Not sure if anyone reads this anymore. I am not serving overseas anymore I am just a boring state sider at the moment work, eat, sleep nothing really exciting here are some examples:
I bought a new mattress called the Helix... first bed I have owned that is mine in two years. I slept last night. It was excellent.
Also I have a book called Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany. It's decent. I was made aware of this author by a friend who barely talks to me but who cares.
The Soap Factory had its Gala for the HB last night. I did not go. In the past I would have gone when I thought I was part of that, in the present I saw nothing.
My Boss is in Thailand for two more weeks. While he is gone I hope we can finish a project... I fear that it will stagnant because when the boss is away sydrome.
Working on a new sci-fi story. I posted in here if you seek, you'll find.
Winter seems to not given up yet. Another week of cold, another week of boring.
Mayday stuff is going on. Perhaps I will get involved. People. Talking to people. I guess that is needed.
4.11.2016
1.22.2016
Jan 21st - 2016
Jan 21st 2016
Already mid month of 2016 time moves quickly.
I moved back into my condo over the weekend and now am starting to finally settle back into MN life. It's been pretty cold here, but I survived the transition from the tropics to the tundra just fine.
My Brazilian friend invited me to visit her, she is moving out to live in the rain forest for the next couple years. I want to go see that. so I have to try and save up a few bucks for that trip.
Got a haircut the other day from Kozy.
Might hangout with her this Sunday, she's really funny
.
Already mid month of 2016 time moves quickly.
I moved back into my condo over the weekend and now am starting to finally settle back into MN life. It's been pretty cold here, but I survived the transition from the tropics to the tundra just fine.
My Brazilian friend invited me to visit her, she is moving out to live in the rain forest for the next couple years. I want to go see that. so I have to try and save up a few bucks for that trip.
Got a haircut the other day from Kozy.
Might hangout with her this Sunday, she's really funny
.
1.13.2016
Jan 2016 - Cold Snap
On January 10th, I partially moved in to my condo after having been transient for the last two years.
Sadly on the same day I being rebooting my life in Minneapolis, David Bowie one of my favorite singers, actors, ideological crazy role models dies. I used to always say that there is a secret army of David's (David Bowie being our leader) and that we will someday rise. Now we are without our leader.
The temps are pretty obnoxious this week and last hovering around -10 degree, worse when you add in the wind chill. Ugh... right now would be a nice time to be stuck in Vanuatu hanging out with my g26er's who begin their COS (close of service) conference this week. Guess from what Brian a fellow PCV tells me, some people beside him and his wife Kate, actually miss me. heh... nice. I always assumed I was not really one of them, accepted or part of the main group. I was G26.5 a team of one.
Well the good news is my work it's going great. Team lead is a smart guy. It makes things a lot easier being there when you have a good lead.
Sadly on the same day I being rebooting my life in Minneapolis, David Bowie one of my favorite singers, actors, ideological crazy role models dies. I used to always say that there is a secret army of David's (David Bowie being our leader) and that we will someday rise. Now we are without our leader.
The temps are pretty obnoxious this week and last hovering around -10 degree, worse when you add in the wind chill. Ugh... right now would be a nice time to be stuck in Vanuatu hanging out with my g26er's who begin their COS (close of service) conference this week. Guess from what Brian a fellow PCV tells me, some people beside him and his wife Kate, actually miss me. heh... nice. I always assumed I was not really one of them, accepted or part of the main group. I was G26.5 a team of one.
Well the good news is my work it's going great. Team lead is a smart guy. It makes things a lot easier being there when you have a good lead.
12.29.2015
Vanuatu experience of my 20 month stay: photo collection, enjoy
I made a power point: 50 pictures (even though I hate power point) to show what my experience in Vanuatu looked like over the 20 months I served.
This shows all the highlights skipping past all the lows.
Wish I could have had more of the good times versus all of the bad times... but that is what makes the experience interesting I guess.
