Dinner At The Wells Street Cafe

Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church

Date: Wednesday, April 01, 2015; 5:45-8:15 pm

Marianne wrote to a few of us earlier in the afternoon saying that she would be unable to attend owing to work and asked if one of us could take the lead with the circle of information.  That would not be a problem since all of us were comfortable doing it, though I would once again miss her presence.  I walked over and arrived to see young Hannah greeting the volunteers as usual.  After putting my stuff in the closet and washing up I was ready to go. 

Getting these wedges would not be easy

Chef Dani was clearly in charge and in control of the kitchen.  I asked her for an assignment and she said that I could help in cutting the ‘Honeydew Melon’. Oh boy!  I with a knife cutting a melon is not a good combination, considering my knife-skills…or rather the lack of them.  She showed me how to cut the melon in half, take out the seeds using a spoon, and then slice into wedges; which was all good in theory.  She asked if I ate fruit and I said that I mostly drank it, at which she gave me a high-five.  There were 2 cases of the fruit and I was underway.  However, as I started cutting the wedges, each was of a different thickness, especially as I got to the end, where I left the slice thick, since I was concerned about cutting it without causing an accident.  After observing this, Chef Dani said that she would get someone to help me and so she did.  Another volunteer joined me and I told her about my cutting issues.  She said that she would help and also showed me a different way of cutting, by placing the melon flat.  The only problem was that this would not give us the nice wedge that we needed, not that I was doing much in terms of that anyways!  We went through one case and asked Chef Dani if that was enough, and thankfully she said yes.  These wedges constituted our fruit salad for the evening and were distributed by other volunteers into 18 bowls.  Besides this we had normal salad, breakfast burrito, green beans and chocolate croissants.

Joe, who had also been on Marianne’s email this afternoon, asked if I wanted to do the volunteer talk, to which I agreed.  He handed me a cheat sheet of everything that Marianne usually says and I looked at it while the other volunteers put the finishing touches to the meal.  There were things on it like how to tell volunteers about individual comfort level, not to give guests money, not to look after their belongings, assign duties and then finally pray.  Chef Dani asked if I could help load some things from a freezer shelf onto a cart.  I said that I would, as long as someone holds the door of the freezer because I had seen enough movies of people being locked in! With the help of Joe, we got things loaded and then it was time to wait and so I chatted with Hannah about her upcoming spring break.

To ensure that we stayed on track, Chef Dani was also chipping in and helping with all of the activities.  In this regard, she is very different from Keith, more hands on and more of a doer.  Finally, just before 7 pm, she got everyone together and said that Hannah would give the volunteer orientation talk.  I was happy to hand Hannah the cheat sheet and she did a fantastic job.  It’s amazing how much she has grown in confidence since I first met her and how young she still is.  I volunteered to help plate, and we all went out into the main dining area.  After the salads and the juice had been served, I joined Joe and couple of other volunteers in plating; my job being to put the burrito as well as the green beans & peas on the plate, which was followed by Joe putting the green peppers and black bean gravy on top of it and the croissant on the side.  As we were doing this, the music was on in the background and we were having some solid singing effort by some of our guests. 

We did not have many people today and 50 plates were all it took.  Then I stood by and counted as guests came in for seconds. Chef Dani joined me and she has a great personality as she chats with the guests in the line.  Clean-up was rapid and a girl in a wheelchair - a ‘Moody Bible’ volunteer - asked how she could help.  I asked her to gather the floral type arrangements that we place on the tables and soon she had all them in front of me.  I mentioned to her that it felt like I was a speaker on a podium following a felicitation.  Yeah, I am a riot.  There were 4 first time volunteers here this evening and I asked them to wait so I could do some “reflection”.  They were all from same company and had heard of this place through their employer.  It seems that they had a good time and I encouraged them to come back.  Chef Dani’s mom had been visiting tonight and I asked if Dani cooks at home.  Her mom said no and laughed, saying that she had to come here to taste her daughter’s cooking.  It was time to leave and I told Hannah that she had done a great job, and said to her not to grow up so too fast and enjoy every day of her school life.

