Goof Troop

I have been reluctant to blog not only because it is a bit foreign to me and I don't know what other people want to hear about me, or if they even care, but mostly because it is available to the public. I would like to share many of my experiences with my fellow VISTAs; however, I am uncomfortable sharing my life and experiences with everyone on the Internet. I also feel like I am restricted to blogging about only the positive things that occur at my organization, what about the not-so-positive ones, the things that aren't going quite so perfectly? Don't get me wrong, I love my org, and know far too well that everything does not always go as planned, and the wonderful experiences I have had thus far completely outweight the less-wonderful ones, but I would like to share those too, and more importantly the lessons that I have learned from them in hopes that another VISTA may benefit. Imagine though, if someone from my organization were to read that blog, I fear that that could create some uncomforatble situations for me. …read more

A local organization here in San Diego, called Nonprofit Management Solutions, offers management and technology consulting, training, and information resources to nonprofit organizations. On Tuesday I attended a workshop on Customer Service Skills. Most of the concepts we covered were common sense and things I had heard before, but it always helps to be refreshed. One of my favorite things that I took away from the workshop was the idea to create a clear vision of your organizations goals, if they do not already exist. Then you are supposed to read this vision everyday for 21 days (apparently the number of days it takes for you to really learn something/commit to memory) and it will help you maintain your focus, and allows you to better serve your orgs community. …read more

Hi guys, Hope everyone's first week is going well! I was hoping to get some ideas and suggestions from those of you who have any knowledge about what I guess I am calling access control. This is an area that I am unfamiliar with and trying to utilize all of my resources to learn more about:) We would like to find some software for our computer center that will allow us to: -require users to login and logout -track who logs in and when -prevents users from accessing certain controls and settings  -and return the computer to its original settings (so that nothing is permanently saved) upon logout  …read more

Name: Andrea Collopy Gender: Female Birthday: November 14 Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Blue Height: 5' almost 8" Graduated From: UC San Diego, 2006 CTC VISTA org: LGBT Center of San Diego Confession: This is my first blog ever! Biggest Fear: Being eaten by a shark! Interests: Cycling, country music, line dancing, chocolate, burping, maps...