The Road to the Whitehouse takes a detour

Okay, so I have gotten really, really behind in my blogging lately. There has actually been quite a few significant developments in my life as of late. I am not going to even attempt to get them all in in one giant excruciating blog, so I will divide them up and hopefully get myself caught up here. (Blogs have been back dated to feign accuracy)

First of all, I have already written about my being chosen to march in the inauguration parade, so I will now write about a slight detour I took in getting to DC that ran, directly through the Loveland, ER on the way to financial ruin.

So, I had my plane ticket and was set to fly out around noon the Saturday before the inauguration. About 4 am that morning I woke up with a severe pain just inside of my ribs. The pain was not so bad as long as I did not breath, but as I was having a hard time avoiding breathing, while maintaining life, it was quite painful. As my insurance had expired, literally, two days earlier, I thought about riding it out, but then I remembered a family history of blood clots and decided that I really wasn't sure that I wanted to die yet, I woke my brother and asked him to take me to the ER.

They gave me pain meds that made me nauseous. I developed a negative association to hiccups and peeing as both actions seemed to trigger vomiting. They asked questions, and ran a couple of tests. The daytime doc came on shift and said that his best guess, was that that I had gall stones and would need a surgery. So I called United airlines, and told them that I wasn't going to make my flight. I also started the mourning process for any dreams I had of grad school, as I was expecting tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. I had a job so I wouldn't qualify for any indigent programs and stupid me, financially responsible saving would disqualify me from most forms of assistance. There are definately worse cases, I don't have a house to lose.

Anyway, they ran a CT scan ($2,000) and found nothing, two ultrasounds ($700) and still nothing. So I was released from the hospital at 3pm, a medical mystery. I received my bill this week and I am down just over $7,000.

God Bless America.

(on a side note, I was able to rebook my ticket, though United charged me $150 for the favor. I argued that I was in the Emergency Room and that it was an unavoidable miss, they told me that the only way they would waive the charge would be if I could provide a death certificate. May they rot in hell.)

Working in the Bubble

I started monday at EFAA (Emergency Family Assistance Association) in Boulder. I am going to be covering as a case manager for a woman while she is on maternity leave. A temporary, but good, gig. Temporary works for me as I still have no idea where I am going to be in a couple of months. I sent all my grad school applications out and am wiating for a response. Next fall, assuming I get accepted at least somewhere, I will begin classes in either CO, LA, or NM. So I at least have it narrowed down.

My first day of work happened to coincide with a pretty impressive snow storm. I gave myself plenty of time to get to work, or so I thought. I was suppose to start work at 9. It is almost exactly 35 miles from my house to the office. I left my house at 7:15. All was relatively well until I pulled out of Longmont and onto the Diagonal into Boulder and everything came to an icy halt. Fun times. I got to the office at 9:30. Late on my first day. Fortunately, everyone else was late as well, so no one threw anything at me.

So it seems that employment makes my return to the states official. Working at a social service organization in Boulder is definately a big change than what I have been experiencing for the past three-plus years. For those of you not familiar with Colorado. Boulder is located about 30 miles outside of Denver. It is the home of the University of Colorado. It has a certain reputation in Colorado for being pretty liberal. Some refer to it as "The People's Republic of Boulder". (hehehehe) Colorado is traditionally a pretty conservative state, Boulder is the exception that proves the rule. It's population centers primarily around the university whose students generally come from out of state and are wealthy enough to be able to afford out-of-state tuition. They are liberal, in that they eat organic and drink micro-brews, but aside from their Che Guevara t-shirt, don't shake things up too much. There is a lot of money here. A lot of outdoor partaking, lots of recycling, great restaurants, etc. Poverty is subtle, but still here. Anyway, what I am trying to say is that there are a lot of rich people that give to social services so I have found myself working for a relatively well funded non-profit. It's not limitless by any means, it never is, but seems to be financially stable, and in the non-profit world, that is saying a lot.

I guess that is the great tension. There is definately need here, but it is not as rampant as it is in other places with fewer resources. But when you have resources, you can help more. So do you go where you spend 98% of your time beating your head against a wall, or do you hang in the bubble? Don't misundertand me, even the resources in the bubble are too few for all that need it, but there is definately a difference.

It's good to be connecting to people again. It's also great to see, really see, what I have been reading about in the news for so long: economic downturns, layoffs, health crises, etc. (Not that it is good to see those things, but being back, and especially working in the social service realm, gives it life.)

So that is where I am.

Obama-bound

There is one piece of news that I feel deserves it's own posting. I AM GOING TO MARCH IN OBAMA'S INAUGURATION PARADE! So excited!

Peace Corps secured a spot in the parade and held a lottery of those interested to chose parade participants and I GOT IT!!! I like to think of it as a combined xmas/birthday gift from the universe. (Thank you Universe!)

So, January 20th, I will be in DC, likely freezing to death as I stand outside going through the Secret Service security check and then walking past our new president carrying a flag representing one of the countries that Peace Corps Volunteers serve in. I have been told that they will be handed out randomly, but I am hoping to be able to trade for Costa Rica or El Salvador. If not, I'll get over it. The real bummer is that we are not allowed to carry cameras. That's very disappointing, but I suppose I will just have to get over it.

Other tips for clearing security includes not carrying weapons, and specifically, "No joking about security or the screening process." I'll do my best.

Anyhoo... needless to say I am thrilled. It's an amazing honor.

Happy New Year

It seems I am surfacing again. I laid pretty low through the holidays. Not my favorite time of year but very hard to avoid if you are in the US. It was survived though so that is a positive.

Acclimation updates: My hair is straight. My ass is growing. I am freezing. I stare uncomfortably at Latin service workers wanting desperately to speak Spanish with them but feeling like it would be rude to do in front of the English-only speakers I am hanging with, so just come off kinda creepy. Gringo social: very rusty. Oh... and Mike Rowe is giving John Stuart a run for his money in the imaginary boyfriend department. (If they are imaginary, am I limited to just one?)

I went to a haflas (bellydance party) in some guy's basement in Loveland. There was a live band is called Kara Nomadica (very impressive I must say). Definitely a first for me and a massive cultural change as well. It was attended by a wide range of Northern Colorado's finest sub-culture. From what I was able to gather, many of the attendants are also very big in to the Renaissance festivals, and some sort of acting society along those lines of which I am completely ignorant. It was very interesting and a lot of fun. I hope to go again next month.

If I may take a moment to make a social commentary. It is just amazing and fascinating to me the infinite array of social circles and hobbies that abound here. It is a socioeconomic reflection of a stable society, but also a testament of the boundless opportunities for expression that are permitted after your basic needs are met. I would argue that it is an important part of the human experience; to be able to cultivate a talent, to pursue an interest. Having spent the past three years primarily interacting with Americans whose hobbies are travel, development or social justice, it is a good reminder that everyone has their "thing" that they are into, that floats their boat, or in many cases, that provides an outlet for personal emotional angst. I think that the number-one cause of "judgyness" is when we can't understand why someone else isn't interested in what we are most passionate about, whether it be God, social justice, NASCAR, recycling, Renaissance reenactment, capitalism or cannabis. Suddenly the world is divided into those that "get it" and those that don't. Us vs. Them.