So I remember trying this the last time I was funemployed 3 years ago, but it didn't last past the first day.
We'll see if a weekly format might work better. As many of you who know me now know, I was terminated from my job a week ago today. It was definitely a shock to me as I'd been there for 3 years, and there'd been no prior incidences, no warnings, no period for corrective action.
But life goes on, and I had no time to wallow. So here's a bit of what I've been up to.
I Called for Backup
When I left the office for the last time, I reached out and my loving partner, who was on their way home to Alexandria, turned around and met me at what was part of my daily route from the bus stop to the office: Buttercreme.
This helped process what was a mostly irrational and surprising morning. From there:
Election Day and my ANC Write-In Campaign
Given that it was Election Day, I went straight home and straight to the polls. There was a bit of a line but not too long of a wait. And while I was in the polling place, my partner was helping my write-in campaign for the ANC 5E01 Commissioner seat by flyering outside. See, our present Commissioner, Ed, was not running for re-election and the ballot was blank.
Greater Greater Washington had a great
piece identifying all the empty ANC ballots, encouraging write-in candidates to submit their questionnaire to be considered for endorsement the week before election...and so I did, as well as Nick Cheolas.
And although Nick is one of
the write-in candidates who received their endorsement for our race, they still had some pretty nice things to say about me:
Cheolas looks really strong on a lot of our issues. So, too, does Nathaniel Russ, Jr., who also completed our questionnaire and is vying for write-in votes in 5E01. Russ is a strong pedestrian safety advocate, and writes that “roads and vehicles are most valuable when they serve their primary function, that of moving people in between places.” This leads to his support of additional bus and bike infrastructure.
Russ also discusses a bunch of interesting ideas when it comes to youth empowerment and job creation in his questionnaire. Ultimately, while both candidates here are good, we think Cheolas most clearly will lead the way on urbanist issues, thus he won our endorsement.
So I made sure to tell my friends, including my former neighbors in the
Brookland Artspace Lofts. Something that was really interesting about our race, out of the roughly 20 write-in only campaigns, when I checked the DC Board of Elections site for results, our ANC 5E01 race received 299 write-ins. The next closest was 168, and the median was about 103, with some races receiving single digits numbers for write-ins, and one even 0. Which means, that our ANC had the highest participation rate in terms of individual voters. And however the race goes, that's pretty awesome.
Thank You For Being a Friend
So in the past week, I've reached out to about a dozen friends and colleagues. I'm using this Funemployment period to catch up and check in with people whom I've worked with in the past or would like to do some good with in the future. I've already talked to five of them in person or over the phone, and I have about five more on the calendar within the next week.
Reconnecting this inentionally has been a great way to recruit the emotional support I candidly need during this time, as well as some opportunities to course correct in terms of what to do for work, for good, and/or for fun. One conversation I had, with advice that really stuck with me, was to simply create my ideal job description(s) and work towards that, even pitching it to organizations whose work I care for and mission I am passionate about who may not have a position like it yet.
I was also stoked to wrap up a week of these with a phenomenal conversation about Woolly Mammoth's Ambassador program, finding out more about it and what they expect participants to bring to the table.
Job Hunting
Speaking of Woolly Mammoth, one of
the several job openings they currently have is particularly exciting for me: Civic Organizer. The job description practically matches what I'd steered my previous job to allowing me to do more of, and even before I saw this opportunity, I had in mind to do more of it in general. Also, I think it's no secret that Woolly Mammoth is my favorite theatre in DC.
One of the other jobs that I came across and submitted my application for is at the National LGBTQ Task Force. They are looking for a
Communications Manager. And this position equally excites me but in completely different ways. As oposed to hyper-local, there is an appeal in expanding my advocacy work to the national level. And as a member of the LGBTQ community, the work would obviously be very personal. So, we'll see.
Two other places I'm looking at and plan on submitting this week are for
a Project Manager position at Wired Impact and a
Community Programs Manager at Arena Stage. And I know what some of you may be thinking, so before you comment, let me just stop you. Someone once said not to post and share opportunities that I'm applying for, implying that I don't want to mess up my chance and have someone else get it. Here's the thing: it's about the work, not me. I mean, yes, if I can get the work that's great. But if someone is more qualified, then they should get it. And it might be a bit of ego or pride thing, but if I'm not that person, I'd rather have it go to someone I know and am connected to than someone I don't.
Termination Homework
Speaking of work, I've definitely had my work cut out for me, in terms of my termination, and making sure that either my old employer did everything legally or that they be held accountable if not. That's meant, in addition to talking to colleagues and friends, checking:
Mischief DC
If it seems like FUNemployment has me just as busy as employment did, it's because I have even more time to work hard and play hard! In case you didn't know, I'm on the Board of Mischief DC and we have an annual Burner holiday party coming up on December 15.