American Cancer Society Making Strides Steering Committee Meeting

Location: American Cancer Society Office

Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2015; 6:00-7:45 pm

Back at ACS

It was Year 3 and I had received an email from Carrie a long time ago with this date as the one for our informational meeting.  Considering it was end of March and last year we had started in mid-February, we were getting a late start.  Carrie had mentioned that she had been promoted and hence we would have 2 new co-leads this year. They certainly had some gigantic shoes to fill.  I arrived at the familiar building with another volunteer who has been with us for the past 2 years.  As we waited for the security to sign us in, we mentioned how it seems like just yesterday that we were here.  We went upstairs and saw that the room had been arranged with the tables placed like in a classroom. I said that I hoped we didn’t have to give an exam!

I saw Vikki and Le'Loni and asked whatever happened to us getting together as a group, something that we had said at our holiday party last year.  I sat in the first row as Carrie introduced Katherine and Allyson, who would be our co-leads for this year.  Then it was time for our introductions and involvement with ‘Strides’.  Since I was the only person in the front row, I was up first.  I said that this would be my 3^rd year on the committee and 4^th overall, having walked the first year.  Then the rest of the room introduced themselves and it was done soon since we were a bit light in attendance. 

Allyson started by telling us how this year there would be 3 main “pillars” of involvement in the committee – “Strides Ambassadors”, “Event Committee” and “Event Leadership Team” or “ELT”. “Strides Ambassadors” would be - as the names states - the face of the committee, and would have speaking engagements, visiting various neighborhoods to post flyers, promotional activities at various community events and ‘Chicago Sky’ games etc.  The speakers would need to arrange for their own transportation to and fro from events, and that ruled me out.

The “Events Committee” folks would be responsible for the kickoff events and this year there would be 2 of them.  Instead of the usual breakfast, there would be an event in the ‘Southside’ of Chicago, and another in downtown, which would be more of a corporate event.  Prior and current team leaders would be invited for these events, along with participants and families.  Besides that, the committee would have to arrange for food and beverage donations etc.  The reason ‘Southside’ was chosen was because there are more families with teams from there and this was expected to truly be a family friendly event.  Other responsibilities of this team would be Volunteer coordination i.e. leading volunteers on the walk day – something I could do – and securing donations for their food – something I would not be able to do.  Finally, they would be tasked with developing family friendly activities and secure “in-kind” donations for that, such as a "face painter" etc. 

The “ELT” was close to what we were doing last year, perhaps even more.  All of the committee members on this team would have the most time commitment, including recruiting teams and sponsors, as well as participate in Advocacy.  Carrie mentioned that unlike the last couple of years, we would not be responsible for the “Survivor Tent” as ACS had partnered with a ‘Greek’ organization who would be acting as sponsors and one of their contributions was helping with the “Survivor Tent”.  Next was the discussion around the meeting schedule and for “Events” committee the meetings would start in July, whereas for “ELT” they would be starting in April.  We were expected to attend a certain number of meetings as per our commitment and then be available on day of the walk, which was October 24^th. 

The floor was now open for questions and since no one else was asking, I raised my hand.  I asked about the meeting schedule, since I would like to do, it but I may not be able to meet the attendance commitment.  Carrie said that the schedule would be decided by the members and I could influence that.  As part of the next steps we were to fill out a form similar to what we had done last year.  In that we would state our preference for the team that we wanted to serve on and the reasons for the same.  I saw that others were filling it out right there and so I did the same.  I wrote down my preference for “ELT” as well as mission activities and volunteer coordination.  I said that I was a “Primary Leader” with ‘Chicago Cares’ and so volunteer coordination should be easier for me.  Time was up and I told Vikki and Le’Loni that I would be after their title of “Volunteer of The Year” - they had won the award for last year.  It was wonderful to see everyone again after the break.  Now it time to get working, but first I have to wait for my assignment.  

