I leave NorCal the day after tomorrow. I'll be heading back to the Midwest, which I'll be treating as home base to recover from this 13 month detour. I hope to keep busy until September, when I start grad school. Some people tell me I should travel, but I feel it would be more important to fill this five month gap between now and school with professional work, paid or not.
Gaps on resumes evoke suspicion from prospective employers. They assume the worst. If you have been unemployed for more than several months, the professional world assumes you've given up on being responsible, taken up some form of low-grade heroin and therefore cannot cooperate in an office environment. So the trick is to find something to do that will make you look busy.
Right now I'm packing up books, clothes and other curiosa to ship back to my family.
Last week, my Dad and I did a small west coast road trip, going from San Simeon all the way up to Arcata. We got ten miles before the Oregonian border and then turned back, unaware that we could have turned the trip into a multi-state experience.
California is an amazing place if you do not have to work for a living. No wonder so many wealthy people live out here. If you work a full time job it's less exciting, and if you're unemployed it's about as shitty as the rest of the country.
This is turning into a thought stream, so I'll leave it at that.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Late Society
I'm technically done. I have committed a full year of national service as a VISTA, during which I have built capacity for a small non-profit organization. I think I did make an impact (with some luck and very patient co-workers) since the number of full time staff tripled as a result of all the grant applications I prepared.
Okay, when I say tripled I mean going from 1 to 3, and not counting myself since I am a government sponsored volunteer and not on the company payroll. And I say "technically done" since they are trying to keep me on for a few more weeks.
Before I leave for real I need to give a comprehensive, staff-wide training on how to use our website, our CRM, and how to train our next VISTA (coming in April). I am relieved that I will not have to train the new VISTA, since I would probably end up scaring her(probably a her, since I was the first male VISTA for my organization).
I scare Californians. It's actually kind of fun. Firstly, I talk clearly but fast. This scares Californians because their brains operate slower than others, and talking to them quickly or even at a normal pace reminds them of that proven, biological fact. Secondly, I do not smile constantly. In the minds of Californians that makes me an axe murderer.
But most importantly, I am a young American that does not automatically honor my elders. Considering the popular concerns these past few months (or even years) I have concluded that I do not owe the baby boomers anything grand. Since a majority of Californians are pushing 60 if not there already, this makes my lack of honoring very frightening.
This feeling goes beyond California as well.
Back in 1964, during a speech to students at the University of Michigan, President Johnson dubbed members of my parents' generation as part of a Great Society. Providence selected these young people to carry on the late president Kennedy's vision for the country and the world. The Great Society would fight poverty, and take advantage of the abundance of Post-War America for the purposes of doing good. By 1964 the Peace Corps was initiating their first round of graduates and in the following year, Johnson would send the first VISTAs into impoverished communities throughout the country to work with organizations committed to getting low/no-income citizens on their feet. The Civil Rights Act and the Poverty Programs (VISTA etc.) were the first big steps towards what we considered a more perfect union.
Then 4 years later, under the influence of War, Anti-War, and vapid, ideological excuses for getting laid and toasted, the Great Society quit their jobs for an indulgent severance package consisting of temporary releases for everyone's taste. Sex, Drugs, Rock music, Mega-Religion, Private Schools, and Driveways.
And now, after 40 years of feeding themselves and their children from this gift basket they're finally beginning to feel guilty.
Good. Fuck 'em.
I'm happy they're feeling guilty. It was guilt that recently elected the kind of president we were supposed to have 40 years ago.
The boomers were supposed to be the Great Society, and they turned into the Late Society. The baby boomers (and a good number of their descendants) have been late for everything. Late for their commitments; late for their children's welfare; late on their credit payments. The only thing they (especially Californians) are not late for is a good time. Their priorities over the last 40 years are now naked while my generation struggles to work 60-80 hours a week for less money with no secure retirement for ourselves. And all they do is smile constantly and want to be our friends.
Well, I guess a Late Society is better than no society. I am tired of feeling angry. I am thankful that the Late Society turned in their gift baskets, but they only did that because they all ran dry.
So my message is this: Thanks, but I still don't owe you anything.
