tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315555092024-03-13T19:45:01.128-07:00Poco a Poco: A Millennial Take on Storytelling and Social ChangeWe are the generation we've been waiting for- right? Poco a poco, we'll get there. Thoughts, insights, and ponderings of a millennial committed to social justice and empowerment through work with nonprofits and post-graduate volunteer work.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-3021495132978679922014-06-12T16:44:00.003-07:002014-06-12T16:44:35.253-07:00The Final Blog Post: Will You Join Me on Two to Travel and Tango?<i>Authors note: It's been a great 8 years, but it's time to redirect my efforts. I'll be keeping this blog open so students looking to get a glimpse into post-graduate volunteer life can still do so, but to stay up to date I hope you'll join my wife and I at our travel secrets and stories blog- <a href="http://www.twototravelandtango.com/">www.twototravelandtango.com</a></i><br />
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What a crazy couple years it has been. For starters, it's hard to believe Laura and I got married less than a year ago. We had a lot of fun, bringing our love and passion of travel and exploration into our wedding, as we took our guests on a tour of "our" Los Angeles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wc6t8Go55HE/U5o4yTMIpKI/AAAAAAAAAfk/ikyrk-3KgGk/s1600/Wedding+Previews-0173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wc6t8Go55HE/U5o4yTMIpKI/AAAAAAAAAfk/ikyrk-3KgGk/s1600/Wedding+Previews-0173.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The UCLA and Notre Dame fans weren't too thrilled about joining us on the field where the USC Trojans play</td></tr>
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We've also been on the road a lot, me in particular. <b>I've been to 21 countries in the last two years.</b> Of that list, some of them have received multiple visits like four trips to Argentina, two to Chile, and about 20 to Mexico. Suffice it to say, we've been on the road A LOT and along the way, we've picked up some tricks to the trade.<br />
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In the next 12 months, I look forward to exploring a few new places: South Africa, Tanzania, Qatar, and Hungry while returning to a few places I really loved: El Salvador, Japan, Hong Kong, and Mexico. Who knows what else might arise.<br />
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Two years ago when I managed to get Laura and I business class tickets that took us from LA to Honolulu to Tokyo to Hong Kong to Bali to Bangkok (train through Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore) and then back to LA,<a href="http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-travel-post-or-how-to-get-8500.html" target="_blank"> and all for about 125,000 miles and a couple hundred dollars</a>, friends began to reach out. "Can you help me book an award ticket?" "Hey, what's the best strategy for earning miles with credit cards and flights?" But it all came back to what I noticed were two central desires:<br />
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1. How can I travel cheap?<br />
2. I want to travel cheap because I can't afford to do it any other way, and I realize there are stories out there just beyond my reach I so desperately want to hear.<br />
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My passion for storytelling intersected with my talent for making travel accessible. It was a match too good to be true. And so as of late, Laura and I have been busy.<br />
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In March, we started <a href="http://www.twototravelandtango.com/" target="_blank">Two to Travel and Tango</a>- a travel website geared toward millennials that yearn to discover ways to travel more affordably to encounter the stories that travel provides us. With my own hectic travel schedule and the incredible secrets and lessons learned, it just felt like it was something worth trying. Neither of us are rich people, and yet we've been able to travel as though we are. If you can travel as much as we have on our budget, I'd venture to say most people who say they don't have the money to travel and flat out wrong. It's just a matter of learning how to do it. The benefits not only of travel, but of doing it in incredible comfort are secrets we hope to pass on.<br />
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And so this is most likely the last blog post on this site. Going through the website, it's been fun to reminisce. What a journey it's been from that day I stepped out of LMU, 22, excited to work in South America and uncertain of what that all meant. In the last few years, in my work directing immersion and social justice experiences at LMU, students of mine have found this blog. We've shared some laughs: You were so CHEESY is something I am told a lot. I still am is my typical response. We've also shared some valuable conversations motivated by this blog. It turns out, that in some small way, the blog is having some of the impact I always hoped it would on people discerning post-graduate volunteer work abroad. I had a student tell me the other day that reading my two year journey, both the good and the bad, is what gave him the courage to do post-graduate service. That's more than I could have ever hoped would arrive from this blog.<br />
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And so the site will stay open for now, but I really hope you'll join Laura and I in our newest endeavor. <a href="http://www.twototravelandtango.com/" target="_blank">Two to Travel and Tango</a> is easy to navigate to and the first thing you can do in the right hand column is sign up to receive email updates. Below that, you'll see opportunities to join us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TravelAndTango" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/TravelAndTango" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and of course, if you use Feedly or other blog readers we've got the <a href="http://twototravelandtango.com/feed/" target="_blank">RSS feed available</a> for your use.<br />
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It's been a fun journey, and I feel it's just beginning. I'm still not the writer I want to be, but my basic endeavors not only with <a href="http://www.twototravelandtango.com/" target="_blank">Two to Travel and Tango</a>, but as a freelance writer for <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-furlong/holes-in-the-fence-the-hu_b_3180918.html" target="_blank">The Huffington Post</a>, <a href="http://www.vagabondish.com/travel-manifesto-loving-hearts-minds-and-curious-souls/" target="_blank">Vagabondish Travel Magazine</a>, and <a href="http://blogs.gonzaga.edu/orientation/2014/05/what-does-it-mean-to-attend-a-jesuit-university/" target="_blank">Gonzaga University</a> have me more excited to merge my love of story and travel into what I hope is a useful site for many people, not just travel hungry millennials. So join us, I'll do my best to make sure you don't regret it. See you over at <a href="http://www.twototravelandtango.com/">www.twototravelandtango.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-48253034571342594342013-07-17T15:02:00.000-07:002015-07-21T14:21:34.254-07:00Thoughts on Turning 30: Now Live On the Huffington PostAs a student at <a href="http://www.lmu.edu/" target="_blank">Loyola Marymount University</a>, a professor and mentor of mine, Fred Kiesner, would always encourage his students to SOAR (Sit on a Rock). A business professor, he embraced Jesuit pedagogy and those wise words from Socrates: The unexamined life is not worth living.<br />
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So a couple days ago I took a break from wedding plans, work, and even blogging about <a href="http://twototravelandtango.com/uncommon-guides/things-to-do-around-lax-on-a-layover-or-delay/" target="_blank">Things to do around LAX on a layover</a> that seems to be piling up all around and I decided to SOAR. I was turning 30, and while I didn't see it as much of a big deal at first, others made sure I was aware of their thoughts on what the change of a decade meant. Thanks to some good friends and the wise words of an old professor bouncing around in my brain, I got to put together a brief reflection on the decade that was and the decade that awaits.<br />
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The Huffington Post apparently thought it was good as well, as they just published it today. So please enjoy my article <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-furlong/30th-birthday_b_3602413.html" target="_blank">"Thoughts on Turning 30: Be Curious, Tango, and Make it Count"</a>.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-13783393615018961752013-04-30T22:27:00.000-07:002013-04-30T22:28:35.698-07:00Holes in the Fence: The Human Story Behind Immigration ReformOver the weekend, I accompanied a group of Loyola Marymount students on De Colores, a program that brings students to Tijuana one weekend a month to learn about the various social justice issues along the border.<br />
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On Sunday, we were among several bystanders who watched history. A door in the border fence at a place called Friendship Park was opened for the first time ever, allowing a father living in the United States to hug and hold his five year old daughter for the first time ever.<br />
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I wrote a story about it for the Huffington Post that can be found <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-furlong/holes-in-the-fence-the-hu_b_3180918.html" target="_blank">here</a>. The message is simple: behind all the rhetoric surrounding immigration reform, we must not lose sight of what it is we are fighting about: real people. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Immigration reform has a very real human face as you will see in the touching video below, now if only more hearts may be moved to see them more clearly.</span></span><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com1Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico32.5149469 -117.0382471000000432.300678399999995 -117.36097060000003 32.7292154 -116.71552360000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-48160355819114160792013-02-05T19:30:00.000-08:002013-02-05T22:44:26.657-08:00The Travel Post- Or How To get an $8,500 business class ticket for $200<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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“I think I just got an $8,500 airline ticket for $200 and
125,000 miles” I told my fiancé last night. We’ve probably spent
more time anxiously researching honeymoon destinations than we have actually
completing the x’s and o’s of the whole getting hitched process. We both have a
thing for travel, and I’ve become a big nerd about the way we travel,
essentially spending many a night pondering how two people on nonprofit
salaries can fly in those <a href="http://www.ausbt.com.au/qantas-unveils-revamped-boeing-747-with-a380-style-seats" target="_blank">seats that turn into beds</a> after sampling <a href="http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/international-inflight-dining/global/en" target="_blank">nice wine andeating a beautifully prepared filet mignon</a>. Poco a poco though, I've yet to work my way into a <a href="http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/flying-with-us/suites/" target="_blank">First Class Suite</a> (you read that right) on Singapore Airlines or taken a <a href="http://www.emirates.com/us/english/flying/our_fleet/emirates_a380/first_class/shower_spa.aspx" target="_blank">shower in First Class</a> on Emirates. For some people, trashy TV is their guilty pleasure. Mine is pretty simple: airlines and travel have always fascinated me, and I feel as giddy as a kid the night before Christmas when I prepare for a big trip!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(LEFT) Portion of a three page menu on our JAL flight from Honolulu to Tokyo<br />
(RIGHT) The seat that turns into a bed on one of our Cathay Pacific Flights</td></tr>
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Laura and I aren’t new to this. Over the summer, when we
were both transitioning to new jobs we decided to travel for six weeks. Our
journey took us from LA to Honolulu to Tokyo to Hong Kong to Bali to Bangkok
