Pineapple, baby, you've inspired me.

Who here volunteers? Who would like to volunteer? What are y'all's thoughts on volunteering?

I learned about voluntarism from my mother - when I was in the fifth grade, she joined up with the Houston Symphony League and brought "Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom" into hundreds of classrooms in the Northwest Houston area. By the time I was in high school, she was president of the League, and as her oldest daughter, I'd accompanied her to countless benefit concerts and other music outreach-related volunteer opportunities. I recall dressing up as a tuba on more than one occasion. My sophomore year in high school, I joined up with this sort of junior-Junior League and started volunteering... Now, I'm in the Junior League of Atlanta (what a shocker), but I'm all guilt-ridden because I haven't been to my placement in more than a month.

So. Tell us about your volunteer experiences. The satisfaction, the guilt, all the rest:

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Answers

I recall dressing up as a tuba on more than one occasion!

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Now, Hannah - T is talking about volunteering, not some sort of kinky sex! hee.

Can I confess something? T just used a word I've never seen before. I don't know what I thought the noun was for volunteering. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what I've said in the past.

Now I'm racking my brain trying to figure out if I "wrack" my brain or "rack" my brain, but "wrack" looks how bizarre and "rack" doesn't look right either.

I don't think I'll be posting in the morning without coffee ever again.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Pineapple, I hadn't heard of that word until I joined the JLA. I was all, "Voluntarism? That's a word? And it's the proper word??" And so it was. And I was both humbled and befuddled.

With regard to the tuba, my mother had all these costumes in our house - a timpani, a trumpet, a harp (I think), and a tuba. When the League would host free children's concerts, my mother would recruit people to dress up in the costumes. I do believe that somewhere, there is a photo of Hannah Beth in the tuba costume. And Naked Hannah, I bet that at some point, you met my mother in your music classroom.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

I am an ex-Junior League-er. I guess I should look someone up here in Chicago, but now it is too embarassing to have to explain that yes, I moved here 2 years ago and it took me that long to call up and get my membership info transferred over. I belonged to a less than stellar chapter, though, and that might have something to do with it.

I am so ashamed - I am a bad Junior Leaguer.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Oh, I think that was just around the time that my parents hustled us off to California for a few years. Darn! I knew I missed out.

A lot of the girls in my sorority alumni association are in the League, and I thought about joining, but, um, the whole moving away to grad school thing got in the way. Yeah, that's my excuse.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

I am so ashamed - I am a bad Junior Leaguer.

Kristin, that could be its own topic. I'm currently a guilt-ridden Junior Leaguer. I have this great, meaningful placement and I haven't been there in at least two months. I have no excuse. I'm not even employed right now, and I want to start going during the day, but my days keep getting away from me. I feel just terrible about the whole thing, and now I'm almost ashamed to show up at my placement.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Oh. My. God! You have no idea the weight you have just lifted from my weary shoulders - I always thought I was the only bad JL-er - all the other women were so purposeful and chipper, rolling up their sleeves and working through the night, paying the afternoon nanny overtime if necessary, to Get the Job Done.

Me? A League member for three years; never have a meeting with a placement co-ordinator. Never had a placement! Did my Boardmanship training, showed up at the thrift store once or twice a month, attended a few meetings, and brought a cake to the end of the year barbeque. I am too ashamed to call them up here and restart - I know they are going to ask me about my previous experience, and then i will start to cry in humilation.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

I volunteered in the emergency room of my local hospital three days a week for a summer. It wasn't as interesting as it sounds.

And dammit, there was no George Clooney.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

I'm a very recent ex-Junior Leaguer. Y'all, I sat on the Board of Directors last year and worked my ass off. Way too much time commitment and when the Placement people asked me to do something equally (if not more) time intensive again this year, I said no thanks. So, while I loved volunteering and the League it got to be too much. I'll probably re-join when I relocate to the Cincy area as it's a great way to meet people, but for now I volunteer with the Historical Society's Young Professionals group and Junior Acheivement's Young Professionals group too. But that's not so much volunteering as it is going to social stuff like happy hours and planning a fund raiser. Bah. I need to be more hands on but just don't have the time or energy any more.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2001