SuitcaseSuitcase

"God is our neighbor when our brother is absent."

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 10:55:20 -0400

“God is our neighbor when our brother is absent.”

- Swahili proverb

Because Donuts rule

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:14:29 -0400

Overheard in Starbucks:

Mom: Are you ready to go?

Boy: Sure Mommy, but firrst.. I need to push in the chair!

Mom: Ok buddy..

Boy: (jumping excitedly up and down)

I got the donut, i got the donut, I GOT the donut.

Mom: Yes you did! You can eat it in the car.

Boy: It’s ALL about the donut!

pantslessprogressive: Muslim Americans are more likely to...

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:20:08 -0400

pantslessprogressive:

Muslim Americans are more likely to reject violence than other major religious groups in the United States, according to the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center.

See the full results here. Read the report here.

(2,482 respondents from Gallup surveys conducted in 2010)

Yes, this is GPOY. Crazy how long and tussled my hair is despite...

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:42:26 -0400

Yes, this is GPOY. Crazy how long and tussled my hair is despite my receding hairline. Time for a haircut!

"The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The..."

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:44:43 -0400

““The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.””

- Martin Luther King Jr

Orland Bishop: Sawubona - 5 Translation(s) | dotSUB

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 18:50:11 -0400

Orland Bishop: Sawubona - 5 Translation(s) | dotSUB:

An interesting look at the meaning of the Zulu greeting “Sawubona”.

This is woman served as my honorary Kenyan grandmother, or...

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:57:09 -0400

This is woman served as my honorary Kenyan grandmother, or ShoSho, in 2007. It’s hard to believe she was almost 93 when this was taken. She was sharp as a tack and very strong, walking a mile to church every Sunday.

Post-interview Update..

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:35:39 -0400

2nd round interview today was just as “abrasive” as the first. The majority of the interview was with a board member who I really liked. I connected well with her and felt she was nice and asked good questions. She had worked in Nairobi previously as a volunteer or intern in her 20’s. At the end of the main part of the interview, The director and deputy director came in, did another role play, and of course nitpicked 1 or 2 things. The director then remarks that it’s “Casual Fridays” and that usually he is “Dressed better then (I am)”. Ok, wtf does that have to do with the position? I don’t know.

Anyways, the position itself is not the issue. I could probably do it, but it’s clear that the director likes hard-sell people who will be very aggro with potential donors. I tend to be non-aggro and focused on building a relationship with funders that reflects their interests and core values. Clearly we have different approaches. It seems from talking to the board member that the organization is worse off financially then they let on. This makes sense given the current climate and the gist of their roleplay focus on getting high value donors. Honestly, I am not sure whether I would fit in personality wise because I am really not a hard sell/aggro type of person. I also don’t do well with abrasive/biting humor that borders on criticism. Constructive criticism is one thing,hinting that you dress better then someone is just really, I dunno.. bizarre? I prefer tried and true instead of pushy, risky, and untested. Perhaps that means I am boring in my grant writer personality? I don’t know. My dad seems to think that Program Development is more my thing anyway, and I would tend to agree.

The nice thing about this NC position is that I have only talked to the main go to person there once, and I liked Margaret the second she started talking. She seems professional, kind, on the ball. The job would also allow me to manage and mentor volunteers and groups of volunteers on certain projects. I enjoy mentoring college age folks because they tend to be fairly dynamic and creative, so I like that I will not be a desk slave. I don’t see this being a 3 year gig anyway, but would consider doing 2 years if I really liked the outfit. It’s possible I could also stay and transition, as orgs are usually open to this. I just have to see how things go next week with initial phone screens.

Anyone else had an interview like that?

An Amusing Message Sent to Me on Accident

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:03:49 -0400

Yes actually. I got a text message calling me a “Bitch” and asking “Wy did u brk up wid me? Dont do me lik dat.. I wanted 2 get wit u”. I had to inform the person that I was not only NOT a bitch ( I’m a dude) but that I doubted that asking your ex to “get wid me” was not going to win her back.

You're so wise. haha How's life with you? Did you figure out what you're going to do about that job interview?

