Catching Up on Old Times

Okay, maybe not "old times" as in years ago... but how about catching up from the Summer since I haven't posted a blog since mid June! It's been crazy busy! But this will give you an idea of two things: (1) why I haven't blogged lately and (2) why I seriously needed the vacation in Hawaii that I'm on right now as I write this! (I'm back dating this post though so that I can blog about the vacation.)

I'm just going to keep this brief and mention some of the things I've been juggling because I'd like to write a separate blog post for many of them. Here's the nutshell version:

I've been working on the new Catalyst Web site literally all Summer and we had a "soft-launch" of it on July 1st. I've been spending crazy hours til the wee hours of the morning trying to crank it out. So it's in beta version now and we launch a full-on campaign in September. I've also been working with the new Catalyst Board of Directors to hammer out details like our new branding and logo, direction for the organization, and developing our strategies. We have officially submitted our Federal Tax Exemption application to secure our 501c3 status and so we'll get that in a few months (hopefully!)

In the midst of all the Catalyst stuff, I've also been a part of three collaborative projects. The first project is an unnamed "Hot Zone" project but we're a "coalition of bridge builders" working to see the broader Church engage in a safe and productive dialogue regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals within our community. Essentially we're trying to bring the two groups of conservative mainline pastors and the progressive inclusive pastors to the same table to talk. We've got a different approach, I think, and it's very exciting. The second project is the HIV/AIDS Collaborative of Long Beach. I've been on this core team since it started a year ago and we've been working to develop authentic community and meet the needs of those living with HIV/AIDS. The third project is with my friend Dr. Becky Kuhn who founded Global Lifeworks and they are putting on a seminar for GLBT individuals that will provide tools to help relate with self, others, and community better while overcoming many of the perceived barriers that come with being gay, in the closet, social rejection, and other relational issues. I'm going to be one of the small group leaders in this highly interactive seminar experience.

These are kind of the bedrock things I've been working on outside of my day-job. Oh yeah, the day-job! It's been crazy busy there too. I've rebuilt their Web site from scratch during the Summer while organizing logistics for the biggest event of the year.

So my typical days has been working fully during the days, then swimming or working out with my personal trainer (yep!), then either having dinner meetings or collaborative meetings or trying to relax post-work, then working on the Catalyst site until 2 or 3am before getting up for work the next day! It's been a crazy summer but it's been very exciting for me to be living out my passions. Now for a much needed vacation in Hawaii!