i am a little behind for a new years post. not completely inspired or motivated to change anything at the moment. not because i am lazy or lack passion...but because i am what i have come to fear the most.
content.
being content and busy with meaningless daily activities is what i have protested. I will not have an 8-5 job! i will not go to church every sunday! i will not be a typical american Christian.
i will not.
i am not.
i get worried that these "things" will make me fall into the rut of the so called "american dream."
i was watching "Calliou" the other day with my nephews and Caillou was talking about how he wanted to be just like his daddy. i asked my four year old nephew "do you want to be just like your daddy when you grow up?" he says, "no."
his daddy was sitting with us and i was disappointed in his answer, thinking every kid wants to be like their daddy. after some mumbling about his brothers and winning prizes he says matter of factly - "i just want to be me."
anyway, my phrase for the year is "om nashi me." ok ok, its actually the lyrics to some hipster song by edward sharpe. which i love the song, but the meaning is a bit opaque. after some research - we decided the definition "oh infinite nakedness" fit best. which, to me means - you come on this earth with nothing and you leave with nothing. this year i want to become more of a minimalist with material things and also emotional. traveling light. forgiving easily. and "nakedness" meaning dont put up a front. be who you are. be true to yourself and be honest with your self, with God, with the people around you.
this year im not making trival goals (although im not against that idea)...but i just want to be more raw. i just want to be me.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Global Night Commute.
the IC office calls us daily (sometimes hourly)...
"you will be doing the GNC in sacramento. no wait. chico. um....long beach?
numbers were racking up online. people were actually volunteering to SLEEP OUTSIDE. and we were planning it.
IC wanted the roadies to be where they were expecting the most people...we ended up splitting the team. Bud and some of his helpers would do long beach. hannah and i would take costa mesa.
days prior we:
- got the contract for Orange Coast College (which almost fell through the day of)
- ordered port-o-potties (which were delivered to the wrong field)
- hired security guards (which we ended up firing one of them half way through the night)
im not gonna lie, there were times i wanted to find a closet and hide out. what in the world is invisible children thinking right now? what in the world am I thinking right now? ?this is not gonna work!
this. is. crazy.
its april 29th and we are looking out at a huge empty field. it took us about 2 minutes to set up...we have a megaphone, cameras, paper and envelopes to write letters and 10 happy helpers wearing neon green shirts.
And then i see them.
people.
they are coming.
and they have sleeping bags.
the Global Night Commute is actually happening.
And it didnt really hit me untill Ben Keesey called my phone later that night.
"tell me. how is it going in costa mesa?"
"Ben. you wont believe this. but there are people here! we have over 1,000 sleeping outside. its insane." i said with a huge smile.
He believed.
80,000 people united that night to show support for the ugandan children.
I am kate and this is part of MY story with invisible children.
this isnt the whole story. in fact it is just the beginning of what has become.
but these are the stories that make up the big picture.
"you will be doing the GNC in sacramento. no wait. chico. um....long beach?
numbers were racking up online. people were actually volunteering to SLEEP OUTSIDE. and we were planning it.
IC wanted the roadies to be where they were expecting the most people...we ended up splitting the team. Bud and some of his helpers would do long beach. hannah and i would take costa mesa.
days prior we:
- got the contract for Orange Coast College (which almost fell through the day of)
- ordered port-o-potties (which were delivered to the wrong field)
- hired security guards (which we ended up firing one of them half way through the night)
im not gonna lie, there were times i wanted to find a closet and hide out. what in the world is invisible children thinking right now? what in the world am I thinking right now? ?this is not gonna work!
this. is. crazy.
its april 29th and we are looking out at a huge empty field. it took us about 2 minutes to set up...we have a megaphone, cameras, paper and envelopes to write letters and 10 happy helpers wearing neon green shirts.
And then i see them.
people.
they are coming.
and they have sleeping bags.
the Global Night Commute is actually happening.
And it didnt really hit me untill Ben Keesey called my phone later that night.
"tell me. how is it going in costa mesa?"
"Ben. you wont believe this. but there are people here! we have over 1,000 sleeping outside. its insane." i said with a huge smile.
He believed.
80,000 people united that night to show support for the ugandan children.
I am kate and this is part of MY story with invisible children.
this isnt the whole story. in fact it is just the beginning of what has become.
but these are the stories that make up the big picture.
it's 7am.
it's 7am.
"good morning!"
i rub my eyes, while my mind frantically searches for why some strange man is leaning over me with a fresh cup of black coffee.
"oh, hi."
thats right. i am a roadie. my mind clears as i remember driving up from LA after a screening the night before and we were now staying at some random house/cabin in visalia, california (which i had never even heard of untill now).
"im merle. im glad you all got here safe. i have to leave soon, but make yourselves at home. there is more coffee downstairs. here is a key to the house, a key to the four runner outside, $60 for food...oh and if you need to go anywhere far...i have a plane."
"ok....um...thank you."
im not sure what just happened, but in shock of a strangers generosity, i got up from bed and drank my coffee.
it was 7am. but i am a roadie.
beep.beep.beep.beep.
"hannah....that alarm clock in the next room has been going off for at least 20 minutes. should i wake him up?"
we were in vegas. a very strange guy at the screening at UNLV the night before offered us his place to crash.
"no, im sure its fine. my friend hannah says as she rolls back to sleep.
his place was...gross to say the least. he had two hamsters, one which was missing at the moment, he collects comic books and he wrote poetry which he recited to us the night before.
we actually loved him.
i finally got up and peeked in his room....
"steve?"
nothing.
he was gone. i turned his alarm off and went to the kitchen to find a note. from steve.
"to my new friends. it was lovely meeting you. i had to go to work at the sandwich shop. help yourselves to some cookies. love, steve"
and so i grabbed a chocolate chip cookie.
it was 7am. but i am a roadie.
