Adler Astro-Overnight

Location: Adler Planetarium

Date: Friday, March 06, 2015; 5:00-10:30 pm

I had only been to this event once last year and then a group of little girls had made me work like never before.  I arrived early and after checking in, was waiting in the lobby when one person walked over and asked if they could borrow an Astronomy journal that was on the table in front of me.  I learned that her name was Andrea and she was a show operator here.  Also, she was getting her masters in ‘Astro Physics’ and was headed to her first poster session in 2 weeks.  I told her about my experience with posters and yeah, I have done some posters in my time.  “Do it like you are explaining to kids”, I said.  Well, easy for me to comment, but then kids can also be a handful!

Don't make these guys mad!

There were a lot of youth volunteers today – which makes sense for a kids program – along with a few adult volunteers.  Michael came over and said there were 3 main activities that we would be doing – “Egg Drop”, “Dry Ice” and “Angry Birds”.  Most of the volunteers were familiar with that and so started scheduling themselves to their favorite activity.  Michael wanted the new volunteers – myself included – to go for a tour.  Our first stop was ‘Johnson Theater’ where “Angry Birds” was set up.  Just like the video game, there would be structures with plush toy piggy’s on boxes that were the forts; and plush toy birds would be launched at them using sling shots.  As volunteers, our job was to encourage the kids to think critically on how they could achieve a perfect trajectory and also help in rebuilding the forts.  “Dry Ice” station had the usual components like “canister rockets”; “crystal ball” etc. and that would be straight forward.  Then there was the “egg drop” which I had done last time.  The difference was that instead of a ladder, there was now a crane like thing that is used for street work and someone would be up there to drop the designs.

Michael asked me to do “pocket science” and sighed when, once again, I picked “Smelly Space”. I collected 3 samples –‘Sagittarius’, ‘Moon’ and ‘Titan’ and started walking around.  We had a big crowd with parents and kids walking about and they were split in 4 color groups - with wristbands, in order to ensure that everyone got in and out of shows as per their group.  A gentleman showed me on the map where his group would be camping that evening and asked about the location.  I took him around for a tour of the museum and in the end we ended up on the same spot!  As usual, I was lost.

After leaving him in capable hands, I went upstairs to the planets section and the kids were busy with their designs for “egg drop” – complete with balloons etc.  I saw a family of 3 where the mom was telling the attendant that they had missed their show due to her losing track of the time and if they could come back for a later showing.  I said that I could entertain them for a while and so engaged the kid in the “smelly space” experiment with some prompting from his parents.  It is a slightly different tact when you do this with kids instead of adults, but the objective always is not to be too condescending.  This was proven in this case where the boy was answering intelligently.

After this I was walking about, trying to see if anyone would be interested in this experiment, but it’s not that easy in this setting as it is with adults, since kids are more interested in getting to their activities.  I went over to the “Angry Birds” room and saw that the kids had built interesting designs with the boxes.  I went to help some kids who were not getting the right trajectory with the slingshot, partly due to not having enough force or not getting low enough with the elastic bands.  Some even had their elastic bands entangled.  The trick was to first stabilize the birds in the harness and then releasing them.  I tried my hand at flinging a bird or two and it wasn’t all that easy.  But it was kind of therapeutic, especially when the boxes came tumbling down.

A couple of kids came in with their mom and they were very well behaved, waiting for their turn rather than being impatient like some others.  Plus, they were really nice to each other, the older one wanting the younger to have a go first and the younger one was listening to his brother.  The older brother was quite inventive and was improvising with each unsuccessful attempt, till he finally hit the target.  I then challenged him to make a “dominoes” type structure where the boxes would topple in a sequence.  He was intrigued by that and build such a tower and then he and his brother took turns at it as their mom watched.  I told them that if they succeeded, I would show them something cool and when they did get everything to topple, I took them through the “smelly space” exercise.  The older boy was quite good at it and at the end I asked if he wanted to be a scientist and he said no, a Zoologist.  I told him and his mom to go to Lincoln Park Zoo and ask someone in a green shirt to see if they could talk to a zoologist.

There was a group of adults standing there and I said that I could entertain them as they waited for the kids to finish.  I did the routine with them and saw that a couple of them were translating in sign language for a deaf teacher.  And they did it for every single word I spoke, including my joke that ‘Sagittarius’ smelt of Rum, which I couldn’t tell the kids.  At the end I said that this was a perfect experiment since we were converting our visual sense into an olfactory sense and that’s why them using sign language to interpret was somehow fitting.  

