I forgot, what's a blog again?

Holy cow, I didn't realize it's been nearly a YEAR since I posted! I'm afraid that life has been way too crazy for me to keep up with everything, and unfortunately this blog fell by the wayside. Never fear though, I'm still out there working to create change, just haven't been able to write about it for a long while.

In the past year, I've finished my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and begun working on a Masters of Public Administration with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management. That alone has really kepy me off the streets. I'm also working more hours at my nonprofit, and trying to have some sort of a life with Hubby and friends. The second job I referenced in one of my last posts didn't go on for long, only about 3 months, until I was able to get more hours at my nonprofit. It was an interesting and educational experience, I have to say, but I'm glad I didn't have to stay there for an extended time. It got us through a tight financial spot though, so it served its purpose.

We have a new feline family member too, LittleOne. He's a Snowshoe, which is a mix of American Tabby and Standard Siamese. It's a recognized breed except by Cat Fancier's Association - come on CFA, get with the game! Never fear though, we adopted him from a shelter, we didn't buy him from a breeder. He's a bright-eyed, inquisitive, and very energetic little boy who likes to climb any vertical surface he can, including walls on occasion.

I also have an opportunity on the horizon which has me quite excited: this fall I will be adjunct faculty at the community college I once attended, teaching Sociology! This is one of the things i wanted to do with my life, and to have this opportunity present itself, especially at the school where I got my start, is an amazing gift. I feel that I benefitted tremendously from the assistance provided by this school, and this is an opportunity for me to pay some of that forward and hopefully help other students navigate their paths.

Okay, on to the main event: Did you watch the State of the Union address? I did, and was glued to it for its entirety. I've been a bit disconnected from politics lately because I've been so wrapped up in what's going on in my own life, and it was good to open my eyes and look around, even though I knew I wouldn't like a lot of what I saw, particularly after the appalling Republican victory in Massachusets. I thought Obama did a masterful job of calling out the obstructionist Republicans - there's no way they can claim to want bipartisanship when their standard tactic is to automatically oppose every new initiative presented by the Obama administration.

To the Republican politicians who have fought tooth and nail against health care reform: Why do you not want your constituents to have what you have, namely decent health coverage provided by the Federal government? Do you somehow think they don't deserve it, or that you're better than them? How can you, with any degree of conscience, ask your constituents to vote for you while denying them access to a basic need that you yourself are fortunate enough to have, courtesy of their tax dollars?

I did get quite excited when Obama talked about forgiving all student loans for those students who spend 10 years in public service - OMG, huge woohoo if that goes through!!! Hubby and I regularly discuss my mounting student loan debt and he has begun to express concerns over his upcoming retirement in light of that debt. Personally I had already resigned myself to paying student loans until the day I die, but if Obama's proposal goes through, then this could be an incredibly positive change that would go a long way toward helping us provide a stable and secure retirement for ourselves.

Obama is right though - it's not fair for people to amass massive loans so they can go into fields serving others, and then have to struggle to pay off those loans because the pay in public service-type jobs is traditionally lower than in other sectors. My nonprofit hosts interns from numerous universities, including some from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, and I frequently hear about their tuition bills and debt loads. It's sad to think that these students are borrowing more to pay for one year of their education than I will have borrowed for my entire collegiate course of study, bachelors and masters combined. These hard-working students are paying $40K a year in tuition, and then frequently have to borrow more on top of that to cover living expenses because the internship requirements of their program make it not very feasible to hold down a paying job while in school. That all might be reasonable if they could look forward to six-figure salaries upon graduation, but entry-level jobs for MSW's tend to pay in the mid-$30's, at least around here. I have a lot of respect for these students because they go into this field with eyes open, knowing they won't ever be wealthy in monetary terms but eager and dedicated to helping others nonetheless.

All right, this turned into a long ramble when I originally just intended it to be a short note. At any rate, Auntie M is alive and well! My own course of study for my MPA is taking me on a fascinating intellectual journey, and is also opening doors at my own nonprofit because each course (and sometimes each chapter) clarifies and explains more about how my organization functions. This semester I'm taking Organizational Management and Change, Economics and Financial Management, and Information and Analysis Methods. Yes, the course titles sound dry, but I assure you they are actually quite riveting, and I am having the time of my life!

I have decided there is one more skillset I wish to acquire after my MPA, and that's accounting: I want to get my CPA. I am finding that I have tremendous interest in the financial side of nonprofits, I can't seem to get enough of the finance and economics classes, so this seems to be a natural addition. I broke this news to Hubby, who had long since declared that I need to be done with school after my MPA (and at the time I agreed), and his reaction (surprisingly) was "makes sense, go for it." It certainly helped that when I proposed this additional step it was with the caveat that I will take that one course at a time and pay for it as I go, no more student loan debt! (Even if it may be forgiven, no need to push it.)

Peace,
AuntieM