Lots of Stuff...
Once again I have been off the LJ radar for a while...
Jim moved out a few weeks ago. He's got a nice place on the Island. I was just beginning to feel like I was married again, which is not something that I like so much. I have really never lived alone and think that it's something that I just need to do. I was feeling a little claustrophobic and taking him for granted. I need to miss him and have to make plans to see him and have my own place where everything is mine and the way I want it. It was difficult getting through the initial discussion and the couple of weeks following that. But at this point, I think things are pretty good.
I started volunteering at the Jacksonville Animal Care & Control shelter in May. Coming from small, start-up companies where everyone is always ready and willing to do whatever needs doing regardless of rank, it has been difficult for me to adjust to dealing with city-workers. The animals are great though. I generally spend 4 - 5 hours there a couple of Saturdays a month cleaning the kitties cages, feeding and watering them, give them lots of love and attention, and helping people who are coming in to look for a new member of their family. The dogs are cool too, but there are just so many of them and they are so loud. I take them out into the pathetic little yard they have at the shelter and play with them and brush them and just generally give them some attention.
I'm going to Vegas for the first time in my life with a couple of girls next week. Should be interesting. I'm sure I'll have fun. My only concern is that I really need to get myself into the full-American-mindset before I go. Otherwise, I will be looking around at all of the waste and thinking about what all that money could be doing to feed starving people in the world. Although that isn't a bad thing to think about, it's not something that makes for a fun vacation.
Oh, yeah, I've lost 10 lbs. over the last 2 months on the NutriSystem program. That's about as much as I needed to lose. Now I've got to start firming things up. Shopping for clothes is already a much less miserable experience for me. Yeah, I know I didn't HAVE to lose the 10 lbs, but I figured I could lose 10 lbs. now, or I could just keep going the way I was and wind up needing to lose 30 lbs. later. I opted to lose 10 now rather than more later.
New neighbor moved in upstairs last Sunday. He seems pretty cool. He's 35, got a Ph.D. in Philosophy, he took a job teaching at JU, originally from Iowa, but spent the last few years in central PA. He doesn't know the area or anyone here, so I took him to the grocery store and given him help finding what he needs around here. I think he'll be a good neighbor.
I've been reading a lot more lately. I just finished A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah. There are really unthinkable things happening in this world we live in. This story of a child-soldier from Sierra Leone is just one example.
Finally, my latest love is Kiva.org.
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
Check out my lender page to see the businesses I have contributed to. Right now there are 8 businesses. I'm planning on adding one more per month until the loans begin being repaid. At that point, I can just keep cycling the same money to different businesses. I firmly believe that to end poverty, we must invest in self-sustaining businesses. Charity is fine for acute, short-term need, but it is not the long-term solution to the incredible poverty being endured around the world.
Jim moved out a few weeks ago. He's got a nice place on the Island. I was just beginning to feel like I was married again, which is not something that I like so much. I have really never lived alone and think that it's something that I just need to do. I was feeling a little claustrophobic and taking him for granted. I need to miss him and have to make plans to see him and have my own place where everything is mine and the way I want it. It was difficult getting through the initial discussion and the couple of weeks following that. But at this point, I think things are pretty good.
I started volunteering at the Jacksonville Animal Care & Control shelter in May. Coming from small, start-up companies where everyone is always ready and willing to do whatever needs doing regardless of rank, it has been difficult for me to adjust to dealing with city-workers. The animals are great though. I generally spend 4 - 5 hours there a couple of Saturdays a month cleaning the kitties cages, feeding and watering them, give them lots of love and attention, and helping people who are coming in to look for a new member of their family. The dogs are cool too, but there are just so many of them and they are so loud. I take them out into the pathetic little yard they have at the shelter and play with them and brush them and just generally give them some attention.
I'm going to Vegas for the first time in my life with a couple of girls next week. Should be interesting. I'm sure I'll have fun. My only concern is that I really need to get myself into the full-American-mindset before I go. Otherwise, I will be looking around at all of the waste and thinking about what all that money could be doing to feed starving people in the world. Although that isn't a bad thing to think about, it's not something that makes for a fun vacation.
Oh, yeah, I've lost 10 lbs. over the last 2 months on the NutriSystem program. That's about as much as I needed to lose. Now I've got to start firming things up. Shopping for clothes is already a much less miserable experience for me. Yeah, I know I didn't HAVE to lose the 10 lbs, but I figured I could lose 10 lbs. now, or I could just keep going the way I was and wind up needing to lose 30 lbs. later. I opted to lose 10 now rather than more later.
New neighbor moved in upstairs last Sunday. He seems pretty cool. He's 35, got a Ph.D. in Philosophy, he took a job teaching at JU, originally from Iowa, but spent the last few years in central PA. He doesn't know the area or anyone here, so I took him to the grocery store and given him help finding what he needs around here. I think he'll be a good neighbor.
I've been reading a lot more lately. I just finished A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah. There are really unthinkable things happening in this world we live in. This story of a child-soldier from Sierra Leone is just one example.
Finally, my latest love is Kiva.org.
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
Check out my lender page to see the businesses I have contributed to. Right now there are 8 businesses. I'm planning on adding one more per month until the loans begin being repaid. At that point, I can just keep cycling the same money to different businesses. I firmly believe that to end poverty, we must invest in self-sustaining businesses. Charity is fine for acute, short-term need, but it is not the long-term solution to the incredible poverty being endured around the world.