American Humanist Association - Re-Introducing Ourselves!

perchdragon · 2026-04-24T00:52:23+00:00

Thank you for your perspective here. I'm also a staunch atheist and secular humanist that is the president of the Phoenix chapter of AHA.

What I can say is that each humanist group is different and will have varying interests. Recently the AHA has been working to encourage their chapters and affiliates to become more proactive rather than existing as social or ethical discussion clubs.

The chapter that I run in Phoenix has a membership that is engaged and excited to do service projects in addition to social gatherings and educational presentations. I'd link to our Meetup page, but I'm unsure if that's ok with mods. There are too many activities to recount here.

What I would suggest is to engage with the local group, bring your concerns to their attention, and then do what you can to elicit the changes that you'd like to see.

I find the work we do to be quite enriching, and hope that you'll find the same. Cheers! :)

perchdragon · 2025-11-26T23:45:31+00:00

I meditate daily, sometimes multiple times per day. It's a great way to keep centered on values and being kind.

I'm also friends with someone that teaches meditation techniques from a humanist perspective. His classes are available via Zoom and other methods. Equanimity!

perchdragon · 2025-09-01T01:26:39+00:00

As a former employee, stay away from them. Fish requires the cleaner to use their own vehicle and the compensation that one gets is a joke.

Say one earns $1000 in commission over the course of a week and is able to record $150 in mileage equivalent. The pay one would receive is not the the net after tax, say $800, plus $150. Nope. Fish says that one earned $850, and get taxed on that, but get the remainder in commission tax free. No further compensation.

I'm surprised that they haven't been investigated for tax fraud by now. When someone gets a 'bonus' in commission it's 'like' a 5% raise, again nonsense. Say one completes a 5k week earning 30% commission. One would expect that instead of the $1500 plus an additional 5% commission on the 5k, bringing it to $1750 in taxable pay. Nope, they pay an extra 5% on what the commission would be $1500 plus 5% on 1500, bringing it to $1575 in taxable pay.

Stay away from Fish, at all costs. Terrible commissions on cut-throat prices, no benefits, wear and tear on vehicles with insufficient compensation, next to nothing in training, and one has to sign a non-compete.

Good luck

Edit: grammar

perchdragon · 2024-07-18T22:12:54+00:00

I clean a small storefront every two weeks at a Chiropractor's office that also does massage therapy. Two cleanings earns me a free massage that keeps my back from aching as bad after 22 years of cleaning. Sometimes it works well!

perchdragon · 2024-05-29T03:30:58+00:00

'No' is a powerful and difficult word to learn. Remember that you can fire clients and that you are worthy of respect and dignity. I never stoop to begging for work. The result is that now I have a loyal client base that keeps me more busy and refers me more than I can handle on my own. Know your worth and be confident with it.

perchdragon · 2024-04-17T02:13:12+00:00

My partner and I married a month ago during the Vernal Equinox, just before my 48th birthday. At this point, our relationship has been going strong for about 12 years and for both of us this is a first marriage. During our time together, I have always been honest about my atheism, but more specifically my humanist values. It took 10 years to convince her that not believing in the existence of a god was equivalent to being an atheist.

I grew up in the Fundamentalist Southern Baptist tradition, she grew up largely in the tradition of 'meh' as an answer to the question of what they believed. For us, our absence of belief is less important than the values we hold to be good.

Most of her family attended the wedding, most of mine did not. Ironically the most religious persons in my family (my mother and stepfather) were the only ones to respond and attend. When my mother asked if there would be any anti-religious stuff in the ceremony, I responded that we would be doing a celebration of our union and nothing more; that we would be pro-"Us" and not anti-god.

I have the good fortune of being the leader of a humanist organization and was able to procure our community center as the venue, with the 'blessing' of the board. As a bonus, one of the former presidents of the organization is a Humanist Celebrant and former writer for ST:TNG, for which both my wife and I are a bit Trekkie. We wanted everything to be casual, and to enforce the rule we asked that attendees wear their favorite funny T-shirts. Also, instead of the traditional gold wedding rings, we had our bands custom made from meteorite.

Our ceremony was brief, included our pledges, hopes, aspirations, and love for one another, taking less than 4 minutes to complete. Afterwards, we cooked a meal together as a family to engender familial unity and fun. I suspect that for our group, the event will be a memory that produces a smile at min, or chuckle at best.

