Blue Hill Ave Fun Times!!

I apologize for neglecting my blog for over a week! In addition to having some extra-curricular distractions last week, I had absolutely no desire to go out to enumerate. I felt somewhat depressed at the thought of knocking on doors so I just completely blew it off. Knowing that I was waaay below where I needed to be in terms of hours and completed work, I jumped at the chance to work over the weekend. Our Crew Leader, Ron, had the idea that we go out as a group with a few binders that hadn't been touched yet, and bang out a bunch of EQs. Cool! I'm in! We met at Forest Hills at 10:45am on Saturday to take the bus over to... Blue Hill Avenue. If you're not familiar with that part of Boston... well, you're probably better off. It has the reputation of being one of the worst areas of Boston. We were counting right where Mattapan and Roxbury meet. As soon as we got off the bus at Blue Hill Ave and Morton Street, we all noticed how much trash there was all over the place. We walked past a group of teenage girls on the sidewalk, and one of them had just bought some make-up- she was opening up the packaging and was casually letting the plastic and cardboard fall to the ground. I was tempted to stop and say something, but I had the good sense to just keep walking.

It was a beautiful day, and we really lucked out there. We split up a bunch of the assignments, and I set off with Sarah- a high school senior who had gone through training with me. So, I don't know if I would call it a revelation, but as bad as this neighborhood was, we still found really nice people who were welcoming and helpful- after the initial "WHO DAT?" when we'd knock on the door. I found that people there were much more defensive when they'd first come to the door- often demanding an introduction before they would open the door. Only about three quarters of the occupants who opened their doors knew what the census was, so I got really good really fast at the super short description of what the census is and why it's important. "We need to count all of the people in the country so we know how many schools we need and other things like that." That worked really well.

The other amazing thing about this neighborhood was how crammed in people were. We'd visit an apartment building with units that I would think could hold 4-6 people comfortably, but we'd consistently find out that there are 8 or 10 or even 14 people living in one apartment! There would always be lots of cousins, and cousins' kids and cousins' girlfriends. Frequently, the respondents wouldn't know the first and last names of everyone that was living there!

We went into one apartment building in which we found dried blood and cigarette ash all over the stairwell. Surprisingly, that particular apartment building housed some of the nicest people we met all day. I was invited into a couple of apartments (by women), and I felt completely safe to do so. I met a lot of kids that day, too, and I gave them all animal stickers.

We decided to go back to the same neighborhood on Sunday- again the weather was really nice, but as I was leaving the house Sunday afternoon, I really really didn't want to go back. I forced myself to because I knew that I would feel awful if I didn't get up and go. There was no excuse for me not to. We waited until the afternoon on Sunday because we knew lots of people would be out at church in the morning, but man did we pick the wrong time to go over there... it was Haitian-American Day, and there was a big parade down Blue Hill Avenue! It was really cool to see everyone out, waving flags, playing loud music, etc, but it made our job impossible because most people were out of the house. We only worked for about 90 minutes before giving up to watch the parade.

I managed to get out again tonight... in the rain. I'm trying to get my last few down so I can grab another set of assignments from Ron- hopefully I can grab those by Thursday or Friday of this week. Then, all I have to do is get those finished and that should be it for the census gig.

Dookie and Cox?

Well, that was definitely the most entertaining daily meeting I've been to yet!

I don't know if I've described our daily meetings yet, but we meet our crew leader, Ron, daily in a park in our neighborhood to turn in timesheets and completed EQs. It's a really nice spot, and I love my commute because I get to cut through the wooded section of the Forest Hills Cemetery to get there. Perfect! Well today, we were joined by another enumerator I hadn't met yet. He's got a block over off of Blue Hill Avenue.

When he pulled out his timesheets and completed EQs, I could tell instantly that they were all jacked up. Check marks instead of Xs, horrible lowercase handwriting (we're supposed to write in very specific uppercase lettering), and lots and lots of missing information. Ron handed off his pile of EQs to the crew leader assistant to check, and yes... there were more mistakes than correct entries. Boxes not checked, whole sections skipped, Male and Female options BOTH checked for EVERY member of one household... you name it, it was wrong.

Meanwhile, while his EQs were being reviewed, Ron was going over his timesheets. Again, everything about them was totally jacked. "So I see here that you worked 8 hours yesterday, and you're claiming 23 miles for mileage??" Reply, "Yeah, people don't want to answer their doors so I just circle around the block a whole lot." What? This guy was apparently just circling the block over and over again- and mind you- it's not a big block at all. From what I could tell, he was averaging .5 questionnaires per hour (we're supposed to average 1.2 or greater). When asked about entire sections being skipped, he said that he skipped them because the interview was taking so long! Really, everything about everything here was simply comical.

