Don't worry about a thing...

At noon today, wafting in through my 12th story window were the lyrics from this lovely Bob Marley song, played by a band in one of the open spaces next door to our building.

The timing couldn't have been better.

Every year in September I plan the Annual Meeting of the Councillors at Save the Redwoods League. It's a two day retreat, complete with a business meeting, fancy seated dinner, workshop, picnic and hikes...for about a 100 people...four hours away.

Today was my last day in the office before leaving for the event. Anyone who knows event planning, or me before an event, you know that the last day in the office is usually full of stress. This year, though, I'm actually not that stressed. Wierd. Makes me a little nervous. I felt better after about 2:45 today when the last minute ball of chaos (there's always one) was lobbed into my court. Things were just too easy. So, I fielded that ball and was still able to leave work at 6:30 (I got there at 8:20). Still a long day. I'll still dream about the event all night. But, I'm not a little tornado of bitchy anxiety. I've even had time to eat and make food for the next couple of days (and write this post!). Maybe I'm getting better at this.

Still having the musical reminder helped. I've been singin' "Everything's gonna be alright..." all day.


"Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!"
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing" - I won't worry!
"'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right" - I won't worry!
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, oh no!
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right! /fadeout/

The evolution of an "Environmentalist" - Part 1

Am I an environmentalist?
Originally, no.

I came to "environmentalism" through a belief in the value and worth of human beings. The logic is thus:

*I like humans. I like living.
*Humans need water, air, food, shelter to live.
*Humans are destroying the very things on which their future existence depends - nature.
*So, protect nature to protect the future existence of humans.

Growing up on a farm, I had a closer relationship with the water, air and dirt that made our food than many people, which is probably why I came to this seriousness as young as I did.

In junior high, I started turning off the water facet anytime it absolutely wasn't necessary, like when brushing my teeth, and seeing how short I could possibly make my shower to conserve as much water as possible. In high school, I joined the environmental club, became president of the club, and helped implement a school wide recycling program and planted a tree in the courtyard, so we wouldn't have to get a cut one every year for christmas.

At the age of 15, I decided that I wanted to save the world. Since I liked the trees and nature and saw their importance to human survival, I adopted the label "environmentalist" and the movement "environmentalism" because it was the closest fit out there.

Since then, my understanding of environmentalism has evolved. It is no longer just the protecting of trees. (Ironically, I work for an organization that does precisely just that.) Early in college, I got tired of being considered the "enemy" by my family, namely grandparents, still on the farm. To them, environmentalism was a dirty word, and I'd succomded to the dark side of the force as a city-slicker who just wanted to take away all of their land from them. Being the enemy upset me, in large part, because I got a large part of my love for nature from them.

So, I set out to build bridges. I recognized that many environmentalists and environmentalism did a very poor job at communicating with and understanding people who weren't already card-carrying tree-huggers. This was not a good strategy for a movement that needed as many supporters as possible to affect the scale of change that was necessary to make the earth a place still inhabitable for current and future generations.

Around that time (I'm still in my first or second year at university) I came across and read The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken. What he wrote made so much sense to me. Basically, that business, consumers, economics and money could be used as a force for positive change for the environment. Because of this I minored in microeconomics, to give me a solid understanding of markets, supply and demand, cost-benefit ratios, and externalities. Combined with my major of Environmental Policy (of course), I called my course of study Environmental Economics, as there was no such major. The idea was that I could translate between environmentalists and businesses so that they could see the benefits to the bottom line and the environment of working together and accounting for the externalities of doing business.

At this time, I was also integrating the idea of the consumer activist...

-end of part 1-

It's now past my computer curfew, so you'll have to wait a few days for the next installment.

Garberville

I just got back from a visit near home yesterday. I got to hear some old-timers stories, eat some home-made baked goods, and gossip with some ladies.

In reality, Mark and I just got back yesterday from a site visit to Southern Humboldt County so that I could figure out logistics for the Annual Meeting in September. Much progress was made there, but that's not what this is about.

