Kenya dig it?
It's been since December the 6th that I've been done with my regular job that I'd held for 6.5 years. It was something that I really felt needed to be cut off, because I'd gotten stuck in a never-ending cycle of "I can't stand this anymore" and "well, it's a job at least" and "yeah but it's not really at all enjoyable" and back again to "but it's money." To give me the genuine fire lit under the posterior that I needed, I decided to actually scrap it so that when the money pinch does come as I'm sure it will, I'll have a hard an true motivation instead of complacency. And I'm feeling loads more happier and rested since leaving. I had pretty good cow-orkers, but I'm glad to get out of the politics. The work itself wasn't necessarily difficult (which is a downside of some variety, to be honest), but I just really felt dragged down by it, and pinned to the floor by staying there.
In other news, the Kenya mission trip is coming up in March. I plan to have the entire dues sum paid off within the week or so and from there it will be largely self-enforced preparations for it. I have been learning incidental Swahili (Nimefurahi Kukutana nawewe, pleased to meet you; Ninakupenda, I love you) phrases, and have been trying to think up ideas to bring there. The place we're going is Korogocho, a giant slum of 100k+ pop that lives directly on top of a giant landfill. The dumpster-treasure hunter myself, I think this may actually be my kinda place in some respects (aside from the free-flowing sewage factor!). We're going through Building Bridges Ministry, the leader of which will be making his SEVENTIETH short term mission trip as of this trip. He's actually going to India in early Jan '08, even. BBM is in the process of constructing a combination medical center, adult vocational training and children's school, and we're along for the groundbreaking and labor aid. We'll be on the ground there 10 days or so, including Easter Sunday. I've asked if there's some kind of non-labor aspect that I can participate in due to the tremors issue (which is slowly getting worse). We'll be taking anti-malaria pills, loads of mosquito repellent, and will probably have to get an immunization or twelve (kidding) before heading out. The prospect of getting plenty hugs from complete strangers had me interested before I knew the cost ($4k, which by the way, I could use some help on if you can spare a few).
I'm currently developing the website ABLESTMAGE.COM as a timewaster, silly news, word game and wacky video posting site, and I'm getting upwards of 850 hits per week, up from 150+ when I left my job. Soon I will register as a business, and be able to put up advertising rates through adbrite and actually make a few bucks off this little enterprise -- which is partly why I parted ways with CIE, so I could further develop the site more efficiently. It's been great fun so far, and enjoyable to get feedback about the articles and to test the waters with what gets hits and what doesn't (a few of which being surprises).
I'm slowly getting rid of a bunch of junk that had piled up since working at the old job. I would often just amass project upon project to spend time working on at work to pass the time since there was often so little activity to actually perform on the clock (more of an emergency job for quick response than a time-consuming job) so I'm gradually figuring out what exactly I had meant to do with trinkets and oddball things I'd collected to do but had long forgotten about in the pursuit for more and more timesapping activities. I have way too many books, and just a bunch of nonsense that has accumulated that is starting to make the bedroom a much more pleasant and less cramped area to work in (since the website is pretty much done from a computer with Net access, can be done anywhere I guess technically).
The handwritten journal has suffered a bit since leaving work, since on of the pasttimes was to write down my thoughts of the time in a journal by hand, and has over the years come to be one of my greatest treasures to read back to see about what I was thinking those many years ago. Previously making daily entries, I'm down to about 2 per week these days, if barely that. That'll be something else on the agenda to create a greater structure through. If I could just get to bed soon enough! heh
In other news, the Kenya mission trip is coming up in March. I plan to have the entire dues sum paid off within the week or so and from there it will be largely self-enforced preparations for it. I have been learning incidental Swahili (Nimefurahi Kukutana nawewe, pleased to meet you; Ninakupenda, I love you) phrases, and have been trying to think up ideas to bring there. The place we're going is Korogocho, a giant slum of 100k+ pop that lives directly on top of a giant landfill. The dumpster-treasure hunter myself, I think this may actually be my kinda place in some respects (aside from the free-flowing sewage factor!). We're going through Building Bridges Ministry, the leader of which will be making his SEVENTIETH short term mission trip as of this trip. He's actually going to India in early Jan '08, even. BBM is in the process of constructing a combination medical center, adult vocational training and children's school, and we're along for the groundbreaking and labor aid. We'll be on the ground there 10 days or so, including Easter Sunday. I've asked if there's some kind of non-labor aspect that I can participate in due to the tremors issue (which is slowly getting worse). We'll be taking anti-malaria pills, loads of mosquito repellent, and will probably have to get an immunization or twelve (kidding) before heading out. The prospect of getting plenty hugs from complete strangers had me interested before I knew the cost ($4k, which by the way, I could use some help on if you can spare a few).
I'm currently developing the website ABLESTMAGE.COM as a timewaster, silly news, word game and wacky video posting site, and I'm getting upwards of 850 hits per week, up from 150+ when I left my job. Soon I will register as a business, and be able to put up advertising rates through adbrite and actually make a few bucks off this little enterprise -- which is partly why I parted ways with CIE, so I could further develop the site more efficiently. It's been great fun so far, and enjoyable to get feedback about the articles and to test the waters with what gets hits and what doesn't (a few of which being surprises).
I'm slowly getting rid of a bunch of junk that had piled up since working at the old job. I would often just amass project upon project to spend time working on at work to pass the time since there was often so little activity to actually perform on the clock (more of an emergency job for quick response than a time-consuming job) so I'm gradually figuring out what exactly I had meant to do with trinkets and oddball things I'd collected to do but had long forgotten about in the pursuit for more and more timesapping activities. I have way too many books, and just a bunch of nonsense that has accumulated that is starting to make the bedroom a much more pleasant and less cramped area to work in (since the website is pretty much done from a computer with Net access, can be done anywhere I guess technically).
The handwritten journal has suffered a bit since leaving work, since on of the pasttimes was to write down my thoughts of the time in a journal by hand, and has over the years come to be one of my greatest treasures to read back to see about what I was thinking those many years ago. Previously making daily entries, I'm down to about 2 per week these days, if barely that. That'll be something else on the agenda to create a greater structure through. If I could just get to bed soon enough! heh