Moving In

My room!

Our 4 hour drive from training to our center in Brenton was rainy and FULL of really sharp curves, but we all made it safely. After unloading our bed frames (from the truck bed where they were, of course, soaked) we got the tour from our center directors, Stan and Jennie, and started moving into our apartment. This apartment is NOT the ASP that I am used to--air mattresses, sharing space, and only the basic necessities. ASP was able to remodel our apartment completely and now we have our own rooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen. And, since our fourth staffer is still in Mexico, we've turned her room into a yoga studio! Some of the materials in our apartment were given to ASP by the TV show Extreme Home Makeover since ASP helped with some of the episodes. (One is airing this Christmas!) Anyways, because of that we have flooring in our living room that looks like actual grass which is pretty bomb, and our kitchen has designer metallic splashguard around the walls, which also looks awesome. We are supposed to loft our beds and build closets underneath them, but we haven't gotten to that yet so we don't have a lot of clothes storage space. We put in all of our own doorknobs today and will be setting up all of our plumbing tomorrow--just some more on-the-job training!

Our living room

Our kitchen

For anyone who wants to send some snail mail letters or care packages or mix cds for all my long drives yet to come, I'll love you forever! My mailing address is:

ASP Guyan Valley
P.O. Box 455
Brenton, WV
24818


Tonight we drove around Brenton--this took all of 5 minutes--and found an auction that happens every Saturday night. We had high expectations to see some items with country character, but most of the stuff they sold were tacky flashlights or welcome mats. The auction was also great because they start high and then finally get it down to $2 or $3 when someone in the crowd feels awkward enough and they bid on whatever hand cleaner or sword-inside-a-cane is up for sale. We decided we'll go back often and try to fill our apartment with awesome $1 stuff.

Our center is right down the road from a huge coal mine--this industry is HUGE in this part of West Virginia--and we've already heard several radio ads promoting their governor's lawsuit against the EPA trying to avoid the new regulations on their coal production that have cut jobs. This is an issue that people are all over the place about because of all the different concerns--safety, environment, money, etc. I personally don't have a strong opinion either way but I think I would like to take some time this year to figure out my thoughts.

Right now I am content and happy and feeling at home. :)

A West Virginia sunset

"I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live." Ecclesiastes 3:12