Lakeview Seniors Bingo

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, March 30, 2015; 6:30-7:45 pm

I arrived early and saw that a new volunteer was trying to find her way around.  I told her to grab a seat near Josie and Holly and chat with them till Maureen arrived.  I looked around and saw that the room had been decorated for ‘Easter’.  The reason I had come early, was to go see Pearl.  She had sent me an email the previous week with a ‘Youtube’ link to an Indian Dance competition and I was looking forward to having a discussion with her.  I went upstairs, but her room was vacant and her name missing outside.  I guess she must have finally left and I sent her an email to confirm that.

I came down and got a seat next to Elmer, Jack, Larry and Jim, who was visiting once again.  I asked Jim what he liked about his new place and he described the nice view from his apartment. I said that it definitely beats the one of ‘Walgreens’ over here!  Elmer said that he was leaving soon as well to move to an assisted living facility.  I guess everyone is looking at Jim’s situation and longing for the same.  I said to Elmer that he should move to his native NYC and he said that his family is asking for him to do the same.  We then talked about our love for the city and how it was better than Chicago in some aspects. 

Howie

The dogs came in and we had all sorts here this evening, including a friendly ‘Beagle’ named Howie, who became Jim’s best friend since he was feeding him treats.  I asked Howie’s owner if he had been here before and she said yes, pointing out a gorgeous female dog who she said was Howie’s girlfriend.  I said that I don't blame him since she was indeed pretty.  I heard that many residents from 2nd floor - including Emma - couldn't come down since there was some work being done on the flooring.  I said that it was a shame that she couldn't be here and so went upstairs and try and get her, but saw that she was sleeping.

I came down and saw that the guys were enjoying some ‘Easter’ treats that one of the volunteers – who always sits with them and is their favorite – had bought for them.  Jack had a medal around his neck and it said "winner".  I asked him about it and he said that he had won it during a trivia game here.  His winning answer was to a question "what was General Eisenhower first name" and of all people he should know, since he had served in ‘WWII’.  We were off soon and just as 50 was announced, I looked at Kenny and he said that “Hawaii 5-0” will not be on this week due to ‘NCAA’ tournament, though it would be back on ‘CBS’ next week and that there were reruns on ‘TNT’. Trust Kenny to give us our TV update!

Larry won a round, but Elmer and I were having the most terrible luck, as were Jim and Jack.  I told Elmer that it was because we had praised NYC over Chicago and that we were now cursed. However, he finally won and thanked me for the encouragment. I asked what he would do with his winnings of $1 and he said that he would get ginger ale!  I chatted with Jim about ‘Sox’ and ‘Cubs’ prospects for the upcoming season, since he is a baseball fan.  One of the staff members came in to announce that some cars were being towed and while it wasn't anyone in this room; it could be one of the ‘Pet Therapy’ volunteers.   What a shame if that was to happen since it would spoil their experience.

Jack seemed to have given up after losing continuously but through encouragement from Jim and me, he gave it one more shot and won in the “lightening round”.  So did I, but wasn't going to announce it till Jim said "pass it to me".  The other volunteer told me that we are to give our winnings to the residents and I said "of course I know after all these years".  As Jim collected his prize, I wished Elmer goodbye since he was leaving and I may not see him again.  We reminisced about the time we had met at the ‘Get Crafty’ program.  He said that there had been a pretty girl called Olivia and he hadn't seen after that.  "If only I had taken her email or number", he said.  "And if only I had a nickel for every time I had thought that”, I replied! 

