Well, how did I get here?

I grew up in middle America, a place full of strip malls, fast food chains, conservatives and blandness. I currently work with international non-government organizations (INGOs). I lived several years out of the US and have traveled extensively. I am not quite sure how I got here sometimes, so mentally, emotionally, politically and physically far from that small town where I started.

I feel conflicted about a lot of things. (See Caught between Growing Up and Waking Up.)

On this blog I write about those internal conflicts, life, growing up, and traveling the strange and winding roads that led me where I am today.  There’s also a fair share of raving, ranting, raging and reality checking around INGO work. Increasingly it seems I criticize music videos, the corporate sector and silly views on charity, development and “poor people….”

I have a little side project with @talesfromthhood called Stuff Expat Aid Workers Like. Check it!

I’m writing anonymously so I can keep it real. I’ve changed details and names and a few other things around in some posts in an attempt to protect (conceal) the identity of those implicated persons, countries or organizations. And it goes without saying that these are strictly my own opinions and do not reflect those of any organizations or persons I’m currently affiliated with or employed by, or have been in the past.

Comments welcome here, or contact me at shotgunshackblog [at] gmail [dot] com or @shotgunshack on Twitter!

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack

And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself-well…how did I get here?

~Talking Heads, Once in a Lifetime

…and the Kermit the Frog Version