Current mood:
pensive One of the highlights of my year in Busan was attending the International Film Festival. Lucky for me, an International Film Festival also appears in Cleveland, OH each year and today marked the beginning of the 31st annual occurrence. After Jamie finished work and I finished volunteering at Habitat for Humanity, we went to the gym, ate some quick Chipotle, and headed downtown to catch an American film, A Map for Saturday. It was a documentary filmed by a twenty-something who had a prosperous job in New York City, but gave it all up for an around-the-world ticket and a year abroad. As it was the world premiere, after the film we were able to attend a Q and A with the director/writer/star of the film. He was not unlike anyone I've met on my travels, and in fact would fit right in with my traveling cohorts. His described difficulty adapting back to American life mirrors my own current state. Fortunately for him, he made a documentary which is just starting its film festival tour, and will make an appearance on MTV later this year. He mentioned an upcoming trip to Africa in the works. As for me, I am in Cleveland...volunteering, babysitting, taking advantage of the libraries...and wondering what will happen next.
Previous to the viewing of this film, which brought back countless memories and familiar feelings, I spent a portion of my day in the Habitat truck. One of the Assistant Managers, and also I feel I can say my friend, Frank and I were picking up donations and having rather serious conversations from the completely unusual weather to his brother's Leukemia and impending bone marrow transfusion. A conversation we had at the bar a few weeks ago has prompted Frank to strongly consider taking up martial arts again, which obviously pleased me. Then the conversation took an interesting turn...Frank began to describe his former employment. Before Habitat for Humanity, he worked for several companies that helped disabled, disturbed, and otherwise disadvantaged people enter or re-enter the workforce. I was fascinated by his description of this work, and these organizations. Could it be that there's a reason for the wide variety of jobs I've held? This could be the beginning of something for me. A real way to make a living helping other people. A way to use the experiences of working dozens of disconnected jobs...a liability on my resume usually, but would actually work in my favor for this sort of work. I can't describe how interested I am in learning more about these organizations. I might really be on to something.
Previous to the viewing of this film, which brought back countless memories and familiar feelings, I spent a portion of my day in the Habitat truck. One of the Assistant Managers, and also I feel I can say my friend, Frank and I were picking up donations and having rather serious conversations from the completely unusual weather to his brother's Leukemia and impending bone marrow transfusion. A conversation we had at the bar a few weeks ago has prompted Frank to strongly consider taking up martial arts again, which obviously pleased me. Then the conversation took an interesting turn...Frank began to describe his former employment. Before Habitat for Humanity, he worked for several companies that helped disabled, disturbed, and otherwise disadvantaged people enter or re-enter the workforce. I was fascinated by his description of this work, and these organizations. Could it be that there's a reason for the wide variety of jobs I've held? This could be the beginning of something for me. A real way to make a living helping other people. A way to use the experiences of working dozens of disconnected jobs...a liability on my resume usually, but would actually work in my favor for this sort of work. I can't describe how interested I am in learning more about these organizations. I might really be on to something.
