In the end, it all boils down to food.

I've been exploring new territory since I came out to Arizona. In my efforts to be as penny-pinching as possible, I've been trying to find more ways to save money. After all, I only make $100 a week, less taxes, and work requires me to drive at least 20 miles a day most days. So we've been going to this food distribution, and that's been going... well. I suppose.

They give us a lot of food, and that's great, but it's not all stuff that we use. We can barely keep up with the amount of potatoes and onions they give us, but things like eggs and milk tend to go by pretty fast. But I still find myself going to the grocery store to pick up things that I want. Add to that the fact that I've started attending a small group that happens the same night the distribution is and you get a bit of negativity from the roommates as to whether or not I deserve the food if I'm not going to the distribution. And who wants to sit through that every week anyway? I didn't go last week, and I didn't know what they got from it, but I don't think I ate any of it the whole week and didn't miss it. Granted, some of what I ate was from the week before, but perhaps that helps strengthen my point.

So what are some other options? There's a couple other places that do distributions, perhaps they let you pick what you take (like the food truck at St. Patrick's in Grand Haven does). But my recent foray into the Tucson area to visit an old friend and make a bunch of new ones revealed something to me: they were all on food stamps. Students, recent graduates, all not making much for money, all getting assistance to buy their groceries. They told me to apply, so I did. I've got a phone interview for it next week so they can determine if I'm actually eligible or not.

Am I? I'm not really sure. Once again, I'm getting paid very little, and the less I have to put towards groceries the more I can put towards my student loans. And I must say that it'd be nice to put that charity towards food I actually want or will use. I know, I know, beggars can't be choosers - but does that mean that choosers can't be beggars too? I have to admit, I have moral qualms about all of this food-charity stuff (or maybe it's a pride thing?) and I would just as soon scrape by by the skin of my teeth and my own solid, Dutch thrift. So, is it an okay thing to accept outside help and do more than just get by, or should I be making do with what I have? What do you think?

Very Superstitious

This past weekend was my last time having Friday and Saturday off, and I certainly made the most of it! I drove down to Tucson on Thursday night to see Caitlin, a friend of mine that I met, spent a lot of time, and had a lot of deep conversations with while I was in Botswana. We hadn't seen each other since I left in May of last year, so it was very exciting to hang out together again.

Caitlin had a fun weekend planned for us. The next afternoon we met up with 5 other friends of hers, all piled into our cars with 3 dogs, and drove up to Phoenix and eastward to the Superstition Mountains. By the time our cars were parked, our packs shouldered, and our feet on the trail... it was dark. Headlamps were a blessing as we wound our way up the steep trail in the dark. When we had reached the top of the ridge we were all feeling a bit tired (from the effort) and hungry (from the lateness of the day and the fact that we hadn't eaten supper yet), so we decided to camp there for the night. They cooked up an incredibly gourmet meal, with half a dozen pots cooking in the fire: two of rice, lentils, two of vegetables, and curry coconut milk sauce. We ate well, hung out, then dispersed for the evening.

I set up my new tent on the trail for the first time, anchored it with some well-placed large rocks (someone must have camped there before), set up my bedding, allowed Louie (Caitlin's dog) to come in out of the wind, and went to sleep. Then the morning came. After the best sleep I've ever gotten while camping, I awoke to a cool, calm breeze and the breaking of the dawn over the peaks above my head. As the light grew, I saw more and more how awesome the beauty was that surrounded me: it was astounding. We had hiked that short, dark climb into a breathtaking paradise.

The day's hike was taken at a leisurely pace. At lunch we realized that we hadn't gone nearly as far as we had hoped, but it wasn't a huge deal, so we kept on walking. When one of our three canine companions strayed from the group a couple miles later, the 30+ minute search caused us to reevaluate our plans. That, and the fact that the person whose car was left at the end point for shuttling realized she had left her keys in the truck at the trailhead. After a bit of a shuffle, we decided it was best to turn around and come back the way we had hiked all day. We talked of seeing the trail we had hiked the night before in the daylight. Alas, history was about to repeat itself.