I kept glancing at Ron to see how he was reacting, but he was keeping as cool as a cucumber. I had a really hard time getting a read on him while he was having this conversation. As they came to the end of the conversation (which took almost an hour), Ron told him to leave his binder and all of his EQs with him until Sunday. Aha! You're finished, d-bag. After the guy left, the first thing that Ron said was, "W...T...F." We all started laughing at the absurdity we had just witnessed.

Ron will have to take this situation to his boss, and I hope he doesn't catch any shit for this. That guy had been running around for almost a week doing this bullshit so they could possibly come down on Ron for letting him run free like that for that long. Also, Ron hadn't conducted his observation on him, and he really should have within the first few days of field work. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for him.

Just as I was getting ready to leave, Ron said, "It's as if he just made up all of the information he put on those forms!" As he said that, I glanced at one of them and pointed out, "Well, look at that... the last names of the people of this household are Dookie and Cox! What do you think?" ...and we all ROFLed".

Wicked good evening

I had a ton of luck enumerating tonight. It was a perfect evening, so I met a bunch of people outside of their homes doing yard work, etc. I'm finding people to be really friendly so that's nice. There used to be the sweetest elderly man on the street, and everyone on Tower Street knew who he was because he was so friendly, and he used to shuffle up and down the street soooooo slowly. He would always stop, though, and say hello or comment on the weather. I was worried about him because I hadn't seen him in an awfully long time. I interviewed one of his immediate neighbors tonight who informed me that his daughter had taken him away. Place an X in Vacant. Sad face.

More LCO Bull

Someone from the local office called this morning at 10:45am to ask me to come to the office before noon to fill out a new hire form that they said I never completed. However, as soon as I saw it, I remembered that not only had I filled one out the first day of training, I ALSO filled one out the evening of my original application testing! I asked the HR lady to check my file to MAKE SURE there was nothing else that was missing. It sounded like they wouldn't be able to pay me on the current payroll if I didn't sign that form by noon.

This was the second time they called me in to the office to fix something that I was not at fault for. Thank goodness I have an understanding and flexible boss! These two snafus took three hours of my time at the conservatory during the busiest time of the year. If I don't get paid or if they call me again for another reason, I will not be a happy camper.

First night out!

I apologize for leaving you hanging for a couple of days. It's super busy jury time at my regular job. I have barely had a chance to get to the bathroom let alone spend time blogging! After today or tomorrow, action at the conservatory is going to completely die down. Then, it's almost 4 months of complete nothingness!!

I decided not to work Sunday. The weather was really nice so I spent the day with friends. Unfortunately, not working Sunday means that I will have to really work hard to get my 18-20 hours in by Saturday. I pulled out my Tower Street assignments, and I hit the pavement last night! I'm finding that you really have to have a good system for juggling all of the materials. I spent a decent amount of time organizing myself before heading out. I grabbed a big subdivided file folder to help keep things separated.

I was pretty dismayed at the number of apartments that no one answered at. I left at lot of "NVs" (Notice of Visits) taped to doors. I finally got to conduct first my first REAL interview right at the end of the evening. Hooray! It was quite the pleasant evening, too. I met a couple of neighbors I hadn't met before, and I ran into all sorts of friends as I conducted my work.

I'm going to my first district meeting tonight in the park on Wachusett. Those meetings will be occurring daily going forward. Weather may be a factor tonight for work- there is a hefty line of thunderstorms coming in from Western Mass right now. Yikes! I had better not get those EQs wet!

It Is What It Is. *sigh*

Where to begin for today. Our training ended the same way it started: being yelled at by angry women. Before I explain that, let me back up to address another issue which defined our training. Basically, all of the information we received having to do with our actual field work was pretty straight forward. Follow the script, follow the process exactly, most answers to complex issues can be found in your manual, bring special circumstances to your crew leader. Fine. The BIG problems had to do with clerical admin issues- especially how to fill out our timesheets. Also, the plan for training (location, length, order of modules, etc) changed on a daily basis- if not hourly. That, I totally get. Our trainers actually did an excellent job thinking on their feet. For basically "winging it", they were awesome.

