Getting Involved

I'm all signed up to volunteer at Wine Riot next weekend! Sponsored by the Second Glass and the Weekly Dig, Wine Riot's goal is to ignore the snobbery of other wine tasting events, and get a younger, less stiff crowd involved. As part of this, they offered a free voucher for one of the sessions to people who would volunteer at another session. I'll be working set-up Friday morning, and then going to the night session on Saturday with the girls! Danielle has been really into wine lately and sparked some interest on my end, and this is a freeee way to get some new insight/a good buzz. I finish classes tomorrow, so it'll be a great way to celebrate!

I'm also planning to volunteer at the United Nations Association of Greater Boston's [UNAGB] Consuls Ball next weekend. My student group on campus, the Northeastern United Nations Association, works with UNAGB to host and staff Model UN conferences for middle and high school students. The ball is the big fundraiser for their Global Classrooms program, and I'm hoping to be able to talk up Northeastern's involvement as well as do a little on-the-sly networking for my jobless self.

To round off my volunteer excitement , my old roommate Sam is a project leader for Boston Cares, and I signed up to play with cats at the MSPCA with her on a few Saturdays in May! Boston Cares is a great volunteer organization that allows people to sign up for various projects and events without a long-term commitment, but lets them take advantage of free time they have to give back a little. I want to look into a few regular volunteer opportunities once we finish moving to Brookline as well.

One last volunteer/community give-back note: found HandsIn during some poking around on Twitter. Check it out! Their mission reads:

HandsIn harnesses the unique energy and creative passion of 20-somethings, inspiring them to connect with each other through volunteerism and empowering them to change their world through dedicated service and a shared commitment to a sustainable lifestyle.

As the world changes, the means of service are changing too, and this is definitely not your grandmother’s community service and lifestyle network. Instead, HandsIn uses the strength of what’s new and different to tackle the real problems of today’s world.

Change starts with you. Join HandsIn today to become a powerful agent of 21st century transformation!

Sounds like a plan to me!

Positivity and Shoes

"And the less I seek my source for some definitive, the closer I am to fine."
-indigo girls-

We had a really good, positive executive eboard meeting last night. There has been some really tricky conflict in the group this semester, with some opposition, passive aggression, and lots of bitching behind everyone's back. My actions definitely played a role in some of the negativity. Everything came to a bit of a head during the Harvard Model UN conference a week or two ago, forcing us to confront some of the clashing of minds.

By acknowledging the friction, we can actually deal with the issues head on, and it was necessary to put the issue out in the open. The stress wasn't so much with each other as with some of the problems the organization is dealing with this semester. We all discussed the need to see each other as resources and walls to bounce ideas and stress off, and reminded ourselves that even if we yell or get upset about something, it shouldn't get personal and we should be more of a support for other eboard members.

After we put the tension issue out in the open, it made it a lot easier to interact without the hedging, combative doubletalk we'd been dealing with. A lot more laughing, a lot more understanding, and a smoother path to accomplishing tasks and working through the myriad to-do items for the United Nations Association. I'm hoping it stays like this: we all work hard and care about the goals and members of the organization, and it's a lot more fun when we're not snarking at each other and can work together more happily.


Random piece of advice: if your shoes hurt, but your day isn't over yet, don't bother taking them off. It will only hurt worse when you have to put them back on. ahhhhhhh.

Rainy Sunday Musings

Update on my life status:

1. Did not get an interview for the first job I applied for/actually wanted. Disappointing.
   
2. Have since sent in two more applications, and have notes on another half dozen job postings of interest to get started on. Let's cross fingers and toes for at least an interview sometime in the next month. [as I was writing this, one of the places I applied emailed to say they just filled the position. Sweet....]
   
3. Signed my lease in Coolidge Corner! Bon and I (and Toomey for the summer) will be in Brookline until August 2010 as it currently stands. We have plans for lovely home design, good lighting, big bookshelves, and maybe a cat! Lots of updates on apartment-related things to come--I've never lived off-campus except for a sublet, and I have myriad ideas.
   
4. Lots and lots of "Oh good, I'm not the only crazy one" conversations. We're all at bizarre places in life right now, and it's good to know I have plenty of solid company in overanalysis and procrastination.
5. People are getting engaged and getting pregnant (separate people, no shotgun weddings in my crowd yet). I still think of everyone I know as approximately 16 and therefore not in any sort of position for those things. But babies are cute, even if it freaks me out watching people I know holding them (I would post the picture of Leif with the baby Nikki nannies for if it didn't make me laugh so hard. I might still.)
   
6. I am having the strongest travel urges lately. Part of me hopes I DON'T get a job right away, and would then have an excuse to just buy a plane ticket and a nice camera and disappear for a little while. Sites like The Big Picture make me want to take the kinds of photos that inspire emotion and a different way of understanding things.
7. Trying to solve my constant indecision/grass-is-always-greener problem. I can see the pros and cons of almost anything, and I need to find a few anchoring principles to try and cut the internal haggling down a little.
8. Getting off of campus more often. Sam and I went to see Arusi Persian Wedding at the Boston Public Library yesterday, and also picked up information for some events going on for International Women's Day in March. When I worked at the Women and Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School, they put on some great programming, and I'd love to check out some of it there and around the city this year.

Off to a United Nations Association executive board meeting...it'll be strange to end my involvement on campus when I graduate, but also freeing after putting hours and hours of time into it for five years...