I should have known better than to try to get a table at Revolution Café at 8:30 tonight. After all, it’s the only café in the Mission that’s open past 9, at least the only one that’s not a bar too. And anyway, it’s definitely the only coffee place around here that comes up with frequency on the CraigsList San Francisco Missed Connections Section—“cute barista at Revolution,” or “Hot guy with the headphones who let me share his table, Revolution 5 PM.”

It’s not a long walk from my house to the café—two blocks—but it’s annoying going anywhere lugging a laptop, especially my roommate’s, which is heavy. (Mine is heavy too, and too old to get wireless internet, if you can believe that.) Add to the bother of schlepping around a laptop, my natural neurotic state practically dictates that I’m going to be nervous that I’ll just break anything that’s not mine … so, well, you can imagine how I felt after I saw that I had left my house for no reason. I was not going to get a seat in this café; the line to order coffee was literally out the door.

Terrific. This brings me to where I am now, in my room, on my bed (the largest thing in my room), with my roommate’s heavy laptop sitting on my lap. A very fabulous looking mug of coffee (although it seems like a TV show interior designer might call this mug’s design “awful, earthy, 1970s&rdquo is perched on the inside windowsill (the window’s molding?).

This whole situation reminds me of college, except that probably at college there would be a table for me at the café, and the café wouldn’t close until 1. Well, ok. Drinking coffee at 9:08 PM, while typing on a computer reminds me of college. And further, the whole idea that I’m doing work for work that isn’t really work (I mean, I’m writing a blog for god’s sake) also seems oddly similar to college, where the work (writing essays and reading books) I did wasn’t “work” either. 

But what a great lead-in because I want to talk about college. I want to tell you about two Greenpeace programs for college students that I had no idea about when I was in school, but that I wish I had known existed.

Change It! is a leadership training program that Greenpeace is running in partnership with Seventh Generation. Students selected for this program will be flown to D.C. to work one-on-one with Greenpeace mentors. These mentors will provide personalized training on campaign strategy, message development, lobbying, recruitment, and event planning. Students will travel offsite to participate in a campaign event and will emerge from the program with the skills and tools they need to become effective leaders in the environmental and social justice movements. Some of the guest speakers will include John Passacantando, Executive Director of Greenpeace USA, and Jeffrey Hollender, President of Seventh Generation. The program starts on July 28^th, and I’ll be sure to keep you informed on some of the highlights (so that you’ll want to apply next year!). In the meantime, check out http://www.changeit06.org/index.vm.

The other opportunity you should be aware of is the Greenpeace Organizing Term (GOT) program. The GOT program is an action-filled semester and the best hands-on training for students to become environmental leaders. You’ll be making an investment in your leadership skills, getting training in grassroots organizing, media, direct action, and campaign strategy.  You’ll travel abroad with Greenpeace and join a team of incredible activists working to protect the planet. Sound good? Then apply. The summer term has already begun, and you’ve probably already picked your classes for Fall ’06, but, hey, what about Spring ’07? Check out http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/getinvolved/greenpeace-organizing-term. As enticement, through out the summer, I’ll be peppering this blog with fun stuff past/current GOT teams have done/ are doing.

Happy summer vacation to you! And, good night!