Just A Few More Days Here

There are only a few more hours to go state-side and then I am off to Africa. It still hasn't sunk in completely. Each step has been a theoretical leap, nothing changed about my life or my surroundings, just an update or a form to fill out and that was that.

Now it is getting a bit more real.

My apartment is becoming more barren as each hours slips by. The vehicles are sold, the accounts that I used to pay monthly (and take for granted) are now closed. I have books, some music, and a phone which also will be leaving my side very shortly to keep me company.

In addition to that, I still have my friends and an American culture that I am still quite comfortable with at my fingertips. That will be the scary part - seeing that disappear over the horizon.

I am anxious to get started but I understand one important thing, I am going to be returning some point in the future as a different creature. What I lose here I am sure I will gain on the other side of the Atlantic. Still, it is quite the unknown.

Just a few more hours to go then. If I manage to pack just half of what I need in Ghana then I will be happy.

What To Do

Nothing is quite like packing up your life and figuring out what you will need for the next two years. I haven't figured it out just yet, but with some help I have a shopping list and a few great suggestions on what to take to Ghana.

The apartment is getting more vacant and everything that I look at lately gets categorized instantly again and again. Take, don't take, dumpster, sell, give away, etc. It feels as though nothing is really being condensed or narrowed down, but I imagine after a few more trips to the storage unit and the dumpster, things will be gone and I will be left with only what I need. Or rather, what I think I need. Probably my best guess now will look foolish in about three or four months. Part of the fun of it though.

One other problem is what to do with the time remaining. I want to spend it with everyone of course, but time doesn't quite permit everything. So I am doing the best I can with talking and seeing people where I go. When someone says, "See you next week," I now explain that this might not be the case. After a while that starts to wear a bit on the head; this may be the very last time I see this person. Should the handshake be extra firm? Should I just say 'later' and move along? Odd changes of the mental state keep coming back and sometimes I just go quiet thinking about it all.

When not stuck in deep contemplation I have enough sense to just try and enjoy and laugh and absorb the good times. Some good times are still left and in my better moments I realize there are some great times to come.

The British Petroleum Spill Senate Hearing

While on the road for a good long while yesterday I had the pleasure of tuning into C-SPAN II radio while passing through the Washington, D.C. area to listen to a hearing regarding the Gulf of Mexico oil spill / leak. Senator Lieberman chaired the hearing and Senator Collins sat as the ranking minority member of the committee. They brought out DHS Secretary Napolitano to answer questions and then the chairman of BP America, Lamar McKay. Both had answers for some questions but not others.

All-in-all, I thought that it was a rather enlightening session. A couple of points brought up struck me as significant: there are many deep water oil operations in the Gulf but at the outset of the meeting it was thought that they constituted less than 5% of the operations in the Gulf - more like 60% if I remember correctly; the contingency plans focused on clean-up were in effect presuming the spill was on top of the water, not from its source below the water's surface; that there hasn't been a catastrophe of this proportion earlier.

The idea that the U.S. government allowed businesses to secure rights to drill this deep yet have no real requirement to determine the means of containing a disastrous worst-case scenario such as this is baffling. This is not the first time a well has been drilled in 5,000 feet of water either. So by sheer luck and some forethought, most wells have gone in without incident. I then could completely understand the position of BP to paraphrase lightly - we really don't have a case history here to deal with an explosion and rupture so deep, so this is all an experiment. I gather some paper diagrams saying how they would contain the bleeding would have been sufficient to say they had thought about it, but there again that type of preparation wouldn't guarantee that it would work in reality.

It certainly struck me as I listened to this entire session that I was able to take it all in from the luxury of my four-wheeled vehicle that is always in need of some nice crude to be pumped or procured from somewhere else on earth. I am repulsed at the amount of damage that this leak has and will cause in the Gulf of Mexico, but I can't say that I want all off-shore drilling and production stopped.

Rather, I am more agreeable for costs such as this to be added to the price of oil products that we as a whole buy. Plastics, oil, gasoline, all of the hydrocarbon-based things that we buy should have an actual cost that covers the necessary destruction of the environment whether that is air, land, or sea pollution. That cost isn't to punish us but to make us aware that there are many unknown expenses associated with these modern-day conveniences. It seems more fair and makes all of us responsible for the world we leave behind.

