For those who have been wondering where I am in this process. I was given a medical/dental clearance packet a couple months ago to have filled out. I submitted it back in April, only to get my dental packet given back to me, telling me that I have to get my wisdom teeth pulled. I was going to get that done right away, but I've been in the middle of studying for the GMAT exam, coming up this week, and didn't want to disrupt that process.
Next Friday, I will be getting them pulled and should be all set with this part of the clearance process. Hopefully I will have a bigger update to give after that paperwork has gone through.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Medical Packets/Health Care Reform
Update: My medical clearance packet came in yesterday with all kinds of information that needs filling! Luckily, I've been proactive and already scheduled the required appointments to get through this process smoothly. I've seen this process take months for some people, a lot of it is just coordinating all the different areas that you may have to gather medical history from or make appointments with medical doctors, dentists, vision specialists, etc. Most of these items are things we should be doing on a yearly basis anyways, which brings me to my below post.
Healthcare Reform: It's certainly a coincidence that I have to go through this medical clearance process on the cusp of the biggest health care reform in the last century. For anyone that has been following the legislation process for health care reform, you understand how heated the debate has been on both sides of the "aisle" for the past few months to a year. These days, I consider myself more of an independent who leans on the side of the democrats for most issues, except for issues tied to the economy, which seems to be most things lately. First and foremost, I do believe that GUARANTEED health care is our moral OBLIGATION (sorry for the caps), and even more so, a standard of health care for all is required, but like anything, reform must be SUSTAINABLE. The health care system in the US has been broken for decades. Insurance companies have monopolized the industry, and costs have risen to a point that health care just isn't affordable. My biggest problem with the health care reform bill is that it didn't do anything for the actual cost of it. I do believe now that it is guaranteed, the rising cost of healthcare will now be burdened on the tax payer. I would rather have seen all that energy in debate from our leaders go towards coming up with a sustainable plan for health care reform. One question, what's to stop currently healthy people from opting out of health insurance and now only getting it when they are sick? There is a small fine, but the reality is, its nowhere near the amount you would save by doing so. Imagine if you could get car insurance to fix your car after it has been in a wreck, or fire insurance after your house has burned down. This would cripple the private health insurance industry. Further, with the rising cost of health care, and health care now assuming its place as 1/3rd of our GDP, our national debt further becomes an issue of national security. The US heavily relies on short term financing, most of which comes from China and other countries who invest in our treasuries. We will have to pay that back at some point, and when we do, we will realize we can't continue to fund health care, our military, or many of our other necessities. Look at what happened to the Soviet Union.
What do I believe is a solution to health care. A true free market system (we can argue that there is no true free market system), but something that is close to it.
1.) Start pulling away from an employee based system. Give the individual his health insurance cost back as income, and give the tax payer a tax credit for health related costs during the year.
2.) Pay for preventative health care and basic procedures out of pocket, allowing the individual the choice as to what works for them. Allow us to get insurance for major procedures, similar to how insurance is run for other items like car, house, etc.
- This would drive costs down to a level that is affordable by most Americans. You can take eye laser surgery and cosmetic surgery as examples of out of pocket procedures that have decreased in price tremendously over the past few years due to an update in technology and basic supply/demand theory.
- This would also allow the govt. to guarantee health care for those that make less than a certain amount of money in an affordable and sustainable way.
3.) Include measures/protections to prevent against discrimination on preexisting conditions.
4.) Allow for more flexibility in doctor licenses and ability to practice out of state. Same with insurance companies, allow the individual to choose from multiple companies whether in state or out of state (this is addressed in the current bill)
There are other things that would need to be included, but I'm far from an expert on the subject, those are just some ideas that I've seen proposed that I believe would work.
For more information, or if you want to go through the entire bill, go to this link http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text
Anyways, until later!
Healthcare Reform: It's certainly a coincidence that I have to go through this medical clearance process on the cusp of the biggest health care reform in the last century. For anyone that has been following the legislation process for health care reform, you understand how heated the debate has been on both sides of the "aisle" for the past few months to a year. These days, I consider myself more of an independent who leans on the side of the democrats for most issues, except for issues tied to the economy, which seems to be most things lately. First and foremost, I do believe that GUARANTEED health care is our moral OBLIGATION (sorry for the caps), and even more so, a standard of health care for all is required, but like anything, reform must be SUSTAINABLE. The health care system in the US has been broken for decades. Insurance companies have monopolized the industry, and costs have risen to a point that health care just isn't affordable. My biggest problem with the health care reform bill is that it didn't do anything for the actual cost of it. I do believe now that it is guaranteed, the rising cost of healthcare will now be burdened on the tax payer. I would rather have seen all that energy in debate from our leaders go towards coming up with a sustainable plan for health care reform. One question, what's to stop currently healthy people from opting out of health insurance and now only getting it when they are sick? There is a small fine, but the reality is, its nowhere near the amount you would save by doing so. Imagine if you could get car insurance to fix your car after it has been in a wreck, or fire insurance after your house has burned down. This would cripple the private health insurance industry. Further, with the rising cost of health care, and health care now assuming its place as 1/3rd of our GDP, our national debt further becomes an issue of national security. The US heavily relies on short term financing, most of which comes from China and other countries who invest in our treasuries. We will have to pay that back at some point, and when we do, we will realize we can't continue to fund health care, our military, or many of our other necessities. Look at what happened to the Soviet Union.
