To-do Lists: To do or not to do...that is the question.

I got up to the building about 1030 this morning with every intention of making the hour and 45 minutes of time count before I had to help Eric open up the parking lot.  I have a to-do list that keeps growing so I thought I'd knock some of it out since I had a little time.  I had planned on finishing the rough draft of my newsletter article that is due on Monday.  Well, I checked my email then logged into Facebook.  It was all down hill from there.  The community and I have known about the newspaper article due date for at least 3 weeks.  I started writing it 3 weeks ago thinking I was going to get it done and be done with it.  Well, it's now sitting at the bottom of my computer screen as I'm typing this blog post and I'm hoping it finishes writing itself.  I also have been putting off cleaning my room, cleaning my bathroom, writing letters, calling people back, and making sure the first aid kits are updated.  The only reason my laundry gets done is because I run out of clean clothes and I'm not allowed to show up to work naked (luckily I don't have to many so I'm forced to stay on top of it).  I have also been telling myself that I need to go to Confession every Saturday morning for 2 months only to wake up and tell myself that I can go next week.  Why do I keep putting things off until the last minute?    Sometimes I feel like I don't do a lot of anything, but I can account for little things that get done that were not on my to-do list.  Today I did do a little research on two senior living places, helped open up the parking lot, hosted 35 people in the clothing closet, dropped Alicia off at the men's transitional house, uploaded pictures onto Facebook, and wrote this blog.  None of it was on my to-do list, but my day wasn't a complete bust.  I guess we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves for not accomplishing what is written on a list, but celebrate the things that we do get done.  Maybe I'll add a half hour of 'do nothing' to my to-do list from now on just so I feel like I accomplished something.

The Mighty Bean Burrito

So yesterday was Thursday which only means I spent many hours in the kitchen prepping, coordinating, and making life happen for the Mighty Bean Burrito soup line.  Here at Andre' House we serve dinner 6 nights a week (every night except Friday).  The menus are as fallows:  Monday -- turkey pasta salad, Tuesday -- spaghetti, Wednesday -- hot dogs, Thursday -- The Mighty Bean Burrito, Saturday -- goulash, Sunday -- chili.  The main dishes stay the same with varying sides depending on what we can get at food bank (we go to St. Mary's food bank Monday through Friday).  So Thursday mornings (after food bank run with Br. Richard, morning staff meeting, and Mass) I light the beans, take the tortilla's out of the walk in cooler, turn up the radio real loud, and have a cup of coffee while I try to decided to make for lunch for the staff and volunteers.  I usually make cookies for lunch so i get them in the oven while I season the 100 pounds of beans and begin getting lunch cooked.  After mid-day prayer, lunch, and clean up, Lou comes in around 1pm to start washing the 150 pounds of potatoes, veggies, and fruit so the 25-30 volunteers can have things to chop when they come.  Tom comes in around 130 to finish seasoning beans and makes salsa.  Bill gets in around 3 and helps Tom and Richard strain the beans into about 8-10 pans and gets them into the cam bro for when dinner begins.  Volunteers usually start coming around 3 and begin to cut potatoes.  Big John comes in around 315, gives me a hug, and starts gets himself ready to start cooking potatoes and making them yummy.  At 510 I gather all the volunteers into the family dining room to give last minute directions as well as reminders of job duties.  At 530 I tell the middle gate person (usually Fr. Eric) to open the doors.  This is when all the fun begins!  We serve between 350 and 700 trays of food every night.  Guests are allowed to come around as many times as they want (as long as they get a new ticket from front gate) so the number count is number of trays not the number of people that come through our doors.  At 630 we shut the line down and begin cleaning.  At 730 the guests have been fed, the building is clean, and my staff mates and I are tired and hungry.  We head over to our transitional houses on Polk St and have dinner.  I then head home tired and dirty.  Thus is Thursday Mighty Bean Burrito soup line.  On Fridays we have a staff meeting followed by staff activity.  Today we went over to Ted and Joy's house to partake in a picnic lunch and swimming.  And there it is.  Peace out!

Who, What, Where, but more importantly Why?

Hello, y'all!!!  Welcome to my blog.  A little over a year ago I packed up what I could into 2 suit cases and my backpack and moved 1200 miles away from my home city of Beaumont, TX to Phoenix, AZ.  I joined the core community at the Andre' House which provides services (such as clothing, laundry, showers, phone calls, and an evening meal) to the homeless here in Phoenix.  My friends and family encouraged me to journal and keep them updated.  Well, that was over a year ago and I have embarked on a second year here at Andre' House.  I thought I'd start a blog so I could keep everyone better informed of what was happening.  Andre' House is an amazing place with amazing people and I hope to share my many adventures with those who wonder what the heck I'm doing.