(take a breath), where we then took a train to journey through South Thailand,
Malaysia, and ending in Singapore on our way back to Los Angeles. The damage on
this trip: about $150 each and 130,000 miles using a lesser known award called "<a href="http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/oneworld_awards.jsp" target="_blank">The OneWorld Explorer.</a>" This trip also was in business
class, meaning seats that turn into beds, lounges at connecting airports to
freshen up with private shower rooms that were bigger than my apartment. For more on the OneWorld Explorer, <a href="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld/338667-oneworld-explorer-ticket-faqs.html" target="_blank">FlyerTalk</a> is the definitive source in my opinion.</div>
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Lately, more and more friends have been asking me how we do
this. And the answer, like most good things, can be a bit complex. But when you
really look into it, it comes down to a few key ingredients: frequent flyer
loyalty, a good credit card signup bonus or two, and finding ways to get bonus
miles on everyday purchases. Let me explain:</div>
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<b>Loyalty<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I’m an American Airlines guy. Sure, from time to time (every
long haul flight) I wish I was on Virgin America, with their sexy lights, or
JetBlue, watching DirecTV live from my seat. But at the end of the day, what
matters to me are two things: how and where can I use the miles/points I earn,
and what benefits come with loyalty.</div>
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The benefits are pretty straightforward: I sit in emergency
exit rows (when not being upgraded to First Class) and stretch my legs out nearly every flight. As a <a href="http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/eliteStatus/elite-benefits-chart.jsp" target="_blank">platinum member</a> of
American Airlines (someone who has flown 50,000 airline miles a year with AA and their partners) I
also earn double miles on every flight I fly. This adds up. A roundtrip from
LAX to London earns most people 10,000, I get 20,000- that’s almost a free
domestic round trip ticket right there! What’s more, I get to go through
priority airport screening, rarely waiting in line, and often keeping shoes,
belt, and jacket on when I use <a href="http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-pre%E2%9C%93%E2%84%A2" target="_blank">TSA Pre</a>. Finally, when I need to call the
airline, I’m connected to an agent in less than one minute usually. I could go
on but the message is simple: loyalty pays dividends for me and my travel.</div>
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But where you can use miles are just as important. <a href="http://www.oneworld.com/" target="_blank">American</a>,
<a href="http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/skymiles/use-miles/award-travel/partner-airline-awards.html" target="_blank">Delta</a>, and <a href="http://www.staralliance.com/en/" target="_blank">United</a> are all part of different airline alliances, meaning you can
use your miles not just on flights with those airlines, but often with 20+
different partners (click the airline links to see each alliance and the airlines that are a part of it). When we went to Asia, we flew Cathay and JAL (two amazing
airlines). Going to New Zealand, we’re taking Qantas. So your miles, on a major
carrier, can really take you almost anywhere in the world you want to go!<br />
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So for me, I'm always on the look for when I can do American. If I'm booking personal travel and the cost is slightly more, I often will pick American, not only for the comfort benefits described above, but because at a certain point, earning double miles, I can rationalize it is in fact the more affordable option given the miles I will earn. It's a personal call for each person, but I've found more often than not, my loyalty pays for itself!</div>
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<b>Credit Cards<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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This is what most people do to get the big miles. If you don't travel much, then you probably have to take a good hard look at it. There’s an
entire community focused on maximizing opportunities for credit card bonuses.
I’ll list a few of the bloggers I really like in this realm but I have to
confess, I haven’t really utilized this that much. I did get an American
Airlines credit card with a 75,000 mile bonus after I spent X amount in like 2-3
months (Best offer out there as of writing this is 50,000 miles). But that was it. If you
really want to go this route to rack up miles, there are blogs like MileValue
that can tell you the secrets much better than I ever could. A good bonus or
two help A LOT, but it’s a world I haven’t felt inclined to really dive head
first into... But again, most of the people who are swinging these huge miles and points trips do so because of credit cards.</div>
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Here a few of my favorite travel blogs who write about the credit card secrets along with other great tips and advice:</div>
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<a href="http://millionmilesecrets.com/" target="_blank">Million Mile Secrets</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.milevalue.com/" target="_blank">MileValue</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.boardingarea.com/" target="_blank">BoardingArea</a> (<a href="http://boardingarea.com/blogs/mommypoints/" target="_blank">Mommy Points</a> is a great one from this network as is <a href="http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/" target="_blank">One Mile at a Time</a>)</div>
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<a href="http://thepointsguy.com/" target="_blank">The Points Guy</a></div>
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<b>Maximizing Everyday
Purchases<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I don’t know about you, but I am amazed how much of my
shopping I now do online. Wedding registry- I go online, find the gift, and
send it off to the couple. Christmas, why step into a chaotic mall when I can just find a
good deal online and ship it off or get it delivered to my doorstep? Heck, why
buy a CD or even go out to rent a movie, when I can just get both on iTunes? If
you’re like me, you make a fair amount of purchases online as well, through big
brand stores. What most people never realize, is there is a way to get bonus
miles on these purchases.</div>
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Most of the big airlines now have online shopping portals,
and you need to think of it as exactly that. Instead of going straight to
Target.com, you login to say the <a href="https://www.aadvantageeshopping.com/" target="_blank">Aadvantage EShopping Portal</a>, search for the
store or product you are looking for and earn anywhere from 2-30 extra miles per
dollar. Looking to buy <a href="https://www.aadvantageeshopping.com/me____.htm?keywords=rosetta+stone&mnpos=1951|9150|1|1|search_box&mids=2453" target="_blank">Rosetta Stone</a>- why not get 7 extra miles per dollar
spent on that purchase? Need to go by your local Home Depot to pick up some
stuff? Why don’t you order online and have it ready for store pick up at your
local store (avoid shipping charges and wait), and earn a bonus 3 miles per dollar spent. </div>
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My absolute favorite is back when Groupon was <a href="http://thepointsguy.com/2011/03/earn-up-to-8-miles-per-dollar-spent-on-groupon/" target="_blank">giving 8 miles per dollar</a> (today it is 2 miles). A friend bought a tour package to Australia
on there, and because it was a $5,000 purchase, earned 40,000 miles. But even
if you made that purchase today, you’d get an additional 10,000 miles, just by going through the shopping portal, rather than going right to
Groupon.com. The portals don’t change the price, they don’t do anything other
than help you earn.<br />
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Even if miles aren't your thing, you should still be using a portal like <a href="http://www.upromise.com/" target="_blank">UPromise</a> to earn money to pay down your Sallie Mae loan, create a 528, or deposit money into a high interest rate savings account through Sallie Mae. By using this when booking a hotel through hotels.com or for other purchases, I've been able to reduce my student loans by $400- all for taking 20 seconds and logging into a simple portal before making a purchase I am planning to make anyway.<br />
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<b>Amazon Payments</b><br />
Amazon Payments allows you to transfer $1000 from one person to another before either party is charged a credit card fee. So let's say you write a check to your roommate for rent each month- why not set up an Amazon Payment account and send it to them via that, earning miles on whatever miles credit card you utilize? If you're married and have a few different bank accounts between you and your spouse, same idea can apply: instead of just transferring the money, do it via Amazon payments. Think about it: $1,000 = 1,000 miles x 12 months = 12,000 miles a year extra to your mileage account. That's a free one way domestic ticket!</div>
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<b>Dining</b></div>
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Dining is another everyday purchase that helps me build
points. Each airline has a dining rewards program some restaurants participate
in. So for me, each time I get a pizza from my favorite pizza joint, I get an
extra 5 miles per dollar spent thanks to the <a href="http://aa.rewardsnetwork.com/" target="_blank">Aadvantage Dining Network</a>. When I traveled a lot for work, I used todetermine which restaurant to try in the neighborhood based on where I’d earn
some extra miles. If the place looked good, why not try it, support a local establishment, and get these extra miles to boot? With both the dining and e-shopping portals, you can check if your airline participates by Googling the name of your airline and eshopping or dining program. </div>
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<b>But how do you redeem
these miles<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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If you thought earning was hard, actually using your miles
can be something even more challenging. But as my two most recent bookings
show, it isn’t impossible. Our Asia trip I booked 3 weeks before departure, and it was in
the middle of peak travel season from the States. For New Zealand, we are going
there in the peak of their tourist season. The opportunities exist; they just
require some patience, persistence, and technology.</div>
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The persistence is the easiest part. Each night before I
went to bed, and each morning when I woke up, I was logging onto aa.com and
searching for reward flights. When the first leg opened up, but the return
flight home wasn’t available, I took advantage of a rule with American Airlines
that allows you to put a ticket on hold for five days. I searched for the one-way
to Auckland, found it, and put it on hold and then searched each day until
Monday, the last day, when the return trip became available. I put that on
hold, and then Laura and I made sure everything was as we wanted it to be. There's a great post on this process <a href="http://millionmilesecrets.com/2012/02/21/american-airline-award/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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The patience can be the hardest part. Some say the best time
to book awards are 330 days out. Often times that can be true I’m told (and it certainly worked for me and our New Zealand trip), but
sometimes, airlines wait until they determine <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fboardingarea.com%2Fblogs%2Fviewfromthewing%2F2011%2F09%2F05%2Fthe-myth-of-booking-award-tickets-at-midnight-330-days-out%2F&ei=U8IQUfaPEKzFiwLlwYEo&usg=AFQjCNHS30s6khNpirHAwfw3P_-YwA60VQ&bvm=bv.41934586,d.cGE" target="_blank">it’s safe to open up more rewardspace</a> (Read: They don’t think they’ll sell it) and that can be 90 days or less.