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:18:36 -0400

The PT job called me for round 2. Although I have other potential FT stuff that COULD come up, I am going to go in for round 2 on Friday and see how I feel. It IS work, but it has no benefits and is only about 19 hours a week. I am not sure yet if I will say yes if offered because I don’t like to dash in to a job only to dash out.

When I was a kid, I didn't have a laptop, iPod, Blackberry, PS3, Wifi or iPads. I played outside with friends, bruised my knees, made up stories and played hide and seek. I ate what my mom made. I would think twice before I said "no" to my parents. Life wasn't hard, it was good & I survived. Kids these days are spoiled. Re-post this if you appreciate the way you were raised. I think we were happier kids.

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:58:15 -0400

myrubyredslippers:

so true!

Kids today are spoiled. Tumblr itself is proof of their “Me First” attitudes.

Talkin 'bout A Revolution-What do recent protests mean for NGO's?

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:18:23 -0400

Talkin 'bout A Revolution-What do recent protests mean for NGO's?

Carolina in my mind..

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:13:00 -0400

My contact for the job in NC called me back. They will be doing 1st round interviews starting around Aug 9th! I’m very excited about this because the phone conversation I just had was very positive and their board is VERY interested in my resume. I’m pretty sure that I will be contacted for an initial interview. This also could create a bit of a logistical problem:

My folks are going on vacation from August 14th onward, I think for about a week. If they fast-tracked the process due to a low pool of applicants, then I could expect that they would be starting 2nd round interviews around the 17th. That might mean that if they DID want me to come for an in person, I’d need about 48 hours or less to get over to their HQ. At the same time, it’s hard to know because they may have a big pool that then causes them to finish 1st round calls on the 17th, meaning that they would then need a week to decide who to call for in person interviews, making it more likely that they wouldn’t start 2nd round until the 22nd, when I’d probably be home and could simply fly down to Raleigh and rent a car at the airport.

I’m not sure and my folks aren’t sure if I should join them at the beach or stay here. It’s 4 hours to my friends in Chapel Hill and about 4 hours 16 mins to the HQ of this organization from the Outer Banks.

Damn this is going to be a pain logistically.. any suggestions?

DeafMuslimPunk: Exposed: Ethiopia gives farmland to foreigners while thousands starve

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 09:27:10 -0400

DeafMuslimPunk: Exposed: Ethiopia gives farmland to foreigners while thousands starve:

deafmuslimpunk:

What the fuck??

From Survival International (July 25, 2011):

A Survival investigation has uncovered alarming evidence that some of Ethiopia’s most productive farmland is being stolen from local tribes and leased to foreign companies to grow and export food – while thousands of its citizens…

On Fear

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:40:19 -0400

What you fear
will not go away: it will take you into
yourself and bless you and keep you.
That’s the world, and we all live there.

-from To My Young Friends Who Are Afraid by William Stafford

"I never stop feeling strange cause you never know if you really change you can never tell if..."

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:06:30 -0400

“

I never stop feeling strange

cause you never know if you really change

you can never tell if you’re center stage

is thin as glass, and never meant a thing

and you never feel good or bad only strange and unprepared

”

- Strange and Unprepared-Copeland

Great hike today

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 17:29:19 -0400

Great hike today

A Line In The Sand-An Urgent Call For NGO Ethics?

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:16:00 -0400

A Line In The Sand-An Urgent Call For NGO Ethics?:

What do you think?

Internship??

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:26:23 -0400

My contact over at Save The Children got back to me. I sent her my resume. It looks like they have some new Child Health and Mortality programs that Save is rolling out and they will need to do analysis on determinants, best practices, etc. Given that I have recent experience in pub health, capacity building, community assessment, etc, their is a slight possibility, SLIGHT that they will need more people on their Monitoring and Evaluation, and this could turn into an internship. If it pays, I would probably go for that and use it as Resume fodder to boost my desirability to employers. Save has huge cred with many NGO’s and US based nonprofits, so it would open doors. I dunno.. You gotta give everything a shot, right?

“At 30 a man should know himself like the palm of his ...

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:00:31 -0400

“At 30 a man should know himself like the palm of his hand, know the exact number of his defects and qualities, know how far he can go, foretell his failures - be what he is. And, above all, accept these things.”

Things I wish I had known a year ago..