I've been catching up on Camtom stuff and getting ready for our end of the year giving drive. This is my first year on the board, so it's all new to me. We're putting together a nice holiday card that asks for help in funding for the school and the kids and the expansion of new schools. It's hard to find the right balance between out and out begging, cajoling and then making people realize that we do understand that in these tough financial times it's hard to find the money to give. We're pretty much done with the drafting, so now it's on to the mailing part of it. Hopefully, if you get one of these cards, you will consider donating (or just telling me the card that we made is very very nice!).
I've also become a master at sending out bills to our existing sponsors. It's a mostly manual process, but there's something satisfying about putting addresses and stamps on many envelopes and stuffing them and then finally getting them in the mail box. I am a simple person. Project started, project completed. I am happy. I am also pleased that I spelled most of the cambodian names correctly (I think)!
What's nice about this involvement with Camtom is that I am becoming more intimately involved in the daily operations of the group. I know who's running things, I know how they're being run. I know how much money is spent on the programs and I know how much money is spent on operations. The great thing is that almost nothing falls in to the later category. I gave them my own money before I joined and I was pleased with how things turned out. So, I feel pretty confident asking folks to do the same thing.
Beyond doing some stuff with Camtom, I dusted off my resume and applied for a real job the other day. Not too much to say about that, but that I'm considering dipping my toe back in to the "earn-some-damn-money" realm again. It's a low profile kind of opportunity, no big corporation, no egos of high level managers to deal with, but it is a job that allows me to use all those Operational skills that individually are tedious and relentless, but together make for an interesting profession. We'll see how it goes. I'd like to get it. And, I'm worried about getting back in to it.
And finally, I am still working on stuff for the house remodel. We are off until Spring, but there are plenty of things to do - - not the least is making a decision about flooring. One would think, the way George and I are stuck on this, that we were trying to decide what to put on the floor on the remodeled Louvre or something. Lava rock? Cement? Terazzo? Slate? The choices are endless. The decision is killing us.
We have finally decided on a kitchen counter top (another one that had us all tangled) and tile for two of the bathrooms. We have been amazed at the prices of some things that you just never really think about. A simple steel and glass medicine cabinet for $3000? And it doesn't even come with the illegal drugs that one would assume would be kept in a medicine cabinet that costs $3000. Drag. The least they could do is throw in some Valium to keep you calm while paying for the damn thing.
So, I'm billing and trying to raise money for one part of my life and I'm busy ear-marking things that I am going to spend money on for another part of my life. Luckily for those who trust Camtom to invest their money wisely, I am not a politician. If I were, it is likely that those two parts would have more in common than they do :)
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