Occasionally, I am lucky enough to get to take a trip up North for work. Last year, I made it up to Crescent City, 7 hours north of SF and almost in Oregon, a few times. I love it up there. The big trees have a lot to do with that. But, also, there's the people. Every time I go up there, I hear stories ala Grandpa from some old-timer local, usually an ex-logger, and am usually mistaken for someone's relative, not a city slicker, but someone who used to teach at the school or someone's friend's niece. Really. This happens every time.

I take it as a compliment.

A little about Humboldt and Del Norte counties. Driving, you don't get to Humboldt County until you're about 4 hours north of San Francisco. You don't reach Del Norte County until at least 6.5 hours north of SF. It's country.

In Humboldt County, the Eureka-Arcata area is the major town, the largest urban area between Portland and San Francisco. It has a small airport and a population of about 60,000. Humboldt State University in Arcata has about 7,500 students. For many years, logging was the major industry. Today, the hospital is the biggest employer. The Garberville-Redway towns have a population of about 2,000. The surrounding hills have thousands more people. The area used to be large ranches, which have been divided up into 30, 40, 80 acre parcels with a family on each. The Garberville area has a rich pioneering history, complete with river rats, ridge runners, moonshine stills, logging, farming, ranching and all of the tensions and trials that go with settling an area. This area has also been a beacon for hippies and people who want to live a more "alternative" life. So the locals are an intriguing mix. Just north of Garberville starts Humboldt Redwoods State Park, the first redwoods park, which contains the stand of redwoods that inspired the founding of Save-the-Redwoods League 90 years ago. Today, the redwoods provide a lot of tourism and service industry jobs. There are several very nice restaurants and lots of places to stay and camp. Humboldt County is also home to Pacific Lumber, Headwaters Forest, and all the lands that are contested in the PL bankruptcy.

In Del Norte County, the major town is Crescent City. The town and surrounding area has a population of about 15,000. The major employer used to be the timber industry and is now the prison. My favorite chicken fried steak in California is in a diner here. There are lots of chain restaurants and a few nice restaurants. The "hippie" population isn't as prevalent here, so it's a bit more country. There are lots of gorgeous redwood parks up here.

I'm from the country, a small town of 35,000 in mid-Missouri. Before we moved to town when I was in grade school, we lived on a farm, complete with chickens, goats, cats, sheep and a sheep dog. My dad helped my Grandpa farm soybeans, corn, and feed for cattle. My days were filled with making mud-pies, playing in the creek, reading books in my treehouse, fishing with Grandpa, baking with Grandma, picking corn and watermelons for the farmer's market, and trying to steal the eggs from the rooster. I was a true tomboy. But we moved to town before I learned to hunt. That always has made me a little sad.

I went to university in a big city. I moved to California and have lived the last eight years in one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the nation. I'm still more comfortable barefoot up in a tree than I am at a fancy restaurant with three forks for my dinner or in Santa Cruz eating a tofu scramble. I can eat in a fancy restaurant without embarrassing myself (too much=) and I can do hippie handicrafts with the best of them. I've learned to do these things, but what comes naturally and what I feel most comfortable doing is making a pork chop gravy and listening to Dave's stories about the '64 flood.

So, when I go up North, I'm at ease, because it's country. It's the same folks as my family, making a living off the land. They don't set out to rape the land, they just want to use the resources they have to do as well as they can for their family. It's when big corporations got involved, in both farming and timber, that things got nasty. With this perspective, I can hear their stories and they can tell them to me. And it's like being at the kitchen table with Grandpa.

That's why the visit was like being home.

ODAT

From the long forgotten folder in my desk drawer at work, tucked in between letters exchanged in the 1970s...

"There are two day in every week about which we should not worry; two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of those days is Yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All teh money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word said... Yesterday Is Gone!

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with is possible burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds...but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

This leaves only one day...Today! Any man can fight the battle of just one day. It is only when you and I have the burdens in those two awful eternities - Yesterday and Tomorrow - that we break down.

It is not the experience of Today that drives men mad... it is the remorses of bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.

Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time."

I was suprised to find this little bit of wisdom in a stack of old papers that came into my perview at work. I'm really grateful for the reminder, especially at work right now, because I'm heading into my busiest six weeks of the year. And sometimes, if I don't focus on what I have to do TODAY, I feel like I might drown.

When I Grow Up

I just had some funny thoughts. Bear with me for a few minutes...

If you'd asked me, when I was five, what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would've said, "Secretary, just like my aunts." At age six, I wanted to be an archeologist. At age seven, it'd evolved to paleontologist. At age eight, it was astronaut, but then the Challenger crashed and I didn't want to die, so that was the end of the astronaut dream. At age ten, it was geologist, but then I read about a geologist who died in the Mt. St. Helen's eruption, so that ended that one as well.

After that, it took me a few years to come up with something. At about age 15, I would've said, "I want to save the world." I was just getting into environmentalism at that time, so that seemed like a good thing to work on. That evolved to "I'll just work on saving my part of the world" to "I'll just my part of the world better." That's still pretty much where I'm at, but I've learned it's useful to get a little bit more specific about how. I couldn't been a scientist, or an economist, all with an eco-bent. But the policy stuff was more fun than calculas, so that's the course I studied.

I haven't exactly done what I thought I would.

My first job saving the world was with CalPIRG, knocking on doors asking for money to save trees. As challenging as it was to work there, it crystallized a lot of things for me. I'd long believed that the market/money could have a powerful affect on the environment. Basically, buy green, recycled, organic, and socially responsible because you believe in it, even though it's a little more expensive, and eventually, slowly, the scales will tip more in the direction of an economy and environment that is healthy for humans and other living creatures. What CalPIRG showed me is that philanthropy is another way to put your money where your values are. Making donations to public benefit organizations is a powerful action that one can take to affect positive change in the world. The real "aha" was that I was good at it - good at asking people for money for causes they just remembered they believed in.

But I just wasn't cut out to work nights, so I quit CalPIRG and found two part-time jobs -- one as Office Coordinator at Committee for Green Foothills and one as Information Specialist at Acterra. I liked these jobs because they were easy, but with enough moving parts to keep me busy and I learned a lot about organization management. After two years, I was promoted to Associate Director of Development at Committee for Green Foothills. This allowed me to marry my fundraising experience with project and volunteer management. It was fun, I learned a ton, and it wore me out. So, I took some time off to do some traveling, which is when I started this blog.

During my time off, I thought about what things I was particularily good at, that I also liked a lot, that were easy and that a lot of other people didn't like to do. Those things are managing timelines, details, events and volunteers. I perused Craiglist over the course of 2005 to get an idea of what types of jobs appealed to me that I could do, that wasn't something I'd already done. Being an Executive Assistant was top on the list. I was lucky enough to find Save-the-Redwoods League at the end of my travels (and money!). They were hiring for an executive assistant, with a little extra event planning and volunteer management than the average corporate job description. I've been there almost a year now, and it's still wonderful.

This isn't what I had in mind when I went to college, but it's working for me. I have to focus on how I'm using my talents to play a role in the bigger "saving-the-world" picture. My job isn't glamorous and it doesn't get many points in the cool column, but things would be much more messy if I, and people like me, weren't around.

...Which brings me to the beginning again.
Over the last year, Mark and I have been religiously watching, and we're on Episode 5 of Season 4. On Friday night, we saw the episode where Lily Tomlin was being vetted for her job in the White House. Security was concerned about a letter she wrote saying something about putting arsenic in the President's tea. Now, having grown up wanting to be a secretary, I am quite familiar with 9 to 5, where Lily Tomlin plays a disgruntled secretary in a plot to poison her boss. I caught the reference, which reminded of my early job aspirations, which triggered this post.