I GET that this is new territory for everyone. I GET that it's been 10 years since the last census. It's all good! I don't expect it to go totally smoothly, but for crying out loud... SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE CONTROL OF THE LOCAL OFFICE!!! It's a complete shit show over there, and I've had that impression from the get-go. How this effected all of us is this: every single day, we were given different instructions for how to fill out our timesheets. Every person gave a different set of instructions, and when we said that someone told us to do something else, they would usually reply, "Forget that... do it this way." Okay, we're flexible. We'll do it your way. The problem was that it kept happening! Even today a whole bunch of us (including me) received rejected timesheets back because we had followed the instructions given to us on that particular day, but someone in the mean time decided they wanted timesheets a different way! We were understandably frustrated by this process by today- especially when these people started to tell us that we could be written up for incorrectly filling out timesheets!! THEN they said that every FOS (Field Operation Supervisor) wanted the people under them to fill out timesheets their own way, and we should ask our crew leaders how we should do it within our own district! Are you kidding me? It seems to me that one simple thing could have solved this whole issue: whoever is the fancy pants operations supervisor for our local office, Boston South, should have given out a specific set of instructions to the people under them, and so on and so on until it we down on the bottom got the same message. It seems ludicrous to me that different enumerators within the same local area would fill out timesheets differently, because the same folks over at the LCO are entering in our pay.

AGAIN... if only I ruled the world.

I haven't even mentioned that these timesheets are not complex in any way shape or form. While not every person in that training class was the sharpest crayon in the box, if we had only been given one set of instructions on day one that didn't change, there would be no problems by now!!

Okay. Back to this afternoon. Now, I have to be careful about what I say on this particular topic because the person that this concerns literally threatened us. Yes. She threatened that if we reported her for what she told us, she would find out who we are and "find us". She would find us in the database and "hunt us down". Yes, these were her words. She said this after giving us some legally-questionable advice regarding how to log time on our timesheets... the details aren't too important. She basically stood up in front of all us, told us how to fraudulently fill out our timesheets and then threatened us if we tell on her. This was AFTER she spent 20 minutes of our time (on the clock) yelling at us like we were children, "instructing" us how to appropriately fill out our timesheets. I. Was. Livid. You should have been there to get the full effect. It was incredibly offensive- the way she spoke to us. She was trying to address a particular question, and instead of answering it in an effective way, she spent 20 minutes telling to make sure we include our middle initial in the middle initial box... make sure you spell out your whole name, crap like that! It was the LEAST PROFESSIONAL behavior I witnessed all week. I did the math: Assuming there were 60 people in the room, that we each earn $22.75/hour, and that this particular lecture took 20 minutes: this jerk face wasted $450.50 of YOUR tax money. All of this, again, was before she threatened us.

The other crappy part of this story is that the other guy leading this particular session today originally said that we would spend the time she hijacked going over some admin policy issues and the certification test we took. We didn't get to do any of that. Tempers really started to flare today while all of this was going on. One of the highlights was when crazy sweatpants lady raised her hand, and in front of everyone went on a HUGE tirade about this whole process. "I AM APPALLED AT OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT" she started. She went off- it was great. "WHAT ABOUT ALL THE VIRGIN FORESTS??? IS THIS RECYCLED PAPER???" Totally the best part of the day.

Sigh. Arlene (one of the great training presenters) said it best, "The unofficial motto at the Census is It Is What It Is!" So true, Arlene. So true.

The rest of the day went much more smoothly. After the debacle that was our last day of training, our district crew went out to work the field in a group. We went to several houses on Tower Street, Weld Hill and Hyde Park Ave. I was the only one out of the four of us who did not have a chance to conduct an interview. I'm sure I will tomorrow, though. I have 33 assignments to work on so I plan to jump right in tomorrow. Again, I'm pretty psyched about our district. Our crew leader and crew leader assistant are cool, and I adore the three other enumerators I've met. I really couldn't be happier with the people I will interface with daily. In that, I really lucked out.

Okay... more to talk about later. I really don't mean to be so down on our local area office. I understand the challenges here. I am flexible, and I'm happy to go with the flow. I suppose it all makes for a good story, so that's what I'm trying to tell here. At the end of the day, it's just the census. No one is going to die (well... maybe... if they redraw congressional districts and then the congressmen then pass legislation... haha jk).

But seriously... whatever. It is what it is.

Almost there!

So we're almost there! There's very little left in terms of training modules for the NRFU training. I feel very confident with the whole process, and I'm ready to get out there! Tomorrow, we've got another module or two with the trainers and an open book test to take. The test is a big joke on many levels. Firstly, the test is in the back of our training workbooks, and we were directed to look at it ahead of time. Secondly, the questions are not hard at all. Thirdly, it can't possibly mean jack because we all basically have had an untimed, open book test of easy questions. Whatever.

