weekend

last week ended badly because of a few different things at work, and I didn't write about them at the time because I don't want this to sound like I'm whining or being too sensitive. but luckily talking to my friends and family has helped me keep things in perspective the past few weeks, because adjusting to full-time volunteer work with the homeless population much more difficult than I expected it to be. today was my first weekend morning at the Senior Cafe- Rachel and I are both going twice a month to help out. It's similar to Community Meals but very small- today about twenty people (who live at the elderly home where the meal is served) came to lunch. unfortunately, maybe two of them spoke English and I didn't feel like I was any help at all.

this weekend was Hartford's open house, with a lot of free events around the city. Yesterday, Keri and Rachel and I went to Goodwin Park to support Beth's work's park clean up. We helped pick up trash surrounding one of the parking lots- there were so so many bottles and syringes and makeshift beds, etc. in the wooded areas. It felt like we only made a small dent, but overall the volunteers filled up a lot of garbage bags, and some of the people who came out to help live close to the park. I know there are a lot of people like them, who really want to make their neighborhoods and parks and streets nicer and cleaner places to live, but there is just SO much trash around the city (and lots of cities in general) and it always bums me out to think that people who live there don't care enough about it to want to keep it clean.

we also went to the art museum downtown, a new pub that I can't wait to go back to again, and a peace rally in Bushnell park today.


I found a no-kill animal shelter in East Hartford that seems like a nice place (it's run entirely by volunteers- there's not one paid staff member!) and I'm going to try to volunteer there even if it's just a few times a month. I already really miss being around animals- I always want to approach and hug other peoples' dogs on the street.