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rain all day
Jan. 28th, 2024 06:56 pmAs of a couple years ago, I accidentally got myself onto all four of FUSIT's hospitality teams.
The idea behind hospitality teams is that you sort the congregation into quarters, and each quarter does ushering, coffee hour, etc. for one month before handing off to the next team. Taking summer services into account and doing either September or May on an ad hoc basis, this means every member is only on the hook for a few small things on a couple weeks each year, and hopefully it spreads the labor across a broader swath of the congregation. In practice, there are some stalwarts on each team, a bunch of other people who will maybe volunteer for one task one time per year if you poke them multiple times, and a LOT of people who ask to be removed for whatever reason -- that's standard for any opt-out volunteer project.
But because I actively enjoy washing dishes, I tend to volunteer for cleanup on every week my team is up -- and because the people coordinating the teams noticed that, I got put on the "will fill in when needed" mailing list, and made an official member of every team.
This is not really an issue -- like I said, I actively enjoying washing dishes, and I usually volunteer to bring snacks as well, because baking brownies or buying some cheese and crackers is not a hardship for me. But it does mean that once tax season gets into full swing, I have to remind people that nope, I can't do cleanup until tax day. I am going to be at work instead.
Today was the first day that really kicked in, so I did a quick drive-by to drop off this week's cheese and crackers and then vanished to the sound of lamentations :)
-----
My shift at Not the IRS was very boring. I had no appointments, and there were no phone calls. The only thing of interest I did was scan some documents for other tax preparers, since I have been stuck sitting at the desk with the scanner because the computer in the cubicle where I prefer to sit has been broken for three weeks now.
I mostly killed time by watching some videos for a Coursera class I am taking for free (Christian women's spirituality in the European middle ages), and reading another chapter of Bridge and Tunnel Boys, which is a book about Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. The course is interesting, but I need to watch the videos with subtitles. The book is also interesting, but DESPERATELY needed another proofreading pass.
-----
I left work a bit early, after blocking off my schedule with a fake appointment. (I have begun using Nick as my placeholder client.) I had to resort to this scheduling sleight of hand because management did NOT take me off the schedule even though I told them two weeks ago that I wouldn't be available after 2:30pm.
I then attended a chamber music concert by the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. I very nearly decided not to go -- this is because I parked, got out of my car into the pouring rain, and then suddenly realized I'd forgotten to bring my ticket. By the time I got back to my apartment to retrieve the ticket, I was feeling grumpy and uninclined to go back out into the rain. But I reminded myself that animals need enrichment in their enclosures and that I knew I would enjoy the concert, and managed to prod myself back out the door.
I did, as predicted, enjoy the concert. :)
The idea behind hospitality teams is that you sort the congregation into quarters, and each quarter does ushering, coffee hour, etc. for one month before handing off to the next team. Taking summer services into account and doing either September or May on an ad hoc basis, this means every member is only on the hook for a few small things on a couple weeks each year, and hopefully it spreads the labor across a broader swath of the congregation. In practice, there are some stalwarts on each team, a bunch of other people who will maybe volunteer for one task one time per year if you poke them multiple times, and a LOT of people who ask to be removed for whatever reason -- that's standard for any opt-out volunteer project.
But because I actively enjoy washing dishes, I tend to volunteer for cleanup on every week my team is up -- and because the people coordinating the teams noticed that, I got put on the "will fill in when needed" mailing list, and made an official member of every team.
This is not really an issue -- like I said, I actively enjoying washing dishes, and I usually volunteer to bring snacks as well, because baking brownies or buying some cheese and crackers is not a hardship for me. But it does mean that once tax season gets into full swing, I have to remind people that nope, I can't do cleanup until tax day. I am going to be at work instead.
Today was the first day that really kicked in, so I did a quick drive-by to drop off this week's cheese and crackers and then vanished to the sound of lamentations :)
-----
My shift at Not the IRS was very boring. I had no appointments, and there were no phone calls. The only thing of interest I did was scan some documents for other tax preparers, since I have been stuck sitting at the desk with the scanner because the computer in the cubicle where I prefer to sit has been broken for three weeks now.
I mostly killed time by watching some videos for a Coursera class I am taking for free (Christian women's spirituality in the European middle ages), and reading another chapter of Bridge and Tunnel Boys, which is a book about Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. The course is interesting, but I need to watch the videos with subtitles. The book is also interesting, but DESPERATELY needed another proofreading pass.
-----
I left work a bit early, after blocking off my schedule with a fake appointment. (I have begun using Nick as my placeholder client.) I had to resort to this scheduling sleight of hand because management did NOT take me off the schedule even though I told them two weeks ago that I wouldn't be available after 2:30pm.
I then attended a chamber music concert by the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. I very nearly decided not to go -- this is because I parked, got out of my car into the pouring rain, and then suddenly realized I'd forgotten to bring my ticket. By the time I got back to my apartment to retrieve the ticket, I was feeling grumpy and uninclined to go back out into the rain. But I reminded myself that animals need enrichment in their enclosures and that I knew I would enjoy the concert, and managed to prod myself back out the door.
I did, as predicted, enjoy the concert. :)