An executive assistant is a politically-correct secretary. I'm doing what I said I wanted to do when I was five! How did I know?

p.s. It was also somewhere in this episode, that I noticed that West Wing has been a big part of my job training this year. Donna Moss rocks!

past work

In the mail tonight was an invitation to Nature's Inspirations. I opened it and got all warm and fuzzy. As a staff member of Committee for Green Foothills, I managed the creation and execution of this event three years ago. I learned about art, exhibitions (not exhibitioning!), art juries, gallery lighting, hanging art. I worked with an amazing group of volunteers. I had fun. The mailing party dreams were worth it.

So, I'm proud that the structure and systems I put together still works. I'm proud that I helped create a fundraising event that makes money. I'm proud that in my small way, I've helped keep the foothills green.

current work

Today was a good day. It was a long day and I got a lot done. What did I do?

8AM
- typed up talking points for our board president for the lunch he was attending with board members. asked a senior staff member if there was anything else I needed to include in the talking points. found the section from the minutes from 5 years ago that he suggested including.
- mailed a 1/2 inch thick briefing book (picked up from the printer yesterday afternoon) to 12 Councillors telling them everything they need to know about attending the Annual Meeting, that I'm managing, which is in two weeks.
- Made a special note on bright orange paper detailing information about meals during the Annual Meeting, to be included in above package.
- made sure that the office manager had the directions to the lunch so that she could tell lost attendees how to get there.
- Also, in the briefing book packet was the "face book" which I made sure reflected current staff - meaning I had to take out the page of a staff member that just resigned.
- checked and responded to most new emails.
- called the restaurant and then delivered talking points and framed pictures to the lunch.
- ate a donut.
- called and left messages with board president updating him on who would be late for lunch and by how much. and letting him know where to look for the talking points and framed pictures.
- prepared 10 packets of materials for Executive Director interviewees, which had 8 different parts, five of which had to be copied, all of which had to be collated.
- copied the front page article of the San Francisco Chronicle about the newly discovered tallest living thing. This was included in the packet for the board members. I also added our newly printed Annual Report to the packet. I put labels on the packets.
- updated the Acting executive director about the status of things for the board meeting.
- called the search firm looking for our next executive director to make sure they knew to look for the packets i'd made for the interviewees.
- tracked down a contract and w-9, copied them, scanned them, and delivered them to the rightful places.
- rewrote my to-do list.
- made a cd of documents for the past executive director
- put the checks in order that came back with our bank statement, copied the bank statement, highlighted and flagged the checks that our ED needed to review.
- helped with the mail opening.
- accepted an order of cookies for the afternoon snack for the board meeting.

1PM
- made a pot of coffee for the board meeting. grabbed a handful of creamers to take to the front of the office where the meeting was.
- ate some beef stew.
- double checked that there was enough food for the evening's meeting.
- recruited help for moving a small table into the conference room for me to take minutes on.
- arranged the chairs around the table. i could only fit 12.
- filled my mechanical pencil up with lead and grabbed a post-it pad from the supply closet because the one at my desk had wandered off.
- set my table up for the board meeting with paper, post-its, timer, board materials, water bottle, tape recorder, pencil, pen, highlighter.
- made a "poor man's mocha" - half a cup of coffee and a packet of cocoa.
- welcomed the board members to the office
- realized I'd forgotten to get one of the board members some materials and ran to get it for him.
- realize that my wedding is in a month.
- sat down to take minutes
- kept track of time for the meeting periodicaly letting the board president know how much we were running over the time on the agenda.
- took 6 pages, double sided of handwritten notes for the meeting, which I'll type up in the morning, with far fewer typos than this post.
- recorded the adjusted the agenda times during the break and ran to the ladies room.
- ate half of a cookie.
- checked in with two board members after the meeting about a couple of specific items.
- cleaned off my little table.
- checked my email and logged off.
- made it all look easy.
- left for home.
5:30PM

It was a full day. Most days aren't this full, unless it's a month or less until the Annual Meeting, which is in two weeks.

And for those of you feeling sorry for me for having so much to do right now with two events, I have to say that I planned it this way. We set the date after I learned about the Annual Meeting. I knew what it would be like now and so far my hypothesis is proving to be true - that with so much at work, I have no energy or desire to obsess about the hitchin party, which I otherwise would do. So, in a sense, I'm grateful for a work event becuase this is helping keep the hitchin party low-key and simple, which is what we wanted. So, it's really ok.

