Funemployment 2018 - Week 4 Report

So...here's what's happened since my Week 3 Report.

Job Hunting

Since last week, I had two interviews and I applied for two more jobs.

One is the Digital Communications and Marketing Manager at Step Afrika! I can't even express how excited about I am about pursuing this opportunity. Something I realized is that for my next step (no pun intended), I definitely want to be back "on the ground" so to speak, and an organization provide direct services, rather than at a support organization. And that's all I'm going to say, because I don't want to jinx it.

The other is the Deputy Director for Operations at HumanitiesDC. This is definitely an interesting organization, that is separate from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which is really more of the former than equal parts former and latter. And my last job definitely felt a bit like a Deputy Director position at times.

Also, I decided to not pursue Beacon House opportunity. I knew with the other opportunities I was considering, I was not comfortable in my ability to be able to balance any future obligations with it, if I got the position. BUT I did say that I wanted to still be involved somehow, either as a donor and/or volunteer. They sent me a volunteer form back, and I've already made a $10 donation and made it monthly. And maybe it's a weird way to approach this job search, but the organizations I'm interested in are doing work I want to support in general. So if the job I was considering isn't it, and there are other ways to plug in, then yeah.

I mean I think it's kinda like meeting someone and going on a date but realizing you want to be friends rather than be in a more intimate relationship. Because the organization isn't the one that has the power in the situation, it is both the organization and the applicant.

Two opportunities I'll be applying for next are a Communications Associate position at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center and a Marketing and Social Media Manager one at Ford's Theatre.

Work from Home

Speaking of work, I hosted a Work from Home session at my place.

It was pretty great. I had two friends come over, one of whom brought cookies. We were able to dig into projects they were making space for. And I even got to help one of them with their website as well as their Mailchimp.

So going to not only host at least one each week until I'm employed again, but I think I'm going to see if I can continue to do so at least every other week when I do have another job.

CreativeMornings/DC

With the theme of Restart, December's speaker was Ari Baser. And as I am wont to do, here is a blurb about from the link:

Ari Beser is a Getty Images contributing photographer, producer and author based in Washington, DC. Since 2011, he has researched the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to publish his book and documentary, ‘The Nuclear Family.’ His aim? To connect stories of both sides of the atomic bombing though a family coincidence. One of his grandfather’s befriended a survivor from Hiroshima after the war, and another grandfather was the only man in the world to fly aboard both atomic bomb carrying planes. The messages of his grandfather and family friend had long been silent by the time Ari graduated college, but his renewed interest became a catalyst for a years long journey around the world that would bring new life to their mission. He has been active in the world of disarmament since and in 2017 helped successfully lobby member states at the United Nations to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. That same year he and his colleagues in the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons were awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.

It was a pretty great talk, with some stellar images. And always great to see different ways storytelling manifests itself in various works. If you couldn't make it, the next Creative Mornings/DC is December 19 (a WEDNESDAY) at Studio Theatre. The month's theme is "Tradition" and DC's speaker is Angela Davis. Registration starts at 10:30 on Thursday, December 13!

New Cover and Profile Photos for December

So this is a thing I try to do for personal brand consistency across several digital media platforms: new profile and cover photos. I don't mean to be lazy, but I will just share what I wrote for each one on Facebook.

This is Christopher Breedlove and myself talking about Burners Without Borders (BWB) at Catharsis on the Mall. He is the Program Manager for BWB and has been phenomenal in helping inform the conversation about starting a chapter here in the District, and for that we've got a Burners Without Borders DC Working Group. If you don't know, BWB's origin story and first effort was doing disaster relief on the gulf coast after Katrina. Want to know more about the work globally, definitely check out their page. And if you want to be a part of the discussion and the work in the District, join our group.

Rachel Roa! I don't think I can say enough about how she inspires me. In addition to participating in the Ten Principles Storytelling Project, her life is one of service and FUN. She works at GlobalGiving, is a Trunk member for Catharsis on the Mall, and camps with Lamplighters, literally helping illuminate our paths in Black Rock City and regionals as things get dark. And while that certainly isn't ALL that she does, I think that gives you a good idea. So I wanted to share this photo of us for my profile photo for December.

Regarding Lamplighters, here's a video:

So yeah. That's it for December. Let's see which photos I pick in January!

Sunrise Vinyasa with Kegan

I love Kegan, my partner, SOOO much, I'm willing to wake-up in time to make their 7am Sunrise Vinyasa class at Dragon's Breath Yoga, in Columbia Heights.

Getting into doing yoga regularly as just been on the...not the bucket list, as those are things you want do to just once in life and be done with, so what's the list of things that you want to do and KEEP doing? Well, whatever it's called, yoga has been on THAT list for a while. Not that I had ever done yoga regularly, but in my contemporary/modern dance education/practice/training, many of my teachers and the choreographers I performed with incorporated yogic techniques in their own work, whether on stage or just in company warm-ups.

Oh yeah, also I've been working with Kegan to re-brand their yoga and health navigation practice. And so I'm really excited about that, as re-branding is something that I have a pretty strong interest and passion for. So if YOU have need for some re-branding guidance, definitely let me know.

John Kevin Boggs Memorial Award

Story District's John Kevin Boggs Memorial Award.

John Kevin Boggs was a master storyteller and dear member of the Story District family. The John Kevin Boggs Memorial Award preserves his memory and legacy. Do you know someone who...
* kicks ass on stage and sets an example for other storytellers
* has told a particularly impactful story
* supports other members of the Story District community?

You may recall Story District from last week's blog (formerly known as SpeakeasyDC). So something I didn't share was not only have I told stories on their stage several days, but I was also a board member of 6 years, up until Fall of 2017.

And John Kevin Boggs is the whole reason I discovered them. A powerhouse of an actor and storyteller, as well as a teacher of both, I met him at Capital Fringe one year. He said that there was this organization which did some work I might be interested in, and I was hooked.

He passed away on Friday, March 13, 2015. I remember the day because I was still working at the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and my and a coworker who also knew him stepped away from the office to visit him in the hospice in Virginia he had been spending his final days. We returned to the office only to hear he passed away not even 2 or 3 hours after our visit.

And so I was honored and emotional to be asked to join the committee to review nominations for this award, to be presented at Story District's Top Shelf show in January 2019. Can't wait for the recipient to be announced. In the meantime, check out this story of his.

Kevin Boggs tells true story at Born This Way from Story District on Vimeo.

And you can find 8 more stories of his here on Vimeo.

Coming Up in Funemployment Week 5

So those are the highlights from week 4. Here's some of what's coming up in Week 5:

• Creative Moco Grants Committee Meeting
• Step Afrika! Holiday Party
• Any Given Child DC Steering Committee Meeting
• Naughty Snowball Site Visit
• Burners B' Lunchin'
• Work From Home - First Friday Edition
• Barkada Xmas Party
• Catch Up with Tara

And a reminder that I've started a personal email list, to get news and updates from me right in your email inbox!

So please sign-up

Until next time,

Nexus aka JR

Funemployment 2018 - Week 1 Report

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:

• How to Start my Unemployment Process through DOES and
• Any possible courses of action through OHR

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.

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.

So please sign-up

And keep an eye out for my Week 2 Report next week!

- JR aka Nexus