Not a good Monday

So now I really know why Peace Corps stresses patience. I may not  be going to Senegal after all. One of the medications I take is used "off label" to help with my restless leg syndrome to keep me from waking up at night every time I jerk around in my sleep. The medication is an anti-psychotic, so even though I am not psychotic (yet...) PC has to follow protocols regarding such things. I get that. I get that they can't make exceptions to rules and understand why. But now, suddenly I am scrambling to 1) find another drug that would do the same thing and not be on the "no fly" list 2) stop taking the drug and be really tired all the time or 3) keep taking the drug and see where else they might place me.  Meanwhile time flies by, I am juggling serious job timelines and pressures and trying to find a third room mate for while I am gone so I don't spend all my savings/retirement on this "little" excursion.  But there are fun parts...my Pieces of Peace Corps sales are this weekend - selling  to friends some of my special belongings that I would rather have someone I care about have than leave stuffed in a box for 27 months.  Should be fun having people come by, have some food and drink and see if I can raise a bit of money for my savings. Gives a good excuse for a holiday gathering too.  Sigh.  And maybe I will need to change my blog to "Ms Maggie has no idea where she is going."

My last Stateside Thanksgiving - for awhile

Traveling to see a couple dear friends in Sacramento then over to see my mom in the Bay Area.  More and more I am saying, "whoa! this is the last time i will do this for  awhile."  Time isn't marching by, it is running wildly past me, sometimes screaming hysterically, sometimes laughing maniacally, sometimes, just quietly focused on the road ahead.  Thanks to all the current PCVs who are responding to my friend requests and sharing sage advice. I really appreciate it. Today, I am thankful for everything I have and for the opportunity to do something as wild and as great as going to another country for a couple years to work with  and learn from others about their lives and country.  Way to go JFK.

Anyone over 30? Over 40?

oh, and if any of you PCVs out there in the world of PCV land are over 40, please let me know how you are faring.  would love to connect and hear about what I should be aware of.  I know it won't be about guys in their 20s finding me ever so interesting, but figure there will be much more interesting things than that! but if you have that story....

On My Way to Senegal! By way of my CPA

Today  I dropped my nice Jazlyn off at the Greyhound station. She spent the weekend helping me arrange my home for a party I am planning to rid myself of excess in preparation for departure. She is quite an artist....I spent the rest of the morning signing the papers on my refinance, meeting with my homeowners insurance salesman who then sent me over to see my favorite CPA to talk about the implications of renting my home for 27 months.  Always  handled all my stuff without a CPA,  but life is getting complicated when you own a home and want to go to Senegal for a few years. 

Had my BFF over for her belated birthday dinner tonight. We both talked bout all the stuff  going on in our lives. It is going to be hard to not be able to see or talk to her anytime I want. Planning a trip with her to San Diego in January, just the two of us for some quality time away from the homeland stuff.

Between all this and my job, I've been planning a Pieces of Peace Corps weekend where I have invited friends over to help me out with my pet fund by buying someof my nifty stuff that I wouldn't be getting rid of if I were staying,but won't need for awhile. Someone else might as well enjoy it.  I think it is criminal to store our "extra stuff" in boxes when so many have so little. 

Heading to Sacramento to see a few friends who I am unlikely to see again for a couple of years. As i get closer to my departure date and this gets more (sur)real, it will also get more hard(er). Since I work with some older folk, and have older parents (and pets) of my own, i wonder sometimes who will still be here when I get  back. then again, there are no guarantees for us at any age, so can't overly focus on that one.

Am scheduling a good bye party with my friends band, Trifecta, on February 11th.  I probably should be an event planner, rather than an PCV, for all the event planning I am doing lately. Perhaps this skill will come in handy in Senegal too. 

Good thing I like being busy.  Probably will need to learn how to just be more. Probably will.

On My Way to Senegal!

Well, here I go. Applied to Peace Corps in June 2009, interviewed and nominated in August, went through the health clearance (not a cake walk at 48 years!) and was getting ready to go somewhere in West Africa in August 2010. I delayed it because of work obligations, but am now officially invited and on my way to Senegal in March 2011.  Have given notice at work, and am starting to let everyone know.  I have been the director of two adult day health programs and an Alzheimer's Resource Center in Eureka, CA for 12 years. We just finished a major capital campaign to build a state of the art Alzheimer's Day Care and then Governor Arnie removed all of our Alzheimers related funding last year. Funny, there are still people coming to us every day needing help after being newly diagnosed. But then, California is all messed up.

Believe me, if the Peace Corps is ever something you think you want to do, I suggest doing it in your 20s. Ah, when all I owned fit in the back of my Toyota pick up truck!  Those were the days! Now, I own a home, have pets, a serious job and lots of stuff (though a lot less stuff than most people I know!)  It is taking quite a bit of organization and dedication to plugging away at all the loose ends I need to tie up, but I think I can, I think I can...If it weren't for friends, coworkers, family and my community, who all want to see me succeed, I would be a much finer basket case than I am already.  March 7 is my staging date, and that leaves me just over 3 months to get everything as best as I can before I have to just let go and leave, trusting it all will  turn out okay.

I have been doing alot of reading, about Senegal, about PCVs in various African countries, about the role of a Health Educator, about Malaria and dysentery (ok, not about that last one.) and am brushing up on my french.   Other than that, thinking about what I need to bring with  me and then planning to put half of it to the side. Thinking about saying good bye to alot of people I hold dear and sometimes wondering about what I am getting myself into.  I know that 27 months generally goes by quickly - the last 2+ years certainly have - but they say PC is a life changing experience so it will be challenging both going in and of course coming back home.  My hope is that my "years of experience" (something my mom always said she had whenever I asked her how she could do something so fast when I was a kid and now yikes! I am saying it too) will help me stay as balanced as possible and perhaps be a resource for the younger folks going in. I am not sure I could have done this when I was 20 something, but I am so fortunate to have the second chance now.

For now, I will keep going to the gym, keep tossing stuff I don't need or want, saving my pennies and spending time with my friends, family and pets til I board that plan!  Anyone out there will helpful suggestions, let me know.