Thankfully I'm marrying a grup!

At the core of being a Grup is "rejecting a hand-me-down model of adulthood that asks, or even necessitates, that you let go of everything you ever felt passionate about. It’s about reimagining adulthood as a period defined by promise, rather than compromise."

Mark just posted about an article in the New York Metro - Up With Grups - which, except for the emphasis on materialism, I mostly agree with. It's a long article, but worth the read.

Mark and I definitely aren't as trendy as those described in the article. (Though he is hipper than me.) We don't have earbuds implanted or spend a lot of money on clothes. We put very little emphasis on material things. I'm woefully unsavvy about the latest anything - always have been. But, when I do catch on (thanks to Mark and Jesser on the music front), I love it! And I'm probably not going to take up skateboarding, though I'll try snowboarding probably next season and eventually get as good as Mark.

But, doing something I love and being passionate about and enjoying my life is core to who I am. And this is one fundamental differences between the boomers and the grups. I've had many conversations with my father who has trouble understanding that money is not my motivating factor. A larger paycheck is not worth my sanity or my happiness.

Grups are parents, too. The article starts talking about that on page five. We're not parents yet, but when we are, you can be sure that our offspring will know The Beatles, Beck, Franz Ferdinand and Grandaddy. And, of course, we'll do our best to model passionate lives for them - for better or worse.

And the winner is...

I accepted a job with Save the Redwoods League! I'm very excited about this. I start next Wednesday. It will be a unique position with a combination of organization, planning, details, scheduling and diplomacy and facilitation. I will be the Executive Director's Executive Assistant. Here's the job description. My goal will be to help her make the highest use of her time and generally increase the productivity of the organization. The people that I've met are awesome. And the pay is generous.

I have a job!

Wierd.

=)

My Job Search

What I have to offer

Skills
Planning logistics systematically
Managing diverse groups of people energetically
Coordinating plans and people enthusiastically
Facilitating challenging situations diplomatically
Prioritizing workload and interests judiciously
Setting-up events and programs thoughtfully
Trouble-shooting calmly and rationally
Resolving challenges proactively
Organizing details methodically
Synthesizing data and information understandably
Budgetingaccurately
Learning quickly and with ease
Evaluating thoroughly
Adapting thoughtfully
Implementing logistics fastidiously
Working hard and efficiently
Coaching staff and volunteers positively
Herding cats lovingly

Traits
Self-motivated
Takes initiative
Diplomatic
Dedicated
Dependable
Energetic
Patient
Flexible
Positive
Punctual
Efficient

(Am I missing anything?)

What I'm looking for

I'm looking for a job in San Francisco that utilizes my skills for a socially responsible organization, while allowing me time and energy to enjoy my creative and personal life. It is important to me that the work environment be positive and that the work be with people who care about making a positive change in the world.

The job would include managing/coordinating people, information and/or events. Job titles include, but are not limited to: Program Manager, Program Associate, Executive Assistant, Office Manager or Development Associate.

Socially responsible organizations include, but are not limited to: socially responsible businesses, foundations and public benefit organizations.

My areas of interest are: environment, education, women's empowerment and progressive philanthropy.

You can view my resume at www.gentzsch.net.

Any leads or groups I should talk to?

Trees

I love trees. This has been a beautiful trip for trees. I've seen fall colors on them for the first time in five years. Yesterday, though, was a less beautiful day for trees. Driving to Olympia from Portland via Mount St. Helen's, I saw numerous clear cuts and many logging trucks. These things always make me sad. And yesterday I sobbed.


Just as I started up the road to the volcano, my ipod (on album shuffle) choose to play "Who bombed Judi Bari?" It is a cd that tells the story of Earth First organizer Judi Bari through her own speeches and songs. This was a very powerful, inspiring, raging, depressing, moving, draining thing to be listening to as I passed the trucks and cuts. I listened to it twice in a row.




