Friday, July 31, 2009

What To Do with Myself?

The past two months I have enjoyed being a full-time housewife and have kept busy with my role as an unofficial Los Angeles tour guide and hostess for out-of-town visitors. On the side, I’ve helped Jules relocate back to Manila, resurrected my blog, hosted a garage sale, took a weekend vacation with my hubby, caught up on my reading, gone shopping, and more. I’ve also spent quiet time reflecting and learning to be comfortable being on my own. It’s been a good two months, but these days, I am finding that I am bored. I was telling Jojo the other night that I need to have something to do, some reason to get out of bed every morning. I need to be active and busy. Two months is more than enough time for me to “rest and recover”.

I guess the most obvious solution would be to find a job. I wish it were that simple. Unfortunately there are two reasons why it is not. First, we are in a recession and jobs are so hard to find. Although I have not been actively searching, I have sent out my resume here and there. In the past, I always got several responses. These days, not so much. I went on two interviews. The first company turned me down. While the second, I turned down. Which brings me to my second reason. As I’ve written in my blog, I want a job that means something other than slaving away for a paycheck. I want to do something that has significance not only to the company but to myself as well. I want to be a part of something that helps me grow professionally and on a personal level. I know it’s a tall order – but I truly believe that job is out there. The only catch is I don’t really know how long it is till I find it.

Which brought me back to the dilemma of wanting to do something more productive with my life - now. Here’s what I came up with:

I signed up for yoga classes. I think this will be good for me mentally and physically. My best friend, Les, has been extolling the benefits of yoga to me. She also told me that she has a couple of friends that got pregnant after starting yoga. I am intrigued and am hoping that these classes will hit two birds with one stone.

I volunteered to work at a non-profit organization that serves as a homeless shelter / food bank / daycare center. I can’t reveal too much information about this organization yet since I don’t know if they allow that sort of thing. I will blog about them when I get permission to do so. Anyway, I start working next week – I’ll be there Tuesday and Thursday afternoons as a guest services associate and Friday mornings as part of the Food Pantry team that prepares food baskets. I am volunteering 15 hours a week.

I am taking Microsoft Office Suite online courses through our local community college. Classes on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook. I’ve used all these programs before but have never really taken formal classes. So while I am comfortable using them, I am sure there are a lot of fancier things I could do with them. I am certain being more proficient with these systems will help me down the line.

All these begin next week and I have to say I am super excited to get started!

8 comments:

mom said...

I see very busy days ahead of you. I know though that there will be great self fulfillment in the task that you have set out to do. May all that you set out to accomplish be fulfilled. I am proud of you and your ability to channel positively the different circumstances in your life.

Auntie Lillian said...

Joanne, welcome to the world of volunteering. I'm sure it will give you lots of satisfaction . You will be quite busy with the yoga and computer classes too. You are right, there probably are a lot more things that can be done with powerpoint than opening and closing ( haha ). Enjoy !!

Junarakasa said...

Thanks, mom. Honestly, you are my inspiration. You being a full-time housewife (always making sure we were all taken care of and that our home was running smoothly), but on the side you ran livelihood projects, were on the parent councils of our schools, hosted weekly Bible Study classes, took ballroom dancing lessons with your girlfriends, were the principal of a deaf school, and so much more! I know all these gave you much personal and "professional" satisfaction - something I hope to receive as well! =)

Hi Auntie Lillian! Actually the idea to do volunteer work came from your sharing stories about your work at Hope Chest. Thank you for sharing your experiences. Hopefully I will gain as much as you did! =)

leslie ty said...

Hi Jo =)

I'm soooo excited that you decided try YOGA =) I really hope you'll enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying it =) i'm soooo addicted to YOGA already...please don't forget to share your yoga experience =)

I think the volunteering job sounds exciting =) ever since high school...you really are one of those people who are genuinely happy to do volunteer work...i know that you are always being blessed because you have such a BIG heart =) Good luck Jo!

Junarakasa said...

Hi Les, will definitely let you know how my yoga classes turn out =) I am kind of looking forward to it too.

joyeee said...

hey dets, what a great idea to do yoga, help out a good cause, and learn computer stuff...:) You really know how to make good use of your time. ( helping yourself and others) I'm excited for you as well. Keep me posted as to how things go! take care joey!

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