This shows all the highlights skipping past all the lows.
Wish I could have had more of the good times versus all of the bad times... but that is what makes the experience interesting I guess.
12.24.2015
Almost x-mas
Days are flying by can't wait until I move back into my condo and start living my life again on my own terms.
It's been okay and all returning home from Santo and ending my Peace Corps service but life in the USA for me tends to be pretty boring. Seems like the only real challenge in living in the states is the dating game. Doesn't seem all the interesting really. I wish I was building something, an art project or a school library something that has meaning. Guess I am just biding my time until I venture off again and find something meaningful to do. But first I have to stay put and dig my way out of the hole I dug living the poverty lifestyle of Vanuatu.
I wish there were more days back then that were highs versus lows, but the days when you can hop on a boat full of timber and work on a crazy build project on a remote island are not a normal way of life... those few glorious moments were definitely exciting. Wish I could have shown more friends those wild days but at least a few got to join me.
My brother is in town again for the holidays. It's nice seeing him again and goofing off like we did when we were kids. Hope these next couple weeks are enjoyable. And then after that I will be moving back into my condo... guess all is going fairly well.
It's been okay and all returning home from Santo and ending my Peace Corps service but life in the USA for me tends to be pretty boring. Seems like the only real challenge in living in the states is the dating game. Doesn't seem all the interesting really. I wish I was building something, an art project or a school library something that has meaning. Guess I am just biding my time until I venture off again and find something meaningful to do. But first I have to stay put and dig my way out of the hole I dug living the poverty lifestyle of Vanuatu.
I wish there were more days back then that were highs versus lows, but the days when you can hop on a boat full of timber and work on a crazy build project on a remote island are not a normal way of life... those few glorious moments were definitely exciting. Wish I could have shown more friends those wild days but at least a few got to join me.
My brother is in town again for the holidays. It's nice seeing him again and goofing off like we did when we were kids. Hope these next couple weeks are enjoyable. And then after that I will be moving back into my condo... guess all is going fairly well.
12.18.2015
Mid-December
Finally feels like winter now and its only 28 degrees but the wind makes it feel 17 and it's going to get so much colder before it's over. I must be in Minnesota I am talking about the weather.
I had several strange dreams last night. One was about working at the Soap Factory but the layout of the building and the things we were doing were out of context of what volunteer work would entail there. We were (three of us) moving around scrap metal and there was one volunteer who was asking if he should take something like looked like a table? I tried to say no that seems ill advised but he did so anyway and soon thereafter he was met by some unpleasant looking fellows that attacked him for stealing the table. Not sure what that all means in terms of hidden meaning in dreams. Probably nothing.
Made me think for a while though... mostly about the recent board led meeting at the Soap Factory held on Dec 1st. I never got up in front of the crowd of 100+ people, to tell them my thoughts. Not sure anyone would care to hear what I would have said. I just listened. It seemed rather pointless to say anything really.
They presented the meeting as if its intent was to find solutions to its current problems. That notion is a farce. The board proceeded to spin a story about how and why they got to the place where they are now, broke and forced to shut the doors. Their story is two fold: Part one of the reason for closing, the director being a part time temp, means they failed to qualify for a large grant which was something they depended upon to function for the winter. Part two the: building costs related to the HVAC, bathroom construction and so on put them in the brink of defaulting on loans. That these extra costs came to them as a surprise being forced by the state to install the HVAC system and was only given a two month notice, that it needed to be done.
Both of these reasons are non-sense and attempts to save face for the board by blaming other people. The Soap Factory has been told by the state for decades it needed a HVAC... to say this came with only a few months notice is dishonest at best. Secondly the grant loss, that may have caused some financial disturbance but it was the boards poor decision to not search ASAP for a permanent director. Hiring a part time interim director was a foolish decision in general, let alone its impact on one grant.
