May 31

Fridays are quite busy at the senior center. At the end of each week we get an abundance of extra breads, pastries, and other food items from local places. We spent a lot of our time today organizing all these extra things. Some we put into bags for the seniors to take home, some we were giving out for them to eat then and there, and other things were being saved for the events they have on Saturdays. I got a short break from doing that and got to participate in Lynn's exercise class. Once that was over, it was time to start getting ready for lunch. We served everything quickly but cleaning up took a little while longer since Jackie wasn't there. 

May 30

Today the first thing I did with Lynn was go to the Boro Hall to help her make double sided copies. She said she had gone the day before, but simply could not figure out how to work the copy machine. I realized you only had to push one button and you were set. It was cool to go upstairs at the Boro Hall and see where the mayor works. Then when we got back, it was time for "Walk at Work" day. Lynn led the seniors for a walk around the track. While she was doing that, she wanted Jackie and I to stay there and answer any phone calls and to take lead if anything were to happen to anyone who was still at the center. It felt good to know that she trusted us enough to leave us with that responsibility. Once that was done, it was time for lunch and we set up for it, served it, and then cleaned up afterwards.

May 29

Today the first thing Jackie and I did was take a CVS shopping cart back to CVS because a senior brought it to the center and then it started raining, so she couldn't do it herself. Lynn got a new computer monitor and was unsure how to set it up, for after a little while of moving things around and trying to plug in different wires, Jackie and I were able to figure it out. Lynn called us her I.T. girls. Afterwards, we cleaned the around the office because after moving everything around we noticed it was pretty dusty. We also got rid of some boxes and papers that had been in the supply closet to make room for other things. We took them out because luckily the garbage men were picking up papers. Then we set up for lunch. Lunch today was easy because it was all cold food, so there was less to clean up. 

May 24

Today Jackie and I began labeling all the chemicals in the kitchen, but then we were in for a surprise. Teaneck's senior center had a gas leak, so we got all of their food. There was SO much food to prepare. We had a double amount of everything. Not only that, but every Friday the senior center gets donations of extra food and desserts. We had to spend most of the day getting ready for lunch and setting everything up. Lucky for us, we got to take pastries and bread home. Everything was so good! With a few minutes of spare time, Jackie and I joined in on the exercise. Lynn was so thankful to have us, because with all that food she wouldn't have been able to get everything ready as quickly as we did. Although we had a lot to do, it made the time go by quickly.

May 23

The first thing Jackie and I did today was put the names of the cleaning supplies the senior center had on labels, and then listed their hazardous chemicals and case numbers on labels next to the names. It was pretty easy since we did all the hard work finding the chemicals and case numbers for them yesterday. After that we went to the kitchen to put bread for everyone's lunch in bags. By then it was ten o'clock and the exercise class was about to begin. Jackie and I were allowed to join in again and realized we were surprisingly feeling a burn from it. Once that was over we set up for lunch again and served it to everyone. Clean up took a little longer than it did yesterday because today they had barbecue chicken, and getting the sauce off of everything was a hassle. But overall it was a relaxing and easy day.

May 22

Today Jackie and I focused mostly on trying to find the chemical names that are in the cleaning supplies and listing their code numbers. Some products were simple and listed everything we needed on the bottle while others we had to look for online. It took us awhile to complete the task because some websites didn't give all the information we needed. Eventually, we got it all done and Lynn was extremely excited. She said if she had to do it on her own it would have taken her a long time and that would mean putting other things she needs to do on hold. Jackie and I were able to do it in a matter of about two hours. Once we were done with that, it was time to set up for lunch. I think Jackie and I really have gotten the hang of things because we were done serving and cleaning up much faster than we were the past two days. I also think the seniors who go there are used to us being around, they always refer to us by our names and ask us a lot of questions, most if them being about college and what we want to do when we grow up. 

May 21

When I arrived today, Lynn explained to me and Jackie that the chemicals in cleaning products needed to be displayed according to New Jersey law. We spent some time writing them down, but there were other important things to take care of. We had to help out in the kitchen like we did yesterday. But then we did something more fun; Lynn held an exercise class for the seniors and let us be apart of the class. She says she hopes that if we take the class and learn how to run it, we could teach the class ourselves, which is something I would really enjoy doing! All the women taking the class seemed to be really enjoying  themselves, and it was fun to watch them and listen to them sing along with the music. They were all talking to me and Jackie and were all so kind and friendly. To end the day, we once again helped serve lunch then we cleaned up afterwards. 

May 20

Being that today was the first day of senior service, I was unsure as to what I should expect. When I got there, the first thing I did was help in the kitchen so they would be ready for lunch. Lynn, the director of the senior center, said she really needed people to work in the kitchen, so was really excited that Jackie and I were volunteering there. After doing that, we rearranged the books they had to make them neat and easily accessible. Then came time for lunch, so we helped put the meals together and then we served them to all the seniors. When everyone finished eating, we served a cake because it was Rosemarie's, a seniors, birthday and her son brought it to surprise her. Finally, we cleaned everything up and our work day was over.