report from nobamaland...

Well, thank goodness I don't live in Hyde Park because I don't think anyone would be able to come and visit me due to the serious amount of secret service security that exists in that area of Chicago now. Election night here in Chicago was pretty crazy for the folks that headed to Grant Park - included all of my co-workers. However, for me - I headed to choir rehearsal and came home to the news that we have a new president-elect Obama. Yes, it is historical...but just because some is "historical" does not mean that you must agree with it. While I've been called 'uneducated' and/or 'close-minded' for my political preference in this particular election - I hope that those who will be steering this country for the next 4 years will continue to educate themselves in the truth and facts about all issues and will be open-minded to the thoughts, opinions, etc of those that they might agree with at first. There are my two cents.

The weekend before the election - two of my best friends came into town for a few days. Sarah and I were able to make a quick trip to Mundelein Seminary and see our friends Greg and Daniel who have just started their first year there. It was a gorgeous fall day - so we had to take some pictures. Here's my favorite:

Amy joined us and we hit the town on Saturday night with some delicious deep-dished pizza at Gino's and then a few hours at the Red Head Piano Bar:
Work is starting to pick-up...though things won't really get started until January. I'm still doing a lot of planning and some hiring - that's right, I'm going to actually be managing people. I've also been able to help recruit our staff for next summer which is probably the best part of the job right now - just getting to talk about why institute life is so great. Last week, I had the privilege of speaking on the "Big Pic" call for the recruitment associates at Teach For America (my first position right out of college). The purpose of the call is connect RAs to the mission of TFA and help them realize that the little things they do have a huge impact. I got to talk about how I went from e-mailing hundreds of college seniors to helping start up a brand new institute that will train over 600 new teachers. It's pretty incredible to think how far I've come in just a few years of really hard work. I know there's still more hard work ahead, but knowing that it is making a difference is the best part.

I attended an encyclical study last Wednesday on 'Humane Vitae' and 'Evangelium Vitae' - which was incredible! While I've been connect to the pro-life movement since college - I haven't been as active as my time at St. L's. Well, it just so happens that the Archdiocese of Chicago is starting a junior board for the Respect Life office - and well, guess who was asked to join?? :)! We had our first meeting last night and we are just trying to get the structure and purpose set - but I'm excited to be connected to pro-life people here in Chicago...that's something that I've been lacking since I moved here.

Until next time...