Trinhy84's Xanga

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:18:58 GMT

"Don't wonder why people go crazy.
Wonder why they don't.
In the face of all we can lose in a day...
In an instant...
Wonder what the hell it is that makes us hold it together."

~ Grey's Anatomy, Season 4, Episode 14

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:39:37 GMT

One of my co-workers' mother just passed away a couple of weeks ago.
One of my other co-workers' husband just passed away today due to cancer.
And my supervisor just found out she has cancer and has to go into surgery.

Yeah, I complain a lot about how I feel like I'm being taken advantaged of because I'm young and I'm not married and don't have kids. Or how I've been here longer than 90% of the current staff, and yet I'm one of the lowest paid employees.

But at least I still have my health, and the people I love still have theirs. And I'm thankful for that.

But I still feel for all the folks at my organization who are hurting right now. It's hard, and it's affecting all of us.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:38:37 GMT

"We're heading in the right direction. I'm thinking we're beginning to rise up a little bit.

Now, people going to start to do like people around the world have done when we travel. There, they call it 'American music.' American music - that's what I'm hoping for.

When I first left home, I'd go places and, if nobody asked me where I was from, I'd never say. But then later on, I started to see the progress of the state [of Mississippi].

Seeing the people start to really pay attention to others. Be concerned about the feelings of others. I like that.

So today I love to get on Mount Everest and say, 'I'm from Mississippi, y'all!' Understand?"

~ B.B. King, August 2, 2007
Las Vegas, Nevada

I'm going to see to it that I see B.B. King perform live in his home state before I leave the South.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:04:26 GMT

Dunk tank @ Biloxi's Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

Yes, I was seriously scared out of my wits, every freakin time...

At least we made a lot of money from it!! all for a good cause. =)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:50:07 GMT

burnt out.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:47:26 GMT

I never update this thing anymore, but I just wanted to say that:

Today marks the 2nd year anniversary of me moving down to the Gulf Coast.

Two crazy years that feels like two lifetimes.

Now I have less than one more year left...

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:25:47 GMT

Today marks the official 4 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Folks all over the Gulf Coast and the nation will be commemorating this day...

8.29.05.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:15:07 GMT

Rewriting the History of August 29th: A Prayer

Thank you for letting me understand
homelessness, living without power,
without television, without cool air in the heat.

Thank you for letting me understand
hunger, the pleasure of dry clean clothes and
the relief of place to sleep.

Thank you for letting me understand
the deep and overwhelming sadness
when forces, beyond our personal control,
take the loved, the familiar, the usual.

Thank you for my needfulness and
Thank you for my newfound empathy
for those were homeless before the storm
and homeless now, for those hungry
anywhere, for those in need everywhere.

Thank you for the opportunity you provided
to help my neighbor, to be my brother's keeper,
to serve food, to patch roofs, to clear yards,
and to start mending that which was broken.

Thank you for the chance to change ourselves,
from a reprieve from the normal commercial day,
for teaching us to make do, to get by, to improvise,
for drowning our conceit, complacency, callousness
for silencing the noise, for stopping the clock,
and for the chance to act our best when the worst occurred.

Thank you for the people who reached in
pulled out the living, cradled the dead,
comforted the broken and torn apart,
wept for the splintered and uprooted.

Thank you for the people who didn't wait
who came right away, who opened their homes,
who emptied their shelves, the closets,
who cleaned, fed, healed, held us,
who told us our spirit was amazing,
and who kept on coming.

Thank you for people who measure
their faith by their actions, and measure
their action by its consistency with their faith.

Thank you for all the people we have met,
who are new friends, new loved ones,
new brothers and sisters, new neighbors.

Thank you Katrina, not for wind,
not for water, but for the appreciation
of the things no storm can shatter,
no water can wash away,
no wind can move.

