Catch Up

Earlier today, my phone made noise indicating that a blog of a friend I follow had a new post. It had been awhile since I'd received a notification for this particular friend, and it got me thinking that I had also stopped writing publicly. The date of my last post was January 2014. I'm not sure why the gap; perhaps it's happiness, a life sprinkled with more adventure, or simply it is due to busyness. Maybe it is all three.

My last post spoke about embarking on a new chapter of my life: a move to British Columbia, a side-step from pursuing employment in the non-profit sector, and a dream of paying off my student debt. At that time, I was rather terrified of my life ahead and the ramifications of my decisions. Yet, I was excited to be doing something new, of returning to mountains. Now that I've taken those steps, I can say with absolute certainty that, like most big decisions in my life, it was one of the best things that I have ever done.

To catch all of you up:

I worked on an industrial construction project (the modernization of an aluminum smelter) in three different positions. First as an electrical clerk, then as a travel coordinator and, for the majority of my time, as a contracts administrator. I learned a lot, made a lot of really great connections, was exposed to an environment (construction camp work) that I never would have understood if it wasn't for doing something so far outside my comfort zone that it almost felt wrong, and was paid obscenely well for my work. Because of my wage, I was able to pay off my student loans (which still seems surreal), socked away a substantial amount of money for emergency or retirement (which ever comes first - also surreal that I could do this), purchased a fancy vehicle perfect for this terrain (that I hope to have for the next 15 years or so - also crazy), moved my pup Whiskey to BC with me on an epic 5 day cross-country drive with my brother (a drive I have always wanted to make), and have had the opportunity to go on adventures that have allowed me to see a good portion of BC.

Despite all of those personal opportunities and advantages, industrial construction is not rewarding for me. It is a stressful, often morally ambiguous, corrupt and dirty game, where half truths and ignoring the impacts on individuals are your tickets to success. To me, it lacks a certain respect for workers (even in a union environment), is unnecessarily competitive and coercive, and fails to consider environmental impacts in any sort of intelligible way (it placates to them, sometimes).

So, when I found out that my company would be leaving the project here, I had to make a decision to either follow that company to Alberta and directly participate in the tar sands economy while maintaining my very good wage, or return to the path I started to carve out for myself a decade ago and cut my income by more than 60%. I should probably also note that I have been in a very rewarding, loving, supportive and healthy relationship with my best friend (a friend from university) for over a year now,  and together we decided to try and stay in this town for as long as possible. So, I began my search for work here.

In December 2014, I began reaching out to locals I had met. A particularly kind, generous, and genuine lady that I worked with put me in touch with the executive director of a women's organization here. There were no current opportunities, but if I've learned anything in the last 5 years it is that life is about who you know, so I asked if we could meet up for lunch in the new year. I left that lunch feeling pretty good about the impression I had made (even though I was wearing ridiculously over-sized rubber boots and a bright orange, high-vis rain jacket, and was trembling from my caffeine intake earlier in the day). Then, in early February I was offered a position in their transition house (an all women's emergency shelter) and began training mid-February. For 6 weeks, I juggled two jobs which operate in extremely different worlds. It was a strange dichotomy to exist in, but, I think, a healthy transition in the end.

I can't explain how refreshing it is to be back in nonprofits, where it is part of your job description to care about people and actively find ways to make a positive difference in someone's life, rather than worry about a company's bottom line. It is probably the most stressful job that I have ever had. I am dealing with traumatized individuals every day that I work, but it feels so incredibly good to help, to give back to this community that has given me so much, and to be part of a community rather than just existing in one. I feel like I've gotten a bit of my soul back. They are also training me in a new position starting this week - nothing like saying 'welcome back to nonprofits' than wearing all kinds of hats.

My life has changed profoundly, and I am extremely fortunate and grateful because of it.