Cleaning & Gleening

These first three days of work: a lot of manual labor, icky bugs, plus a bit of the fun of driving a golf cart (with almost nonexistent brakes) around. We, the Housekeeping "core crew", started doing deep-cleans of the mass-use bathrooms and bath houses... yes, a 'deep clean' (albeit with the ecofriendly cleansers we use) since they haven't been touched since last October: dried leaves, mold, and well-established spiders abound! I must say, I'm actually getting pretty blasse about spiders -- no small feat, considering my lifelong phobia of them.

The food is still really really yummy and really good for us - all organic and whole. I'm also pretty much drinking tons of water and abnormal amounts of hot tea.
[SpoilerAlert: Do NOT continue reading if you can't handle talk of biological functions!]
I think I've discovered that something in the Ginger Carrot Tofu salad-dressing they make here gives me super-dooper stomach gas. It must be the Tofu. (Nevertheless, that salad dressing is so tasty!) The other day, I walked, a-tootin' all the way, down to the little lake after dinner -- the squirrels went a-scurrying and the geese headed towards the water. I sat in the lifeguards tall chair, looking out onto the lake and listening to all the various sounds--besides my own! Frogs (tons of 'em around there - very vocal), Geese teasin' each other and splashing about, little nippy birdies by the water's edge talking in their high-pitched tweats, the dull throb of a basketball being bounced far away. But eventually, the very feisty mosquitoes and gnats drove me away. I had tried to coexist peacefully with them but it just got too uncomfortable being assaulted at any point of exposed skin or nostril or ear, even THRU my pants. Plus I was getting cold. And I was already tired.

But alas, all was not lost by my solitary trip to the little lake because, since I'd been releasing my gas all along the path and up in the lifeguard stand, my stomach was feeling much better. :)

Now it's Saturday and we, in housekeeping, have this weekend and next weekend off! The only time that'll happen all season. I want to make the most of it! But the last couple days I've woken up with a really sore throat. Throughout the day yesterday the fresh air (and hard work) got me feeling fine; hopefully, the same will be true today. Today, however, I've got a not-so-fun task at hand: despite the beautiful, warm sunshine outside, I've GOT to DO MY TAXES! I fear that I might not have all the papers I need, but we'll see.

It'll be pretty quiet this weekend. Most of the ladies in my dorm - "the ol' ladies" we call ourselves - have gone away for the weekend. In fact, the one woman I've bonded most with - we just seem to get along the best so far - will be gone this weekend. So, I'll probably be a bit lonely. But that should still be good. I will of course relish the alone time. And maybe finally get this Tax Monkey off my back!

At some point, I might drive into Rhinebeck town or go back to Kingston to shop. I've been wanting to stock up on some red wine -- would be a lovely way to wind down the days here, to just have a glass o' vino. It's not forbidden here. In fact, when I told my ladies of my plan to get some wine, several of them asked if they could "go in" on a case with me!

As far as taking the car out to do anything, there are a couple guys I drove into Kingston the other night who would love to take another "road trip" to town. So I can almost always find someone to buddy up with when going to town.

On Monday, so much will change, yet again, because the rest of the full-time seasonal staff -- about 35 more people-- will be arriving and moving into campus. I'm actually NOT Totally looking forward to that; I'm comfortable the way it is now. I don't know everyone here already but I'm totally comfortable. Comfortable with my alone time, comfortable with my together (mostly at meals) time, comfortable with my surroundings.

So please, if you could, just wish me well on staving off or combatting this throat thing (probably my body trying to have a sinus infection or something). I just CANNOT get sick! Before I came here, I boosted my immune system by getting tons of sleep, doing weekly acupuncture, monthly massages, etc. etc. But now I don't have those 'crutches'. On the other hand, I'm living more healthily, with regular whole, good foods, usually plenty of sleep, and a lot of physical labor and walking and breathing. So, we shall see.

PS: If you want to know what cleaners we use, being that we're mindful of ecology and such, here are the concoctions we use:

Tea Tree Oil & Water -- for almost any surface (except mirrors/windows); great for leaving a spritz to prevent continual mold growth

Citrosol & Water -- for almost any and all surfaces (except mirrors/windows); just spritz on and wipe off with dry or wet cloth

Vinegar & Water -- for mirrors and windows; spritz on, wipe off with either small rag or newspaper (if you have it)

Murphy's Oil Soap & Water -- mostly just for wood surfaces; might need to be rinsed and wiped more than the likes of citrosol

Pumice stone -- to take water/rust/mineral stains off of porcelain, like inside toilets

For mopping floors, we always do a sweep with a broom and dustpan, then attach an old but clean towel to the bottom of a flat metal thing at the end of a stick. We spritz the floors, usually with our diluted Citrosol, then just go wall to wall, using your "elbow grease" (well, really your ARM muscles) to swipe the "mop" over the floors. The towels will get almost black with dirt. It's amazing! Then you just will wash the towels later.
No need to go buy a bunch of different devices and chemical concoctions!

So, now you know.

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." -- Mahatma Gandhi