A poem written after the 1st Annual Katrina Memorial Service
By Reilly Morse and Tom Teel

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:14:21 GMT

Litany
by Rev. Phillip Hiedelberg
@ STEPS Coaltion Interfaith Memorial Service on 8/28/09

Responsive Reading

Oh God of Creation and new beginnings, for those who have lost homes and their communities: May you provide new beginnings, new jobs, and new friends to fill the empty places of those who were lost.
O God, hear our prayer

God of Healing, to those who are injured, those separated and still searching for family; to those who continue to be deeply wounded: May you be a healing presence in their lives for as long as it takes to return to wholeness.
O God, hear our plea

God of Loving Protection, to those who suffer on the streets or are crowded into shelters, hot, weary, and fearful; to those who feel homesick and far away from loved ones and their homes at this time: May you provide the comfort of safe homes, rest, and hospitality for as long as it is needed, comforting families and friends across the distance.
O God, hear our plea

God the Provider of fruits of the earth, to those who have lost material possessions; the poor and those whose livelihood has been lost or continues to be impaired by Katrina; to those whose workplaces have become unsafe and who continue to face an uncertain future: May you provide sustenance and restore possibility as quickly as possible.
O God, hear our plea

God of Community, to those communities that are struggling to recover from the devastation: May You help them to live and learn and support one another and have joy in their lives once again; may this disaster bring communities together so that all communities and neighborhoods may rebuild; open the eyes, hearts and hands of those who have been restored to the needs of their neighbors who have not yet been restored; help all people's lives to be filled with justice, their plates filled with food, their streets with music and their hearts with hope.
O God of Mercy, hear our plea

Amen.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:46:32 GMT

[Continuation from last post]

Okay, so I guess I should explain more. I don't know if it's a Southern thing or a national non-profit phenomenon, but I'm kinda of tired of co-workers & colleagues not giving me the same respect as others in the field because of my age. I've been at my current non-profit longer than everyone else on staff except for maybe 2-3 people (and there’s a staff of +40), and I am still not on senior staff. Btw, there are no Asian Americans on senior staff, even though there’s about 7 of us working for the Center. The reason why I’m not senior staff is because either I don't have an advanced degree or because of my age, quite frankly. So to solve the problem, I'd go back to grad school, AND I'd get older at the same time. Perfect!

So why MSW or JD?

MSW because I feel like this would help me be better at what I’m already doing, which is a community organizer. Oftentimes on the ground, I feel like I'm doing this on a trial and error basis, which can be really frustrating at times. Although I'm learning a lot and have grown a lot, getting an MSW would enable me to learn all the different models and case studies out there for organizing people & communities and for non-profit management, so that I can learn from other people's mistakes rather than my own. Plus the experience that I’ve had on the Gulf Coast will only add to my learning in the classroom. And I'm actually leaning towards this because I'm looking at the curriculum and the classes for MSW programs and I love it all. If I go to grad school for an MSW, I have a feeling that I will love grad school.

JD because I feel like if I knew the law, I'd know how to use it better to advance social justice. There are a lot of non-practicing lawyers that do non-profit work here on the Gulf Coast, and I'm blown away by their depth of knowledge, critical thinking skills, and public speaking skills. Going to law school for public-interest would definitely challenge me, but I think for the better. And I think it would open a lot of doors for me which would help me become a better advocate and better organizer. I feel like law can be a very powerful tool if you take the time to learn it. Learning the law is important because then you can figure out how to change the law or certain policies to better our communities. I'm really hesitant about applying for law school though because I have a feeling I might hate it. The process of applying is awful in itself. Some, if not most, of the classes required for law school are really dense and kind of not interesting to me. I don't know if I have what it takes, and I'm not sure if I want to surround myself with a bunch of potential lawyers haha. Which is why I'm looking into specifically public-interest law schools.

I remember Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), said at last year’s NAASCon Conference: "We don't need more lawyers. We need more community organizers." Well, can you be both? =P I guess the real question is, do I want to be both?

To study abroad for a year in Vietnam, or not?

I want to go for obvious reasons:

1. I’ve never been, and I never get to travel.
2. To learn the language, culture, history [all of which I lacked in my k-12 education and upbringing]

3. To get outside of my American bubble and learn what it’s like to live outside of the United States for once. To get a better perspective on the world and life (this is why I do everything that I do, really).

What’s holding me back:

1. Money

2. Family

3. I’m at that age where people are starting to get engaged/married, and I don’t want to miss my close friends’ bachelorette parties, bridal showers, weddings, etc.

Should I decide to go (which I’m 75% sure I want to go), should I go before or after grad school? Before grad school would be ideal, but it’d make applying for grad school a lot harder. But if I wait till after grad school, I might choose to focus on my career as grad school would open a lot of job opportunities for me and thus miss this opportunity to live in Vietnam.

What to do, what to do? So many life decisions to make in such a short amount of time… I need a life coach!

Thanks for your input!