M'ris was talking about temporariness in her journal today, about involvement with local groups when you're not sure how long you'll be local. Obviously, I'm thinking about this. I don't know if I'm staying in Chicago; I'll almost certainly be here 'til Christmas, but after that, it's all still up in the air. Given that, I've been hesitant to do group-type things...especially with all the travelling this summer. But apparently, some part of my mind has decided that I'm staying "long enough", whatever that is. Because this morning I contacted a local domestic violence organization (serving the Asian women's community) to ask them if they need volunteers. And I sent out an e-mail to Broad Universe saying I'd like to start up monthly meetings for a Chicago chapter.
(And if you're a female sf/f writer in the Chicagoland area who'd like to be informed about our monthly meetings (even if you're going to be driving two hours down from Madison to attend, and will be lucky if you make one meeting a year), please drop me a line so I can put you on the mailing list. (If you're male, you can still drop me a note, and I'll add you to my brunch invites instead. :-))
I might still be gone by January. But I'll be here four more months, at least. That's long enough to get some things done. To meet some members of the community. To try to help some people who need help. This wasn't really a conscious decision. But it feels right. It feels good.