So the patience sometimes requires flexibility. Laura and I had determined we
wanted to go somewhere far for our honeymoon, but we didn’t dig our heels in
for New Zealand: we also were open to Australia, or Vietnam and Cambodia. On my
Asia trip, it was like a jig saw puzzle, holding the ticket for five days, and
each day calling back, trying to find alternative routes and days to get from
one spot to the next when at times it appeared no space was available. It also helps to become as educated if not more about routing rules than the customer service agents. When we had every leg of the journey lined up EXCEPT our flight home, I wouldn't just call and say "I want to get back to LA." I would call with knowledge of the various routes that could happen and ask the agents to check each and every route. Doing so is what allowed us to find our journey home via Tokyo, when originally the agent didn't think there was availability. </div>
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The technology is the most fascinating part to me. I signed
up for <a href="http://expertflyer.com/">Expertflyer.com</a>, a service that for $10 a month gave me, among many cool
features, an ability to view award space on flights for several airlines, and
also create email notifications so expertflyer would email me if the space I
was looking for opened up. ExpertFlyer is wonderful for Star Alliance (searches all member airlines) and not too bad for others, you just have to know who you are looking to fly on. <a href="http://www.awardnexus.com/" target="_blank">Awardnexus</a> is also another possibility to explore. Finally, there is something called <a href="http://www.kvstool.com/" target="_blank">KVS Tool-</a> but I haven't yet ventured that way, but if you're programming savvy, you might geek out over it. </div>
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<b>Final Thoughts<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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At the end of the day, if you're obsessed with travel, it's worth taking the time to really dive in and discover this world. If you know you want to do a big trip, start saving. If you're due for a new credit card, see what deals exist and if they're right for you. If you ever dine out, why haven't you taken 5 minutes to register your credit cards with one of the dining programs? Note: you can only be registered with one dining program, you can't get miles from like 5 programs on one purchase- nice try though! Shopping online, shop through a portal. Making a big purchase in store- see if the store allows you to shop online and pick up in store- and earn those miles! There are all these opportunities, big and small, that are just there for the taking. <b>Be intentional, be savvy, and be persistent! </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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I hope this was helpful. I'm by no means an expert, but I've linked to enough experts where hopefully this can be a good launching point! If you’ve got questions, leave me a comment- I’ll do my best to get to them.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Finally, if you need a little extra kick to get the travel
bug, read this <a href="http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2005/07/lunch_matters.html" target="_blank">great blog post</a> and then tell me you’re not itching to travel. We travel for fulfillment. Why not chase it as intentionally as we chase so much else in life?</div>
<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-78175722200695215122012-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:002012-12-19T10:13:36.138-08:00Where the missteps lead<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">I packed the wrong bag. Really, I wish I had a
better opener to explain one of the most powerful and profound moments of my
year, but I realize in many ways, it comes down to something as simple as that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">But I guess it really all started in 2003 when
I realized I’m a horrible cement mixer. This was when I was down in Tijuana,
Mexico with Loyola Marymount University on one of their weekend service and
immersion trips called <a href="http://www.lmu.edu/about/Campus_Ministry/The_Gospel__Justice___Service/De_Colores.htm#History" target="_blank">De Colores</a>. If you were as bad as I was at mixing cement you had two options: You could perfect your cement mixing abilities, or you could inconspicuously sneak away and play with the kids from the community who came with their parents to the house build projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">And so it was that I came to know Eric, and
countless other kids in the local community called Tecolote that we worked in.
Eric and his siblings grew close to many of us, so much so that one of Eric’s
youngest siblings is actually named after a friend of mine who went on these
trips. On my last trip as a student, another friend Diego gifted Eric a beanie
with the logo of the service organization called <a href="http://www.lmu.edu/studentlife/studentaffairs/activities/csa/volunteer/join/serviceorgs/magis.htm" target="_blank">Magis</a> we were a part of. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zxxp7YWAkaU/UNEQY2vsWlI/AAAAAAAAAWA/s72RrvSPa7w/s1600/Retreat+084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zxxp7YWAkaU/UNEQY2vsWlI/AAAAAAAAAWA/s72RrvSPa7w/s400/Retreat+084.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric, with Diego after being given his Magis beanie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">After I graduated, the beauty of Facebook updates from friends still at LMU allowed me to learn bits and
pieces of how Eric and his family were, and time and again, the beanie was in
the photos. But the photos and updates gradually disappeared as the work De
Colores was doing moved away from Tecolote and into another community- El Florido. And before I knew
it, I was left wondering about Eric, where he was, and what he was doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">This past September, I became the interim
Director of the De Colores service program, meaning I am now the one responsible for bringing LMU students down to Mexico. On Friday, I was frantically packing to get ready for the
trip and for reasons I’ll never fully understand I walked right past my usual Mexico duffle bag and instead grabbed a bag off my closet
shelf I haven’t used for a couple years now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 13pt;">Fast forward to Sunday, and </span><a href="http://buildamiracle.net/" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 13pt;" target="_blank">Build a Miracle</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 13pt;">, the
nonprofit we work with in Tijuana hosted a holiday party for all the people who have received a home through their organization. A young man who looked to be about 20 caught my attention. He looked different, older obviously, and yet something inside told me it was Eric.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">I got to spend a good amount of time with Eric
and his family that Sunday. We exchanged stories and updates; them asking me
about other students that had been part of my time period, me asking about members of
the community that treated me like one of their own. Eric asked about Diego,
and some of the other guys in the service organization, and told me he was an
unofficial member of Magis even though his beanie had been stolen long ago. And it was then I knew, I hadn’t packed the wrong bag
after all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">You see, the night before, I had been looking
for my toothpaste and some other items I forgot to bring because I always keep
them packed in my trusty blue duffle bag. I was frustrated and cursing my error when I felt something at the bottom
of the bag: My Magis beanie. Seeing it Saturday night instantly brought back
powerful memories of Eric, his siblings, and other members of the community I
came to care about that kept me awake for much of the night. And here’s the
thing- if I had the right bag, I never would have had the beanie and I probably wouldn't have thought about Eric and his family that night. I really don't think I would have recognized Eric that next day, he would have just been a face among the hundreds there that day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7uTSjtGNY10/UNESPD8QPiI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/OE_kWpsXUmk/s1600/17794_10151398182922028_1833049907_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7uTSjtGNY10/UNESPD8QPiI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/OE_kWpsXUmk/s400/17794_10151398182922028_1833049907_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric, with his new Magis beanie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">God has a great sense of humor. Just when I
think I have every detail choreographed, a wrench is thrown into the plan. Isn’t
that life, in ways big and small? The challenge then isn’t avoiding the missteps,
but rather in remaining constantly open to where and whom they might lead you
to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-43839884130411209152012-09-11T14:00:00.000-07:002012-09-11T15:19:27.526-07:00Generational differences on remembering 9/11<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I realized last night speaking with a couple college students I work with at Loyola Marymount University that young men and women in college today were young elementary school students when 9/11 happened 11 years ago. In speaking to these students, I was momentarily taken aback by how it was one of the few times this particular conversation was driven less by raw emotion and reflection on a personal level of what that day meant and more almost like a history lesson. It was the first time I felt compelled to tell my own 9/11 story not for my own comfort, but to hopefully educate someone else. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was a senior in high school, and like many kids with parents were going through a divorce, my relationship with my parents wasn't great. I was difficult to communicate with, and so had spoken little with my dad but knew he was scheduled to be on a plane that day. Before those planes hit the towers, my biggest concern was a test I failed to properly study for and the status of Ed McCaffrey, a Broncos wide receiver who broke his leg on Monday Night Football the night before. That morning, the hours dragged on, leaving me wondering if my dad was alright. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The petty reasons we shut off communication with people weighed heavily on my mind, as for the first time I contemplated a world where not talking to him was not a choice, but a brutal reality forced upon me. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That feeling of relief when he called is vivid in my memory to this day. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Watching the towers fall, surrounded by classmates who first screamed and then sobbed as we watched events unfold, those are the types of sounds you can almost hear again so clearly when you just recall the memory. To this day, when I go to Mass, I kneel, even when most in my local church no longer do. On 9/11, my school came together to do the only thing that made sense: pray. Being in a gym, we never knelt during Mass but this day was different. One student dropped to his knees, and then another, and in under a minute, the entire gym was on their knees. That moment was the strongest I felt that entire week. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each time I am in a Church I kneel and it brings me back to 9/11/01. I am reminded to pray for anyone who saw life close it's final chapter too soon, and those who silently shoulder the burden of that loss. But it's also a hallelujah song of sorts, a Thanksgiving for the incredible comfort I felt in that moment, knowing there was a community around me ready to face what uncertainty lay ahead. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found this <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/the_other_side_of_joe_biden.php?ref=fpblg">reflection</a> from Vice-President Joe Biden and was profoundly moved by it. Vice-President Biden lost his wife and daughter in a horrible car accident when he was only 30 years old. When he speaks to victims there is this clear and undeniable connection that I can only imagine comes from knowing real tragedy too early in life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't lose anyone that day but like millions of people old enough to recall those strong emotions, the national loss is still a very real part of my personal identity. I think older generations have an important role in telling the stories that lurk behind the events of history. The things I remember most about some of the biggest historical events aren't what I learned from my history book, they are what was shared with me by members of generations who remember those moments as anything but a page in a history book.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-12490429631068657362012-08-27T05:00:00.000-07:002012-08-28T10:50:19.780-07:00I haven't worn pants in two months- and other stories from working at a startup<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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I haven’t worn pants in exactly two months. I suppose
