Friday, August 20, 2004
My friend T is burning out fast. I work as a volunteer with him for A. I. We had a specialists group meeting last night. To tell the truth I was a bit tired myself and wondering what the hell I was doing there. T looked forlorn and downcast. I thought that perhaps he was tired like myself or else it was something to do with the weather. Last evening the rain came tumbling down with a vengeance on Dublin City. "OK" said the chairman "We'll be out of here by 8 o'clock". That suited me down to the ground I'd been out the previous two nights and was tired.
Well 8 o'clock came and went and no end of the meeting in sight. I could see T getting anxious. I thought to myself, perhaps he wants a cigarette. 8.30 and we're still there. 8.45 meeting over and going out the door and T tells me his finished. What! You could have knocked me down with a feather. T is a great guy. He's co-coordinator of the local group we're in and is one of the nicest and most unassuming guys I've ever worked with. I've watched him grow into the role of group co-coordinator with relative ease, and do the job with the minimum of fuss and showmanship. All the group members really admire what he's achieved in the past two years. It's certainly a job I wouldn't relish doing. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and in a different context experienced the burn out. So no thanks.
I can't help but contrasting T with another guy I worked with who loved the limelight and the sound of his own voice. Truth to tell this guy is a useless backstabber. Two flies going up a well and he'd volunteer himself on the committee but watch as he'd make a fool of himself and captain the enterprise toward disaster. Such are the trials and tribulations of work in the NGO sector.
Quite a contrast in stories from the Olympic games. First of all we've got the motorbike accident involving Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou. Conveniently enough the pair missed a drug test because of the above-mentioned accident, which is currently under investigation by the Athens police. Now they face more serious charges. In contrast you have 18 year old Robina Muqimar from Afghanistan, one of the first two women to represent their country in the games. She's taking part in the 100 meters heats today. Under Taliban rule in Afghanistan Robina was forbidden to attend school never mind take part in athletics. Robina’s personal best is 13.76 seconds, which means she probably won’t win a medal but neither will she fake an accident in order to avoid a drugs test.
I'm still ploughing through Ulysses but I've also started "Beijing Doll" by Chung Sue. It's best described as a Chinese "Catcher In The Rye". The writing is both lyrical and memorable and well worth a read.
Well 8 o'clock came and went and no end of the meeting in sight. I could see T getting anxious. I thought to myself, perhaps he wants a cigarette. 8.30 and we're still there. 8.45 meeting over and going out the door and T tells me his finished. What! You could have knocked me down with a feather. T is a great guy. He's co-coordinator of the local group we're in and is one of the nicest and most unassuming guys I've ever worked with. I've watched him grow into the role of group co-coordinator with relative ease, and do the job with the minimum of fuss and showmanship. All the group members really admire what he's achieved in the past two years. It's certainly a job I wouldn't relish doing. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and in a different context experienced the burn out. So no thanks.
I can't help but contrasting T with another guy I worked with who loved the limelight and the sound of his own voice. Truth to tell this guy is a useless backstabber. Two flies going up a well and he'd volunteer himself on the committee but watch as he'd make a fool of himself and captain the enterprise toward disaster. Such are the trials and tribulations of work in the NGO sector.
Quite a contrast in stories from the Olympic games. First of all we've got the motorbike accident involving Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou. Conveniently enough the pair missed a drug test because of the above-mentioned accident, which is currently under investigation by the Athens police. Now they face more serious charges. In contrast you have 18 year old Robina Muqimar from Afghanistan, one of the first two women to represent their country in the games. She's taking part in the 100 meters heats today. Under Taliban rule in Afghanistan Robina was forbidden to attend school never mind take part in athletics. Robina’s personal best is 13.76 seconds, which means she probably won’t win a medal but neither will she fake an accident in order to avoid a drugs test.
I'm still ploughing through Ulysses but I've also started "Beijing Doll" by Chung Sue. It's best described as a Chinese "Catcher In The Rye". The writing is both lyrical and memorable and well worth a read.
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