something else I learned today

When they were talking about shelter operations, about being called at 2 am to handle a house fire, about working 12-hour shifts, about sleeping on a cot in a big room with 1,000 evacuees - I'm all over that. THAT sounds interesting and worthwhile.

When I think about working 100 hour weeks as a lawyer hammering out contracts and litigation - it's a big yawn for me. When I think about being a stay-at-home parent and getting up for midnight feedings, I get this "Is this all?" feeling. Don't get me wrong - I have great respect for my friends and others who do it, but it ain't me. Never appealed to me. Having kids around - that's appealing. Changing diapers and being sleep-deprived for an infant - I have no interest. I'm not a person wired to stay at home and have most of my conversations be with people whose ages are in the single digits - any more than I'm wired to sacrifice my life quality for seat time in a power suit.

But I may well be wired to do disaster work. Am I a disaster whore? Do I have a hero complex?

I dunno. But helping people through the roughest spots in their lives - that I can get into. And not just here - which is good, because 97% of Red Cross workers are volunteers, and of all the other paid workers, only the director makes enough money to pay off my student loans.

But maybe abroad. Maybe there's a living wage in it. I don't know. But clearly I'm leaning in the direction again of doing an international development masters. It's the work that's the most interesting to me.