there are more appropriate ways to announce I am now working at a startup but
a bit of embellishment about my pure joy of not having worn a pair of dress
slacks for months was more likely to grab your attention.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was contemplating the jump to a startup a good
friend urged me to take some time to think about it. “Why don’t you wait a few
years, build up your savings a bit more, and then think if something like this
makes sense?” He had a fair point. I worked with great people and was working a job that I liked. But I could feel the passion that I used to use as a beacon for life choices slowly fading away. If I waited until I was in my thirties,
got accustomed to a nice salary and the perks that accompany it, who’s to say
I’d still have the courage to make that jump? I believe we’re equally
accountable to both heart and mind, and the heart was demanding I fight for
it’s very survival. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Transitioning to a startup can be intimidating. We all
have those days where we feel unfulfilled, but very rarely do we ask what we
would be willing to give up in search of meaning? It’s one thing to declare
you’ll follow your dreams, it is quite another thing to do just that when you
realize that dreams, the really good ones at least, often come with great risk,
cost, and sacrifice. This can be manifested in simple ways like letting go of your
comfortable salary or company sponsored health insurance for example. Or it can
be as vexing as a creeping feeling you’re not the passionate person you once
were or the capable person your new company thinks they hired. When push comes
to shove, it sure seems lot easier to never take the risk to discover if our greatest fears about who we are or who we are becoming are true or not.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My first weeks at <a href="http://www.inventure.org/">InVenture</a> have been exciting. And it’s not
just about reporting to work most days in jeans and flip flops. There is
something bigger going on. I’m surrounded by other people in their 20’s and
30’s who believe their work matters enough to have meaning. There are people
all around me who are as curious as they are passionate, and that informs my
work in incredible ways. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I don’t know what the future holds. But I do know that for
so long I felt that emptiness in my soul that one feels when they aren’t
pursuing the work they are called to do. We can ignore the longing by trying to
fill the emptiness with meaningless distractions. Or, on trembling knees, we
can face our greatest hopes and fears, often woven into one package. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Work here is anything but easy, but that hollow spot in my
soul is being filled by a passion almost lost, compassion refueled, and
curiosity pushing me to the limits of my own understanding. This is not to say
I have attained the meaning I so desperately crave, but damned if I am not pursuing
it... in my jeans and flip flops! </div>
<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-71523741859212549922012-06-28T09:06:00.000-07:002012-08-10T13:52:43.122-07:00I am a pre-existing condition<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I consider myself a great many things: a runner, an
entrepreneur, and a storyteller are among just a few. But unfortunately, over
the last few weeks my experience trying to obtain health insurance has forced
me to see myself as something else: a pre-existing condition.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qyq0PMpKScA/T-yAsPNzpyI/AAAAAAAAARw/FFwlC8ypwKU/s1600/Keely's+Photos+157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qyq0PMpKScA/T-yAsPNzpyI/AAAAAAAAARw/FFwlC8ypwKU/s320/Keely's+Photos+157.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I left my job at USC, excited to join a great start-up
working to create financial access for millions of poor entrepreneurs in India
and elsewhere. The organization is visionary, but they’re also young and thus
unable to offer health insurance for their employees at the moment. In my
excitement to do something I am passionate about, I never imagined the
struggles I would have to obtain health insurance on my own. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cost is exorbitant. Typically $170 a month will get you a
modest plan. Two to three visits a year to the doctor for a $40 co pay. I pay
any costs beyond that, out of pocket, until I reach my $3,500 yearly deductible.
After I have paid $3,500 out of pocket, the insurance company pays 70% and I
pay 30%. So something like a broken leg, can easily set you back $7,000, and
that’s with insurance!!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But if like me, you have asthma, things are even worse. Many
are denied health coverage because of their pre-existing condition. Me, I
underwent multiple humiliating interviews that made me feel like a second class
citizen before a top carrier agreed to carry me, for a $50 a month surcharge. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fOD0yIWX8Zg/T-yO2Pldb4I/AAAAAAAAASE/1hsoH5TsQVI/s1600/IMAG0128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fOD0yIWX8Zg/T-yO2Pldb4I/AAAAAAAAASE/1hsoH5TsQVI/s400/IMAG0128.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The letter I got from one health insurance company</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a runner, having competed in multiple half marathons
and marathons. I have controlled my asthma since 1995, and never once had an
asthma attack. But these facts matter not. At the end of the day, we have a
healthcare system built less on cura personalis (care of the entire person) and
more on bottom line. Insurance companies see me as two things: a pre-existing
condition and $$$.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WyDPNFiim5M/T-x-7vjfZOI/AAAAAAAAARY/rN8-VyJDxYg/s1600/DSC00313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WyDPNFiim5M/T-x-7vjfZOI/AAAAAAAAARY/rN8-VyJDxYg/s320/DSC00313.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Supreme Courts decision to uphold the Affordable Care
Act is a landmark moment for our nation. But it is also an intimately personal
victory for me, and the countless individuals like me who don’t think asthma or
some other controllable condition should in any way be able to influence or
limit their desire to be entrepreneurs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I try to avoid politics on this blog, but this decision
feels more than political to me, it has become deeply and agonizingly personal.
The Affordable Care Act, Obamacare as some call it, has countless stories and
human faces beyond the thousands of pages and heated political debate. I am one
of those faces, one of countless stories affected by this decision.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
America, at long last, moves slowly toward a standard of
care seen in every other industrialized nation in the world. And come 2014,
health insurance companies will be forced to see me as anything
BUT a pre-existing condition. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-17961049568047059902012-06-23T08:10:00.002-07:002012-06-23T11:58:39.676-07:00The light is always better than the darkness<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is a story circulating around TV, radio, and the internet about the incredible cruelty four middle school boys showed to an elderly bus monitor this week in Greece, New York. Moments after I brought myself to watch clips of this saddening video, an old professor emailed me a story he had received from Jesuit Volunteer Corps. He simply said: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">I don't know why, but somehow knowing that 21 year old college graduates like Brittney are spending a year thinking and praying about experiences like this makes me feel better about where we are going as a society."</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is a story of heartless and immature cruelty that is the talk around so many tables and water coolers this week. But reading the reflection that was shared with me yesterday, I was profoundly moved and like my professor, feeling better about the direction our society is heading. I, like many others, have also been inspired to see people all around the world giving small sums of their own money to a fund to help this bus monitor go on a vacation and retire. Last I checked, the fund reached $550,000. The light, it seems, is still better than the darkness, even when it's seems we are surrounded by the night.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the end of the day, we must not forget, the light is also so much stronger than the darkness in this world, if only we choose to let it be. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did. It truly was my redemption song yesterday.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><strong>Redemption Song</strong><u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></strong></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>A reflection from Brittney Cavaliere</i></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b>A second-year JV working in Washington, D.C., at Joseph's House, which provides hospice care for people who are homeless.<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>A dear resident lost his battle with liver cancer earlier this year. My heart ached for him, wishing he was sitting on the front porch to say, "Good morning, Shorty," or in his room listening to Bob Marley.<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Watching him die was one of the most challenging experiences, but also a very rewarding one. It was a time when I felt God's presence so clearly, when I was able to bear witness to the beauty that rises out of death.<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>I spent most of that morning by his bedside, writing him a little thank-you note. There'd been a major change in him from the day before. His breathing slowed, there was no longer moaning or wincing, he was free of pain. As he slept, I watched, wrapped up in the mystery that surrounded me.<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>In the afternoon, our nurse came to find me. "He is nearing the end. If it's important to you, and I know it is, you should go to his room."<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>As I entered, I knelt at the foot of the bed and placed my hand on his foot. That's where I remained until he took his last breath. I stayed there for many moments after. He died peacefully, just as I'd prayed all week. <u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Three friends and co-workers entered the room soon after. Balaji placed one hand on my friend's leg and took my hand in the other. Tina and Sam joined us in our chain as we mourned together, grieved together, remembered together.<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>We began the Joseph's House rituals and lit a candle by the bed. Someone turned on his stereo. Bob Marley's Redemption Song played. The word "freedom" kept repeating itself.<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>That was when I knew he was free. He left this life for one of true joy, singing his redemption song.<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The world lost a love-filled man, a teacher, a passionate human being, but we gained an angel. For that, I am eternally grateful.</i></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-51274840019441594442011-11-02T10:21:00.000-07:002011-11-02T10:21:09.508-07:00What Story Would Be Written About You?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The man is slumped in his chair and he looks dead. On a
crowded street corner, people and cars fly by, unfazed by the very real possibility
that his man slumped in his wheelchair isn’t just high or drunk, but may very
well be dead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know he’s not dead because when I first got to this coffee
shop, I came upon another man checking on him and indeed the man was roused
awake. But time and again, I have watched as the masses pass by.
