Precious Turnovers

I feel like the whole month of September is an endless chant of Happy Birthday this year! It's smile-inducing, for sure, and a bit distracting from all the other projects I am working on, but a pleasant distraction... In particular, Saturday was the first day of Fall, and though it marks the season of dying leaves rustling on the ground and plunging temperatures, it also is the season of harvest and reaping hard-won rewards.

Let me take this moment now to give a shout-out to two of my favorite gals. MA out in Spain, doing her thing, Happy Bday! Cousin Di, congratulations on your baby boy yesterday! I am in awe and breathing a sigh of happy relief for you and your family. A very special first Happy birthday to little X!

Now to plan the greatest sale/giveaway/clothing swap of the season!

Putting One's Ear to the Ground

On Saturday Sept 15th I embarked on my first campaigning trip to PA. I hopped on a free bus that loaded up 120 people and drove us to West Philadelphia, a "battleground border state". The voter registration is of paramount importance to boost citizen response to the atrocious campaigning tactics of the other side, and to rally the sense of solidarity in this country that we need to re-engage the masses out of a cynical view of the state of America Today.

The most heartening things was walking around the university neighborhood of UPenn and coming across so many young women and men of varying backgrounds that were fired up and ready to vote again or FOR THE FIRST TIME for President Obama! To me, it means that they have been paying attention these last four years, and are already thinking for themselves beyond the hype of the media.

And then I saw this picture today on msnbc...
New US citizens Pledge Allegiance in front of 225-year-old Constitution

And another thought occurred to me, how it will be that much harder for the Republicans and extremist factions to engender policies serving a minority population when more and more of the country is BROWN. Legal, voting, stakeholders of a darker hue than even the forefathers could have predicted.

Somebody better recognize!

So Much Sadness...

I don't really write a lot about 9/11/2001 because for me it becomes such an issue fraught with political acrobatics and entitlements a lifetime in the other direction of the most important aspects of the event. It does matter that there is a true and balanced record of the event, that the truth from the intelligence side as well as from the emotional human interest sides have their fair airing for the world. I agree that the terrorists responsible should have a court trial and be forced to face the severity of their actions. I also believe that the powers that be had a grand opportunity to do better faster, and either looked the other way or were playing some kind of dangerous game of anti-diplomacy.

The point is that this story is not over and it opened up an entirely new chapter in America's legacy, and we are all responsible for how much attention we pay to what is important and what is utter distracting crap. Now more than ever Americans are responsible for being the most savvy, the most educated, the most well-rounded citizens of this earth, for the benefit of themselves and everyone they interact with. It is true that this is the greatest country, yet if we make the ill-advised decision to squander our capacity for good and justness, to choose ignorance and arrogance, to look the other way within our own damn borders, we have no hope of convincing the rest of the world looking at us in awe or contempt.

That is why I want to learn other languages as fervently as I want to share my command of English. That is why I am compelled to apply for the Foreign Service, even the Department of Homeland Security, although I sometimes worry and mistrust the actual agendas of such organizations. Just like the BBC report of the 23-year-long effort to exonerate the victims of the Liverpool Hillsborough Stadium crush disaster- and the government publicly apologized- where 96 people died but 41 could have been saved if ambulance, media coverage and police response and subsequent cover-up did not rip through that community spreading lies, doubt, division and cynicism about justice, there is still the well-tended fire in civilized modern times of the prevail of that same justice. The jihadists(funny, this word is coming up as incorrect according to the grammar settings. What is the correct option? Sadistic!) may defend their prophets with inexplicable violence and disregard for the value of human life to their same essential religious tenets, the left and right extremists and religious fanatics of all stripes will scream for blood and disenfranchisement to the ends of time, but there must and will continue to be the bold and sometimes taciturn few that answer the call to arms, to peace, to wisdom, to trial and experiment, to tactic and level-headed negotiation and strategy to keep humanity going one day, one year, one decade longer. One decade past September 11th. Three generations past World War 2/Hiroshima/Nagasaki/The Manhattan Project. 500 years since "the discovery of the New World" and the siege of mental/physical/environmental/slavery that we still fight against today.  Shall I go on? Not tonight, dammit.

