Hola hola hola!
So as most of you probably know, due to my gratuitous and douchey and wonderful Instagram posts, I am currently in Mexico! Traveling around for twelve days. Olé! (And if you don’t follow me on IG, then you’re missing some fire. It’s instagram.com/tommytopaz if you’re curious)
And right now, I’m on a night bus from Valladolid to Merida, which is my penultimate town. After two nights in the “American Capital of Culture,” I’m taking yet another long bus ride back to Cancun, sleeping two nights (and doing several amazing things – more on that later), then hopping on my plane back to Canada. And I am not looking forward to it, to tell you the truth. These past couple weeks have been magical, and I’ve enjoyed myself so much. I’ve been wanting to visit Mexico for years now, and I finally made it! It’s so great to get away from icy old Ottawa and the stress it brings me.
Of course, though – as they say – one of the best (or better, I guess) things about traveling is coming home. In that, you can’t miss something if you never leave, and you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone. Meaning the comforts of home, the convenience, the familiarity, the stasis. So there are things I’m excited about returning to – like my own bed and weekly board game nights and… That might be it. I haven’t been gone very long, of course, so I’m not missing things too much. Naturally, it’d be nice to see or hang out with some of my friends from back in O-Town (Colum, Amy, Dean, Elena, Luke, Tim, Kai, Eleanore, Eliot), but to be frank, I’d rather be in some exotic country and gaining new experiences than doing the same-old, same-old. Nothing against those people, but I crave adventure and excitement. And I’ll be back soon enough, so fret not!
I intended to write a blog update while in the airport before flying south, as I was wont to do during my travels in Europe. Because I wanted to write more fully / wax indignant about my experiences at the Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity, to get it out of my system and close that chapter, move on to bigger + better + brighter things. However, I don’t want to get in trouble for doing so, or bad-mouth my previous employer, or really go back and worry about all that stuff again… SO, suffice it to say, I am not 100% pleased with how things turned out with the CCGSD.
I moved to Ottawa for that job, when I have no family or network or support structure there, at all – and I saw myself being with the organization for maybe 2-4 years. Which I soon enough revised to a year and a half, to finish out the first grant for the Sports Inclusion Program. I wanted to stick with it, commit, do a great job, educate 7000 people about LGBTQ+ topics, and build an unshakable foundation for the Program and its (hopefully) illustrious future.
Things started a-changin’, and I wasn’t sure what to do. I was wracked with indecision and second-guessing myself, not knowing what to do or what call to make. I spoke lots with my parents and friends (mostly Enbal, love you En-doll) about it, wrote in my journal, and did some deep thinking. And I decided: I am not in a desperate position, not backed into a corner. There are other options for me, and I do not absolutely need this job. I am super fortunate to have two post-secondary degrees from reputable institutions, a good amount and broad variety of work/life experience, youthful vigour, driving passion, and money in the bank. I live fairly simply and am not profligate with my spending, so I have managed to accrue sufficient dinero to pay for rent + food for a while.
And the whole situation was stressing me out and weighing me down, and it was just so unnecessary. So I resigned. However – because I care about the Program (still do) and believe in the positive effect I/we/it has on people, particularly LGBTQ+ youth – I offered to work an extra week or two, to ease the transition to a new Sports inclusion Coordinator. This was still before my three month-iversary with the Centre, mind you, so by the Employment Standards Act, I was not required to give any notice at all to quit. But if I talked the talk, I had to walk the walk – be a man of my word. I wanted to be a decent person, end on a positive note, and take the moral high road. So that is what I was willing to give them.
Then they asked if I could work four weeks instead, because the transition would take longer that I offered, so I (tentatively) said yes. And then the next day, it became five weeks (two weeks for the job posting to be live and to collect/review applications, one for first interviews, one for second interviews and hiring, and the final one where I would be training my successor). And still I agreed, and signed a new contract holding myself to that. And that is what it was gonna be.