I walked about the “Planet Explorers” section and saw some of the kids activities which are never open during “Adler After Dark”, such as an area called “Spacewalk”, which is a pitch dark room with point lights inside to resemble stars.  It was one of the more extraordinary areas of the museum that I had never seen before.  I stopped at the “Egg Drop” to watch the designs and a mom and daughter came over and asked me to help the little girl build her “lander”.  I did a terrible job with the scotch tape and even contributed to two balloons bursting, causing the mom to give up on me and walk away thinking that I was incompetent.  With this fiasco, I went back to the “Angry Birds” station and saw that one of the youth volunteers had taken charge and was doing this in an organized way.  She had 4 teams of 3 kids each and each team built the other team’s fort, in order to make it difficult to break.  Then each launch was simultaneous and on a countdown.  This reduced the madness and kids actually liked this competition.  On a later visit I saw that this volunteer had left and there was chaos regaining all over again, with one consolidated fort and kids just running into it!

At 9:15 pm I went back to the volunteer office to drop off supplies and then proceeded to the Mezzanine level for my next task.  They had asked me to stay back an hour till 10:30 pm to help with the “Scavenger Hunt”.  I sat at the registration to hand out forms which had 6 questions, and answers to which could be found all over the museum.  Also on it was a bonus question on their favorite planet or satellite to visit.  The idea was to get kids to go get the answers and once they did, we were giving them a prize – a magnifying glass – irrespective if the answers were right or not.  The entire activity was designed to keep everyone occupied till 10:15 pm when they would be allowed to take their sleeping bags and go camp out...or in the museum. 

It was interesting to read everyone’s answers, especially to the bonus question.  We were also asking the kids to fill out a brief fun survey which comprised of 3 questions.  The mom from my first “Smelly Space” experiment was offended that we were asking her son to do it and I said that even if he didn't, he would still get the prize.  I would pretend to correct the questions in order to give everyone enough time to complete the survey and then hand them their magnifying glass.  At one stage I was asked to go stand at the door of the room where sleeping bags were stored since parents had started carrying them out to set up the camp when we were not ready.  I stood inside the room and tried my best, while incurring some parent’s wrath.  In the end seeing how everyone was getting irritated, we let them take their stuff earlier.  I stayed at the table for some time and then left at 10:30 pm, extremely tired.  It had been a session where I had contributed the least.  But I had also learned a lot about kids and their ability to get to the heart of a problem faster than adults.  I saw Andrea on my way out and wished her well, asking her to keep the presentation simple.  A lesson well learnt this evening.

Dinner At The Wells Street Cafe

Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church

Date: Wednesday, March 04, 2015; 5:45-8:30 pm

Marianne sent an email to me and some of the regulars like John saying that she would not be able to make it tonight and so asked us to lead the volunteers.  She also included some talking points that we should use with the newcomers.  I arrived to see that John had already taken charge and little Hannah was directing the incoming volunteers.  Marianne or not, it looked like things were under control.  John was looking for someone to do the fruits salad and I said that I would open the cans and was joined by another volunteer.  I was opening the cans using the industrial opener, and quite efficiently at that.  We had peaches and pears and while I would open the cans and drain the fluid, my fellow volunteer was then cutting the fruits into bite sized pieces.

I would be holding the clipboard

A new lady chef, Dani, has replaced Keith and whatever she was making smelt awesome.  She came over and dropped off 3 cans of pasta sauce to be opened and this was going to be the base of a sauce in some sort of Mexican themed dinner.  We had several volunteers in attendance and so John asked if I could be the “nurse’s assistant”, a job that I never done before.  The nurse gave me instructions to send over 2 people over at a time and I was to note down their full names as well as their date of birth.  I took the clipboard and started walking around the room asking if people wanted to see the nurse.  One of the guests responded that maybe not a nurse, but he would take a psychiatrist if we had one!

One gentleman said that he would come with me and after dropping him off, I came back and repeated with a lady.  Another gentleman approached me and I said that I would fetch him soon.  A woman asked me if the nurse was giving out prescription and I said that I wasn’t sure of that.  When I asked for her birth date, she wasn’t willing to do so initially, but when I said that unfortunately it was required, she gave it to me reluctantly.  I walked about and saw that on the other side of the partition the ‘Moody Bible’ students were doing their “spirit feeding” session.  In the kitchen John had started his speech and was doing a great job.  He told the volunteers everything they needed to know, such as not giving the guests any money and about everyone’s “comfort zone”.  He then assigned duties and we ended with a prayer.  While Jon was doing a very competent job, it is strange not to have both, Keith and Marianne around for the first time since I have been coming here.

