Oh, Helena!

I won't go all cliche on you and give some tired excuse for not writing more. You deserve better than that, so instead I'm going to make up an awesome excuse as to why I've been a slacker.

It all started the night they found the "Goldilocks" planet that could potentially habitable for humans. The night of the announcement, I received a phone call from Charles Bolden Jr. letting me know it was time. I had no idea what he was talking about but agreed to meet with him because frankly, when the head of NASA calls you and cryptically says "It's time" almost immediately after it drops that a new Earth-like planet is discovered, you tend to want to know what the hell he means. Apparently back in the 1980s (after the success of the Sky Lab project) certain couples were chosen to breed a race of seemingly normal but wholly extraordinary humans. These super-humans had much higher brain functionality and the ability to live the length of multiple lifetimes. I was one of those humans. Thanks Mom and Dad. Now I'm being slowly prepped for my future trip to Gliese 581g. So I've been dealing with that. Sorry I didn't write more.

But truthfully, life in Helena has steadied to a normal rhythm after the craziness that was August and September. For being poor as poop, these VISTAs sure do manage to get out a lot (it might be the appropriate allocation of money from the "clothes and food fund" to the "doing awesome things fund"). I spent my days learning legal aid technology and my nights bickering at trivia, eating amazing food at bbqs, watching cult classics (and "Hoarders") with buddies, volunteering, hiking, taking any free classes offered around town, and taking trips.

The two biggest trips I have taken (one much further than the other) have been to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music Festival and to Great Falls for the Sip n' Dip.

..........

And that is how far I got on this post before I received the news that I will not longer have a VISTA position at LSNTAP. Here is what happened as far as I know (it's complicated so try and keep up:

LSNTAP gets their big grant from Technology Initiative Grants (or TIG).

TIG is run by Legal Services Corporation (or LSC).

LSC is funded by the US Government AND is currently unionizing its employees soooo...

The US Government decided that it needed to audit LSC.

LSC decided it then needed to audit and freeze all the funds for TIG.

TIG then made the awful choice to hold off on giving out grants till all this auditing nonsense is over.

LSNTAP has no new money coming in yet.

Employees start to find other jobs and since LSNTAP has no money, we cannot hire new people.

We get down to 1 full time employee (my boss), two contractors, and me!

My boss finds another job and is leaving on the 15th.

No boss = no full time employees = no position for me.

So. You'd think that would be it. But NO! There is more confusion and acronyms!

I am housed in Montana Legal Service's (or MLSA) Helena office. They paid for my VISTA-ship because the director of MLSA is also the head of the board of directors (BOD) for LSNTAP.

The BOD meet on Monday to choose between two options:
1. Keep LSNTAP going and try and find a new director as well as try and raise funding so that it can pay employees.
2. Dismantle LSNTAP and assign it's most vital projects to other organizations that can keep them going.

Both of these things mean I will not have a supervisor for a while, which is apparently a HUGE no-no for a VISTA.

SO MLSA (the building I already work in) has let me know that they will take me on so that I can work on their awesome video projects.

And that was my Wednesday.

I will post pictures in my next post (unless something bat-shit insane like this happens again).

And if I don't see you before the 31st, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Talk To BOO! Later
KP

PS If you are curious I have two costumes this year because I have 3 events to go to on 3 different nights. They are Mime (which are the least terrifying form of clown) and a Teracrackdyl (which is a teradactyl on crack). There is a story behind that last one that is just as convoluted as my work story above so I'll save it for another time.

All the Great Big Little Things

So I got sidetracked. Sorry. Here is a bit of catch-up.

Activities I have participated in since moving to Montana 3 weeks ago:

• Hiking up Mt. Helen (2 1/2 times. Video to be coming soon)
• Attended a Brewers Baseball game
• Listened to the Helena Symphony orchestra outside at night (with fireworks)
• Played pub trivia twice, and once tied for 3rd place
• Explored the historic downtown
• Watched a thunderstorm overtake the sunset on a porch
• Scouted every bar in the downtown area
• Danced like an idiot to bad top 40 at Miller's Crossing
• Played a rousing game of croquet

Weird things I'm learning about Montana:

• The air is thinner than you'd think it is
• There are magpies everywhere
• There are also plenty of seagulls (wrap your head around that one)
• No one drives over 35 mph in the city
• On that note, people will pull out in front of you and you must slow down and let them
• The skies really are freakin huge
• Helena is like a bowl. It is set inside a valley with mountains on all sides (pictures to come soon)
• People here like the outdoors. a lot.
• There is decent Mexican and Cajun food here. Who knew?
• They like their karaoke here
• Families rule this place. Most of the population either has kids or grandkids.

So my pre-service orientation (PSO) was two weeks ago. Three days of learning how to adapt to a new culture and reach out to a new citizen base you aren't used to. Most of it didn't apply to me because I won't be working with the community directly. It frustrated me a bit because our orientation leader would go on and on about how to recruit volunteers and work within the community to gain support for their organization. I however, will be working exclusively online and over the phone, teaching legal aid societies around the US about new technology. So not quite the same thing. It's going to be a bit difficult to keep my eye on the prize: addressing poverty in America. They are looking to give me some video production and editing assignments for both Montana Legal Services and my service corporation LSNTAP, so that will be nice. See Mom and Dad? I'm using my degree you so kindly bought me!!

I started my job last week at Montana Legal Services and since then its been all training and meetings. Things are pretty laid back here. That isn't to say that people don't work hard, there just isn't a really strict corporate structure and rules. Everyone is very welcoming and helpful and smart (and I thought I knew coding and website design. lord help me!).

The roommate and I are getting along smashingly. My apartment is about 5 minutes from my work and 5 minutes from downtown. In all honesty, its about 5 minutes from just about everything in Helena. Its a 2 bedroom, 1 bath with living and kitchen areas. I furnished my entire apartment for less than $150 (thank you, Good Samaritan and Goodwill!).

My car still has its "check engine" light on (it came on when we reached Helena), but since the only person who can fix it is in Billings (4 hours away), it's going to have to wait to be fixed until I go to the blues festival there next week. Otherwise, I've used only a half a tank of gas in 3 weeks and have spent maybe 4 minutes in traffic total! So yay!!

I'm oddly more nervous about this whole new experience than I was with moving to Boston. I guess I just feel more comfortable in a big city than I do in a smaller town. But I have some pretty awesome new people in my life who will keep me occupied as well as a job that looks like it will challenge me quite a bit. So nervous-excited, rather than nervous-scared.

The Next Adventure: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (Red Cross Edition)