I had a full day of training at the Red Cross yesterday. I'm planning to volunteer as part of the Disaster Action Team (DAT), which involves driving out to local disasters (usually fires, but sometimes floods or tornadoes) and offering Red Cross services and comfort to those affected. The scheduling is a little weird, so it's going to be difficult to manage, but I think I'll be able to do a weekend shift once a month. I'm always on the lookout for interesting volunteer opportunities, and this one has the added bonus of giving me some experience working with people in crisis situations. If I apply to the consular cone of the foreign service, one of my duties will be assisting Americans abroad, so I think the skills I learn will be transferrable. Plus, the Red Cross is such an amazing organization; it's an honor just to be a part of it.
I feel like my biggest weakness right now is a lack of meaningful professional experience, so getting this kind of directly applicable experience is key. There's no way for me to do visa interviews at my current teaching job (or any other job out there, for that matter), but I have plenty of exposure to different cultures, and I use Spanish daily, so it's still somewhat relevant. What I feel I need the most is some leadership experience. I've never been much of a "joiner," so I've never been able to work my way into a leadership role. I manage and lead children every day, but I don't know if that will be taken into consideration. Time will tell.
As we get closer to buying our house, I'm starting to feel more comfortable here in Dallas. Our new neighborhood is cute, full of young families and gay couples who spend their days biking to art lessons and locally-sourced organic restaurants. And I'm not really exaggerating. Michael and I have good jobs and are making good financial decisions and building a stable and safe future for ourselves; the foreign service would interrupt that in some ways. There are definite drawbacks to joining.
I still want this, but I'm happy to find contentment in case it doesn't happen. I don't want to be miserable and hanging on to a dream; I want to have my dream and be happy at the same time.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Shuffling Forward
I finished A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East last week. It was over 600 pages long, and I learned quite a bit, though more about British Imperial policy than about how the people of the Middle East actually viewed the tremendous changes foisted upon them. Overall, I feel like the book gave me a solid understanding of some historical events that have always been murky for me.
I also finished The Instant Economist, which maintained its objectivity to the very end and really impressed me. I feel like I still need some work when it comes to my understanding of economics, but this book was a great primer.
The next book I picked up, though, isn't on the foreign service reading list. I'm reading a book by Suze Orman about money: how to manage it, how to invest it, how to plan for retirement. We're still moving forward with the process of buying that duplex in Oak Cliff, so I feel like I need to have a better grip on what we're actually doing. I finally received my first paycheck from the school district, so I want to make sure I'm putting my money to good use. We're trying to live budget-consciously right now since we expect a lot of upcoming expenses.
I'm also listening to The Economist, audio version, on my commute, but I can't seem to get through everything over the course of a week; there's just too much information. And that's even when I skip the "Britain" section (and a few others). I listen to the BBC Global podcast every night while I cook dinner, and I feel like that's sufficient to keep my relatively up-to-date on what's going on in the world.
My resolve is still very strong, though I'm starting to feel a bit impatient. I'd love to just sign up for the next available test date and have a go at it, but I know that I'm not ready to move forward with the process right now. I want to improve my Spanish and get some more experience related to the 13 dimensions before I bother taking the next step. There's also a government shutdown right now, and I don't expect that there will be much hiring for the next year or so, which means starting the process now is even more of a long-shot than usual. It's best to bide my time.
We just moved to Dallas a few months ago, so I'm trying to enjoy my life here and not get too wrapped up in my schemes for the future. I have a great partner, a good job, and a lot of interesting things to keep me busy. I wish I had a little more free time (this job is a killer!), but I believe I'm managing well, all things considered. I'm shuffling forward.
I also finished The Instant Economist, which maintained its objectivity to the very end and really impressed me. I feel like I still need some work when it comes to my understanding of economics, but this book was a great primer.
The next book I picked up, though, isn't on the foreign service reading list. I'm reading a book by Suze Orman about money: how to manage it, how to invest it, how to plan for retirement. We're still moving forward with the process of buying that duplex in Oak Cliff, so I feel like I need to have a better grip on what we're actually doing. I finally received my first paycheck from the school district, so I want to make sure I'm putting my money to good use. We're trying to live budget-consciously right now since we expect a lot of upcoming expenses.
I'm also listening to The Economist, audio version, on my commute, but I can't seem to get through everything over the course of a week; there's just too much information. And that's even when I skip the "Britain" section (and a few others). I listen to the BBC Global podcast every night while I cook dinner, and I feel like that's sufficient to keep my relatively up-to-date on what's going on in the world.
My resolve is still very strong, though I'm starting to feel a bit impatient. I'd love to just sign up for the next available test date and have a go at it, but I know that I'm not ready to move forward with the process right now. I want to improve my Spanish and get some more experience related to the 13 dimensions before I bother taking the next step. There's also a government shutdown right now, and I don't expect that there will be much hiring for the next year or so, which means starting the process now is even more of a long-shot than usual. It's best to bide my time.
We just moved to Dallas a few months ago, so I'm trying to enjoy my life here and not get too wrapped up in my schemes for the future. I have a great partner, a good job, and a lot of interesting things to keep me busy. I wish I had a little more free time (this job is a killer!), but I believe I'm managing well, all things considered. I'm shuffling forward.
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