I continued my duties and since no one else had signed up with me, some folks said that I was not having any “customers” this evening.  I replied saying that I guess it was good.  The food came out and it seemed that we had something that looked like a “taco”.  I stood on the side as John went over and made the announcements, including that I would be taking down the names for the nurse.  The music was on with folks playing the drums and piano.  The volunteers went out to serve the salads and once again, we had to leave the bowls on tables even though no one was there.  I looked around and saw that one of the ‘Moody Bible’ volunteers was having a conversation in “sign language” with a guest who is deaf.  In fact, she spent the entire evening with him.  The dinner started and I stood on one side looking at the room, remembering what Marianne has said a long time ago.  There are many reasons why people come here and one of them is that some of them are lonely and would rather share a warm meal with others.  I thought to myself that perhaps financial means aside, we are not too different, them and I. 

One gentleman came over and said that he wanted to see the nurse and when I offered to keep his meal warm in the oven, he said that he would rather eat first.  Knowing that in the past we have had instances where food in the oven had been given away by mistake, I thought that it was a wise decision.  As dinner came to a close, volunteers started the clean-up while I finished up my duties, with one last person remaining to see the nurse.  As the guests left, the volunteers had done a great job and everything was being put away.  I took pictures of the various forms for Marianne and left after thanking John for his leadership.  Marianne sent an email to all the volunteers thanking us.  She also sent a separate one to me saying that I was a “blessing to her and there were never enough ways to thank me”.  I said that I could have done with her comforting shoulder tonight but there will be another month.  There’s always another month.

Senior Birthday Club

Location: Judge Fisher Apartments

Date: Tuesday, March 03, 2015; 6:30-8:30 pm

I arrived to find that Jason was chatting with some of the residents.  I took my seat and listened to them talking about the ‘Cubs’ prospects for this year, and they didn’t seem to be too optimistic.  Couple of residents arrived, including the lady who had been interested in Jason’s love life.  The two ladies seemed to be good friends and were joking and fooling around just like good buddies would.  One of them looked at my name on the sign-up sheet and totally butchered it calling me “Rikins Tippins”.  She asked if that was me and I said that it wasn't even close.

A few other volunteers arrived and we got down to work.  I asked them to make 20 goody bags with candies for the residents to take home while I put the ‘Happy Birthday’ signs on the wall. Jason’s resident friend was blowing balloons as usual while he updated her on his fiancée in the Philippines.  Two more volunteers arrived and one of them was the girl with whom I had cooked ‘Sloppy Joes’ at ‘Lidia Pucinska’ project.  They started cutting and serving the cinnamon roll like thing that we had as snacks for today, along with tangerines and milk, which I served.  These girls had also brought a big birthday balloon and I suggested that we give it to whoever’s birthday was the closest in March.  After a quick poll, we found one resident and gave it to her.

Jason mentioned that he had heard that the lady who was at the security had her birthday today.  We asked one of the residents to confirm, and the lady who had come up with my creative name came back to report that it was coming up on Thursday.  Jason said that we should go to give her the cake and milk and also sing ‘Happy Birthday’.  When no resident or volunteer moved, it was me and Jason who went out and sang, which pleased her a lot.  We came back and the residents were now demanding that we start the Bingo.  We had a good spread of prizes today, including a ‘Hot Water Bag’, which drew mixed reviews.  There were also artificial flowers and some ‘Valentine’s Day’ leftover.

The prizes

Jason started calling the game and one of the volunteers was noting the numbers.  I joined the ladies who were best friends, and another lady at their table.  Typically, everyone gets 2 bingo cards but we were running out and Jason requested some residents to hand over one of their cards.  Both of the friends at my table gave theirs up. My liking for them kept increasing and I thought that luck would surely be on their side today.  Sure enough, just as I had predicted, my new friend who had christened me was the first to win.  As she came to collect her prize, I hinted that she pick up that ‘Valentine’s Day’ leftover, which she did…only to give it to her bestie.  What a lady!   Later as her friend won - she had come ever so close earlier that I said that I would be disappointed in her if she did not win; she picked soap with “romance fragrance” – once again prompted by me - and gave it to another lady at their table.  She kept referring to her as “Happy” and when I asked why, we learned that the person who had named her was the happiest person she had known.  Well, I told Happy that I would also call her the same.

A few ladies complained that they couldn’t hear the numbers and Jason apologized for speaking softly.  When they continued to complain, someone got up and said that if everyone could stop talking so much, they would be able to listen!  Our table won quite a bit and they kept giving their prizes away.  Happy won and gave hers to one gentleman.  When she won again, she did the same with another gentleman.  I said that Happy was only giving prizes to men and I was on to her, at which she laughed out loud.  Jason had handed over his calling duties to my friend from ‘Lidia Pucinska’ and she was doing a good job of infusing it with personality.  While she did that, Jason and I walked about and looked at the jigsaw puzzle posters that they have all around this place.  