Worse yet, a number of people walk by, turn around and stare, but then decide
to move on. But hope abounds, because I have watched time and again how when one
person stops and tries to engage the man and make sure he is alive, several
others stop, and ask what they can do to help. There is discomfort, uncertainty, and confusion, but above
all else there is a certain level of compassion and shared responsibility. And
so from a privileged place I watch the best and worst of humanity struggle to
deal with a problem that goes beyond one man in a wheelchair.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I must confess of all the social issues I care about,
homelessness is one of the most vexing. It’s hard to find the kind of "light at the end of the tunnel" hope you encounter in something like education. No, with the homeless, the weight of the charity we offer
indeed weighs heavily upon our shoulders as we are asked to work on a cause and with
people where the hope we want to believe in seems to have
faded long ago. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’re a results oriented culture, but I really believe sometimes we're tasked to just show up and acknowledge in <i>the other</i> the shared humanity and dignity they themselves might not believe
they possess. Our task, however daunting it may be, is to somehow make the socially irrelevant realize how relevant they
really are. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cvZDxUKWMIE/TrF5txquDnI/AAAAAAAAAO8/y4-_zpjFLfo/s1600/no+faces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cvZDxUKWMIE/TrF5txquDnI/AAAAAAAAAO8/y4-_zpjFLfo/s640/no+faces.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I was finishing this post, a man leaving Starbucks approached the homeless man. After he saw he wasn’t dead though, he did
something different. He stayed, and listened patiently for about 5 minutes as
the man spoke to him. And the man just listened. Then he smiled, handed him a cigarette, split
his breakfast sandwich in half, and then got behind the wheelchair, sharing a laugh with
the man as he helped, literally and figuratively, move the man a little closer to where he
probably really wants to be. He never noticed me, or anyone else whose eyes
were fixated on the touching scene unfolding on a gritty and busy street corner.
He did what was right most likely because his heart told him to do as much.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some would say the odds are against us in this world. Now 7
billion people strong, there’s simply too many people, too many problems, to
pay each one the proper attention deserved. Well, perhaps it’s true, but I’ll
be damned if I don’t count myself among those who still try anyhow. How about
you? What story is someone writing about you when you least suspect it?</div>
<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-31887690819297736932011-10-17T16:01:00.000-07:002011-10-17T16:01:19.608-07:00Short Working Boys Center Documentary and Thoughts on Post Graduate Service<a href="http://www.google.com/alerts">Google Alerts</a> is perhaps one of the greatest things out there yet. Have a topic you care to follow closely? A Google Alert helps you monitor the internet for the latest content about that particular topic. Anymore, it's a must. You can use it to keep track of news about your company or about an organization you hope to one day be a part of. It's also a great way to monitor what sort of content is being released out there about yourself. That's right, set a Google Alert up to track anything that comes up with your name to help manage your personal brand.<br />
<br />
One of my Google Alerts is for <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.workingboyscenter.org%2F&ei=xbGcTqvPEPDYiQL3-dnuCQ&usg=AFQjCNG2hi3lfwY6Tz9eoM9hUXdR5ew-RQ">The Working Boys Center</a>- the organization I volunteered with (and fell in love with) for a year in Quito, Ecuador. One of my alerts for the WBC this morning was a great link that really had me reflecting on the value and merits of doing some sort of volunteer work for an extended period of time right after college. A number of college seniors are reflecting on what's next for them, and for many, post grad service is possible in the cards. Reflecting on my own experience, I continue to see the benefits of my time in South America in both my personal and professional life.<br />
<br />
So all this is to say, if you're contemplating a year (or two) of service after college, or really at any point in your career, I'm working on a post to really help break things down a bit. Until then, enjoy the video of one tiny place on the map that provides incredible opportunities for program participants and volunteers alike! If you know of the center, the video might take on even more special meaning. For example, the student speaking at 5:17 in the video was one of my students his first year at the Center. It's amazing to see how much he has grown up!<br />
<br />
If you have any thoughts about post graduate volunteerism, let me know as I'll be putting together a future post. <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/18802585?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/18802585">Working Boys Center Documentary // Quito, Ecuador</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/cutsdatflo">Anthony Sylvester</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-11353643271451236332011-09-22T23:00:00.000-07:002011-09-22T23:09:01.693-07:00Facebook Timeline and the Implications for Millennials<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7iWZCxxlo4/Tnwdu_keUpI/AAAAAAAAAOo/RU6BCF0R5hw/s1600/screen-shot-2011-09-22-at-11-00-09-am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="440" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7iWZCxxlo4/Tnwdu_keUpI/AAAAAAAAAOo/RU6BCF0R5hw/s640/screen-shot-2011-09-22-at-11-00-09-am.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/22/facebook-timeline-pictures/">Facebook Timeline preview from techcrunch.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Welcome to Timeline. Mark Zuckerberg, at the f8 Developer conference, said “We’re more than what we did recently” as he went on to announce timeline profile pages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you want the idea in under 2 minutes, watch the official Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/about/timeline">video</a>. Facebook has created what appears to be a beautiful mosaic that
really takes a profile and focuses it into three areas: applications, self
expression, and a users story. And they do this, all on one page. The idea,
according to Zuckerberg was to more or less move from telling the story of your
life in the last 15 minutes and actually captures the whole of your life.
Audacious? Yes. Intriguing? Most certainly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On one hand are the obvious privacy concerns. Many say
privacy is dead and we should get over it, but I think I’m of a unique age
group that has comfortably lived adult lives pre-facebook and after Facebook
burst onto the scene. Privacy, in several aspects, still means something to us
even if at times it’s difficult to see just how.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the other hand, I am fascinated by the potential this has
for changing the way we interact through social media. Whether privacy is dead
or not I hope is a topic of debate for sometime to come, but there is no
denying social media, in one form or another, is here to stay.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what should tech savy (and career savy) millennials do in
response to this roll out by Facebook?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Think about your biography</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because more or less, that's what this is. A biography. No one likes a story where at the end, you knew there was so much more to it. If you decide to utilize this feature, go all in. Make it interesting. Make it uniquely you so that when friends go to your page, they do feel as though they've entered your virtual home. That doesn’t mean make stuff up, but work with what you’ve got- photos, interests,
and everything else to really be strategic about how you present yourself in
the world of social media. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>About those friends of yours...<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They're really the only people who should be able to see what you're up to Facebook. It never ceases to amaze me how many people don’t have some sort of privacy settings on their Facebook profile. In this day and age, there’s no excuse. <a href="http://mashable.com/2011/02/07/facebook-privacy-guide/">Protect your profile</a>.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Clean up your act <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s the old “don’t have anything on your profile you
wouldn’t want your mom to see. Go a step further and think of your (future) son or daughter. An even easier rule: if you have to
pause to think about whether or not something should stay a part of your
profile, it’s time to take it down.</div>
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<b>Talk to your friends<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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If there’s photos floating out there, tagged or not, that
you feel could cause you embarrassment, talk to your friends and see if they’ll
take them down. Have one friend
always posting things you rather not be a part of <i>your</i> Facebook story- it’s time to have that conversation or cut off
their posting privileges. </div>
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<b>Face to face is never bad<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I don’t know which is more awkward, grandparents on Facebook
or teens who don’t know how to interact in person. As we grow more accustomed
to communication through social media, the true value of your abilities to
connect with people face to face increases. Platforms like Facebook can and
should more fully enable our online conversations to serve as an impetus for
more meaningful interactions offline. As we communicate more and more over
status updates and texts, your ability to communicate in more traditional formats will
help you stand out.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-88004780353459785532011-09-11T11:50:00.000-07:002011-09-11T11:50:23.827-07:00Framing the Story: Spike Lee Remembers 9/11 and Martin Luther King Jr.<br />
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How do you remember 9/11? What was your personal story of
that day? What are some of the stories that still resonate with you?<br />
<br />
<br />
The LA Times had an article a few weeks ago that really captured the essence of good storytelling.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/september11/la-na-towers-journal-20110821,0,7638799,full.story">Day of terror in New York: Pages from a reporter's 9/11 journal</a> is a series of reflections by Los Angeles Times writer Geraldine Baum on the journal entries she scrawled in her journal on that day.<br />
<br />
As I was reading the paper a few weeks ago, I came across this line and felt my heart in my throat as though experiencing the moment myself:<br />
<br />
<em>"In the months after Sept. 11, Walter was preoccupied with trying to find who led him and his co-workers to a stairwell, saving all their lives. Finally, he was able to identify "our hero" — <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/04/national/portraits/POG-04ORTIZ.html">Pablo Ortiz</a>, a </em><em>Port Authority</em><em> employee who had died helping others. A photograph of Ortiz's family hangs on Walter's office wall."</em><br />
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But also noteworthy is what is unfolding in terms of how companies are remembering
9/11 via their commercials today. Sitting here watching football on the first Sunday of the NFL, I’ve
been more intrigued with the commercials taking place between snaps than the game itself.</div>
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I wrote a few weeks back about a Chevrolet commercial for the new
Martin Luther King Jr. memorial put together by Spike Lee. The
result, as you can see below, was powerful. And he’s at it again. I’ve seen
this new State Farm commercial he's directed now 4-5 times today and it moves me each time. In short, a group of school children sing
Empire State of Mind while traveling through parts of New York, ending up at
a local fire station to serenade a group of fire fighters. </div>
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I don’t know if State Farm will sell any more home or auto
insurance based off this ad. I don’t really care about their motivation for
making the spot. It’s a fitting tribute to the men and women who lost their
lives. It says something about the resilience of New York, of America, really of humanity to never forget but carry on living.</div>
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Watch the spots below. I hope like me, you’ll be happy that
two powerful spots like these are reaching a larger audience, and framing the
