A Day in the Life

4/24/13—

My favorite time of the day since I’ve been in New York is the mornings.  It’s the excitement of the unexpected.  Some of you might think I’m a bit crazy since most aspects of my life are pretty boring.  Each morning I pretty much follow the same ritual—shower, get dressed in my FEMA Corps uniform, eat some peanut butter and toast, and sit in silence.  Lucky for me, my team has a later start time than the others, so I have the gift of 15 minutes of solitude.  For an introvert like me it is a beautiful thing and I savor every minute I have.  The team gathers in the hotel lobby each morning before we pile into the van.  I’m always curious to see what mood everyone is in.  I have become a morning person and most of my team are far from it.  They are mostly quiet as they walk out to the van.  But there are always exceptions.  Taylor is always ready to reveal a big grin before she climbs in the van and falls asleep during the commute.  And the others engage with me for a bit before they climb into their i-pod cocoon and drown out the world for the hour long commute.  Again, I get a brief respite of solitude…at least until we take the Queens Blvd exit.  Pete typically sits in the passenger seat every weekday.  In Americorps, this person is the designated safety and plays the role of DJ, GPS reader, and climate control.  It is his job to crank up the music as I shout out what a beautiful day it is and and tell them we are on our way to Candy Mountain (check out Charlie the Unicorn on Youtube if you have no idea what I’m talking about).  I am usually greeted with moans and groans from the half awake Corps Members.  The good news is that they have yet to kill me.  I think they understand how much satisfaction I get out of being so silly in the morning and they have come to realize that a happy Team Leader is much better than a cranky one.

We park the van at a parking structure across the street from our office building.  We work in a part of Queens called Forest Hills.  It’s mostly a residential area with small locally owned shops.  As for office space, it’s pretty much our building, a jail, and a court house down the street.  We drive by a hot dog vendor every morning that has a sign advertising legal advice and walk by a sign in the parking garage that asks folks to not urinate in public.  Truly signs that we are living and working in NYC.  Another sign that it’s NYC is all of the garbage.  Something I’m not all that accustomed to after living in Colorado and Wisconsin.  But nature still seeps in to the urban jungle.  The cherry blossoms and magnolia trees are in the bloom and there’s an occasional bird squawking at us.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

4/13/13

It’s been about 2 ½ months since I last blogged.  It’s pretty much been non-stop since the craziness began.  It all started with way, way back in mid-February when we started a 3-week training program referred to as the Corps Training Instiute or CTI.  Over 170 corps members arrived on campus for leadership training and ever since then I’ve been on the go.  After CTI, our next adventure was driving a fleet of 15-passenger vans from the warm, sunny climate of Sacramento to the harsh dry desert of Artesia, New Mexico for FEMA specific training at the Federal Law Enforcement Facility.  Two weeks later we packed up the vans and headed across the country to help with the recovery efforts for Hurricane Sandy in New York.  My temporary home is in an Extended Stay Hotel in Melville, NY on “Lon Gisland.”  How long we stay and where we go next is unknown.  Best way to describe my life is “FEMA Flexible.”

Below are highlights from my adventure so far:

Highlight #1:  My team—Gold #2.  Our birthdate is February 19^th.  We started out 10 people strong; 8 women and 2 men.  The team is best described as professional, smart, and efficient.  Just like their team leader, they need a little help in the touch, feely department but I’m just the person to make it happen.

• Pete (a.k.a, Beard), age 22, who is from Pennsylvania and went to college for creative writing and he’s a musician. 
• Chris, age 24, is from Michigan, went to college in Florida, and wants to work with animals. 
• Courtney, age 22, is from Kentucky and studied creative writing and chemistry and loves, loves, loves the Beatles. 
• Taylor (a.k.a, Jordan), age 19, is from the Houston area and is the youngest and funniest on our crew.
• Sarah, age 22, is from Minnesota.  She’s an artist and wants to be a police officer.
• Kaitlin, age 22, is from Sacramento, talks like a valley girl, and went to school in Santa Cruz for psychology.
• Katie, age 22, is from Chicago and loves talking about everything Chicago in her cool Chicago accent and studied social work in college.
• Mckena (a.k.a., Dr. Woo), age 22, is from Beaverton, has a sharp wit, and wants to be a professor someday.
• Jaimee (a.k.a., James), age 22, is from Syracuse and is looking for life after retail work.
• Heather, age 21, is from the coast of Delaware and resigned from the program 24-hours before we departed for New York City.  

Highlight #2:  My short-term relationship and marriage to a beef burrito near Phoenix, Arizona.  The marriage was officiated by Dr. Woo and attended by my team members. 