Visiting The Family

I have spent the better part of the last nine days visiting family and it has been great. I had the chance to spend an entire day relaxing with my brother by the pool for his birthday party festivities, I had a chance to go to the beach with my mom and dip the toes into the Atlantic Ocean one more time, and then yesterday I was able to visit with all my extended family on the other side of the state and receive all the great well-wishes. You couldn't ask for a better time.

But with all that great time, you get to figure out what you will miss most. Twenty-seven months is a long time to go without a hug, but I am sure some family will have a chance to travel and visit me, so I will be counting down the days to those visits for sure.

Until that time, I enjoy these moments and get to hold on to them for quite a while!

One Update One Day Late

Yesterday I happened to re-check my online application status. My girlfriend suggested it, and while I hadn't received an email (the usual way I would find out if any changes were made to my account at Peace Corps) I went ahead and took her very wise advice. Nothing was different - or so I thought.

I had neglected to check one part of the account. Your Application. Since I had been nominated and now my account had changed in the look and feel department, I hadn't gone back to review what my application had listed. Yes, it was different and all for the better. It said that something had been mailed to me on the 4th.

I had called the main office earlier and they seemed a bit surprised that I hadn't received anything. I still did not know they had sent something at the time, and I just chalked it up to someone getting a signal crossed. Of course that certain somebody was me. Naturally.

I went to the Post Office and picked up my mail, and in the mail box was a key for a package that had been sent. It was my Invitation. Oh joyous day. I was so incredibly excited that I called her up and let her know that I was coming home with what was sure to be an invite.

I got home and she helped me open the envelope. She gave me the cover-letter and sure enough, it was there. "It is with great pleasure that we invite you to begin training in Ghana for Peace Corps service."

We hugged and the smile on my face was impressive I'm sure. So Ghana. I quickly helped myself to all the information inside and while I do need to fill out a few things, I think this is it. What I have hoped for since the start was a chance to serve, a chance to see what I am made of and a way to help out. All the while learning about who I am.

Pretty neat huh?

Where Are We In The Process

To be honest, I am not so certain where I am in the process of the Peace Corps application. I had a notice about a week and a half ago that I had an invitation. Sure enough I checked my account and there was an invitation listed for me (and hey, that is tremendous news in and of itself since that is what I have been after for a long while now), but the invitation was lacking something. A tiny bit of crucial information.

Where to?

The invite seems to have left off a continent or a country for the destination so most of the pages in my account are available to me, but the juicy information is omitted. I can only imagine that this is a great first step towards finding out where I am heading to, but then it twists me in knots to NOT know where it might be. After a call to the headquarters in D.C., it seems that either I am to receive something in the mail or I should expect a call.

More. Waiting. To. Go.

But still, you should know that there is an invite, but I don't know where to! Hooray for that, right?

Well Then, That Is The End Of That

It has been a while since I had something to update, but here we have it. After many months of being in the lurch on the medical aspect of my Peace Corps application I have come to find out today that I am now fully medically cleared for the second time. The surgeon wrote out a clearance paper for me that says I am fully healed and ready to depart the moment they say "go". Which means... yes, I can now go!

What that depends on though is the Peace Corps having a position open for me to move into which has proven problematic at the end of 2009 and at the beginning of 2010. The countries that are putting out the requests now need to put up a position where I am a perfect match and then I get to head out.

Keeping the fingers crossed this long still seems to pay dividends. In the meantime I have kept busy with different scraps of work and hobbies. Having quit the full-time job so long ago I forget what it is like to get up earlier than 9AM, but I am sure that I can swing right back into the flow once something concrete comes my way.

More patience for 2010!

Ah, It Goes On And On

Boy, I need to update this site more often. Yes, the deployment has been delayed and looks to continue its delay until 2010, maybe in the spring. While waiting I have had a few calls with the Placement Officer and her response has been toned down but encouraging. Hang in there and you will be placed since you have been waiting a while.

So obviously, I have had the misfortune of being placed back into the waiting game for my Peace Corps placement. The unfortunate medical incident at just the perfectly awful time made me sit out while others were sent in earnest across the globe. I just had to be patient. I had to keep repeating that to myself whenever another form would come across or another update would be emailed or phoned to me.

