Ruminating at 5 am
Posted November 30th, 2007 by Jenn
As usual, I've had great posts in my head that never made it out of my finger tips. Now, I am sitting here at 5 am while my building manager is fixing the exploding pipe and subsequent flood of hot water in my bathroom that jarred me awake nearly 2 hours ago. Yes, I have one of my 2 morning shifts of the week in 4 hours and will be doing it on about 3 1/2 hours of sleep.
Which does tie into a response I have to the Philly clinic rave-fest. They get it, but do I? I thing that I had some very selfish motivations for making the switch to CA. I have a lot of friends who can't afford me, and this way I didn't have to make concessions and feel like I was shutting out a potential $65 client to make room for them. I am also seeing more volume as of this month then I ever had in 10 years of private and am quite happy with the new level of income. My clinic is likely noisier than most, an echoing room with street noise of all sorts (still get some people hanging out on the street by their cars talking loudly and even the sound of a car door slam can be heard and felt). I am rather peevish and dictatorial about the music I use as I'm the one listening to it all day; you won't find typical treatment time music in my clinic. I am social, my clients have all seen the cell phone photos of my nephew from my visit back east earlier this month, and I do engage in a bit of chit chat with them. No doubt one or 2 tomorrow will know about my bedroom being as hot as a sauna thanks to the flood of hot water on the other side of the wall.
It seems logical that each clinic would reflect the personalities of those running it, we're not franchises bought with an operating agreement covering details that demand homogeny (right word choice? too tired to tell), I'll leave that to the chain stores and restaurants. but - where is the line of standard that we aspire to hold to, or is there one?
I'm spending Saturday at Rocky Mountain Boot Camp for progressives and activists (in a space just a block from home no less!). I already know a whole bunch of them but am looking forward to seeing how those new to me respond to the idea and theory of my business. Will post again with permission if there is a lot to report
Re: Ruminating at 5 am
Yes, I'd like to hear about your Boot Camp experiences too...and I hope your house dries out soon!
Re: Ruminating at 5 am
Hi Jenn.
Good luck at Rocky Mt. Boot Camp. I hope you post about that, and your relationship to activism where it relates to CA, or vice versa.
Did it sound like someone was proposing a specific line of standard that everyone aspires to? What did you hear being said? I think there are some standards for the purpose of CAN, and then maybe some fuzzier but overlapping ones in relation to our biggest visions for creating access in the U.S. to great acupuncture.
I sure hope all the clinics reflect the practitioners and their communities. And, yeah, there are so many different ways that people come to this movement/business model/community of practitioners.
Here's some of my motivations for doing CA, and for liking it, in no particular order. I'm making a living doing acupuncture. I get to work with a partner. I'm kinda famous in the neighborhood (uncomfortable, but i think I like it). I also have some strong feelings about music, and get to deejay for a captive audience a few hours a day. My friends and neighbors can afford it. When I'm working, I'm really working, and then I get alot of time off, where i can rest or do more outreach, or support other people's big projects and continue doing activism. The business gets to reflect my partner's and my relationship to this neighborhood, gets to be truly local. I get to be connected to a whole bunch of great people across the country who are thinking big about acupuncture and health and classism, and who also have really interesting lives as musicians, belly dancers, writers, etc.
Can't wait to see your clinic sometime.
-Korben