Discouraged

I’m very discouraged right now. I was doing volunteer work for certain organization, and things have turned out a little sour.

I won’t elaborate, but the person who was my liaison gave me the impression that she was in charge. She wasn’t.

I was supposed to be moving their website to another ISP, and when I told this woman that I was moving ahead, she forwarded the e-mail to her superior, and the superior is talking down on me—telling me how to do the move.

I’m upset for two reasons (1) the woman I’ve been talking to misled me, and (2) if they already know how to do what I’m doing, why didn’t they do it themselves?

I know that doing volunteer work is supposed to be good, in that it helps you gain experience and meet contacts, but this isn’t the first time that a non-for-profit's lack of structure has backfired on me.

I keep thinking how I could have avoided this outcome, but I don’t know what else I should have done to help things go smoothly.

Right now, I am not checking my e-mail. I’m giving myself 24 hours of cool down time before I talk or write to anyone, or before I make any decisions. Typically, I would just say, “You know what? Goodbye.” But that isn’t right.

OK, maybe I will say that but nicely. How about, “My health is acting out these days and I have decided to take some time for healing.”

Or, “I have taken a seasonal job and won’t be able to continue on this project. So sorry for the inconvenience.”

It would be different from what I’ve done in the past in that I won’t tell them that I’m upset and that they have wronged me. Instead, I will leave in good terms. What I want is to leave in good terms—as much as I can.