A Sucession of Busy Nothings
As Fanny Price says in the movie version of Mansfield Park, life has settled into a succession of busy nothings. Having survived my first week back in the Scenic City, it’s a wonderful change from the hectic pace of DC.
It’s nice to not check work email at 7 a.m. and realized that since 2 a.m., three or four state legislatures went haywire on your policy issue, and you needed to be in the office 30 minutes ago. It’s nice to be anywhere in the city within 30 minutes. It’s nice to leave work at 5:30 p.m. and not feel like you’re leaving early. It’s nice to go to the grocery store and not wait in line at the check-out for 15 minutes. It’s very nice to smile and wave at people and chitchat with complete strangers.
I heart the South.
The new gig is extremely different. This is the first time that I’ve ventured into fundraising. Thus far, I’ve enjoyed it. I always avoided grantwriting, but after two years of writing persuasive email alerts and websites, it’s an interesting challenge. Rather than convince people in 2.5 seconds to pick up the phone to call their elected official or click on a link to e-mail Congress, I have a few pages to convince a foundation or corporation to give us money.
It’s also a change to switch from policy to a direct-service nonprofit. As much as I enjoy big-picture change, it will be nice to see almost immediate results from my work by successfully funding a program or getting press for an event. There is no decades-long fight or detailed analysis of all 535 members of Congress (or Mondays with seven hours of meetings). Working on policy issues is a much bigger challenge than helping a local nonprofit. Change is extremely slow, and you’re usually very removed from the people that you’re helping. Those are two factors that people need when serving in the nonprofit sector.
It’s also great to be near my family again. DC is a solitary city. Between work and commuting, you spend a lot of time alone. For an introvert like me, who naturally loves being alone, that’s not necessarily a good thing. I’ve appreciated having a family to greet me. The home cooked meals are amazing. I never realized that I didn’t cook–I defrosted. When you work until 6:30 and don’t arrive home until an hour later, you’re too tired to whip up a nutritious meal. No wonder I primarily shopped the frozen food section at Trader Joe’s.
I do miss Ebenezer’s. I need that “third place” that Ebz provided. This is the first week in two years that I’ve gone without coffee. While I still have my daily cup of green tea in the morning, I need my afternoon latte or cafe-au-lait (and Orange Dreamsicle Freezer on the weekends during Hospitality). Chattanooga has no shortage of coffee shops, but they’re just not in any of my direct paths, and parking is an issue.
NCC, I really do miss you. I had no idea that I was attending such an innovative church. For me, it was a friendly place to worship that offered a million ways to get involved. In hindsight, I appreciate you more. Apparently, all the other “young, hip” churches in the country are immolating you, but more on that later.