Valete
Okay, when I say tripled I mean going from 1 to 3, and not counting myself since I am a government sponsored volunteer and not on the company payroll. And I say "technically done" since they are trying to keep me on for a few more weeks.
Before I leave for real I need to give a comprehensive, staff-wide training on how to use our website, our CRM, and how to train our next VISTA (coming in April). I am relieved that I will not have to train the new VISTA, since I would probably end up scaring her(probably a her, since I was the first male VISTA for my organization).
I scare Californians. It's actually kind of fun. Firstly, I talk clearly but fast. This scares Californians because their brains operate slower than others, and talking to them quickly or even at a normal pace reminds them of that proven, biological fact. Secondly, I do not smile constantly. In the minds of Californians that makes me an axe murderer.
But most importantly, I am a young American that does not automatically honor my elders. Considering the popular concerns these past few months (or even years) I have concluded that I do not owe the baby boomers anything grand. Since a majority of Californians are pushing 60 if not there already, this makes my lack of honoring very frightening.
This feeling goes beyond California as well.
Back in 1964, during a speech to students at the University of Michigan, President Johnson dubbed members of my parents' generation as part of a Great Society. Providence selected these young people to carry on the late president Kennedy's vision for the country and the world. The Great Society would fight poverty, and take advantage of the abundance of Post-War America for the purposes of doing good. By 1964 the Peace Corps was initiating their first round of graduates and in the following year, Johnson would send the first VISTAs into impoverished communities throughout the country to work with organizations committed to getting low/no-income citizens on their feet. The Civil Rights Act and the Poverty Programs (VISTA etc.) were the first big steps towards what we considered a more perfect union.
Then 4 years later, under the influence of War, Anti-War, and vapid, ideological excuses for getting laid and toasted, the Great Society quit their jobs for an indulgent severance package consisting of temporary releases for everyone's taste. Sex, Drugs, Rock music, Mega-Religion, Private Schools, and Driveways.
And now, after 40 years of feeding themselves and their children from this gift basket they're finally beginning to feel guilty.
Good. Fuck 'em.
I'm happy they're feeling guilty. It was guilt that recently elected the kind of president we were supposed to have 40 years ago.
The boomers were supposed to be the Great Society, and they turned into the Late Society. The baby boomers (and a good number of their descendants) have been late for everything. Late for their commitments; late for their children's welfare; late on their credit payments. The only thing they (especially Californians) are not late for is a good time. Their priorities over the last 40 years are now naked while my generation struggles to work 60-80 hours a week for less money with no secure retirement for ourselves. And all they do is smile constantly and want to be our friends.
Well, I guess a Late Society is better than no society. I am tired of feeling angry. I am thankful that the Late Society turned in their gift baskets, but they only did that because they all ran dry.
So my message is this: Thanks, but I still don't owe you anything.
Valete
Friday, December 12, 2008
Growing Pains
A lot happened to my two-bit NPO in the past month and a half.
I applied for more money, even though we have "enough". We hired a new person for program management and we are hiring someone to do some coordinating in our region of California (we have two other offices covering a Central Valley region and Central ans Southern Coast Region). We also got new computers.
My grant applications were nothing new, but the other two items were less than ignorable. Firstly, our program manager needed to be brought up to speed with the whole spiel of the organization, including me explaining our CRM, CMS, RPCs, and the sheet that explains all those acronyms. Secondly, our computer upgrade was a handful.
We hired someone to work with our computers off of a recommendation from someone else. He ended up having his own vision for the office that conflicted with ours. As a result, he spent more time in the office than needed (over a month!), charged us far more, and left in fumes telling us that our new machines sucked and that we were practically doomed. Then we found someone else who was much more patient and fixed all our problems in one afternoon. Sigh.
Organizational growth is like constant puberty. It's painful and at times blemishes show up. In fact, growing organizations do not escape from problems they had as smaller organizations. They just end up trading in an earlier set of problems in exchange for a newer set of problems. We now offer more loans, have a growing networks of professional consultants, are wrestling with new technology and end up suffering more in the name of efficiency.