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

Young Scientists At McCormick

Location: McCormick Elementary School

Date: Saturday, March 28, 2015; 10:00 am-12:30 pm

I took an Uber to the school and arrived well ahead of time.  There was no sign of Maureen yet, but the other volunteers were already there.  So I got a few of them to help me pull down the tables and arrange the room, just as Maureen arrived.  Today’s theme was “Air Pressure” and besides some demonstrations, the main hands-on activity was making “Balloon Car Racers”.  Maureen needed some folks to help with the prep work, especially cutting cardboard boxes into car’s chassis.  I wanted to spend time with the kids and so did not volunteer to either help with the prep work or in leading a demo.  We learnt that one of the volunteers had a ‘PhD’ in Physics and Maureen said that he should probably do everything!

The kids arrived and I saw Nima and went over to chat with her.  I asked about the new things that she had learnt over the last couple of weeks, and she said something about doing a ‘Social Studies’ lesson where they studied “Cause and Effect”.  Wow!  That sounded way more advanced than anything that I had studied in the 4^th grade.  I asked her about that and she said that everything that happens has some effect on someone else.  Boy, she is smart.  Math worksheets were distributed and as usual Nima was quick to solve everything.  I looked over her answers and while there was an error or two, she was quick to understand when I pointed it out.  I also looked over worksheet of another girl next to me and she too had most of it done right.  She had some interesting colored stones with her on the table and I wanted to ask her about them, but didn’t get a chance.

Maureen asked everyone to pause since it was time for volunteer introductions and this time we had to introduce ourselves by saying what we did.  We got all sorts of responses ranging from Pharmaceutical research to music therapy for kids, to after school children’s program to even a pizza shop – which got the kids excited.  When it came time for the Physicist, Maureen said that we had an expert amongst us and then he led the kids on journey discussing ‘quantum physics’, ‘relativity’ and early universe - basically everything that a 4^th grader finds fascinating, but understands nothing.  I said that instead of any demo’s we should let this guy talk!  While everyone introduced themselves, Maureen overlooked me, which was perfectly fine since I wouldn’t have been able to beat the pizza guy anyways!

After the introductions Maureen asked the kids what the main rules were and they responded by saying things like “listen”, “raise hands to ask questions” and then one said “no stealing”, which cracked everyone up!  Maureen started the lesson by discussing air pressure, particularly how air is a gas.  She then talked about planes flying – thankfully skipping the ‘Bernoulli’s Principle’ part.  She had some toy planes which some volunteers flew to demonstrate gliding.  Next was a demo where Maureen put some paper on the open mouth of a plastic bottle and tried to push it inside by blowing on it.  The idea was to demonstrate that the paper will not go inside due to the air pressure in the bottle.  She invited several kids to do it and they were unsuccessful as well.  Then Maureen put a boiled egg on top of the bottle and obviously it would not go in.  She then lit a paper on fire inside the bottle and it created some sort of vacuum, drawing the egg inside it.  It was an excellent demo and the kids loved it.  Next activity was sticking cups to an expanding balloon – another experiment that we have done before.  Final demo was similar to the one we had done at ‘Adler’, a balloon rocket on a string.  The kids were excited about this one and this would now be our primer for the main activity of building a balloon powered car. 

While the kids took a break, Maureen said that we were to pair with two kids and build the cars.  Before they came back, I chatted with the volunteer who works in kid’s music therapy and discussed one of my favorite topics - music therapy for seniors in Nursing homes.  I asked Nima if she wanted to build the car with me and she nodded with a smile.  I also recruited another girl Ayesha for this activity and we retired to the back of the room.  I asked the girls to look over the instructions while I went to get the supplies - cardboard pieces, barbecue skewers, straws, tape, scissors and of course the balloon.

