another deferral

Um. So I got another letter from Washington letting me know that I'm still in limbo. At this point, I am unable to make the September leave date that I have been preparing for since late last year. I do feel a bit disappointed, but not as much as I expected, considering the circumstances. Seems like LA will be my home for a little longer, though I am developing a new appreciation for the City of Angels. Starting to weigh other options....Any ideas? Stay here till retirement?

Serve the City 2010. I'm on the right. I got cut off.

an overdue update

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry old friend, I have been neglecting you. You see, life has been somewhat busy yet somewhat uneventful at the same time and rather than bore you with the details, I have chosen to remain silent. However, there are a couple things that might peak your interest as of late. I was able to spend some quality time with Car last weekend and bandaged up his recent injury as best as I could. Please see the enclosed Photograph of his progress. I hope to work with him again soon to make sure he's alright for his future travels.

The test results from Doctor came back and he wants to order another Test. Furthermore, he called me yesterday to tell me they do not take my Insurance any longer, and that I must be redirected to another Doctor for the Test. This is one of those situations which is mostly out of my control, which require mostly just Trust and Patience. I am sorry to report, however, that Patience is wearing a bit thin.

I have been long awaiting the opportunity to return to my beloved Guitar. As it is, I manage to steal only a few minutes with her here and there. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Inspiration to to bless our holy union.

Send my warmest regards to your Followers, and keep in touch my friend.

Sincerely,
Nate

an africa update

I finally stopped putting off those phone calls and got my retest pushed up. Just dropped off the sample this morning. It is once again out of my hands. Also have a Peace Corps dinner this weekend where the current nominees meet each other and returnees. Not sure what to expect, but a former coworker from UCLA who is going gives high praise.

On another note, I am realizing once again how obsessed I am with managing everything. I feel unsettled when things are not in order. I'll rip things apart if they are just slightly out of alignment. Hence things like this. Must worry less, rejoice more. Less Martha, more Mary.

P.S. - Yums.

P.P.S. - Read this blog. Buy these pretties.

cutting it close

I received a response from my local recruiter:

August 11th is the dead last date that you need to be medically cleared and invited. So, it seems like this will be OK as long as the test can be complete in July, giving the medical office about two weeks to clear you. No need to stress at this point!

Yet stress we shall. I need to call the medical office in DC to see if I can get the dates pushed up. I am dreading having to talk to all the doctors again.

On a lighter note, this is wonderful:





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defer

The review of my medical records for Peace Corps came in the mail...

They are deferring the evaluation until July, pending a retest of one of the laboratory tests. One of the tests showed a slight irregularity for someone my age. The doctor wasn't worried about it, he just wanted to monitor it and retest in 6 months. It didn't seem like a big deal, but apparently Peace Corps is very thorough.

So if my medical evaluation doesn't go through until July, will I still be able to leave in September? Will I have to change programs and maybe go to a different region? Will I be able to go at all? For a long time, I have been planning my life around a departure date in September. At the very least, this news keeps me flexible and on my toes, and not relying on my own plans. My experience tells me that God likes to make me sweat a little.

I am fairly surrendered about everything, and a later departure date may work out for the best. It's just difficult to deal with such a large commitment when so little is certain. And the prospect of another round of doctor's appointments does not excite me. Maybe more news after I make some phone calls.

"Good things take time, but great things happen all at once."
-Rat Race

it's only temporary

Knowing that, in seven months time, everything familiar will disappear from an airplane window has given me a unique and wonderful perspective on what is important. What little I can take with me becomes infinitely more valuable than everything that I must leave behind. Not that I am living in an bare apartment with milk crates for furniture, but my furnishings do reflect the temporary nature of my living situation. I have not decorated in the same way as I would if I were planning to grow roots.

This anomaly has made my decisions clearer and simpler. There is no opportunity for situations to needlessly drag on, no chance for anxiousness to turn into sin. It is startlingly easy to compromise convictions when one is comfortable where he is. We are often obsessed with maintaining the status quo and avoiding change. But because I have big changes quickly approaching, the status quo does not concern me. I can discern right from wrong and act accordingly, because I don't have the luxury of time to cloud my judgement. I can make the decisions of a better man. Pain is not dampened, but the temptation to defer it for as long as possible is.

My future is invested elsewhere. The more I think about this situation, the more I believe this is how we should see life in general. Life here is impermanent. The more we are invested in heaven, the less concerned we will be about what doesn't really matter. Our roots should be just deep enough that we don't fall over under our own weight, lest when it comes time to be transplanted, we are unable to budge. Look around at how you have chosen to furnish your life.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where theives do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:20-21

random

Peace Corps medical forms finally finished. Looking to mail it in tomorrow.

Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.
-Frederick Lehman, "The Love of God"

peace corps update

I have been running around from doctor to doctor for the last couple months trying to get my medical paperwork completed. They require a full set of physicals and documentation from a regular physician, a dentist, and an optometrist. Other than waiting on appointments and jumping through hoops, the teeth and eye stuff went through without too many complications, but the everything else part is pretty frustrating.

Long story short, after multiple visits to offices all over LA for lab tests, shots, and a specialist consultation, I'm still waiting for the doctor to look over the paperwork. When they are finished, I can send all the forms to Washington DC and if everything is acceptable, the official invitation will come in. Other than that, things remain the same. September still feels like a long ways off, but I know that it is just over the horizon and will come quickly. Still, much can happen in 8 months. Open hands.

what is peace corps

The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace and friendship.

Since that time, more than 195,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation.

[peacecorps.gov]

I've more or less been accepted into the program. The recruiter nominated me for a math teaching position in Africa which is scheduled to leave next September. I don't have any details and plans can change at anytime. It's a two year commitment, 3 months in-country training and 24 months in the field, living among the people I will be serving. As I understand it, programs start with a group of volunteers training together, then dispersing into their service fields, maintaining contact with each other as needed until each feels more at home with the locals.

The full force of this commitment hasn't hit me yet, but I am pretty excited about it. Hard to imagine setting foot in Africa a year from now. But Peace Corps gives me a chance to address several burning desires that have yet been met by closed doors. If I walk through this door that is opening before me, I wonder if I will have to close it behind me. And I wonder how many more rooms I will have to walk through before reaching the end of the maze.