But you know what they say about the best-laid plans of mice and (wo)men. I ended up having my last day on Tuesday the 21st – so I didn’t actually train my replacement, after all was said and done. I was finished, dunzo, without further obligations… But still I wanted to do more, because I do want what’s best for the Program. So in lieu of educating my successor tête-à-tête, I volunteered to write up a transition document, to (try to) impart all I’ve learned about the position and all I believe they should know when they start as the new Sports Inclusion Coordinator. I didn’t have to do this, and maybe I shouldn’t’ve bothered after all – but I considered it valuable to do (since I didn’t have any real guidance when I began as the SIC), and I wanted the new me to start off on the best foot possible. So I don’t regret it, and I do hope they benefit from it. Absolutely they’ll learn something, so I’m glad I took the time to create that document. It would’ve been better to train them in person, since I am an educator, after all – but something’s better than nothing.
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And now I’m done with the CCGSD! A free agent! Untethered & unfettered!
Also, on my last official day with the organization, I just happened to have an amazing meeting with a VIP in government scheduled for the afternoon. So I went home, dropped my stuff off, brushed up on the notes I had taken during my research for this meeting/potential job interview, mouthwashed, and got myself in the mindset to charm, sparkle, effervesce, impress. Then I strolled in the beautiful spring weather to a towering office building, was signed in by one of my contact’s employees, slapped on a visitor’s pass, and sat down with the Senior Director of Diversity & Inclusion and Employment Equity for one of the governmental branches. And let me tell you, it went phenomenally.
She was also bubbly and happy and excited. I fed off her positive energy (and maybe vice-versa), and we had a great time together. I couldn’t stop smiling. Her upbeat, sunny mood was infectious, and she was saying the nicest things about me, my experience, and my résumé. The field of Diversity & Inclusion in government is going to blow up / massively increase in effect and importance in the new future, she believes, and this is especially the case for the LGBTQ+ angle. She (and indeed, the government) needs passionate and knowledgeable people to come in, educate others about the importance of D&I, help guide the development of the policies, and assist in the creation of a better, more representative, and more supportive future for government and the nation. She was impressed with my CV and expertise and wants me to be involved – and I want the same, definitely. She was so sweet, of course – but she was also determined and dedicated and really believes in this cause. I respect that, completely.
The issue is… There is no current position opening for this. Or funding, either. And creating such a job will take time, and filling it presents its own obstacles. In order to hire somebody external (i.e. me), she’ll need to demonstrate how she went through the entire public service and didn’t find anybody suitable for the role. Which, to me, seems like an arduous task. How big is the public service, right? In Ottawa, certainly – but also nationwide.
I wholeheartedly believe I am a qualified individual and strong candidate and great person for many positions in various fields, don’t get me wrong. I know that – but the difficulty is helping others see that, to take a chance on / put their trust in me, to allow me to rise to the occasion and impress them, do them proud. I know I can do it, and that when you give me responsibility, I will teach myself and work hard and strive to do the best job possible. I have a strong work ethic, and I want to do well. That drives me.
So we’ll see what happens. From what I understand, she is trying to see if she can create a position for me in her department, and to figure out how she can fast-track the application and external hiring process so it won’t take months. (Because of that governmental bureaucracy, natch.) And I believe she is also circulating my CV around to her contacts, such as those in the Canadian Human Rights Commission. And I have my two friends Michael and Denis pulling for me in their respective areas, too, of which I am hugely appreciative. I have a coffee klatch set up for three weeks from now thanks to this, so I’m looking forward to that. I have other feelers out as well, and several applications I have submitted or will complete in the near future. Essentially, I’m on the job hunt again – but not super intensely (just yet). Instead, I’m enjoying Mexico to the fullest.
And on that note, I should get going. We’re almost to el centro de Merida, and I gotta pack my computer away. Also, remember that time I said I wouldn’t write about what happened with the CCGSD? El oh el, me too. But it feels good, it feels right. So I’m pleased about that.
Ciao for now – and I’ll try and write all about this fabulous trip when I’m at the airport on Monday morning. Hopefully the Cancun departure area will have a legit café, because Ottawa’s certainly didn’t.
Hasta pronto,
– Jefecito
jetsetterjefferson 