Now I am back in line with the Medical Office. They sent me the following letter:

"Dear "You",

Thank you for submitting your medical information to the Office of Medical Services. We have reviewed your medical records and determined that we must defer our evaluation of your medical qualification until you have completed your 3 month follow up visit for evaluation of the right zygomaticomaxillary complex fracture.

If you wish for us to reconsider your application at that time, we will need a report from you physician that includes current evaluation of this condition.

You may request review of this decision by the Peace Corps' Screening Review Board. You must make this request in writing within 60 days. Please send the request to your reviewing nurse. The request must be accompanied by some new information from your physician or other licensed health care provider not previously provided to Peace Corps. The decision of the Screening Review Board will be final, and not subject to further review.

If you have any questions, contact..."

From what I am gathering, it is stating that I am out until that 3 month follow up visit is received by them (they received the 2 month office notes because that is how they learned about the 3 month appointment).

What is getting me upset, and not a temper tantrum upset I should say, is that the 2 month office visit stated that I was clear to leave if the Peace Corps offered me a placement opportunity. The surgeon keeps putting me into the "how about we just see each other again next month" routine and I have yet to say no.

Either way, this leads to yet more back and forth-ing and I am contemplating a request to review this decision, but if it only takes a short office visit and a doctor's note explaining in plain english that is acceptable to put me on a jet plane then that is what I will do. A call on the 8th should help out.

A Bump On The Road (And On The Face)

As of this writing I am uncertain if I will be leaving for Peace Corps at the time they had intended me to leave. I was interviewed on Tuesday, the 4th, and things went well with the Placement Representative until I had to disclose a medical injury to her. Unfortunately I took a punch or three to the head late Sunday and have to have a surgery scheduled to fix the broken zygomatic process on the right side of my face.

Honestly, I realize that patience and flexibility were all a part of the process here but this was distinctly NOT on my plan when getting into the Peace Corps. I will be alright I think, and the story that got my into this position is long to tell but suffice to say, all parties are being responsible and I feel it will work out. The aspect of getting deployed though looks likely to be put on hold for a while unfortunately. I have an initial examination with the plastic surgeon to see what they can do for my bones to fix the damage, and from there we figure out what can be had in terms of timing for Peace Corps.

I suspect this will be a longish delay, not weeks, but months. Then again, things have worked out for me without my understanding in the past so maybe I will be fortunate here and have things go my way.

Either way, it was neat to find out that my theory of when I might be heading out was pretty close. Not quite August, but not quite winter either. Now where is that ice pack?

Medically Cleared - Finally

After all those visits to all of those healthcare specialists I finally get to declare myself medically fit for the Peace Corps. Or more correctly, I get to report that the Peace Corps thinks I am medically fit to enter.

The letter finally came today and while not an invite to a country, it was a great relief just to get to this stage in the process. Now I need to wait for the last little thing - an invite to join.

More patience. A lot more!

A Letter Is Coming

It has been a few weeks since I had an update for or from the Peace Corps to post about. I had my last medical questions filled out and returned back in early June. I received a notice that the Medical Office was in receipt of them and that put me back in the position of waiting.

That waiting may (or may not be) over soon.

I received another update on my account this past Tuesday, July 6th stating that I should look for a letter to come to my home in the next few days. I do not know what the letter will have and the status chance on my account now shows my medical kit has been fully completed so I know for certain that this letter is not more information that I will need to fill out with the help of my doctor. I just don't know what the letter has in it!

More patience. From my Peace Corps account, it read as follows:

"A decision has been reached regarding your medical review. Please look for a letter in the mail."

I don't know if the letter is one qualifying me for a position, disqualifying me, or something altogether different.

I am incredibly nervous but there is nothing that I can do but wait for the mail to come each day and be hopeful for good news.

We shall see, and I will write with the next installment of this Peace Corps saga.

Happiness

I just finished a fascinating article in the Atlantic titled, "What Makes Us Happy?" written by Joshua Wolf Shank. An incredible digest of the 70+ year Grant Study of Harvard students and its longtime director, George Vaillant.

I am not sure that I had ever heard about it prior to reading the article, but it is truly worth the time to read and think things through. Since I've been trying to find my own slice of happiness in the world it should come as no surprise that many others have done the same and probably bounced around the same paths as I have.