We arrived at our campsite as the sun was slipping behind the peaks and, after regrouping, donned our headlamps once more as we made it back down the mountains to the trailhead. It was a beautiful night. After all was said and done, some dark chocolate thoroughly enjoyed, a few sips of red-wine-in-a-bag passed around, we headed for home. They went back to Tucson, I drove my car back north to the Verde Valley and arrived home at quarter to 1 in the morning. Unluckily, I had the morning shift the next day. Luckily, that meant I was getting off early and would get a head start on (you guessed it) my new weekend: Monday Tuesday.

Today I spent most of my time unpacking, doing laundry, rearranging the furniture, making a bookshelf out of cardboard box, buying chicken from the local deli, cracking pecans, squeezing orange juice, and all sorts of other pleasant, productive things. Both roommates are out of town, and I've had the whole house to myself. Talk about your relax and recovery!

Until next time!

A Window in Time

I worked an 8-day week, so I planned out my weekend activities in order to take the best advantage of my time. Yesterday was spent hiking in a nearby wilderness area on the White Mesa Trail. It was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds of the trail: the clear creek bubbling through the canyon, the red rocks standing bold against the desert scrub, the dozens of robins chirping and fluttering through the junipers. I even chanced to taste a juniper berry - which at first was nice and sweet, but then started to taste like I was eating my grandma's "pine needle" candle, at which point I promptly spat it out. They're supposed to help if you've got a sensitive stomach, but I'd be impressed by anyone who could get them that far down the digestive system.

Today was the Buffalo Soldiers event at Fort Verde State Historic Park. Having researched and emailed and written all about the role and involvement of Black Civil War reenactors last semester, it was really neat to go to this event and see Black reenactors "at work", so to speak, and to talk with them about the history they portrayed and their own stories in relation to reenacting. I had a blast. I spent a better part of the day there, and got to eat a cheap-but-delicious meal from the Dutch oven cooking group - grits, corn bread, pork 'n' beans, and peach cobbler! Mmm!! When it's all said and done, I'd say it was a pretty successful day.

To pay or not to pay?

Last night we three interns went to a Bread for Life dinner and food distribution. It was funny, being on the receiving end of that. First thing I noticed was that they made us sit half an hour through a worship service before they brought out the food - and while we sat, the volunteers ate not too far off. I feel like the structure was exactly the opposite of what I've always been taught, which is meet the physical need and then the spiritual one. After supper we waited for our number to be called and then we were truly blessed. A big banana box of food: oranges, peppers, potatoes, avocados, lettuce, tomatoes, pears, grapefruit, onions, half a cabbage, orange soda. Then our pick of five bread products (we got two sandwich loaves, one cinnamon swirl, bagels, and english muffins), a deli meat, a yogurt each, a 18 eggs, a gallon of milk. They even helped us bring it to the car! If we went here every week, we probably wouldn't have to spend much money on groceries for the rest of our time here. It was certainly plenty for three people.

(everything in this picture is from the pick-up, except the bag of oranges in the top left corner - those I bought from the fruit truck on our way out there)

But do we deserve it? Sure, we're living on $100 a week (minus tax), but we aren't paying for housing. Gas is really our only expense. And if we fell on hard times, I'm sure all of our parents would make sure that we didn't starve. But if we're trying to be independent and we take the parents out of the picture... the less I spend on groceries the more I can put towards paying my student loans off. It's a bit of a conundrum, I suppose.

Today, in light of all the money I just saved on this week's groceries, I decided to go for a breakfast bike ride. I went up to Lake Montezuma (the next town over) and got a fresh, homemade cinnamon roll from Cricket's Dessert and Sandwich Shop. It was delicious, and only $2. Of course, now I probably have to go use my sensitive toothpaste 'cause it was so sugary-sweet! :) I pedaled around the "lake" (I would call it more of a pond, but whatever), then headed back home. Just over 9 miles in all, and I have to say it felt a lot easier than that 6-8 mile ride I took to the fruit truck when I first got here. I suppose I'm getting used to the altitude!