15 December, 2009

And the wheel turns slowly 'round.

It's that time of day again. The time where I ask myself "what's for dinner" and hear nothing but silence. Fortunately today my psyche remembered the whole chicken defrosting in the fridge. I contemplated, for about 20 seconds, making soup, but then roast chicken popped into my head and voila! Dinner comes together, at least in my head. Mashed or baked potatoes, a mixed greens salad and maybe corn will complete the meal.

Speaking of wheels turning, it's also the time of year I reflect on my spiritual path. I know, I know, I should do this a bit more often. But honestly I just don't have time, nor do I feel the need. Faith for me is an ever present feeling. A healthy dose of thought once a year seems sufficient. Perhaps I'll outline some of my beliefs in a later post, after gathering my thoughts.

On a totally unrelated subject, I am looking forward to the SNL Christmas special (I've been giggling about Schwedde balls for days already). I'm also looking forward the Sing Off episode tonight. Since we've gotten the DVR I haven't had to keep track of times and channels of favorite shows. The DVR records and I watch whenever I feel like it. Unfortunately there are already things recording and that means I either have to watch it "live" or find it on Hulu. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to anticipate a good show coming on. I used to do it with Idol. This has the same excitement for me. I can't wait to see what they come up with tonight. The gave a "sneak peek" last night and it was fabulous. I was, however, annoyed that they kept the older professional ladies and got rid of the group of homeless young people. It's the "champion for the poor" in me that was really rooting for them. Some of these kids are sleeping in their cars. They can't find jobs and live in one of the highest unemployed areas in the country. They were crazy good too. All of the other groups are either college based groups with auditoriums and costume funds and voice coaches, hand picked and privileged, or professionals already making a living doing what they do. I'd have been even more enthusiastic about the show if they hadn't tugged my heartstrings and promptly booted them. Neall said they probably aren't as bad off as they made it sound. I kind of hope he is right. Because if you have one shot and you don't make it, it's awfully hard to pursue that dream again.

Tomorrow I get to dress up and go play with the big kids. I have a meeting with an organization that I want to volunteer for. It's an hour-long lunch presentation about their organization and what they do. I've been researching and perusing online and already feel like this is going to be a great fit. I'm picky to a fault. I have an incredibly limited amount of time. In order to volunteer I am sacrificing time with my family and resources. I don't want to make those sacrifices for anything less than the most dedicated program I can find. This organization provides a 24 hour crisis line as well as other services. They don't require an excessive commitment (one shift per week is totally reasonable) and they seem to really respond to and value their volunteers for their own personal talents and professional obligations. So I will know considerably more about the whole process after tomorrow but if all goes well I'll be in a 60 hour training program in mid January. I feel alive when I think about the whole thing. I've no doubt I'm doing the right thing for myself and my career. I realized at one point that students majoring in social work and such have school networks to fall back on for experience and guidance. I don't have that since I'm in a custom major program. If I'm going to have a shot at doing this I need to hunt that down on my own. This is a good first step. Plus, I haven't worked in more than 10 years. It's a very minor consideration, but it will be necessary for me to have something on my resume, preferrably in my chosen field.

On that note, I can already smell my chicken roasting and should probably pot some potatoes into a pan for boiling.

1 comment:

The Wanderer said...

Welcome to Gwen's food blog... LOL!