Without permission, this one particular passage stood out:

case No. 218, continued

On first glance, you are the study’s exemplar. In Dr. Vaillant’s “decathlon” of mental health—10 measures, taken at various points between ages 18 and 80, including personality stability at ages 21 and 29, and social supports at 70—you have ranked in the top 10 of the Grant Study men the entire way through, one of only three men to have done so.

What’s your secret? Is it your steely resolve? After a major accident in college, you returned to campus in a back brace, but you looked healthy. You had a kind of emotional steel, too. When you were 13, your mother ran off with your father’s best friend. And though your parents reunited two years later, a pall of disquiet hung over your three-room apartment when the social worker came for her visit. But you said your parents’ divorce was “just like in the movies,” and that you someday “would like to have some marital difficulties” of your own.

After the war—during which you worked on a major weapons system—and graduate school, you married, and your bond with your wife only deepened over time. Indeed, while your mother remains a haunting presence in your surveys—eventually diagnosed with manic depression, she was often hospitalized and received many courses of shock therapy—the warmth of your relationship with your wife and kids, and fond memories of your maternal grandfather, seemed to sustain you.

Yet your file shows a quiet, but persistent, questioning about a path not taken. As a sophomore in college, you emphasized how much money you wanted to make, but also wondered whether you’d be better off in medicine. After the war, you said you were “too tense & high strung” and had less interest in money than before. At 33, you said, “If I had to do it all over again I am positive I would have gone into medicine—but it’s a little late.” At 44, you sold your business and talked about teaching high school. You regretted that (according to a study staff member’s notes) you’d “made no real contribution to humanity.” At 74, you said again that if you could do it over again, you would go into medicine. In fact, you said, your father had urged you to do it, to avoid the Army. “That annoyed me,” you said, and so you went another way.

There is something unreachable in your file. “Probably I am fooling myself,” you wrote in 1987, at age 63, “but I don’t think I would want to change anything.” How can we know if you’re fooling yourself? How can even you know? According to Dr. Vaillant’s model of adaptations, the very way we deal with reality is by distorting it—and we do this unconsciously. When we start pulling at this thread, an awfully big spool of thoughts and questions begins to unravel onto the floor.

You never seemed to pull the thread. When the study asked you to indicate “some of the fundamental beliefs, concepts, philosophy of life or articles of faith which help carry you along or tide you over rough spots,” you wrote: “Hard to answer since I am really not too introspective. However, I have an overriding sense (or philosophy) that it’s all a big nothing—or ‘chasing after wind’ as it says in Ecclesiastes & therefore, at least up to the present, nothing has caused me too much grief.”

That bolded passage above struck me - the very way we deal with reality is by distorting it. How can you know you are not distorting reality? And the subject's admission that "it's all a big nothing." Happiness is so elusive in its application to the human condition that it astounds me where other people find it, or how they relate to it in their lives.

Again, a fine article not only on the study itself but on what conclusions we can draw from it.

A Fill-Up On The Enthusiasm Tank

It has been some time since I have had any word on my application to the Peace Corps and honestly, without any news the whole idea recedes into the back of my mind if there isn't something new to ingest. Over the past week or two I have been more preoccupied with my upcoming vacation than with an update on my medical kit from Washington, D.C.

An enthusiasm gap was settling in - will I ever get going with this? Do I still want to do this if it should come to pass? Without the wind in my sails I felt more adrift, and just a touch less ready to get to that next stage.

Tonight's get together over in Northampton changed my perspective somewhat. Past and future Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) were invited to a pot luck dinner and meet-and-greet at a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer's (RPCV) house. This was the fastest 3 hours I've spent at a pot luck ever. The time whizzed by as I was privileged to speak with those who have already been through the process and gone through the emotions. My very good friend (and RPCV herself) Rebecca was there, as well as my brand new RPCV friends Joe, Jill, Sara, and "Betsy". Many more were in attendance but once you get rolling with the questions and the answers come at you in waves it is difficult to talk to and meet everyone. Probably about 20 in all were in attendance.

It is hard to pinpoint what I gleaned from the evening as there were 3 suggestions and 2 intriguing stories for every question I had, all of which I wanted to memorize or do my best to store away for later use if I am so lucky to be invited, but the most important thing I got from this evening was that connectedness to something bigger, grand, and exciting. It has been quite some time since I felt like that, possibly even going all the way back to the night where I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about applying. Just tremendous fun to talk about this possible life.

