Discerning Deleterious Decisions

What's Up, Doc?

 What's up with the snails in the garden, eh? We went to help a lady named Roxanne with her small garden weeding project since she put a call for help out on the neighborhood blog. Snails just came up onto the cranberry hibiscus iced tea that she made for me when I set it down on a rock! 

 Also, I accidentally dug up the bones of her deceased buried cat from long ago. Yikes. That was a little awkward. So reading volunteering is coming to an end, and I was invited to attend the end of year luncheon...I won a ping pong prize in the raffle! So I have begun orientation for an after school program that will be continuing into Summer time, to teach/lead an activity for elementary kids.

The dish washing cafeteria helper substitute gig ended when they cut the hours severely and the manager suggested it wasn't quite worth it to continue, and I agreed. I had really appreciated the consistency and regular expectations of the position, it reminded me of how it feels to have something you depend on that's reliable. I have an interview next week with a kid's Summer camp 

 day program, and have been searching job postings by the local school district and looking online for other opportunities. I had to attend an orientation/training class at the local work source center in the Community College in order to try and continue receiving food stamp benefits (SNAP, as they say), and the requirements are to work or be actively looking for work 20 hours a week. Including my current volunteering. 

So that put a little fire under my butt, and besides finding some good job possibilities, I signed up with two different volunteer organizations. Through them, I am going to start volunteering a shift at the Children's Museum (which is an educational play program), as well as the after school group I mentioned earlier. This is pretty awesome, as it can really benefit any future teaching opportunities I try to go for. Today I met with the school's work counselor, and she said all the regular housework and laundry I do here in exchange for rent can count as hours worked in barter (yay!) and I can also do one five hour shift at the Oregon Food Bank instead of tracking all my job hunting and submitting it, and that would be sufficient for fulfilling the requirements of DHS. Besides that, I am getting slowly motivated to create an online art portfolio, which I should have had long ago, as I applied to Laika for an internship, and also a separate illustrator job, with what I would consider a very substandard collection of drawings. If I ever expect to illustrate books, I must do this.

The daisy plant I saw today on my ride, growing through the crack in the pavement, is very inspiring!