What do I believe is a solution to health care. A true free market system (we can argue that there is no true free market system), but something that is close to it.
1.) Start pulling away from an employee based system. Give the individual his health insurance cost back as income, and give the tax payer a tax credit for health related costs during the year.
2.) Pay for preventative health care and basic procedures out of pocket, allowing the individual the choice as to what works for them. Allow us to get insurance for major procedures, similar to how insurance is run for other items like car, house, etc.
- This would drive costs down to a level that is affordable by most Americans. You can take eye laser surgery and cosmetic surgery as examples of out of pocket procedures that have decreased in price tremendously over the past few years due to an update in technology and basic supply/demand theory.
- This would also allow the govt. to guarantee health care for those that make less than a certain amount of money in an affordable and sustainable way.
3.) Include measures/protections to prevent against discrimination on preexisting conditions.
4.) Allow for more flexibility in doctor licenses and ability to practice out of state. Same with insurance companies, allow the individual to choose from multiple companies whether in state or out of state (this is addressed in the current bill)
There are other things that would need to be included, but I'm far from an expert on the subject, those are just some ideas that I've seen proposed that I believe would work.
For more information, or if you want to go through the entire bill, go to this link http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text
Anyways, until later!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
NOMINATED!!
I had my interview on Thursday. I found the recruiter to be nice and easy to talk to. The interview questions weren't too difficult. Mostly consisted of questions around why I wanted to join the peace corps and a lot of questions about my past work and volunteer experiences and some questions around the core expectations of the peace corps.
Due to the fact that I have had Spanish language training and a lot of leadership experience with Non-profit organizations, I was nominated for a Non-profit/NGO development assignment in Central/South America region leaving in early February. At this point, I have no idea what country that could be. After some research, I have found that it could be one out of a few countries.
I wasn't expecting to be nominated the same day, but knew it was a possibility. It certainly added a sense of "realness" to the process. February, although 10 months away, will come sooner than I expect. I should be getting a medical/dental clearance packet soon, will update as I make progress!
Due to the fact that I have had Spanish language training and a lot of leadership experience with Non-profit organizations, I was nominated for a Non-profit/NGO development assignment in Central/South America region leaving in early February. At this point, I have no idea what country that could be. After some research, I have found that it could be one out of a few countries.
I wasn't expecting to be nominated the same day, but knew it was a possibility. It certainly added a sense of "realness" to the process. February, although 10 months away, will come sooner than I expect. I should be getting a medical/dental clearance packet soon, will update as I make progress!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Update: Interview
Friday February 26, 2010: Received a phone call essentially confirming that they received my materials and that they would be reviewing it over the next few days and that I would receive a phone call next week to schedule an interview. I also received a letter with my toolkit password and username.
Today, I received that phone call, it was pretty brief. I have my interview scheduled for next week Thursday! So far things are moving relatively quick, but it probably won't last......will update later!
Today, I received that phone call, it was pretty brief. I have my interview scheduled for next week Thursday! So far things are moving relatively quick, but it probably won't last......will update later!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
While I am waiting
Update to the Peace Corps. app: I called to see if they received the forms requested of me, but haven't gotten a call back?
I wrote this post about a year and a half ago on Facebook right after hurricane Gustav in Houston and figured I'd bring it into this blog and only thought about it after the historical event in Haiti. It kind of outlines my mind state at the moment.
