summer days...

It is 3 months to the day since I've last logged on. Sorry, Sara! (And of all people...you even lived 5 blocks away from me all summer :) )

I've been living out of a suitcase in a Salvation Army Church in Toronto, directing a mission site for 70 teenagers weekly. I've been living simply: 1 shower/week, a suitcase and minimal sleep on an air mattress. And I still feel like I have so much. Talking with a homeless friend who camps outside of a street church has taught me that an air mattress is much comfier than concrete. I have guilt for my ungrateful complaining that I am enduring Taco Tuesday for the 30th time in a row-- because at least I have food; that I have no place to call my own-- but I can lock my door without the worry of rape; that I haven't showered in 7 days-- but I can wear semi-clean clothes. I am living a comparatively luxurious life.

There was one major low to my summer: My first trip of the summer to Sam's Club (the oversized Wal-Mart). As I walked in the doors, the greeter cried, "Ann! It's good to see you again!"...and then a manager looked up, with recognition, saying "Ann! What have you been up to!" And another...and another. My question is this: HOW IN THE WORLD HAVE I BECOME A MUCH-LOVED CUSTOMER OF WAL-MART? I hate that corporation!! I suppose it's because my job forces me to shop at Sam's Club for 1 000$ worth of food on a weekly basis...but still. I felt like I was a hypocrite, preaching an Anti-WalMart Utopia, but I've obviously shaken hands with the devil.

For those of you who thought I died, I am alive and well. I am now moving to Toronto semi-permanently, transferring my bohemian life into Sara G.'s basement appartment. We even have basil plants to make a pesto dinner if ever anyone feels like visiting!