, I made myself dinner, and then Marion and I went downtown to one of the bars down at 4th Street Live! to see her sister, Jane, who plays violin, perform with her jazz trio.  I enjoyed being out of the house and in a relaxing environment with good music. I took my laptop, held it on my lap, and wrote, and it was fun.

Today I dedicated myself almost entirely to scheduling pickups of donated furniture over the phone, and organizing the pickup schedule.  Between holding phone conversations with at least five different donors, typing in all the data collected from those phone calls, tabulating and typing in data from today’s pickup run, printing thank-you letters, and figuring out how best to organize the pickup schedule, donation-related tasks genuinely took up the majority of my work time today.  Of these tasks, the latter was the most difficult, but the most rewarding when I completed it.  Creating a good pickup schedule is not as easy as you may think.  It requires balancing the common-sense need to create a convenient, efficient travel route, the limitations on the delivery crew’s time and energy (some of which must be dedicated to setting up apartments), and the needs of the item donors (e.g., having items gone by a particular day or time).  I’m not perfect at it, but I’m doing okay.

I spent a few minutes in the Cuban-Haitian office today, too, during which Rodolfo asked me to do something really cool.  There was this one day (April 3) while I was in Japan when I had to visit the local government branch office.  This involved waiting around in waiting areas, filling out forms, producing documents, and talking to officials, all in my third language.  It was stressful enough as it was, and would have been far, far worse without the help of my kind, helpful local guide.  On Wednesday morning, I get to go through that experience all over again, only this time, I’m the kind, helpful local guide for one of our clients.  That’s some pressure to be under, but I’m looking forward to the chance to speak Spanish, get to know a client, interpret/translate between Spanish and English, and generally be helpful.

I spent another evening relaxing at home.  The other thing I accomplished today (during work, actually) was that I finished writing my blog entry about last Thursday, May 15.  Scroll down the page to see it.

This morning, I went to church and sang in choir.  I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as usual, because I was feeling a little under the weather.  I lay down for about twenty minutes after I got home.  Because I didn’t have enough energy, I spent the entire rest of the day in the house, at my computer.  Yes, I really need to stop doing that.  (If I have enough energy to sit here and stare at my computer, I have enough energy to write or do other stuff.)  I did manage to get out and do some grocery shopping today, though.

(Note: This was written well after the fact, on 5/26. Like all my entries written after the fact, it is backdated.)

After sleeping in this morning, I took the bus downtown again for another day out. This time, I went to Waterfront Park. It’s a big, beautiful park that is, indeed, right on the edge of the river. It has several large lawns, a really neat playground, sloping expanses of grass dotted with trees and picnic tables, lots of paved paths, and benches (some of them swings!) facing the river. It was a beautiful, sunny spring day, and I had a wonderful time bicycling through the park. I also stopped to sit in the grass, take in the scenery, and pray.

I spent the second half of the afternoon in Borders, writing (yes, I had my computer with me). I didn’t work on my novel, though; instead, I spent the time developing an idea for a short story that I’d come up with that morning. That was so much fun.

I took the bus home, was there long enough to change into nicer clothes and make a brief appearance at the party going on next door, and then I took the bus right back downtown again to attend a play at the Actor’s Theater of Louisville. It was called “Cruising the Divide,” and it was written by and for locals, but I still enjoyed it. Carol had invited me, and I met her and her husband there, and sat with them. They were also kind enough to give me a ride home afterward.

The play consisted of short character vignettes, monologues, and scenes based on the actual experiences of local citizens who have been involved in the controversy over cruising. I didn’t know this until I saw the play, but up until a couple of years ago, Louisville’s African American community would celebrate on the weekend of the Kentucky Derby by cruising in their cool cars to show them off. There was an entire annual street festival that had grown up around it. Then somebody got shot during these festivities in 2005 (I think), and the police have been making sure cruising doesn’t happen ever since. The point of the play was to present various viewpoints on these events. There was a discussion afterwards, which we only stayed for part of. That night, I realized that Louisville is a city with real people and real issues, just like any other city. I got to see a side of it I had never seen before, and it made me feel close to this place and compassionate toward it. I thought it was wonderful that there were so many concerned citizens who created art to express feelings and communicate information about the issue, and who stayed to discuss it. It was a good thing for me to go and see the play.

