No gifts; please donate

It's that time of year again.

Don't get me wrong, I love to shop. I love seeing something I know Mike will just love and purchasing it. I do the same for friends.

Then we get to Christmas and the whole world is buying gifts, in some cases just because. Not because the person is going to absolutely love the gift, but just because.

Please don't do that for me. No gifts please. I have everything I could possibly want. The newest vegan cookbook? If I want it I have it. That really cool animal rights shirt? Same thing.

When someone who loves me and cares about me wants to give me a gift, I ask them to make a donation instead.

My typical request is to ask friends and family to donate to their local HIV/AIDS group or their local animal shelter. My parents have been doing this for years. It works well on so many levels. For me it's much better than receiving a gift. The donation changes the world for a living being.

Many of our readers have donated to the groups we have listed on the main page of the blog. I love that, mainly because these are groups that Mike and I donate to and we firmly believe in the work they are doing.

I recently made a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project in honor of a relative. This group rocks it in caring for wounded veterans, something important to my relative. Would they have preferred cash? Perhaps. But like any other donation I have made in honor of someone, the donation changes not only the group I donated to but it also changes the person I made the donation for.

Thanks for reading!

Unemployed

I have always used this blog to write about Mike and I, equality, compassion, being vegan, and our experiences of being a gay, vegan couple in the suburbs. I have shared the good and the bad in my life, and decided this morning to continue that tradition.

Yesterday I was laid off. In my professional life I am a fundraiser, a Director of Development. I had rocked it for almost two years at our local opera company. Loved my job. After a very tough year in fundraising my boss decided that cutting back would begin with me.

I wasn't surprised. Life had become dark at work in the past week. A lot of closed door meetings and no communication at all.

When my boss called me down to his office and I walked in to see him and our Human Resources guy, I was honestly relieved. He told me his story of why, my HR guy gave me some paperwork, and I headed back to my office. Tears were shed by some of my peers. I was grateful for their kindness and support, and for helping me move out of my office!

Although I never really quite fit in at this company, I did love it, and already miss a few of my co-workers. I will also miss many things around the opera performances, which kind of surprises me.

I had one job interview/chat yesterday afternoon and have another on Monday.

And so less than 24 hours after being laid off I am in my dining room surrounded by the furries doing job searches, trying to not be angry with being let go and thinking that I have a full day today to rock it.

A friend and professional peer is taking me to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Tarascos, for lunch. That's my only solid plan for the day.

I have never been unemployed, so this is new to me. I have been fortunate to always be the one who gets a call asking if I am interested in a job.  I feel like I was born to fundraise but who knows what my new adventure looks like.

I promise not to inundate you with blog posts, yet I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, if you hear of a fundraising job with an organization that you think is making the world a better place, let me know.

Thank you for reading!