Somebody has got the Muundays...
That was my attempt at a token Office Space quote. Actually, I don't have a case of the Mondays but it is a pretty dreary day.
I am sitting at the computer listening to the Postal Service because Gilly took Viola to the library earlier to get a library card and she borrowed this album for me. I love this album. What great rainy day music.
This past week was kind of nuts, kind of a blur. Everyday was cosumed with activites and even my "off" day wasn't completly an off day. Much of this stress on my part is directly attributable to the fact that the girl who is currently the unofficial Project Leader went on vacation for three weeks. I meant to connect with her for some sort of handover cerimony including the burning of incense and the releasing of 13 doves, but we missed each other for a few days and then she was gone. In the words of Joni Mitchell, "you don't know what you've got till' it's gone". We had never officially talked about procedural issues so I was left to my own to figure out how to run the house and many other things.
This has been a blessing and a curse. A blessing in the sense that I am not officially the Project Leader for the house yet so this gives me a chance to assert and prove myself before it is made public. A curse in the sense that it turned out to be a particularly busy week and one of the residents in particular was quick to point out that he felt myself and Gilly were neglecting the house and our responsibilities because we were never around. I don't think that he has a valid point but can understand his sentiments and have tried to affirm him in that.
As a part of our community processes we have daily "breakfast meetings" that serve as debriefing sessions and allow folks to communicate about issues. Because of last week's schedule we did not have any meetings (which just compouded the problem I believe), but I knew it was necessary to implement them again begining today. Since there had already been discussion about last week's shortcomings, the meeting wasn't particularly contentious and I think that we are all on roughly the same page. Me and Gilly tried to assert our desire to be residents in the house and I think that we are ready to move forward.
We have a new worker coming into the house tommorow named Vikki. I don't know anything about her and neither does anyone else. As much as I appreciate this community and love the model, the inefficiency can make me laugh sometimes. If you are keeping score that now makes 3 workers (4 if you include Isabell who will be on vacation for a few weeks and probably moving on a few months afterwards), 2 residents, and 1 resident that is currently living in Simon House who will probably be joining us in the coming weeks. I suspect that we have the capacity for 10-12 people in the house and I think that the optimum ratio would be about 6-8 residents and 4 workers. I have read somewhere that the maximum size for small-groups to function effectively is around 10 people. Much more than that and people begin to become passive. I suspect that this relates more to meetings that are conducted with small groups, but I think that it has implications for community as well. I think that it is fascinating that Jesus had 12 disciples....Jesus, a genius when it came to small group dynamics.
Cheers, Chris
I am sitting at the computer listening to the Postal Service because Gilly took Viola to the library earlier to get a library card and she borrowed this album for me. I love this album. What great rainy day music.
This past week was kind of nuts, kind of a blur. Everyday was cosumed with activites and even my "off" day wasn't completly an off day. Much of this stress on my part is directly attributable to the fact that the girl who is currently the unofficial Project Leader went on vacation for three weeks. I meant to connect with her for some sort of handover cerimony including the burning of incense and the releasing of 13 doves, but we missed each other for a few days and then she was gone. In the words of Joni Mitchell, "you don't know what you've got till' it's gone". We had never officially talked about procedural issues so I was left to my own to figure out how to run the house and many other things.
This has been a blessing and a curse. A blessing in the sense that I am not officially the Project Leader for the house yet so this gives me a chance to assert and prove myself before it is made public. A curse in the sense that it turned out to be a particularly busy week and one of the residents in particular was quick to point out that he felt myself and Gilly were neglecting the house and our responsibilities because we were never around. I don't think that he has a valid point but can understand his sentiments and have tried to affirm him in that.
As a part of our community processes we have daily "breakfast meetings" that serve as debriefing sessions and allow folks to communicate about issues. Because of last week's schedule we did not have any meetings (which just compouded the problem I believe), but I knew it was necessary to implement them again begining today. Since there had already been discussion about last week's shortcomings, the meeting wasn't particularly contentious and I think that we are all on roughly the same page. Me and Gilly tried to assert our desire to be residents in the house and I think that we are ready to move forward.
We have a new worker coming into the house tommorow named Vikki. I don't know anything about her and neither does anyone else. As much as I appreciate this community and love the model, the inefficiency can make me laugh sometimes. If you are keeping score that now makes 3 workers (4 if you include Isabell who will be on vacation for a few weeks and probably moving on a few months afterwards), 2 residents, and 1 resident that is currently living in Simon House who will probably be joining us in the coming weeks. I suspect that we have the capacity for 10-12 people in the house and I think that the optimum ratio would be about 6-8 residents and 4 workers. I have read somewhere that the maximum size for small-groups to function effectively is around 10 people. Much more than that and people begin to become passive. I suspect that this relates more to meetings that are conducted with small groups, but I think that it has implications for community as well. I think that it is fascinating that Jesus had 12 disciples....Jesus, a genius when it came to small group dynamics.
Cheers, Chris
posted by Chris | 8:28 AM
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