Highlight #3:  Spending 2 weeks in the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center a.k.a. FLETC in Artesia, NM.  Traditionally a training facility for police officers, border patrol and ATF agents.  It will never be the same after the arrival of FEMA Corps!  Not much more than a cafeteria, dorms, classrooms, and dudes in fatigues marching in formation in the middle of nowhere.  Highlight was walking in formation with my team ever day without laughing.

TLT - Check!

Our group of 23 team leaders completed the Americorps NCCC Team Leader Training (TLT) this Thursday.  Although TLT only lasted about 3 weeks it feels like a lifetime.  After hours and hours of leadership training, we finally had an opportunity to apply our knowledge in action.  In preparation for the arrival of 170 FEMA Corps Members on Tuesday, the NCCC staff had the TLs go through 7 different scenarios of actual situations that have happened with corps members.  My first scenario took place in a “store” where the "store owner" mistreated a person of color on my team, told us to leave the store and threatened to call the cops.  Although it was just role playing, it felt real.  My hands were sweating, I couldn't think clearly and my instinct was to punch the store owner in the face!  At first I focused all of my attention on the "store owner" and making him cry until I realized I needed to stay calm and pay attention to caring for my team.  In the end I handled the situation well but got some helpful pointers from other TLs that I would incorporate next time.  One TL pointed at the “store owner” and said in a calm but firm voice “Sir, that is not cool!”  Another used the knowledge she had gained at her women’s college.  She focused on helping her corps member feel empowered instead of treating her like a victim by telling her she was strong and could rise about this situation.

Lucky for me, they held a celebration at the end of training giving me a chance to have fun and forget about the emotionally intensity from earlier in the day.  Our 4 units (Gold, Green, Silver and Blue) took turns reflecting on our training thru song, skits, photos, and laughter.  That evening was filled with more team bonding at the former Officers Club at McClellan Air Base where we enjoyed kereoke and dancing.  A good time was had by all.

The best part of the training for me was connecting with and learning from the other TLs.  In just under a month we have bonded together more than I could have imagined.  Although some are young in comparison to myself, they are amazing leaders, an inspiration to me everyday and help me stretch beyond my limits.  Each day I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn about true leadership and to put it into practice.

Memorizing the Mission

Today we were instructed to memorize the Americorps NCCC and FEMA Corps mission statements so when we’re out in the field we can explain our role and purpose.  Hard to believe that a little over 2 weeks ago I hardly knew a thing about Americorps.  I was first introduced to the idea of Americorps sometime back in June or July.  I went out for margaritas with my friends Mishel and Jenny and was bemoaning the fact that I was having trouble finding a new career path.  I knew I wanted to explore my interest in community service but I found myself in competition for jobs with people who had MSWs or years of experience.  Jenny piped up and told me about a customer of hers that worked for Americorps and suggested I check it out.  The next day I went on-line and read about the new FEMA Corps program and started working on the application the following week.  The rest is history.

For those of you who don’t know, President Clinton started the AmeriCorps program with the goal of "helping others and meeting critical needs in the community."  It’s often compared to the Peace Corps as its domestic counterpart.  There are 3 separate programs under Americorps: (1) Americorps National Civilian Community Corps or NCCC, (2) Americorps VISTA and (3) Americorps National and State program.  My program, Americorps NCCC, is modeled after the Depression era Civilian Conservation Corps and a mission “to strengthen communities and develop leaders through direct, team-based national and community service.”

Although they call the training we’ve had over the past 2 weeks leadership training, I’m of the belief that it’s really training on how to be a good human being and that every U.S. citizen should be required to take it.  Shouldn’t everyone learn about “active listening” and how to properly discipline a child?  I know it isn’t rocket science but I’m not sure I know many people in this world with these basic skills (including myself).  Perhaps my parents tried to teach me this stuff when I was younger but I wasn’t inclined to listen.  I just wish it didn’t take until my 40s to learn it.  Better late than never, right?

A is for Asthma

In preparation for my FEMA Corps experience I did quite a bit of thinking ahead to prepare myself for the unexpected.  How would I handle living in dorms again with people half my age?  How would I handle a 24/7 job?  How would I handle conflict in this setting?  How would I refill my prescriptions if I’m in the middle of a disaster?  What I didn’t ask was how to prepare myself for an asthma attack.  Up until now, I’ve never had asthma and I never planned on getting it.

So there’s several theories I have for why at the age of 44 I am getting asthma attacks for the first time.  I’m not going to bother to get into any of them but they range from a variety of conspiracy theories to the simple fact that Sacramento has the honor of being rated the worst city for allergies in the United States.  Not something advertised by the Chamber of Commerce I imagine.