"Mr. Balloon"

I am never good at this and both girls were looking up to me for making the entire thing!  I used the mouth of plastic bottle to draw circles on cardboard and cut into wheels – which would have made ‘Fred Flintstone’ proud, since they weren’t exactly circular.  We had to then pierce them with skewers and I used a punch, which made huge holes, meaning that the wheels would not fit on the skewers.  So we had to make 4 more wheels and this time Ayesha helped me.  I got the skewers on the car with the straw as wheel axel and then used skewers to make holes on the wheels.  It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but at least the wheels were sticking well – though still not rotating as smoothly as we would like.  We then taped the balloon to a straw and mounted to the top of the car.  I blew into the balloon and we put the car down, but it would not move, all because of the jagged wheels.  I told the girls that if we got the wheels right, then our car would be fine.  Since that wasn’t going so well, I asked them if they wanted to draw on the car and they said yes.  So I asked them to get some markers and they started decorating, starting with the damned wheels.  Nima drew some balloons on the car and I said that we should call it “Mr. Balloon”.  They both agreed and so I wrote it down, and then drew some eyes and a mouth.  I said that we may not have a car that moves, but it certainly was the coolest. 

Maureen then organized a race and there were all sorts of cars going in all sorts of directions. Some didn’t move, like us, while some went far and some sideways.  There were even cars with innovative designs like multiple balloons, to give them additional thrust.  In the end Maureen handed some prizes – the toy planes from earlier, and then the kids left.  I asked Nima to take the car with her and she did.  Maureen did a reflection and there was some good feedback on how the kids were quite sharp.  I left after an interesting session, where we may not have been totally successful with our project, but still had lots of fun.

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

Adler After Dark

Location: Adler Planetarium

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

The title was ‘Vino Cosmica’, which means it would be a Wine themed evening.  Michael sent out the activities list and almost all were wine based, like corkscrew testing, bar tricks and something called “Sommelier Science”.  After arriving and checking in, I went upstairs to the classroom where everyone had assembled for pizza and sat next to a bunch of telescope guys who were in midst of a spirited discussion on God and the ‘Big Bang’.  We talked about planets and why the axis of Uranus is tilted by 90 degrees, which was owing to the collisions during the origins of the solar system.  They left soon and then I chatted with some of the staff members on ‘C2E2’ show in Chicago and how everyone dresses up in costume.  This conversation then led to the obvious discussion around shows like ‘Dr. Who’ and ‘Torchwood’.

It was all about the wine this evening

Michael soon called us all to order and assigned duties.  There was something called ‘Glass Harmonica’ where certain notes could be played depending on the volume of liquid in the glass and the type of the glass itself.  I said that I was “Tone Deaf” at which Michael said that he would definitely put me on that!  We went for a walk at 6 pm and guests had already started coming in.  We went into a classroom and there were various stations for the “Sommelier Science”.  First was taking a sample of the visitors wine and putting it inside the vacuum chamber to see if went flat after that.  Next were 2 tall cylinders of white wine, one of which was more fermented than the other, and by using a ‘hydrometer’ to measure ‘specific gravity’, we could tell which wine had the extra fermentation.  Then there was a station with ‘pH-paper’ to measure acidity of different wines, and another with several test tubes accompanied by a ‘universal indicator’, a drop of which in the visitors wine sample would help identify which of the test-tubes had wine, by comparing the colors.  Next was corkscrew testing where we would use the normal waiters corkscrew and attach a force measuring device to it.  After that we would try pulling it out with brute force and see how much it registers.  Then we would try the same by attaching it to the pulley of the corkscrew, which would require less force, and finally to a patented corkscrew opener which you rotated clockwise and which only required fraction of the force.  At one stage, my fellow volunteer Bob was trying to put the cork back inside the bottle and said, “It is too big for the hole”. Without missing a beat and with a straight face I responded, “That’s what she said”.

The next demonstration was “Bar Tricks” with wine on a very wobbly cart.  The first “trick” was trying to make a beaker of white wine invisible by immersing in another – similar to the trick with oil.  Another was exchanging water and wine by inverting a shot glass on another and separating by a flat card.  Once the card was pulled, the two liquids would exchange places owing to the difference in their density.  I was concerned about this one, especially with the mess that it was likely to cause…especially if I was doing it.  Finally, we went downstairs to the section with the historical artifacts and the “Glass Harmonica” experiment had been setup in the old classroom.  There were 2 sets of wine glasses with colored liquid filled up to different levels and using pencils, the guests could tap the glasses to get the notes they desired.  The best way was to wet your finger and run it around the rim.