story of two important events in a way any of us who believe in the power of storytelling are happy to see. If you like the version of the song, you can<a href="http://st8.fm/ON2"> purchase it on Itunes</a> and State Farm says that all proceeds will go to a national firefighters fund.</div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Chevrolet MLK Commercial</span></i></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WozKutSbz8Y?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">State Farm Empire State of Mind</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Interviews and Extras in their own words (on State Farm Youtube site)</span></i><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-81492798230327576682011-09-08T19:17:00.000-07:002011-11-05T08:22:47.229-07:00Moving Beyond Generation Limbo, the Lost Generation, etc...<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What it’s like for 20-somethings to go looking for meaningful work- and not find it.” Welcome to the <a href="http://www.good.is/post/young-educated-and-unemployed-a-new-generation-of-kids-search-for-work-in-their-20s/">Lost Generation</a>. The other day The New York Times came up for another name for us: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/fashion/recent-college-graduates-wait-for-their-real-careers-to-begin.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&smid=fb-nytimes">Generation Limbo.</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what’s a well-educated 20-something to do? About 14 percent of people who graduated between 2006 and 2010 are unemployed. A greater chunk work in dead-end jobs that pay little more than the rent- if even that. Indeed living at home with mom and dad have less to do with laziness and everything to do with graduating college, prepared for a world that isn’t yet prepared for you.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But the real danger goes beyond the obvious financial woes and dilemmas. Long term unemployment or lack of meaningful employment can give rise to a way of thinking that internalizes the problem as less to do with an economic crisis and more to do with personal shortcomings. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what can be done in times like these to avoid both the financial and emotional toll caused by lack of meaningful employment?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Consider moving.</strong> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe it’s time for a scenery change, and nothing says employment with that change of scenery like Minneapolis, Houston, or Washington D.C. according to Forbes Magazine’s <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/17/best-cities-young-professionals-lifestyle-real-estate-careers.html">“America’s Best Cities for YoungProfessionals.” </a>Good Magazine just released their own guide of <a href="http://www.good.is/post/the-good-guide-to-hustlin-the-best-cities-for-the-young-and-broke">best cities forthe young and broke</a>, with cities like Austin and Philly making the list. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Keep a schedule</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Going to bed late, waking up late, and passing 72 hours in your pajamas is enticing for all of about 72 hours. After that, you’ll need something to stay positive. Set a schedule. Work out regularly. Schedule time for job searching and cover letter writing. Pencil in informational interviews, and be deliberate in scheduling time to grab lunch or coffee with friends and acquaintances who can help you on your search (and maybe pick up the tab for lunch or dinner).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Volunteer</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Countless studies show that it becomes increasingly difficult to transition from a job that requires no degree to one that does. So while working for pay is ideal, if you can afford to volunteer part time or full time in a field more closely alligned with your career goals, look into it. Is there the possibility your volunteer work will lead to full time work? Check into it with an organization you've always wanted to work for.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Go back to school</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you were planning to go back to get an advanced degree anyway, well, there’s no time like the present. Depending on what you’re planning to study, there might also be great scholarship opportunities, usually based upon academic potential. So in your schedule, provide significant time to study for the GRE or GMAT. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Teach English Abroad</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Always wanted to study abroad but never got around to it? In a way, now is your chance. Teach abroad, experience a new culture, hopefully even save up a little money, and add international experience (and maybe new language skills) to your resume. <a href="http://worldteach.org/">WorldTeach</a> and <a href="http://www.jetprogramme.org/">JET</a> are the names most people have heard of, but check out <a href="http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/top-10-places-for-teaching-english-abroad/">Matador Notebook</a> for other leads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Reach out to your Alma Mater</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Call the career development office at your alma mater and see what sort of assistance they can provide. No longer live in the area where you completed your undergraduate degree? If you went to a Jesuit university, I know you can usually contact a career center at a local Jesuit university or college to gain access to the <a href="http://www.creighton.edu/careercenter/alumni/jobsearchresources/jesuitcareerconsortium/index.php">reciprocal services</a> they offer to students and alumni of other Jesuit schools. Didn’t go to a Jesuit university? Call your school’s career center and see if they have any similar partnerships. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Looking for more advice?</strong> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Brooklyn based blogger <a href="http://www.allisonj.org/">Allison Jones</a> has some great easy to follow advice in a blog post on <a href="http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2011/09/02/generation-limbo-what-to-do-while-you%E2%80%99re-waiting-it-out/">Brazen Careerist</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And finally, going back to where we all started, keep a positive outlook, however trying that becomes. These trying times are no indiciation of your ability or work ethic. In the words of James Carville- “it’s the economy, stupid!”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-12507313013690955702011-08-22T14:08:00.000-07:002011-08-22T16:30:44.555-07:00Storytelling Fit For a King: Celebrating I Have a Dream<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">The Martin Luther King Memorial officially opened to the public today! The monument will be officially dedicated on August 28<sup>th</sup>- marking the 48<sup>th</sup> anniversary since Dr. King delivered his I Have a Dream speech.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Simple lessons can be taken from King’s speech to help you the next time trying to motivate anyone- from a prospective donor to a new employee.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">BLUF<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">In writing, this is known as bottom line up front. Give the main point away immediately. It need not be the first sentence, but it sure should be in the first two minutes of your talk. King gets to his BLUF in the first two minutes. “</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free” King says. He goes on to provide powerful visuals (we’ll get to that) and then tells those gathered: “So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Listen to Aristotle<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Poetics</i> Aristotle tells us </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">“A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end”. Easy enough. And yet, how often do we fail to frame a story along at least a loose timeline? King’s speech starts in the past- “five score years ago” but quickly moves the audience along to the present reason they are gathered: “but 100 years later, the Negro is still not free.” And for most of us in the nonprofit world, the end is our ask- what we want the other person to do or believe, etc… For King that end begins (and lives on) with a few simple words: “I have a dream…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">Imagery<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">Storytelling in causes and nonprofits is just another word for the combination of imagination and kinship. A good story has visuals that allow the person on the other end to imagine the picture painted, and feel a connection with the people in the story. A great visual example building along “the table of brotherhood” King alludes to can be seen in this ad created by Spike Lee.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/K7FfiXmpCo0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Listen<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Clarence Jones, who helped write the famous speech wrote in his book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Behind the Dream</i> that the most famous part of the speech was not ever written out. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="background: white;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Martin's favorite gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, who had performed earlier in the day, called to him from nearby: "Tell 'em about the dream, Martin, tell 'em about the dream!" <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
<div style="background: white;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Martin clutched the speaker's lectern and seemed to reset. I watched him push the text of his prepared remarks to one side…<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I have a dream . . .</span> In front of all those people, cameras, and microphones, Martin winged it. But then, no one I've ever met could improvise better.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
<div style="background: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Final Thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Muriel Barbery writes that "In order for consciousness to be aroused, it must have a name." Storytelling for good is simply putting a name (and hopefully a face) to what you do and why it matters. Too many nonprofits fail not for lack of good work, but an inability to tell the story of why what they do matters. Give people a reason for why their consciousness ought to care about what it is you do.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-90194110008846303372011-08-06T13:56:00.000-07:002011-08-06T13:56:00.693-07:00Heard It Elsewhere...Some of my favorite links I stumbled upon this week.<br />
<br />
Kiva is trying to spread the word- lending money to aspiring entrepreneurs is cool. And for a short time, trying it out is free. Sign up for a Kiva account <a href="http://kiva.org/invitedby/patrick4035">here</a> and get $25 to lend for free.<br />
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For anyone who's ever had to raise some cash for their nonprofit- a <a href="http://www.greenorange.lt/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Sasha-Dichter-Moment.jpg">visual approach</a> to Sasha Dichter's <a href="http://sashadichter.wordpress.com/">blog </a>post about making the big ask.<br />
<br />
Let's reinvent the toilet. As perhaps only the marketers at the Gates Foundation can do- a <a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/foundationnotes/Pages/frank-rijsberman-reinvent-the-toilet.aspx">blog</a> and a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdwvuTrycYU&feature=player_embedded">video</a> about, well, poop. Check out the innovative sanitation ideas here.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://goodintents.org/guest-post/old-school-vs-new-school">Old school vs. new school.</a> Challenging the traditional mindset we have on grouping organizations as for profit or nonprofit. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://hbr.org/2011/07/managing-yourself-a-smarter-way-to-network/ar/1">Managing yourself</a> by managing your network. My friends in <a href="http://www.newleaderscouncil.org/">The New Leaders Council</a> passed along this Harvard Business Review article about networking done well. Hint:<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-77598721562109243912011-08-03T12:45:00.000-07:002011-08-03T12:45:06.283-07:00Going to Grad School After July 1st, 2012? It Just Got More Expensive.Thanks to the recently passed debt ceiling legislation, it just became more expensive to attend graduate school if you'll be taking out loans. Graduate students applying for a loan after July 1, 2012 will no longer be eligible to receive <i>subsidized</i> Stafford loans. The $8,500 subsidized loan will instead be converted to unsubsidized funding.<br />
<br />
What does this mean for graduate students? For anyone who gets a loan after July 1, 2012- interest will accrue on those loans while they are still in school. Before, the government had paid the interest on the loan for the length of time a student was in school. The legislation also eliminates a rebate students get when they make loan repayments on time for 12 consecutive months.<br />
<br />
The change will save the federal government an estimated $26 billion over 10 years. To put that in perspective: consider three months of operation in Afghanistan costs roughly that.<br />