Yesterday - oops, I just realized I still haven’t written a full entry about yesterday.  I’ll try to remember to get back to that.  The point is, yesterday’s trip to the airport and evening with the young adult group refreshed my spirit and restored my enthusiasm for and pride in my work, which had waned over the past week.  Therefore, I set out to do better today, and I succeeded.  Last night, I made a list of about 15 things I needed to accomplish at work today, and I accomplished all but two of them.  (One of them was writing a full blog entry about yesterday.)  I added two families to the database, and completed the pickup schedule and directions for Monday, among other things.  I left my desk nice and neat, with only one piece of partially-completed work on it.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is visiting the Diocese of Kentucky this weekend.  Thanks to Amy Coultas, I got a ticket to the conversation she held tonight, in the comfortably large parish hall at my very own church, St. Matthews.  Amy Coultas’ parents were kind enough to drive me there and back, and I sat with most of our young adult group.

Hearing The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori speak was deeply encouraging and inspiring.  I am very glad to know that my Presiding Bishop and I share the same viewpoint on what’s important in living a Christian life, both as an individual and as a church: to reach out, to be God’s hands working in the world, is what’s important.  One of the most important points she made was that, in her experience, growth and vitality in the Church are found where the Church and its people are thus outwardly focused, rather than focused on internal issues and divisions.  She has a powerfully calming tone and presence, and conveys an openness and a desire to listen to and respond to the questions and needs of those around her.  For that reason, she kept her prepared remarks brief and spent the majority of the 90-minute session answering questions gathered from churches in the Diocese of Kentucky.  I was both surprised and encouraged to hear that there are no plans to spend time enacting legislation at this year’s Lambeth Conference.  Rather, the conference is designed to allow everyone to spend time together, get to know each other, communicate, and learn from one another.  I think that’s great, because I agree with what she said about legislation: too often, it is a source of division.

After tonight, I feel even more richly blessed to be part of the Episcopal Church, and even more certain that it is by God’s will that Katharine Jefferts Schori is its current leader.

(Note: Most of this was written after the fact, on 5/19.)

Well, today the delivery crew completed the furniture delivery that got canceled on Tuesday.  (Again, it’s not their fault, there was just some miscommunication.)

The late afternoon was the most interesting part of today.  I had the privilege of being there when a new refugee couple arrived at the airport here in Louisville, and when they moved into their apartment for the first time.  I had wanted to experience this part of the resettlement process ever since I first became aware of it, because I could tell it would be more personal and make me feel closer to our clients.  I was right.

I left the office at about 4:00 P.M. with Marianne, one of our staff workers.  Before we went to the airport, we stopped by a shopping center where there is a grocery store and a Chinese restaurant.  We bought a precooked chicken from the grocery store and white rice from the Chinese restaurant.  This is what we always give our new clients for dinner on their first night, because it’s the most universally culturally-acceptable dinner we know of.  From there, we went to the airport and met Ali, our interpreter, outside of security.  We waited there, as part of the crowd of others who were meeting travelers.  We got there nice and early, so we waited more than half an hour.  I was thrilled to see our clients, identified by the green-and-white plastic tote bags they had received from the International Organization for Migration, arriving and finding us.  We ended up as part of a big, lively group of around ten people: not only were Marianne, Ali, and I there, but some of our colleagues from Catholic Charities were also there to meet their own incoming refugee clients, who had come on the same flight as ours.  It was clear that everyone was happy, whether to be working or to be in a new, safe place.

Since our clients had taken a different flight than they had originally held tickets for, we had to get their baggage out of one of the baggage offices.  I could relate, since I’ve done that twice now.  Then, we carpooled the short distance over to the apartment our furniture-delivery crew had set up for our new clients.  I brought the food in from the car and put it on the small kitchen table.  Marianne and Ali, who had helped bring in the baggage, showed our clients the rooms of the apartment, and how to use the gas stove and the shower.  Watching that learning experience taking place was the coolest part for me.  We left them with some cash, bus passes, and a schedule detailing when they need to come by our offices for orientations, to start English classes, etc.

I could only get a faint glimmer of an idea of what the experience must have felt like for the refugees, but it did cross my mind. Here’s what I thought about that: “So, you come to a brand new country and there are three people to meet you, one of whom speaks your language, but all of whom are friendly.  You go immediately to your very own home, where there is food and light, and a stove that works, and a bed.  These people must really care about your well-being.”  Wow.  I love it when I get to experience the blessings of God being extended to his people.

Marianne and I went back to the office, where I took my bike, stopped by Walgreens to get snacks, and then went down to the Episcopal Church of the Advent for the Thursday-night young adult Eucharist.  Afterward, we went to O’Shea’s, and I had a really, really good chicken sandwich for dinner.

Work was ordinary and unremarkable today. Due to a failure of communication, Amy Coultas didn’t find out about our lunch plans until it was too late, so Carol and I had a nice lunch together at a little Vietnamese cafe on the next block from our office. None of today’s deliveries were as problematic as yesterday’s - we did have to replace one king bed with a full bed (easier to get up to the second floor) and one apartment is short one table, but that’s a common problem, and we will be getting an influx of donations next week.

