back by popular demand.

i thought i had retired from my short lived career as a blog-ista. my last post had all of the good components of a final entry: it was reflective; it took you on an emotional rollercoaster; but mainly, it described my last day at Fareshare. naturally, it took me by surprise when people kept asking when i'd leave my final markings on the world wide web. so here's one last update on the adventures of hilary o'neil:

i had a wonderful time gallivanting around europe for a couple of weeks. to check out the children's camp brian gordon, krista caballero, and i worked at, click here.

happenstance (and outrageous train tickets) brought me to the edinburgh fareshare depot one balmy tuesday morning. wow, what a difference. the operations are the same across the UK but the traffic's not. i could not believe it took an hour and a half to complete our first route. with traffic, it's at least 40 minutes for our first drop regardless of where we are in the city which really limits who we can deliver to.

my favorite part was the delicious lunch. fareshare edinburgh is unique among the depots because it offers once a week cooking classes for people transitioning into a more permanent living facility. after eight weeks, participants have mastered a variety of basic meals such as spaghetti bolognese, tuna casserole, and chicken with vegetables. with four individual cooking stations, each novice chef prepares their own meal following a simple recipe. at the end of the class, everyone is invited to partake in a scrumptious meal. i completely forgot about the social aspect that comes along with cooking and eating a meal together. a lot of these folks have spent their lives eating in soup kitchens as social outcasts. it's amazing to see how a simple cooking class builds an extraordinary amount of confidence socially and within the kitchen.

of course, i couldn't leave FareShare behind me. its like that catchy 80s song by naked eyes "there's always something there to remind me". i smiled each time i discovered a small connection to fareshare. the conference center we stayed at for the first week at camp made a christmas donation to one of the charities we donate food to in london. at another location, i saw a delivery truck for a produce company that kept us with a constant supply of fresh veggies. i thought i was done once i returned state-side until i exchanged summer stories with a good friend over pokey sticks (which were, and will always remain heavenly in a clog your arteries type of way). she interned in the international auditing department for pricewaterhousecooper. her major client: sodexo, a major corporate donor for fareshare.

lastly, i think the majority of the friends and family reading this will be happy to know i finally found my direction in life on my very last night in london, about twelve hours before i was due at gatwick airport to catch my plane back to the good ol' u.s.a. it was exactly like the cartoon shows where a lightbulb turns on near the character's head. i'm building it up but the majority of you will just shake your head and say "duh!". it was right in front of me the entire time....

this truly was a summer to remember.
thanks for reading.
hilary