the old-school guestbook archives
my amazon wish list... my favorite astrologer... my favorite artist... yerba mate revolution! erowid: a travel guide for interior journeys... no more war: MoveOn.org United for Peace and Justice True Majority seek the truth: Common Dreams Unamerican Activities The Nation people I adore, diaries I read: rev.raikes ariana cubiclegirl epiphany glitter333 laurakay wammo the music: the asylum street spankers backyard tire fire blue highway bill camplin wendy colonna freedom tribe joules graves guy forsyth band hamsa lila hanuman libby kirkpatrick leftover salmon pamela means medeski martin & wood the motet the nice outfit nickel creek open road rose polenzani railroad earth south austin jug band string cheese incident taarka tha musemeant the devil makes three tim o'brien band trolley wild sage keller williams yonder mountain string band |
it's all happening... ~ January 16, 2003 - 11:04 p.m. I went underground for a while. that's how it feels, anyway. my parents were in cuba (they do things like that), and I had the house to myself. I just dropped out of sight, let go, inhabited the dreamworld for a few days. and then I dragged myself up and out, turned off the tv, and started trying to get my life together. and there's just too much to write about that. I spent some time trying to be there for my sister and her kids. my sister, who's been a single mom for ten years, who recently found out that the love of her life was cheating on her for at least a month. her two beautiful kids, who fight so much that it makes both of us ache, remembering our own childhoods. family. I give what I can, on the rare occasions when I'm in town. and now that my folks are back from cuba, I'm helping out my mom too, filling in a position at her non-profit for a little while, helping to fill the gap until they can find someone permanent. it works out for me too, because I do need the cash, and it's not a bad job at all. I started today. my job is to meet up with a group of folks at the day reporting center and take them around town to sites where they perform community service. the day reporting center is a very cool thing, and my mother is largely responsible for making it happen. it creates an alternative to jail when judges in milwaukee are handing down sentences. someone who commits a crime-- especially the stupid, non-violent stuff-- can be sentenced instead to the day reporting center, where they can get job skills training, a GED, anger management, substance abuse counseling-- all kinds of things to help them out of the place they're in. most crimes are rooted in poverty and desperation, and the addictions that those conditions breed. the day reporting center attempts to address that. the community service component that I'm working with helps to reconnect our clients with the community in a positive way, while building self-esteem and job skills. that's the ideal, anyway. I had fun with the group I went out with today. we went down to the food pantry and helped them with cleaning and sorting. it's not a bad job at all, and I'd probably be willing to do it for longer if I wasn't leaving the country. but I am, in something like two weeks. and in the meantime, besides my gig at the day reporting center, I'm doing some contract work for TravelingEd, writing grants. I'm pretty psyched about that, although I'm getting the sense that doing both jobs at the same time is going to be more challenging than I'd imagined. I forget sometimes, how going to a job every day can exhaust you. it's not for long though. on the 24th, I'm taking the train out to seattle to visit with clare and the baby for a couple of days. and on my 30th birthday, I'm flying to bangkok, and then on to laos. I'm tired, I am. but life just keeps on happening...
(((rings))) |