Tomorrow is the first time in quite a while that we’ve had new refugee clients arrive in Louisville at any time other than the middle of the night, so I jumped at the chance to be part of the group meeting them at the airport. I don’t recall which country they’re from, but it will still be a a joy and a privilege to be there.

Tonight, I enjoyed another good dinner with Marion and the boys, and another fun, joyful choir practice.

Today’s efforts to keep operations moving at KRM were an intense, suspenseful emotional roller coaster, at least for part of the day.  I’ll start with the low point of the day: I had to cancel that furniture delivery that I had worked so hard to pull together and fretted about so much.  Why?  The apartment was still being cleaned and having its carpet replaced today.  No one at the office knew this until today, but I still felt horrible that the new apartment couldn’t be set up.

The high point of the day centers around one of the phone calls that I handled yesterday.  The phone call was from Episcopal Migration Ministries, asking whether anyone at our office had contacted the distant relatives of a certain client who had been allocated to Louisville.  No one had, and I asked Dalay to do it because she knew said relatives, and I didn’t.  Today, she and Rodolfo finished making arrangements with one those relatives, who has agreed to assist the new client.  I got to call EMM and tell them about this development, signifying that the process was back on track.

I completed the usual donation-tracking chores (which took less time than usual because no new donations were picked up today), and spent an hour in the computer lab.  The confusion that I straightened out there today arose from the fact that the lowercase letter ‘l’ and the numeral ‘1′ look very similar in Times New Roman. Also, Amy Coultas, Carol Young, and I have a lunch date tomorrow.

I spent another unremarkable evening at home.  Still no word about this year’s Come to the Feast.  (I emailed the registrar on Sunday to ask for details.)

Today was a really good day at the office.  The more I do my job, and the more I ask questions of the people around me and learn from them, the better I get at it and the more I like it.  I wish I could have two more weeks here to enjoy what I’m doing.

I accomplished several things today.  I made yet another Publisher publication, this time a trifold brochure.  I sent out another donation thank-you letter and five more Lunch and Learn invitations, and received my first official positive RSVP for Lunch and Learn.  I successfully completed the scheduling of furniture pickups for next Monday, and printed out the schedule for tomorrow.  I also handled several phone calls, and worked out a few last-minute details of that one apartment setup tomorrow that was such a headache last week (with lots of help from Dalay from the C-H office, who was back at work today).

After work, I stopped by the mailbox to mail letters again, then went grocery shopping. I had a frozen chicken pot pie for dinner tonight, and spent a relaxing evening at home.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t gotten the hang of disciplining myself to write my update emails (I blew it off on Sunday, again), apply for jobs, or write more than 300 words of my novel per night.  Sigh.

Last year’s Pentecost was among the most joyous days I had while I was in Japan (scroll to the bottom of the page at that link to read what happened).  This year’s was also joyful, but most of the joy was concentrated in the morning rather than the evening.

I deliberately wore the exact same clothes today as I did for last year’s Pentecost (black pants, red shirt that I bought at the Porta mall in Japan), for several reasons: I like them, they’re appropriate, and I knew that I would once again be celebrating the day by speaking another language in front of people, just like last year.  Last year’s Pentecost was the first day I started teaching my Japanese church how to say the Lord’s Prayer in English; today, I was part of a team of seven people who read our New Testament reading in multiple languages.  The languages in question included Spanish, French, Russian, German, Latin (read by the priest), and Japanese.  (I forget what the seventh one was.)   We all rehearsed half an hour before church.

As always, I sang in the choir.  I loved the songs we sang today.  The multilingual reading went just as planned, and it sounded really cool.  First, the reader started reading in English, and then, at a prearranged point, all of us joined in, reading those same words simultaneously in our various languages, while listening to the reader with one ear so that we could all stop speaking at a second prearranged point.  At that point, we each took a turn to say the words “God’s deeds of power,” or their equivalents in the translations we had, in our languages.  We’d decided on the order during rehearsals.  The reader concluded by saying “God’s deeds of power” in English.  It all sounded really cool, and on top of all that, it was windy outside the whole time we were in church.  We couldn’t hear it, but we could see the trees blowing around outside the windows.  I thoroughly enjoyed church today.

After church, I attended Marion’s family’s Mother’s Day brunch.  We had very good food at the home of Marion’s brother and his family. I got home, and spent the entire rest of the day on my guilty pleasure: reading a website called TV Tropes.  (Guilty, because it sucks up time like mad.)  I would have been more productive if it hadn’t rained all day, because then I would have gone out to a coffee shop and written.  (When I want to get work done, I find it helpful to go to any place other than where I’m living.)