It is a little hard to believe that I am leaving tomorrow for my staging event in Miami and then on to Jamaica on Thursday. I put my initial application in a year ago and its been a long, drawn out wait to this point. Its funny, I was nervous a few weeks ago, and then I got to the point where I was tired of being nervous and just wanted to get started. Now, in the past day or so, I've started to get nervous again. It's probably because I've started saying a few more goodbyes in the past couple of days.
It started at the wedding I went to for a college friend of mine, Jeremy Sample, this past weekend near Scranton, PA (and no, I didn't get a picture of the sign from The Office). The wedding was a lot of fun (hopefully someone will send me a picture that I can post here...). I got to see a bunch of the guys from Phi Psi, got to see Sample's family for the first time since graduation, and, obviously, got to see Sample and Aimee get married. I think that everyone that knows Sample knows that he, more than most people, truly deserves happiness in life. And after meeting his new wife and seeing that seeing that she can put up with the Phi Psi guys (Pauli most of all), I know he's found that. Congratulations buddy - I hope the honeymoon is like the table your brother described in his speech.....
To get back to what I was saying, it was good to be see a lot of friends from college and see how they are doing before I leave. It was interesting to see how each of us have taken pretty different paths in the four years since graduation and to see where these paths have lead so far. We are spread out from Boston to Indianapolis. Most of the guys seem to be in pretty good relationships at this point (which makes me think that I may be missing a lot of weddings over the next two years). There are some of the guys that have been working since graduation, have put in their time doing the grunt work and are starting their ascent up the corporate ladder. There are others that either went straight to graduate school after graduation or went back to school after a few years of work and are looking forward to doing the grunt work. And then there are others (or maybe just me) that have put in four years of work and extra schooling and are in the process of trying to change paths completely. I guess that is the benefit of being in my generation, I'm not expected to stay in the same job or in the same career my entire life - its acceptable to jump around a little. I sure have - this will be my 5th move and 4th job in four years.
Well, I guess it is time to pack my bags and say my final goodbye's. My next entry will hopefully be from Kingston.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Almost getting Kicked Out of the Peace Corps before I Start
To start off, let me say that I am not even a Met's fan....but we'll get to that part.
I woke up around 9:00 AM yesterday and finally got out of bed around 10 or so (yeah, its nice being unemployed). So after bumming around for a while, I finally started to pack up my apartment and prepare for my trip to Jamaica next week. After a few minutes of packing, I realized that I still needed to go through some of my paper work for my staging event. As I was going through the forms and booklets that I received, most of which I had already filled out, I stumble across a "Peace Corps Eligibility" form. I realize that this was not just a check list, as I originally thought, but a form that actually needed to be filled out. As I began to read it, I realize that the form was asking if I have been charged with any misdemeanors or received any citations since my original application and background check. Then I remember back to the end of May....(flash back)
John, a friend of mine at my old job invited me to a Met's game back on May 30th, saying that he had a few extra box seat tickets. Since I had never been to Shea Stadium and I am always looking for an excuse to leave work a few hours early on a Friday, I gladly accepted his offer. John also invited other coworkers of ours, Brian and Karan, with the remaining tickets he had. So we all left work around 2:00 PM and carpooled to Shea Stadium.
We finally arrived at Shea Stadium after sitting in about 4 hours of horrible New York City traffic and had about an hour before the game started. After parking the car, Brian and Karan went off to find a restroom and John and I sat on the bumper of his car and each opened up a beer to do a little tailgating. There were lots of other people in the parking lot drinking their beverages, so we didn't think there was anything wrong until a police car pulled up next to us. Two NYPD officers stepped out and informed us that we were in violation of a public drinking ordinance and were going to issue us $25.00 citations. They also informed us that all we needed to do to avoid these citations was to pour our drinks into plastic cups rather than drink them directly from the can! Somehow drinking out of a plastic cup makes drinking in public legal!?!? So, a few days later I mailed in my guilty plea along with $25.00 and thought the situation was over....(back to the present)
I immediately called the phone number on the eligibility form to get in touch with a Peace Corps Eligibility officer. The person on the other end of the phone was not happy and informed me that the PC has a pretty strict policy when it comes to any drugs and alcohol convictions, even misdemeanors like this. Their policy usually caries a minimum 1 year period from the date of the incident where you become ineligible to serve. This wouldn't have been the end of the world, but considering that I had just recently quit my job, was in the process of packing up my apartment, and was planning on flying to Miami NEXT WEEK for my staging event, I was a little freaked out. I sent in some additional information, filled out some additional paperwork, and spent the next six hours convinced that I was going to have to find a new job and new place to live for the next year.
Fortunately the PC has some very diligent, compassionate people working for them who understood that this was not a major incident that warranted such harsh repercussions. At the end of the day, I received an e-mail saying that I was still eligible for PC service and was allowed to join my training class next week. Looking back, I probably over reacted a bit and shouldn't have gotten so worked up. What was the worst that could have happened - I delay my service a year? Life could be a lot worse. But a lesson for future volunteers - to avoid any hastles like this, be extra careful to stay out of these types of situations.