What that meeting really was to me was the wake, and by this I mean as in: a watch held over the body of a dead person prior to burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity. Instead of a dead person, the death was of the organization. Unfortunately this wake service was held six months to a year delayed because the Soap Factory (SF) as I knew it, was no longer in operation. Let me explain why I feel this way. As 2014 unfolded there was a mass exodus of leadership at the SF. The director left, the program manager Lillian transitioned to run the basement then left after that project, Mitch the building manager left as did Dani the volunteer coordinator and Tana the Deputy Director, gone. This vacuum of leadership could not be filled by anyone very easily, even though Colin (Building and Installation Manager) and Kate (Program Manager, Exhibitions) are terrific and did as much as humanly possible, it would have been nearly impossible to expect anyone to know the legacy of the 25 year old org and help navigate it without some senior leadership to guide them. This is why not having a passionate permanent director was devastating blow. Not being able to make strategic decisions to generate revenue, having a 16 hour a week leader basically, sunk the ship. Additionally in 2014 they decided to kill the volunteer program, a catastrophic error. Why? Because by removing the most passionate people from helping do work at the SF removed a core piece of the reason to be there. Those volunteers were the life blood of the SF. And killing that program drained them of life. It also was the source of much free labor that now had to be contracted out and paid for by a very small bank account. Having the hundreds of volunteers present and involved the SF community had additional benefits such as word of mouth for evens, gone... addition revenue from those passionate volunteer to attend events, gone. There are other impacts as well, such as volunteer contributing ideas, networking with other artists and other factors.
All that was left when I returned in 2015 was a building with heat and a haunted basement that was constructed by paid workman. Not nearly a shadow of what it was in 2013 when I left for my tour in the Peace Corps. All in all... I think things are pretty dire at the Soap Factory. The lack of leadership in the board of directors, and their Temp Director with now all staff laid off, how can things turn around? Who is willing to give an organization money knowing they have no one they should trust to give that money to spend? It is a very sad wish things were different but at least we had our wake.
I had several strange dreams last night. One was about working at the Soap Factory but the layout of the building and the things we were doing were out of context of what volunteer work would entail there. We were (three of us) moving around scrap metal and there was one volunteer who was asking if he should take something like looked like a table? I tried to say no that seems ill advised but he did so anyway and soon thereafter he was met by some unpleasant looking fellows that attacked him for stealing the table. Not sure what that all means in terms of hidden meaning in dreams. Probably nothing.
Made me think for a while though... mostly about the recent board led meeting at the Soap Factory held on Dec 1st. I never got up in front of the crowd of 100+ people, to tell them my thoughts. Not sure anyone would care to hear what I would have said. I just listened. It seemed rather pointless to say anything really.
They presented the meeting as if its intent was to find solutions to its current problems. That notion is a farce. The board proceeded to spin a story about how and why they got to the place where they are now, broke and forced to shut the doors. Their story is two fold: Part one of the reason for closing, the director being a part time temp, means they failed to qualify for a large grant which was something they depended upon to function for the winter. Part two the: building costs related to the HVAC, bathroom construction and so on put them in the brink of defaulting on loans. That these extra costs came to them as a surprise being forced by the state to install the HVAC system and was only given a two month notice, that it needed to be done.
Both of these reasons are non-sense and attempts to save face for the board by blaming other people. The Soap Factory has been told by the state for decades it needed a HVAC... to say this came with only a few months notice is dishonest at best. Secondly the grant loss, that may have caused some financial disturbance but it was the boards poor decision to not search ASAP for a permanent director. Hiring a part time interim director was a foolish decision in general, let alone its impact on one grant.
