my turn?

I haven't blogged in so long that I am having a hard time finding my way around this website now. They have a new layout to which I now have to get accustomed.

So much life has happened! Do you ever feel like your life is happening to you, rather than you choosing what happens next or at least actively participating in that decision? Yeah, me neither. Just kidding. I felt like that a lot this summer. This summer, by the way, was SO BUSY! I'm really glad to have gained a few friends in the area back after school. That's probably the reason that things have been so busy. I have a social life with friends these days, which hasn't been the case for the majority of my existence. I love it. I'm a very social person.

I was thinking recently about old high school friends. Oh, this reminds me: I have recently found and re-homes two kittens and a dog. They all found me. If that isn't a call to dedicate my life to helping animals, then I don't know what is. Anyway, I gave one of those kittens to a friend from high school. He's still hanging out with all our old friends from high school. And so are most of the people from my graduating class, come to think of it. And there are a LOT of people still hanging out with the same people they hung out with in high school. How come I'm not? I went to college when I graduated, just like them, but they somehow all kept in touch and remain pals today. Whose fault is it that my only connection to high school friends is facebook? Am I the norm, or are they? I'm just wondering, because I thought about the people I ran with in high school, and they're pretty cool. I'd hang out if they asked nowadays. Who's not asking--me or them? I don't know what happened and whether it's a good, bad, or neutral thing, but I just don't talk to anyone from back in the day any more. Hmm.

That's it for me now. I have a chicken, potatoes, and onions roasting in the oven. I can't even wait! Mmmm... Oh, and it will be less than four months from now to my next post, so rest assured. : )

want to come to the gym for free?

I've been going to the gym for a couple of months now, but not as regularly as I want to. I've hoped to go at least three times a week, but it tends to be less than that. So I'm looking for a gym buddy. Here's the scoop: I have a gym membership that allows me unlimited guest privileges, so you just have to come with me. I just want someone to meet me at the gym in the morning (doesn't have to be super early, but it can be if that's what you need). And you also get access to unlimited tanning, unlimited massage chair use, unlimited training, etc. I just need someone I know to meet me there so I have some bit of accountability. You don't have to work out with me or even say hello! I need to go to the Planet Fitness in Milford on Tuesday mornings, but I'm pretty flexible on location, other than that (Marlborough, West Boylston, etc.). E-mail me if you're interested in joining me: rousseaujess@yahoo.com. I've gone with my mom a couple times, and those times were great, but I need someone who can come more regularly. Anyone interested? Anyone at all? Did I mention that it's free to you?

a few new things

Life has proven somewhat uneventful as of late. I guess that's not true, now that I think about it. Next month, Joel and I are taking a vacation. A sweet, glorious, very anticipated vacation. We plan on going to Race Point Beach on Cape Cod again (given that the piping plovers aren't nesting there during our allotted week). We head out on June 20th and return the 24th. A nice Monday-Friday thing. A nice thing happening before that, though, is that Joel will be leaving his job. His last day is the 16th. I'm really glad that he'll be able to do this, because working in a meat packing facility doesn't exactly breathe life and joy into him. He'll be teaching guitar & bass lessons after that, both locally and at Rousseaus Music in Jaffrey, NH. If all goes according to plan, this will be wonderful! He'll attend Berklee again in the fall while teaching music lessons--talk about being immersed in music! Speaking of Berklee, Joel finished this semester with a GPA of 4.0, all A's. He worked really hard for those grades, so I'm glad that he got them. Also, Joel's sick. He has been since Saturday night. Usually when he's sick, it lasts a day at the most; this one's very persistent, unfortunately. Hopefully he'll be able to head into work tomorrow. So far this week, he's probably slept like 50 hours.

I'm still working for The Journey Community Church, and I'm still enjoying that. I'm also looking forward to continuing to babysit this summer, because the family I work with has a lovely pool in the backyard. I'm told that they spend all summer in it. Sounds like my kind of deal!

Straight Ahead Ministries set up an operation where churches take on a Sunday each month to pass out food and supplies to the homeless in Worcester. This past Sunday, my church went into the Main/South area of Worcester to pass out food and supplies to some of the homeless folk we ran into there. It was wonderful! I helped to orchestrate things, and I was feeling like this trip in might be a bit of a flop. It certainly wasn't. We distributed about 120 sandwiches, tons of personal care items, some brownies and cookies, and water bottles. We came back with no left-overs, and we didn't run out while we were there. Thanks to everyone who donated and/or came along. I feel really excited about this event going forward, and I hope we have even more food & supplies and people to distribute them next month!

We recently got a new desk and a new TV. The desk's kind of messy right now, but that's what it looks like this instant. The TV came from Andy, Joel's bandmate. Then there's a picture of our cat, Jones, being cute. And lastly, our dragons: Lieutenant Dan, Dave Grohl, and Flashbang. Thanks for reading. : )