Will all things seen, it was time for assignments and once Michael had done so, I was the only one remaining.  He asked me to stay at “Glass Harmonica” and help Bob - who had designed it - and grab a “pocket science” experiment while I was at it.  I said I could do my favorite, “Smelly Space”.  I went to the staff area and collected the bottles for Moon, Titan and Sagittarius; along with the spectroscopy tube, and went back to the classroom.  As people waited for their turn with the wine glasses, I did the “Smelly Space” experiment with a few groups.  As I had done previously, I would relate the experiment to sense of "smell" and "sight" and then say that they could continue exploring the sense of "touch" and "sound" with the “Glass Harmonica”…followed by "taste" with the beverage in their hand!

At 7 pm I was supposed to be at “Sommelier Science”, though I was running a bit late.  I wrapped up my activity and headed there, to find that the “Planet Explorers” Class room was full of people.  I went over to the ‘universal indicator’ station and muddled my way through an explanation for a trio of guys.  I then went over to the “fermentation station” with the ‘hydrometer’ and the 2 cylinders of wine.  This was an easier experiment for me to figure out.  I would ask the visitors if they knew what fermentation meant and there were all sorts of interesting responses ranging from, “Something with yeast” or “Converting yeast to alcohol” or “releasing CO₂”.  I would usually guide them to the right answer by asking a series of questions like, “what is fermentation usually associated with” – alcohol.  “What is wine made from” - grape.  “How does grape taste” – “sweet.  “What else is sweet” – sugar. “What is fermentation” - Conversion of sugar to alcohol.  People usually like this method of leading them to the correct answer.

Next, I would ask someone to volunteer and give them the ‘hydrometer’ to drop into one of the tubes of wine – carefully, because it was made glass and a sudden drop could break it.  Then they would take the reading, which was 0.99.  After that we would drop it in the 2^nd cylinder and the reading in that was 1.02.  So I would ask them which liquid had a higher “specific gravity” – the 2^nd one, meaning it had more sugar since 'specific gravity' was linked to 'density'.  The follow-up question was asking which one had a higher fermentation – the 1^st cylinder, since more sugar in that one had been converted to alcohol.   Finally I would ask them which one would they like to drink, and everyone would point at the one which had more fermentation.  I would then tell them that the entire point of the exercise was that, at which there would be laughter.

Some people asked me questions on the molecular formula of glucose, which I should really know since I wrote my damn thesis on it, but I couldn’t replicate it to save my life.  People really enjoyed this activity and I ran the routine for 2 solid hours – interrupted by a 10 minute attempt during which I tried to do the corkscrew pocket science while carrying a bucket of corks, bottles and the two openers.  I found a trio of ladies and try as we may I couldn’t get the cork in.  One lady said it was a composite and that I should find a real cork – which I did at the bar.  Even then I messed up the experiment and which I was struggling; she did most of the explaining to her friends with the new cork opener.  After this fiasco, I quit and went back in the classroom to continue with the experiment I was comfortable with. 

For the final hour of my shift I moved to ‘SVL’ and went straight to the ‘NUIverse’ table.  I was with another volunteer and Cynthia, who runs this room, was there to train her, meaning that I could see some features of the table that I had not seen before.  I ran the routine with some visitors and Cynthia said that I was doing it the right way, by encouraging people to touch the surface.  I did the table session with a few others and then it was time to leave.  I went to the staff room to drop off my stuff and left after chatting with Tom the telescope operator about potential end of the earth due to a solar flare.  Well, it had been a long session and what else were we going to talk about!