Getting involved

This month marks my 3 year anniversary of living on the West Coast in the middle of nowhere. In some ways it's hard to believe it's only been 3 years and in other ways I'm sure it's only been two. But alas it's really been 3 and outside of work I don't have any connections here.

I've taken matters into my own hands this last month and have started volunteering to get involved in activities outside of work (hence my lack of posting). My goal is 3 fold:

1. I want to expand my network beyond just people I work with
   
2. I use to be very involved in community activities before moving here and I miss it
3. It looks good on the resume should I end up on the job market

In some ways my motivations are selfish, I want to have a larger support network since I don't have family close by that I can rely on and I'm trying to cover my bases in case I become unemployed. Local involvement will look good as will having connections outside of work that I can draw from. But there is also the element of being engaged in the community that makes you feel good.

I'm currently attending a Citizen's Police Academy which is a lot of fun. I was nervous that I would meet a lot of LE haters but in fact everyone has been incredible nice and in total awe of what LEO and Dispatchers do and what they put up with. A few city council members are attending and I'm also meeting more people that DH works with which is nice. I did a sit along in dispatch for a few hours last weekend and all I can say is that dispatchers have an incredibly stressful job and are perhaps the best multi-taskers on earth!

I've also joined a local book group with 5 other ladies. I love to read and was really excited when a co-worker introduced me to his friend that lead the group. I think the best part about the group is that no one from my work or DH's work is part of it so I'm actually opening up new doors!

This week is the annual Bowl for Kids' Sake to support our local Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. I'm one of the team captains and we've done some really successful fundraising which I'm pretty excited about. And next week I'm volunteering at the local Jazz Festival.

Since getting involved I've felt a lot happier and believe it or not have more energy when I come home (even when it's past my bedtime). I'm doing a better job of eating well and keeping the house clean. I'm starting to feel like the old me again and I like it!