I got some Chinese takeout for lunch today, and just read my fortune:

"You are interested in public service."

Damn, that's pretty good. As goofy and irreverent as I appear, I take community service extremely seriously. I think it's important for everyone to get out there and do some good for free and with no expectations.

In high school and college, I tutored younger kids in English and Spanish for free. I was also a candystriper at our local hospital (quit snickering, you dirty birds!).

My last gig was taking care of homeless cats, but it became too emotionally exhausting for me. I would show up at the shelter every Monday night, do my job, then leave in tears.

So I've been without a volunteer role for about a year now, and I've been itching to get back into the game. I've been toying with the idea of volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. I'm fairly handy and I think I might enjoy doing the work. I've looked into my local chapter, and it appears that all I'd need to do is just show up at the site in work clothes and with a bagged lunch on any given Saturday. Seems easy enough.

I'd like to hear about your volunteer experiences. What have you done, and was it a good or bad experience for you?

Labels: deep thoughts