I really took too much of Sara's time with my questions, but she had served in Lesotho (a pronunciation that sounds much more like leh-SU-too than how I was accustomed to saying it) and I was zoning in on those who served in Africa without realizing it. Great information from her as she described what it was like living there, getting used to the situation, making new friends, and even coming back and the difficulties that imposes on the volunteer.

I could go on but the picture is pretty much done there - a friendlier group of people it would be hard to find.

As the night of stories moved along I realized that some of those old comforts that I am so used to right now won't be here for long if I really were depart in July or August (who knows when the date might be), so I strolled over to the convenience store that is open 24 hours a day just for a whim such as mine and walked out with a pint of ice cream. I know I shouldn't do that, but while I still can...

I made the exception. It was delicious! Enthusiasm and blood sugars are at an all-time high.

Spare Time And Evolution

Since there is no news on the Peace Corps front (patience... flexibility), I found myself wandering back to items in the political sphere again.

From another web log I was directed to an article written by Tamim Ansary who claimed deep experience in the educational textbook arena for K-12 education. It was published in the November 2004 issue of Edutopia under the title, "The Muddle Machine: Confessions of a Textbook Editor". The copy of that article is online still, and sheds a bit of light on what, at the time, was the process of publishing a textbook in the United States.

This passage is the striking information:

"In textbook publishing, April is the cruelest month. That's when certain states announce which textbooks they're adopting. When it comes to setting the agenda for textbook publishing, only the twenty-two states that have a formal adoption process count. The other twenty-eight are irrelevant -- even though they include populous giants like New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio -- because they allow all publishers to come in and market programs directly to local school districts.

Adoption states, by contrast, buy new textbooks on a regular cycle, usually every six years, and they allow only certain programs to be sold in their state. They draw up the list at the beginning of each cycle, and woe to publishers that fail to make that list, because for the next seventy-two months they will have zero sales in that state.

Among the adoption states, Texas, California, and Florida have unrivaled clout. Yes, size does matter. Together, these three have roughly 13 million students in K-12 public schools. The next eighteen adoption states put together have about 12.7 million. Though the Big Three have different total numbers of students, they each spend about the same amount of money on textbooks. For the current school year, they budgeted more than $900 million for instructional materials, more than a quarter of all the money that will be spent on textbooks in the nation."

In effect, three states call the shots as to what gets in and stays out of curricula for the nation's students. Of these three, only Texas administers their purchasing agreement for all grades which obviously covers high school textbooks as well as elementary programs. Hence, if you can sell it in Texas, you hit the mother-lode for your sales figures and you can sop up bonus money by pitching the textbooks to the other states who don't follow the adoption process.

The author details the process by which the Texas Board of Education reviews textbooks submitted, and the open hearing process whereby the public may question and comment on the textbooks. It has been through this (and the conservative make up of the Texas Board of Education) that the curriculum held in the hands of students in the Lone Star State have received watered down versions of science for quite some time. Just as recently as March 2009 the Board succeeded in adding language which will require students to "examine all sides of the argument." Clearly a dive for creationism in the classroom at all costs by the board, several of whom are very vocal about their support (any statement by Barbara Cargill on science makes her views perfectly clear).

This is not to put aside Ansary's view on the flawed system of textbook publication in this age, with diluted facts and subtle self-censorship on the part of producers, but to highlight what places the stress on science education almost across the board: a fifteen member panel and vocal activists with little background in the sciences insisting that political and religious views be foisted onto the masses.

To be honest, they are playing the game fair and square (as fair and square can be in Texas). I wonder if colleges and universities might make it known that fewer scholarships for math and science will be issued to native-taught Texans for the foreseeable future; that if given the choice, maybe a student from Michigan, Ohio, or Pennsylvania will have the background suitable for a rigorous education in the honest-to-goodness sciences more than a Texas senior would.

Then again, that probably wouldn't bother some Texans in the slightest. And that is a true shame for the next generation.

And So The Medical Kit Is Returned

After receiving my medical evaluation kit back in November of last year I have tallied the visits to the doctors, sifted through old medical records, scratched my temple to figure out what was being requested, done double and triple reviews of my documents in comparison to what the Peace Corps wanted returned; so finally today I sent the whole batch of papers back to their office. Hoooray!

