When the stock market started plunging and all the banks went to crap it didn't really hit me that I would be affected in any real tangible way myself. I don't have any stocks really, I don't work on Wall Street, I don't even work for a company or corporation, etc. I felt the general tension but kind of lived in a little bubble of denial. Then one day I realized that the fiscal situation in the State of California is bleak, very bleak. And the City of San Francisco fares no better. This part DOES affect my job. The deficits keep rising, and the cuts keep coming. The Child Abuse Prevention Center where I work is a small non-profit, funded roughly 50% by city government contracts, and the money situation is getting tight in the social services field. The mayor's office keeps announcing mid-year cuts, and each day news makes it down the pipeline that come June (the new fiscal year) a lot of children's programs will cease to be funded. This translates into -- to say it mildly -- a tense work atmosphere.
I spent much of my day today in staff meetings with our executive director listening to contingency plans for cutting spending based on our speculations of what will happen to our funding streams. Basically it was depressing, overwhelming, and just plain old exhausting. Then, I stumble home from work, grab myself some food, and suit up for our MH indoor soccer team game with 'The Number Twos.' And it's like starting my day fresh again.
Weird team name, I know. All I will tell you about the team name is that yes, it is a reference to bodily functions, and our team shirts involve both the Republicans and the Democrats, with the slogan "Everyone Poops." Somewhat immature I know, but it puts a smile on my face every time I think of it! Tonight we killed it and had an excellent, amazing, fabulous, intense and super fun game. There is something great about being able to put everything else aside and just run around for a while. There's nothing like taking your frustrations out physically. Tonight our team had some great plays, with lots of passing and scoring, and it's obvious to all that with each game we are improving exponentially. At the end, all sweaty and tired, I walked home with my roommates and realized that we won our game and life is good regardless of the city, state, and country's financial situation. In the face of possible lay-offs and program closures, and in despite the lowered co-worker morale I return to tomorrow -- I feel great. It is incredible how much better I feel right now. Gotta love soccer.
No comments:
Post a Comment