today's tom swayer and mean, mean pride...
Until I can find respectable work in a city/state with 11% unemployment I may as well volunteer my time.
I don't have the energy anymore to take up causes of the down trodden or abused as I did once so long ago so I decided to offer myself to the things that make me happy.
So far, it's been the world of art, yesterday it branched out into gardening.
I offered myself to the Zoo when we first arrived, they have Zoo cleanup (and boy, it needs it) but only accept a few people to help.
I was too far down the list, thanks for my interest, goodbye.
SFMOMA has all the folks with free time it can handle, so each volunteer position is a limited run and you have to sign paperwork freeing them of any liability should you be injured and a waver stating that this stint gives you no leg up in future volunteerism or employment.
Fine.
During the Kentridge Opera with SFMOMA I got to tear tickets one night and be a seating usher another.
Each other offer I've made to posted volunteer positions has recieved the 'maybe next time, keep trying' reply.
Fine.
The deYoung has been my godsend, welcoming me every Friday night to answer questions about tickets and memberships, checking all manner of things into the coat/parcel check, to discreetly point out the direction to the nearest restrooms and, when asked, offer my opinion on the most important pieces to see in the museum.
Then came TUT.
The boy King gutted the volunteer program, bringing a paid staff to check parcels (no coats... just wear them inside...) to click a counter for the number of visitors.
I feel mostly useless there now,left with practically only one thing to do.
"The restrooms are ahead, to the left of the large Gerhard Richter photograph."
A pause.
"To the left of the giant polka dot photo, you really can't miss them."
Last week I received an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.
The deYoung needed 10 volunteers to help with garden clean up!
Technically, like the SFMOMA sketch group made me a collected artist in their collection, this means I had the chance to do some gardening in Golden Gate Park!!!
A dream come true.
Mostly it was heavy lifting, we filled five truck loads of compostable garden materials, pulled weeds and brought the end of summer look back under control.
As great as I felt in the beginning of the day, the day ended with crazed sadness and unfortunate realities.
The under reported murders (my opinion) and mass shootings of the teenages in the LGBT Center in Tel Aviv made for a weekend of heavy reflection for me, so when I heard there was a candle light procession being held close by Monday night I walked down to take part.
It was probably too early in the day to start, 5:30 pm, and the crowd skewed heavily toward the local congregation's members but I felt a personal need to be involved.
Walking with a candle in San Francisco is quite a powerful metaphor.
Half way between the Temple and the SF LGBT Center I heard a news reporter tell his cameraman, "There's been a MUNI crash nearby, they want us there..." and so, a MUNI crash trumps gay murder, even in San Francisco.
We said (translated: I read phonetically...) Kaddish Yatom, I felt community and I felt as 'better' as I was going to knowing that somewhere a coward was reflecting on what he believes to be a powerful act.
Two blocks away, as I walked home I passed the MUNI crash:
A truly unfortunate accident, but no one died at the hands of a mad man.
I don't have the energy anymore to take up causes of the down trodden or abused as I did once so long ago so I decided to offer myself to the things that make me happy.
So far, it's been the world of art, yesterday it branched out into gardening.
I offered myself to the Zoo when we first arrived, they have Zoo cleanup (and boy, it needs it) but only accept a few people to help.
I was too far down the list, thanks for my interest, goodbye.
SFMOMA has all the folks with free time it can handle, so each volunteer position is a limited run and you have to sign paperwork freeing them of any liability should you be injured and a waver stating that this stint gives you no leg up in future volunteerism or employment.
Fine.
During the Kentridge Opera with SFMOMA I got to tear tickets one night and be a seating usher another.
Each other offer I've made to posted volunteer positions has recieved the 'maybe next time, keep trying' reply.
Fine.
The deYoung has been my godsend, welcoming me every Friday night to answer questions about tickets and memberships, checking all manner of things into the coat/parcel check, to discreetly point out the direction to the nearest restrooms and, when asked, offer my opinion on the most important pieces to see in the museum.
Then came TUT.
The boy King gutted the volunteer program, bringing a paid staff to check parcels (no coats... just wear them inside...) to click a counter for the number of visitors.
I feel mostly useless there now,left with practically only one thing to do.
"The restrooms are ahead, to the left of the large Gerhard Richter photograph."
A pause.
"To the left of the giant polka dot photo, you really can't miss them."
Last week I received an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.
The deYoung needed 10 volunteers to help with garden clean up!
Technically, like the SFMOMA sketch group made me a collected artist in their collection, this means I had the chance to do some gardening in Golden Gate Park!!!
A dream come true.
Mostly it was heavy lifting, we filled five truck loads of compostable garden materials, pulled weeds and brought the end of summer look back under control.
As great as I felt in the beginning of the day, the day ended with crazed sadness and unfortunate realities.
The under reported murders (my opinion) and mass shootings of the teenages in the LGBT Center in Tel Aviv made for a weekend of heavy reflection for me, so when I heard there was a candle light procession being held close by Monday night I walked down to take part.
It was probably too early in the day to start, 5:30 pm, and the crowd skewed heavily toward the local congregation's members but I felt a personal need to be involved.
Walking with a candle in San Francisco is quite a powerful metaphor.
Half way between the Temple and the SF LGBT Center I heard a news reporter tell his cameraman, "There's been a MUNI crash nearby, they want us there..." and so, a MUNI crash trumps gay murder, even in San Francisco.
We said (translated: I read phonetically...) Kaddish Yatom, I felt community and I felt as 'better' as I was going to knowing that somewhere a coward was reflecting on what he believes to be a powerful act.
Two blocks away, as I walked home I passed the MUNI crash:
A truly unfortunate accident, but no one died at the hands of a mad man.