But, the advantage of being a VISTA is that I'll be out of there in a handful of weeks and, since THEY weren't paying me, whatever storms I helped create can be left behind. I am trying to see what I will do for the seven months I have between the end of this gig and grad school. Hopefully something that pays...
I applied for more money, even though we have "enough". We hired a new person for program management and we are hiring someone to do some coordinating in our region of California (we have two other offices covering a Central Valley region and Central ans Southern Coast Region). We also got new computers.
My grant applications were nothing new, but the other two items were less than ignorable. Firstly, our program manager needed to be brought up to speed with the whole spiel of the organization, including me explaining our CRM, CMS, RPCs, and the sheet that explains all those acronyms. Secondly, our computer upgrade was a handful.
We hired someone to work with our computers off of a recommendation from someone else. He ended up having his own vision for the office that conflicted with ours. As a result, he spent more time in the office than needed (over a month!), charged us far more, and left in fumes telling us that our new machines sucked and that we were practically doomed. Then we found someone else who was much more patient and fixed all our problems in one afternoon. Sigh.
Organizational growth is like constant puberty. It's painful and at times blemishes show up. In fact, growing organizations do not escape from problems they had as smaller organizations. They just end up trading in an earlier set of problems in exchange for a newer set of problems. We now offer more loans, have a growing networks of professional consultants, are wrestling with new technology and end up suffering more in the name of efficiency.
But, the advantage of being a VISTA is that I'll be out of there in a handful of weeks and, since THEY weren't paying me, whatever storms I helped create can be left behind. I am trying to see what I will do for the seven months I have between the end of this gig and grad school. Hopefully something that pays...
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Change I Need
Okay, I think as long as I do not mention names, then I can get away with writing about politics from an unbiased point of view as a service member. No new blog required. Besides, finding the time to follow one blog let alone write one is difficult enough.
But first, I would like to mention I took my trip to Yosemite, which was definitely necessary. It was a nice change from my usual week in, week out routine with work. I took the Green Tortoise travel bus, which is one of those typical, intentional community travel coaches that force strangers to meet each other. I got the hang of it. Each traveler helps out in preparing meals and cleaning up. The seating on the bus converts to beds for sleeping.
I hiked down Glacier Point, up and down Lembhert Dome, saw Mono Lake and broke my "no liquor ever again" rule. There were travelers from England, Ireland, Israel, Australia, Siberia. I proposed we sit around the campfire and play several rounds of telephone. The results were hilarious.
So a vacation was definitely the change I needed.
But I am now back at work. So maybe it was not the change I needed. Of course, I joined AmeriCorps* VISTA and moved to California because there was not much happening for me in Michigan. Plus, my high school friends in New York have their own thing going for them, and the places I'd like to live and work are either impossibly affordable or in Denmark. Why Denmark? Because it's BORING. I like boring. Especially during this election year, with all the punditry and masturb-oratory out there, I feel I could live in a Lackluster Democracy rather than a Blockbuster Democracy.
So now on to the letters on politics. In previous posts I have talked about taxes, environmentalism, activism, national service and other nuggets of pleasurable annoyance. Since I may not get a chance to post something else before November 4th, This could be my last chance to put in my timely two cents. This is the Epistle about Change I was forecasting in past posts.
The most important issue I feel is the one that is most ignored or not realized. The generational issue. From what I learned in High School, my parents' generation, the Baby Boomers, were in the middle of the supposed change that took place in the 1960's and 1970's. Generationally speaking, for the Baby Boomers, this change pitted themselves against the older established institutions. Therefore their situation was a case of young people against old people.
This is not what I see today with the issues that are on the table. Instead of the case of young people against old people, I see a battle of old people against old people - at the EXPENSE of young people. The Baby Boomers are now the old, but still believe they are the young, which explains why my generation is not center stage on the issues that effect the country as a whole. It explains why so many young people are either wholly dependent upon the Boomers for their sustenance, or wholly destitute, being abandoned by Boomers for selfish reasons.
I believe, though the Boomers think they are still young, they are aware of their own mortality. They are no longer ignorant of the burdens that they will leave their children. Which is why they cling to the idea of change differently than younger Americans.