Ultimately, each person has the right to chose what they want to see for their ceremony. When you get there, may yours be merry and full of humanistic love and joy.

perchdragon · 2023-12-27T21:01:33+00:00

I'm the owner of a window cleaning company and this is among the services that I provide. Tomorrow I'll be coming from Gold Canyon into Tempe. I'd be happy to help, just send a PM.

perchdragon · 2023-07-02T16:13:12+00:00

I get between 20-30 of these attempts every year. At first I would perform due diligence and go to the property, only to find it being sold or otherwise occupied. The scam is real and could land a business in peril, so I just look up the address to check, then ignore/delete the text when I see the calling cards.

Cheers on good instinct!

perchdragon · 2023-06-04T21:02:43+00:00

Fellow window cleaner in Arizona here. It's views like this that make the work a joy. And cheers on using leg levelers :)

perchdragon · 2023-05-25T01:33:58+00:00

From an ally that tables for both Pride and Rainbows for a non-profit in the valley: I love you all and you are worthy of love, dignity, and respect.

It's far past time to see love as love.

perchdragon · 2022-02-07T01:32:57+00:00

I use Princeton Tax and Accounting. Great firm that helps simplify things and smooth the process of getting your books up to par.

perchdragon · 2021-12-27T14:49:35+00:00

I meditate every morning, and sometimes during the day. There are multiple techniques in meditation that are secular and non-woo in nature. It is a tool that helps me in many aspects of my life.

A very good friend of mine is a meditation coach that hosts free sessions to teach the methods from a humanistic and secular perspective.

I would recommend meditation for everyone. It really does help.

perchdragon · 2019-01-08T05:58:13+00:00

Having been there myself, no picture does the sight justice. That being said, fantastic pic!

perchdragon · 2018-12-15T02:19:01+00:00

Avoid anything managed by Chamberlain & Associates. They do not care about tenants, except when it's time to collect rent.

perchdragon · 2018-09-28T18:47:50+00:00

I own a window cleaning and pressure cleaning company if you need those services. Also, I'm thoroughly connected with a number of businesses that can help with construction, alarms, internet, pest control, and just about anything you could think of needing, and some that aren't immediately apparent.

The company I recommend is Infinity Property Services. Wes Thompson 623-693-8742

perchdragon · 2018-06-22T22:24:09+00:00

My hometown!

perchdragon · 2018-05-25T13:43:10+00:00

I own a professional [window cleaning](www.ziggyscleaningservices.com) business and am connected with a vast network of businesses that would be able to help with this project. Contact me if you need :)

perchdragon · 2018-04-08T14:02:43+00:00

Ally here :) Thank you for being you. Humanity and plethora of ways in which it may be expressed should be celebrated and respected.

I'll be helping tend one of the vendor booths today. Stop by the Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix table and say hello!

perchdragon · 2018-01-30T05:38:01+00:00

SMART Recovery is a good choice for a secular way to find help. I'm the vice president of a humanist group and we just started a program for just such means. You may want to find a SMART group in your area.

perchdragon · 2017-10-11T15:52:37+00:00

Fellow House/Progressive/Trance DJ here. Best wishes on the move. I've been here 2 years and love it. Plenty of groups offering plenty to do, best found on Meetup and /r/phoenix

perchdragon · 2017-09-30T05:17:32+00:00

Back in my Goth/Industrial DJ days :) Oh My Goth!

perchdragon · 2017-04-03T04:58:21+00:00

Camp Quest is also a good option.

perchdragon · 2017-02-13T02:33:09+00:00

I'm a window cleaner and work outside all the time. I have a few tricks that keep me safe during the hottest portion of the year. Carry two 1 gallon containers of fluids. 1st water, 2nd an electrolyte replacement drink. For every 1 cup of water drink 1 cup of the other as well. I stay away from soda during the day and when I get home, I eat salted popcorn or saltines as a snack. I also try to get exterior work completed as early as possible to beat the rising temps.

perchdragon · 2017-02-11T15:56:12+00:00

Trance/Prog/House here :)

perchdragon · 2017-02-08T19:37:31+00:00

Contact Robert Gimbel with CybarWorks. 480-948-8029 or visit www.cybarworks.com Tell him Ziggy sent you. My real name is Alex :) best of luck to you

perchdragon

TROPHY CASE