Go to Your Destiny

Originally written on 23 November at 2:37pm. Though the photo was taken the morning after.

As I type this, I am cruising north on a rickety railroad in a hootin’-and-tootin’ train. I’m passing by quaint towns you thought only existed in movies, an Amish-looking county or two, and woods that look like a scene from Twilight. By the time you read this, however, I’ll have been on a bus, train, ferry, and car in six hours to be on the outskirts of civilization. It was sort of planned, sort of spontaneous. I just figured it would be nice to get out of town for a week to celebrate Thanksgiving and relax before I begin my new job.

The view from my final destination. Pardon the quality, it was taken with my phone.

Yes, you read that right – a new job. I’ll finally be another 9-to-5er! My job is within the development field, and I’ve known for quite some time that this is what I want to pursue.

I was bummed when Ridiculous Organization in San Francisco rescinded its job offer after they decided at training that I was too young. But I’m not lying when I say I wasn’t excited for the job with Ridiculous Organization. All that went through my mind was, ‘Well, I guess I’m no longer underemployed.’ With this job though I was beyond ecstatic when I was offered the position. I’m talking jumping up and down, squealing, and calling my friends. Everything felt right: there’s a team I get to collaborate with, the rest of the staff is fantastic, I actually believe in the organization’s mission and values, the salary and benefits package are great, and I get my own office! None of that can be said for the job with Ridiculous Organization.

I’ve been trying to get into the field of development. During the process, I learned the differences between a donor-centric organization (relationship-focused and donor-driven; it’s about the donors) and a program-centric organization (transaction-focused and appeals-driven; it’s about the money). And there’s a growing general consensus that nonprofits should be donor-centric, which I support. Looking back, I see now that Ridiculous Organization is program-centric whereas my amazing organization is donor-centric.

So, I’m glad that I’m on the right track. All I’ve been doing following my destiny and I like where it’s going right now.

Ab Imo Pectore*

The past week has been a whirlwind. A good whirlwind. A very good whirlwind.

I’ve re-discovered the joy in my life, the passion in my art, the meaning of love, and the perseverance in my career. I’m happy with who I am, what I can do, and how I do it.

I’ve learned what I’m grateful for, and who I want with me as I embark on this journey. It’s the ones whom I called jumping up and down — the ones who called to make sure that I was squealing that day because they remembered.

They’re the ones that mean the world to me.

*Ab imo pectore means ’from the heart.’ Or, literally speaking, ‘from the bottom of the chest.’

San Francisco, Here I Come!

I’m moving to San Francisco, CA in about, oh, two and a half weeks. It’s both exciting and scary for the same reasons: I’m doing this on my own; I’m moving to a city where I have no friends; and I (sort of) get to start over. There’s no doubt that I’ll be chronicling the move to SFO on this blog that I’ve neglected for the past few weeks.

On a slightly different note, I just saw this on this week’s PostSecret.

It made my heart skip a beat.

Updates on Life

I’ve been (unintentionally) neglecting my blog for the past few weeks but I have been Tweeting a lot instead. It’s easie but I apologize because I know it’s not the same. Do follow me on Twitter if you can’t resist.

Here’s a few updates on what I’ve been up to recently.

+ I went camping on the coast last weekend with the roommate, the BF, and a friend. Instead of heading straight to our campsite at Fort Stevens we made an hour long detour to the Tillamook Cheese Factory for some ridiculously delicious icecream. I’ve only recently realized that kid’s sizes are perfect for me because one small serving of junk food is just all about that I can stomach. Unfortunately, I don’t always remember that and I ended up ordering two huge scoops of icecream on a huge waffle cone.  Oh, and this was right after I had a huge (but delicious) burger for lunch.

Enough about food. Camping was fun. It rained but only when we were ready to sleep; it was nice falling asleep and waking up to the sound of raindrops hitting your tent. The next morning started off a little overcast but the sun eventually came out. Played around with a toy shotgun someone bought. And by play I mean we tried to shoot squirrels with it. The boys also swam and ran around on the beach while I chose to just read. I did get a little sunburned on my nose.

+ My sister and her BF were in town for a few days. It was a laidback visit and consisted pretty much of baking, cooking and lots of eating. A Pizza Scholls (hands down best pizzeria in Portland, Ore.), chocolate krinkle cookies, Chinese food from China Town, meatloaf, garlic cheddar cheese chicken, Portland, Farmer’s Market, KFC, meatloaf, banana blueberry pancakes. Oh, and I baked the most delicious raspberry buttermilk cake ever. Mmm. I’ll share the recipe and photos for that in the very near future.

Yeah. I eat a lot. Probably too much for my own good.

+ I did, however, sign up for another month of bikram yoga. We all know how much I love bikram yoga. This is definitely something that I’d like to do long-term. I’m going to try attending more sessions from now on–maybe up it to going every weekday. Oh, I also managed to talk the BF into signing up for a month of bikram yoga with me. Haha.

+ The job hunt is going well. I’m not going to say anything because I don’t want to jinx it but hopefully I’ll be with good news soon. I’m still looking though–this time focusing more on connections and networks–because there’s no need to stop and jump for joy yet.

Job Interviews, Packed Lunches

Odd One. © 2009 Maddy.

 

I kind of wish I had a garden so that I could, well, garden. I know that you can purchase small plots of land on farms located on the outskirts of Portland but that isn’t really an option right now.

Here are some more random thoughts…

…on packed lunches.
I make cute and healthy ones; I’m all about the right mix of carbs/protein/greens and the presentation.

…on the importance of job interviews, regardless of how well they go.
Interviews + Interviews = Experience
Experience + Experience = More experience
More experience = Job offer

Random but logical.

I’ve had a couple interviews and I can honestly say that each interview is better than the last. I feel more prepared for any questions they may throw at me and more confident about the answers I give them. I finally understand why everyone keeps saying to just go on interviews after interviews. Even they don’t extend job offers, I’m glad that they do find my experience (and my resume and cover letter) appealing and solid. And, hey!, at least they’re calling to set up interviews, right?

I feel like reading ‘The Game’ by Neil Strauss has positively impacted my thinking. In this regard, at least.

Anyway, I’m excited for lunch so I can eat my cute packed lunch. Oh, the little pleasures of life.