Naughty Snowball
I'm stoked because this will be the second year, this event will be at the DC Eagle. And we thought we'd keep our theme simple for our tenth year, so it's just
Naughty Snowball: Rated X'mas. Get it, the roman numeral for ten is- nevermind. You get it.
Planning Call
We had a planning call. I thought I'd have more to say about this, but I don't.
Conduct and Consent Corps (C3)
I did reach out to recruit people for this C3 Project. It's an effort that we haven't done intentionally before, to put systems and protocols in place for participants at our party to feel safe in a consent-orientated environment, and to feel support by clearly identifiable folx should misconduct occur. But I also know it's a heavy lift for people to make that kind of space for the unpredictable. So, I'll keep you updated with how that's going. If you'ed like to know more and/or be involved, definitely
email me at nexus@dcburners.org.
Caturday
In addition to our biggest DC event next month, we also had our bi-monthly party, the same night as the weekend of Catharsis. This was a choice the board made and we knew it would be a gamble. Last year we decided we wouldn't throw it, but this year we took a chance. We even unofficially ran it by some Catharsis organizers who thought it was a good idea, especially if it got cold like it normally does, and some people need a place to warm-up but don't want to go home.
I don't think we anticipated just HOW cold it would be. And although we heard of people who intended to come to Zeba Bar from Catharsis, many of them stopped by home for various reasons and ended up not making it out again for the night. And apparently, it wasn't just us. But I always believe the people who show up are the people who shoe up, and it's about each attendee's quality of experience that make it worthwhile, not just the quantity of attendees. And we had about 20 people.
I won't lie, part of me wanted to know the things I couldn't know, in terms of whether it was because of Catharsis or not. But then at home the next day, a housemate of mine told me how empty Flash was, and that there were only about 20 people on the dance floor there. Not that it made me feel better. But it made me wonder, with Catharsis moving to May, if the cold would still be a factor for next November's attendance.
Burning Man DC Regional Contact Phone Interview
Speaking of Burning Man, so on Thursday another round of the
Regional Contact selection process took place. If you're not familiar with the position, Regional Contacts help democratize and organize Burning Man's Regional Network around the globe. It was a great talk with a former RC from another region, someone who could be a bit of an objective party in the selection process.
It was a pretty dense conversation, so I'll just highlight the part where we discussed what I'd like to do more of and bring to the table. One big one was the idea of term limits, which really is at the crux of recruitment and transition. Our city iterates itself every year; surely we can use that as an inspiration to iterate not just the systems and structures of leadership but those in leadership positions themselves. Another was being thoughtful about community beyond the party, from civic engagement to simply all ages activities for our Burner families. And then there's the inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility peace.
Anyway, looking forward to whatever next or final steps are for this selection process.
Catharsis on the Mall
It was the senior year for this very singular and unique Burner event in the District. And
the theme for Catharsis on the Mall 2018 was "Waking from the American Dream. There was so much going on, and I had committed myself to three different events.
Welcome Home
So even though I was no longer with my former employer, the work to end Youth Homelessness here in the District is more than the work of the organization. And I was happy to plug people into the plan to end youth homelessness by 2022, as I discussed various elements and strategies of the plan,
Solid Foundations DC.
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| Center Camp at Burning MAn |
STORY workshop
Although I've done storytelling workshops before, this was the first time I had done it with the new title: Sharing Truth, Openly Revealing You. I had a couple of participants, and we actually turned it into a walking workshop, as many of the structures that had been set up for Catharsis had been blown down and over Saturday morning.
Burners Without Borders (BWB) Meetup and Info Session
And I was thrilled to co-facilitate a Burners Without Borders session with Christopher Breedlove, introducing people to the group, its history, and its mission, as well as the discussion to start a BWB Chapter, here in the District. In fact, if you're interested and are on Facebook, there is a
BWB DC Working Group just for this purpose.
Coming Up in Funemployment Week 2
That's it for now. Here's a preview of what's coming up next:
- More catching up with friends and colleagues
- A Dance Place Board Meeting
- A Broadway Singalong at Local 16, literally a Burner adjacent event on Thursday
- Seeing the closing performance of Constellation Theatre's Aida
So that's that. Oh yeah, actually, one final thing.
In an effort to more effectively and intentionally keep folx informed of what I'm up to, not just during Funenmployment, I thought I'd start my own personal Mailchimp Email List. Select the things you're interested in, and know that even if there might be a variety of content, you will ONLY receive emails that have at least one thing related to a topic you selected, if not more.
And keep an eye out for my Week 2 Report next week!
- JR aka Nexus