Eric Hoffer makes a distinction between a Mass Movement and a Practical Organization. The Mass Movement appeals to people who feel they have something to atone for, while a Practical Organization appeals to people who are interested in "self advancement". Considering this current Presidential and Federal election, young Americans should be seeking self advancement collaboratively, but instead they are overshadowed by their parents' desire for a Mass Movement. The Boomers want a Mass Movement because they are aware of the burdens they are leaving their children, and will be voting for the candidate that promises "Change" because they want to quickly mitigate any feelings of remorse or guilt for what they have done over the past forty years.
"There is a fundamental difference between the appeal of a mass movement and the appeal of a practical organization. The practical organization offers opportunities for self advancement, and its appeal is mainly to self-interest. On the other hand, a mass movement, particularly in its active, revivalist phase, appeals not to those intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but to those who crave to be rid of an unwanted self. A mass movement attracts and holds a following not because it can satisfy the desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation." (Hoffer, The True Believer pg. 12)
The presidential candidate who wins will win because voters were seeking self renunciation. The past two presidents were Baby Boomers themselves, and both of them demonstrated the kind of unwanted self that that generation has only now just come to sense. The excesses of the Boomers from both ends of the political spectrum, from liberal to conservative, from sex to war, have been demonstrated from the national pulpit. The Change they need is an object, an indulgence that will purify them from everything they have done over the last 40 years.
As a young American, I feel that this country will change when other young Americans realize that there are very few opportunities for self advancement. Our educations fail to empower us, and our teachers come from the very group of people who are leading the darker side of this push towards "change", a mass movement that they only pursue for forgiveness. Wait until late next week, and I am sure young Americans will still not be credited for whatever happens.
Valete
But first, I would like to mention I took my trip to Yosemite, which was definitely necessary. It was a nice change from my usual week in, week out routine with work. I took the Green Tortoise travel bus, which is one of those typical, intentional community travel coaches that force strangers to meet each other. I got the hang of it. Each traveler helps out in preparing meals and cleaning up. The seating on the bus converts to beds for sleeping.
I hiked down Glacier Point, up and down Lembhert Dome, saw Mono Lake and broke my "no liquor ever again" rule. There were travelers from England, Ireland, Israel, Australia, Siberia. I proposed we sit around the campfire and play several rounds of telephone. The results were hilarious.
So a vacation was definitely the change I needed.
But I am now back at work. So maybe it was not the change I needed. Of course, I joined AmeriCorps* VISTA and moved to California because there was not much happening for me in Michigan. Plus, my high school friends in New York have their own thing going for them, and the places I'd like to live and work are either impossibly affordable or in Denmark. Why Denmark? Because it's BORING. I like boring. Especially during this election year, with all the punditry and masturb-oratory out there, I feel I could live in a Lackluster Democracy rather than a Blockbuster Democracy.
So now on to the letters on politics. In previous posts I have talked about taxes, environmentalism, activism, national service and other nuggets of pleasurable annoyance. Since I may not get a chance to post something else before November 4th, This could be my last chance to put in my timely two cents. This is the Epistle about Change I was forecasting in past posts.
The most important issue I feel is the one that is most ignored or not realized. The generational issue. From what I learned in High School, my parents' generation, the Baby Boomers, were in the middle of the supposed change that took place in the 1960's and 1970's. Generationally speaking, for the Baby Boomers, this change pitted themselves against the older established institutions. Therefore their situation was a case of young people against old people.
This is not what I see today with the issues that are on the table. Instead of the case of young people against old people, I see a battle of old people against old people - at the EXPENSE of young people. The Baby Boomers are now the old, but still believe they are the young, which explains why my generation is not center stage on the issues that effect the country as a whole. It explains why so many young people are either wholly dependent upon the Boomers for their sustenance, or wholly destitute, being abandoned by Boomers for selfish reasons.
I believe, though the Boomers think they are still young, they are aware of their own mortality. They are no longer ignorant of the burdens that they will leave their children. Which is why they cling to the idea of change differently than younger Americans.