Around 2pm tomorrow, we actually start knocking on doors! We met our crew leaders tonight. Our guy is Ron, and he lives right around the corner. I think we really lucked out with him. He seems to be capable, yet cool. He's exactly the kind of manager I would be. He's going to hold our daily meetings in the park up at the end of Weld Hill- that's pretty cool! I plan to cut through the cemetery to get there. :)

One of the coolest things about training is that on the first night, I chose a spot at a table, and out of 60 or so people, 2 guys came to sit right near me. We chatted a bit on Monday, and it turned out that we all live practically next to each other. I jokingly commented on Monday that all of the cool Forest Hills people just gravitate to each other. It must be true! Both of them have grown to be friends over the course of the week. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I was hoping to make a friend or two! Also, these two new friends and I ended up in the same district group so we have the same crew leader, and we'll see each other regularly.

Eventually, each enumerator is assigned their own binder which contains their NRFU assignments. Ron only had two binders when we met him today, so tomorrow we're going out in teams of two for our first "live" work. I was assigned one of the binders, and my new buddy James and I will go enumerate with that binder together. It contains many assignments in my immediate area: Tower Street, Woodlawn, Hyde Park Ave, etc. Our district area goes all the way east to Blue Hill Ave and all the way north to Seaver Street- it's a relatively huge area because it also contains the Forest Hills Cemetery and Franklin Park. I'm not really looking forward to enumerating in some of the neighborhoods in our district, but I probably won't have to much around Blue Hill Ave- there are other people on our team that live there.

I'm happy that the training is almost over- it was definitely a long week. I'm glad that I've made some friends, and I'm ready to get out in the field. I'll let you know how it goes!

NRFU? Oh no you di'nt! NERF-U!

First day of for-reals training today. I enjoyed it so much more than yesterday although other people didn't agree with me. The girl next to me kept sighing and yawning audibly throughout the evening. We covered the basics of what our materials will be and how to fill the EQ (Enumerator Questionnaire... they have a thing for acronyms) in the most simple situation. Our trainers were really nice, and they didn't yell at us like the ladies yesterday so that made the night more pleasurable.

So my official job is NRFU (pronounced Nerf-You) for Non Response Follow Up, and I started to get excited about the job once I got a good mental image of what I'll be doing... finding the locations, interviewing the occupants, etc.

They also told us today that they are still looking for more Crew Leader Assistants, and they will choose some from our group of 60 or so people. I hope they will consider me- especially because they originally called me to be a crew leader in the first place! When I mentioned that the girl sitting next to me, she said, "Whoa! You must have done REALLY good on the test!" Well yeah... I'm reasonably sure I got every question on the test right. I'm not being cocky! It was easy! Can you alphabetize? Yes! Can you read a map? Yes! Can you arrange dates chronologically? Hell yeah!

Day Three is tomorrow. I plan to sit in the front again, raise my hand and enjoy myself.

Wear shoes you can run in.

I just got home from my first night of training. It was a complete zoo. There were 80 people there! For some reason, they didn't anticipate that the evening training session would be so popular... someone actually said that. If you are looking for people who can work during the evenings and on weekends, it seems to me that the PRIMARY trainings should be nights and weekends, right? If only I ruled the world.

Today was the admin day, and we spent five hours filling out forms and being fingerprinted- although at 9pm, half of the 80 still hadn't been fingerprinted and had to stay. They were lucky in way- they got to stay on the clock (at $22.75/hour) while waiting around.

We received badges (no photos... we wrote our names on them) and black shoulder bags with our materials. We also were given a basic safety lecture, and I wonder if we'll receive a more extensive safety training later. The women talked about wearing seat belts, not putting your face right up to a dog's face, locking sensitive documents away, and oh yes... we were told to wear shoes we can run in. That was a highlight. It's good advice, though... if you're walking around the city in any case!

Tomorrow we start more regular training, and on Friday we'll meet our Crew Leaders (man, I wish I could have trained for that position). I wonder how much melt there will be as the week goes on.

Pre-training Update

I'm starting to feel like the Boston South Recruiting office isn't managed very well. When I was signed up for the night training a few weeks back, the girl said I would receive a confirmation phone call before the training. As of 2:30 today, I hadn't received that call so I called the recruitment office. When I said that I wanted to confirm the location, the woman said that I received a phone call from my crew leader this weekend... which I didn't. I was put on hold for several minutes, and when she came back, she didn't know what training I was in. I had to tell her I was in the night training that starts at 4pm today! She was abrupt and not very helpful. Sigh. I hope this wasn't a mistake. I don't really want to work for the organization if it is poorly managed. Wish me luck!