Here's the basic story...

The corporate logging companies of Northern California have an agenda to clear cut as many old growth trees as possible in the summer of 1990 before the vote that fall on an initiative to protect those old growth trees. The goal of the logging companies was to make the vote and initiative pointless by making there be no trees left to protect.

A note about old growth trees. They're over 2000 years old, over 30 feet around, and several hundred feet tall. It takes about a dozen people stretched hand to hand to go around one. They are the most magnificant creatures I have ever seen in some of the most sacred habitat on the planet. When they're cut down, the rainforest turns to desert. The runoff clogs the rivers, kills the fish and creates mudslides that jeopardize the lives and homes of communities at the bottom of the hills.

Many people felt that logging the trees at that pace and that clearcutting as a practice are unacceptable. (Selection logging is good and can even be used to improve the health of the forest.) So, Judi Bari, a mother and long-time rural resident of Norther CA, called for Redwood Summer, a summer of non-violent, direct action to slow down the cutting of the trees. In May 1990, on a tour to promote the actions, she and Darryl (co-leader) were pipe-bombed in their car. After being framed and arrested for being terrorists and transporting the bomb that blew them up, they filed a civil lawsuit against the FBI and police in charge of their investigation. After over a decade in the courts, the jury passed down this verdict:

Jury's message to feds in $4.4 million verdict for Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney

On June 11, a federal jury returned a stunning verdict in favor of Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney in their landmark civil rights lawsuit against four FBI agents and three Oakland Police officers.

The jury clearly found that six of the seven FBI and OPD defendants framed Judi and Darryl in an effort to crush Earth First! and chill participation in Redwood Summer. That was evident in the fact that 80% of the $4.4 million total damage award was for violation of their First Amendment rights to speak out and organize politically in defense of the forests.

For more information about this, please visit www.judibari.org

If you would like a copy of the cd, just let me know. I'd be happy to get one for you. There is so much more to the story and I can't begin to convey how inspiring, dynamic, and vibrant Judi Bari is.

Wash. U.

Yesterday, I tooled around town - Good Will, Trader Joe's, the Shoelace Factory in the City Museum, Borders, Kolache Factory and WashU.

I graduated from Washington University in 2000. It's a really pretty campus. In this picture, you can see one of the main walkways. In the fall, the trees turn a bright yellow and blanket the ground in leaves.

I went by to see my college advisor, Ray Arvidson, and Margo, who keeps everything organized for him. Arvy is the chair of the Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPSc) department, one of the lead scientists on the Mars Rover missions, and a great guy. When I was in school, I worked in his lab, doing nerdy stuff like putting Lat/Long coordinates on satelitte images of Hawaii. I also built and maintained the website for our class using raw html. It was terribly basic, but I had fun.

He started an interdisciplinary environmental studies program. I was in the second class to participate in the program, which because of us, now lasts four years. The first years consists of studying the Ozarks and the Mojave Desert. The second year is the study of Hawaii. The third and fourth years consist of putting together a senior capstone experience. My class took it back to Hawaii. The current class has found something in Spain to study. The coolest part of the program is that everywhere you study, you get to visit. And you're with some of your best friends, because the students (10-20) in the program take about half of the same classes. My best friends from college were people in the program, and we've all gone off to do cool stuff.

The EPSc department has a new beautiful building, with planetary murals, rock and paleontology exhibits and a life-size replica of the Mars Spirit Rover. Margo gave me the tour of the building, including the room where they control the rover when JPL isn't. Cool, huh? (BMS, you'd love this stuff!)

Happy Friday the 13th!

Friday the 13th is one of my favorite dates. (Much preferrable to Monday the 13th, which is almost always difficult.) And today has been an exceptionally good Friday the 13th.