Eric Hoffer makes a distinction between a Mass Movement and a Practical Organization. The Mass Movement appeals to people who feel they have something to atone for, while a Practical Organization appeals to people who are interested in "self advancement". Considering this current Presidential and Federal election, young Americans should be seeking self advancement collaboratively, but instead they are overshadowed by their parents' desire for a Mass Movement. The Boomers want a Mass Movement because they are aware of the burdens they are leaving their children, and will be voting for the candidate that promises "Change" because they want to quickly mitigate any feelings of remorse or guilt for what they have done over the past forty years.
"There is a fundamental difference between the appeal of a mass movement and the appeal of a practical organization. The practical organization offers opportunities for self advancement, and its appeal is mainly to self-interest. On the other hand, a mass movement, particularly in its active, revivalist phase, appeals not to those intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but to those who crave to be rid of an unwanted self. A mass movement attracts and holds a following not because it can satisfy the desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation." (Hoffer, The True Believer pg. 12)
The presidential candidate who wins will win because voters were seeking self renunciation. The past two presidents were Baby Boomers themselves, and both of them demonstrated the kind of unwanted self that that generation has only now just come to sense. The excesses of the Boomers from both ends of the political spectrum, from liberal to conservative, from sex to war, have been demonstrated from the national pulpit. The Change they need is an object, an indulgence that will purify them from everything they have done over the last 40 years.
As a young American, I feel that this country will change when other young Americans realize that there are very few opportunities for self advancement. Our educations fail to empower us, and our teachers come from the very group of people who are leading the darker side of this push towards "change", a mass movement that they only pursue for forgiveness. Wait until late next week, and I am sure young Americans will still not be credited for whatever happens.
Valete
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Fall approaches
The Summer is almost over and I have still not taken my official vacation. But do not worry. I have a plan. I'm going to visit Yosemite for the first time. The bus reservation is settled. All I need now are a good pair of hiking boots and some cargo pants that communicate the young, hip, endorphin-driven approach to outdoorsmanship.
I'm definitely an accomplished indoorsman. I sit. I eat. I read. But I'm not driving, nor am I consuming other perishable resources in doing most indoor activities. So why are environmentalists all outside polluting the earth with their constant presence when they could be doing a much better job just sitting at home?
"All the world's a stage", and the environmentalists are some of the biggest practitioners of public masturb-oratory activities. Do your yodeling at home, please.
Though I have not yet taken my vacation I did recently come back from Toronto. I spent the weekend watching two people I admire get married and enjoyed the whole thing immensely. The bus station, two airports and hours of layover time were mere pennies compared to what I was getting in return.
My organization got more funding from the grant applications I prepared. So far I have raised as much as my incumbent VISTA, so I must be doing something right...
On top of grants, I helped with a workshop for farmers in the Sacramento area. For anyone whose interested, berries and olives are the new thing for California's Central Valley. There are plenty of growers who produce strawberries, blueberries and olives along the Central Coast from Oxnard to Santa Cruz, but with rising petrol prices there is definite attention to be paid to producers closer to you.
I am also beginning a system through which we can ask farmers and ranchers to evaluate our programming, especially regarding how well these workshops are helping, on top of individualized technical assistance.
So commentary and shop talk are fine for now. I need to write about politics, but will reserve that for a separate blog. Ethics suck...
I'm definitely an accomplished indoorsman. I sit. I eat. I read. But I'm not driving, nor am I consuming other perishable resources in doing most indoor activities. So why are environmentalists all outside polluting the earth with their constant presence when they could be doing a much better job just sitting at home?
"All the world's a stage", and the environmentalists are some of the biggest practitioners of public masturb-oratory activities. Do your yodeling at home, please.
Though I have not yet taken my vacation I did recently come back from Toronto. I spent the weekend watching two people I admire get married and enjoyed the whole thing immensely. The bus station, two airports and hours of layover time were mere pennies compared to what I was getting in return.
My organization got more funding from the grant applications I prepared. So far I have raised as much as my incumbent VISTA, so I must be doing something right...
