I could work at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and probably keep my sanity.

This says a lot. Since finishing Derrick Jensen’s Walking on Water: Reading, Writing and Revolution, I’ve railed against industrial culture more militantly than usual. In the book, Jensen “reveals how schools are central to perpetuating the great illusion of our culture, that happiness lies outside of ourselves and that learning to please and submit to those in power makes us all into life-long clock-watchers.”

Yeah, the State Parks Youth Corps is embedded into “The System,” (publicly-funded, and in my case, a lot of marketing), but there may be nothing more benign than a state park. And most importantly, this internship fuels so many things I enjoy:

• It’s creative work.
• It serves a purpose.
• It’s outside!
• (and it pays.)

This month I will visit parks and historic sites (first stop: Stockton Lake), capture and edit multimedia for their web pages, and probably camp overnight a lot.

But even when I’m not working outside, I will enjoy the office. Our tour of the Lewis and Clark State Office Building tickled my sustaina-senses. It’s the world’s only LEED Platinum public office building, and it’s awesome. Natural light, native grasses, recycled rainwater in the toilet system. This article from Green Source magazine is thorough enough, but it’s worth a real-life visit.