I'm the Enumerator

Census training starts on Monday. 4-9pm Monday-Friday and then all day on Saturday. It's quite extensive! I was hired as an "Enumerator", but let me explain a little about how I got here.

The local census office was conducting testing sessions at the school I work at, and when I heard about these sessions, I thought it might be a neat experience. Why not get involved with something that is so important for the country? Maybe I'll learn a thing or two about my community. The bonus is that is pays pretty well! I've got some big travel plans for the summer, and I could sure use the cash for the trip and gear. They require you to work at least 20 hours per week, so I will be forced to log lots of time. Many people have been intrigued about this particular escapade of mine, so I decided to blog about it!

To apply for the census job, you first have to take a 30 minute test which determines whether or not you can alphabetize, read a map, do simple math, etc. It was pretty easy- if you have half a brain. There was a brief introduction that spoke in very general terms about the available positions, but we didn't really receive many details. After the testing session, I didn't hear anything from the office for about month. I was first offered a crew leader position... management... sweet! Unfortunately, that position required me to attend a four day training during the week. I couldn't attend because I didn't want to take the time off from work- even though I could have. They put my application back in the pool, and I didn't hear from them again for a couple of weeks.

When they called again, they offered me the enumerator position for $22.75/hour (and I think that was the exact same hourly rate as the crew leader if I'm remembering right). Again, they asked if I could attend a four day training, and I said no. My heart sank a second time, but then she said there was an alternate training in the evenings from 4-9pm Monday-Friday and all day on Saturday. Sign me up!! I'll have to leave work early all week, but it'll be okay.

I'm looking forward to the training- I hope they make it bearable. Maybe I'll make some new friends. I'm sure I'll find out all sorts of information about what my job actually is and how to do it. We'll be fingerprinted on Monday. I guess that means I can't commit any crimes from here on out. Also, I'll officially be a federal employee! That's wicked hot.

So here we go. I'll update this blog as I go through training and start the actual work. Thanks for reading!

Breaking the Fast- Day 4

Things are going great. I have TONS of energy back! I've also been in an unbelievably good mood all week. I really feel terrific. I'm still eating mostly raw fruit and veggies. I've had some rice and some freshly ground peanut butter, too. While I had a little success this morning in the *ahem* bathroom, I basically have three days-worth of food still making its way through my system, and I can tell.

I've been trying to be as active as possible this week. It's getting harder with the days getting shorter. I'm going to go for my first run tonight when I get home. I'll keep it short- only a mile or two. I'm curious to see if running feels a lot different with 20 pounds gone. I'll let you know. I have put a couple of pounds back on since Monday, but I'm not surprised at all- with all this food still in my body...

Breaking the Fast- Day 3

I deviated from my plan a little last night. After a nice long walk in the cemetery with Rob, he offered to buy me some dinner from JP Seafood. How could I resist?! Don't get me wrong- I don't even eat fish these days. I ordered a couple of vegetable maki rolls (spinach, root veggies and avo-kyu) with brown rice instead of white. I was careful to chew everything really thoroughly, and I waited as long as I could between pieces. I certainly didn't finish it all. I have a whole of left-overs waiting for me tonight. It sure was good to eat something a little more substantial.

I have not yet had a mighty #2 (sorry). I'm looking forward to having that part of my bodily function back. Hopefully the increased volume of food will help speed that along quickly.

Breaking the Fast- Day 2

So it's still slow going. Yesterday I had a kiwi and an orange at work and nothing else the rest of the day. I wasn't hungry at all last night. I'm still physically weak- kinda. The walk to work was draining like it has been.

Have I ever talked about my "swimmer's ear?" It has happened every day when I walked to work. I get what feels like swimmer's ear in my left ear. It goes away in an hour or so, but it's really obnoxious. I can barely talk right because my voice booms within my own head. I'm not sure why it has only occured on the left side, but I imagine it has to do with my sinuses and the mucus that is expelling stuff from my body. I will be happy when this particular side effect goes away.

Anyway, it's been a kiwi and some watermelon so far today. I have plans for an orange before I leave work. Maybe... just maybe... there will also be some kind of fruit on the menu tonight, too.

169.2->168.4

Breaking the Fast- Day 1

KIWI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I enjoyed a kiwi this morning. I've been looking forward to it for over a week! The first bite was one of the most wonderful tastes and textures ever. I actually shed a tear I was so happy. I have a valencia orange and some watermelon for later. I will try to space these out as much as possible. I really don't want to make myself sick with too much food too early. WAAAHOOO!!!