Now that I have an inhaler and a full night of sleep last night I’m doing much better.   I’m also getting used to my new life and environment…having a roommate, sharing a bathroom with 3 other people, and sharing a kitchen with 23 other people.  For someone that likes her independence, it can get quite challenging.  Lucky for me I wake up early in the morning to miss the kitchen rush and find other opportunities to zone out.

I’m also sitting thru hours of training on leadership, communication, policies, conflict management, and supervision.  Although the training topics aren’t really new for me, I’m learning and growing in ways that I never imagined.  For the first time in my life, people that are committed to a common purpose and driven to be their best surround me.  May sound cheesy but true.  No doubt about it that the group of team leaders I met only 10 days ago are amazing.

Day 2 Details

Got our uniforms today and we were required to wear them immediately.  Issued t-shirts, khaki pants, khaki shorts, black pants, black belt, hard hat, safety glasses, sweatshirt and raincoat.  All with the Americorps NCCC logo.  Nice and comfy but not particular attractive.  The shorts are long enough to be giant capris and the crotch on the khakis goes down to my knees!

Also got drug tested, TB test, and tetanus shot.  Hoping the second-hand smoke from weed won’t show up on my drug test.  Many were out and about smoking in public after it was legalized in Seattle in November…outside the shopping mall, at the bus stop, or outside a bar.

All set up in my new dorm room as well.  My roommate, Colleen, is from South Carolina and recently got back from Peace Corps in Malawi.  Feels like a good fit.  We’re both quiet, respectful and independent. 

There are a total of 26 team leaders in the FEMA Corps training and they have placed us all on the 3^rd floor of the dorm.  Most are under 30 but a few of us are older.  We spent most of today getting to know each other.  We all have a wide variety of backgrounds and come from different parts of the country…but the one thing we seem to have in common is an interest in emergency response and community service.

Time to chill out for the evening.  We start physical training tomorrow at 6 am.  We start with a baseline test and count # of pushups and situps in a 2 minute period and get timed for a 1.5 mile run.  Brings back scary memories of the Presidential Physical Fitness Tests in elementary school.

Baggage!!!!! (not the personal kind)

So the big challenge I have today is that I can only bring what can fit in the duffle bag that FEMA Corps has provided to me.  Initially I didn’t think it was a big deal since we are required to wear a uniform.  I pretty much wear the same pair of jeans and t-shirt everyday.  But when faced with the knowledge that I will be wearing the same clothes for the next 10 months it gets more daunting.  Obviously we will have the opportunity to shop.  But sometimes common sense doesn’t kick in for me in these matters.  I go into hoarding mode.  I think about the fact that I have a secret weapon.  My car.  Whatever can’t fit into the duffle bag I’ll put in the car.  So obviously I can load ‘er up with anything I want…sleeping bag, pillow, hangars, q-tips.  But when it comes down to it, there are really only 3 things I can’t live without for the next 10 months—my pillow, my rainbow unicorn hat, and my head massager.  Kind of says a lot about me.  I like my comfort (ie., self-care) and I like to make people laugh.  Who can’t help but laugh at a 44-year old woman wearing a hat with a unicorn on it?

Honestly, I love the idea of paring down to the bare minimum.  I’ve always been a minimalist and now I have an excuse.  Thank you FEMA Corps!

T Minus 2

Only 2 more days until I start working as a Team Leader for FEMA Corps a new program under Americorps.  The program kicked off in August 2012 and is a residential national service program for adults between the ages of 18 and 24 that are interested in a career in emergency management.  I know exactly what you’re thinking...isn't Susan is a bit older than 24???  Lucky for me, there isn’t an age limit for team leaders only the crew. 

So what exactly have I signed up for?  The next 10 months I will receive training and experience in responding to natural disasters.  For the 1^st month I’ll get training with 25 other team leaders in Sacramento, CA.  The 2nd month is more of the same but with our crew members.

Most challenging part will be waking up at the crack ass of dawn.  5:30 AM???  For those you who know anything about me I LOVE to sleep.  The more the better.  Kind of worried but I like the idea of becoming a morning person.

Below is a sample day during the team leader training:

5:25 AM                     Assemble

5:30 – 6:30 AM            Physical Training

6:30 – 7:45 AM            Shower, breakfast, prepare for day’s activities

7:45 – 8:00 AM            Team Muster

8:00 – 12 noon            Morning Training (classes, workshops, team activities)

12:00 – 12:45 PM         Lunch

12:45 -- ?                   Afternoon Training

5:00 – 6:30 PM            Dinner

6:30 – 9:00 PM            Evening Training/Team Leader Prep Time

From the looks of it, it comes close to boot camp without the fatigues.  At first glance, I question what the hell I’m doing but I’m hoping I’ll appreciate some structure in my life...especially after lacking it for the past 2 years.   Soon enough I’ll let you know how it goes.

FEMA Corps Link