Sunday, September 2, 2012

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...

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