doing VISTA the way it should be done

[marathoner452]

Yesterday I started the process towards extending my VISTA term for another year. That means another year of disaster education presentations, another year of disaster action team calls, and another year of disaster relief deployments. It also means I have a chance to do this VISTA thing the way it was intended, by living on my own and trying to support myself on that puny little VISTA stipend. There are certainly plenty of people who do it. There are also certainly plenty of people who live like that not out of choice but by necessity, and who support families on not much more than that. The only trick is finding affordable housing. Other than that, I'm pretty low-maintenance. I don't even really need a TV, except maybe for the occasional movie. I can eat oatmeal and rice and beans and whatever else I can get cheap. I can be a 5k runner to save on running shoes and run little local races to save on entry fees.

But first I need to start looking for a cheap (but safe) place to live.

Speaking of disaster education presentations, my goal is to reach 700 kids this month. I've got a ways to go:

8 / 700 (1.1%)

In other news, I am not "back to a routine." I am not "recovered" from my disaster deployment. Up until last month I lived a very sheltered life and recovering from the shock of a wake-up call like that does not come easily. I am trying to process all that I saw down there but I'll warn you, little things tend to set me off. It's not your fault, and thank you for understanding and trying to "get it."

~Bethany

Comments

[flamingjune07.livejournal.com]

Somewhat tangentally, have you seen this yet?

[marathoner452.livejournal.com]

I have now. :-)

Thank goodness, something needs to be done. Do you know how much money we're spending on the war vs. repairing the levees? It's ridiculous.

~Bethany

[roadwarrior220.livejournal.com]

No thanks needed. :-)