169.6->169.2

3:00pm

So I had my kiwi around 10:30am this morning, and I got HUNGRY around 1pm. I haven't been hungry in over a week! It's so weird how the body works. I'm now having my orange- it's not the best orange in the world, but I sure am enjoying it.

Fasting Blog- Day 12

F-it. I'm going to break the fast tomorrow. Psychologically, I'm done. There's going to be close to a week of working food back into my routine so I know there's more work to do. I'm really glad that I've done this fast. I feel very proud of what I've accomplished. Like I said before, I'll continue to blog about my experience of breaking the fast through the week so stay tuned!

169.8->169.6

Fasting Blog- Day 11

Today is Saturday, and I didn't have much to do. I was a slug most of the day until 6pm or so when I decided to clean the whole house. As I was cleaning (while listening to opera), I felt like there was something poetic to the combination of cleaning my body and cleaning the house. I've been putting off the cleaning since I started the fast thinking I didn't have enough energy to work hard. I had a sit and rest occasionally, but I did fine. I'm glad I got it done.

Speaking of being done, I'm so ready to be done with this fast. I feel fine- not a bit of hunger. It's quite liberating to know you can go so long without food and not feel hungry. It's so very against what we're all trained to think. I will never again complain about my blood sugar being low because I haven't eaten in many hours. However, I miss food. I miss cooking. I am really looking forward to getting back into the old routine. Let's all be honest here. Food is awesome. I have been enjoying the best meals of my life since I became vegan, and I can't wait to get cooking and experimenting again. I'm going to hold out until Tuesday- just so I can say I met my little goal. Only a few more days.

171.6->169.8

Fasting Blog- Day 10

12:15pm
So apparently my Dad is reading this blog. He e-mailed me this morning and said he was concerned. While very sweet and daddy-like, I wish people wouldn't worry about me or give me those looks when they find out what I'm doing. Fasting is definitely a departure from the "norm". Not eating for an extended amount of time does sound extremely unheathly- and it is if it's not done properly! To all of the critics and skeptics out there: this is something that I chose to do for my health after doing quite a bit of research and thinking. People have been fasting safely for thousands of years for health, spiritual and religious reasons. I don't expect you to read this blog and jump right into your own fast- do more research than just reading Accidentally Awesome! There's a huge amount of material out there- in print and on the internet. In my research, I have discovered that there are a lot of differing opinions on certain aspects of fasting- so be critical when you do your own reading. Not everything out there on the internet is good information of course.

I thankfully also have many many friends who have fasted in the past, and they've been a great resource and watchdog for me. I plan on continuing this blog through the process of breaking the fast, so you can all see how I recover and handle food again. While the fast has not been the easiest thing I've ever done, it hasn't been all that hard either. It's amazing how after the first few days you lose your hunger! I feel so empowered by this experience, too. I know now that I have control over myself I didn't know I had. It's a cool feeling to know that I am powerful!!

172.8->171.6

Fasting Blog- Day 9

12:35pm
Yuck... it's confimed: I have bad breath. My gal pal at work said she was reading my blog last night and read the part about my icky mouth. She told me that she noticed some pretty funky breath yesterday. I think I can feel it being nasty right now. Gosh, I need to get those on-the-go toothbrushes. This afternoon, I promise!

I had another tiring walk to work this morning. I think it's getting harder every day. It's really the stairs that get me. I'm one of those people who can't stand the slugs who "ride" the escalator instead of walking up them. How lazy can someone be??? I have found myself longing for the easy way up the stairs this week- I get so winded by the time I get to the top of a single flight. Go figure- both escalators at BOTH T stations I go to every day are under repair!! Sigh.

Well, at least I'm nearing the homestretch here. My original goal was to make it through Monday, and then break the fast on Tuesday morning. Unless I get ill over the weekend, I'll try to stick to that goal. That will end up being 13 days total: 3 days of juice fasting at the beginning to ease into the process then 10 days of water fasting. The weather forecast for the weekend looks crummy so I'm not sure what I'm going to do to fill my time. Last weekend went smoothly because I had stuff to do. We'll see how things shake out.

173.4->172.8

10:05pm
Loooonnnnngggg day. My dogs are tired. I ended walking quite a bit today. I got those "Wisp" on-the-go toothbrushes finally, and y'know- they didn't really kill my monster breath nor did they even taste good. AND they cost $9 for a 16-pack. Not so thrilled there. I went to a talk at Harvard, and my friend dropped me off by the Harvard T station. I was already to cross the street to go down to the subway, but I turned around and there it was: The Harvard Coop. Ahhhh!!!!! I got sucked in, and I bought another vegan cookbook. Haha. 1000 Vegan Recipes. Mmm... it was really the page on lasagna that sold me. :) BED.

