Tenacious

Tenacious
Originally uploaded by AdiaMichelle

Two orientations today: New York Cares and Creative Time. The second, Creative Time, is a summer-long arts festival taking place on Governor's Island. I'm a little fuzzy on exactly what's going to happen, but that's why I'm going to orientation, right?

Sometime last year, when I was feeling miserable and wanting nothing more than to run screaming from this place, I made a list of things I needed to do before I left New York. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (still not done) was one, and visiting Governor's Island was another. Not only will I visit Governor's Island once, I will be there three or four times this summer. Hooray for crossing one off the list!

(I can't actually find the list: I flipped through my Moleskine cahiers and realized that I wrote it in the one that's now buried somewhere in a box under my air mattress. Digging it out would involve a lot of grunting and straining and upside-down time and dust and sweat and I just don't feel like it right now. That's the same reasoning that has led me to not dig out the software for my printer - somehow erased in the last OS update: I just don't want to.)

Back to volunteering: I love volunteering because I love not working for money. I love it! I love giving the gift of my time. That's the reason I do work study. Yes, I get free yoga class, but for the first four months of my work study at the yoga studio, I didn't go to class. Part of that was fear and laziness, but I was just so happy to be volunteering somewhere that I didn't mind not getting my time's worth.

There's something magical about exchanging skill for goods and vice versa. Both parties are happy, and neither feels as though they've lost something or put one over on someone else. Unfortunately, our society is too large to operate without a monetary system. On a local level, though, barter is the way to go. Everyone has something they do that someone else needs done.

Eek! Gotta go. Can't be late. Happy Saturday!

Update: I was late. Missed the first one. *sigh*