One gentleman upon winning came over to the prizes table. Since there were some cookies left, I said that it would be a crime if he did not take those.  But he chose toothpaste saying that he had no teeth, but wanted to clean his gums.  Then he said that he wanted to sing and proceeded to sing Sinatra – at which he was asked to shut up so that others could hear the numbers!  He said that his name was Steve and once all prizes had been given out, I went over to him and said “Sing away”.  For the next 20 minutes, Steve  and I had ourselves a medley of Sinatra hits.

Steve is an incurable romantic and at one stage he said, “My heart is missing, is there a doctor in the house”.  I said, “Only in title”.  His voice is really good and I asked him to sing “My Way”.  We first listened to it on my phone and then we both sang together.  He then said that he wanted to dance, and I put on some instrumental jazz while he proceeded to dance.  Other volunteers had left and Steve was telling Jason and me how he had practiced singing, and how he had trained his voice.  He had been in the service and claimed to be an entertainer.  I said that he must have been popular with the ladies and he proceeded to tell us some scandalous stories from his youth.

It had been a fantastic evening with Steve, and as much as we would have liked to have stayed, it was getting late.  As Jason and I took the train back, he told me about his fiancée in the Philippines, and the challenges with getting her here after their wedding in August.  Seeing the glow on his face as he talked about her, I asked if she was the love of his life.  He said yes.  I said that then he would figure it out.  He asked if I was single and now it was my turn to nod.  He said, “Then you haven’t found the love of your life”.  I have often found ‘Great Expectations’ extremely educational in the matters of love and life.  Something from that flashed through my mind as I muttered to myself, “I didn’t say that now did I?”

“I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.”

-          Charles Dickens, 'Great Expectations'

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy

Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, March 02, 2015; 6:00-8:00 pm

I was on the wait list for both, this as well as the Bingo project, and finally around 4 pm there was an opening and I was able to sign up.  I arrived early since I wanted to meet with Pearl, but despite visiting her room twice, I wasn’t able to see her.  I came down to the main room and saw Elmer.  I inquired on his activities and he said that he was doing some consulting work for his agency.  It was nice to see that he was keeping himself sharp by staying busy.  The same perhaps could not be said about Jack, who seemed a bit distracted today.  Larry came down to join the group, but it was strange to see all of them without Jim, who has moved away to his own place.

I saw Emma being brought in and went over to chat with her. She was color coordinated in a blue jacket on a green shirt and a blue ribbon to tie her ponytail.  I asked if I could take a picture with her and she rambled about something.  But then I showed her my phone’s camera and she understood.  I asked if she was feeling lucky since Bingo was coming up, and she mentioned something about winning a table and chair, and how food tastes better on a table.  I am sure that these were just random collection of events.  I mentioned that I was there with the dogs and she mentioned a dog that her daughter has.

Before the project could start, I made one more visit to see Pearl.  She wasn't there and so I asked the nurse. She said that Pearl was visiting with another resident and so I went over to the other room.  I saw that Pearl was on her way back and I walked with her.  She said that other than a nose bleed she was doing okay.  Pearl makes jewelry and I asked if I could buy one.  She said certainly and asked me about the person it was for, the hair color, eyes color etc.  She suggested earrings, but I said that I wanted a bracelet.  She said there was one that wasn't complete since it required a hook.  I said if she could finish in 90 minutes, I would get it tonight.  She said that she would have it ready and there was also something that she wanted to read to me.  I said once I finished my project, I'll come back, take the bracelet and listen.

Reed

I went downstairs and saw that we had 3 dogs though Veronica, our Volunteer leader, told me that several had signed up.  I was paired with a beautiful black Scottish terrier named Reed and his owner Doyle.  Reed is 2 years old and Doyle told me that he had just had a haircut, where they also gave him a lovely orange bow to wear.  We started with David on the 2^nd floor, who was lying down, but got up as soon as he saw us and then proceeded to give Reed a thorough massage as usual.  Reed seemed to enjoy that and I mentioned that all dogs leave happy after visiting David.  We then stopped to see Polly and her roommate Dena since they always love to see dogs.  Reed though was ready to lie down after his massage and was on the floor staring out of the room.

Next stop was Loritta and she was in top form tonight.  Reed wouldn’t get up on the bed and when she heard that he had a haircut, she said that dogs should not have haircuts.  She said that her dogs never had one.  She talked about her house in ‘Hyde Park’, which she said had a trapezoid end, whatever that meant.  She said that she has always lived in the South or East in the city, never North or West.  In terms of travelling, she said that she had visited NYC and Boston when she was younger, saying that NYC people have no grass outside their houses since everything is so congested.  I said yeah, the houses don’t have a lawn, but that’s why they have ‘Central Park’.  She told us about a trip she had taken long time ago on ‘Lake Erie’ to Buffalo.  She said that she had never been to Wisconsin and never west of Oklahoma.  She went down south once, for her son’s graduation in Alabama, though she could never stay there because of the heat and humidity, preferring the cold of Chicago.  I asked where her son was nowadays and she said that he followed a woman to Georgia.  Can’t say that I blame him for that!

