New Job

I have a lot of new things this year. It is a bit overwhelming but good. In a Whirlwind I applied for a job got an interview, second interview and BAM yesterday I was offered the job.

I will now be the Campaign Manager for Community Shares of Cincinnati. I describe them as the "grassroots United Way". I'm not sure anyone reads this but if you do you can go to www.cintishares.com.

I'm so very excited, I will finish up camp and then go straight to the new job. I'm ready to grow and learn.... expand my horizons!

New House

I have been keeping it a secret.... and I don't think anyone really reads this. Here is my announcement to the world....

I bought a house!

It's 120 years old. Absolutely adorable, and full of work. We'll be working on this house forever! But at least we won't be paying for it forever.

Let it Go!

I think at some point in our life's we all have to let someone or something go. I struggle with this sometimes. I have the tendency to fight for people. I know they are good people. I know they have a good heart. At the same time. As mentioned in an earlier blog, it takes two to make a friendship work. Friendships are work and it takes more than one person to do the work. So I'm taking a deep breath. And I'm letting go. Letting go for me means to let go of expectations. I can no longer expect everyone to live up to the standard I set for them. First, it's unfair, and second, not everyone is as thoughtful as I want them to be. It's not worth it and it ruins my sense of peace.

You know, all of this is also once sided. I think it's interesting, and I know I'm not the only who feels this way. But, I am currently unhappy with a "friend's" actions or lack there of. But she doesn't know. So who is this hurting? It's me. *Deep Cleansing Breathe* Internalizing does not make me productive.

When I can't say it better...

I am posting the link to the veganjoy blogspot. I can't say it better.


http://www.veganjoy.blogspot.com/

God's Followers

Last night, on my night off from camp I went to a lecture. A fundamentalist minister was talking about his diet. The Hallelujah diet, which is a vegan diet. I was intrigued. I do think Veganism is the wave of the future and that i will do what it takes to encourage others to take the road less traveled and stop animal cruelty. So far I use the cruelty and the health route. Never before did I think there would be a "God Route". And so there is.

I have to admit we left the lecture early as it was truly a sales pitch. Pitching to us to buy this guys product. After her preached his view on creationism. He really has one verse that justifies his diet.

Here is what I do agree with:

1. Doctors only have 2 hours or less of nutritional education, they almost always go the way of medication versus lifestyle change.
2. We are the only species who actually cooks their food, even other animal carnivores eat their meat raw... btw we are not supposed to be carnivorous, hence it makes us sick to do this. - I'm not sure I advocate a raw diet but anyway
3. Veganism can heal

As I said I did leave the seminar early - here is this guy's site, I am not endorsing him in anyway shape or form.

http://www.hacres.com

Friends

According to the band Cake, FRIEND is a four letter word.

I have been thinking about friendship a lot lately. Because I often wonder, is this person really my friend. I mean I wouldn't consider the people listed as "friends" on my facebook or myspace really my friends. Not all of them anyway. So why are they there. What defines a friend? I have seriously had people come out of the woodwork expecting me to invite them to my wedding. OK, so if I haven't talked to you or seen you in 5+ years, I'm not inviting you. Just because you were a part of my childhood does not make you a part of my present. And all that said, that doesn't mean I don't like you, it just means we aren't really friends anymore.
I feel like my friends are people that I would call in the middle of the night for an emergency. I can count those people on one hand. So does that mean I invite five people to my wedding? ha ha. That would cut down the cost.

OK I have to invite the relatives. But a friend is someone I want to hang out with in my free time. Someone who wants to hang out with me. Notice the two way street. In the past I've been the invite everyone along kind of girl, not anymore. Now I'm the "you have a phone too, pick it up" kind of girl.

It's also funny as we get older, or maybe just me. I'm not interested in shallow stuff. I could care less about surface info. In college and right after it was great to have a million friends and have plans all the time, now I have close ones.

I just think it's funny how loosely we use the word friends in so many situations.

My greatest disgust

One of the things I hate most about my job is that I sometimes have to be a hypocrite. I love camp! I love having kids at camp! I hate buying food for camp. I hate that I am vegan and have to feed these children rotting flesh. I hate that the meat and dairy industry subsidizes meat, dairy and eggs so much that I could never afford to feed the girls vegan chicken nuggets on the camp budget. It's cheaper to poison the children than to feed them a plant based healthy diet. GROSS.

Try as it might I have not been able to find bulk vegan chicken nuggets or bulk veggie crumbles. Will there ever be a day that costco or GFS or Sam's Club carries such things?

It's true, I hate that I use Girl Scout money to feed the meat and dairy industry.