One for October

Aaaannnnd the massive life update email that just went out doubles as a blog post to make up for the entire month of October! Woooo!

I do want to keep blogging though. Felt good to get this email written.


Dear family and friends,

I hope this finds you well and enjoying fall wherever you are. I've been wanting to write a life update for awhile, so, without further adieu, here goes! (Apologies to many of you for whom the following information is repetitive...still thought you would want to be included!)

I finished my year with Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Omaha this past August, and after a delightful San Francisco Bay area vacation, moved back home to Chevy Chase, MD, but with a certain twist - my parents are living up in the Big Apple of New York City, while Dad is a visiting professor at NYU Law School, for the 2011-2012 academic school year. As many have said, "That gives the phrase 'living at home' a whole new meaning." I am quite lucky with my timing and everything...

...for more reasons than one. Finding a new job, in these Occupying days, seems not to be a piece of cake. Some of you would remember that, over the summer, I was hoping to get a part-time (unpaid) jazz research internship in the National Museum of American History (NMAH). I applied at the end of June, and was supposed to hear about whether or not I was accepted by the end of July/beginning of August. By the time I got through to the intern manager the week before Labor Day and she told me that my application was still in circulation, I was tired of waiting, and told her that I would re-submit my application materials for the spring, and see what happened then. Instead of pining over the internship I did not (and may not) get, I hope to use a substantial portion of the rest of 2011 (and maybe into 2012, if I decide I need the research time), to finish up an article about the life of Frank "Count" Williams (one of my independent jazz research subjects during my senior year of college, for those who don't know) and submit it to a scholarly music journal.

In my original, summer-planning dream world, I would have been able to have the internship part-time and to work in a non-profit organization part-time.  By the time I got through to the NMAH, I had been extremely fortunate to be offered part-time work in the office of my home church, Saint Luke Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, MD. This is a bigger church than the two I worked for last year in Omaha, and so my tasks are not quite as wide-reaching as "planning and coordinating community outreach programming".  I watch the door, answer phones, and work on bulletins and other communications material. But one aspect of this job that I do love is that Saint Luke has a food pantry, and I help out with food bag intake, packing and distribution - something that I haven't done too much of in previous work or volunteer experiences.

So, working at church, the occasional dog-sitting gig, lots of love and free dinners from family and friends, and not having to pay rent have combined to keep me doing just fine. I have been writing lots of cover letters to non-profit organizations that are not churches. As some of you know (though this is my first time announcing it to a lot of you!), my year in Omaha has led me to seriously consider seminary and becoming a pastor. Ideally, I would love to gain some more development, administrative, or program coordinating experience at a non-profit that is not a church, so that I have more "broadening" experiences before pursuing seminary. (Though it is a serious consideration, it is not a definite yet...other grad school ideas include social work and musicology.)

The areas of non-profit organizations that I seem to be the most attracted to include mental health advocacy and education, homeless services, and education and youth services. At this point I have sent out somewhere around 25-30 applications and have had three interviews (which have been good experiences even though they have not led to hire), and am still writing cover letters. However, I am beginning to consider administrative positions in pretty much anything, as well as retail and restaurants, for a temporary job "fix", since it would be good to start having a little more going into the savings.

 I am thinking that I'm going to begin making informational interviews happen soon, so if you know of any places that you think I might be interested in (even if they aren't hiring), I'd be grateful if you'd be willing to let me know about those!

I think that's it for now! I'm looking forward to continue seeing those of you that I'm seeing, staying in touch with those of you I don't see as much anymore, and seeing a good deal of you during the forthcoming holidays. Please feel free to write to me whenever! To my family and friends in the DC and NYC areas, please keep me posted on dates for sports games, concerts, plays, etc...I know I've got a few to catch comin' up!

Love,
Anna