It's an interesting situation, having tales to tell and no time with which to share them. The good news is that I've started keeping notes of the interesting client interactions I've had at work- my office is all going to compile them for the year, I think, and then we might make a book. We'd have to make the NYT Bestseller list to come close to making enough money to bring us back to minimum wage for the hours we work. I'm really diving into the whole thing though, and I love it. I don't think it's fair to say that any of the clients are really my friends yet, but I've had really good connections with a few of them, including some really warm smiles, a few that come try to talk to me even when they've been called up to talk to their lawyer or investigator and not me, and most recently, a fist bump (separated by 3 inches of plexiglass). Those are almost as rewarding as looking on the screen and seeing someone getting released. I have to be careful about getting too comfortable with them though- I'm beginning to convince myself that I understand what my clients are going through because I've talked about studied it and fought against it so much since I got here. But in reality I can never understand what these people are dealing with, because I've never been arrested (no matter how hard I've tried on certain occasions). I have to find a happy medium. Or maybe a not-so-happy medium, if I really got deep enough into their shoes.
Some interesting experiences since my last update:
- Volunteered at the Ritz Carlton for the 10-year anniversary of Cafe Reconcile, a job training center for at-risk youth that one of my roommates works at
- Went to Plaquemine's Parish for a Baptist church service, followed by a boil. It was amazing- they treated us just like family. I learned how to boil and how to do the bus stop (just a groovier version of the electric slide); Lester responded to that with "So that means you're black now!" It really felt like a compliment. I don't know how many other places in the US that would be true for people.
- Won our first work-league softball game...and lost like 3.
- Broke the door at a bar (but not permanently- it was screwed up before I got there, I promise!!!)
- Got stopped by a cop on the street while walking. Didn't get searched. Didn't get booked. He didn't even run my ID. How different my life is from my clients'.
- Had a great birthday that included a brass band concert (Soul Rebels- AMAZING), a block party in uptown for the Abita pubcrawl, some people over at the house to hang out afterwards with beverage sponsored by my wonderful brother, and a cookout sponsored by my amazing grandparents with my housemates. The whole thing was outstanding.
- Picnics on the Fly, which is this field on the banks of the Mississippi River, with the housemates
- Volunteering at the Good Shepherd Gala, which was a fundraiser for the charter school that Catherine, one of my roommates, works at.
- Listening to great live music on Frenchmen Street, including a sweet reggae band and the New Orleans legend known as Kermit Ruffins.
- Finishing up a set of cornhole boards and sewing the bags for the backyard.
- Impromptu Shirtless Mechanic Night, after one of the tires of the van popped.
- Actually, in the same week the van was out of commission because of the flat tire and my laptop was out of commission because a neighbor of mine decided that it was thirsty. That reminded me that my idea of simple living still needs some refining. I can get along just fine without them. I think I’d be pretty sad to lose my guitar though. I’ve been playing that a lot lately, especially once my roommates are sleeping. I definitely sleep the least of anyone in my house, so I just go out on the porch at night and play some.