What that meeting really was to me was the wake, and by this I mean as in: a watch held over the body of a dead person prior to burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity. Instead of a dead person, the death was of the organization. Unfortunately this wake service was held six months to a year delayed because the Soap Factory (SF) as I knew it, was no longer in operation. Let me explain why I feel this way. As 2014 unfolded there was a mass exodus of leadership at the SF. The director left, the program manager Lillian transitioned to run the basement then left after that project, Mitch the building manager left as did Dani the volunteer coordinator and Tana the Deputy Director, gone. This vacuum of leadership could not be filled by anyone very easily, even though Colin (Building and Installation Manager) and Kate (Program Manager, Exhibitions) are terrific and did as much as humanly possible, it would have been nearly impossible to expect anyone to know the legacy of the 25 year old org and help navigate it without some senior leadership to guide them. This is why not having a passionate permanent director was devastating blow. Not being able to make strategic decisions to generate revenue, having a 16 hour a week leader basically, sunk the ship. Additionally in 2014 they decided to kill the volunteer program, a catastrophic error. Why? Because by removing the most passionate people from helping do work at the SF removed a core piece of the reason to be there. Those volunteers were the life blood of the SF. And killing that program drained them of life. It also was the source of much free labor that now had to be contracted out and paid for by a very small bank account. Having the hundreds of volunteers present and involved the SF community had additional benefits such as word of mouth for evens, gone... addition revenue from those passionate volunteer to attend events, gone. There are other impacts as well, such as volunteer contributing ideas, networking with other artists and other factors.
All that was left when I returned in 2015 was a building with heat and a haunted basement that was constructed by paid workman. Not nearly a shadow of what it was in 2013 when I left for my tour in the Peace Corps. All in all... I think things are pretty dire at the Soap Factory. The lack of leadership in the board of directors, and their Temp Director with now all staff laid off, how can things turn around? Who is willing to give an organization money knowing they have no one they should trust to give that money to spend? It is a very sad wish things were different but at least we had our wake.
11.30.2015
December 2015
Man it's Almost December now... the temps feel like winter now 29 degrees.
I don't really miss Vanuatu even though it is nice and warm there. I think it's because it's too warm like a sweaty armpit warm and no shower clean enough to enjoy washing the stink off in. But I would like to see Cuba. An island nation that like Vanuatu is in a time warm but there's is a 1950 semi Godfather like time warp. It sounds like a magical place at least for the short term until American's flood the place with money and turn it into a large gap, abercrombie, starbucks, apple everything looks the same hell that first world nations have become.
The holiday season is the worst time of the year... vapid commercialism, consumerism and it's mostly pointless except to drive the stock market up for the crash in January.
Hmm... I wonder how people are doing in g26 and g27. Those are the Peace Corps still serving in Vanuatu that I sort of knew. Not that they think much of how I am. But I am curious. Hope they are doing well.
My family has all been staying at my parents house over the Thanksgiving Holidays. My Bro his kid Mila and myself and the mom and dad. Lotta Bekkerus under one roof. It's been fun. Probably won't ever happen again. My parents are getting older, and Mark might not get a chance to do this again for years. But it was quite special and think everyone had a good time.
I don't really miss Vanuatu even though it is nice and warm there. I think it's because it's too warm like a sweaty armpit warm and no shower clean enough to enjoy washing the stink off in. But I would like to see Cuba. An island nation that like Vanuatu is in a time warm but there's is a 1950 semi Godfather like time warp. It sounds like a magical place at least for the short term until American's flood the place with money and turn it into a large gap, abercrombie, starbucks, apple everything looks the same hell that first world nations have become.
The holiday season is the worst time of the year... vapid commercialism, consumerism and it's mostly pointless except to drive the stock market up for the crash in January.
Hmm... I wonder how people are doing in g26 and g27. Those are the Peace Corps still serving in Vanuatu that I sort of knew. Not that they think much of how I am. But I am curious. Hope they are doing well.
My family has all been staying at my parents house over the Thanksgiving Holidays. My Bro his kid Mila and myself and the mom and dad. Lotta Bekkerus under one roof. It's been fun. Probably won't ever happen again. My parents are getting older, and Mark might not get a chance to do this again for years. But it was quite special and think everyone had a good time.
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