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.
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.
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