Yesterday (all my troubles seemed so far away) I applied for this job @ an NGO called Habitat for Humanity. I now humbly ask you — Dear Humanity (incl. Ricky Gervais ;-D) — to pretty-please help share some groovy vibes w/ the universe … ;-D
Little Firecracker
Little Firecracker (my nickname for the wonderful creature pictured above) miraculously lodged and fed 8 mountain-biking backpackers (myself included) when we pedaled our grubby selves into her village, unannounced of course. ;-D The year was 1997, Hong Kong was slated to return to the PRC in a few months’ time, and I was wrapping up a 2 year volunteer gig in the PRC. Our grungy posse had rented trusty beater bikes ;-D and we were hoping to find a mellow crashpad for Lunar New Year. Little Firecracker took us in w/ a laugh and a smile …
“Move over, Club Med !!”
We negotiated an all-inclusive per diem price that included yummy meals. I think we stayed for 3 days & 2 nights. Little Firecracker cooked on that hearth in the middle of the floor next to someone’s soggy tube socks … OMG what kind of house guest decorates w/ socks … sheesh !! ;-D ‘Twas a raised house (flood risk mitigation, yo) w/ neither electricity nor running water. Please kindly try to imagine the rickety stairs that she needed to negotiate loaded w/ water, firewood, food, cooking accoutrements, etc …
Habitat For Humanity International
Back to the job that triggered this post !! ;-D I am not in any way trying to exploit my Little Firecracker for my own purposes. To the contrary, she (& many other kindred spirits I met during my 2 years in the PRC) gave me a lifetime of food for thought. I’ve now got a caveman husband, family of 5, comfy abode w/ all the basics (+ ∞ !!) …
If I’ve found it challenging to provide for my own family (& I have), then how the hell did Little Firecracker manage to host a bunch of muddied-up-hungry-hungry-hippos the way she did ?!?! Yes, we paid her and I hope we helped carry some stuff up and down the stairs but come on !! I believe there was Big Magic at work (hello Liss !!) … infused w/ generations’ worth of gutsy resourcefulness … manifested by her village community … w/ their sturdy homes, bamboo irrigation system, agricultural know-how.
“Match” for Humanity
I dedicated my BS to Natural Resources (infinite thanx to my parents ;-D), my “Smells Like Teen Spirit” self to Dolphins & Bears (OMG there are no werdz ;-D) , my professional self to MarComm projects, my Mommy self to Motherhood, my civic self to Volunteerism, my ultimate self to Hippie Hippie Girl hippie hippie hippie hippie hippie *SHAKE* !! I’ve done what I can to share my ethos w/ my 3 kiddos, and hopefully they’ll run w/ whatever bits they deem useful !! Finally … check out what I woke up to this morning …
Please lemme ‘splain !! ;-D
Early this morning, my mind jogged a few laps around the word humanity. Perhaps in part b/c Luli & I talked about Yuval’s books while I waded thru my photos of XiShuangBanna. My meanderings guided me to a recollection of a card game w/ my dear friend Dave on Memory Lane … I think we watched Kill Bill afterwards but that’s a story for another day !! ;-D
Today
What my mind conjured up today is a “Match” for Humanity card set inspired by Habitat for Humanity. The photos will all have been taken by HFHI constituents @ on-site builds. It’d be the Classic Match Game wherein players try to find a match (as above) versus a non-match (as below) …
I rendered these mock-ups b/c I had to see them w/ my own eyes. They kinda also look like drink coasters and the blue ones even resemble kitchen / bathroom tiles. I’d integrate tiles like that into my home if I were clever enough to do so. That logo drives me wild !! ;-D
Finally
As I wrap up this post, I reach for my lucky charms, keep Nic’s Tunes flowing, enjoy the Festival de Cannes w/ Maïwenn ;-D, and cross my fingers that a real human might one day notice my application & ATS-friendly CV for HFHI‘s Volunteering Communications Manager job posting. What was my number again ?! Oh yeah …
HFHI applicant #9871792
-Jimi Hendrix