New Years Resolutions

So it's been 2010 for a little while now. But my resolutions for the new year are really for the new semester, and that hasn't quite begun yet. On new years, thinking about school and such felt really distant and unimportant, but as I'm preparing to go back the things I'd thought about for resolutions pre-Acorn visit are coming back to me. So I'm going to write them down. Here. So that anyone who reads this can hold me to them. ;) (You can do that, right Jacob?)

1) Phone home!
I'll admit it, I've been atrocious with this. And I can do better! I will figure out, early, a regular time to call home. (Doesn't seem that hard... so as soon as I know when quintet is meeting...) Also, I realized over break that there's no reason I couldn't call other friends from home in an effort to keep in touch. Therefore, I intend to do so. Also, I'm going to say, for the sake of saying it, that I'll post in this blog no less than biweekly. That's right, every other week, for the rest of the year, Miriam will update Obuabamos. It's one more way to communicate with those who aren't right here with me. In return, everyone's always welcome to comment! :)

2) Journal
In the vein of writing regularly, I'm going to go back to keeping a journal much like I did during Walkabout. I won't be sending it to anyone, and I won't have anything to prompt me to write about certain things, but I still want it to have the sort of feeling of a Walkabout journal. What that means is, I want to take time to reflect on the learning experience that is life, and make sure I'm actually accomplishing what I mean to accomplish. It means setting goals and actively gauging how well I'm reaching them. It means facing my short-comings and learning from them instead of letting them slip away forgotten. And, keeping a journal is a pleasant, relaxing activity that I think just makes me a happier person. Theoretically, one writes in a Walkabout journal everyday. In reality, no one quite does this. So, I figure that I'll treat myself about the same way as I did during Walkabout, and I'll reap about the same benefit.

3) Make friends
I was supposed to do this first semester. Well, that's not to say I didn't make any friends. I even started a successful relationship! But in general I feel dissatisfied with my social life and I think that in some cases all I really need to do is be more assertive by doing simple things like asking if people want to hang out with me sometime. (gasp) Being social is generally pretty hard for me, and yet when I made it a specific goal for my Acorn Walkabout I more than succeeded, connecting with some people to the point that I feel like part of a family. Part of that was the openness and awesomeness of people in community, but I suspect a lot of the difference was me.
3a) Spend more time in the Loft...
...or other common space. The point is, I need to get out of my room. It's really quite silly.
3b) Tell people how cool they are
Hey, wanna be friends? Cause you're pretty awesome and I need a life. I don't know why this makes me feel so vulnerable. Again, silly.

4) Make Veg. Club awesome.
I'm president of veg. club now, bitches. What now?

5) Prioritize the gardens...
...above everything else. I mean, I won't skip quintet rehearsal, friends' recitals, or classes with strict attendance policies/that I'm worried about my grade in, but that's it. I'm going to try to affiliate Veg club with the community gardens, so that won't cause conflicts. Homework and practicing can be done anytime, so garden events take precedence. This is one thing I know makes me truly happy, that I truly care about. I'm not letting other things get in the way.

6) Come back to Acorn.
I mean, that's given. But I think it nevertheless belongs on the list. I will be seen at Acorn again in 2010. Count on it.

Rockin' Out in VA for New Years

So, today got back from my visit to the ol' Walkabout placement, Acorn community in Mineral, Virginia. It was a lovely experience all around, except for getting there and especially coming back. Buses are not fun, yo. Being told you have to go all the way down to Tennessee (which is further from Columbus, Charlottesville or Knoxville?) to catch a bus home because Greyhound can't send busses through West Virginia is just plain uncool. So is waiting in the Knoxville bus station for 8 hours. But that's not really the point. The point is, I got to go back to Acorn! :)

Apparently, I have the innate ability to show up right when Acorn's having a party, event though this hardly ever happens. In August I came to Acorn right before their rave, and this time around Acorn had a "New Years Eve Eve" party on December 30th. And after that, there was the infamous Twin Oaks New Years Eve Party. And while another person might see this as a blessing, I would usually be disinclined to feel that way. I surprised myself with the amount of fun I had at both of these events. By the end, I had gained a real sense of having become a part of the family, as it were. Even though I didn't truly know everyone, most people seemed at least familiar. And there was just love and goodwill in the air.

I've met some cool people in the past 10 days that I've been hanging around at Acorn, as well as reconnecting with old friends. There were a couple pretty awesome interns, as well as a pair of visitors from Eastwind. I've been thinking lately that I should someday visit some of these other FEC communities. But I haven't even begun plotting my next visit to Acorn yet, so that's sort of just something to hold in the back of my mind for now.

It's interesting, there hasn't been work to do in Bowling Green's community gardens for a time now, and I wasn't really expecting to find work in Acorn's either. But I wasn't entirely correct, there were a ton of carrots to dig up before the ground froze, greens to be harvested/thinned, and a fight to be had with some row cover. In all of these cases, it was amazing to me how refreshing it felt to be working in the dirt again. Particularly Acorn's dirt. Or just heading past the greenhouse with a garden cart filled with row cover... there was a rightness to it.

Of course, I did have to find other ways to entertain myself. I feel that my most significant project was helping to construct the temporary bedroom in one of the farmhouse living rooms by helping with covering the fold-out wall and constructing a bunk bed. And then I lived there for the rest of my visit. None of my other work was particularly note-worthy. Seed packing and the like. Really, the point of a visit like this, for all that I am ready and willing to work and be helpful, is to spend time with people and such. Which I did. Success!