I woke up around 9:00 AM yesterday and finally got out of bed around 10 or so (yeah, its nice being unemployed). So after bumming around for a while, I finally started to pack up my apartment and prepare for my trip to Jamaica next week. After a few minutes of packing, I realized that I still needed to go through some of my paper work for my staging event. As I was going through the forms and booklets that I received, most of which I had already filled out, I stumble across a "Peace Corps Eligibility" form. I realize that this was not just a check list, as I originally thought, but a form that actually needed to be filled out. As I began to read it, I realize that the form was asking if I have been charged with any misdemeanors or received any citations since my original application and background check. Then I remember back to the end of May....(flash back)
John, a friend of mine at my old job invited me to a Met's game back on May 30th, saying that he had a few extra box seat tickets. Since I had never been to Shea Stadium and I am always looking for an excuse to leave work a few hours early on a Friday, I gladly accepted his offer. John also invited other coworkers of ours, Brian and Karan, with the remaining tickets he had. So we all left work around 2:00 PM and carpooled to Shea Stadium.
We finally arrived at Shea Stadium after sitting in about 4 hours of horrible New York City traffic and had about an hour before the game started. After parking the car, Brian and Karan went off to find a restroom and John and I sat on the bumper of his car and each opened up a beer to do a little tailgating. There were lots of other people in the parking lot drinking their beverages, so we didn't think there was anything wrong until a police car pulled up next to us. Two NYPD officers stepped out and informed us that we were in violation of a public drinking ordinance and were going to issue us $25.00 citations. They also informed us that all we needed to do to avoid these citations was to pour our drinks into plastic cups rather than drink them directly from the can! Somehow drinking out of a plastic cup makes drinking in public legal!?!? So, a few days later I mailed in my guilty plea along with $25.00 and thought the situation was over....(back to the present)
I immediately called the phone number on the eligibility form to get in touch with a Peace Corps Eligibility officer. The person on the other end of the phone was not happy and informed me that the PC has a pretty strict policy when it comes to any drugs and alcohol convictions, even misdemeanors like this. Their policy usually caries a minimum 1 year period from the date of the incident where you become ineligible to serve. This wouldn't have been the end of the world, but considering that I had just recently quit my job, was in the process of packing up my apartment, and was planning on flying to Miami NEXT WEEK for my staging event, I was a little freaked out. I sent in some additional information, filled out some additional paperwork, and spent the next six hours convinced that I was going to have to find a new job and new place to live for the next year.
Fortunately the PC has some very diligent, compassionate people working for them who understood that this was not a major incident that warranted such harsh repercussions. At the end of the day, I received an e-mail saying that I was still eligible for PC service and was allowed to join my training class next week. Looking back, I probably over reacted a bit and shouldn't have gotten so worked up. What was the worst that could have happened - I delay my service a year? Life could be a lot worse. But a lesson for future volunteers - to avoid any hastles like this, be extra careful to stay out of these types of situations.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Weekend with the Payne Family
So I just finished hosting my family in Philly for the weekend and I'm thankful that I'm unemployed right now so I can sleep in and watch movies all day to try and recover. My sister Kelly and her boyfriend Tim flew in from Chicago early Friday morning and the weekend was non-stop until I dropped them off at the airport this morning a little before 5 am. I have to hand it to Kelly and Tim though - they were real troopers and hung out all weekend.
We started off on Friday doing a tour of most of Old City (Liberty Bell, Christ Church, etc.), parts of South Philly (Italian Market) and a little of the Art Museum, walking most of the way... My older sister Susan arrived a bit later - in time for dinner at the World Cafe and seeing a performance by Cas Halley - which by the way I highly recommend.
On Saturday we got a pretty early start so that we could get tickets for the tour of Independence Hall which we missed out on, on Friday. After spending most of the morning walking around Old City and Center City, it was back to the apartment to prepare for the big event - the arrival of my grandparents, my parents and my brother Adam with his wife and baby for dinner. Again - my hat goes off to Tim, seeing that this was his first encounter with the rest of the Payne family, and he took it all in stride. With the help of a few drinks, there was only a small amount of tension and drama that goes along with any family gathering. After dinner, everyone went back to their respective homes except Kelly, Tim and Adam. Saturday night was a good time with a few drinks at my place, going to a few bars in Center City, a stop at Geno's for a cheese steak, a few stops in University City and capping the night off on the balcony of my apartment with a few more drinks - a few "caucasians" Lebowski style.
Needless to say, we were all feeling pretty good on Sunday morning, but managed to rally in time for the Philly's game that started at 1:30 in the afternoon. My parents came back down along with Adam's wife and baby for the game. Unfortunately the Philly's finished up their series with the Angels by getting swept, but it was still a good afternoon for a game. Luckily, after dinner, Kelly, Tim and I went to a bar down the street from my apartment and watched the Cubs finish a sweep of the White Sox, so it all seemed to balance out somehow.
In the end, the weekend had good food, good drinks and good company. I'm happy that everyone was able to get together one last time before I take off next week.
