in the office. working.

i would write more entries, but they'd all say just that. there's not much more to my life at the moment. not to minimize the awesome things i do, but i do little else. this week: voter registration (can you say, databasing is death?) and next week: climate control...that makes it sound simple. as though i do one thing at a time. really, i just juggle, and give myself ulcers thinking that if i drop one project, it'll be my fault that the arctic gets drilled in, big business won't be held accountable for pollution and everyone will be sad forever. because i didn't stay at work late. now, that sounds a little crazy when i read it back to myself, but in the back of my mind right now i'm thinking "should i write my proposal for the dean of student life now instead of journaling?" and "isn't there an op-ed piece i could be sending in?"

so, while i love my job, i clearly need to be able to step back. at least sometimes. surprisingly, the issue isn't my salary, i find living on 23K a year (ahem, before taxes) pretty comfy. I mean, think of it this way: i don't have time to buy myself anything, much less trek into the city to do so, and i certainly don't eat at normal hours, which eliminates going out...I guess my biggest expense is, and i think this is true for more professional activists, alcohol. strange, isn't it? you'd think we'd all be eating organic carrot sticks with home-made hummus. however, it turns out that the activists with that much time on their hands don't so much have jobs (in activism). perhaps to keep from "selling out." who knows. not me. but i have a version of this conversation with myself almost every night, when i sleep.

enough enough. the only thing i really miss are my friendships. here, they are still shallow (in that teensy space of time between work and work). at home, they were thick and blood-like. really, my job would be much harder if i had my friends out here, because then i would have to decide on things. as it is, i know that i can work 15 hour days, 7 days a week because no one asks otherwise.

i am, however, going to begin putting into my daily plan (down to the quarter hour) an hour for myself every day.

but now, i'm outta here. tonight, we register voters in bars. sounds like hard work, huh? first person to 20 registrations gets free drinks all night. that's my thought on the subject anyway.