Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Over 10 years ago when I was winding down in my Bachelor's program I decided that I was going to do what I couldn't do when I began college--I was going to move away from home. Like really move away; somewhere where I didn't know anybody and had no family nearby; begin a life that sounded more exciting than my own, but most importantly do Americorps work which would allow me to give back and help others. After talking to a friends brothers, who were then themselves immersed in Americorps work, I read and reread the Catholic Network of Volunteer Service 's RESPONSE book, writing down my top 15 choices, narrowing it down to 10, 5, and then 3. Fortunately my first choice of Nome, Alaska fell through at the last minute and I wound up in Monterey, Massachusetts, but more specifically working at Gould Farm . Reading their website will give you a great picture of the wonderful things this place does, and because I am due back in the kitchen soon--I'm part of a team prepa...

There is no way to explain the farm, but I think I gave an explanation of it, on this blog . I have been here for almost a month and have already fallen back into the luxury of the the area. There are so many things that I missed about the Farm when I left, and some things that made me crazy 3 years ago (when I left), that still make me crazy. This is definitely no Utopia, but it is close enough to perfect for me (right now)...and that is all I can ask for in this lifetime. I took a Staff position as a Kitchen Assistant, which means I help put out 4 meals each day. Breakfast, Lunch, Tea Snack ( a 96 year old tradition!) and Dinner. But, in putting out the meals every day, we staff lead a team of "guests," which is a term referring to our "patients" here at the Farm. The guests suffer from a wide array of mental illness; ranging from schizophrenic disorders to bi-polar disorder or depression, etc. The purpose of guests coming to the Farm is not only to seek out trea...