We started off on Friday doing a tour of most of Old City (Liberty Bell, Christ Church, etc.), parts of South Philly (Italian Market) and a little of the Art Museum, walking most of the way... My older sister Susan arrived a bit later - in time for dinner at the World Cafe and seeing a performance by Cas Halley - which by the way I highly recommend.
On Saturday we got a pretty early start so that we could get tickets for the tour of Independence Hall which we missed out on, on Friday. After spending most of the morning walking around Old City and Center City, it was back to the apartment to prepare for the big event - the arrival of my grandparents, my parents and my brother Adam with his wife and baby for dinner. Again - my hat goes off to Tim, seeing that this was his first encounter with the rest of the Payne family, and he took it all in stride. With the help of a few drinks, there was only a small amount of tension and drama that goes along with any family gathering. After dinner, everyone went back to their respective homes except Kelly, Tim and Adam. Saturday night was a good time with a few drinks at my place, going to a few bars in Center City, a stop at Geno's for a cheese steak, a few stops in University City and capping the night off on the balcony of my apartment with a few more drinks - a few "caucasians" Lebowski style.
Needless to say, we were all feeling pretty good on Sunday morning, but managed to rally in time for the Philly's game that started at 1:30 in the afternoon. My parents came back down along with Adam's wife and baby for the game. Unfortunately the Philly's finished up their series with the Angels by getting swept, but it was still a good afternoon for a game. Luckily, after dinner, Kelly, Tim and I went to a bar down the street from my apartment and watched the Cubs finish a sweep of the White Sox, so it all seemed to balance out somehow.
In the end, the weekend had good food, good drinks and good company. I'm happy that everyone was able to get together one last time before I take off next week.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Starting to Get Ready
I've been asked by a bunch of family and friends to try to do something that will make it easier to keep in touch when I go to Jamaica for the next 2 years to serve with the Peace Corps. Hopefully this blog will help me do that and also be a way where I can try to share some of my stories for people who are interested to see them. Please feel free to respond to anything I write.
So the past few weeks have been pretty interesting for me. Last week I finally finished my masters degree at Drexel in Geotechnical Engineering (ie: playing with dirt) after 2 1/2 years of night school and long weekends. This week I celebrated my 26th birthday (thanks to Tom for making the "sacrifice" of going out in Philly with me until 2 am on a Thursday night) and also had my last day of work. That is the third job I have quit since graduating college four years ago. It is probably not an ideal situation to be in, but at least I have been able to see different parts of the country, see how different companies operate and meet a lot of good people. It was tough leaving this job because I really enjoyed working with some of the people in this last year.
Now I have the next two weeks to make sure my life is in some type of relative order before I leave for the Peace Corps. I have to move my few possessions out of my apartment in Philly back into my parents place and also make sure my parents have power over all my "finances" and such. Its fortunate that I don't own much and that Drexel has sufficiently drained most of my money over the past 2 years, so there isn't much to really take care of. Other than that, I'll pretty much be relaxing and having a two week vacation.
Next weekend, my family is coming to Philly to have a graduation/going away/birthday celebration. I'm looking forward to all the drama that usually surrounds these types of family gatherings, but hey, their family and you have to love them. The following weekend, I'll be going to Sample's wedding in Scranton PA, which will be cool to see him and his soon to be wife, and also good to see a bunch of other friends from college.
Then, the Tuesday after the wedding, its off to Miami for two days of orientation and then off to Jamaica for two months of training and two years of service. Sounds a little scary right now, but then again, its the Peace Corps and its Jamaica, things could be a lot worse.
So the past few weeks have been pretty interesting for me. Last week I finally finished my masters degree at Drexel in Geotechnical Engineering (ie: playing with dirt) after 2 1/2 years of night school and long weekends. This week I celebrated my 26th birthday (thanks to Tom for making the "sacrifice" of going out in Philly with me until 2 am on a Thursday night) and also had my last day of work. That is the third job I have quit since graduating college four years ago. It is probably not an ideal situation to be in, but at least I have been able to see different parts of the country, see how different companies operate and meet a lot of good people. It was tough leaving this job because I really enjoyed working with some of the people in this last year.
Now I have the next two weeks to make sure my life is in some type of relative order before I leave for the Peace Corps. I have to move my few possessions out of my apartment in Philly back into my parents place and also make sure my parents have power over all my "finances" and such. Its fortunate that I don't own much and that Drexel has sufficiently drained most of my money over the past 2 years, so there isn't much to really take care of. Other than that, I'll pretty much be relaxing and having a two week vacation.
Next weekend, my family is coming to Philly to have a graduation/going away/birthday celebration. I'm looking forward to all the drama that usually surrounds these types of family gatherings, but hey, their family and you have to love them. The following weekend, I'll be going to Sample's wedding in Scranton PA, which will be cool to see him and his soon to be wife, and also good to see a bunch of other friends from college.
Then, the Tuesday after the wedding, its off to Miami for two days of orientation and then off to Jamaica for two months of training and two years of service. Sounds a little scary right now, but then again, its the Peace Corps and its Jamaica, things could be a lot worse.
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