We're not in Kansas anymore

Day 1 –
Did the day start with an omen? I’m not sure whether most people would consider a 2 hour drive in congested Chicago traffic a good or bad sign to the beginning of this new life chapter, but I took it as par-for-the-course and decided to listen to the Radio DJs’ discuss Britney Spear’s VMA performance, or lack there of. Are we short on issues in America, especially given the upcoming presidential election, that Radio DJs must talk about a pop-star’s performance for 1 hour? And, as a listener, are audiences so disengaged from public/society concerns that they prefer to spend an hour listening to superficial assessments of a single person’s body, performance, or attitude? Perhaps the thought of actually understanding the issues would force them to do something rather than complain…such as develop a solution. Well, how do you change a nation’s perception of what is and is not significant? That’s a riddle that seems to go unanswered for this nation.

So onto things I can control, or at least I think I am in control. I am starting a new chapter in my life. Given the scope of this undertaking, I thought it would be fun to actually keep a blog on a regular basis. So after the traffic came all the good stuff. I was ‘sworn’ (aka signed a piece of paper) into a year of service with the Federal government’s AmeriCorps Vista volunteer program. I also quickly realized that I have had the ‘Bentley’ in terms of health/life/dental insurance, benefits/perks, and overall flexibility while at Chase. As a Vista, I will still have these things, but it is more at the ‘Neon’ level. I can’t decide if I should be nervous or if I should cling to that false sense of security that keeps saying “You’ve never been sick or needed the Bentley insurance before.” Well for better or worse, this will work…

Right, so I arrived at Chicago Community Ventures (CCV) at 10:30 AM after my swearing in and had a tour/orientation. The tour and orientation lasted approximately 20 mins, but covered all the essential components. At JP Morgan Chase, it was a day long event to get oriented. I think I like this expedited process better. It allows for you to jump right into work, that is if I had any to do right away (that whole 'learning curve' thing generally prevents you from being fully functional 20 mins after arriving). Now, I will have my official AmeriCorps Pre-Service Orientation in November that will be 3 days long. So CCV is more efficient than Chase, not sure if I’d say the same about the Government. I guess time will tell when I learn more about what their 3-day oreintation will cover.