As much as we were enjoying this travelogue, Reed was now pulling us out and so we said bye to Loritta and moved to the 3^rd floor.  We stopped over at Jerry’s room, where all dogs love to go.  Jerry offered him bacon treats, but despite that Reed refused to get on the bed, though he did eat some that had fallen on the floor.  We left Jerry and then went to Hannah’s room where Fran and Veronica were chatting with her.  She said that she didn’t like dogs much since one had bitten her.  She then showed us Johnny B’s picture and told us that he had passed.  She once again told us the story about his kidnapping and how she had to pay $300 to free him.  I asked about her book and she said that it was with a publisher in NY.  I said that we would have a book signing one day and I would definitely get it.  It is called “Nine Lives of Johnny B”, and Veronica who works in publicity said that she would publicize it.  I said we could say that it’s not 1, not 2, not 3 but 9 lives.  Looks like we already have our tagline!

Pearl's artwork

I said goodbye to Doyle and Reed and went over to Pearl to collect my bracelet, which was lovely.  She also had matching earrings, which I wanted to get, but did not.  I looked at the other jewelry and it was outstanding.  She gets her supplies from ‘Ebay’ and assembles them.  She then read an article that she had written, depicting her journey through all Nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and how people are treated there.  It was hard hitting and she is quite eloquent.  She mentioned that she has sent it to some blogger for publication. She called herself a troublemaker and said that the folks here at Lakeview Nursing would be glad to see her go.  It seems that she has been championing the cause of a blind lady down the hallway, who she claims is being mistreated.  She said that she would leave this place someday, though she had no family nearby and no possessions besides what was in this room.  I said now that she had my email, she better stay in touch.  I left and she wished me a good day, a good week, a good month, good year and a good life.  I said that I would be back soon and thanked her for the bracelet.  She said that it was a beautiful piece and I better give it to someone equally beautiful.  “You don’t have to tell me that”, I muttered.

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy

Totally Trivia At The Imperial

Location: The Imperial Nursing Home

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2015; 2:30-3:30 pm

I often wonder why I do not come for this project more often.  Wilson mentioned that today we would be doing “Oscars” and I remembered a similar quiz from 2 years ago.  I arrived on the 5^th floor and noticed that the residents had already assembled, and as usual had their wheelchairs arranged in a semicircle.  There were a few volunteers there as well and all of them were first timers.  I told them about the project as we waited for Wilson to arrive.  I took the whiteboard that we use for scoring and placed it in the middle of the room.  I made 3 columns for the 3 teams – the format that we have used in the past – when one lady spoke up and said that there should be just 2 teams and that I should change the board.  She was very firm in her response, telling me that she was in charge!  She also kept asking when Wilson would arrive and her guess was as good as mine.

"Oscars" time

Wilson did arrive soon and said that all of us should introduce ourselves, including the residents.  Some of the residents required coaxing to tell their names.  In fact one guy thought that I was asking him something extremely personal and seemed alarmed.  A few of the residents gave us the names of others who seemed incapable.  The lady who had scolded me earlier regarding the board was Jackie, and she was ready to go as were a couple of other ladies.  Wilson asked the volunteers to spread out amongst the 2 groups and mingle with the residents.  He would be the “Quiz Master” while I would keep the score.  We began questions with “Team A” and Ethel, one of the regulars at Bingo was in that team, while Jackie was in “Team B”.

Wilson started by asking when the “Oscars” began.  Ethel first said 1890s – which was before cinema as we know it even existed.  Some of the other answers were a bit later than the actual year, which was 1927.  The teams got 1 point for the right answer, either for the question posed to them, or if it was passed over from other team.  When “Team A” got a point and “Team B” missed on theirs, I wrote 1 under A and 0 under B.  Jackie immediately scolded me, saying that we should not write 0, but rather wait for the team to score.  Man, she was tough to please!

Wilson asked which was the first “Animated Film” to be nominated for ‘Best Picture’ and “Snow White” was a popular answer, as well as “Toy Story”.  I gave a hint that it was in 1991 and that there was a musical which would be playing in Chicago soon.  But alas, no one got the right answer, “Beauty and the Beast”.  Another question was the first movie to win the ‘Best Picture’ award.  I said that since there were 2 movies that won that year, we would take any of the answers.  Amazingly Ethel knew the answer, which was “Wings”.  The next question was, “Which was the first movie with sound to win the ‘Best Picture’ award?”  The answer of course was “Broadway Melody” and when Wilson presented the choices, someone said that the movie with “Melody” in it should have sound.  Well, the answer was right, but logic was wrong since it was dialogue not necessarily sound, which “Wings” also had.  I asked as a follow-up, which was the only other “silent movie” to win ‘Best Picture’, and they got the answer – “The Artist”. 

