September 26, 2007 at 10:35 pm (Nomination, Peace Corps, legal clearance, medical clearance, paper work, waiting)
I past legal clearance yesterday. What ever that means. Did any of my family and friends get contacted by men in black?
Finally have all my medical paperwork filled out and signed by the doctor. Will organize it Friday and make sure nothing it missing and send it off. Then the waiting begins.
-vc
September 23, 2007 at 8:07 am (50+, American Culture, Nomination, Peace Corps, preparation)
Yesterday I cleaned my closets and dressers.
The new place only has one closet double wide but still only one. I had four all to myself here in the apartment. 32.5 pairs of shoes. Does any one person REALLY need 32.5 pairs of shoes and 4 pair of slippers? This is what I am trying to learn when I join the Peace Corps. What do I NEED and what do I WANT and what is outright extravagance? No these are not new questions but they are questions I need to ask myself. And should I feel better that I only have 15 pairs of shoes and slippers after my clean out and that 9 or 10 pairs are going to someone else via Salvation Army? And at this point 5 boxes of clothes are going to someone else same route?
And why after that embarrassing display of over abundance do I still feel the siren call of a fall shopping expedition? Better hide the Lane Bryant charge card!
Thanks Stegoby for a great illustration of my point. Check out Stegoby’s Photostream on flickr
September 13, 2007 at 10:03 pm (Nomination, Volunteer, preparation)
This weekend I found a wonderful room to rent in a great house in a perfect neighborhood. The house is lovely. The neighborhood is quiet and friendly. There’s a lovely deck in the back of the house over looking a big back yard. I have my own room and my own bathroom with kitchen and house privileges as well as laundry room access.
Another step in living with less.
-vicky
September 9, 2007 at 11:43 am (Nomination, Technology, Travel, Volunteer, World, preparation, waiting)
4 individuals stories with viedoes and photos, faqs and steps to action.
With so many baby boomers retiring and looking for ways to serve, the Peace Corps is taking advantage of this and marketing to 50+ people. The portion of the website devoted to 50+ is new this month and integrates well with the rest of the site. The highlights are of course the 4 individual stories told with text, video and photos. The volunteers include not only single people but also a married couple. The FAQ section covers most of the questions someone just beginning to consider the Peace Corps would need answered. Then very smartly there are links to apply now, find out more and share with a friend.
Maybe there will be more 50 year old grandmas in the Peace Corps when I am serving.
Check out the site it’s on my links in the sidebar or Peace Corps 50+.
-vc
September 8, 2007 at 7:52 am (House Sharing, Nomination, Volunteer, waiting)
I started the search for a room yesterday. Craig’s list had quite a few. Four people have already contacted me. One said he wanted a years lease. The room I looked at yesterday made me ask how drastically do I want to change my circumstances? But it was the first place I looked and will probably look at many before I find the right one.
This will be a good exercise in living with less. Certainly I won’t have three closets filled with clothes, shoes, purses, suit cases, linens etc. And I won’t have thousands of square feet all to my own. It will be cleansing to move and get rid of junk.
So if any of you who read this in the Hartford area know of someone renting a room let me know.
-vc
September 5, 2007 at 6:11 am (Dental Exam, Dr. Robin Santiago, Health, Nomination, Volunteer, medical clearance, paper work, waiting)
Dr. Robin Santiago, Beautiful Smiles, is a dentist in West Hartford. She is a charming, friendly woman. I am writing about her because she did a free dental work up for me because I am going into the Peace Corps. Her family has a history of service. Her parents went overseas to do dental work and her son just finished doing City Year. And she offers free x-rays, a dental chart and an evaluation of work to be done to Peace Corps volunteers.
She is on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford. I opened the door into a warm beautiful waiting room. Lovely comfortable chairs and a fountain set a relaxing, friendly mood. Her receptionists and staff were open and friendly. My first moments in her office set a relaxed warm mood.
Dr. Santigo herself is also warm and friendly. Her exam was very gentle and she often checked to see if I was ok. Her recommendations were very practical. I felt that she was looking out for my dental health and not the health of her bank account. She did for free what my insurance network dentist would not do for me at all. And what I liked the best is that she created a treatment plan for me with full costs listed. I sure wish she were a Cigna Dental dentist.
So a big THANK YOU to Dr. Robin Santiago.
-vc
September 5, 2007 at 5:55 am (Chinua Achebe, Nomination, Volunteer, books, preparation, review, waiting)
This man is a beautiful writer. His prose is elegant. Achebe took me to Africa and snuggled me down right in the middle of a tribe. After reading this book I felt that I had visited africa and met the people. Although many of the thoughts and values were different from my own Achebe presented his characters with such sympathy that I did relate to them.
I also read Things Fall Apart last year because it was recommended on the website of my favorite author – Stewart O’Nan.
On the basis of reading these two books I would recommend anything by Chinua Achebe.
vc
September 4, 2007 at 5:35 am (American Culture, Nomination, Travel, Volunteer, preparation, waiting)
Enough already!
No, it’s not just about leaving a job I am burned out from it’s also about leaving a culture I feel more and more alienated from every day. Do we need to be entertained by someone every minute of our days. Television while pumping gas is just one example of many that drive me crazy. Music while pumping gas, TV in waiting rooms, TV on the ferry to Block Island, always on cell phones, plugged in to iPods 24/7. Is there no time for quiet reflection or living with our own thoughts.
A boat ride is a wonderful time to enjoy nature and to sit and look out over the water and think. Time to have conversations with family or friends or maybe with a total stranger. How can these conversations happen with a television blaring? I am repulsed by the idea of TV on the ferry to Block Island. Who decides what is on these public televisions? And how do you escape a public television if you are in an enclosed space? Why do we need music or TV at the gas pumps. HOW long does it take to pump gas? Do we need to be entertained for the 5 minutes it takes? Actually the few times I have been at a gas station with music there have also been plenty of ads.
OK end of rant.
I want to live differently for a couple of years at least. I want to be less connected. I want some quiet time. And I want to live in a culture that knows how to entertain themselves rather than being entertained by mass media 24/7. It would be nice to live in a culture that valued connecting with people and nature.
So no my desire to join the Peace Corps is not only about leaving a job that has burned me out.
-vc
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