The Personal Story

Why am I getting involved in this campaign and why should anyone else? This is the first main tier of Camp Obama, becoming a volunteer that invests in training and recruiting others. Being able to synthesize your reasons for getting involved from a gut level, usually consisting of a challenge or motivation, a decision being made to address said challenge or motivation, the results learned or achieved from that decision and the ultimate "moral" of the story. I am currently sitting in the central office wrapping up my volunteer hours for today and behind me is Camp Obama. I am on the fence a bit about going to this next leadership level, because it does require a lot of time commitment, and you really have to have your story straight. Not just your personal one, but also the scripts and teaching tools for recruiting others and convincing them to commit for the duration, follow-ups, strategy and brainstorming. I don't know that I have all of that within me, even though I would like to believe I have the capacity. I have to decide soon. It is exciting as it is to be involved in this process, but I have to admit I am selfishly motivated by boosting my resume. I have become a bit obsessed with this document of my post-academic accomplishments, scheming to find other ways to flesh it out and make it look shiny again. This job has gotten me so down at times, that I didn't even have the heart to look back at my work and academic history to compare it to where I landed three years ago.

I don't mean this to be a woe-is-me post, but actually a mental excercise to convince myself of my true value. I know it, it's within me, but lizard brain and romantic heart and frazzled stomach all try to pull me in different directions.

The bottom line is that my personal story comes from the exact frustration of not getting close enough to my academic focus and career goals after graduating with my Masters. Literally two months after graduating I was "downsized" with a severance package. Then I spent that summer and fall feeling like a loser and discourage from even pursuing anything else. I got my present job the following January, but I felt so far out into left field, and I didn't know how to turn myself around. Then 2010 brought the US Census project. That Spring and Summer I joined the forces canvassing East Harlem as an Enumerator. I tried really hard to get into a permanent position after that job ended. I did learn a lot about my neighbors and the state of people's lives. Undocumenteds living 13 in a two bedroom, all "cousins" of the head of household. Hispanics that insisted the Census questions had a racist bent for not considering them a race, while a light-skinned woman identifying as Puerto Rican checks off "black". America truly is great for giving voice to so many myriad identities, and still attempting to make sense of what that ultimately means for any future policy for the people.

This, and the one month I worked for a fundraising company that put us on the street for UNHCR and my subsequent crisis of faith in foreign aid, definitely prepared me for what I am doing now. Putting a literal ear to the ground of the constituents to find out what they care about. Reminding them that we are better off now than four years ago, and that the job for President Obama is not over, that it will take four more years and beyond to get us fully upright and dusted off from twelve years of backward policies and agendas.

And it's not for nothing, either, since I just recently have a lot more potential "food" on my plate, with the online Groupon deal I just "invested" in, I would soon be preparing  to take and intense online course and subsequent exam to get certified to teach English to foreigners. An accredited course from Cambridge University and Press, no less! I would literally be taking up an academic gauntlet thrown down by my uncles and father before me- a prized title from the UK itself. Dad has already suggested I get in touch with his old advisor at East Anglia University.

I am gearing up for the road ahead, riddled with rearranged schedules and long hours. And I will be asking for Sept 13th (Primary Election Day), November 5th and 6th off today. Just in case I do get that pollworker's position...

Training Days

Got a late start today, but I made my way to the central office of the Organizing Obama Campaign in NYC. My night was sorely interrupted by the loud pitiful cries of my neighbor's dog, who apparently spent the large part of the night outside of her shed. And I have reason to believe she was tied up outside, because even though the shed door was wide open, she was crying under my window, even when it started pouring two hours into our ordeal! I was so mad at 5am that I called 311 and left a message with ASPCA.

After oversleeping to compensate, I packed up my laptop and headed out to the midtown west office. It definitely is a workstation, with open space for chairs to be put in any necessary team formation, small desks manned by youthful and energetic staff and volunteers, and conference and office rooms along the far wall that alternated having their doors wide opened and closed for individual interviews with upper Field Organizers. It was exciting and a little bewildering to figure out what started when and who to report to or gain information from, but after a while of sitting around, I was given my directives for the day- learn VoteBuilder, the Democratic Party's database, and start entering call logs! I have worked with many databases before, so it did not take me long to get in the flow of this one (take that, resume!). My timing was off to perticipate in the voter registration training, but I have a general idea that that will take some more time. I think that since logistically I decided going to Virginia or Ohio for the next two months wouldn't really work with my budget plan, I will throw myself into a part-time fellows position, where I still have an opportunity to excercise leadership skills while balancing my job and job-searches and singing group.

