The Weekend Update

I have been in California for 2 weeks now! It's already been one month since I accepted this job. Hard to believe! Life is just moving at warp speed. The old saying is true, "time flies when you're having fun"!

Last week I was at USC where we did a water conservation pledge. We got a really awesome volunteer! She helped us table one day and was just super sweet. I hope that she stays involved and enjoys it. She was a freshman from India! I love meeting new people and learning about their background and culture. It's the best. Friday we worked from the office and just did planning stuff. It was really productive. I love how calculated and goal oriented this job is. I feel very prepared to do my job successfully.

This weekend was so much fun! Friday after work we went to this sushi place near the office that does happy hour everyday where certain rolls are half off, genius idea and absolutely delicious! Then the ladies and I went out dancing. It took a while to find a place but when we got there we had a great time! They had a photobooth that allowed you to take pics and email them to yourself (for free!), so that was a lot of fun. Only thing I didn't like was that my Malibu Bay Breeze was $11... So much for a splash of cheap rum and some juice! But they know people will pay it and there were a lot of people working who need to get paid livable wages, and there was no cover charge so maybe that's factored in. Anyways! I love my coworkers, they are so intelligent, caring, and fun! I already feel like I can talk to them about anything and they get it. It's great.

Saturday I just lounged around all day, did some work, and finished Orange is the New Black. It was a lovely and relaxing day!

Then today one of our coworkers who works in the grants department had us over for a BBQ! She was so gracious and had a variety of food for us-- delicious roasted corn and avocado salad, turkey/beef/veggie burgers, sausages, watermelon, and ice cream sandwiches. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon. We all told our stories as to how we got involved with The Public Interest Network so it was great to hear what inspires everyone and the different paths their lives have taken. The hostess has been in the network for 20 years and another woman (who hosted us last week) has been a part of it for 30 years. I want to learn more from them and more about what motivates them to live a life of activism.

Then I got to talk to my family briefly today and that was great! My mom has to undergo surgery soon on her esophagus so please keep her in your positive thoughts or prayers to whatever you believe in. It isn't anything mayor but she is very uncomfortable and surgery is....well surgery. My mom is the most thoughtful person I know and I hate thinking of her in pain... but she has a lot of good karma built up and has a lot of faith so I know everything will go smoothly and her recovery will be quick.

This week I will be canvassing.. which means I will be going door to door educating people and asking them to become members. I am kind of excited because this will really push me out of my comfort zone and because we are educating on a really great cause, but I'm also really nervous! People kind of scare of me because they can be cruel and I want everyone to be nice and like me! I'm silly. We are canvassing on the misuse of antibiotics on factory farms. I think I wrote about it while I was in training, but I'll give you the overview of the campaign. 70% of antibiotics available for human use in the U.S. are given to animals through their feed. So perfectly healthy animals are pumped with antibiotics even though they are not sick. This is allowing for superbugs to emerge that are now resistant to antibiotics that treat common illnesses- like pneumonia. The Center for Disease Control says that we could be entering a post-antibiotic era... which is scary! I know that antibiotics have healed me many times. The thought of them becoming ineffective because they allow animals to grow quicker (and get sick less often from the horrible conditions they are in) for profits makes me angry. So I am glad I get to work on this campaign because this needs to be addressed now. I'm going to keep that in mind as I knock on doors and start to feel uncomfortable. I want my little brother to be healed as quickly and easily as I have been my whole life so he is going to be my inspiration.

You know, I'm really enjoying myself.. I'm surprised by how much I love L.A. Everyone has been so friendly and I have not felt unsafe! I don't have to be into work until 11:30 a.m. this week so I am planning on going exploring before work. Tuesday I want to go to the Getty- an art museum! Well that is all from my midnight weekly update!

I keep thinking of "Oh the places you'll go". Thank you Dr. Seuss for inspirational stories and imagination!

I hope that everyone has an amazing week! Happy Monday. :)

Much love,
Alyssa

California Week 1!

Last week I packed up my bags and was driven to the airport by my family to fly to San Francisco. It was definitely hard to say "see you later" to my family, but I was immensely excited to come to the West Coast! I stayed strong during the goodbye but definitely teared up in the security line, then later on the plane. It takes a lot of strength to quit a good thing, and put distance between your loved ones, but it's definitely been worth it. The past week I have never felt like I was at work. It was so much fun! I helped get pledges in Berkley for 2 days, worked in the office on full-time recruitment, then flew down to L.A. to work at USC for the next 3 weeks on their recruitment drive. I love my coworkers and we have met some cool students! Today I get to visit Irvine! A PIRG worker that I'm staying with while in L.A. is the former chapter chair of Irvine so he is bringing me to meet the students I'll be working with! I am really excited. I think it will be great to hear even more input about the school and to hear about their vision for the year. Part of the next 3 weeks will be spent on me creating the schedule for each week this term. We have big goals to hit so I'm preparing how we are going to hit them.

Aside from work I've gotten to do some fun things! My coworker, Danny, was commuting from Moutainview to Berkley so I rode down with him last Tuesday so that I could see my friend Tyler! It was great to catch up with him and meet his mom. We enjoyed some really conversation even though it was a really short visit. Then yesterday I enjoyed some delicious fish tacos and watched Orange is the New Black, just felt like relaxing because I did work long days this week some of which was in this 90 degree Southern California weather. Then today I hiked the 2 miles up to Griffith Observatory! It was quite a trek... Plus I was silly and did not just 1 but 3 "no-no" things to do for a hike. I ate Chinese food/frappaccino right before, was wearing flip flops, and didn't bring water. It was rough. But it was worth it! I was proud for persevering and making it to the top even though I really really wanted to turn around. The views of L.A. were beautiful from up there and the observatory is incredible. It was build in 1935 and encompasses great history, space, art and architecture. James Dean's Rebel Without A Cause was filmed there which made my dad excited. Made me want to see a James Dean because I've never seen one. Luckily I'm in the land of cinema! A coworkers husband just worked on a movie with Andrew Garfield. That was cool to hear about. It's called 99 Homes. It's about foreclosed homes, and I want to see it now.

Anyhow! Things are really great! I Skyped my beautiful family today and have been in great contact with all of the people in my life who are steadfast and continually support me. I just feel so blessed that I am able to be here.. and that I'm healthy and happy! Just enjoy where you are and be in the present, that's what I've learned.

I'll keep you posted on how things are going! However, I'll be pretty darn busy so I don't know how often I'll be posting, but I'll try to stick to the title of the blog.

Much love and happiness,
Alyssa