Voluntarily Volunteering Volunteering Observations

Volunteering is a strange process. Throughout the vast majority of my life I have not been a volunteering sort of person. In school I was often involved in a number of interesting extra curriculars, but this was always as the behest of teachers or friends. Since leaving Uni, however, I am attempting to buck this trend.

In order to have enough to write about, I am using the word ‘volunteer’ in a very broad sense. My first foray into the world of volunteering came when I was involved in giving University hopefuls a tour of the campus. Which I did once. In all truth this was not meant to be a volunteering program, I would have been paid for my efforts, but I did such an awful job of it I felt it would be wrong to chase up payment. There is an applicable saying referring to money and sense that I could apply to that anecdote, but I won’t. Though I have.

I am also broadening ‘volunteering’ to include comedy open spots, which I started seeking out earlier this year. These shouldn’t really be considered volunteering, as I very much wanted to do them, and arguably I was earning more in non-monetary terms than I was investing. I wonder whether open spots / open mic nights are officially considered voluntary work, although I am not inquisitive enough to do anything apart from include the query here.

In a more direct sense I will, in the near future, be volunteering for a local community radio station, but even this doesn’t quite fit the bill for me. Volunteering is usually portrayed in such a way as to seem like a burden and a hassle, but my experience of volunteering for the radio so far has been a joy, and genuinely exciting. For me, being involved in the workings of the station is less an unpaid use of my time, and more a fantastical romp through the airwaves, wondering quite how I have been allowed free reign to fill time between songs. Still, it hasn’t happened yet, fates may conspire against my radio aspirations. My comedy efforts have thrived thus far however, and I am fully confident that I will be equally competent in the radiographical sphere. Because I am a self-impressed hubristic eloquent yob.

It is interesting that I have the opportunity to discuss my understanding of volunteering to such a degree, as I am writing this whilst in work. Having run out of interesting (to me) BBC, Guardian and Chortle articles to peruse, I am forced to write my own words in order to pass the time. The responsibilities of my employed role require me to ensure the safety of computers, and the harmony of a cyber café. The dash of the ‘e’ in cyber café was placed there automatically by Word, I note this as it would be simply ghastly if the reader were to find within me a quantum of pretention.

My job of babysitting internet-browsing youths is particularly stress free at this point, as 4 kids playing Runescape are hardly ‘rowdy’ in any way shape of form. There are a group of my co-workers assembled in the corner of the room schmoozing, but instead of joining them and enjoying some rational human company I am compiling this facile correspondence to be flung haphazardly into the vacuum of the blogosphere. How deliciously futile.

A mixture of monitor-based-pain of the eye-area and a lack of sleep conspire to shroud the room in a foggy haze. Either that or a monitor has overheated in a Runescape based tragedy. I hope the second is the case and I am freed from the 20 minute minimalistic survival game until the end of my shift. On second thought I think I will wait it out.

I am now down to three children left under my scrutiny. Down to the final three. Who will win? You decide. The winner is Youssef Richards-Harrowby, whose name I have altered for security reasons.#

What this post proves is that my creativity is hampered by the potential for people to glance over my shoulder. Also sleep deprivation and lack of respect for the blog reading public.

I would end this post with a 'meh', but I hate that phrase with a passion akin to fury. 'Meh' is evidence of a lack of thought, and a lack of thought is the only truly evil action a human being can undertake. So why don't you 'ave a fink about dat den cleverpants?