The last official duty was making copies of everything that I was sending to them so I had a record of what I passed along. My hunch here is that this medical evaluation just serves as another step in the process to weed out potential candidates. Then again, maybe college graduates don't have much more then one visit to the doctor and the dentist to be finished with this part.

All in all, the ordeal is done and it treated me to a full battery of medical tests which is a good thing. I am sure my health insurance company can't quite figure out why someone would go for a Polio booster, but the Yellow fever shot my clue them in that I may be traveling soon. I'm hopeful that they pay for some of these things at least.

There is still a chance that Peace Corps receives my reply and finds something out of place which may delay the deployment. I hope this isn't the case. Another opportunity to practice patience and flexibility I suppose.

Onward and upward.

Back In The Clear

I neglected to post on Friday that the results so far of a more thorough eye exam is negative - that is the result was good for me and positive for my Peace Corps application. The ophthalmologist could not see anything on the retina other than a nevus that just should be looked at closely on further visits to ensure that it is not changing. That made me much happier. 

What I have left to do is some more writing, a few more references and then I can ship off a packet full of papers to the main headquarters and wait patiently for any follow-up questions. I may try to do a page count of what I am sending just for the humor of it all.

Our 44th President

Today was the inauguration of the Obama presidency. I happened to be fortunate enough to view the broadcast of the event while still at work but I certainly wish I had been there front and center to witness it with my own eyes. What an impressive day, more so for those who have felt the brunt of an oppressive society during the last century.

As I am an incredible devotee to the Presidency of Lincoln, it is very reassuring that President Obama has the same fondness for our 16th president. I really do hope that he can match the kindness and humility that Abraham Lincoln put on display in both public and private matters. Even if he falls only a little short of that superlative example, I am fairly positive that Obama's presidency would be a success.

We will find out soon enough; for now, it is a nice day to be alive.

The quote from Lincoln's second inaugural address:

"With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds."

Patient And Flexible

I was told earlier in the process, prior to the interview as a matter of fact, that using these words - patient and flexible - would get me places. They represent the need to understand that things operate differently in a different culture, that sometimes it takes all of your strength just to adapt to the most simplest and mundane changes that are bound to occur.

This ideal of patience and flexibility are already being used, and I am only at the medical portion of the application process. I am thinking of doing a new meditation technique where I only hear these two words looped over and over again to a new age sound track whilst I say aloud, "aum". It might just help.

More appointments today were made and met. I had to return back to my primary care physician to have her sign off on two sheets of paper that I had misread prior to my second visit to her. Just another sheet acknowledging past conditions and her signature. A second Hepatitis B shot as well (they are starting to hurt less now) for good measure. Just two more shots to go plus the Yellow fever and Polio boosters, and I'm almost done with the injections.

It was the second visit to the optometrist that threw me a curve ball. I needed new glasses in the worst way and before I go I need to have two pairs as a precautionary measure. Many hundreds of dollars later, I had the glasses I needed. Before I was out though, my optometrist dilated the pupils to take a good long look at my retina. He did notice something in the left eye. After far too much prodding on the eyeball, he could not get a good enough look at a small lesion in there. He then proceeded to tell me that this was more than likely nothing but a second opinion wouldn't hurt. 

Then the disconcerting news came. Something to the effect of, "If I saw this in a patient who had a history of melanoma, then I would definitely get this checked out." 

Yes, that would be me there mister. Back in 2001 to be precise. Any alarms and whistles at that?

While no horn fired off nor steam whistles blared out of his ears, he gave me a choice of specialists to visit so I am off to see one next Friday for a second look. I should say that it is a good thing that Peace Corps is this thorough with there medical checks for an old man such as myself, but I would have preferred to have news of the A-Ok variety. If it is nothing, then all I am out is an hour or two Friday. Better to be safe here, that is for certain.

And now on to practicing some more patience and flexibility.

A-u-m. A-u-m.

Being Detail-Oriented Helps In A Bureaucracy

There was some travel time over the holidays which meant that if I planned rightly, I would have about an hour and a half to whittle away while sitting in the Raleigh airport. That came to pass so I opened up my Peace Corps folder (a very full-of-papers folder mind you) to go over details of my medical evaluation papers. I am still on the hook to have those completed and returned to the Peace Corps Medical Offices. As I am leafing through the paper and the essay question that I must fill out, I come across the form that explains how to receive reimbursement for office visits required to complete all the medical forms. It is a three or four page packet and I recall seeing it many times, however for some reason I always read the front page, not the page or two after it.

