Excerpts from the Peanut Gallery

Consider me pinkslipped!

So yesterday afternoon i cleaned out my desk at work. I have completed my hours and my practicum has come to an end. I have never really cleaned out my desk at work, i mean to be honest, the whole experience of having a desk- having an office for that matter all to myself, while abismally lonely and secluded, was in a manner, new and exciting.
So the desk is now clean, i took home my favourite pencil and my gum and the advil i kept on hand. The tea and snack stash came home too, and well, i just can't help thinking how sad my little desk must be, sighing to itself in a darkened little office. I mean, i didnt really appreciate him, you see he was a bit low, so i often hit my knees on the pull-out keyboard tray. But when all is said and done, we had a good run, didn't we? i mean it is almost Christmas, and Christmas is a time for being thankful for the loved ones in your life, and well desky i just wanted to say, i am thankful for you.

AAAAAND thats the end of that!
i am pretty thankful for my internship though. Probably most for my boss, whom i think has been just about as cool as a boss could be short of being self-employed or working for the man himself- St Nick (well think about it, wouldnt it be cool to be an elf? and i mean you would probably get alot of left over gingerbread cookies, because the man cannot possibly eat them all himself). Anyways i was a bit skeptic when i started. i mean i already attend christian-mc-christian school, so working for a christian NGO seemed a bit excessive. But the internship has more than made up for it, and i am pretty proud of my office. And its been a real challange to figure out how i honestly think Christians, and NGOs of any type should really be involved in policy work. But i learned alot about just working with humility and integrity in the public policy sector.

So i hate to go and get all pensive on you, but here is the thought of the day (or rather two days ago, but who is countin'?) Annie and i were talking about this very subject and she told me what someone had once said to her. "christians need to find their place at the table," and its the same as everyone else. Its not that we have a right to be in public policy or we should be quiet because we are out of style. Its more that there is a conversation going on, and everyone is welcome. Right now, the Christian voice in public policy isnt so hot, but you work at it bit by bit to be reasoned, level-headed and listening to others too. No one in this job can expect to be given more than what they give to the person yelling the exact opposite.

So, these are just some reflections on my internship for posterity. There are a few really cool experiences that will stick out :the day mycanada, the youth advocacy group, breezed into our office and left a tornado's wake but were just about the coolest group of young adults and teens you could ever meet; going to the Make Poverty History steering committee meetings- ok those meetings were NOT exciting at all, they were boring as hell, but there was always a glimmer of hope that Bono would show up; the "planning meetings" Annie and i had at sbux; nattering at MPs in their very offices... the list goes on. I am thankful for the opportunity and the sheer variety of things i got to do and see.

welp, there you have it.

posted by Kiki @ 7:16 a.m.