"i dont think the school is open yet!" i yelled to hannah, who was waiting in the van. and then as i started walking away, someone opened the door...
"may i help you?"
"yes, I am kate, the guest speaker today with Invisible Children. i am doing a presentation with the 9th graders. in the auditorium."
i was a couple hours early, and so they weren't expecting me yet. but we had three screenings scheduled in the San Francisco area and they were all close in time. we rock, paper, sissored it and each took a screening. Hannah would be back to pick me up around 5pm. I set up in the auditorium and waited for my little 9th graders to come and learn about the LRA.
it was 7am. but i am a roadie.
and for six months i am devoted to ending a war. to encourage the youth of america. and to be the best damn roadie for invisible children i could be.
even at 7am.
"good morning!"
i rub my eyes, while my mind frantically searches for why some strange man is leaning over me with a fresh cup of black coffee.
"oh, hi."
thats right. i am a roadie. my mind clears as i remember driving up from LA after a screening the night before and we were now staying at some random house/cabin in visalia, california (which i had never even heard of untill now).
"im merle. im glad you all got here safe. i have to leave soon, but make yourselves at home. there is more coffee downstairs. here is a key to the house, a key to the four runner outside, $60 for food...oh and if you need to go anywhere far...i have a plane."
"ok....um...thank you."
im not sure what just happened, but in shock of a strangers generosity, i got up from bed and drank my coffee.
it was 7am. but i am a roadie.
beep.beep.beep.beep.
"hannah....that alarm clock in the next room has been going off for at least 20 minutes. should i wake him up?"
we were in vegas. a very strange guy at the screening at UNLV the night before offered us his place to crash.
"no, im sure its fine. my friend hannah says as she rolls back to sleep.
his place was...gross to say the least. he had two hamsters, one which was missing at the moment, he collects comic books and he wrote poetry which he recited to us the night before.
we actually loved him.
i finally got up and peeked in his room....
"steve?"
nothing.
he was gone. i turned his alarm off and went to the kitchen to find a note. from steve.
"to my new friends. it was lovely meeting you. i had to go to work at the sandwich shop. help yourselves to some cookies. love, steve"
and so i grabbed a chocolate chip cookie.
it was 7am. but i am a roadie.
"i dont think the school is open yet!" i yelled to hannah, who was waiting in the van. and then as i started walking away, someone opened the door...
"may i help you?"
"yes, I am kate, the guest speaker today with Invisible Children. i am doing a presentation with the 9th graders. in the auditorium."
i was a couple hours early, and so they weren't expecting me yet. but we had three screenings scheduled in the San Francisco area and they were all close in time. we rock, paper, sissored it and each took a screening. Hannah would be back to pick me up around 5pm. I set up in the auditorium and waited for my little 9th graders to come and learn about the LRA.
it was 7am. but i am a roadie.
and for six months i am devoted to ending a war. to encourage the youth of america. and to be the best damn roadie for invisible children i could be.
even at 7am.
My story...
so what is your story? How did you get involved in "Invisible Children"?
this was a commonly asked question back in 2006. we were recently asked to send in any "cool stories" from our time there and it was fun to look back. it was such an important time that i can confidently say helped shape me into the person i am today. the next couple blogs are "stories" i sent them to share.
My story.
my best friend hannah and i worked hard to graduate a semester early from college. we went to separate colleges and we were dying to backpack around europe...see the world together. but a couple months before our big trip, i get a phone call from hannah. she had just seen Invisible Children -
"our plans have changed," she says matter of factly.
"um...can you explain? what does that mean?"
"'im sending you something," she says. "watch it. call me back. you will understand."
and that was it. it wasn't as if working with IC was a choice, but more of an internal programing. we graduated early for a reason and now the reason was crystal clear.
so in january of 2006 we show up. no expectations. ready for anything. ready for everything. and as we should be because as the "california team" we got off to a rough start. five screenings a day with a sweet original '76 winnebago (think wood paneling and orange shag carpet). after breaking down on the side of the highway (twice) we traded it in for a black van. The vision was to have decals - a nice child soldier pinned up on a completely black van. but decals were running behind...and so our new "home" was deemed the "black molester van." we tried not to be too creepy pulling up to screenings and houses. haha :) eventually, with the help of katie bradel, we made stencils and literally spray painted "invisible children" on the van. much better.
We were learning. we were the first tour. we were crazy.
this was a commonly asked question back in 2006. we were recently asked to send in any "cool stories" from our time there and it was fun to look back. it was such an important time that i can confidently say helped shape me into the person i am today. the next couple blogs are "stories" i sent them to share.
My story.
my best friend hannah and i worked hard to graduate a semester early from college. we went to separate colleges and we were dying to backpack around europe...see the world together. but a couple months before our big trip, i get a phone call from hannah. she had just seen Invisible Children -
"our plans have changed," she says matter of factly.
"um...can you explain? what does that mean?"
"'im sending you something," she says. "watch it. call me back. you will understand."
and that was it. it wasn't as if working with IC was a choice, but more of an internal programing. we graduated early for a reason and now the reason was crystal clear.
so in january of 2006 we show up. no expectations. ready for anything. ready for everything. and as we should be because as the "california team" we got off to a rough start. five screenings a day with a sweet original '76 winnebago (think wood paneling and orange shag carpet). after breaking down on the side of the highway (twice) we traded it in for a black van. The vision was to have decals - a nice child soldier pinned up on a completely black van. but decals were running behind...and so our new "home" was deemed the "black molester van." we tried not to be too creepy pulling up to screenings and houses. haha :) eventually, with the help of katie bradel, we made stencils and literally spray painted "invisible children" on the van. much better.
We were learning. we were the first tour. we were crazy.
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