Week 3: It's Official.

So, Team Omaha is pretty legit. We went to the Mayor of Omaha's office last Monday to meet with other AmeriCorps VISTAs. While we were hoping for a photo op with the mayor, but we were unsuccessful on that front. He was "out of the state", whatever that means. It was encouraging to meet with others in Omaha who are serving especially because there are so few of us here. In the Twin Cities, I feel if you didn't serve with AmeriCorps you at least know what it is. Here, I explain the program to people I meet every single day. At the mayor's office we found out that there are about 20 other VISTAs at Metro Community College, the big community college here in Omaha. We're trying to connect with them now to learn about things that they are doing for free or cheaply. Also, having friends is good too. 

As we're starting from scratch here, that means that we have no official office let alone have furniture for that office. One of my tasks upon arriving here has been to scope out businesses that we think might be willing to give us in-kind donations of furniture/office supplies. I was successful at getting a trunk-load of office supplies from another nonprofit (literally my trunk is full of office supplies). We've had a few meetings at Creighton University with people in admissions, multicultural services and other academic programs and I got to thinking Hmm...maybe they have a bunch of random furniture sitting around somewhere. After getting in contact with the right people, we were invited to "go shopping" through their old furniture. We walked into a warehouse on campus and were given a tour of all the desks, chairs, file cabinets and cubicles that have been used throughout the years at Creighton. We post-it noted whatever we wanted- it was awesome! Who doesn't love free stuff? There were definitely a few items that we avoided but overall I was impressed with the quality of the office ware there. We have about 12 chairs, 6 desks and 3 filing cabinets on hold at Creighton now. I felt so accomplished after that morning. 

Although at this point my school hadn't been approved yet by the principal, Kyle's school was in the process. We were invited to meet with the counselors at Northwest High School, where Kyle will be stationed this year. It was interesting to listen to the questions that they asked our organization so we could learn more about their concerns and excitement for us to be at their school. Also, it was just refreshing to be out of the office and in a school. It reminded me of what I signed up for this term of service. 

I did something very adult-like that I think made my move here official: I found a dentist. I somehow missed my June cleaning for my dentist in Hudson and needed to get in asap. So, I looked up reviews of dentists that were approved through my insurance and went for it. I ended up choosing Dundee Family Dental and was very impressed. The hygienist I had was great and actually chatted with me about my move here (she LOVED that I folded my mattress in half in the back of my car) and the dentist was pretty familiar with Minneapolis. It always makes me feels more at home here when people are familiar with the Cities. It seems like the distance just becomes shorter and shorter from home. 

Another momentous occasion at our house this week was getting cable. I tried to setup an antenna for my tv, but our house is in a black hole for signals. I could get about 2 channels in and they only worked if no one moved around on the second floor. So it almost never worked. We had a mess getting the cable hooked up, every time that I called Cox for service I was told something different. The responses were anything from that we needed to come to the service center to show proof that we lived in our house to putting down a yearlong deposit on our account. It was all very strange. Kelly called and finally got one straight answer. Anyway, I was gone when they came and setup and discovered that our cable cords are a mess. The cable guy couldn't really figure out where all the cords came in and went out of our rooms, which is a little strange. You'd think it would be pretty clear where one cord goes in and comes out. So, Kelly and Kyle tried to plug the cable in my room into the tv and anytime the end of the cable got close to the tv, it sparked. When I got home, I did a little research and learned that you shouldn't plug cords in when electronics are turned on. Kelly and I unplugged my tv, screwed the cable in and plugged my tv back in. When I turned the tv

I got a gym membership this week and have been utilizing it at least every other day. I missed working out and  being active. During this past summer I was naturally active with my job (chasing kids around on field trips outdoors) so I never really felt that I needed to be active or get outside. After being here for a week though, I felt my body getting restless. I'm trying to get on a running and strength training plan, so if anyone has any suggestions please send them my way! 

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read these weekly postings, it means a lot to me to have people reading my writings. Let me know if you want to be added to a list so you are emailed when I update weekly. Onto the next week!