On top of grants, I helped with a workshop for farmers in the Sacramento area. For anyone whose interested, berries and olives are the new thing for California's Central Valley. There are plenty of growers who produce strawberries, blueberries and olives along the Central Coast from Oxnard to Santa Cruz, but with rising petrol prices there is definite attention to be paid to producers closer to you.
I am also beginning a system through which we can ask farmers and ranchers to evaluate our programming, especially regarding how well these workshops are helping, on top of individualized technical assistance.
So commentary and shop talk are fine for now. I need to write about politics, but will reserve that for a separate blog. Ethics suck...
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Again, it's been a while...
Alright, so maybe nothing much has been happening. And maybe that's a good thing. I hate a message machine that's full.
But perhaps I should take a trip somewhere. Though my NorCal town is abundant for its size, and surrounded by jaw dropping views, I am getting tired of it. My boss thinks I'm a closet case. Every Monday he asks me what I did over the weekend (I do very little). Apparently, you're supposed to GO PLACES and DO THINGS on your days off. Weird.
To get him to shut up I'm planning to do something before the summer is over. Maybe Yosemite or Humboldt. No Beaches.
I submitted a good handful of proposals over the past two months. Along with some preliminary applications for some long term opportunities. Also, my organization got it's anticipated core grant, which means we continue to survive.
I am also personally researching the relationships that exist between sustainable agriculture and information and communications technology. These are California's two pillars of strength and yet they are not working together. "Well there's no money in small farms and beginning farmers" is the general answer. Congress agrees.
The amount of small-scale and beginning farmers in California are less than ten thousand (I think). And that is understandable, because who would ever want to be a farmer or rancher? You get up before dawn. You work beyond 5pm. Comparatively little money. The day you retire is the day you collapse off the tractor at age 93. And every year you have fill out not only a Federal 1040 tax return, but also a Schedule F (Farm Income) form AND, if you plan on selling what you grow directly to consumers, a Schedule C (Business Proprietorship) form. And do not forget the audits...
But, you do get to work outside. And you will not become industrially obese. Ruggedly unhealthy, maybe. But not grotesque.
I'm trying to help California's next generation of farmers and ranchers and build entrepreneurial economies that secure local food systems to prevent poverty among both growers and eaters. And still every week some hippie douche asks me whether or not I'm involved in "Farms not Arms", or some pseudo political thing.
I am NOT an activist. Please understand this. I actually detest self-described activists. I think activists undermine the concern for public life just as much as the consumers. I will talk with leaders, organizers, organizations registered with the IRS and public officials. But when someone immediately tells me that they're an activist they are telling me one thing: "I'm better than you." And no offense, but they're usually girls in their 50's.
Right now I am composing an essay, on "change". Hopefully I'll finish it in time before that word becomes a memory. I'll post it on the blog, since I have sketchy relationships with the New Yorker and The Weekly Standard (I do read both, the "Standard" a bit less).
But perhaps I should take a trip somewhere. Though my NorCal town is abundant for its size, and surrounded by jaw dropping views, I am getting tired of it. My boss thinks I'm a closet case. Every Monday he asks me what I did over the weekend (I do very little). Apparently, you're supposed to GO PLACES and DO THINGS on your days off. Weird.
To get him to shut up I'm planning to do something before the summer is over. Maybe Yosemite or Humboldt. No Beaches.
I submitted a good handful of proposals over the past two months. Along with some preliminary applications for some long term opportunities. Also, my organization got it's anticipated core grant, which means we continue to survive.
I am also personally researching the relationships that exist between sustainable agriculture and information and communications technology. These are California's two pillars of strength and yet they are not working together. "Well there's no money in small farms and beginning farmers" is the general answer. Congress agrees.
The amount of small-scale and beginning farmers in California are less than ten thousand (I think). And that is understandable, because who would ever want to be a farmer or rancher? You get up before dawn. You work beyond 5pm. Comparatively little money. The day you retire is the day you collapse off the tractor at age 93. And every year you have fill out not only a Federal 1040 tax return, but also a Schedule F (Farm Income) form AND, if you plan on selling what you grow directly to consumers, a Schedule C (Business Proprietorship) form. And do not forget the audits...
But, you do get to work outside. And you will not become industrially obese. Ruggedly unhealthy, maybe. But not grotesque.
