Thoughts from Panera

Hey everybody!

So, I still haven't found a job. Man, it's a hard life. Right now I'm sitting in Panera sipping my refillable hot tea and blogging. It's rough, but somebody's got to do it. Jon and I have been finding plenty of stuff to do, even though I am jobless. :-) One of my new favorite things to do is to help out with the food closet at the church Jon and I go to. It's about a 15 minute walk from our apartment, and it's great to be able to help. Some people that come there are regulars who often have large families and very little income. It's amazing to hear some of their stories. Other people there make a decent income, but have just hit a hard time because of medical expenses or other things, so their money is really tight that week. We give out a lot of food too. On Wednesday when I went to help, there were four people outside the church waiting when the closet opened. We probably served ten people that day in the two hours we were open. It takes a while to serve someone with all the government paperwork that we have to do for each person, so the people there seem to really appreciate any of the help they can get.

There's not really that much more to add. Jon gets off work at noon on Fridays, so we've planned a trip to Virginia Beach today. Always fun! Hey, if any of you want to call/write/email me, I'm always glad to hear from you. (Since I don't have much else to do.) Hope you're all having a great summer and relaxing, etc.

~Rachel

Exploring Norfolk

Hey everyone!

In some ways, a lot has happened since the last post, and in some ways, not much has changed. We've been having all kinds of fun exploring the area. We've been to Virginia beach twice, and Jon is thrilled that he gets to go to a beach with waves. :-) The beach near our apartment is on the Chesapeake Bay and only gets "real waves" when it storms. We checked out the Chrysler Museum of Art once. It was really impressive. I've never been in a serious art museum and I was amazed at how many original pieces they have there.

We also visited downtown Norfolk a couple weekends ago to check out "Harborfest." Norfolk is crazy for festivals. There's ALWAYS something going on in the Town Park along the harbor. At Harborfest, we toured the U.S.S. Wisconsin, one of the only battleships left that hasn't been decommissioned. We also got to meet two of the pirates from "Pirates of the Carribbean." So much fun. :-) I've posted a couple of pictures from VA beach and Harborfest.

We're trying to figure out how to take a trip down to Nags Head to check out the Outer Banks, but we want to wait until the wildfire in North Carolina is more contained. Speaking of fire, it seems to be the summer of wildfires here in the Outer Banks/Hampton Roads area. There's a fire in the Great Dismal Swamp just a little to the southwest of us. Between the NC fire and the Swamp fire, we've had some pretty hazy, smelly days. Imagine walking outside and the whole city smells like a campfire. That's something I've definitely never experienced before.

Jon has been going to his internship and likes it ok. I think he feels a little bored, but I think that's the way a lot of internships go. He likes his boss, though, and he seems really interested in some of the projects he's helping with.

As for me, well, I haven't found a job here. No one seems to want to hire for the summer. They all want people who can actually work for them long-term. What's that all about? My land lady is going to give me some cleaning work this summer because her regular cleaning girl for the apartments is moving. So, that will be something. So far, I've been borrowing movies from the library, reading a lot, and working out a lot. Not so bad really. It's definitely relaxing after finishing student teaching and planning a wedding. Hopefully I'll have more luck with my job search for the fall. Right now I have two potential leads. I'm hoping that I'll have more to post about those later . . . I'll just say that I'm excited about either job.

Well, Jon will be getting home soon, so I should get dinner ready. I hope you're all having a great summer! Will be posting again soon.

Rachel :-)