Thursday Thoughts

 I'm beginning to wonder whether I made a good decision regarding my involvement with the Independent Living Center, a place where I used to work, becoming a board member of that organization. In my view of being a board member I think of going to meetings, board meetings, then perhaps other events where the program that you're a board member of needs to be represented. I hadn't thought about other aspects as in supporting the organization in some of the recreational type programming. I did a quick search of previous postings that I didn't see anything but I got a memo or an email last week for the executive director of the program wanting the body count of people who would be able to make it to the campout retreat for staff, consumers particularly, and board members. Now the campout is an annual event and is highly anticipated- - or it used to be- - by the consumers. Basically, the whole office would shut down and everybody would pack up the vehicles we had a number of vans at the time and drive up to where ver the camp out was usually not very far from the city but far enough to get the feeling of the rural/ Forest feeling. I never have liked that kind of stuff and I could usually talk myself out of having to go to something like that usually by volunteering to keep the office open, answer phones Etc. I've always maintained that if I can't do something by myself I just assumed not do it whether that's camping out, skiing or what have you. I'm not a very fun guy. So anyway when I got the email brought back all those memories of having to figure out how to get out of the campout. I mean it's a relatively long vehicle trip for sleeping outside all night in the rough and then dining on hot dogs. Like I said it's not my cup of tea.

I've been thinking about this now for some time. There's other events as well like fundraisers usually in the evening sometimes dress up type events, dinners award ceremonies and things of that nature. I hadn't thought about having to be involved with that end of being a board of director. I was just thinking of attending board meetings and occasional legislative events for disability type legislative support Etc. And even that wasn't so bad with the previous director but the new director seems to be a real Fireball and I'm assuming we'll want to have a number of these kind of events particularly for fundraising. I don't know if I have that much of a commitment to the organization but we'll have to see. I really do like the director and if I can figure out a way to get fairly easy transportation perhaps I can get back into the social routine a little bit more. I have to admit though it's certainly giving me pause. Interestingly, now that I Ponder all of this before I had my van and I could drive myself to and from these events now I have no personal transportation and we'll have to be relying on public transit or maybe them driving me back and forth to such events. Like I said taking the bus the middle of the afternoon to a board meeting and Back Again is a whole lot different than going up to the mountains and spending the night…