We’re in the middle of a thrilling time of year again: leafcutter bee season. I genuinely look forward to this for months, and while this year was a rocky start with chilly temps and fires, things are starting to slowly pick up. These incredible creatures are more efficient pollinators than honey bees (which are invasive to the US) and are non-aggressive.

I’m looking for a nonprofit board to join and I figured a blog post could be a way to put this out into the world–I understand these are not always advertised roles. I’m eager to make things better, have varied experience which directly fits with common organization needs, and am very VERY enthusiastic about meetings and getting to know people. So, here it goes.

While I usually love end-of-year recap posts, in terms of both writing them and reading them, I couldn’t stomach it for 2020. I wasn’t in the right mindset to complain nor share things that went well. I wasn’t OK enough to read about the pain of others, or quite frankly, their triumphs.

We tried homeschooling in the weeks following the virus shutdown, and it failed miserably for us. I have to work and that ultimately takes priority over Ben’s education right now. Figuring out a version of school at home that is beneficial and doable has been a trial and error experience, but has resulted in some valuable resources and revelations.

As I recently found myself on the lookout for a part-time, fully remote position I was reminded yet again of the extreme degree to which remote work is misunderstood.

Since starting YupGup nearly two years ago I’ve had a bit of a crash course in contract writing and negotiations. This experience has allowed me to see that any freelance contract I maintained prior to this was not especially thoughtful or airtight—oops.