Today is the first day of my new unemployed state. I'm not sure I fully realize yet what this means, but so far I'm excited. I spent the past four years working for Committee for Green Foothills. It is an exceptional organization, made exceptional by exceptional people. I am lucky and grateful to have contributed. I will definitely miss the people that I've worked closely with over the last several years, but I am comforted by knowing that they will always be a part of my life and a part of who I've become. They have all contributed to the vast amounts of growth and learning during my tenure at CGF. I came to CGF fresh out of college and am leaving with the confidence of a woman who knows her strengths.

I began and finished packing today too! In four days, I fly to Missouri for two months. I've packed all of my colorful skirts and tank tops in preparation for gloriously hot, humid Missouri summer weather. I've packed everything up from Nanette's to deposit at Mark's, and thankfully there's not too much stuff.

Then, I went shopping and bought TWO new pairs of shoes - some New Balance and a cute pair of black Dansko sandles. This is big news for me. Such successful shopping moods only happen about every three years.

And lastly, but not leastly, I've eaten only favorite foods today, including: fruit/yogurt/granola parfait, a mocha from Sam's, leftover thai food, miso soup, a big salad, beer and chocolate cake with white icing.

I'll top it all off with a soak in the hot tub.

Life is good.

Here's "The Plan"

After four years of being rooted on the Peninsula, I've decided it's
time to shake things up a bit.

1. Welcome to the 90s! - Get rid of land line and get a cell phone

2. Move out of Menlo Park apartment April 9th and crash at Nanette's for
a month

3. Quit my job at Committee for Green Foothills. My last day is May 13.
-- If you know anyone who's looking for a great non-proft job, have
them check out http://www.greenfoothills.org/about/jobs.html

4. Party in SF. Details TBD.

5. Take a break. Go to Missouri for June and July. Visit friends and
family. Help Dad build up his inventory of yarns for OzarkHandspun.com.
Re-evaluate what I want to do when I grow up.

6. Come back to the Bay Area in late July, continue break and visiting
with friends. Take a road trip to Wyoming in early August.

7. Go to Burning Man.

8. Move officially to SF. Begin looking for work.

Whew. I think that's it.

Road Trip, anyone?

Road Trip Nation is a book I picked up at the library with quite sage advice. It's created by and for college kids but is relevant to all who are seeking to "walk their own path" and shed "the noise" of what our culture says we should do with our lives. The book is a collection of the stories of successful people who got to success via a windy road.

"The people who are really close to you are the ones who will not judge you. People who worry about what others think or say about them hesitate. They may hesitate to make a mistake; worse, they might hesitate to achieve greatness. Just take a chance. There is no excuse for someone is his early or mid-twenties not to pursue a dream. I think it's about giving yourself over to sojmething blindly. GIve yourself in a way that you're willing to jump over the edge of a cliff while not sure what's on the other side. That's how pure your dream has to be. If it doesn't work, if you don't like it, who cares. You'll have done something that others don't have the courage or the wherewithal to try." Chef Charlie Trotter - of Charlie Trotter's Restaurant where a dinner is $300 for one person. He started out working in a kitchen for $3 an hour.

"The best people care about only one thing and that's having an impact. The really great people love to play in the hot zones....The only advice I could give young people is this: 'Poof, your fifty.' So, what have you done? Did you have fun? Did you have adventures? Did you do stuff that you really loved? Did you lead a brave life?" Geoffrey Frost - who skipped Yale to work in advertising and was vice-president of a company at age twenty-six.

"What's my advice to people entering the workforce? Have a realistic perspective on how hard it is. You may not get the exact job you want as fast as you want, or get paid as much as you deserve, but things have a way of working out....Being passionate about what you do doesn't mean you'll be happy all the time. It will be tough. You will face setbacks, but if you keep pursuing your passion seriously, things will happen that you can't predict." RIck Allen, president and CEO of National Geographic Ventures, who started out his career as a lawyer, hated it and made a jump to business. He also was instrumental in setting up Americorps.

Rick Allen touches on something that was stated somehow in Every story in the book. "Things work out." You could say that it's just good luck. But maybe not. Perhaps the biggest barrier to anything is what we believe about what's possible. When we believe something's possible, it is.

I'm in the process of figuring out what I want to be possible for me.