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Is there any upside for students? For those pursuing their undergraduate degree, yes. Part of the savings from the student loan cuts will help keep funding for federal Pell Grants. These grants are traditionally awarded to the most financially needy students. Republicans slashed summer Pell grants earlier in the year and many have been attempting to eliminate the Pell grant program altogether. <br />
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For a more in depth reading on the Stafford student loan issue, check out <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/01/news/economy/debt_ceiling_students/">CNN Money</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-34552525415087170512011-07-28T16:48:00.000-07:002011-07-28T16:48:01.049-07:00Twitter: It Isn't Only About What You Ate For BreakfastWho do you follow? I have a number of friends who think Twitter is nothing more than a place to “text” to the masses what you ate for breakfast or declare what you’re about to do, and so they avoid Twitter. But Twitter, like most social media, has the potential to be about so much mroe.<br />
<br />
<strong>Twitter is about access</strong> <br />
Back in December, I sent a Tweet to Andrew Evans (@WheresAndrew) a travel writer for National Geographic who I had been following with great interest. I asked Andrew for his best travel advice in 140 characters or less. Twenty minutes later I got this reply:<br />
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@pjfurlong Say "yes" more than "no" & learn "Thank U". Make wrong turns. Treat your horse kindly. Passport & toothbrush R only essentials.<br />
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If I had emailed him, I don’t know that I would have received a response that quick, if ever. But with Twitter, the reply was instantaneous and was not only shared with me, but with thousands of other people who follow Andrew.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Take a look at this photo, probably snapped on her iPhone, and Tweeted by @MeredithShiner today outside Speaker Boehner's office as reporters wait for word about what will happen with the debt ceiling vote. Unpolished and real, you can imagine the anxiety the photo captures so vividly. </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-47rKIQBAn4c/TjHzHH8cF3I/AAAAAAAAAOA/o8z3UMhG86o/s1600/x2_76bd836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-47rKIQBAn4c/TjHzHH8cF3I/AAAAAAAAAOA/o8z3UMhG86o/s200/x2_76bd836.jpg" t$="true" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lockerz.com/s/124508214">http://lockerz.com/s/124508214</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Twitter allows me to stay in tune with issues that matter to me.</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I follow very few of my actual friends on Twitter because I don’t need to read about what they ate for breakfast- I’ve got Facebook for those types of status updates. On Twitter, I've created a nonprofit community of sorts. I follow people, famous and ordinary, as well as organizations who care about and tweet about the same issues that matter to me. By following them, I end up getting exposed to countless relevant articles, blogs, and videos that I otherwise might have missed.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><strong>So again I must ask- who do you follow?</strong> <br />
If the answer is no one, I'd encourage you to take the plunge, sign up for Twitter. You can even pledge to never tweet about your breakfast (unless it's really good). To start, I’ve included a few of my favorite folks in the nonprofit Twitosphere that I think are worth following.<br />
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People you may have heard of: @BillGates, @Jeffdsachs, @thisissethsblog, @NickKristoff, @Tom_Peters<br />
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Everyday People: @CynthiaHellen, @Cdilly, @ajlovesya, @socialcitizen, @otreyes, <br />
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Organizations: @weblogtheworld, @roomtoread, @Harvardbiz, @Acumenfund, @ynpnla (LA specific), @Inventurefund<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-70115522079299950552011-07-27T19:16:00.000-07:002011-07-28T16:49:37.839-07:00Storytelling in the Nonprofit SectorA couple years ago I had figured out what I wanted to do in life. I saw myself working for a dynamic nonprofit providing education and health services to those in the developing world. And I would be the organizations professional storyteller, not to be confused with development officer or program manager. I would be able, as <a href="http://www.acumenfund.org/about-us/our-team/blair-miller.html">Blair Miller</a> of Acumen Fund puts it to “travel back and forth from the slums of Kenya to the conference halls of Aspen.” <br />
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Trouble is, I’ve yet to see any postings for Chief of Storytelling or Storyteller Manager I or II. And so, for those of us that understand the value of a story, and want to dedicate our profesional lives telling the stories of the poor and often voiceless, what must we do?<br />
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While I don't know the answer to that just yet, what I beleive we all inherently get, even if we don't understand it, is quite simple: Storytelling REALLY matters. Stories, the power they have over us, isn't an exercise in logic at all. Anyone who has ever donated on impulse after a moving talk or video knows it's actually quite illogical Empathy still means a great deal in deciding where we will give parts of our precious time, energy, and money. Data matters too, but it ceases to mean anything unless we have a way to connect what we see on a spreadsheet to what we experience in real life. In the end, it's about telling stories, ours, that of another, and the often overlooked challenge Blair Miller addresses of getting out of the way of a good story so that it can be told by the actual person living it.<br />
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Listed below are a few links to what I think touch upon the essence of good storytelling.<br />
-Blair Miller at Acumen Fund writes a brief blog entry about <a href="http://blog.acumenfund.org/2011/07/22/the-next-phase-of-storytelling/comment-page-1/#comment-356427">The Next Phase of Storytelling</a><br />
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-Andy Goodman's podcast <a href="http://sic.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail3170.html">Storytelling For Good Causes</a><br />
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-And of course a couple amazing talks posted on <a href="http://www.ted.com/">Ted</a>: JK Rowling's <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jk_rowling_the_fringe_benefits_of_failure.html">Harvard commencement speech</a> and spoken word artist <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html">Sarah Kay's talk on the power of self-expression</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-20900692514189977222010-09-09T13:04:00.000-07:002010-09-09T13:04:48.880-07:00For What It's WorthSome clippings of news and events relevant to those who may have a common interest.<br />
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-Charity:water, arguably the world’s most hip, tech savy and media savy nonprofit, attempted a live drill for clean water in Congo- and they failed. What makes this story worthy of attention is how they handled failure- they admitted their own frustration, vowed to fight on, and were transparent in using the situation as a teachable moment of the true challenges of accessing clean water in remote parts of the world. Read about it <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-harrison/failure-on-our-birthday_b_709303.html">here</a>. <br />
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<div> </div>-DonorsChoose founder Charles Best received a phone call that asked one simple question: how much would it cost to fund every California teacher’s wish list on the website. What happened next? A very happy first day of school for every teacher in California who posted a wish list on DonorsChoose. Read about it <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2010%2F08%2F31%2FMN2D1F6FF7.DTL">here</a>.<br />
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<div> </div>Pakistan. Floods. We know, but do we really? What if the sound bite were reworded to emphasize the reality: People affected: more than Haiti and Katrina- combined. Rabia Ahmed wrote a moving love letter to Pakistan, posted on the Acumen Fund Blog. Read about it <a href="http://blog.acumenfund.org/2010/08/23/until-it-hurts-a-love-letter-to-pakistan/">here</a>.<br />
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<div> </div>For those who see themselves as storytellers (marketers) in the nonprofit, Seth Godin has some advice: start marketing. Right now. Read about it <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/09/if-you-want-to-learn-to-do-marketing.html">here</a>.<br />
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<div> </div>If you will be in New York September 20th- I envy you. Might be worth checking out The Social Good Summit. Read about it <a href="http://mashable.com/un-week/social-good-summit/">here</a>.<br />
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<div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-14094554045315531812010-08-16T09:44:00.000-07:002010-08-16T09:44:59.854-07:00Turning a corner: Capacity Building as Millenials Working for ChangeWho are we called to be? We are the generation of 9-11, of Katrina, and of the worst depression since that big one in the 1930's. We are living amidst two wars, environmental decline, and an uncertainty almost never mentioned but always present.<br />
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We are the children of the internet. We have access to technology unimaginable a few years ago. What will we blog about? Will our tweets be about what we just ate or a tool to link us together with intellectual curiosity just beyond our otherwise limited reach? How will we use the social media network Facebook affords us?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2BiGIKq67qs/TGlp-omPRFI/AAAAAAAAALc/NLXSidL6DJ0/s1600/n10801730_33355682_1459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2BiGIKq67qs/TGlp-omPRFI/AAAAAAAAALc/NLXSidL6DJ0/s320/n10801730_33355682_1459.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://www.simonbarrow.net/reflect3.html">Oscar Romero</a> might have called us prophets of a future not our own and we stand on the edge of a world in need, and our response to this fierce urgency of this very moment will set a tone for generations to come.<br />
This is our burden, this is our greatest responsibility. And if you’re like me, you react in accordance: at times anxious that you aren’t doing enough to reach your potential, to mange genuine and lasting change, no matter how big or small it may be. Other times you an embodiment of what I think is our reality- incredibly confident that we are indeed the leaders we have been waiting for. This much we know: the world isn’t waiting for us as individuals, and paradoxically, the world can’t wait any longer for us as a group of people to come together, “to get it” so to speak.<br />
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And so this blog is going to be “turning a corner” if you will. It’s time to shift the tone from one of self reflection to group reflection and capacity building. I hope, In my own small and humble way, to build upon my work with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4ZVAdJ5FV4">City Year</a> in Boyle Heights and as a graduate admissions counselor with the <a href="http://www.usc.edu/sppd">University of Southern California</a>. To build upon experience as a social entrepreneur with <a href="http://www.lmu.edu/Page8814.aspx">Magis </a>and move the conversation forward on how to do good in this world. And to continue to to build upon experiences volunteering with the <a href="http://www.nd.edu/~hcassoc/">Holy Cross Associates </a>and the <a href="http://www.workingboyscenter.org/">Working Boys Center</a>.<br />
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I know about the power of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/your-money/31shortcuts.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=your-money&adxnnlx=1281974410-5RVwT8wOE5NUA78LHgth5A">service</a>, the potential connectivity and solidarity can have on the ways in which we choose to live our lives. And I know about education, the limitless potential good education provides and the vast shortfall of our society in meeting the curiosity and possibility of so many young people here and abroad.<br />
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So I hope you will join me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/pjfurlong">Twitter</a>. I hope you will contribute your input here and suggest other blogs and arenas in which to read, to dialogue, and to learn and grow. And if you would like to discuss volunteerism, post-graduate service, working in the nonprofits, or the graduate school admission process, please don't hesitate to comment here or email me at pjfurlong at gmail dot com.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-81104575218983218602010-07-15T08:53:00.000-07:002010-07-19T09:46:05.051-07:00Impatient Idealism and the War on Poverty: Let's Talk Hope, Not DespairHow do we talk about poverty? It’s something I have been obsessed about a lot as of late. There is this tendency on behalf of us nonprofity do gooders, and yes that is a scientific term, to paint a very bleak picture. Stats seem to be a favorite tool of ours. Post some depressing statistic over an even more depressing photo and suddenly we have our pitch for why caring about poverty and the people who live in it should matter more than say, Lindsay Lohan or learning where LeBron chooses to play ball next year.<br />
