Werk

More and more I am feeling productive, comfortable, and confident in my new job. It's finally getting to a point where I have enough to do to keep myself busy, and I have learned enough about how the homeless systems in Ann Arbor/Ypsi work that I am beginning to grasp what this all looks like.

I guess that was a really wordy way of saying, I like my job and I am coming into my own here. I don't know if social work is what I want to do for the rest of my life, but it's pretty ok for right now. And for Michigan in 2009, having a job, let alone one you don't hate, is a pretty good feeling.

That's not to say that there are not challenges. I'm already having a hard time not getting too attached and invested in a few clients. It's difficult to learn that sometimes, no matter how much you want to help someone, there are no options. And it's even harder to learn that sometimes even if you are able help someone, they will do something to throw their progress back.

There are times that I would love to blog more about my work, because I think a lot of what happens is really interesting. But I don't really think it's appropriate to write about people and clients I work with on a public space.

As much as I miss Bulgaria, I'm so glad I'm not teaching anymore.

Let's give this one more try.

I am a terrible blogger.

So I got a new job a couple weeks ago. I'm now a "community integration coordinator" for homeless people in washtenaw county. It's going pretty well.

I really want to get back into music. It's been too long since I have played a show, and I'm really missing it. Lukcily I am starting to play with Fields of Industry who have been one of my favorite bands in the state for a long time. But I'm also trying to set up Segernomics again, maybe rename it, reorganize it, and reinvent it a bit, but I want to go back to acoustic. I think it's where I do my best stuff.

Would it be totally pretentious of me to turn this is into a food and wine blog? Because I have definitely thought about it. I think that would be pretentious.

btw, this is public now, so you can stick it in your rss/google reader if you feel so inclined.

Orientation at new job today. I'll be a Server Assistant at the Chop House in downtown Ann Arbor. The job is more or less glorified bus boy, but the shifts are 5pm-10pm, and I will usually pull in $80-$100 a shift. And I can move up to server pretty quickly, which means even more money per shift.

We also found an apartment in downtown Ypsilanti. We will be moving in this week. It's a great location, beautiful space, and really cheap. It's going to be nice to have our own place, and get back in to the flow of things. Transitioning always kind of sucks.

Ok, after being back a while I have a list of things that I definitely notice more after living abroad.

1. Parking Lots - I saw one parking lot in all of Bulgaria, and it was tiny. Every time I see one here I'm always thrown.
2. The space between things. -From houses to grocery store isles, I can't get over how much space there is in between things.
3. The size of cars - I saw maybe 2 pickup trucks in Bulgaria, and even small/midsized cars here seem huge to me right now.
4. Warning signs - I saw a warning sign on a window letting you know that children can fall out of them. Compare that to the doors of death (a.k.a. the people's doors) on the Sofia pubic trams.

and last...
5. The meaninglessness of life - OK, lemme explain. I'm having a hard time putting meaning and value to things here. I think that because in Bulgaria, nothing came easy, everything was more meaningful. It was a huge deal when we bought a blender. A giant accomplishment when we properly communicated to the lady at the post office. And visiting friends seemed so much more urgent and necessary, and it took so much effort, that it was always incredibly meaningful. I think that because things here take so much less effort, they feel a bit cheapened.

I can feel myself starting to slide back into things, and I think overall this is a good thing. I gotta look ahead, gotta stay positive.