The New Job

Having secured employment here in the U.S. I think I will say farewell to my blog for now. Its been 15 months since I returned from Iraq.  Part of that time I was spent with my father while he went through chemotherapy (he's now cancer free, alhumdulillah!). Finding work in my home community has been a challenge. Everyone would say that I have amazing experience (and I do), but it wasn't local experience.  So I spent most of the year getting reacquainted with the local and regional issues.  After working in Iraq, I was open to a lot of different types of work but I wanted my work to focus on water resources and rights and I was interested in experiencing a government perspective in my work (I've worked for non-profits most of my life). 

Well, I got my wish and started working for  the local Public Health Department and its water quality program specifically ....  I do mourning the loss of my free time (15 months making my own schedule was ... lovely!) but I'm learning a lot in my new position. Government work is much more rigid than the non-profit world.  But it has been a bit of a challenge for me in other ways.

I'm still 'processing' after the 9+ years I spent in the Middle East.  It certainly doesn't help that Iraq is such a gaud-awful mess these days.  Back at home it feels a little like I'm starting over and there is so much to learn working in this new job (I'm having to re-orient myself to the legal aspects of the job that are so different than Iraq's legal environment).

I'm using to being the person with all the institutional knowledge and now I'm the newbie ..... plus the enforcement aspect of the job are pretty significant.  I kind of ignored that aspect of the job when I was applying but now I actually have to tell people things they don't want to hear .... like, sorry your septic system is blown and even though you are unemployed and on disability you have to replace it ... oh and here is information on a completely inadequate grant program that will help you replace the system!

I keep reminding himself ... its all in the efforts to keep our water clean!.... but what on earth possessed us to put our poop in potable water in the first place!  Who ever thought throwing pollution down our drain was a smart idea?  Crazy, silly humans!