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People don’t invest long term in response to the depressing, they just don’t. And who can blame them? The human heart is not looking for punishing blow after blow. People get burnt out on bad news. Our focus shifts: why focus on stuff that truly hurts to internalize when we can focus on a world of reality TV that is anything but real? <br />
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And that’s exactly why we need a new framework for how we communicate about poverty. Our stereotype of the poor as hopeless and helpless is at best, often misinformed, at worst, patronizing. <br />
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And so I’d like you to imagine a new way of addressing poverty. A photo that highlights the beauty, possibility, and the resilience that is typical of so many of the people in Latin America and other parts of the developing world that speak to the real reality of so many: entrepreneurial people, primarily women, who are ready to make a change in their lives and those of their children and community. Instead of unconquerable despair we focus a bit more intentionally on untapped and eager potential. Doing so empowers a community, it empowers women, and it empowers us to pass by a world consumed by junk consumption for something more authentically life giving.<br />
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I am not saying this should be the way we communicate about things all the time. The reality of AIDS in Africa, education in the inner city, and so many other issues is that once in a while must speak to the great disparity. But what I believe is that we error when the message is so focused on that, with almost no messaging around potential and hope! This new communication works! <br />
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Don’t believe me- look at what Kiva is doing. They connect people like you and me to entrepreneurs on the ground in the developing world. You read their story, see a real photo of them, and “loan”, yes loan, $25 (or more) to help them start a business. Money is pooled amongst other lenders like you and suddenly you are invested in kinship without ever leaving your living room. <a href="http://www.kiva.org">Kiva </a>started in 2005 and already has made loans to 378,862 people totaling $147,673,750. Over 80% are women and the repayment rate: 98.27%. These numbers are as of July 14, 2010. Other groups like <a href="http://www.inventurefund.org/">Inventure Fund</a> are taking their own approach to the microfinance craze and experimenting with some really cool ideas to bring out the best in investors, entrepreneurs, and the community.<br />
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Poverty sucks. I doubt you will find much disagreement. It is romanticized only by fools. But having been on the ground, what upsets me aside from this unnecessary poverty is the fact that we are failing the people living in this context in other ways when we fail to share stories of success in the battle against poverty. But don’t take my word for it, take 30 seconds to watch a video from <a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/livingproofproject/Pages/default.aspx">“The Living Proof Project”</a> from the <a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/">Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation</a>: evidence impatient idealism can improve the world.<br />
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<embed src="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/_layouts/swf/Multimedia/player.swf" width="400" height="225" bgcolor="000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="file=http://gates.edgeboss.net/download/gates/gfo/we-are-living-proof.mp4&image=http://www.gatesfoundation.org/livingproofproject/PublishingImages/video-still-living-proof-we-are-living-proof-ad.jpg"></embed><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-29017417697315217862010-05-12T07:30:00.000-07:002010-05-12T07:30:00.704-07:00The Answer is CompassionActivist Dorothy Day once remarked how we all imagine ourselves to be so wicked, when really we’re just ordinary people who stumble from time to time and try to do what’s right.<br />
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I heard it said that we should “Just assume the answer to every question is compassion.” Can you imagine a worldview colored by that philosophy?<br />
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I am not a theologian, but I’ve come to believe through my own experience, shortcomings, and stumbles that what God wants most is for us to be madly in love with life. Whoever we are, whatever our background or beliefs, God I imagine yearns for us to yearn for kinship. I think God beckons us to trust that he trusts us in what is needed to fall madly in love with life. We are tasked with recognizing where God dwells, not only "out there" but in our own being and in the existence of all those we encounter. <br />
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I went to a talk by Greg Boyle earlier this year where he said that “The Lord comes to us disguised as ourselves. We do come to believe that we grow into this. The only thing we know about Jesus growing up is he grew in age, and wisdom, and favor with God. But do we really grow in favor with God? Did Jesus become increasingly more favorable to God or did he just discover over time that he was holy, favorable?” It is perhaps in this spirit of compassion we are called to view ourselves, and view those around us. <br />
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If we are to assume compassion is the answer to every question, then at once we stand less in judgment of the burden “the other” carries and more in awe that they are able to carry it at all. And we also cleanse ourselves of the shame in which we view our own stumbles and shortcomings. Liberated to just be present to life, we understand what so often evades us in this culture: we are worthy of love not for what we are able to do but simply for being who we are. Like Father G says, we live ever present to the possibility of living our way into a new way of thinking, a thinking that recognizes we didn’t grow more favorable to God; we just discovered how favorable we have been all along. <br />
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<i>This reflection came about from reading Greg Boyle's <a href="http://www.homeboy-industries.org/product_info.php?products_id=126">Tattoos on the Heart</a>. I highly recommend it.</i><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-20431220250330359962010-02-27T12:54:00.000-08:002010-02-27T12:54:00.772-08:00Earthquake in ChileAs you all know a large earthquake struck the central part of Chile early this morning.<br />
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There isn't much to say other than the images that are coming out of the country are heartbreaking. It's made more intense of course when you look at images and recognize them not as disasters in a foreign land but disasters impacting people you came to know and love living in the country for a brief period.<br />
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Some news is good. Most of our friends appear to be OK. We have received a fair amount of messages via Facebook and through a loosely formed network of former volunteers alerting one another whenever we receive news. Most news goes along the lines of "I'm okay, my family is alright, our house is a mess." One friend reported that in my former neighborhood, close to 80% of the houses had a wall collapse. I am still waiting to hear back from a couple friends in that area, one friend who is a volunteer there. I can't get anything about the kids I worked with there, as the houses split apart sometime ago but I pray they are all safe.<br />
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A friend Ryan shared the following sites as helpful resources.<br />
<a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/02/earthquake_in_chile.html">http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/02/earthquake_in_chile.html</a> - This has some pretty vivid and telling photos- buildings split in two, bridges collapsed with cars turned upside down.<br />
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Google has set up a site to help people communicate about missing people in Chile. <a href="http://chilepersonfinder.appspot.com/">http://chilepersonfinder.appspot.com/</a><br />
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In terms of giving- the Red Cross, World Vision, and Save the Children are all dispatching either teams or supplies. Un Techo Para Chile is a great organization on the ground already, but their website is down. If I hear of any initiatives that are more grass roots from the people I know in Chile- I will be sure to pass it on.<br />
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Again, not much more to say except that Chile has one thing going for it- it's people are some of the most proud and stubborn people I have ever encountered. In a crisis- there wouldn't be anyone I'd want beside me more.<br />
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Keep em in your thoughts and prayers, and let's pray for some reprieve from mother nature for a little while.<strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31555509.post-20450604048324145512010-01-21T21:11:00.000-08:002010-01-21T21:11:39.345-08:00A Different Type of Volunteer: Meet My Neighorhood Council Hero JohnJohn is my hero. You don’t know John, most likely never really will. That’s not his real name by the way but in a lawsuit happy country, you never can be too safe. You see, to know John like I now know John, you have to sit through a three hour neighborhood council meeting in Westchester. A meeting full of Robert’s Rule of Order, various public comments that peak my curiosity but baffle my mind, and sometimes painstakingly boring presentations by certain speakers who make it obvious within the first 30 seconds they did not prepare for their moment of shinning glory in front of this auspicious crowd.<br />
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Back to John, he’s my hero, in a neighborhood council, I’m glad you’re doing this because I don’t think I’d ever care to sort of way. John has fought tirelessly against the expansion of LAX and had a fairly successful track record. Personal feelings you may have aside, expansion of LAX would be bad for a community right next to LAX, especially as Orange County and Long Beach refuse to accommodate their people thus exasperating the crisis in LA. And so John fights. And he fights against power lines with high unsafe levels of electricity running down residential streets they shouldn’t run down. And he does it with energy uncommon a man his age, and with a twinkle in his eye I am certain none of us could maintain after years of these battles for his neighborhood.<br />
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And so John has me thinking. I admire him greatly and yet if we sat down and spoke about politics, we would most certainly disagree, and disagree like water to hot oil. We probably wouldn’t see eye to eye on much, most likely on a local and national scale. But in the spirit of Dr. King, I have been thinking a lot about service and volunteerism. For a lefty like me, it’s easy to look at Americorps and the Peace Corps, and religious projects like the Working Boys Center or Jesuit Volunteers- groups where people literally give of themselves in the name of improving some aspect of society failing the poor and oppressed. As a nation, we are able to recognize the value of service in our men and women deployed overseas, regardless of whatever our feeling is about the conflict that has them stationed there. <br />
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But I wonder when we as a nation might wake up and do a better job of recognizing folks like John. People who spend hours a month at meetings that bring new meaning to the adage “more boring than watching paint peel” or people who comb through every dreary public announcement by agencies big and small and then cause a ruckus in the name of true public debate.<br />
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John fights a good fight for the neighborhood of Westchester. Whether you agree with him or not to me is beside the point. He does it for free, he does it out of convictions he holds dear, and he does it with a smile and with a dignity that is lost upon many of us. And so a big thanks to John, for the hours he spends on projects to improve my community, and for helping me to consider with a more wide angle lens the spirit that is service and volunteerism in America today.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://pjfurlong.blogspot.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11655263163254860805noreply@blogger.com0