My new job is at a food bank. On the days that we’re open to the public, we open at 10am. On some days, I’ve arrived to work at 7:20am and there are people already lined along the sidewalk.

They are lined along the sidewalk for a chance to be some of the first in line to receive enough food for about three meals—and it’s nothing fancy. Some frozen chicken, beef, or tofu a day or two past the sell-by date, some slightly dented cans of tomatoes. Some toothpaste or tampons.

(Note about the tampons: On the day that we were distributing tampons, I’m pretty sure that I said the word at least 150 times in about an hour. Customers usually expect to see food, so there was a lot of opportunity to tell them what they were. Also, I was working with a 9 year old volunteer that kept forgetting what they were called. When I explained that the product was “for ladies” to a couple elderly Chinese women, one of them said to me, “No longer menstruating.”)

People have asked me how we know that the people really need the service that we provide. And, well, we don’t. Not everyone that comes through the line is starving; they still turn down some of the product. But the fact still remains that they must stand and wait in line and shop in that slow line for a limited choice of product, and I don’t know a lot of people who would be willing to cut out a hour of their day in order to do that when the grocery store is just a few blocks away. Maybe some people could afford to buy some regular groceries, but if they feel like waiting in line at the food bank is helping their life in some way—then fine. I’m glad we can give them that.

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The main function of my job is to manage the volunteers. We have a very small staff and require a large amount of volunteers for daily operations. This = a really cool job.

(By the way! I found out that I beat out 5 other people trying to get this job. How did I find out? I found all the regret letters on my computer. And the whole time I figured I got this job because one other person just didn’t show up to his or her interview or did something totally obscene like challenge the interview panel to a wet t-shirt contest.)

Even though I really care about my job right now, it’s still a little awkward. It takes me awhile to warm up to people that I see regularly (on the other hand, I’m pretty good at talking to people/customer service on a one-time basis). Plus there’s the whole starting a job in the middle of 4+ projects.

And what the heck is with professional jobs and all the MEETINGS? HOLY HELL, THE MEETINGS!

Despite the meetings, I enjoy the challenge of learning a new job, and the challenges of working with the limited resources and funds that the nonprofit has. Then there’s also the perk of interacting with such an interesting mix of volunteers (they range in age from 7 to 94). This is what I’ve been wanting to do.

This is what has been going on in my life.

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On an unrelated note:

A few weeks ago, I was riding the bus to work. There was a man sitting in front of me holding a box of doughnuts. He turns to the man beside him—they didn’t get on the bus together and didn’t seem to know each other—and says, “Tell me. What’s your mother’s favorite doughnut?”

The second man responds without hesitation, and the first man nods with recognition and approval. And that’s it.