day 3 observations & updates

when - like me - you define yourself as being a very friendly extrovert, it is challenging to be surrounded by 300+ people who cause you to feel introverted.

i came home from morning training thinking: what is this feeling? i think it's called "loneliness" and i'm not sure i've ever felt it before. oh wait. that's a lie. i'm pretty sure i felt this way when i first moved to la, first started college, any time i've switched congregations, at the beginning of every summer camp, and possibly on my first day of kindergarten...yup. it's a pretty familiar feeling after all.

and it is always mixed with mild indignation. something to the effect of: don't you know who i am? i am cap'n sparklepants!...ugh. what is it with these people?!

fortunately, i think this funny feeling i've been feeling is common between all of us ameriwhorps. and i'd bet income i don't have that it'll pass quickly.

i took a long run/reconnaissance mission through perryville to shake the midday-woe-is-me out of my system. it afforded me some lovely pictures:

once i got out of perry point, i took a trail along the docks.
this one's for you, dax. while exploring a rock beach near the bay, i discovered several flocks of ducks. they're pretty blurry in this photo, but they're in a formation between the branches, i promise.
as i lay down for some post-jog stretching back at the va, this was my view. literally. it was beautiful and i was exhausted so i didn't bother to reorient the camera. really? i mean, really? somebody must love me...

a few friends and i are entertaining the idea of acquiring thrift shop bicycles to get around for the next few weeks. bike or not, i'm planning to make my way to aberdeen (7 miles away), which is my weekend connection to d.c., baltimore, philly, nyc, and boston. all of which are screaming for exploration. and i have received some much-appreciated invitations from friends and family-of-friends on which i will certainly follow up.

tonight is the wildfire firefighters' informational meeting. the test is sunday morning at 7:30am. nccc will select and train the 45 top-ranking individuals. i am 73% sure it's a lost cause...and that's exactly why i have to take a stab at it.

monday marks the start of our service learning and red cross training at the university of delaware in newark. that's right, folks. maryland just isn't big enough for the 'corps so we will be shuttling ourselves to the next state over all next week. i dig the east coast.