"When things go wrong and they sometimes will! Its easy for people to get boggled down with the issues of tomorrow, for the scary fact that it will soon be today. In our short time as young professionals in this country we have witnessed arguably more historic events in 7 years than anyone could have ever imagined. We witnessed the destruction of the twin towers in NY, the reinvention of the Vietnam War, but in Iraq, A black man and a woman as the front runners for the Democratic nomination for President. We have seen what could potentially be the start of the next Great Depression, a natural disaster that just seems unnatural and what the future holds, no one truly knows. What can we expect in our near future, possibly an Oil crisis, not like the kind in the 70s, but a day when we just don't have enough. Can you imagine a day whenthere just isn't enough oil, people lined up around street corners attempting to fill up their tanks, nearly wiping out the nations gas supply in a matter of days, food trucks unable to bring supplies to warehouses, and people not able to reach stores to obtain their basic needs. Oh yeah, and if you think that is far fetched, than all you have to do is take a look at Houston days before the Hurricane, because this was our experience.
But I'm not writing this to scare people. I'm writing this because I hope that this is a realization with all that is crazy in the world, there are certainly more things important. Like living life, and enjoying the important people that surround you. If we, as a nation lived our lives to support others, we wouldn't have to worry about the biggest foreclosure crisis in our lifetime. People are too focused with where their lives are today and not where it fits into the bigger picture. The expectation that what happens down in a small town outside of Atlanta, doesn't affect me here in Boston. When the reality is, that people's inability to pay for their mortgages yesterday, may affect your job, or loan tomorrow. This is the importance of the urgency of now. It takes a crisis in this country to wake people up, and a lack of a sense of urgency is an epidemic spreading through the American culture.
The question you have to ask yourself is, where do you fit in, how do you impact others? If you had to write your own eulogy, what would it say? What you did do, or what your potential was? People who know me, know how I feel about the power of a new day. The only thing unnerving about tomorrow is that it can't come soon enough, as we all get another opportunity to be the change makers I know we can be. As i end this note, I challenge all of you to make a faith statement about the kind of world you want to live in.
This is your boy Juan Pablo writing from Mexico City, supporting my mexican hombres in increasing their overall tequila revenue.
McCain '08, just kidding!"
I wrote this post about a year and a half ago on Facebook right after hurricane Gustav in Houston and figured I'd bring it into this blog and only thought about it after the historical event in Haiti. It kind of outlines my mind state at the moment.
"When things go wrong and they sometimes will! Its easy for people to get boggled down with the issues of tomorrow, for the scary fact that it will soon be today. In our short time as young professionals in this country we have witnessed arguably more historic events in 7 years than anyone could have ever imagined. We witnessed the destruction of the twin towers in NY, the reinvention of the Vietnam War, but in Iraq, A black man and a woman as the front runners for the Democratic nomination for President. We have seen what could potentially be the start of the next Great Depression, a natural disaster that just seems unnatural and what the future holds, no one truly knows. What can we expect in our near future, possibly an Oil crisis, not like the kind in the 70s, but a day when we just don't have enough. Can you imagine a day whenthere just isn't enough oil, people lined up around street corners attempting to fill up their tanks, nearly wiping out the nations gas supply in a matter of days, food trucks unable to bring supplies to warehouses, and people not able to reach stores to obtain their basic needs. Oh yeah, and if you think that is far fetched, than all you have to do is take a look at Houston days before the Hurricane, because this was our experience.
But I'm not writing this to scare people. I'm writing this because I hope that this is a realization with all that is crazy in the world, there are certainly more things important. Like living life, and enjoying the important people that surround you. If we, as a nation lived our lives to support others, we wouldn't have to worry about the biggest foreclosure crisis in our lifetime. People are too focused with where their lives are today and not where it fits into the bigger picture. The expectation that what happens down in a small town outside of Atlanta, doesn't affect me here in Boston. When the reality is, that people's inability to pay for their mortgages yesterday, may affect your job, or loan tomorrow. This is the importance of the urgency of now. It takes a crisis in this country to wake people up, and a lack of a sense of urgency is an epidemic spreading through the American culture.
The question you have to ask yourself is, where do you fit in, how do you impact others? If you had to write your own eulogy, what would it say? What you did do, or what your potential was? People who know me, know how I feel about the power of a new day. The only thing unnerving about tomorrow is that it can't come soon enough, as we all get another opportunity to be the change makers I know we can be. As i end this note, I challenge all of you to make a faith statement about the kind of world you want to live in.
This is your boy Juan Pablo writing from Mexico City, supporting my mexican hombres in increasing their overall tequila revenue.
McCain '08, just kidding!"
Friday, February 19, 2010
From Corporate to Peace Corps
So, I decided to apply to the Peace Corps. Through all my research I realized that I have learned the most about what to expect out of this entire process through blogs that others have written and I have decided to start my own in hopes that others who read this as it develops can gain a perspective and maybe some insight into their future life decisions.
