Week in Review: Saturday November 2 - Friday November 8, 2013
Sometimes, it just feels too overwhelming to write every day, even though I'd like to have a record of what's been going on. I've had a pretty busy week! Here are the highlights, starting from last weekend:
I went on my program's Saturday outing to Connor's farm, where we did a corn maze (my first one - not a very good one, sadly, because the corn was dead and you could see through a lot of it; this was mostly our fault for going on the last weekend of it), watched piglets race around a mini-track, ate apple cider donuts, and went out to eat at Zaftig's back in Brookline afterwards. I love the fall!
I tried to get a smartphone on Sunday. Sadly, Verizon's $60 unlimited plan is only for regular phones, even though it includes 2 GB of data and I've never met anyone who actually uses the internet on their regular/not-smart phone. So I need to go check out Boost this week.
I weighed in at Weight Watchers and found out I lost 6 pounds, despite feeling I had screwed up and probably gained weight! I'm pretty sure I screwed up this week (more than I thought I had last week), but we'll see - I guess even putting in the effort of tracking and being conscious of what I eat is helping, to begin with! This is sort of a mixed blessing, to be honest, and I can't decide if I'm happy about it or not. It's complicated.
I started volunteering this week! Since I'm not working right now, I'm volunteering as much as I can, so I have something productive and structured to do (also, it will help with my resume, as I haven't worked since fall 2011). I'm excited about a lot of the volunteer opportunities I've had and continue to have! I did a volunteer orientation at Boston Cares early last week, and I've signed up for a bunch of things through their website already. These deserve their own bullet points.
Tuesday evening, I went to Quincy to volunteer for the Prison Book Program. I helped to send about 90 packages of books to prisoners all over the country. Helping prisoners and prison reform in this country are things I feel very passionate about, and I'm a huge reader, so this was something that felt wonderful to do. I'll definitely be back! They are located in the basement of an old church. Those of us who were new got the grand tour; we were told only that it was not to be missed, but no one told us why. And then we stepped into a mausoleum with tombs marked "John Adams," "Abigail Adams," "John Quincy Adams," and [his wife]. (To tell you the truth, I didn't pay much attention to the latter two and couldn't tell you John Quincy Adams' wife's name. Oops.) It was very cool. We learned about the stripes on the flag, and how they all came to be buried there, and how the town of Quincy was named after a cousin of the Adamses. Boston! Where you trip over American history!
On Wednesday morning, I served lunch at Boston Living Center. It was the longest I've had to stand without a break since before I sprained my ankle, at least, and it wore me out. But beyond that, it was also a terrific experience. They give the volunteers lunch right before the members come in to eat, and the food is delicious and healthy. Everyone there was so friendly. I'm definitely going to volunteer there again, as well. It felt great to help out people who otherwise might not get a good meal, and the organization is one I feel great about supporting. They're the only organization in the Boston area that specifically has these types of services for people with HIV/AIDS.
I cook dinner for my program on Wednesday nights. That recipe is soon to come. This week I made quinoa-stuffed squash, and it was delicious, as well as being vegan and gluten-free.
Yesterday I had therapy. Not much to say about that, except that I am finally going to see a psychiatrist around here. I've been trying to get an appointment since I moved here in August, and I'm going this afternoon.
My fiancee is coming up for the weekend! I'm so excited. It's been a month since we've seen each other, which I know isn't that long for a long-distance relationship, but it feels like an eternity. And considering that she only lives four hours away, it's a pretty long time. She'll be here again in two weeks for my birthday. I don't imagine I'll be around online much while she's here.