I'm trying to help California's next generation of farmers and ranchers and build entrepreneurial economies that secure local food systems to prevent poverty among both growers and eaters. And still every week some hippie douche asks me whether or not I'm involved in "Farms not Arms", or some pseudo political thing.
I am NOT an activist. Please understand this. I actually detest self-described activists. I think activists undermine the concern for public life just as much as the consumers. I will talk with leaders, organizers, organizations registered with the IRS and public officials. But when someone immediately tells me that they're an activist they are telling me one thing: "I'm better than you." And no offense, but they're usually girls in their 50's.
Right now I am composing an essay, on "change". Hopefully I'll finish it in time before that word becomes a memory. I'll post it on the blog, since I have sketchy relationships with the New Yorker and The Weekly Standard (I do read both, the "Standard" a bit less).
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Been a while
Okay, so I got a little sidetracked these past two months. Work has become more and more part of my life, and I'm finally meeting people in this small NorCal hamlet. Trying to find people who do not sport crocs, birckenstocks, and yin-yang/eightfold path/om tattoos is difficult.
The town I live in is beyond liberal. It really is just a boomer haven for smug hippies who can't function, so they act self righteous in front of younger people. These boomers think that I owe them my appreciation and interest. They assume I am interested in the 1960's, The Beatles, and metaphysical approaches to medication. My response:
Boomers did not accomplish enough in the 1960's to call it a revolution
FUCK The Beatles
Taking drugs beyond your teenage years is pathetic.
I am quickly turning into an Eisenhower/Goldwater Republican. Culturally more than economically. I believe in individual liberty, but also believe that liberty is something that must be earned through service. I am currently doing a national service gig as a VISTA volunteer.
"You mean AmeriCorps?" Is what other people ask. I say NO! VISTA existed long before the Clinton Administration. VISTA is our poverty program, established by president Johnson as part of the Great Society. Of course, the Great Society was a bit too socialist for the Eisenhower/Goldwater crowd, but it's definitely not a counterculture monstrosity, which entails shallow aesthetic approaches to spirituality and as little reading as possible.
Anyway, back to work. Over the past two months I helped out with our newsletter, getting information to farmers without the internet, composing a grant for a bank and drafting a letter of intent for a foundation. June will not be a dry month for funding opportunities. First, we have several other banks to get grant applications of towards. Second, the Farm Bill has finally passed, and though it still warrants the same criticisms, there is finally some programming in the Federal bill aimed at beginning and small scale farmers.
So on top of grant applications I will be helping to organize a post Farm Bill event/fundraiser.
Pressing on...
The town I live in is beyond liberal. It really is just a boomer haven for smug hippies who can't function, so they act self righteous in front of younger people. These boomers think that I owe them my appreciation and interest. They assume I am interested in the 1960's, The Beatles, and metaphysical approaches to medication. My response:
Boomers did not accomplish enough in the 1960's to call it a revolution
FUCK The Beatles
Taking drugs beyond your teenage years is pathetic.
I am quickly turning into an Eisenhower/Goldwater Republican. Culturally more than economically. I believe in individual liberty, but also believe that liberty is something that must be earned through service. I am currently doing a national service gig as a VISTA volunteer.
"You mean AmeriCorps?" Is what other people ask. I say NO! VISTA existed long before the Clinton Administration. VISTA is our poverty program, established by president Johnson as part of the Great Society. Of course, the Great Society was a bit too socialist for the Eisenhower/Goldwater crowd, but it's definitely not a counterculture monstrosity, which entails shallow aesthetic approaches to spirituality and as little reading as possible.
Anyway, back to work. Over the past two months I helped out with our newsletter, getting information to farmers without the internet, composing a grant for a bank and drafting a letter of intent for a foundation. June will not be a dry month for funding opportunities. First, we have several other banks to get grant applications of towards. Second, the Farm Bill has finally passed, and though it still warrants the same criticisms, there is finally some programming in the Federal bill aimed at beginning and small scale farmers.
So on top of grant applications I will be helping to organize a post Farm Bill event/fundraiser.
Pressing on...
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