Fasting Blog- Day 8

11:15am
I feel pretty great this morning. I slept a lot again last night, and I didn't want to get get out of bed this morning because I was so comfy (plus it's effin cold this morning outside). My boss said I look radiant today. I feel kinda radiant! I'll tell you what's NOT radiant: my mouth. My mouth is icky icky icky. There's been some sort of chemistry shift in my mouth, and I don't like it. I don't think I have bad breath- it just has a funny consistency/texture. I've never brushed my teeth so many times a day in my life. I should go get those new on-the-go toothbrushes that don't require any water.

I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to break the fast. I think I'm coming up with a good plan. It basically involves a very lengthy process (a week or longer) of phasing foods back into my diet. I plan on continuing my blog to talk about that process. The first food I plan to eat: 1 kiwi... with a spoon. :)

175.4->173.4

5:10pm
Let's Talk About My Pee-Pee!
I will try not to be gross. Firstly, I was surprised to discover that the color of my pee-pee remains a rather deep yellow despite the amount of water I'm drinking. Today, I got to work in the morning, and I probably drank around 2 liters of water over the course of the day. I was a little surprised (this happened yesterday, too) that I didn't have an urge to go to the bathroom until 4pm or so. When I did go, though, Katy wuz racehorse. I usually have to pee-pee every 20 minutes when I drink so much water in a day. I'm not sure why this has happened the last couple of days. I will ponder it. Also, I noticed in my racehorse-like alleviation today that there was also little tiny bits of stuff in my pee-pee. I can only imagine that this has to be crap my body is flushing out. It's kinda of interesting to see this stuff happen!

Fasting Blog- Day 7

10:40am
I slept like a baby last night. I keep getting these compliments about my skin. People are saying that I look really tanned or bright. I did go to Hawaii earlier this year and got the best tan of my life, but I think the fast is actually making my skin look nicer.

The walk from the T stop to work today was a bit of a challenge. The last thing I have to do before getting to my office is to go up a flight of stairs. I was really winded by the time I got to my office- more so than at any point yesterday. My muscles are still pretty achy. I'm going to ask my neighbor (massage therapist) if she can help me out with some body work today or tomorrow. I read something about people having muscle tightness, and it's because of the build-up of toxins in muscle tissue- especially in the lower legs. That seems to make sense.

I'm back at work today, and I'm glad to be busy. We'll see how the day goes.

176.0->175.4

6:55pm
I did really well at work today. My tummy has been feeling a little oogey late this afternoon. It's not a hungry feeling... just an oogey feeling. I did another saline wash when I got home, and it was the most productive one yet. I think I'm going to sleep well again tonight. I'm beat.

Fasting Blog- Day 6

11:20am
I had vivid dreams again last night. I dreamed that I was eating melon and orange slices to break my fast, but it was only Day 5, and I hadn't intended on breaking the fast so early. I was a little distraught that I had given up so early without really intending to. The orange slices tasted sooooo good. :)

Two physical changes to mention... My mouth feels icky. There is definitely a change in my mouth chemistry- I might have really bad breath, but I can't smell it. It seems drier than usual. Brushing my teeth and tongue works, but only for a while. Also, I keep finding little red bumps on my torso that last for a day or so. I can only imagine that these are formed by the toxins leaving my body.

I felt a tiny bit hungry last night, but I feel great this morning. I'm going on a Boston adventure today. I'm heading to Downtown Crossing to do a little bit of shopping. I've got the day off, and I really don't want to watch TV all day.

Officially ten pounds down since the start and two more since yesterday! 178.2->176.0

3:15pm
I spent the afternoon tooling around Boston, and I found myself getting super tired by the end. I literally shopped til I dropped. haha. I found myself in Borders looking at vegan and raw cookbooks, and they didn't really make me hungry. I'm headed out for another walk in the cemetery with friends now. I probably don't have the energy for it right now, but it's a gorgeous day, and I want to spend the time with my friends.

I did another saline wash when I got home. Boy does it feel weird. You can really feel the saline working its way up your system. Interesting sensation. I recommend it. :)

Fasting Blog- Day 5

2:30pm
My body felt a lot better this morning, and I slept well last night- despite a couple of bad dreams. I also didn't have light-headedness and nausea like yesterday... AND It's a gorgeous day in Boston! I walked to CVS on Centre Street (taking the longer, scenic route) to grab a couple of things. I probably walked a total of 2+ miles, and I definitely felt beat afterwards. I've been having the most discomfort in my calves and lower back- tightness in my calves and achiness in my lower back. I'm not sure what to do to help that- maybe some stretching. I'll try that later. I'm still drinking lots of water and fasting tea. I think the tea helps me to feel human through this. I'm used to drinking a lot of water, but when it's really the only thing I'm consuming, it's nice to have that flavor and warm in my mouth a few times a day.