In addition, MA just sent me a Groupon for an online accelerated TESOL course that would prepare me to take the certification exam offered by Cambridge. Got it! So definitely after this election I will be working on getting my hours logged towards teaching English as a second language. Sooo, excited now. I am really stepping outside of my comfort zone with some of this volunteering, but I feel that it is what I really need to do to prove to myself that I always had it in me. What's next, world?

When it rains....

Well damn....what did I go and get myself involved in?? Everything! Apparently! I will elaborate... Last week I was feeling a bit of the ole storm cloud depression, brought to me by my un-favorite lizard brain. My boss came back from his two-month hiatus, demanding progress reports and to-do lists, as if this was the measuring stick of all my hard-won successes while he was gone. I actually got fed up of wasting time writing up constantly cluttered lists when things always went off-list anyway. I started back last week to humor him, though, and attempt to make a paper trail of all the things I have been trying to get upper management to take responsibility for and facilitate me completing my job in a timely and organized manner. I would say I have had a 40% success rate with that....

So I decided to throw my energy more into looking for other types of work. I revamped my USAJOBS profile, tweaked the resume again and even started reshuffling my business card collection. At my Sunday volunteer shift with NYU's Recent Alumni Network last week, I met this cool Peruvian-American woman who works for DHS. She had just relocated back to New York from DC. She said she would get in contact with her friends in DC to see where I might have a chance. Something has really been talking in my head about being open and focused to the idea of possibly relocating for whatever job opportunity presents itself. I mean, in a way this is not a new idea, since last summer I have been gearing up to be overseas somewhere, but I didn't give as much thought to moving within the US. Every time I think about "the Midwest" I get mental hives and hyperventilation. This is in spite of my great effort to avoid stereotyping and prejudices from keeping my mind open. The place scares me, I admit. What's a Northeasterner with vibrant-bordering-on-opinionated-hair to do with my ideas and disposition in a place like Madison, Wisconsin, for instance??

But along came trustworthy craigslist, the fuel of choice for the bored, frustrated and yet determined day-worker. Apparently, there is one type of retail job at present that I can really get behind- The Tea Store. In this case, Teavana has an opening in an Elmhurst shopping center, and I can suddenly see myself as a Barista, serving and singing the praises of oolong and rooibos! Any extra form of income at present is welcome, but true to myself, I cannot get involved in anything else that sucks my soul dry... I must believe in it. These five words have been my mantra for the past two weeks. I guess that is how I found myself answering a MoveOn.org listserv email and went to Organizing Academy for Obama's 2012 campaign. At first I was considering aiming for a position as a Deputy Field Organizer, which would mean I would have to relocate to a "battleground border state" from mid-September until end of Election Day- Ohio or Virginia. That right there is an exciting and daunting possibility for me because on one hand it would liberate me from my present job, and really throw me into something infinitely more meaningful and motivating. On the other hand, I would have to be comfortable with uprooting myself financially and putting a lot of faith in the process working itself out without comforts of a familiar surrounding or routine- not to mention serious 12 to 15 hour workdays! I don't know if I am cut out for that AND hostile people that don't want to hear what I have to say.

So I decided that I would take an unpaid volunteer position in NYC, dedicating as many hours as I can manage to phone banking and voter registration strategy, which would give me a chance to really expand my community leadership and organization skills while also putting me in connection with interesting and influential people. i have already shared two business cards that feel like gold leaf in my hand! I feel like Mario jumping up for coins as I run full speed over the cracks in the sidewalk. We spent six hours training today and learning how to tell our personal stories to convince people to join the campaign of get involved, made a few phone calls, and brainstormed voter registration tactics. Tomorrow I will tote my computer into the main office to do some data entry, and use Google Voice to call people in Ohio. Not paid, but fulfilling and educational. Still waiting to hear back from the tea store and USA JOBS and various contacts, but in the meantime, I got something else simmering on the stove...