Wilson asked some highly technical questions such as the height and weight of the “Oscars” statue and for some reason expected the residents to know that information, which of course no one did.  Other questions were on multiple nominations and multiple winners.  “Team A” was way ahead of “Team B”, which I am sure was irritating Jackie, though in her defense, the other team had some enthusiastic volunteers who were answering for the seniors.  I posed to “Team B” a question saying that it was tough and if they get it, we could possibly give them more points - so that they catch up.  I said that only once has the last award of the evening not been given for ‘Best Picture’, and was rather given as a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’.  Wilson asked if it was an American or British actor and I said British, the greatest of them all.  “Team B” did not get it, but “Team A” after some hints correctly answered Chaplin. 

During the game, one of the ladies started saying that she wanted another lady to “get away" from her.  The nurses came and put her away on the other side.  The lady she was referring to was sharp and at one stage she rolled her wheelchair towards me and said, “Watch how they will yell at me”.  Sure enough, the nurse came and took her away.  She looked at me as they did that.  Boy, these folks sure are feisty.  Our hour was up, though the residents were in a mood to continue for a long time.  “Team A” had won handily, but as is the custom here, volunteers distributed cookies and treats to everyone.  Wilson asked recommendations for next month’s theme.  I said that since Jackie likes music maybe we could do “Broadway Musicals”.  I will definitely try and come for that.

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy

Adler After Dark

Location: Adler Planetarium

Date: Thursday, February 19, 2015; 5:00-10:00 pm

Today’s theme was called “Geek Chic” and Michael sent us bunch of reading material and links to ‘Youtube’ videos of ‘Big Bang Theory’, a show I have never watched and have no intention of doing so.  I did look at the videos and it seemed like something that I could pull off.  On a freezing evening I took a cab, and on arrival went straight to the volunteer area.  After putting my stuff in the locker, I picked up my new t-shirt.  We were moving to a different attire with a more casual approach.  On the front was the saying, “Relax, it’s just Rocket Science”.  I grabbed some pizza and sat amongst the volunteers waiting for our shift to start.  Michael was assigning people and he came over to ask what I would be interested in doing.  I immediately said, ‘Smelly Space”.  He asked when and I said at 9 pm, after everyone had a chance to sample the drinks!  Eventually I had that for two shifts, from 6-7 pm and 9-10 pm.  At 7pm I would be helping with some trivia in ‘Johnson Theater’ and at 8 pm I would be doing something called “Electric Lemon”.

"Electric Lemon"

I collected the squeeze bottles for “Smelly Space” and I chose those which had the most distinct smells – ‘Moon’, ‘Titan’, ‘Sagittarius’ and ‘IRAS 24’…something.  I asked others what that was and no one knew.  A quick ‘Google’ search revealed it to be a star cluster.  We assembled in ‘Planet Explorers’ classroom and there was a setup there for 2 demonstrations.  One was a “Non-Newtonian fluid” which would be placed on a speaker and depending on the vibration frequencies would take different shapes.  The second demonstration was two-fold.  An “endothermic reaction” where a staff member would dip bananas in ‘Liquid Nitrogen’ and freeze it, and an “exothermic reaction” called “Elephant’s Toothpaste”, where mixing two chemicals would create a giant foam like thing.  We continued the tour to our next stop, which was a classroom where the “Electric Lemon” experiment was being staged.  We were essentially asking people to use Lemons, Limes, Potatoes, Cucumbers and Apples as batteries, which would eventually light up a ‘LED’.  Some of the multimeters didn’t seem to be working and I said that I would cross that bridge when I came to it. 

It was time for our shift and I took my “Smelly Space” things and joined the gathering.  The first thing that I noticed was how people had dressed up as “Fantasy” characters.  Some of them were “COS Players”, attending as invitees for guests to take pictures with them.  The guests themselves were doing quite well as far as costumes were concerned.  I saw everyone ranging from ‘Dr. Who’, ‘Storm Troopers’, ‘Jedi’s’, ‘Marvel’, ‘Video Game’ characters, ‘Sauron’, and even someone dressed as a ‘Tardis’.  It was fantastic and I felt like I was at the’ C2E2 Expo’.