That was a mistake.

I had to have a clearance for three other items that I highlighted on my application with my current doctor and while I remember seeing these a long while ago, I had forgotten that they appeared after the initial reimbursement cover page of the packet.

I need to set up another appointment with my doctor to have her answer three questions which I am hoping she can fill out, as two of them are more geared towards a specialist or three that I visit. I'm sure she will be happy to see me again for the third or fourth time.

No one's fault save my own but I think it highlights the process nicely: read everything three times and then double-check those documents two more times to be certain you have everything.

Here's to hoping that January 2009 I can put all this material together and get it right on the first try!

A Possible Change Here In Content

It has been quite some time since I have posted last here. Needless to say, I was quite happy with the outcome of the most recent election at the national as well as the state level. Now begins Obama's opportunity to reshape policy and direct national efforts in a liberal manner. I will hold judgement on his military endeavors until his administration actually makes decisions.

But, for the changing of content here.

Political posts are still in the offing, and there are numerous stories that merit comment on now and in the future without question. Governor Blagojevich's deeds being a prime example of current events.

Instead I will also detail a new path in my own life and career here as well. I work in the web sphere and have been doing so for a decade now. A few months ago I sought out to change that a bit and ended up applying for the Peace Corps. Through July into September I pulled together the various pieces of my application and submitted my essays, resume, history, and all relevant facts of my life that might be of interest. With a great deal of support from my friends and family, I put in my application. By October I was interviewed (more essays preceded the interview) in a town close by, and then near November 1st I learned that I had a nomination for a position. After putting in the time to get the application started and finished, the nomination part happened astoundingly quick.

As early as July 2009 I may be taking leave of the United States and land near Sub-Saharan Africa to take on a position helping in the IT sector in a country where I don't know the language nor the customs. I am extremely excited at the prospect to put it lightly. For a long while I have felt a lost sense of what I am here to do during my tenure in this world. This has been the first thing that I have felt a deep, gravitational-like pull to do something larger than myself.

Below is the essay I completed that answered the question, "Why do you want to join Peace Corps?" 

"It was two in the morning and I couldn’t shake the idea from my head. I lay wide awake thinking about changing my life and becoming a Peace Corps volunteer. It was a powerful thought that grew and took hold of my imagination - becoming immersed in a different culture, working to help others, and gaining the insight of what life is like elsewhere in the world. For the past year I have known that my life needed to change but I never knew it would lead me to this point.

In early 2007 I met a wonderful friend who shared her experience of joining Peace Corps and her time in a small village in Niger. The stories fascinated me and I asked many questions about the culture, the people, the work, the positives and the negatives of being there. Something about the world fascinates me intensely and before I knew it I wanted to know more about this country in Africa and its people. To this day I still pause to read articles online that have even a passing reference to Niger.

With the seed of service planted in my mind I came across this quote by Daniel Dennett: “Find something more important than you are and dedicate your life to it.” My professional work in the information technology field puts me in touch with a number of people whom I assist in many different ways. However the idea of helping people truly in need of technology in some far off place on the globe energizes me in a way that is beyond the way I feel in my current position. It is as if I made the connection between what I am doing and something more important than me: being of service to my country and to the world in a significant way.

For as long as I can remember the world outside my own intrigues me, but I have not found a way to connect that interest to a path in my life. Politics and political history provided the initial step in learning about people beyond the borders of the United States. This was followed by religious and cultural questions centering on what others believed and adhered to around the world and through recorded history. I feel my horizon opening up wider and wider.

Which brings me to the present. That yearning to be of service and to change the world coupled with a greater understanding of life on this earth matches perfectly with the ideals that the Peace Corps embodies. My intention is to lead efforts that build on the intuitive and creative minds already present in a foreign land. The culmination of this is to bring back these experiences and leadership skills and affect change in my own community. Mohandas Gandhi put it best: “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.“ This is the perfect summation of why I desire to join the Peace Corps."

As more updates come in I will be sure to add to this web log. For the time being, my nomination is on hold in a technical sense until I can get my full medical evaluation complete. I have had some appointments that could only be made into January of 2009, so it will be some time before I can get the last of my qualifications completed and returned to the Peace Corps.

More updates to come.