On February 10, 2010 1:05pm to be exact I submitted my application to the Peace Corps. That's right, as the title of this post insinuates, I do have a career job, and yes, I did submit my application at work, just don't tell my manager! I have told only a few people at this time that I did apply and most people who do know me can see the reasons without even asking and there are those who rightly so caution against leaving a well paying job in this tough economy. I will give my reasons in this post, but before I do so, for those wondering where I am in the process, here it is.
February 17 and 18: My last two references submitted their recommendations online, so my application should be complete.
February 18: I received a letter from the Peace Corps asking me to fill out some forms, including fingerprint charts, national agency check form, and legal forms. From what I've read in the letter, an interview won't be scheduled until I submit these forms, so it looks like I better get moving.
February 19: Today, Filled out the forms and sending it in the mail. Will update in future posts.
So, my reasons for wanting to join the peace corps. I've always wanted to work in a service oriented career. In school, I was very active and served in various leadership positions with my fraternity, engineering organizations, and other campus wide activities. I realized that although I eventually want to commit to a more service oriented career, you really are no good to anybody without any skills and experience. So, I graduated engineering and pursued a career in product management for a major technology company.
Nearly 2 years in, I'm realizing that at minimum, the large corporate environment just isn't for me. In this economy, it really is sad to see people with families let go for what they call in the work place a "work force reduction". Between that and general bureaucracy over performance, promotions, bonus', and general salary increases, you get to see everyday business becomes more about gross margins and Profit/Losses and less about actual impact. I can appreciate the experience and forever thankful for the opportunity, but I do believe the present is better than ever to really start planning the next move. I have looked into the Peace Corps in the past, interacted with past peace corps members, and read nearly 100 blogs on the topic; I believe most people would label it a life changing experience, and more so, a decision they don't regret. Now, I'm not under the illusion that I'm going to be changing the world in those 2 years and understand that impact can be minimal as bureaucracy is everywhere, but I do believe it to be a valuable experience and that it will add some focus/direction to a future career. I do plan on attending grad school in the future, possibly business school with a focus on social enterprise. I'm hoping that if chosen, I can work on a project that is either in the area of Business development/IT (which is right up my alley), or Community/Non profit development. For those who may be wondering about my background, my family does come from a developing nation, and they are probably the most influential in my decision to apply.
Well, I can go on and on, but I want to keep it short, until later!
On February 10, 2010 1:05pm to be exact I submitted my application to the Peace Corps. That's right, as the title of this post insinuates, I do have a career job, and yes, I did submit my application at work, just don't tell my manager! I have told only a few people at this time that I did apply and most people who do know me can see the reasons without even asking and there are those who rightly so caution against leaving a well paying job in this tough economy. I will give my reasons in this post, but before I do so, for those wondering where I am in the process, here it is.
February 17 and 18: My last two references submitted their recommendations online, so my application should be complete.
February 18: I received a letter from the Peace Corps asking me to fill out some forms, including fingerprint charts, national agency check form, and legal forms. From what I've read in the letter, an interview won't be scheduled until I submit these forms, so it looks like I better get moving.
February 19: Today, Filled out the forms and sending it in the mail. Will update in future posts.
So, my reasons for wanting to join the peace corps. I've always wanted to work in a service oriented career. In school, I was very active and served in various leadership positions with my fraternity, engineering organizations, and other campus wide activities. I realized that although I eventually want to commit to a more service oriented career, you really are no good to anybody without any skills and experience. So, I graduated engineering and pursued a career in product management for a major technology company.
Nearly 2 years in, I'm realizing that at minimum, the large corporate environment just isn't for me. In this economy, it really is sad to see people with families let go for what they call in the work place a "work force reduction". Between that and general bureaucracy over performance, promotions, bonus', and general salary increases, you get to see everyday business becomes more about gross margins and Profit/Losses and less about actual impact. I can appreciate the experience and forever thankful for the opportunity, but I do believe the present is better than ever to really start planning the next move. I have looked into the Peace Corps in the past, interacted with past peace corps members, and read nearly 100 blogs on the topic; I believe most people would label it a life changing experience, and more so, a decision they don't regret. Now, I'm not under the illusion that I'm going to be changing the world in those 2 years and understand that impact can be minimal as bureaucracy is everywhere, but I do believe it to be a valuable experience and that it will add some focus/direction to a future career. I do plan on attending grad school in the future, possibly business school with a focus on social enterprise. I'm hoping that if chosen, I can work on a project that is either in the area of Business development/IT (which is right up my alley), or Community/Non profit development. For those who may be wondering about my background, my family does come from a developing nation, and they are probably the most influential in my decision to apply.
Well, I can go on and on, but I want to keep it short, until later!
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