I found a couple looking at the model of ‘Saturn’ and asked if that was their favorite planet.  Then I said that we should do an experiment together and presented them with the squeeze bottles.  It’s always fun to watch people try to smell and not be able to, especially since they always feel it’s a test and put pressure on themselves.  After the smell I would ask questions on how we knew and get responses like, “someone went there”, “we sent probes” or I even heard that someone “opened and closed a jar”!  Then I would get the tube with grating and ask them to look at the light.  Almost always people would not see it but would eventually spot it when I asked them to observe their peripheral vision.  Then I would explain ‘Spectroscopy’ and how we can create the chemical constituents in the lab.  Then I would say that replace the light with a star and the tube with a telescope. 

I talked to couple of ladies who were dressed as some characters and I asked who they were.  They were both from different video games, one a “Space Marshal” and the other was someone called the “Cube”.  A girl and 2 guys were standing next to ‘Jupiter’ and I went over just as the girl got impatient and started looking for her phone frantically.  As she went to look for it, I told the guys I would entertain them till she returned.  I chatted with many people and everyone had a different experience.  A band was playing today and it was getting loud upstairs.  So I went downstairs and stood next to the picture of the galaxy, which was perfect since it has filters and I could incorporate that discussion in my performance.  I chatted with a few more people over there and then it was time for my next task.

As I walked into the ‘Johnson Theater’, I saw that a group was doing a “light-saber” demonstration and it seems that they have classes that they conduct for people who really want to learn how to fight using “light-sabers”.  I mean, they haven’t been invented yet, but why not get a head start!  Once they were done, we went towards the stage area for the trivia game, which was on movies, shows, books, games and anything “pop culture”.  There were two “gamekeepers” and our job was to hand the ‘iclicker’ to the team captain.  The teams were comprised of 3-6 people and we were to also tell them not to click any buttons yet.  Once the quiz started, we were to walk about and ensure that no one was “cheating” by using a phone or other mobile device.  I walked about and handed clickers and also encouraged people to make friends if they were just a 2 member team.  In fact 2 couples came in and I encouraged them to pair up, which they did.

Just as we were about to start, one volunteer came in and said that Michael wanted me to continue with “pocket science” and that she would be replacing me.  So I picked up my “Smelly Space” stuff and went back to engage the visitors.  Outside the ‘Atwood Sphere’ was a great location since many people were waiting for their turn and had nothing better to do anyways.  I did the experiment with 3 girls and they were impressed.  One of them asked me how God would smell.  I said I don’t know about God, but if any of them were born under ‘Sagittarius’, they should smell like raspberries!  A group of 3 guys came and I started chatting with them.  They liked the experiment and in the end I told them to find 3 ladies and form a team of 6 for the trivia.  Just doing my part to bring everyone together!

At 8 pm it was my turn to go help out with the “Electric Lemon” activity, which was being staged in a classroom.  On tables, there were all the fruits and vegetables.  Also available were copper wires and Zinc nails, wires and alligator clips and multimeters and tiny LED's and batteries.  Folks were trying various combinations of vegetables and fruits and trying to “squeeze” - get it - current out of them.  I was encouraging the people to move things around, and try various combinations in series.  The idea was to get people to figure out by themselves, but we were to give them all the tools and let them be hands on.  Some people gave up easily and some stuck with it.  One couple was persistent and got an LED to light up, though the guy said that everyone should avoid the Apples since they “sucked”! 

Another couple very really determined and tried for 40 minutes before they finally got it to work.  The girl was insisting on using a Cucumber and the guy did not want to.  Later we learnt that the problem was with the LED and so when we connected a new one to the Cucumber, it worked. I said to him, “I told you she was right”!  Two guys came and they seemed well versed in the sciences.  They gave it a fair shot, and while they managed to get some voltage out of the system, but could not get the LED to work.  I was encouraging the folks to first check if multimeters were working and would say that there was just one thing on the table that could be used to check if multimeters would work and that was batteries.  Our job is to get people to intuitively solve problems.  Two ladies came and were doing their best.  In chatting I learned that they both worked for the ‘Art Institute’ – a place I visit regularly.  At one stage the fire alarm went off and when we started to leave, it switched off.  We returned back and since I had the “Smelly Space” equipment still with me, I did the experiment for them and mentioned how a “visual sense” was being converted to an “olfactory sense”.  I said to them that just like the art they were surrounded with every day, science is an art form as well. 

I continued with “Smelly Space” for my last shift and roamed about the lower level since the band was in full swing upstairs.  While I chatted with a few people, the evening was dying down and so went back to the office at 9:50 pm and chatted with my fellow volunteers.  Michael talked about some of the upcoming events for which I have signed up including “Astro Overnight”, with kids and “Pie Day”, where he said we would be throwing pies at astronomers….whatever that means.  It had been another interesting evening and a satisfying one as well.

Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, February 16, 2015; 6:15-7:45 pm

I arrived to see a house full of dogs.  Before greeting them, I went over to the main room to say hello to Jack, Larry and Elmer.  They told me that Jim had finally moved out, though he does visit every now and then.  I saw Emma sitting by herself and went over to greet her.  She was her usual kind self, but it seems like she is slowly fading.  I went back to the room with the dogs and we accompanied them to the main activity room.  Robyn, who was leading tonight and who comes over with Bruce and June, asked if I would mind holding June's leash.  Poor Bruce had just thrown up and she was trying to clean.  June is a sweet girl and I was happy to do so.  She was generally well behaved, though she did yelp when a dog came in.  I took June to see Holly and we were wondering if June was named after the month of her birth. But in fact, Robyn mentioned that her birthday is next week.  I also learnt that Holly’s birthday was on April 7, same as one of my friends.  “I will be 91 years old”, she said.  “91 years young”, I responded.

Beautiful June

We went out in the hallway and Robyn assigned all of us. I was going to hang on to June and accompanying Robyn and Bruce.  We were starting on the 1^st floor and I asked her how Bruce can cope with being blind.  She said that it’s been 2 years now and he just follows the scent and navigates by bumping into things.  Aww, that’s sad.  We weren't having much luck on the 1^st and went into a room where a gentleman by the name of Daniel was lying in bed.  He said he's not much of a pet person but was willing to chat.  I saw that he had some ‘Valentine's Day’ balloons and also a ‘Teddy Bear’.  I pointed it out and said that he was popular. He said the bear was for him to hug when he coughs.  He had just had bypass and hugging something soft helps with stitches...not to mention provide comfort when there is none.  He called the bear “Sir Hugs-a-Lot”.  We laughed at this and he seemed like a jolly person.  I said that my dad had bypass a few years ago and based on his recovery, Daniel would be up and about in no time.

We left him and went to the 2^nd floor.  First stop was with David and I picked up June to put her next to him.  As is his usual style, he gave her a solid massage; "a deep tissue one", Robyn pointed out.  Bruce is amazingly well behaved and sits when told, even by me.   Robyn said that was impressive that he was used to my voice.  In was warm inside and the pups were getting thirsty.  I took the two of them to the fountain, though poor Bruce was bumping into things.  There were ladies sitting on wheelchairs outside in the hallway and they loved petting them.  Bruce impressed them by following Robyn’s instructions and doing tricks like shake paws and giving "High-fives".

Next stop was to see Loritta and boy was she in a mood to chat today.   We talked about pets and she told us about some rabbit which was big and a dog that got along well with it.  She was going on and on as I was playing with Bruce and June.  Bruce would whip his head around when someone touched him, but would then let you pet him.  June was feeling hot and so went down on her stomach to feel the cold floor.  We went to the 3^rd floor and I said that I wanted to stop by and meet Pearl.  A nurse in her room said that Pearl would be ready in a few minutes and we should come back.  Before leaving I yelled out in Hindi asking how she was and she responded in Hindi saying she was doing well.  We went over to see Hannah and once again she told us about her cat that had died recently.  She said that he had a good life and passed in his favorite chair.  Robyn said that at least Hannah had managed to finish the book about him and she said that some publishers were looking at it.  I said that we would like to see it soon.  Next stop was with Jerry and both, Bruce and June, joined him on his bed as he fed them the treats.  I looked around at some of his newer pictures on the wall and we left when some others came over for their treats.

We went back to Pearl and I chatted with her in Hindi and then introduced Robyn.  I said that Pearl’s Hindi was better than mine and Pearl said “bakwas” and I translated, “nonsense”.  Pearl was making some bracelets and they looked lovely.  She told us about her roommate who is blind and asked if we could send over some volunteers to just chat with her.  She is extremely lonely and according to Pearl, not treated well by the staff here.  In fact Pearl threatened to call the "Social Services" soon.  I said that maybe some of the Chicago Cares volunteers from other projects could stop by once in a while.  It was time for the dogs to leave and I wished Pearl goodbye in Hindi, Urdu and she added Punjabi.  She gave me some assignment to watch ‘Youtube’ videos on some senior living facilities. 

I said bye to Bruce and June, who had been fantastic.  I told Fran about what Pearl had said and asked her to perhaps work with Wilson to facilitate visits.  There was one last thing to do and that was drop off Emma to her room.  She was eating some cereal from a single serve bowl - perhaps something that she won in Bingo.  I asked if she wanted to be dropped in her room and she said “Yes please”.  I took her upstairs and indicated to the nurse to help her in the bed.  Emma said something about her daughter coming to help.  She thanked me as I left and I once again had a feeling that she was fading.  I had a lot to think about as I walked back to the station.

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy