Christmas is Coming!
17 hours ago
Friday, July 30, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Transition
It's been a month now since I distributed, packed, and stored my un-tote-able belongings and flew on a one way ticket home to Utah ready for a new adventure. I loved my life in DC. I had a great ward, some of the dearest friends I've ever had, and a fantastic job.
I worked as a self-employed freelance ASL interpreter. I loved seeing life as a fly on the wall. I worked in University classes which are fun because I got paid to learn. I haven't really missed school because I feel like I've never left it. The only thing is I had a limited selection of classes and never got to make any comments. Still, if I could have gotten credit for all the classes I've sat through I would have a very eclectic Masters degree, several Bachelors, and even a Phd level class on Population Genetics to add to my real degree. (Someone once said that I hated school and a rumor got around. This if anything should dispel that one. I did have a hard time deciding what classes to take in my undergrad and wasn't a huge fan of the stress of deadlines and due dates but my job solved both those problems.)
I worked around in the government. The Census Bureau was genealogist's delight as it's an important tool for that. The FDA held fun and challenging technical meetings about devices, recalls, and a few trainings. One day I was in a lab and the deaf consumer couldn't get a piece of hair out to look at under a super cool microscope. I lent them one of mine and got to see it magnified 400x! It looked healthy. One of my favorite jobs at NASA was a three day overview of NASA's mission for one of their departments. I worked with the map people, the satellite people, the mining regulators, the Fish and Wildlife staff, the Labor crew, the US Institute of Peace, the FCC, the Pentagon, occasionally a military base, and the Lobbyists on Capital Hill.
I worked in the community. My first job there was at a Farmer's Market where, after sampling the wares, I bought a cloth card holder that became my Metro card's home. I helped give tours at the Smithsonian by hands and voice to people of all ages. One day in the Natural History Museum a school was late so they gave me the tour instead (prep work you see). I worked in private grade schools. I enjoyed watching a Lasik surgery from behind the shoulder of a doctor. He even gave me a detailed explanation of everything he was doing as he did it (the deaf person was fine and couldn't have seen me anyway). I saw tender family moments in hospitals, ones that would make your heart cry. I worked at a Mosque dressed in a white Burka. I volunteered at the White House Easter Egg roll and met Elmo. I did several mom and me classes for toddlers at various locations. Dinners, birthday parties, adoption agencies, rehab and counseling services, personality and technical trainings, several businesses, I got around.
I LOVED my job. Not only was it fascinating opportunity-wise but it let me make a difference in the lives of other people. I loved meeting new people and seeing how their lives ticked, if only for a moment.
So why did I leave? It felt right. I think that was the fastest big decision I ever made. It helped that my arms hurt so bad that I couldn't open a door without some pain. I also found myself so use to repeating whatever was said that I would repeat what I'd heard instead of what I felt when talking to close friends. I was burned out. One day a new person I met told me about a certificate program in Intercultural Peacebuilding at BYU Hawaii. I'd kept the option of going back to school on the back burner to be brought forward if the right program ever came up. This one felt right. The more I looked into it the better I felt. Although with anxiety about people I would leave behind, I went forward with it and everything has fallen into place ridiculously well. It did take some trust (and still does), but I know that "this is good" feeling.
Between DC and Hawaii I am in Utah enjoying my family and working for BYU classes, the MTC, EFY, and a few other freelance jobs. It's good to be home. I missed family the most in DC. There's a good ward here and I'm catching up with some of my old friends. I'd forgotten how amazing the food is my family can make. There's no conversation like family conversation. I agree with George Washington when he said he'd rather be home with his family than before Governments and Kings. (That's paraphrased and the real quote is at the entrance to the Theater at Mount Vernon.)
It will be weird to actually pay to go to class in the Fall but I'm excited to actually be able to raise my hand and make comments and learn from classes that I have picked. I will still work part-time freelancing. I may go back to DC someday. I'm looking into doing a Masters in International Education after Hawaii but we'll see what I can put together, or what opportunities arise. For right now, I'm having a delightful summer. I have a list of goals and a one way ticket to Hawaii for August.
I worked as a self-employed freelance ASL interpreter. I loved seeing life as a fly on the wall. I worked in University classes which are fun because I got paid to learn. I haven't really missed school because I feel like I've never left it. The only thing is I had a limited selection of classes and never got to make any comments. Still, if I could have gotten credit for all the classes I've sat through I would have a very eclectic Masters degree, several Bachelors, and even a Phd level class on Population Genetics to add to my real degree. (Someone once said that I hated school and a rumor got around. This if anything should dispel that one. I did have a hard time deciding what classes to take in my undergrad and wasn't a huge fan of the stress of deadlines and due dates but my job solved both those problems.)
I worked around in the government. The Census Bureau was genealogist's delight as it's an important tool for that. The FDA held fun and challenging technical meetings about devices, recalls, and a few trainings. One day I was in a lab and the deaf consumer couldn't get a piece of hair out to look at under a super cool microscope. I lent them one of mine and got to see it magnified 400x! It looked healthy. One of my favorite jobs at NASA was a three day overview of NASA's mission for one of their departments. I worked with the map people, the satellite people, the mining regulators, the Fish and Wildlife staff, the Labor crew, the US Institute of Peace, the FCC, the Pentagon, occasionally a military base, and the Lobbyists on Capital Hill.
I worked in the community. My first job there was at a Farmer's Market where, after sampling the wares, I bought a cloth card holder that became my Metro card's home. I helped give tours at the Smithsonian by hands and voice to people of all ages. One day in the Natural History Museum a school was late so they gave me the tour instead (prep work you see). I worked in private grade schools. I enjoyed watching a Lasik surgery from behind the shoulder of a doctor. He even gave me a detailed explanation of everything he was doing as he did it (the deaf person was fine and couldn't have seen me anyway). I saw tender family moments in hospitals, ones that would make your heart cry. I worked at a Mosque dressed in a white Burka. I volunteered at the White House Easter Egg roll and met Elmo. I did several mom and me classes for toddlers at various locations. Dinners, birthday parties, adoption agencies, rehab and counseling services, personality and technical trainings, several businesses, I got around.
I LOVED my job. Not only was it fascinating opportunity-wise but it let me make a difference in the lives of other people. I loved meeting new people and seeing how their lives ticked, if only for a moment.
So why did I leave? It felt right. I think that was the fastest big decision I ever made. It helped that my arms hurt so bad that I couldn't open a door without some pain. I also found myself so use to repeating whatever was said that I would repeat what I'd heard instead of what I felt when talking to close friends. I was burned out. One day a new person I met told me about a certificate program in Intercultural Peacebuilding at BYU Hawaii. I'd kept the option of going back to school on the back burner to be brought forward if the right program ever came up. This one felt right. The more I looked into it the better I felt. Although with anxiety about people I would leave behind, I went forward with it and everything has fallen into place ridiculously well. It did take some trust (and still does), but I know that "this is good" feeling.
Between DC and Hawaii I am in Utah enjoying my family and working for BYU classes, the MTC, EFY, and a few other freelance jobs. It's good to be home. I missed family the most in DC. There's a good ward here and I'm catching up with some of my old friends. I'd forgotten how amazing the food is my family can make. There's no conversation like family conversation. I agree with George Washington when he said he'd rather be home with his family than before Governments and Kings. (That's paraphrased and the real quote is at the entrance to the Theater at Mount Vernon.)
It will be weird to actually pay to go to class in the Fall but I'm excited to actually be able to raise my hand and make comments and learn from classes that I have picked. I will still work part-time freelancing. I may go back to DC someday. I'm looking into doing a Masters in International Education after Hawaii but we'll see what I can put together, or what opportunities arise. For right now, I'm having a delightful summer. I have a list of goals and a one way ticket to Hawaii for August.
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