Jobs, Projects & Love: The Tale of an Update

First of all, I am alive & well - & getting busier & busier &.... For the curious, here is what I've been busy doing.

I have three jobs. Yes, three. Three jobs may sound like a lot of jobs to have at once but I must tell you that I've had more. Job #1 is Network Administrator for the School Garden Network of Sonoma County. Job #2 is doing administrative support for the consultant to the City of Petaluma's Green Team which includes work on their Going Green Expo (sound like something I've done before?). Job #3 is guest lecturing for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), which is a standardized test that many colleges require of foreign applicants for whom English is not their native language. The lecture recordings are used to give test takers the opportunity to show their verbal comprehension of college-level English.

On top of that, I'm also working on an internship with Petaluma Bounty, which is also my project for my Master's thesis. PB is a nonprofit that is working to create a sustainable local food system in Petaluma & is specifically working currently with people who are food insecure & hungry. My project is to coordinate the creation of a dashboard that will give users a snapshot of how PB's projects & the local food system are doing. What is a dashboard, you say? Think of how your car dashboard gives you a quick, easy-to-read display of the status of your car. Same idea. So right now I'm working on identifying stakeholders, data holders, & possible indicators to be used. I'm so excited!

I'm still dating Reed & while he does still live in Minneapolis, our relationship continues to be magical. He's been out to visit twice already & stayed for over two weeks in March. I feel very fortunate to have found such a like-minded, genuine & big-hearted person to love even if we are separated by 2000 miles of corn fields, Motel 6s, mountains, etc.