So I took the plunge (haha) and did a saline wash today. I have to say- it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was really easy to administer (even by myself), and it was pretty effective. I won't gross you out with much more detail than that. I heard that you really need to do this if you want to get the most out of a fast. The stuff that is stuck in there is full of toxins, and you can take a huge load off your system by cleaning it out. My friend said that he was feeling pretty ill while fasting, but after he did a couple of saline washes, he felt much much better. I got the dual-pack so I'll do it again tomorrow.

180.8->178.2 This is the first time I've been below 180 since I can remember! My big goal will be to keep all this off once I start eating again.

Fasting Blog- Day 4

11:45am
Whoa... woke up this morning and was really light-headed. I became a little nauseous while putting on my make-up. I've had some water, and I'm making some tea. I'm feeling a little better, but I hope to be more recovered in the next half hour before I have to go out for the afternoon (Tosca Live in HD... rock!!). Breathing deeply seems to help a lot.

181.8->180.8 this morning

6:35pm
Thankfully, I recovered from my illness this morning pretty quickly. I felt fine by the time Chris arrived to go with me to the opera, and I continue to feel good now. My friend Chris also recently did a fast, so it was great to talk to him about his experiences. He has recommended daily enemas. We'll see if I do that. ;) I also thought that maybe I would spend the money I'm saving on food this week on going to a spa for a professional high-colonic. I'll think about it.

I'm still not feeling hungry. I do have a strong reaction when I smell food, though. Food smells totally awesome everywhere. While I don't feel sick like I did this morning, I definitely feel weird. I think it's a little like an out-of-body experience.

Chris and I went for a walk in the cemetery when we got back from the opera, and I was surprised to find myself feeling a little winded, and I had very tight calf muscles. I'm the girl who can walk 4 miles without breaking a sweat. It was strange to have such a light walk be so taxing. I also have some muscle pain in my back.

I'm planning on a trip into Boston to see my school's wind ensemble play tonight. I figure I should stay active while not being too physical. Another concert sounds like a great idea.

11:50pm
Exhausted. I did a lot for a gal on a fast. My muscles are very sore as I'm getting into bed tonight. Still no hunger. I hope the muscle pain won't keep me from sleeping well tonight.

Fasting Blog- Day 3

10:45am

So I got home last night after walking home (4 miles) and was pretty darn exhausted. I got into bed with the cat and watched a movie. I fully intended to go upstairs to my neighbor's place to watch the Red Sox playoff game, but I fell asleep by 9pm. It turns out that I didn't want to watch that game anyway- our Sox were shut out 5-0. Grrr...

I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Twas not clear piss- even though I drank sooooooo much water yesterday. I betcha that is a lot of bodily junk being expelled. :)

I woke up this morning a little groggy- probably because I had slept so long and erratically. I've had a few little hunger pangs this morning, but nothing that doesn't go away in a couple of moments once I turn my attention away from it. Today is still supposed to be a juice/orange day. I'm waiting to see how work goes- whether I'll actually need it today. Time will tell.

I lost another 2+ pounds since yesterday: 184.4->181.8

3:45pm

I'm almost at the end of my work day before a three-day weekend. I think I'm ready to not have any more juice (not that I've been drinking much of it anyway- only one 6oz cup earlier). I was just thinking to myself how fasting would be easier at home where I can relax, veg-out and not be responsible for much. However, just last night I was thinking how much easier it would be to be at work where I have stuff to keep myself occupied! I dunno. I'll just have to find ways to keep mentally busy this weekend while taking it easy physically. Maybe I'll work on some more paintings this weekend.

Karl, my awesome boss, asked me what I was doing for lunch today, and I reluctantly told him I was fasting (reluctantly because I've gotten such negative reactions from people so far). Karl, however, seemed pleasantly surprised! He has done them in the past. He even produced a bag of Yogi Fasting tea from his office, and I showed him that I already had lots of it! It was nice to finally come in contact with someone else who understands the experience.

6:15pm
I had considered walking home again today, but as I was packing up for the day, my knees still ached from running last week and my lower back was sore (no apparent reason). I decided to listen to my body and take the train home instead. Watching Walk the Line in bed.